2014 IRI Rule Changes

[Chris Fultz]

The rule changes are intended to keep the flow of the game going, reduce referee workload, and allow for some slightly different strategies. We don't believe the changes give any one style / capability a significant advantage or disadvantage.

Yes, the reference to Possession means Assists.

Yes, 4 game pieces available in autonomous for the entire competition.

We chose to keep the pedestal in the loop because changing that created more potential issues, like "when is a ball scored", "What if it goes in and rolls back out, but the team has put another ball in play", ... The potential for more issues outweighted the benefit of changing this one.

I think you can tell from the minimal changes that we like the game pretty much as is. As someone stated above, we have the advantage of seeing hundreds of matches and being able to use that knowledge to make just some minor adjustments.

[XaulZan11]

Chris, will the deflection strategy (employed by 4334 in that match) be interpreted as a possession at IRI?

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

Chris, will the deflection strategy (employed by 4334 in that match) be interpreted as a possession at IRI?

Possession Strategy.

[Jscout11]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Possession Strategy.

This was the first thing I thought of when I read the new rules. Just awesome

[mateoland]

Two other changes I would have added since I am of the opinion that the truss catch was a severely undervalued skill (considering robot design and driver ability):

1) Double or triple the catch points. It would make it more in line with the difficulty of the skill, but also would make teams think twice about forgoing the truss play with the "lack of zone" play introduced.

2) make a truss shot & catch by yourself worth the same or slightly more than #1 above.

Just a thought,

Matt

[Chris Fultz]

Originally Posted by mateoland

Two other changes I would have added since I am of the opinion that the truss catch was a severely undervalued skill (considering robot design and driver ability):

The reason we did not change this value is that teams made design decisions on catching based on the point values. If the point value for a catch was always 30 points, then we believe more teams would have designed catchers.

We don't want to make rule changes with that kind of impact.

[mateoland]

Originally Posted by Chris Fultz

The reason we did not change this value is that teams made design decisions on catching based on the point values. If the point value for a catch was always 30 points, then we believe more teams would have designed catchers.

We don't want to make rule changes with that kind of impact.

Gotcha!

I do think the original gamemakers missed something special by undervaluing that skill.

[EricDrost]

Originally Posted by mateoland

Gotcha!

I do think the original gamemakers missed something special by undervaluing that skill.

Debatable. It was hard enough to assist with teams already. If the point value were higher, I'd bet more teams would spend their resources on catching at the expense of improving their intake/outtake ability.

Ideally more teams built robots like 1712 (quick drivetrain, big catching area, good intake/outtake, no shooter), but most teams bite off more than they can chew.

[Ben Martin]

Originally Posted by EricDrost

Ideally more teams built robots like 1712 (quick drivetrain, big catching area, good intake/outtake, no shooter), but most teams bite off more than they can chew.

I really wanted to draft these guys all year. We could never really justify it as a first-round pick from where we were seeded, though.

Love the rule changes, and very glad that catching optimization moves down on our off-season priority list.

[BriteBacon]

Originally Posted by Chris Fultz

Yes, 4 game pieces available in autonomous for the entire competition.

So dialing in our two ball will be worth it after all!

[thatprogrammer]

1-8, 1-8, 8-1 huh. #1 alliance gonna be so overpower.

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by thatprogrammer

1-8, 1-8, 8-1 huh. #1 alliance gonna be so overpower.

They've been doing it like this for a while... the field at IRI is significantly deeper than any regional or even Championships.

[Jay O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by thatprogrammer

1-8, 1-8, 8-1 huh. #1 alliance gonna be so overpower.

This is normal for IRI. Due to the amazing quality of all of the teams at IRI all 8 alliances are usually fairly even.

[KrazyCarl92]

For clarification's sake, what will be the requirement for preloading auto balls with 4 of them? As per the official FRC rule <G05>, each of the three balls correspond to a particular robot/team:

G5
For ROBOTS starting in the white ZONE, the TEAM may preload one (1) of their ALLIANCE’s BALLS such that the BALL is touching their ROBOT.

For ROBOTS starting in their GOALIE ZONE the TEAM may decide if the BALL is: staged between the TRUSS and the ZONE LINE and not contacting an ALLIANCE partner, or removed from the FIELD for the MATCH.

If a ROBOT does not report to a MATCH, its ALLIANCE may decide if the BALL is: staged between the TRUSS and the ZONE LINE and not contacting an ALLIANCE partner, or removed from the FIELD for the MATCH.

Are three of the balls still subject to the stated rule? Can the fourth one be in possession of a robot that already has a ball, or must it be placed in the white zone not contacting a robot?

Depending on the interpretation of the changed rule, I could easily see the dominant autonomous strategies being slightly altered. Would 2 robots each possessing two balls to start and a goalie bot be legal? Would 2 robots, each possessing one ball with a second next to it on the carpet not in contact with a robot and a third goalie bot be legal? Would one robot be able to pre-load 2 balls, while the other must have a ball placed on the carpet not in contact with it while the third robot sets up in the goalie zone?

Basically are there still restrictions regarding the preloading/placement of balls and if so, how is the additional ball handled given that there is now 1 more ball than robot on the field per alliance? The answer to these questions could have significant impact on how teams prepare their auto routines for IRI.

[Chris Fultz]

The 4th ball rule wasn't meant to be confusing.

The basic FIRST season rule applies, but if the team wants to use the 4th ball, it can be placed the same as if there was an "extra" ball during the regular season.

And a robot can only start touching 1 ball (just like regular season).

If the alliance wants to start with 2 robots in the white zone and 1 in the goalie zone, then the 2 extra balls can be placed the same as if there was an "extra" ball during the regular season (1 extra for each robot or 2 extra for one robot).

And, i would say that if an alliance wants to start with just 1 robot in the white zone, then the 3 extra balls can be placed the same as if there was an "extra" ball during the regular season.

So, if someone wants to make a 4 ball autonomous, and they can convince their partners to go to the goalie zone, well ....

PS - THIS WILL BE CLARIFIED AND CONFIRMED AT THE DRIVERS MEETING -