[galewind]

You know, my initial response was definitely one of "What the heck is this?"

But once again, my brain started swirling, and just like every year, I have one of those "Magic Eye" moments.... you know, how you start to see the cool little 3d image through all the static that's right in front of your face?

The solution to FIRST challenges should never be about coming up with the "l33t drive trainx0rz to pwn all teh newbz who try to play the game". It isn't about trying to come up with loopholes to the rules. The amount of "hawt robot on robot action" is not what we should gauge our opinions of the game design on.

In years past, rookie teams, or teams without resources, that were unsuccessful at making a manipulator would make wonderful alliance opponents, because you knew that robots without a solid means to participate would be minor nuisances at best.

In this year's game, they've CONSIDERABLY raised the difficulty of the challenge, while simultaneously raising the accessibility factor of the game to less-experienced or less-technical teams. These little bots can now be a factor in the scoring of the game, and can continue to play both an offensive and defensive role with a half-working machine (even if its a team who had a manipulator that broke during practice rounds).

The real challenge for the veteran teams is to maximize their score potential through a more carefully thought out hybrid period, and by consistently being able to maximize every scoring opportunity they can. An let me tell you, I can't WAIT to dig into that IR board.

I honestly wonder at this point whether or not this game will get a bit more boring to watch as the season progresses, but it's too early to tell.

One suggestion I would make to all teams is to try to build part of an overpass and place a fully-inflated trackball on it before trying to come to any conclusions about the game. I'm impressed at the challenge, and am looking forward to it.

I think that FIRST did something magical by taking this a step in a different direction. Woodie made it pretty clear that as a FIRST team this year, it's your job to embrace the spirit of the challenge, and to understand that the magic in a competition isn't finding creative ways to make an opponent lose, but finding even more creative ways for you to win. Doing things the same way over and over will eventually cause it to lose its magic, and while I don't always take kindly to a change like this at first, I eventually adapt and drink the kool-aid.

So there's my rant for the 2008 season. Geez, and its only the first school day after kickoff! That didn't take too long!

Good luck everyone!