Quote:
Originally Posted by Wayne C.
Agreed- but define good.
My definition-
1. sturdy
2. wide enough to allow a sloppy fast entrance
3. durable enough to stay retracted in regular play and not accidentally deploy in mid field
4. well trained team who knows when to deploy and when not to
Observation- if your team is putting up the 7th or 8th in a ring a ramp bot deflecting a spoiler beats the 60 points
WC  |
I agree with Wayne.
We designed for defense first, ramp second, auto. third, and no ringers.
1. Sturdy - Drive train is key!!! You must be able to support your team during the match. Strong, fast and maneuverable.
Result for us: Four cims x 8 wheels. Stripped gears in both right side gear boxes in match 5 and fixed by match 7. Besides that, the feedback was that we dominated as a defender. We were picked up in the first round by the 8 seed for that skill.
2. Wide enough for a sloppy and fast entrance - This was painfully evident when we had only 1.5" on each side of our bumpers to make it onto the RoboWizards ramp. Over 2 matches we made like 8 runs at it and only made it up once. They informed us that they plan to upgrade this at NYC.
Result for us: We had a 40" wide expanding ramp at a 16 degree angle, poor luck leaves it mostly untested in competition. Too many teams couldn't or wouldn't even try. The two ramps we triet to get up were too narrow for us with a 24" track + bumpers.
3. durable enough to stay retracted in regular play and not accidentally deploy in mid field- It is devastating when this happens.
Result for us: The excessive contact while playing strong defense caused our ramp to deploy in the field more than once. We under estimated the forces generated. Even after a solid latch was installed (we had none before)and tested, our team was so shell-shocked they wanted to tie the ramp down during elimination matches to prevent another accident.
4. well trained team who knows when to deploy and when not to - This is easier in the qual rounds and critical in the eliminations.
I feel that a good rampbot is essential for a couple of reasons.
1. If they can play good defense, they can neutralize a top scoring team for the time that they are on them. During this time their partners need to place ringers in specific locations that will prevent the top team from running up the score (ie. positions 1 and 5 on the middle row) while the ramp is deploying.
2. The rampbot has the option of trying to stop a spoiler or preventing more ringers.
3. In a close game if the other alliance has a ramp and you do not, then you have a big problem.
I found out that our 8th seed alliance captain made a mistake and selected two defending rampbots instead of a ramp and a ringer. Big Mistake. Don't try that strategy unless you can score a lot by your self.
The biggest downside of being a rampbot is that you are really at the mercy of your alliance partners. If they can't score well or can't ramp you, then you are really out of luck.