I'm a fan of the paper.
Being the GDC is not an easy job, anything can happen. Lunacy happened
Like every year, there are issues with this game, but most importantly I think what the GDC did (quite excellently) is create a game that evolves dramatically with a variety of strategies. This year more than ever, the strategy on the field is not always "Shut Down XXYY, and we might win the match." Yes, every game has an optimal strategy, just like in basketball, but this year has a certain amount of the “
underdog alliance could legitimately pull off an upset with this strategy” that I absolutely love it.
I think loosening of the defensive rules was a byproduct of that, allowing for more strategies. Could there be some room for improvement on the rules? Yes. Does the GDC try to influence how they want the games played through the rules? I'll let you decide that.
Should there be a safe zone? Would that not lead to checkmate type strategies? Likely. Is the human player involvement in this game unpolished? That is debatable, I think with a wall or something to limit how a human could enter the ball into play would take away one of the most unique opportunities this year - passing to a human.
But honestly, I've been around FRC for long enough to really appreciate and love the nuances that GDC gives to every year's game and this year, the element of unpredictability in the strategies is my favorite.
This game will continue to get better as teams learn to leverage that ability to their advantage.