Game hints for FRC...

[gabrielau23]

Does anybody know when they're coming out? Lol maybe it's still too early and I'm too excited, but I'm just wondering. Also, do any teams have hints on how to decode these hints? I remember last year for Rebound Rumble there was lots of speculation on how "very fast counters" would be used for the game, but our team's guess was totally off. If you've had success, would you mind sharing some tips?
RAID 2537--G.A.

[Mark McLeod]

The first hint came out already.
IR Transmitter (fc13-004)

[Taylor]

Let's not forget the possible nonhints ...

[akoscielski3]

Use the search tool. There's already a month old thread on this.

[Siri]

Aaron: I think this might actually be different. It looks like his main (at least longest) point is in asking for perennial tips for analyzing hints, rather than discussion of the hints themselves. (ie thuis thread could stand perennially with or without any unresolved game hints.)

If so:

I'd argue there's no wrong way to interpret a hint. (You won't actually get the game, but since when is that the point? ) They're mostly for fun. If you really do want to get somewhere, it's very hint-dependent. Use reasonable logic, recall what FIRST officials have said before (decide what to trust), and ultimately understand FIRST's goals and constraints in game development and what they logically need to in/exclude. (But where's the fun in that?) Other than that, a lot of it comes down to creative association, persistent Googling, image property lookups, and knowing (how to find) a lot of different things. Recognizing GPS coordinates, decoding poems, calculating the width of a bent polycarbonate piece based on guessing its thickness from a CAD rendering, trying to avoid nightmare flashbacks in seeing an IR transmitter on FIRST Choice (just me?)...

Basically you engage in a lot of craziness for brainstorming and then analyze the results in light of cold hard logic, iterate extensively, and accept you may still be wrong (or right) and figure out how to deal with all contingencies.
Does anyone else get the feeling FIRST does this for practice game analysis? And to tease us into insanity, of course. (But we knew that)

If not, suggest closing so no one else falls into the trap I have. It might be kind of a fun thread, though

[inkspell4]

Ii think so far it is all speculation and that they haven't released any game hints

Remember they said when they announced the date for first choice viewing to start that no game specific elements would be included

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by inkspell4

Ii think so far it is all speculation and that they haven't released any game hints

Remember they said when they announced the date for first choice viewing to start that no game specific elements would be included

They did say that - but - for what other possible purpose would an IR transmitter be useful? While perhaps not exclusively specific to the 2013 game, it does seem like an item like this would be related to the game in some capacity (but so are motors, compressors, etc....it doesn't really tell us anything about the game).

[279 EMPIE]

Is there second hint out yet??

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by 279 EMPIE

Is there second hint out yet??

I think you'd see plenty of feverous discussion here on CD if there was

[akoscielski3]

Originally Posted by Siri

Aaron: I think this might actually be different. It looks like his main (at least longest) point is in asking for perennial tips for analyzing hints, rather than discussion of the hints themselves. (ie thuis thread could stand perennially with or without any unresolved game hints.)
...

I see this now. Miss read the first post and the previous posts before me.

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by dcarr

They did say that - but - for what other possible purpose would an IR transmitter be useful? While perhaps not exclusively specific to the 2013 game, it does seem like an item like this would be related to the game in some capacity (but so are motors, compressors, etc....it doesn't really tell us anything about the game).

This logic is slightly flawed as it assumes that all pieces in first choice have something or another to do with the game. The graphics cards, saws, and thermometers and such are just a couple of things that will most likely not make their way onto your machine, but are perhaps just something nice to pick up.

Originally Posted by gabrielau23

Does anybody know when they're coming out? Lol maybe it's still too early and I'm too excited, but I'm just wondering. Also, do any teams have hints on how to decode these hints? I remember last year for Rebound Rumble there was lots of speculation on how "very fast counters" would be used for the game, but our team's guess was totally off. If you've had success, would you mind sharing some tips?
RAID 2537--G.A.

Game hint analysis is usually...a longshot. Awhile ago, I likened trying to figure out the game to shooting a faraway target with a shotgun. Trying to figure out a game hint, is a similar scenario, except now you have a pistol.

The target's still a mile away, the weather conditions are still horrible, etc. While everyone takes multiple shots, there's no way of knowing if someone actually hit anything until you get close enough to see if (kickoff).

- Sunny G.

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

This logic is slightly flawed as it assumes that all pieces in first choice have something or another to do with the game. The graphics cards, saws, and thermometers and such are just a couple of things that will most likely not make their way onto your machine, but are perhaps just something nice to pick up.

True, of course. But unless there is some other workshop-related use for IR devices, I think it's safe to say that those products are game/robot related. The previous game with IR transmitters pre-dates me, so it will be interesting to see what the GDC has in store this time around.

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by dcarr

True, of course. But unless there is some other workshop-related use for IR devices, I think it's safe to say that those products are game/robot related. The previous game with IR transmitters pre-dates me, so it will be interesting to see what the GDC has in store this time around.

Perhaps I am in denial because my team struggled with this last time, but I seriously hope the remote is for pit displays or something.

- Sunny G.

[synth3tk]

Originally Posted by dcarr

True, of course. But unless there is some other workshop-related use for IR devices, I think it's safe to say that those products are game/robot related. The previous game with IR transmitters pre-dates me, so it will be interesting to see what the GDC has in store this time around.

If the GDC has something in store for it, then I hope it's not akin to the last game with IR blasters. It was a train wreck, to say the least. Great idea, but it just didn't perform as well as anyone hoped.

[DRH2o]

End Game -- we will be interfacing with the field to raise or lower something.
Just a Curiosity

http://www.andymark.com/FIRST-Choice-p/fc13-037.htm

http://www.andymark.com/FIRST-Choice-p/fc13-082.htm