Thread: Robot Diversity
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Unread 05-04-2010, 13:32
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Re: Robot Diversity

to me bumpers totally kill the game and design.

Teams really don't have to focus on building a strong frame because the bumpers dampen the majority of the force. My first year with FIRST was '05 when there were no bumpers, and subsequent years '06 and '07 they were optional. I thought it was really cool coming back from atlanta seeing all the scars, dents, etc. on the 'bot. Plus when new kids came to look at it they's say "Oh wow that rod is really bent" and I could then reply "Yeah, we got that when...." New students could see that these things actually compete (gives a little battlebots feel) and take damage. Bumpers may have made sense in '08 when teams were flying around at super high speeds, and maybe '09 before they realized teams wouldn't be moving very fast, but what part of this years game makes bumpers needed?

Now I see a purpose of bumpers as a design requirement that you must design around, just like real life. I just think they make everyone look the same, especially this year when everyone is either red or blue bumpers.

Now I guess back to robot diversity, this years game really couldn't be more diverse. Its soccer, you either kick or push or hang. Because the goals are low, anyone can play defense. Sure there are different ways to kick a ball but in the end you're still kicking a ball. Hanging is probably the most unique because everyone has a different way of doing it and that can be seen from the stands.

Looking back at other years in terms of diversity,
'04- probalily the most since there were so many different things a team could do
'05- very little overall, just different ways of lifting a tetra
'06- high shooters or low shooters or defense
'07- quite a bit since teams were working with an odd game piece
'08- good amount either lift over, shoot, or drive really fast
'09- the use of fans made this a diverse year
'10- imo the least diverse, and from an onlookers standpoint it makes teams difficult to pick out (unless they hang that is) when they have the same bumpers and change between red/blue.

i no this is again off subject but i would like to see a game where there are a lot of things an alliance can do to score, but they must assess the strengths of their alliance to determine which tasks they should tackle. This would make it nearly impossible for one team to do everything great (shoot well and hang for example) they would actually have to rely on alliance partners to handle the other tasks. just my $0.02
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