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Originally Posted by sanddrag
I haven't read the whole thread but I will say this. I believe the new system in theory levels the playing field more and makes for more exciting and fair matches.
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The serpentine draft does not significantly "level the field" so long as the top eight seeds are allowed to select each other.
In an average sized regional, you can expect to find about 2 or 3 "spectacular" robots, another 10 or so will be very good, and then you will have a larger collection of good robots. By allowing the top eight seeds to select each other, FIRST lets the best robots pair up forming alliances that are significantly better than their opponents. Allowing the top eight teams to pair up is the basis of the "Red" advantage in the playoffs.
Imagine having to go against 2 team 25's this year. It almost doesn't matter who the "good" robot is that represents the third part of the alliance, the combination of the 2 spectacular teams should win 80 - 90% of the time.
If FIRST really wanted to "level the field" they need to be separating the higher performing robots from forming alliances. Separating the 17th to 24th best robots by reverse selection does almost nothing to "level" it.
DISCLAIMER: This post is not intended to belittle the contributions of any alliance members, or to overevaluate the capabilities of team 25 (if that is possible this year
). It is meant to illustrate that FIRST missed the mark if they truly intend to make alliances level.