[MooreteP]

Suffield Shakedown just wrapped up. Only about 20 teams were able to make it.
We skipped eliminations due to the start of a snow storm (again!) that was heavy to our south.

We had an official field operating on FMS lite, meaning no lights and paper scoring that actually worked pretty well. The truss is cool. Watch your head on the field. Some padding on the lower bar may be a good idea. If you don't meet the height limit, the truss was like those bars that they hang overhead at parking garages.

Many Robots in almost finished condition. Typical for a shakedown cruise. Many teams will be revising their designs over the next three days.

Notables:
263, Sachem After Shock. Good drivers, good assists.
716, Who'sCTEKS. Ri3D spinning rods for acquisition, high goal sometimes.

230, Gaelhawks. I questioned designs that used a hammer or some other weighted lever to store energy to kick the ball, but this Robot was consistently dead on. Having the ball pass through the plane of the goal during the "flat" part of the trajectory was key, though the shot could be blocked.

195, CyberKnights & 839 Rosie Robotics, had unique designs for ball handling. Neither worked too well, yet..........We may see some very interesting solutions to the ball handling problem this year. Rosie's looked like a virus. I wish I took pictures.

558 RoboSquad made a cool intake roller with the motors positioned axially inside the roller. The intake solutions are also interesting.

We had three assists with high goals happen.
Truss shots that were almost caught.
High score of 142. (No defense, cause there were no Robots on the field for the opposing alliance)
There is an interesting defensive strategy described below that may require a rules revision. Hopefully not.

My impressions after this rudimentary Beta test of the game:

- It's going to evolve more than past games over the next 8 weeks.

- Clear the field in Autonomous and get the cycle started.
If you can't guarantee disposal of the ball in autonomous or quickly in tele-op, don't bother.

- Robot to Robot passes are safer. Losing control of the ball sucks. Make your Robot a good kisser.

- The GDC hit the nail on the head when they interpreted co-opertition within an alliance this year by rewarding the "assist". Scores with assists were very valuable today.

- Good defense will become a serious issue by week two. Blocking the progression of the ball is very effective. Blocking a shot into the goal, is almost as valuable as scoring in terms of the time penalty.

- A defensive strategy that may be addressed with a rules change. (I hope not) Sequestering the opposing alliances ball between the corner of their low goal and the center of the field. It is a difficult strategy to break.
If you push them into your ball to cause possession, you get a foul. A G14 causing a G12. Both are 50 pt technical fouls. This defensive move may require two robots to pry the defender away from their ball. Like a trap in Basketball. I hope they let this play out.

- Foul calling will shift many matches. We had no fouls at Suffield Shakedown, but then, the defense wasn't developed. There is inadvertent versus intentional possession of the opposing alliances ball that will be an issue.
As defense becomes more pronounced, we will see this interpretation affect the game play, just like the NCAA and NBA where referees control the strategies and actions of the teams they oversee by the calls they make. Great sports analogy for the GDC.

- One great design. A Robot that can take in a ball on one side and shoot it out the other through the high goal without turning. Kind of like a shooting guard in basketball. They can make the shot quickly, and restart the cycle.

- Another great design. A Goalie Bot, or center (In basketball), that can get the first assist, and pass the ball to a truss bot, and then defend the opposing alliances goal. Reading the Hot goal and being able to put up some type of obstruction would be devastating to an alliance that was trying to work the autonomous advantage. Preventing autonomous success has a high time penalty for the opposing alliance to "clean up" the field.

- The third alliance member(s) would be a "power forward", that can handle the middle of the field, risk possession with a truss shot, and cause mobility issues for the opposing alliance as the try to move their ball towards their goal.

I am liking this game more and more.