I just want to offer my own, unaffiliated opinion and say that I support Ri3D's choice to continue with the full build, just as I have approved of its existence all along. I think there is likely a pretty silent majority (or at least a sizable minority) of FRCers who appreciate the good that Ri3D has brought to the competitions the last two years. Some, of course, choose to take the work they see the Ri3D teams do and base their designs heavily off that. Some use the knowledge to inform their prototyping, aim for or steer away from certain design aspects, and end up with robots that no one would accuse of being "Ri3D copies." Still others are just thankful that the level of play has gone up at their competitions, and that they less frequently run into alliance members who can't contribute to their matches at all.
Look around CD. Every time someone makes an angry or slanderous post about the best teams, the community's constructive criticism is "don't try to bring the top down, focus on bringing the bottom up." Ri3D has had more far-reaching impact to that effect than any other institution in recent memory, but this point seems to get lost in the shuffle. For this, much praise is due, and I think their legacy should acknowledge that more than the blowback they've received.
As a side note, for an analysis of the "killing creativity" claim, check out
the very good post that Chris is me made in another thread.