Human Players Curving Boulders Into The Courtyard

[Rangel]

I haven't seen all that much talk about this part of the game so thought I might as well start the thread. I believe the idea is having a human player curve a boulder so that the boulder goes over a defense such as the rock wall and rough terrain. So far as the rules state, this is entirely legal and human players are free to do this. That being said, it seems like the GDC might not even be aware this strategy exists due to the new team update where trying to throw under the low bar is illegal. So what do you guys think should be the rule going forward. Under the low bar illegal, over any defense illegal, or none illegal. As far as tips and tricks to best curve the ball, I'll let human players give their input if they want to.

[OccamzRazor]

Well, we were hoping nobody else would figure this out for a few more weeks....but yes. This is legal as confirmed to us by the head referee (also on the GDC) and a part of our strategy last weekend. We successfully implemented the tactic multiple times and confused a couple of field referees because there was no robot entering the ball into the courtyard.

The ruling as explained to us:
G40: A ROBOT may not cause a BOULDER to move from the NEUTRAL ZONE into the opponent’s COURTYARD unless:
A. the ROBOT contacts the BOULDER within OUTER WORKS, and
B. the ROBOT completes its CROSSING (e.g. doesn’t completely back out of the OUTER WORKS into the NEUTRAL ZONE)
Violation: TECH FOUL per BOULDER

It says a ROBOT(not an ALLIANCE) may not cause a boulder to move from the NEUTRAL ZONE to the COURTYARD.

Our human player practiced for weeks before he hit the field and we learned that it is difficult for anyone to do without practice. You can curve a boulder and pummel it over defenses next to the low bar and it is totally legal. It will probably be discussed and changed in the team updates.

We also found a strategy using this human player loop to take down the tower in under 30 seconds after auto but were unable to do this during the finals at Guilford District event in NC because the breaches and scaling were just more important for our alliance to succeed (and we did succeed without this strategy).

[troy_dietz]

Will there be a contest for the first human player to score a low goal?
It's defiantly possible.

[Tcrump47]

One of my teammates was practicing the strategy and had a ball stop right in front of the low goal then rolled another one and had it bounce over.

[Doug G]

It is entirely possible for a good goal shooting robot to just stay in the courtyard making shots while the HP sends them over... if the defenses are selected in your favor! We've been practicing just in case.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by troy_dietz

Will there be a contest for the first human player to score a low goal?
It's defiantly possible.

It is possible, and indeed somewhat defiant.

[Daniel Vijay]

At practice today my team and I worked on curving the ball to the right of the low bar to get it past that row of defense. I was able to get it into the enemy courtyard about 5 times (across about 100 trials) and I believe I reached the batter once (though never actually scored a low goal). I was wondering if anyone has any tips for me on how I can improve my technique and/or consistency? Thanks a lot.

[b.arci]

With the new material on the low bar, I have succesfully gotten a ball fairly wedged under the material, and then tried pounding it with more balls. Unfortunately, I have not been able to force the ball through the low bar.

At a practice match at Buckeye, I succesfully angled (not spun) a ball across the ramparts. Any tips for succesfully crossing position 2 with a ball?

For those wondering, I have employed 2 different techniques: bowl the ball like you'd bowl a bowling ball. After practice, you can get pretty accurate with a strong shot. Secondly, I found you could shoot harder and be more consistent at not bouncing the ball off the guard (leaving the ball stranded in front of the opening) if you face away from the field, and bowl using two hands shooting inbetween your legs. Alas, this technique has less accuracy as you can't really see where you're bowling.