please, PLEASE don't turn this into yet
another water game thread!!!
No, the water's not going to happen for years to come.
Several things that I did want to point out:
-In the thread Elgin Clock created, dlavery (head of the game comitee) posted links ot all sorts of things. Everyone looked literally at what he was posting, but not what they all had in common : air. They were all inflatable, or used air to temporarily "inflate" them. Also, dlavery never denied or adressed Elgin's theory on the 55 gallon drums. If he got it right, don't you think that they would probably just ignore it, change the subject, or attempt a sidetrack? It seems that may have been what dlavery was up to. Or he just really enjoys inflatable tanks. who knows.
But for those guessing that the field will change shape/size, I wouldn't count on it. FIRST just put out some major $$$ a few years ago to get (22?) permanent fields made, and they're not about to scrap all that.
So, if it's the same size/shape, it would also be difficult to house more than 4 robots. That's NOT to say it will be 2v2 (though my guess is that that will stick).
Auto mode is back. This has been confirmed by loads of sources. When and where, we don't know. If you want a little proof, scan through the default edu code til you hit the autonomous mode variable. It's still there, and so is the pinouts for the OI, still containing an auto switch. Many people have expressed ideas of scattering auto mode around to different times within the match, or for different lengths. My guess is that since this os only the second year it's being implemented, it will remain at the beginning. If anything changes, they'll shorten the time to 10 seconds, but I wouldn't entirely count on it.
A KOTH "positioning" type scoring method has a good chance of getting back in too. We've had it for a few years now, and it gives those rookies who only have a driving bot an alternate scoring method. As for where the robots will be starting, that's a great question. Before, it has been right in front of the drivers. This past year, we had to work with it being across the ramp.
We'll just have to wait and see.