1. Here is an easy way to make stacking more valuable:
Multiply the height of the stack by the number of bins in the stack and the number of bins in the color carpeted area. That way a stack of five would be worth 5*5=25 (same as a robot on the ramp) by itself and the other bins would just be a bonus
. Opponents will of often clear the bins out of ur zone while u defend/build a stack. I think it is asking too much of a robot to build/defend a stack and defend all the bins in their zone too. It also would lessen the impact of autonomous on the game since a lower number of bins on ur side could be easily overcome with a higher stack (this should make user mode more exciting).
I always thought it was stupid to exclude the bins in the stack from the multiplier. An example of how ludicrous this scoring policy is: If have a stack of 5 but no other bins in ur area it is worth zero points (5*0=0).
I thought this years game was intended to be easy to understand and score on the fly. That is rather hard to explain to a spectator (5=0). The current scoring system seems like something my math prof would give us for HW
. Try to think about this problem during the heat of competition:
Maximize the function f(x,h) = h * (x-h) where h is the height of the stack and x is the number of bins in your colored area which varies based on autonomous ability and bin pushing ability.
The new scoring function would be simple (f(x,h)= x * h), and its maximum will always be x = h. So keep stacking, it cant hurt. Go for the ultra high score of 2025 with a stack of 45 (45*45=2025)
. Achieving this nearly impossible task used to be worth 0
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2.
Also to decrease the effect of "descoring" by pushing bins into the gray area by counting bins and stacks in the gray area by the alliance stations as if they were in the colored area (which is small). Then only neutral area for bins would be the ramp (which is huge) and the robot starting areas (hard to fit bins there). I dont think any team really likes "descoring" even if their bot is really good at it. At PARC, our exciting Qualifying Round against 25 ended up with a whopping 9-9 tie cause both sides just tried to reduce the other's score. Every bot in that match fought hard but only got 18 QPs. Also stack defense would be easier if human players could put their stack in the corner braced by the alliance station. This would make any scoring changes that favor stacking more fair, because bots that cant stack could still easily reap the benefits of stacking thru their HP stacks.