pic: 2013.5 Mock Game Pipefall

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV

How many teams got pieces from the 2011 human players? (1503 and who else?). We also don't like protected zones that cause ticky tack fouls.

How many teams got pieces from the 2013 human players? Why is 2011 the go to example? FRC teams has plenty of examples of how to pick up tubes from the 1997 and 2007 games. Throw them a game object they've never seen before, and they're far more likely to load from a human player than anywhere else (see 1997, 2005, 2013). Especially if they can't be lobbed across the field by the human player like they were in 2011.

Also, off the top of my head, 1218 also loaded from the human player in 2011.


And I'd rather have "ticky tack" fouls than make it borderline impossible for 30th percentile teams to load successfully.

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

Best brickbot hybrid/first 5s strategy: Drive forward and shove all your opponent's pipes into the corner.

Or just knock them all over and laugh as 50% of teams can no longer pick them up and re-orient them to score successfully.

[JohnSchneider]

This is great Allen! I'm sure well get to use it as a fall training tool for our newer kids. Thank you for providing such an interesting resource.

I hope I get to see a robot who can play this game at TRR. I mean there's at least 6 weeks before then

[2789_B_Garcia]

Maybe I missed it on the blog or in the rules...but when is the actual competition?

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by 2789_B_Garcia

Maybe I missed it on the blog or in the rules...but when is the actual competition?

There isn't an actual competition. This is just an experiment. We use it to work on design iterations and brainstorming. We did it last year but kept the game private, this year we decided to release it.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by 2789_B_Garcia

Maybe I missed it on the blog or in the rules...but when is the actual competition?

Can't tell if serious, or seriously FRC addicted...

Also, you forgot to ask when the Q&A Forum will be open. I mean, it's been two whole days since the game release and there's no Q&A Forum? I'm starting to reconsider Spectrum as a viable GDC substitute.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

Can't tell if serious, or seriously FRC addicted...

Also, you forgot to ask when the Q&A Forum will be open. I mean, it's been two whole days since the game release and there's no Q&A Forum? I'm starting to reconsider Spectrum as a viable GDC substitute.

The Q&A is basically this thread. Also there has already been rule update and we didn't even make people wait until Tuesday after kickoff. Though we didn't announce it very well.

[JohnSchneider]

Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV

The Q&A is basically this thread. Also there has already been rule update and we didn't even make people wait until Tuesday after kickoff. Though we didn't announce it very well.

What if I have a specific robot design question? Will you comment on individual designs?

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

What if I have a specific robot design question? Will you comment on individual designs?

I'm betting they will, but the chances for snark and sarcasm are a lot higher than with the GDC.

[2789_B_Garcia]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

Can't tell if serious, or seriously FRC addicted...

Dude...bro...is there any question?

Honestly, my kids saw it, and they're the ones bugging me about it...apparently the full court shooter/30 pt climb + 20 pt dump/floor pickup/bridge balancing/minibot mechanisms they want to work on for TRR isn't enough to keep them busy lol

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by 2789_B_Garcia

Dude...bro...is there any question?

Honestly, my kids saw it, and they're the ones bugging me about it...apparently the full court shooter/30 pt climb + 20 pt dump/floor pickup/bridge balancing/minibot mechanisms they want to work on for TRR isn't enough to keep them busy lol

We're having a season wrap party tomorrow night for mentors and students. I'm planning on bringing some printouts and asking everyone if they've read the rules yet.

[smistthegreat]

First of all, I want to thank you for producing such a polished game and manual and especially for making it public. One quick question, why change the motor rules from Ultimate Ascent? I thought the 2013 motor rules were very heavy on high-power motors, but these rules are even heavier (6 CIM, 4 banebots, 4 BAG, and 4 Mini CIM!?). Not really a problem, just something that caught my eye and I would like to hear the reason behind this.

Also, according to the manual, Ultimate Ascent R03 would still apply, limiting robots to 84 inches tall at all times. Is this a mistake? Unless I'm completely missing something, how are 84 inch robots supposed to score on 10 foot poles?

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by smistthegreat

First of all, I want to thank you for producing such a polished game and manual and especially for making it public. One quick question, why change the motor rules from Ultimate Ascent? I thought the 2013 motor rules were very heavy on high-power motors, but these rules are even heavier (6 CIM, 4 banebots, 4 BAG, and 4 Mini CIM!?). Not really a problem, just something that caught my eye and I would like to hear the reason behind this.

Also, according to the manual, Ultimate Ascent R03 would still apply, limiting robots to 84 inches tall at all times. Is this a mistake? Unless I'm completely missing something, how are 84 inch robots supposed to score on 10 foot poles?

Motor rules were another one of those things that just sort of annoyed our team. We never really understood why miniCIMS and BAG motors were put in the same category when they have such different power ratings. I assume it's actually a sponsorship/money thing with FIRST but I don't know that. The same reason why the BB are all lumped together even though a BB395 and BB775 are extremely different. We left the BB rule since we have had it for so long.

You are correct R03 was supposed to be edited to only regulate the 112in frame perimeter. It's interesting that the expansion rules are redundant in the UA manual both as game rules and as robot rules.

[smistthegreat]

Originally Posted by AllenGregoryIV

Motor rules were another one of those things that just sort of annoyed our team. We never really understood why miniCIMS and BAG motors were put in the same category when they have such different power ratings. I assume it's actually a sponsorship/money thing with FIRST but I don't know that. The same reason why the BB are all lumped together even though a BB395 and BB775 are extremely different. We left the BB rule since we have had it for so long.

You are correct R03 was supposed to be edited to only regulate the 112in frame perimeter. It's interesting that the expansion rules are redundant in the UA manual both as game rules and as robot rules.

Is there no maximum height limit then? I looked through the rules and couldn't find anything else limiting it, but it's never safe to assume.

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by smistthegreat

Is there no maximum height limit then? I looked through the rules and couldn't find anything else limiting it, but it's never safe to assume.

Yes that was the intent. Similar to 2011 and 2005 if you can reach higher go for it.