Week 1 Number One Seed Score Average

[PayneTrain]

Not only are there a lot of posts that overestimate like they do every year, it's particularly odd this year. Why? Let's recap

1) This is the hardest game in the modern era.
2) This is the hardest game in the modern era.
3) This is the hardest game in the modern era.
4) This is the hardest game in the modern era.
5) This is the hardest game in the modern era.

By hardest, I don't mean plain stupid like Lunacy. I mean designing a robot that fits in to an ideal alliance this year and being able to execute that strategy with two partners who also fit in your strategy at a Week 1 is going to be VERY VERY NOT EASY. If a team plays 10 matches in a field of 60, they will have up to 20 unique partners. They will not have the top 20 of the remaining 59 robots partnered with them. They will be fortunate to get 10 of the top.

This is not an easy game! What is the minimum competitive concept? How many points can the MCC convert or help convert in a match? How often is the best team at a Week 1 event going to be paired with two robots that reach above the standard of the MCC? How are you getting an answer that generates a #1 QA during week 1 of 140+ points?

Think about how many teams have built robots that never considered how the hell they are even getting the totes! They don't gracefully fall from the heavens on the field right side up and evenly spaced! They come out of the most restrictive human player interface in the modern era, are shoved together up against a wall with no space between them, or blocked by other totes shoved up against a wall on a box with lips!

You think the co-op step is going to be almost 100% in Week 1?????? Was the Co-Op bridge even 50% in Week 1 in 2012? Did a majority of the teams come to the event last year understanding what the hell their human player was even supposed to be doing? How many teams do you think actually comprehended the significance of the 2nd order sort last year during week 1? When yahoos start chucking noodles into the gap of the landfill zone at the start of the match, you're probably not going to see a co-op conversion. Teams are going to be flummoxed when they realize the chute is not their friend. Teams are going to hit unprotected partners and knock over stacks.

You can have the best robot on the field but you can't prevent stupid. You can try to treat it or mitigate it, but so many teams who compete in Week 1 are ignorant to the rest of the competition outside of their 42x28x72 volume.