Quote:
Originally Posted by techhelpbb
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Where I think your idea goes a step further is it seemed like you wanted to offer early play. At least in MAR we have the guts of a field without the field controls so if a venue was made available one could be the maverick and push an early stage build and play if we could just get the control system or adequate alternative.
On the scale of build a KOP robot or do nothing: I accept completely to build a KOP robot. Plus a slow build would be a great place to document cleanly.
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Some folks suggested "early play", or two-tiered play, and there definitely are successful examples of Fall (or Sunmer) competitions of varying sophistication.
However, for what I suggested for struggling and/or rookie teams, I would explicitly not include a Fall competition. Instead, I would save that part of FRC for the Spring (the current system), and would allow teams to use their (unmodified?) SimpleBots in those Spring events (they aren't forced to take it apart and start over, they get to just use it).
Why? Preparing for competitions is a distracting time-suck on many levels, and it pushes teams to go out on limbs with their robot (more risk, more churn, more uncertainty, more internal debating, more stress, more expense, more struggle, ...).
Instead, my suggestion is to spend the Fall
carefully managing the construction of a SimpleBot (that is identical to every other Fall SimpleBot). Then, after doing that once or twice, when the team is ready, they try accurately planning and building a modestly more complex bot for a regular season. Then, in the the season after that, they turn things up another notch. Lather, rinse repeat.
If the teams can keep their project management skills intact, then they can safely grow (in whatever direction they want to take) as much as their resources and ingenuity allow. But first, they have to acquire those skills and make them part of the team's soul.
Going on field trips (going to competitions) is a different activity/skill. Doing that is definitely an interesting part of FRC, but it's a different part.
Blake