[EricH]

Originally Posted by iCurtis

IMHO it is best to, by the time you have walked out of your first meeting of season, acknowledge what you want your robot to do. Pick say 2 or 3 very important things, and say "we WILL do these well!". For example this year, you could have said, our robot will shoot balls, make it up the ramp, and collect from the floor. Three achievable, quantifiable goals. If you walk out saying we will be incredibly good at everything, you'll probably end up not getting as far as team who picks a few things and excels at them.

I said they were guidelines. They are not hard and fast. And you do not normally want to decide on Day 1 exactly what you want your robot to do. Play the game for a day or two. Try all aspects. Then come up with requirements and a design, following the KISS principle. Don't try to do everything, particularly if you are new. And remember, there is always room for improvement, as long as it is small. (330's 2004 and 2005 'bots are prime examples.) In this case, a full hopper is a bit much (complete redesign), but a backstop or net (added) would probably be fine.