[mwmac]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

I would add to the list that game pieces need to be accessible to teams of all skill levels. Having a game piece that some teams (especially rookies!) Can't effectively interact with is pretty bad, in my opinion!

I believe the game rules can either aggravate or alleviate the shortcoming that you are describing. 2015's divided field with no robot to robot interaction beyond the can wars between alliances serves as an example of a rule set that operated to reduce the effectiveness of robots with limited game piece manipulation abilities. Having a role for limited ability robots should be a key consideration for the GDC every year imo. Unlike 2015, many games from the past have at a minimum allowed some defensive role and a lesser scoring role for these robots (examples include: defensive inbound pass-blocking and shot-blocking; offensive bridge balancing in 2012; offensive low goal and passive low climb/hang in 2013; offensive assist in 2014.

By the same token, I would not want to see another game in which the role of the limited ability robot is restricted to serving as an anchor point for a piece of string. The performance floor for a limited ability robot should be reasonable, attainable and meaningful to the outcome of their matches.