2012 Match Initial Observations

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Ian Curtis

I disagree. We won a regional ramp camping in 2006, and in ATL still did well enough to seed in the top 8. We mostly shot from the ramp, but we would shoot from the base if we had to. The only times we were ever effectively defended was when a big name team with good scouting was the other alliance. Unless we see some really fantastic launchers I would wager that the 2168s and 125s of the world do pretty well. I really have a hard time seeing wheeled launchers getting the consistency from the key, but we haven't seen what the tippy top tier is up to yet.

I really like this game. The audience seems to get into it in a way we haven't seen since 2008, every time the net swooshed the crowd stood or their arms went up. The end game is exciting, watching those teeter totters rock back and forth was nerve racking! I think the point balance is about right too, while a balance is worth a lot of points, if the match is close you can still see the down team matching the balance or maybe even scoring a couple more points to still win. I think balancing is about the right level of difficulty too -- it isn't easy but we saw it quite a few times on the webcast, which is promising. The first 3 balance is going to knock the crowd of their feet.

Strategically, knocking the balls on the ramp to your side of the field is huge. So is autonomous.

I think we're in for a good year. (Except for the enormous monkey wrench in the works that is the Coopertition Bridge. There is a lot of potential for bad blood on that field element.)

Just because something worked in the past does not mean it will work today. Aim High and this game are different.