Quote:
Originally posted by dlavery
Thank goodness - someone who has actually started to THINK about how to play the game!!!
Teams - particularly rookie teams that may not have run into this type of play in prior years - need to get used to the idea that what matters in this game is the QP score and not the "game score." Folks need to understand that decimating an opposing alliance is a BAD IDEA. Yes, you may win the match. But your QP score will be lower than a team that lets the opposing alliance get a good score (just not quite so good that they win!).
Yes, you can wipe out a high-scoring game quickly (this isn't the first time this has happened, but that is for a different discussion). But (and we have been through this discussion before, back at the beginning of the season) when teams really start to think about how the game is played they should understand that although they CAN do something, this is a game where they don't WANT to do it.
Strategy is particularly important in this game. Standard tactics focused on driving your opponent into the ground will be used by the simpletons that haven't taken the time to really think through the game and how to maximize their scores. Veteran teams should hopefully know better, and help explain this to any of their alliance partners that don't "get it."
-dave
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Y = AX^2 + B.... ehhh, whatever
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This is exactly why my team decided to go with a stacking strategy. Lowering scores does not help anyone, its a good way to win a lot of matches and still have a low standing. You want high stacks, because high stacks mean more points for everyone (expecially the winner); my team views stack destruction as a last option.
It seems to me that many teams are more focused on winning matches then the competition.
I personally doubt KOTH bots will be able to do what they set out to. Saying "We will knock the bins down into our zone, and stop robots from getting to their side of the field and we will do all this in autonomous mode" is a very ambitious claim. I still stick to my prediction that very few bots will be able outpush 2 other robots on the HDPE. The only teams I see doing this are suction-cup teams... and only if they use the suction cup to pull down adding more weight onto their wheels (and only then if the HDPE stays in good condition through the competition).
Dave: You guys made a great game. Its similar to last year in the rate at which the course of the match can change, but will appear much more dramatic. Tug of wars are great, but they are nowhere near as exciteing as teetering stacks. This will be a very dynamic game and a very fun one to watch.
As for this being the first time to wipe out a high score... your right - things could change just as quickly in 2002, but this year entire matches worth of work can be destroyed much more easily (I can't think of any robots last year that took balls out of the goals).
Good luck to everyone!
Greg