Lets go through the season
Early Game Announcement:
I really liked this, no trying to figure out vague hints, releasing the standard dimensions early was a nice touch and gave something cool for teams to make before the stress of the season. Keep it up
Game Announcement/Kickoff:
Kickoff was much better than last year, especially the skits were funny in that we were laughing along instead of groaning which they could have caused.
Build Season:
We had no major game strategy changes this year, and the rules were straight forward from day 1. We had little issues compared to most teams acquiring what we needed to build the robot we wanted, but we also changed our design based on available materials, just like in the real world.
Palmetto Regional:
I am going to quote myself real quick:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MARS_James
I do not like week 1's. I said it.
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I am eating my words here. Palmetto was
amazing. I have never liked an event so much right from the start. Venue is now my second favorite FIRST venue of all time (Lawrence North is my favorite btw). Great parking, no traffic issues, clean, good seating,
great food especially for the value. The volunteers were amazing, did all they could to make teams enjoy themselves. If you have never gone to the Palmetto Regional, do it. I can not praise this event more as the testing ground for this years game and the new standard I will hold regionals to.
Orlando Regional:
So I decided to finally volunteer at an official FRC event wanted to referee at Orlando but it was full so I did field reset instead. Volunteering may have been the most rewarding part of my season. If Palmetto is what I am going to hold events to as a competitor/spectator Orlando will be what I hold volunteers to. Everyone at the event worked to make the event as enjoyable as possible and every time we fell behind schedule or something went wrong, everyone worked to correct it. I want to thank everyone who made my first FRC Volunteering experience worth it, I am going to follow the examples of many of my friends in FIRST both on here and locally and start volunteering a lot more.
Rocket City Regional:
Good first showing from the crew in Huntsville, credit to running an event with so little teams in the state to offer help. It was a good event with a lot to do around it despite some worry that all there would be is the Space Center we had fun and would go back.
South Florida Regional:
New venue is better in terms of expense for the teams, and accessibility. I had a lot of issue with the event as highlighted in the other thread.
Championship:
Best video production in champs history, field video was full field and high quality. We had Einstein and closing ceremonies on the same half of the field. Watch FIRST Live was amazing, I am interested in how it will work at TwoChamps but I hope they find a way.
Stronghold as a Game:
I
Loved
This
Game
Strategy, defense, "protected" zones, the theme, the game design, the field being much stronger then expected, adding a wrinkle to the standard "acquire game piece, score game piece" way of FIRST games.
And this is my most important criteria for a game, moments. This game from the first match I watched at Palmetto, to the last on Einstein, had moments that will be remembered. The only moment I remember from last year was 254's unfortunate accident in quarters. This year we have so much more: 330's acrobatics, 254 and 25 showing that a broken robot will not stop a capture if one is determined enough, 2056 going the way of The Undertaker and having the streak broken, and a personal one for me 1065. 1065 Moose finally won a regional, to teams not from Florida that may not sound like much but one of my favorite FIRST moments will be looking at the kids wearing Moose shirts when they won the South Florida Regional, it meant the world to them, and that is one of my favorite moments despite my team being the one they beat. 1065 would go on to win their division, so in the same year they got their first regional and division wins. What I am getting to with Moose is it was moments like this that I felt we were missing from last year, not just amazing plays but also stories.
FIRST Thank You, last year was a major low point for me. I had many personal issues that went along side Recycle Rush that made me question my future involvement with FRC and FIRST as a whole. This season brought me back, I can not say how happy I am that I gave FIRST another shot. FIRST don't make me regret saying this but you appear to be on an upswing, last year I said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MARS_James
Please don't let Recycle Rush and the entire 2015 season be a sign of things to come, let it just be a small bump in the road to a much greater future.
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This year I say don't let Stronghold be a fluke, let it be the start to that greater future.