[ToddF]

Our team finished working through our analysis of the game yesterday. When I came back to CD this morning I was struck by the irony of the title of the "not so secret endgame" thread. It's ironic because the end game this year is not so secret. This year, the end game is cycling. This becomes more apparent when you do cycle time analysis, adding up the time required to perform the actions in a fully scoring cycle. The overwhelming time killer is chasing uncontrolled balls around the field.

This year's game has been fiendishly designed to tempt teams to shoot for the high goals during autonomous. But at the same time, the field is designed to make successful high goal shots in auto fiendishly difficult. The robots must start in the white zone. The white line is a long way from the goal. If you've tried it, you know that a successful goal from the starting position is difficult even for a person. Most robots will need to drive forward and get closer to the goal to make that shot, stopping in just the right spot. This isn't easy. I don't expect many will be able to do so. Let's say, one in three. And if there is only one robot which can do it, putting a goalie in front of them reduces their chances further. The net result is that high goal attempts in autonomous will result in many balls that rebound, often all the way to the far side of the field.

Let's say one of the three high goal attempts in auto goes in. That leaves two balls that must be retrieved and brought back for shooting. But, where do you shoot from? There are no easy references, like a pyramid, or a key. Plus, defenders are allowed to hit you while you are shooting. So let's say 1 of the two remaining auto balls makes it. That means you get to play "go fetch" AGAIN. Alliances which are enticed into the trap of only going for high goals will be lucky to have time to complete even one "cycle", let alone multiples. They will spend all their time chasing rebounds from missed high goal attempts.

Contrast this with an alliance of low goal scorers in auto. They might come out of the first 10 seconds with a lower score, but even the balls which aren't scored are still under the robots control, and can be quickly disposed of. Then, these three robots are ready to begin cycling IMMEDIATELY. And it's the triple assist scoring cycles that really run the score up.