2015 HINT DISCUSSION

[Canon reeves]

I was watching all the animations, and the 2008 Overdrive animation says a new position was added, robo-coach, yet the hint video doesn't mention this change. Are there any other changes they missed, intentionally or not?

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by TimTheGreat

How did previous game hints relate to their respective games?

Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these, please:

2014: Numbers that turned out to be birth dates and assist totals for various athletes who led their respective sports in assists.
2013: Some numbers that were apparently a cipher for a poem, whose lyrics somewhat obtusely referenced a "great seal" (one side of the Great Seal of the US has a pyramid), and contained the word "dinner," which is eaten on plates, which are shaped similar to frisbees.
2012: A list of sensors that could be used for real-time goal counting.
2011: A picture of Little Eva standing next to a pole (minibots climbed poles that year), who had a song entitled "Locomotion" (the game was named "Logomotion"), and a picture of the FIRST logo (game pieces were shaped like the shapes from the FIRST logo).
2010: An out-of-context picture of a CAD of a small part of a field element (namely, the ball-return rail).
2009: A picture of a fish. Specifically, a "moon fish." The game was Lunacy. Yeah.
2008: Three of them that year. Teams were given an IR sensor - teams were allowed to give two-bit IR commands to their robots during autonomous that year. Coordinates that pointed to a statue of a tortoise and a hare in Boston (the game, Overdrive, involved racing). And the string "Vet hurdling FIRST tetra", which in addition to using the word "hurdling" (which was used to refer to throwing the track ball over the overpass in the game rules), was an anagram for "drive straight turn left."

Don't remember any other years.

Edit: Fixed some factual errors, added more information.

[Wyatt Jordan]

Originally Posted by TimTheGreat

How did previous game hints relate to their respective games?

Ok I was hoping by looking at previous game hints I could kinda figure out how the GDC comes up with these things, so I started a list of previous game hints and their solutions while waiting for the 2015 hint. Sorry I only analyzed 2014 and 2013 before this year's hint was released. However we can learn several big things from the GDC's previous hints:

1. Game hints can be very intricate or very basic depending on how much time the GDC has. Since this year is a video I'm assuming it's intricate.

2. They threw a curve ball at us, normally its a string of numbers not a video, which annoyed me because there is so much more data in a video making it much harder!!!

3. Based on #1, the solutions to game hints can be a multi-step process, check out the 2013 solution, the people on chief delphi used a cipher (with a slight twist, one # represented 2 different letters) to get a vague riddle which they solved to get the hint, and even then it seemed like a long-shot but it turns out they were correct!

So from this we should learn to never rule out any ideas based on the hint! (unless they are about water games or triple alliances cause FIRST is big on safety, meaning no water, and they already ordered the same fields). This is why I definitely believe the 1999 footage was no mistake, also I noticed everyone found the original footage for each year in the hint quite easily, maybe the hint requires us to look at the original videos and find clues there, like the dates they were uploaded or something,

Game Hint History.docx

[Wyatt Jordan]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these, please:
2013: Some numbers that were apparently a cipher for a poem, whose relevance to the game still remains unclear, as far as I know.

Download my document if you want to see the full solution to the 2013 hint, it was VERY complicated but the guys on Chief Delphi did actually solve it

Also if anyone has links to the original video footage from the hint for each year please post them, it would be much appreciated and there could be information there on the solution. Usually these things require poking around on the internet

[thatprogrammer]

The poem's relevance to the 2013 hint was covered in a blog by frank. http://www.usfirst.org/comment/908#comment-908

[bduddy]

So, here's a screen from near the end of the video:


Something's not right here. The field walls are awfully short (1'8"), and they look to be (correctly) about the height of the recycling bin. But they're almost to Frank's hips! Either his legs are really short... or he's standing in a hole (or the walls are elevated somehow). Does anyone else see this? Or am I just crazy?

[EricH]

Ya know, there is a way to play 4v4, without totally screwing up the wifi. And without crowding the field. But to do it, you gotta take a page out of hockey's playbook.


2015: Line Change.

4v4, with only 2 robots/side active at a time. Alliances can execute a "line change" at any time by bringing one or both robots from the field to the side of the field and flipping a switch. However, alliances MUST use each robot for a minimum of 30 seconds over the entire match or take a penalty of moderate value.

[dodar]

Originally Posted by EricH

Ya know, there is a way to play 4v4, without totally screwing up the wifi. And without crowding the field. But to do it, you gotta take a page out of hockey's playbook.


2015: Line Change.

4v4, with only 2 robots/side active at a time. Alliances can execute a "line change" at any time by bringing one or both robots from the field to the side of the field and flipping a switch. However, alliances MUST use each robot for a minimum of 30 seconds over the entire match or take a penalty of moderate value.

That would give more rise to the believers in the hockey game.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by bduddy

Something's not right here. The field walls are awfully short (1'8"), and they look to be (correctly) about the height of the recycling bin. But they're almost to Frank's hips! Either his legs are really short... or he's standing in a hole (or the walls are elevated somehow). Does anyone else see this? Or am I just crazy?

Neither. He's standing in midfield and the camera is angled funny. Try it yourself: Put a bar at knee-high, stand several feet in front of it, then have a friend take your picture with the camera up around the top of their head and pointing near your chest. You should be able to have the bar end up at about hip height (or higher, maybe) before it's obvious that the camera is high.

[Michael Hill]

Originally Posted by EricH

Neither. He's standing in midfield and the camera is angled funny. Try it yourself: Put a bar at knee-high, stand several feet in front of it, then have a friend take your picture with the camera up around the top of their head and pointing near your chest. You should be able to have the bar end up at about hip height (or higher, maybe) before it's obvious that the camera is high.

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with it. I think it's more of a perspective problem.

[mrmummert]

I've met Frank in person and he's only so tall. About the same height as Dean or slightly less. I think Woodie is taller.

[Christopher149]

Originally Posted by Canon reeves

I was watching all the animations, and the 2008 Overdrive animation says a new position was added, robo-coach, yet the hint video doesn't mention this change. Are there any other changes they missed, intentionally or not?

The carpet changed color for 2010 (green) and 2012 (brown), game pieces change, 2009 introduced the cRIO ... there are tons of unmentioned changes.

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

2009: A picture of a fish. Specifically, a "moon fish." The game was Lunacy. Yeah.

That was the one I got right....

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...4&postcount=79

.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these, please:


2011: A picture of Aretha Franklin, who had a song entitled "Locomotion" (the game was named "Logomotion"), and a picture of the FIRST logo (game pieces were shaped like the shapes from the FIRST logo).

Little Eva, not Aretha Franklin. The column in the picture represented the minibot pole.

A picture of an IR sensor - teams were allowed to give two-bit IR commands to their robots during autonomous that year.

Remove "picture"--it was physically sent to teams. You could have up to 4 commands.

[evand4567]

Was on the blog post and noticed this:

Is it actually an error?