[marshall]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Yes, I know "Start Build Day" is actually called Kickoff.

This is an idea that's been kicking around in my head for a while. I had intended to create a post during the "Eliminate Stop Build Day" discussions that had occurred recently, but never got around to making a post that said what I wanted to say in the way I wanted to say it. Inspired in part by this thread, I invite a full blown discussion of when the new game should be revealed and what teams should be allowed to do prior to the game reveal.


Much of the discussion revolving around the elimination of stop build day revolves around giving teams more access to their machines. Why is stop build day the only artificial date being examined? There's also an artificial start date. Should teams be allowed to use components they fabricated or designed prior to kickoff? Should the game be revealed earlier in the school year?

One of the parallels often drawn in other discussions were to the lack of Stop Build Day in FTC and VRC. However, these programs also have differing views of Kickoff (both from FRC and one another). Both programs have more than six weeks between game reveal and the initial qualifying events (and for some teams, massively more than that). Both programs have a much much larger window between game reveal and the conclusion of the competition season (in the case of VRC, the next game is revealed during the Championship event, meaning there's an active game 365 days of the year). Perhaps someone with a better nuts and bolts knowledge of these programs can offer perspectives on their rules allowing reuse of parts or designs.


So, is January the ideal time for kickoff? Can team experiences and/or performance be improved by adjusting the kickoff date? By relaxing the kickoff requirements?

I'm pretty convinced you're trolling with this and I say that because you ask the following questions which are obviously slanted in one direction:

Why is stop build day the only artificial date being examined?

It's hardly the only date that's been talked about. Just the one that's mostly talked about on CD. I know I've had some conversations about start build day with people from FIRST (specifically one of the game designers) as well as with other mentors in the community, particularly those who mentor FLL and FTC teams internationally. The conclusion has always been it's harder to move the start time because of the number of levers and knobs that need to be adjusted to make it happen. Stop build on the other hand... that's not all that hard to get rid of... just remove the bags and ties.

Should teams be allowed to use components they fabricated or designed prior to kickoff?

Teams can already use components designed prior to kickoff and many of them do, not to mention code re-use. You know this... I know you know this, I've seen you comment in design threads.

Now, that being said, I'm totally down with ditching start build day or moving it earlier in the preceding year or moving the entire FRC season to be better suited to more schools, particularly European schools. There is a reason we don't see a lot of Euro FRC teams and it has to do with scheduling from the handful (admittedly a small number) of folks I've talked to about it.

I think this fits with the FRC goals of expanding access to more teams and all that jazz.

The one caveat is that the game needs to be "fully baked" before being released... or at least as fully baked as they are currently. FRC HQ would need to re-vamp their schedule to make that happen and that is no small feat. Yet again pointing to removing stop build day as the more easily removed artificial barrier.