Quote:
Originally Posted by rick.oliver
Travis made a point that I hadn't considered. I am inferring from his comments, perhaps incorrectly, teams that unsuccessfully or less efficiently solve the "challenge" are having their experience diminished by discouraging defensive play. He also points out (and I agree) that there is value in being tested by defensive play during the qualification matches.
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You infer correctly.
The long term goal should always be to get better at completing the offensive challenges, but if the short term reality for a team is that their robot is better suited to play defense, then they should stand up for their right to play it in a match, taking full consideration of their partner and opponent strengths before making the decision.
Just because the seeding rules mathematically dictate that sitting there twiddling your thumbs after pressing the e-stop button or struggling to score with a malfunctioning or nonexistent system will *benefit* your seed rank; it doesn't mean that is the most enjoyable and satisfying activity for that team to tackle for a given match; regardless of what anyone else thinks they should do.
I find it odd that if the qualifying seeding system is indeed effective in determining which teams best execute the *full* game "challenge", it seems contradictory that they give out the Champion and Finalist Awards to those who successfully complete the *elimination* round game challenge, where the seeding system is thrown out the window in exchange for additional gameplay mechanics which showcase all aspects of the robot design challenge - elegance and scoring efficiency, yes, but also robustness, toughness, and the ability to remain elegant and efficient in offensive performance even under duress, when real-time strategizing and communicating among teammates becomes even more critical to a team's success.
To me, keeping the seeding system, while getting rid of 6v0 and scoring for opponent scenarios, combined with the notion that injecting more elimination-style matchups into qualifying is not the end of the world, would do well to synchronize the disconnect between qualifying and elims, and make the whole shebang a lot more sensible and enjoyable affair for all teams in the field, top to bottom, as well as the people in the seats.