Posted by Joe Ross at 1/16/2001 12:55 AM EST
Engineer on team #330, Beach Bot 2001, from Hope Chapel Academy and NASA/JPL and J&F Machine.
In Reply to: FIRST giveth and FIRST taketh away.
Posted by nick237 on 1/15/2001 11:51 PM EST:
While I don't like the fact that FIRST has changed the rules on us, I do feel that they have addressed some serious flaws
:Up untill yesterday we had a 1.5 x doubler if an alliance stoped the clock prior to the last second, now you have to do it prior to 15 seconds or you get just x 1.0.
This adds a little bit more to the strategy element. Before the rules change everyone would automatically get the 1.5x because they would end the match with 1 second left. Now it actually takes a little work to get that reward.
: Next they said that a robot did not have to be on the stretcher to be in a game as long as they submited their coupon, Now they list what is the minimum that would be considered a robot and that this minimum must be on the cart to play, if your not there you get ZERO. The minimum is the whole robot......
I do not consider this a rule change except for the fact that if you don't show, you get a zero. The way that I read the new rules GM25 and SC11 are that you can still turn in a stretcher coupon and not have a robot on the stretcher. Rule GM25 only fdefines what you must on the stretcher to be considered a robot for scoring purposes.
SC11 is the only change and the only time it should affect you is if your whole team misses a match. Even if you don't have a robot, you can still send a team member to the field and get your points.
: There is a new print due out today or in the morning, the new print will address all the new and correct sizes and placements, assuming they have not made the new field round and changed the ramp into a 20' wide pit filled with burning lava and spewing large bolders into the air.
You think they might do this! cool! Spewing lava is the best!
The most significant rule change that I have seen is the double switch on the use on suction cups. By now it is probably to late for a serious team to redesign their robot to use suction cups.
Joe Ross
Beach Bot, Team 330