Quote:
Originally Posted by iCurtis
Indeed, I followed the flowchart, and Flighsticks are ILLEGAL based upon current FRC rules. So unless I'm missing something, we are now limited to essentially the joysticks we get in the kit, make ourselves, or the USB ones we hook up with the Chicklet, as I can't find a vendor of gameport joysticks. The manual makes no exclusions for the Operator Console, other than it is not included in the volume and weight of the robot, and we don't need to account costs for it.
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I have so much trouble thinking that this is the intent of the rule, but that is definitely how it reads. I can't imagine that they would want to effectively ban every gameport controller except for the KOP sticks. If this holds up, don't expect to see more steering wheels than you can count on one hand this year. I don't figure that very many teams will be shelling out $200+ for a Chicklet and a USB wheel. I always kind of liked how they treated the OI differently from the robot, and allowed teams to go nuts. Pick up some old sticks from eBay, add some cathodes, work on it after the ship date, don't account for it. I hope the Q&A will give us a reprieve. Otherwise, expect a lot of cookie-cutter OIs from everyone but the wealthiest. Also expect a lot of teams to not figure this out ahead of time and be furiously searching for KOP sticks and redoing their OI on Thursday of their first regional. That's not how it ought to be.