PNW Exhibition Match Concerns

[dtengineering]

That was a great idea! Thanks for sharing the video link.

I hope this can be done at other events... the elimination format doesn't always allow the top teams a chance to play together.

It was very kind of the top six teams to take part in an exhibition match that presents the possibility of additional wear and tear and potential damage to their machines, just for the entertainment of those watching.

It seems fair and reasonable to take the top six teams for this match. I'd suggest that if you feel this offers a significant advantage to those teams then you should make plans to be amongst the top six at the end of day one next year.

Apparently there are advantages to being amongst the top eight at the end of qualification, too.

Jason

[Link07]

Call me a stick in the mud, or say that it doesn't matter, but to be completely honest, I would not like if this happened at my event.

[tickspe15]

Stick in the mud...

[ThunderousPrime]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

That was a great idea! Thanks for sharing the video link.

I hope this can be done at other events... the elimination format doesn't always allow the top teams a chance to play together.

It was very kind of the top six teams to take part in an exhibition match that presents the possibility of additional wear and tear and potential damage to their machines, just for the entertainment of those watching.

It seems fair and reasonable to take the top six teams for this match. I'd suggest that if you feel this offers a significant advantage to those teams then you should make plans to be amongst the top six at the end of day one next year.

Apparently there are advantages to being amongst the top eight at the end of qualification, too.

Jason

A few rebuttals.

1. This isnt Aerial Assault. Wear and tear on well constructed, well driven robots is fairly minimal. If you don't drop stacks on your robot, your robot will be fine.

2. I dont suggest that this gives those teams a significant competitive advantage but there certainly is some advantage in an "elims dry run" with two teams that you might have the ability to pick.

3. There are advantages of being in the top 8 at the end of qual rounds. The picking procedure is clearly outlined in the game manual so everyone knows how it will play out. I wasnt personally there so I dont know when or how teams we notified about the exhibition match but it certainly doesn't seem like it was anything formal.

4. Its interesting that you say there are advantages for the top 8 at end of qual matches seeing that this exhibition match was in the middle of qual matches. In theory all of these teams could have horrible qual matches tomorrow, they probably wont though cause they're good , and drop out of the top 6. Should the new top 6 at the end of quals get an exhibition match as well?

5. This leads to my final point why I dont appreciate the notion behind an exhibition match of the top seeded teams; It is an arbitrary bonus awarded to these teams that is not governed by the manual. Giving arbitrary bonuses and arbitrary penalties to teams is unfair imo because we all teams should know what to expect at competitions by reading the manual and updates or else we have lost uniformity as it regards to the rules.

[MrJohnston]

I don't know if I "agree" with the exhibition match concept or not. I don't think it really bothers me at all either way.

My team was one of the teams that played.... Competitively, it did not help us one bit: We were on an alliance with two robots that effectively do exactly what we do and have the same limitations. Frankly, I don't think we'd even choose one another if we were allied.... Due to those limitations, we agreed to pick up an RC and go to the landfill - something we have never done or even practiced.... We also put in our backup drive team - students who had not competed at all this weekend... We gained no competitive advantage.

As for wear and tear - we've taken a lot of damage during matches this year. The risk is still there - though we were really careful not to harm our bots. My only concern is that the alliances were randomly configured and, though the "strengths" of the robots was reasonably comparable, one side had a wider range of abilities and complemented one-another so much better than the other that the "result" was a foregone conclusion.