Aerial Assist 3D Game Simulation

[bEdhEd]

I remember trying a 2012 simulator that had an option to change the the mechanisms of your robot, so customization of the robot was possible. I think it was made by Diamond Bullet Studios. Do you think you can further develop this simulator to do that?

[RyanCahoon]

Originally Posted by bEdhEd

options to change the the mechanisms of your robot

Propose some suggestions for other mechanisms you'd like to see, and I'll do what I can.

The emphasis with this in my mind was provide opportunities for experimentation, even if things don't end up looking "official." I.e. you can pick up the red ball with the blue robot, score with balls in goals of mismatched color, etc. You can experiment with trying to catch balls by just seeing if you can get the other robot underneath the ball before it hits the ground, even if the robot won't actually catch the ball, per se.

The immediate gaps in functionality I see are the ability to change power and angle of launch, which would allow experimentation with the "Aren sweet spot" talked about in the Build Blitz. It would also allow a powered pass by just pointing the launcher straight along the ground.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by RyanCahoon

Propose some suggestions for other mechanisms you'd like to see, and I'll do what I can.

The emphasis with this in my mind was provide opportunities for experimentation, even if things don't end up looking "official." I.e. you can pick up the red ball with the blue robot, score with balls in goals of mismatched color, etc. You can experiment with trying to catch balls by just seeing if you can get the other robot underneath the ball before it hits the ground, even if the robot won't actually catch the ball, per se.

The immediate gaps in functionality I see are the ability to change power and angle of launch, which would allow experimentation with the "Aren sweet spot" talked about in the Build Blitz. It would also allow a powered pass by just pointing the launcher straight along the ground.

Rotating intakes, hoppers, catching nets, suction cups, paddles, catapults, spring launchers, there are all kinds of options. They don't have to look pretty, they just have to give an idea of how a robot would operate with those types of mechanisms.

[RyanCahoon]

Originally Posted by bEdhEd

Rotating intakes, hoppers, catching nets, suction cups, paddles, catapults, spring launchers, there are all kinds of options. They don't have to look pretty, they just have to give an idea of how a robot would operate with those types of mechanisms.

A continuous (rotating) intake would be useful. I'll add it to the list of to-do's.

Can you clarify what you mean by a hopper? Since there's only one ball at a time this year, what I think of as a hopper wouldn't be of much use.

Would a ball launched by a catapult or a spring launcher behave differently than the current generic launcher? Seems like they're all just different methods of imparting energy to the ball, which then follows a roughly ballistic trajectory. The simulator is mostly useful for strategy purposes; physical prototyping is required to figure out which mechanism to use.