[thefro526]

Lunacy is Epic.

It is by far the most challenging game I've ever driven in or watched. (I've driven in Aim High, Rack 'N Roll and Overdrive). We've found a lot of things to be true and many others to be false. Perhaps many of you should rethink your strategies.

On the Hardware end:

1) In NJ we (all the teams) were having major static issues. It was recommended Saturday morning that we attach a length of Chain to our Robot by the People on the field to reduce static. A piece of wire or other metal will work just fine also.

2) Make Sure your firmware is up to date. You don't want to be the team that can't connect to the field.

3) Be nice to your Ethernet Ports! If possible have one Port used primary for tethering and have one for on field usage. We had two instances where we were temporarily dropped from the field because our Ethernet Port is shoty.

4) Don't Bury you radio! Some teams had their radios buried, not only is this bad for Comms but it's also bad for debugging.

5) Be patient with the field. It's new, give the people running it a break. If you have a serious issue then bring it to the Head Ref or FTA, they will be more than happy to help or find some one to help.

Now, Onto the Game end of things.

1) Keep Moving. A dead robot is an easy robot to score on. If you know your robot isn't going to move in a match DO NOT PUT IT IN THE CENTER! That is by far the easiest spot for HP's to score from, trust me - We filled a trailer from there... In Auto.

2) Be careful with Traction Control. Don't become so reliant on it that you're limited to 4-5 FPS. There are robots that can do in excess of 9FPS, and it's epic.

3) Learn how to pin on the fly. Not every type of Pin requires a wall. Sometimes your robot can act as the "wall" and other times your opponent will act as the "wall".

4) Control a trailer and you control the bot. In most cases if you can push a trailer in a direction you can knock a robot off course. It takes some practice but be creative, you can do it.

5) A good HP is your best friend. Our HP was great, and he won us a lot of matches.

6) They are enforcing G14. In qauls they'll only punish the offending team. So if when we tripled the score our HP lost both of his Super Cells for the next match.

7) A good Auto will win you matches. You don't have score, just move. A good place to start is by driving 10 feet out and spinning. Even the Best HP's can only get 1 in every 4-5 balls in.

8) Picking up off the floor is KEY. If you're HP loaded only you'll need to be paying close attention to other robots, you're an easy target for them.

9) Super Cells win matches. Don't Miss them.

On a personal note, I found this first week to be one of the most fun experiences in my time in FIRST. Lunacy is fast paced and a fun game but it takes some skill and a lot of luck to win. A good robot will not win you a Regional. Teamwork, Good Driving, and Good Decisions win Regionals this year.

-TheFro Out.

I'll have more, after I get some sleep.