2014 Game

[EricH]

Originally Posted by wilhitern1

I keep coming back to someone's post... What if there were 3 alliances on the field at once. It just seems so intriguing! Perhaps a trigional field design.

I know there's a lot of money invested in the current field design. So it will never happen. SAD!

Originally Posted by Whippet

Every time someone says that something will never happen, the GDC adds it as a possible game.

Awright, you young whippersnappers. It's time for your history lesson. So sit on down (but NOT on the lawn!) and clean out your ears...

The money invested in the current field design is not the reason 3 alliances will never happen. The REAL reason is that it ALREADY happened--and FIRST did not like what was happening.

Let's go back to 1998. I was hanging around a team, but not on it yet (my dad was, though, and most of this comes through his stories). The game that year was played 1v1v1--that is, 3 alliances of one team each, red, white, blue--but they changed that to 1v1 for the very finals. Look up Andy Grady's post on the Bracket of DOOM! for the gory details.

Anyways, FIRST was looking through data of match results after the season that year, and noticed something weird. No very highly ranked team--I forget how high--won their first match of the day. It became obvious fairly quickly on looking at the matches in question that the other two teams in each match were playing defense on the top team. Now, FIRST couldn't prove any collusion. But, they did sense a problem--and one they'd continue to have under the "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" principle.

Their solution was introduced the following year at Kickoff. "Since collusion cannot be prevented, it will now be required." -- Woodie Flowers, Kickoff 1999. 2-team alliances were introduced. Initially, you were only told to be there for a match, where you'd find out who your partner was of the other 3 teams. Within a couple years, that announcement came when the match schedules did; various tweaks to the elimination setup also came around that time.

Long story short, FIRST will not go back to XvXvX because it will quickly become 2XvX.

[wilhitern1]

Originally Posted by EricH

... The money invested in the current field design is not the reason 3 alliances will never happen. The REAL reason is that it ALREADY happened--and FIRST did not like what was happening...

Thanks! That's a very helpful diagnosis. A lot to be learned there.

Neal

[glennword]

Hey guys, thought I would share this with you. Kind of in the spirit of Twas the Night Before Kickoff. I worked harder on it than I care to admit. Imagine it to the tune of Silver Bells

New VEX PROducts, busy forums
AndyMark and FIRST Choice
In the air
There's a feeling
of Kickoff
Dean is laughing
at people joking
‘bout a water game this year
and on every Delphi thread post you'll hear

Game ideas, Game ideas
It's Kickoff time on Chief Delphi
Nope that’s wrong, they’re all wrong
Soon it will be Kickoff day

Strings of LEDs
Even E-stop lights
Blink a bright red and blue
as the FIRSTers rush
for free FIRST Choice treasures

Read the game hints
See the numerologists squint
This is Kamen's big scene
Above all the decrypting
You'll hear

Game ideas, Game ideas
It's Kickoff time on Chief Delphi
Nope that’s wrong, they’re all wrong
Soon it will be Kickoff day

[Bryce Paputa]

Originally Posted by glennword

Game ideas, Game ideas
...
Nope that’s wrong, they’re all wrong

Yep.

[Anthony4004]

Originally Posted by Martian86

That sounds a lot like my team's robots already. I guess we get an advantage!

Same here! That's why I think it would be great for us! Lol.

[mrmummert]

Hello...

I've been reading a lot of posts in this thread and other related ones.
One thing i've noticed coming out of First are some vague references to
the past and some weird date typos which go into the future. (which First
shortly takes back down and corrects ) Now don't
go off on another thread on this...but what if in some weird way the 2014
game has something to do with the "Back to the future" movie? or is a hint that maybe we are going back to the past (as in a past game) to play it again in the future? (The number 3 hints might mean we are playing a old game but with 3V3 instead of 2V2?)Granted the movie came out in 1985 (and I and II came out in 1989 and 1990) Perhaps i shouldn't post this as its probably gonna open up a new can of worms. Well get your Flux Capacitors and Delorians ready.

[Kai Williams]

Originally Posted by tondogone

The glow in the dark based game. There was a student who made his way into the Dean's List room at worlds, and one of the FIRST officials had stated that next year it will be a good idea to get a glow in the dark measuring tape. Also, Andymark just released a LED drive base kit to make your robots GLOW! .

In addition, they gave all of the Dean's List Finalists/Winners bright yellow tape measures with LED Lights. Dean implied that they were hints for next year's game, and as a result, the Dean's List kids were all atwitter for about two weeks about a glow in the dark game, or IR tracking or a dark maze (a box that robots have to drive into to get across the field) or something.

However, after examining my tape measure, I've come to think that the LED light has more to do with tracking the retro-reflective tape they try to get us to use every year - a dark game would be just too terrible for spectators. It would completely contradict everything that was said at worlds about "Making it Loud," since no one would be able to see a dark field. Can you imagine scouting?

I've attached a picture of my tape measure, if anyone's curious...

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Kai Williams

Dean implied that they were hints for next year's game...

Nope! That was said by Blair, the master of ceremonies for the Dean's List ceremony. As has been discussed in other threads, this was more than likely just a joke.

[Kai Williams]

I stand corrected!

[jar24]

Because of the blog post about two strikes and hitting a home run, I think the game is going to be related to baseball in some way or form

[Anthony4004]

Originally Posted by jar24

Because of the blog post about two strikes and hitting a home run, I think the game is going to be related to baseball in some way or form

Which blog posting was this? I don't believe I've seen it.

[jar24]

Originally Posted by tondogone

Which blog posting was this? I don't believe I've seen it.

it was this one
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...stponed-Part-2

[jar24]

is anyone else curious about why only woodie has his water bottle next to him and Dean and Don have there water bottles so far away?
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...ickoff-Filming

[dipmeinaluminum]

This years 2014 game hint has been in our faces for the past few months!!!

Am I the only one who can see it!?

It's painfully obvious that its movie themed!
All of this years hottest 2014 movies!!!

click here meow to see the full movie in HD!
We are all sitting on directors chairs and we can stop the game clock by yelling "CUT!!!"

[ChairmanRao]

Look at the latest blog post about FIRST Choice..."Our apologies for the two strikes this weekend, we promise our next swing will be a home run." Coincidence? I think not.