[Boltman]

Originally Posted by Nuwanda

This is my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. I think there are two different types of 'advertising'. Going to a team's pit ten minutes before alliance selection and asking them to pick you doesn't work. Most people will just be annoyed by it. Even explaining all your good qualities can still turn off a lot of teams. However, if you go to a team while qualifying matches are still being played, explain the feature that you think would be a good fit for their alliance, and show that strategy in a match (or several), that will go over much better. I was talking to my friend from another team about a pick I didn't understand and their explanation was that this team had gone out of their way to show a versatility in strategy that aligned with what they were looking for. You can't just say that you can do something, you have to show it and make sure they see it. That is the most successful way of 'advertising' yourself.

I think the optimum time to advertise is when doors open prior to matches on Day 2, that is usually our routine if we are not high enough to be captain. I want us to be on their radar (and get their eyes on us) the rest of Day 2 and we go about 12-13 deep and out of those 12-13 teams we probably contact three or four that compliment us. If we are captain its pretty much the same process , just knowing you hold the cards. Even so you want to be paired with the best team that WANTS to be with you and compliments you. You want the best chance to succeed.

Then rest of the day we just play ball and our scouts watch all potential captains for strengths and weaknesses for later in the day elimination matches and work on elimination game plans.

6 week build is all about building a capable bot that is the best at something (be rare) .

In each regional...

Day 1 is all about ranking high (we aim for top 20% to be in that prime pick area rank 12 or lower I'm happy) and winning your matches to give teams a night to pour over the data and watch videos of all pick worthy teams. We also make a minimum top 20-28 pick list and verify it on day 2.

Day 2 is all about ranking your self honestly "as an impartial scout" and making sure higher teams also know about you that you desire to play with. First thing that morning. Remember if you are Captain 5,6,7 or 8 you KNOW you have your work cut out for you to win that regional...so a non-captain team that comes to you with a plausible winning plan and deep pick list can be just the ticket and make your day.

We made alliance captain 8 and our 3rd bot VERY VERY HAPPY when we as a potentially very strong alliance 8 took down alliance 1 handily in 2 games..that bodes well for our future.... its all about building those longer term partnerships for future seasons and remissness about previous seasons . Good will goes a long way our list of love to go to eliminations teams grows every year. Main thing is to have fun..it is fun...and never be the weak link. Hold yourself accountable.

My scouts look for two things.... "consistency and reliability" because in eliminations any weakness get exposed