Shooters: What have you learned?

[LeelandS]

Since I'm looking to mentor new teams next season, these are the things I'll be bringing if a shooter game comes back up:

• Lighter wheels - With lighter wheels, the wheel will be back up to speed faster. This is especially necessary if you're using a motor with less torque and power to run the shooter wheel.
• More time on programming - Shooters are almost definitely the best way to score this year, but a lot of shooters aren't used to their full potential because the programming wasn't up to par. Spending more time on the target tracking algorithm can allow a shooter to be very succesful.
• Watch the weight distribution - Our robot this year is a bit top heavy. That's being worked on and resolved for champs, but it hurt us at FLR. When designing a shooter in the future, I'd like to make sure the shooter doesn't have an uneven weight distribution. This prevents disadvantages in game situations such as the bridge, and prevents the robot from rocking and potentially tipping as it moves.
• Responsive, consistent turret - Part of the key to succesful shooting is having a quick, responsive turret to shoot at the proper angle to meet your target. With a turret that has the proper hardware and coding, shooting can be made greatly effective.
• Make sure the ball enters the shooter quickly and consistently. We have a nasty habit of coming up with some unnecessarily complex storage-to-shooter designs. With some thought, I think there could be a quicker, more consistent way of getting the balls into the shooter.
• Don't let the balls enter the shooter at an angle - Without making sure of this, balls may enter (and come out) at an angle, or not get into the shooter at all.

These things aren't NEEDED for a good/great shooting robot, but they are things I'm going to greatly consider next time there is a shooting game.