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Unread 28-04-2014, 14:40
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AKA: Andy Bradley
FRC #0233 (The Pink Team)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Rookie Year: 1998
Location: Cocoa, FL
Posts: 29
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Re: Was Aerial Assist Better than Ultimate Ascent?

Although the game this year had some good points, overall it is one of the weaker games in my opinion.

A big plus for this year's game is that the smart alliances with a good strategy were rewarded. You really had to evaluate both your allies and opponents before a match. In Ultimate Ascent, a good scoring alliance could pretty much just ignore their opponents and still win, but this year a good defensive strategy could change everything. It's too bad that they nerfed the rough nature of the game though, as teams were so worried about incurring penalties that it made the game less exciting to watch. Which brings me to the real downside of this year's game...

Overloaded refs were asked to call (sometimes subjective) penalties that had a huge effect on the outcome of many matches. How hard is too hard to bump an opponent? What really defines herding or possession? It seemed to be different from event to event. How long is five seconds for pinning? Some of the amped up ref's arms flailed about like they were slinging six-shooters, much faster than five seconds and for a 50 point penalty. And how do they really know if a violation is intentional or not? To me, the hallmark of a poorly designed game is one riddled with penalties. If the GDC finds themselves throwing penalties on as band-aids, they should go back and rethink.

I guess my real departure from the way things are is philosophical; it's ok if FRC is a competition. Exhibitions with random outcomes are boring - true competition is exciting. We don't have to force cooperation or gracious professionalism. Look in any pit area and you will see a wonderful model for the world to follow. Just make a game that is simple and fun to watch (flying objects really help), and make sure that a box robot that plays good defense can affect the game. Oh, and if they really want to spice things up - add some bling. Flashing lights and cool sound effects that happen when something significant happens on the field will add depth to the experience.
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