[MCC] Minimum Competitive Concept 2012

[IKE]

This is great discussion, and I really appreciate folks calling out specific examples of teams that executed a solid plan and had strong performance to back it up.

My MCC for 2012 was more simple than most here. In fact it is simple enough I can CAD it right here:
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This little robot is a wide 4WD with large enough wheels and high enough bumpers to plow over the barrier and would likely use about 8" pneumatic tires. The sides are plywood, and the first half of the side profile is flat and att approximately 10" height. The second half is at 45 degrees incline. On the flat section would be a couple of small depressions to set 2 balls during hybrid just to get them off the bridge.

While initially this appears to just be a BOW (box on wheels), it is a very tactical box on wheels. Assuming 0 offensive capability in the alliance, the MCC would cross the barrier and tilt the alliance bridge towards its home side to clear the balls and prep it for the 2 partners to climb the bridge. Once they are on, you back up until just the flat will engage the bridge and have your partners drive forward until it catches them. At 10" you get it very nearly level, close enough for your teammates to make minor tweaks, and the support keeps the robots from Charlie-Browning. 20 pts. 20 pts. was higher than the average score at most events (only a couple of teh 50+ regionals averaged higher than 20 pts./alliance). The average (this includes winning scores as well), thus you would be able to win a majority (though not all) matches this way.
The MCC would then prep the CoOp bridge and hopefully Co-Op almost every match.
How do I know this would work? Not only does the math look good, but at Kettering there was a software issue with the speed control on our shooter which rendered it all but useless for most matches. And we executed this exact strategy. While our robot was far from an MCC, it had the same features built into it, and those were the features we used with a great deal of success in qualifying at that event.

Initially I wasn't thrilled with this concept as I believed it required a partner to do the bridge. Later I learned by watching very similar robots to this concept that you could tilt the bridge and catch it on the rebound if you timed it just right.

This is not a design that would likely win Einstein, but it is one that had a lot of potential to do well at District and regional events. Because it isn't trying to do too much, it would get very good at what it does.

Other roles that it can play when there is good offense on its alliance:
Inbounder alley blocking (between bridges)
Fender Defense
Opponent scavenger blocking (between bridges)
Middle bot for the 40 pt. triple balance in elims.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by IKE

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Ike, how would this robot seed high? It would be (at best) middle-of-the-pack when it came to autonomous score, thus not be near the top of the rank of robots with identical coopertition/win points. There are several instances where teams had 'lucky' schedules this year, yet when making design decisions in Build Week 1 a team doesn't know that schedule. So I think that this robot would compete and be luckily competitive rather than competitive no matter what.

[IKE]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Ike, how would this robot seed high? ....

I can show you several with this basic strategy that seeded quite high. Focusing effort on a low effort high return scoring element like balancing tended to have higher average scoring capability than running around picking up balls and randomly throwing them at the back board. This gets you above average wins which will/should get you well into the top 20 of a 40 team event. Teams that put extra focus on the Co-Op this year were more successful with the Co-Op plain and simple. Many teams early in the season waited until the last 20 seconds to Co-Op and failed. Many good teams in Michigan gave it a full 60 to 45 seconds, and had a dramatically higher success ratio. This was true of later events elsewhere. By not having the distraction of doing anything with the balls, it this concept will get very good at the things it does well.
Yes, you will have a lower than average HP score which is the second criteria, but you will have above average Wins, and well above average Co-Op points.

The key to this strategy is the assumption that others will not follow Simbots Golden Rule #2. That one says basically it is better to be really good at 3 things than it is to be mediocre or worse at 5 or 6 things.
The other key to this strategy is that allow you will "finish" early, you will use the extra time to develop your drivers. Most teams give their drivers less than an hour or two of drive time before their first competition. Many have never driven the robot as it is still being put together and code being added. If your drivers have an extra week of driving and concentrated practice, they will be better than half the field.

In theory if a high enough percentage of teams listen to this advice, then it would no longer become good advice and teams would need to add features. It has been my experience that many teams will appluad the concept of MCC. Give it as advice to others, and then do the opposite (my own team included on most occasions). Some will do better with a more complicated concept. Most will not.