[JamesCH95]

I went through the following decision process:

What technologies do we have a comfortable level of experience with?
Tank - yes
Mecanum - yes
Shifting - yes
Single speed -yes
Slide/H/octanum - no
Swerve - no

Advantages synergistic with proposed play style?
Mecanum - translation, non-rocking base of support
Tank - non-rocking base of support, (arguably) lower weight
Shifting - none, divided field means acceleration in short runs will be most important feature
Single speed - lightness, simplicity, low cost, with so many motors available we can add power until we like the performance

Since mecanum's classic disadvantages aren't a serious issue with recent upgrades from mecanum wheel makers and the lack of robot-robot defensive play (at least in my humble opinion) mecanum, with single-speed transmissions, won out for us. YRMV given different team experiences or preferences.

We already have a prototype mecanum drive slapped together to get the programmers and drivers practicing!