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Re: Terrifying Karthik
Taking a strategic design standpoint, my assumption would be that he's astounded by the fact that so many teams, even high-level teams, are willing to sacrifice tons of space in the name of scoring 10 easy points that could be easily scored by lower-level alliance partner. Teams with high-level abilities ought to focus on the hard tasks (cough cough shooting) while low level teams complete simpler tasks reliably (low bar).
From a match strategy standpoint, I think the concern about low bar meta is, as Kevin Sevcik explained quite nicely, 3 teams relying on the low bar to traverse between the primary gamepiece entry point and the goal scoring point just screams "choke point." Cyclers will have to be well coordinated in their movement to make effective cycles. Good alliances will realize that having a courtyard defender is less effective than having a defender to simply block off the low bar, especially against alliances that rely on the low bar to complete cycles effectively.
So, from this, it'd be easy to feel that low bar meta is going to be extremely problematic for those teams that subscribe to it. However, it will have some huge benefits for the best low bar meta teams. When in a situation where there is no defender blocking the low bar, these robots have a massive advantage in their ability to complete fast cycles. Short robots will also be more likely to have a low center of gravity, meaning they can cross defenses with less risk of falling. The few low bar teams who have consistent high-elevation shooters will be ridiculously strong against poorly coordinated alliances.
Personally, I see scaling as being a cover for the biggest red herring of the season- the low bar. Everyone will be able to do it, yet the sacrifices you must make for the few points you gain will cause many teams to struggle significantly. It's low risk, with equally low reward, but the sacrifices that must be made could create disaster.
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FRCDesigns Contributor | "There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." -Aldous Huxley
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Last edited by evanperryg : 09-02-2016 at 23:42.
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