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Originally Posted by Ken Patton
1. Is it okay for a team to pull parts from a still-competing robot to keep another still-competing robot running?
2. Is it okay for a team to pull parts from an eliminated robot to keep another still-competing robot running?
2. Is it okay for a team to pull parts from the 25 lb of spares brought in by another team? Whose 25 lb is it then?
4. Is it okay for N teams with clones to pre-plan their 25 lbs of spares so that they each have essentially 25*N lbs of spares to work with should one of the teams need them?
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I'd be game for items two through four--that's just good planning. But a still-competing robot? I could see a bit of an issue with the first item, though. Suppose Redateam creates two rookies in a Tripletesque arrangement, then finds themselves at the first question. What do the rookie teams do--bite the hand that feeds them? Ideally, the rookie team would keep themselves in one piece (going back to what Dave said last season about being legal and graciously professional, but still dumb), but I've always been a fan of clarity in the manual as to what FIRST is looking for.
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Originally Posted by TimCraig
Well, not all teams have exactly the same resources. And we know the way the team alliances are going to be formed. The teams who already have the most resources are going to be the ones getting together leaving everyone else that much further behind. Why have any limitations at all? Why not let the rich teams spend as much as they like? There are already ways to get around the $3500 limit anyhow. Should the lesson of FIRST be that money is all it's about? Maybe life isn't fair but should the competition be made that lop sided?
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The Triplets in 2005 consisted of one pretty successful team and two rookies. The Martians/More Martians collaboration this year was between another successful team and a team lost its mentor. 968, who collaborated with 254 and made it all the way to the last match on Einstein this year, initially planned only to attend their local regional. While you may still have successful teams collaborating in part (Division by Chickens, 2005) or in whole (254/60, 2004, or 254/22, 2005), it seems like the more recent trend is for one successful team to help bring up a new or improving team. If the arrangement works well for them, more power to 'em.
As for the ways to get around the $3500 limit, I'm sure they're out there. But what team in FIRST is really willing to risk their reputation to get that edge? Parts-swapping across teams is one thing, intentionally subverting a clear rule in the manual is another.
What should the lesson of FIRST (or, since we seem to be talking exclusively about robots, the robot-building part of FIRST) be? Work within your resources to build the most effective machine that you can--and, at the same time, work to increase those resources.