Predictions Week One: Overlooking the Outerworks

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

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New England District- Waterbury:
Waterbury has the potential to be brutal this year, but it will be highly dependent on who shows up the most ready. This is one of the deepest events in New England with a large pack of upper and mid tier teams all looking to prove they have what it takes to take on Stronghold. People often talk about "East Coast Defense" and if there was any District to see how it will be played in 2016, this is the one. Based on Suffield Shakedown it looks like 177 is back in form with a solid drivetrain and a high release catapult. The last time 558 got to build a powerful drivetrain, they brutalized their way to the finals of the NE DCMP, word is they have a derivative of that same drivetrain tucked into their low bar robot. Team 228 put together a tank of a robot this year, and their choice to play it a little more simple then they have in the past should pay off big early in the season. 176 Built one of the few tall robots we've seen so far, with a CD7 intake and a rumored scaling device. The Gaelhawks (230) have a habit of starting the season off on a good foot, and you can expect them to show up ready to run in week 1. 2170 and 2836 both had breakout seasons last year, and rumor has it Beta picked up a long time mentor from 176. 1071 came to scrimmage able to pop shots into the high goal and look promising if they can get it all dialed in. A collection of teams have been building momentum over the past few seasons and one would be smart to keep your eyes on the likes of 236, 999, 1991, 1124, 3525, 3719, 4055, and 4557.

This will be my first official NE event and I'm super excited! I was not involved in the build season of 228, so it'll be my first time seeing how they do as well

It will be very interesting seeing 3314 here. It seems in 2015 they quietly became a pretty strong competitor in the early weeks, but failed to make elims at MAR Champs.

[crazyrobochick]

Thanks for the mention! We on 3525 are so excited for this weekend and cant wait to see what happens.

[Dezion]

Originally Posted by Ubiquity

A thoughtful analysis and discussion. I always like to look at the big picture. Just as a first pass I looked at the average qualifier scores from Week 0.5.

Average winning score 74.37209302
Average losing score 49.13953488

Margin: 25.23255814


So I think a good approach to the game would be to answer the following question:

How do we outscore the opposing alliance by 25 points?

Capturing the tower is the most obvious, rewarding exactly 25 points (plus however many challenges/scales you have). However, of course this can be difficult in qualifications and challenging during eliminations. Breaching the defenses awards 20, which can put you close, however it is much more (25 times) more common than capturing the tower. Any team in eliminations most likely must breach the defenses to have a fighting chance unless they manage to capture the tower. Preforming both capturing the tower and breaching the defenses gives teams a great opportunity to pull ahead by twenty-five points and will form the basics of each match.

Personally, I'm very excited to see the three Indiana teams coming up this weekend and hopefully,

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

The North Carolinian talent will have a chance to begin to show off what they're really capable of.

[Nathan Streeter]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

New England District- Granite State:
Usual Suspects- 78
Change in leadership- 3467
Ready for Action- 131, 5687
Dark Horse- 238

Also expect 88, 95, 138, 811, 2342, and 4905 to be playing into the elimination rounds... all 6 are looking to build on 2015 seasons that saw them fielding competitive robots that earned their way to the New England Championship... and beyond, for some teams!

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Nathan Streeter

Also expect 88, 95, 138, 811, 2342, and 4905 to be playing into the elimination rounds... all 6 are looking to build on 2015 seasons that saw them fielding competitive robots that earned their way to the New England Championship... and beyond, for some teams!

My money for #1 seed at GSD? Team #238. You heard it here first!

-Brando

[Ben Martin]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

MAR District- Hatboro-Horsham:
Mid-Atlantic Powerhouses- 1640, 2590
Aiming to contend- 25, 341, 2607, 2016, 2729
Looking to become sophomore standouts- 5407

MAR District- Mount Olive:
Hosts hoping to avoid any issues- 11, 193
Looking to build off of landmark 2015 success- 1403, 1923
Always in the hunt- 303, 222, 1676
Not flashy, but can produce results- 56, 1143, 4285

If 2590 wins Hatboro-Horsham, they will have won this event 4 times in a row.

Not listed for Hatboro-Horsham are 203 and 708, who have really built up their programs over the past several years. I expect them to be competitive there.

2607 and 303 don't get a lot of press outside of MAR--they both won a lot of competitions last year both in-season and during the off-season, and I would expect to see them fielding strong robots again this year.

EDIT: Not sure how I missed mentioning them before--1218 won two districts and was a Championship division alliance captain and finalist last year. They'll definitely be competitive at Hatboro-Horsham.

There are lots of great MAR teams playing this weekend!

[marshall]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

North Carolina District- Guilford:
This event marks the start of districts in North Carolina and is certainly going to be a strange weekend. The local teams will be getting used to the new format, and they have some outside help to show them how it's done. Three of the best teams from Indiana will be making the long drive to Guilford this weekend. 234, 1501, and 5188 are looking to get their machines tuned, their drivers practiced, and prepare for their own districts back home. With a lot of mostly unknown local factors, these teams could very likely end up facing each other in playoffs. The North Carolinian talent will have a chance to begin to show off what they're really capable of. Districts will allow these teams to learn and grow, iterating throughout their season. Case in point, 900 didn't have the strongest start out of the gate at Palmetto, but the Zebracorns are a team well known for their ability to adapt. They were a bit top heavy last weekend, but played some strong defense while working out bugs. If they can get their shooter working, the vision processing should help give them an edge. Shore up their CG issues, and they may have a strong shot come eliminations. Another team likely to be boasting complimentary software features is 2665. In the past the Platypi have shown that they can get an edge through programming, don't be surprised if they show up with a vision-processing solution too. Probably one of the most promising local teams this season has to be 1533. With their "Strange" drivebase of a swerve with a tank strapped on it, they are looking to breach their way to a high seed this weekend. This robot has a lot of utility and should compliment most styles of play come playoffs. 3791 did well without much funding last year, with money in their pockets and a keen eye for strategy, expect them to go even farther. Other local teams to keep an eye out for this weekend, that will likely be above the curve: 1225, 2059, and 2642.

I'm shocked we got a mention here since we aren't playing this weekend. We'll be watching though and best of luck to all of the teams in NC. It's a fun game so we know you'll enjoy playing it!

[zinthorne]

These are my favorite pre competition summarys. Thanks for the mention! Should be a really good competition this weekend. With so many normally good teams at the event, there should be a deep field for eliminations compared to many district events.

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by marshall

I'm shocked we got a mention here since we aren't playing this weekend. We'll be watching though and best of luck to all of the teams in NC. It's a fun game so we know you'll enjoy playing it!

Looking Forward to seeing you go undefeated this weekend.

[Mitchb705]

Originally Posted by marshall

I'm shocked we got a mention here since we aren't playing this weekend. We'll be watching though and best of luck to all of the teams in NC. It's a fun game so we know you'll enjoy playing it!

I was wondering the same thing. I got really excited for a minute and thought that I had missed your name on the teams participating. Also who is 3791? A quick blue alliance search shows that they folded in 2012. I am assuming you meant team 3971, Kai Orbus. I know my team cannot wait to compete in the first ever NC District event.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

My money for #1 seed at GSD? Team #238. You heard it here first!

-Brando

After seeing them at Week Zero this is definitely possibly they have a good robot.

[Austin2046]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

Predictions Week One: Overlooking the Outerworks
Bear metal’s week 1 jitters look to be the only thing between them and a solid finish this weekend.

Thanks for the kind words. Although we tend to improve our robots greatly throughout the season, our first events have typically been good to us. I was surprised the home team 2907 wasn't mentioned as they won the event with us in 2014 and were finalists with us in 2015. We're looking forward to seeing what they, and all the PNW teams, have in store this weekend.

[The other Gabe]

Originally Posted by Austin2046

Although we tend to improve our robots greatly throughout the season, our first events have typically been good to us.

Gotta agree here - although Bear Metal used to struggle week 1, over the last couple years we've become far more successful in week 1... it's DCMP that's been giving us issues :v

I love reading these posts, and then marveling over how you got some of this information

[marshall]

Originally Posted by Mitchb705

I was wondering the same thing. I got really excited for a minute and thought that I had missed your name on the teams participating. Also who is 3791? A quick blue alliance search shows that they folded in 2012. I am assuming you meant team 3971, Kai Orbus. I know my team cannot wait to compete in the first ever NC District event.

I want to see Kai's robot. That is an amazing team.

[Edxu]

Originally Posted by Looking Forward

Greater Toronto Central
Top of the pack - 188, 3683
Swerving over from QC - 3360
Contenders- 781, 1310, 1325, 1511, 2852

I just wanted people to take note of 865 as well. Over the course of GTC last year, they improved their robot by leaps and bounds, and I eventually saw them intake totes from the landfill faster than 1114. I wouldn't be surprised to see them rank very high.

I'm really looking forward to see how teams will apply the lessons learned from Palmetto, as well as seeing if anyone has any secret plans in mind..