Quote:
Originally Posted by jman4747
I would like to see a game where the robots have to actively work with each other and coordinate to accomplish the main goal like the bridges in 2012. So far each robot in an alliance doesn't need the others to score points for that alliance. It's 3 robots working individually to score points for the alliance not 3 robots working together to score points for that alliance. Other than the bridges in rebound rumble I don't recall robots on an alliance having to work together to manipulate a game piece and or field element to accumulate points.
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You weren't around for 2010 (suspensions--one robot hanging off another that was already hanging--though those weren't used often if at all), 2007 (one or two robots climbing on the third alliance member virtually every match) or 2001 (oops, didn't mention the 4v0 bridge-balancing year, ignore that). 2008 and 1999 required coordination for some items; 2010 had some teamwork like passing from one zone to another.
Here is why you'll rarely see that, and why it'll even more rarely be the main main goal:
Random qualifiers.
If you have an item that requires more than two robots to accomplish it, you need to have it be important enough that everybody builds for it to some extent. Even for only two robots, you need only a subset to not build for it. Now, this isn't as important in eliminations, when the alliances are selected and stay together, but in quals...
Let's assume that y'all are paired with two random robots in the first match. You can handle half of the goal (or a third if it takes all three robots); one partner is a no-show because they're trying to trace something and miss their call (or their robot is still being inspected). The other partner is a Brave Little Toaster, AKA defense only (assuming the task isn't something a boxbot with no other mods can do). If that's a major goal you need to accomplish, you are stuck. And I do mean stuck. If you get lucky, your opponents are in a similar situation, so it balances out. If not, you draw two of the local powerhouses, and lose the match badly.
And, I point you to the "worth it" part. Triple balances were worth serious points in 2012; Co-op worth a lot too. The time before that that teamwork was required to accomplish the end goal--from all three robots-- was 2005: 10 points for all three robots being behind the end line. I can't recall a SINGLE instance of those 10 points being awarded. (For 2006 and 2007, a staggered point system was used: X robots in Y position worth Z points, X+1 or Y+1 worth Z+A, etc.)
Incidentally, the years and game elements that required the most coordination and cooperation tend to be some of the least-liked game elements, if not the least-liked years.
For Orion, you missed one CRITICAL element: It has to challenge the skilled veterans while still being easy enough for the rookies (and unskilled veterans, should there be any). This is a stated GDC objective. (Oh, and please don't swap the 2003 and 2004 games--it gets confusing after so many years, even for those who played them.)
Me personally? How about unlimited small balls on the robot that CANNOT be shot (preferably due to field design), but must be dumped into various goals somehow, a la 2000 or maybe 2002 (and recycling would be optional)? Or stacking traffic cones, another perennial favorite?