Quote:
Originally Posted by JBotAlan
Think about this: FIRST leaves a loophole in the rules saying that teams may use a, for instance, radio jamming device. They are not aware of the hole. Now, a team exploits that. FIRST becomes aware that *on one occasion, a loophole was used to create a safety hazard*. Sound familiar?
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Unfortunately, this doesn't really sound familiar at all. The GDC was aware of this potential gameplay strategy since at least January 14th, when they posted a Q&A that validated this as legitimate. It was certainly no surprise to the GDC when Wildstang successfully pulled this off. To describe these events using words like "loophole" and "exploits" is just plain wrong. The GDC explicitly allowed it very early in the build season. This wasn't a goofy answer like the questions about slip rings or tube inflation... it was perhaps the most straight-forward answer I've seen on the Q&A all year. They knew what was up, they allowed it, now they don't like the outcome, and they're changing their minds midstream. This is the source of frustration for many posters in this thread.
(On a side note, trying to paint this as a safety hazard is also specious at best. There is absolutely nothing inherently less safe about being on top of a robot at the start of a match as there is about being on top of a robot in the middle of a match.)