Team Update 2-19 and FRC Blog - Week 0 Observations and Stop Build Day

[Bill_B]

At the outset, the GDC must have done some thinking about how the last 30 seconds would be played. The total number of disks in the game was decided at some point based on factors like expected scoring rate, percentage success and how many could be fit through those slots. It seems likely, however, that week 0 performances and machinery is quite a bit below the expected level of play for the game. If the GDC was expecting some number of disks to have already been scored (and out of play) at the 30 second mark, the remaining numbers of disks in a week 0 game probably far exceeded that number.

Then there is the time allotted for HP activity. I wonder if the GDC even considered reducing it to 20 or 15 seconds or even 10. Maybe that's too great a change to the match management software to have been considered. We should be used to the GDC offering only partial explanations for their decisions by now.

Teams do not bring their completed machines to week 0, in general. I heard several explanations about the robots being the practice machine or not carrying all mechanisms. Floor pickup devices were among those listed as missing or under development. It was obvious that even in the elimination matches, the teams had intermediate goals for their play that were only experimental or developmental. For example, if a shooter had been out of adjustment, the team would explore alternate tactics that did not involve shooting.