Possession of Multiple Balls

[Tyler Olds]

Can anybody find any rules stating that a robot cannot posses more than one alliance ball at any given time? Yes I know that at a certain point in a match that there will be only one alliance ball on the field.

Edit: Not talking about start of the match either

[MasterEric]

I see what you are talking about; when Auto starts there are three balls.
I don't know if there is a rule against possessing two or more at a time though. It'd be hard since they're so big.

[Madison]

We haven't found anything prohibiting this yet. Here's hoping it remains legal.

[MasterEric]

Originally Posted by Madison

We haven't found anything prohibiting this yet. Here's hoping it remains legal.

But what would you do knowing you can hold multiple? Those multiple balls can't get assist points and it would be difficult to hold both, so it seems pointless to try to possess multiple.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Tyler Olds

Can anybody find any rules stating that a robot cannot posses more than one alliance ball at any given time? Yes I know that at a certain point in a match that there will be only one alliance ball on the field.

Edit: Not talking about start of the match either

Start of match, actually... At the very very start, you can't possess two. Once the clock is running, I can't find anything. (Other than the obvious going down to one ball, of course.)

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by MasterEric

But what would you do knowing you can hold multiple? Those multiple balls can't get assist points and it would be difficult to hold both, so it seems pointless to try to possess multiple.

Who says you're trying to get assists with those balls? There is another game task that if done quickly could have a very high reward.

[MasterEric]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Who says you're trying to get assists with those balls? There is another game task that if done quickly could have a very high reward.

I'm saying it would be difficult to manage both balls at once.
However, I see your point. What if there is a robot who is over in the goal area and can't score? You can put the ball "staged between the TRUSS and the ZONE LINE and not contacting an ALLIANCE partner," then during auto, score one ball, then pick up the other and score it.
That would require quick and accurate scoring, because if auto ends before that second ball is scored, you lose those 5 auto points and waste time that could be used with a ball valid for assists.

[themccannman]

Once auto starts there is no rule (as of yet) saying you can't pick up your teammates balls and shoot them. Containing two balls is very plausible, however it's not possible to hold three without having appendages that expand your holding capacity.

[Christopher149]

Originally Posted by themccannman

Once auto starts there is no rule (as of yet) saying you can't pick up your teammates balls and shoot them. Containing two balls is very plausible, however it's not possible to hold three without having appendages that expand your holding capacity.

About picking up teammate balls:

G12
An ALLIANCE may not POSSESS their opponent’s BALLS. The following criteria define POSSESSION :

“carrying” (moving while supporting BALLS in or on the ROBOT),
“herding” (repeated pushing or bumping),
“launching” (impelling BALLS to a desired location or direction), and
“trapping” (overt isolation or holding one or more BALLS against a FIELD element or ROBOT in an attempt to shield them).

On the subject of multiple balls, from intro para:

Once all balls in autonomous are scored, only one ball is re-entered in to play, and the Alliances must cycle a single ball as many times as possible for the remainder of the match.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Christopher149

About picking up teammate balls:



On the subject of multiple balls, from intro para:

Strike one... and strike two.

Strike one: That rule is on OPPONENT balls. NOT teammate balls. Guess what, no penalty at all for handling any of your alliance's balls.

Strike two:

Can anybody find any rules stating that a robot cannot posses more than one alliance ball at any given time? Yes I know that at a certain point in a match that there will be only one alliance ball on the field.

Edit: Not talking about start of the match either

You didn't read that post--we're not talking about after each alliance is down to one ball. We're talking before each alliance is down to one ball, while some of the up to 3 starting balls per alliance are still around the field.

[jds2001]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Who says you're trying to get assists with those balls? There is another game task that if done quickly could have a very high reward.

If you're thinking of what I think you're thinking of, remember that you can only score TRUSS points once per CYCLE. Therefore, the strategy that I'm thinking of with that question seems dubious at best.....

[Madison]

This is a very straightforward strategy. There's nothing strange here.

A robot blocking the goal leaves its allotted ball in the white zone next to one of its partners. That partner can start with a ball of its own, collect its partner's ball from the floor and score both during the autonomous period. This allows you to score up to three balls during auto while still playing defense. Nothing fancy.

[JesseK]

A dual-defender auton strategy is like a 90-point autonomous in 2013. It will be rare to see and even rarer to succeed, but success will be amazing to watch.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by Madison

This is a very straightforward strategy. There's nothing strange here.

A robot blocking the goal leaves its allotted ball in the white zone next to one of its partners. That partner can start with a ball of its own, collect its partner's ball from the floor and score both during the autonomous period. This allows you to score up to three balls during auto while still playing defense. Nothing fancy.

I understand the strategy, I'm trying to understand why you'd design around possessing both balls instead of scoring, grabbing, scoring. Shorter range shooter than can't hit from the white zone? Dumper that herds or grabs a second ball and scores that way? Those are the two most likely scenarios I can think of. I'm unsure if the advantage is significant enough to outweigh any extra complication. Though if there isn't any extra complication, then it'd be a useful feature.