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Originally Posted by Ben Lauer
The penalties are excellent. When you were presented with the game, you were given rules. And it was your task to design and build a robot that could complete the task and play the game. You knew what penalties would be given for, and you cannot expect them to be lenient because they are hard to follow. You have to design a robot and control system that can adapt to change and be able to stay out of trouble. If your team keeps breaking rules and receives penalties then it is not because the rules are hard to follow, it is because your design was not developed to enough to easily follow them.
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When we were presented the game and given the rules we did not know what penalties would be given for. In the origina rules, <G15> (the rule concerning interference in a loading zone) was not nearly as specific as it needed to be in order for teams to form strategies. Then Update 4 gave examples to help clarify what would constitute a penalty and teams formed strategies around them. Then Update 15 (posted after the first weekend of regionals) redefined the rule again, contradicting at least one of the examples from Update 4:
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Update 4:
Example 6
Robot "RED01" is in the red alliance loading zone, is already loaded with a tetra, and is waiting for a path to clear to the center goal before moving in to the rest of the field. Robot "BLUE01" approaches the loading zone, and blocks RED01’s attempts to leave the loading zone and score on the center goal. The robots come into contact several times while BLUE01 blocks RED01. No penalty is assessed to either alliance, provided BLUE01 acts within the limitations of <G21> that prohibit pinning for more than 10 seconds. RED01 is not retrieving a tetra, so no violation of <G15> has occurred.
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Quote:
Update 15:
The process of receiving/retrieving a TETRA is completed when the robot leaves the LOADING ZONE.
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I understand that the penalties are necessary for safety, and I don't believe that they are too high. What I do believe is too high is the frequency at which they are called. I understand that bumping a robot while a human player is reaching inside it to place a tetra is a major safety hazard, and well worth a 30-point penalty. But I don't understand how one wheel of a robot rolling over the loading zone during a pushing battle, with the human player safely on the pressure pad, is worth a 30-point penalty. In my opinion, FIRST is ignoring the spirit of the rule and put most teams defensive strategies at a major disadvantage.