2014 Lessons Learned: The positive

[Chris Hibner]

How could I forget this:

Playing "Grand Finale" of 2112 by Rush as the music during one of the Einstein matches. That was brilliant.

[notmattlythgoe]

Mobility

This so much. I thought that putting something in to encourage everybody to attempt something in autonomous was a great addition. Unless something was wrong with a robot I don't remember seeing very many robots that didn't move in auto this year.

[BrendanB]

Divisional awards- While a lot of people were disappointed that teams wouldn't be recognized on Einstein for their achievements or their win would be clouded by having 4 overall winners of certain awards, it was nice to see more teams get recognition for their efforts compared to previous season! There are so many good teams/robots at these events!

No unbag checks at Champs was great! Not only was it nice because our unbag form was with our group at arrived at 7pm but also because it wasn't needed. It was nice to be able to open the crate and open the bag at the same time as it made load in less stressful trying to chase down inspectors. Last year we even had one inspector make us wait 30 minutes after we grabbed him so as to not give our team an advantage over teams still walking in the door.

The closing ceremonies were great! Time was utilized effectively and time that usually was quiet with music was filled with commentary and the team interviews after a match which made it feel more like a sporting event.

45lbs of witholding was nice! It allowed teams to improve more throughout the season and the already low level of competition on the field would have been lower without it with teams able to work on more between competitions.

Loved teams being able to submit Chairmans at multiple events.

It was nice to have a field with game elements easy to build at home! Last year's pyramid was a tough element to build properly.

All day qualifications on Thursday was a great addition to the WCMP as well as opening earlier on Wednesday.

The practice field was handled well with having lots of balls on the field. Initially I was concerned about how the fields would shape out but it worked well for teams.

Districts in New England!

[Caleb Sykes]

The display of teams' rank next to their number on the game screen display. This is a useful piece of information (especially near the end of quals) that the audience should know. I am glad that this was added for 2014.

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by inkling16

The display of teams' rank next to their number on the game screen display. This is a useful piece of information (especially near the end of quals) that the audience should know. I am glad that this was added for 2014.

I liked this too-- especially as someone who watched a lot of webcasts without the ability to go and check on the rankings consistently (as good at Tracker and Spyder are, they're only as good as FIRST's data), having them right there without having to double and triple check them on my phone was very nice.

[PVCpirate]

Real Defense! No ZONES, LOADING ZONES, LANES, KEYS, or PYRAMIDS, robots who wanted to score had to get the ball over or around the other alliance. When clean defense was played, the matches were some of the most exciting in years.

[Taylor]

I love how the game evolved throughout the season, and even more at CMP. I'm sad I'll be out of town for IRI to see how the game will be played on that stage.

I appreciate the transparency and readiness to address concerns throughout the community.

I applaud the efforts toward team sustainability (Fundraising Toolkit) that allow all teams to take a good, hard look at themselves and access solutions that work.

[Caleb Sykes]

HOT goal autonomous. This is the first year since 2008 that the best autonom(ii? ouses?) were not just static scripts. I also liked how much HOT goals were worth relative to the rest of auto. They gave the mid-tier and high level teams another programming objective, while not overly penalizing lower-tier teams for not bothering with it. Given, there were numerous issues with the implementation of this system, but I really like the idea of a more dynamic auto.

[Citrus Dad]

I'll be brief as I agree with all of the positives listed here.

To me the biggest positive was making the FRC community in general and the top teams in particular aware about the importance of helping inexperienced and struggling teams. I hope this leads to more efforts to reach out to those teams and continue to lift their level of play. We certainly will.

I liked the viewing areas for a particular reason--the teams competing for "team spirit" could no longer park on the rail and obstruct the view of the scouts of other teams. Unlike previous years, we had almost no problems seeing the field.

[wilsonmw04]

Please, keep pushing the robot interaction. This is by far my favorite game to date. The one ball per alliance made it feel like an actual sport rather than 3 robots doing independent things in parallel.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

The practice field was handled well with having lots of balls on the field. Initially I was concerned about how the fields would shape out but it worked well for teams. !

Are you talking about at Championship?

In MAR, you had to bring your own ball from home to the practice field or you had nothing to play with at the districts.
IIRC this was fixed for DCMP (or teams just left their balls there.)

Anyway, my positives:

1.) Frank. I'll say it before, I'll say it again. He is amazing. (Despite the lack of free corndogs). He is ALWAYS there for feedback from teams. I introduced him to 1923's Dean's List winner, Michael, and Frank's immediate response was: "Congratulations! Now tell me what you think about the season." That kind of recognition (hey, this is a kid who gets it, let's see what he thinks) is exactly the kind of thing EVERYONE on FIRST staff needs to have. He's responsive, he listens, and he addresses the concerns of the community. Every organization needs a Frank, but let's keep him for a while, ok?

2.) Submitting for Chairman's at multiple events. Awesome.

3.) Shortened Einstein without losing the excitement.

4.) Hall of Fame booth in the middle of the pits at WCMP. I hope it's a bigger display next year, but a step in the right direction.

5.) The introduction of YPD. Hopefully nobody ever has to use it for anything truly serious, but it's important to know that it's in place.

I agree with a lot of the stuff above me, but some of it I didn't get to see/experience in person, so I won't comment.

I know we all had our gripes about this game, but overall the 2014 -season- was pretty alright.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Libby K

Are you talking about at Championship?

In MAR, you had to bring your own ball from home to the practice field or you had nothing to play with at the districts.
IIRC this was fixed for DCMP (or teams just left their balls there.)

I was talking about the full practice fields where FMS matches were played. It was nice having a ton of balls on the field and everyone was able to do their own thing or practice moves for an upcoming match with one another. Just like MAR we had similar experiences for practice in NE. We always bring our own field elements to competitions. It was annoying this year with the ball is so huge but it meant we always had a ball to practice with or lend to teams wishing to try a two ball.

The wooden fields could always use some improvement. Personally I wish there were more of them available especially first thing in the morning. I also wish they didn't put the darn truss so close the goal as it was impossible for our team to test a two ball auto like we would on the field.

[Allison K]

Personally, I really liked not having an endgame. I loved that everybody was playing the same game for the entire match, and that I didn't have to worry about playing with a team that had designed specifically for endgame without a particular plan for the other 75% of the match. I think it was easier to explain to spectators, and easier for them to understand as there wasn't a complete shift in game play at the end of each match. I also think it benefited teams that aren't strong in the strategy department as it was harder to make a poor strategic decision back in week 1 of build that would end up inhibiting their ability to be an effective alliance member for the entire season. No endgame was also an effective way to manage issues with balancing scoring between main game play and endgame