Did FIRST underestimate us?

[zc923]

I it just me, or does it seem as though the stacking tetra thing was not fully thaught out. It became apparent at the NJ regional that the robots could stack 8 tetras on a goal. The reason I bring this up is how the tetras begin to tip over and fall off the goals.

[sanddrag]

Aside from tetras falling off a goal, I think it is a good thing that large stacks are being made. In 2003 we had a stacking game called "Stack Attack" and pretty much no one stacked because all the stacks were well, attacked (and they were very unstable). There were no rules against descoring. You are correct in saying that many more tetras are being stacked that previously thought by most. Personally, I love it!

[tkwetzel]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Aside from tetras falling off a goal, I think it is a good thing that large stacks are being made. In 2003 we had a stacking game called "Stack Attack" and pretty much no one stacked because all the stacks were well, attacked (and they were very unstable). There were no rules against descoring. You are correct in saying that many more tetras are being stacked that previously thought by most. Personally, I love it!

Hmm....idea just clicked in my head...play stack attack again...but replace the bins with tetras...the game would completely change. The robots would need to be different, the strategy would need to be different, and the game would be different. I think it would be awesome, any other thoughts?

[JDFirefox11]

Originally Posted by tkwetzel

Hmm....idea just clicked in my head...play stack attack again...but replace the bins with tetras...the game would completely change. The robots would need to be different, the strategy would need to be different, and the game would be different. I think it would be awesome, any other thoughts?

I don't think much would change other than the arm to grab the tetras. I mean the basic idea of the game pretty much remains the same. But then again I wasn't the biggest fan of Stack Attack becuase it just seemed so easy to push a stack off the red or blue carpet onto the grey neutral area. But hey, thats just me

[Tiki]

FIRST didn't underestimate anyone, the collaplsing tetras was just another challenge added, perhaps on purpose, perhaps not. It added an element of suspense to the game, when a huge stack of tetras would be about to fall, could the robot push it back up? If not, too bad, if so, good.
I still don't like this game's setup though, its still not suspenseful enough, like none of that element of "could it do the task by the end of the game?" stuff.
Although I am still only a freshman, I know what I'm talking about, I attended the Brunswick eruption and the spbli pre season thing and my team won both of them.

[Elgin Clock]

In stacking tetra's I don't think FIRST ever tries and underestimate us. They posed a challenge, and teams have stepped up to the proverbial plate and accepted that challenge.


As for the CMU Cam.. I don't know how to react to that.. It is kind of sad that only 2 teams have capped in autonomous mode this year so far.
edit: Hopefully the camera will be included in next year's kit as well, and more teams will try it. I think it really is a great element in the robot design phase, and I hope to see it again next year and used by more teams.

But, the same thing happened with the gyro in 2001. Only some teams made it work successfully to their advantage and most didn't even try it.

[Wayne C.]

Since we have few to nobody using the cameras and stacking vision tetras I think the opposite is probably the case.....

WC

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Wayne C.

Since we have few to nobody using the cameras and stacking vision tetras I think the opposite is probably the case.....

WC

I think our team would have used the camera if we had six months to perfect it, not six weeks. Our build time is approx. 150 hours. I wonder how many hours this year's game designers spent on the camera functions? The camera is a great idea, but FIRST is not going to come out and say the camera will be in the 2006 kit. This would give the vets a huge advantage.

[KenWittlief]

remember, if you put the last tetra on a stack, and it falls over, YOU descored your points, but the other teams points and ownership remain in effect.

challenge? how high do you wanna stack?

[Dorienne]

Anything is capable of happening in FIRST. They know by now not to underestimate us. Like Tiki said, it's an extra little unsaid challenge they are giving us. C'mon, you gotta' have some surprises...that's what FIRST challenges are all about! =D

[BandChick]

FIRST didn't underestimate us. If they had, every match would be high scores over one hundred. It would be perfect split of rows between blue and red. Each robot would successfully make it back EVERY match for the ten point bonus. There's so many possibilities, it's impossible to catch every one.

[Mike33]

i dont think FIRST underestimated us. There are still imperfections. plus not many teams can stack that high. but when they are that high and it tips over, it kinda looks like slinkey if they fall over the right way.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Rod

I think our team would have used the camera if we had six months to perfect it, not six weeks. Our build time is approx. 150 hours. I wonder how many hours this year's game designers spent on the camera functions? The camera is a great idea, but FIRST is not going to come out and say the camera will be in the 2006 kit. This would give the vets a huge advantage.

Not sure what your saying here... you build your robot in 150 hours?

Why not put it in the 2006 kit? If you know how to use it, all the better to you. If not, they'll probably put an alternative in (banner sensors, IR, etc.)

[Paul Copioli]

No way. They did not underestimate us. The consistently dynamic way the tetras fail is awesome. When there is more than a few tetras on a goal and one begins to "peel away", they all peel away. It is so cool. At FLR we called it the "slinky". I announced at Great Lakes and must have used that term 10 times. I bet the Game design Committee tested how the stack falls over and once they discovered the failure mode, it sealed the deal for the tetra.

-Paul

[JohnnyB]

I don't think FIRST underestimated us. I think its part of the game to be stable and steady enough to stack very high. If you can't stack 8+ tetras on a goal without it falling over on the ninth, consider yourself beat.

At Detroit this past weekend, we won 2 elimination matches that way. We were stacking back and forth so high on the center that the opponents would go up to stack it and would end up knocking it off. Very entertaining to watch, as each tetra falls off one at a time in a slinky fashion.