How does the dual field setup work at MSC?

[hotwheel326]

Our team went to the Michigan State Championship back in 2014 so it was quite a different experience then from now. Will your match schedule be designated for either of the fields? Also it begs the question of if alliance selected defenses apply to both fields or just one or the other?

[AndrewPospeshil]

If you've ever been to an FTC Qualifier with 2 fields, it works a lot like that. Even matches are played on one field, odd on the other. Octofinals alternate between the two but Quarters onwards are all on one field. My assumption is that alliance selected defenses will go on both fields and be changed at the end of a "round" like usual.

[alephzer0]

I shall continue to make fun of FIRST for coming up with such a hilarious name as Octofinals.

[hotwheel326]

Originally Posted by AndrewPospeshil

If you've ever been to an FTC Qualifier with 2 fields, it works a lot like that. Even matches are played on one field, odd on another. Octofinals alternate between the two but Quarters onwards are all on one field. My assumption is that alliance selected defenses will go on both fields and be changed at the end of a "round" like usual.

Interesting. Would both matches play at the same time or one plays while the other is in field reset and they just alternate?

[Type]

Also, does anyone know how audience defense selection will work? They just listen to the crowd closest to them? Or is it same for both fields?

[orangelight]

Originally Posted by hotwheel326

Interesting. Would both matches play at the same time or one plays while the other is in field reset and they just alternate?

One plays and the other field resets

[jaunvie]

What happens when there is a delay on one field and the other one is reset and ready to go? Do they have to wait for the first field to finish playing before they start their next match?

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by alephzer0

I shall continue to make fun of FIRST for coming up with such a hilarious name as Octofinals.

Out of common colloquial options, octofinals isn't that strange. And besides, it's mostly just a logical extension of the prefixes.

Originally Posted by Type

Also, does anyone know how audience defense selection will work? They just listen to the crowd closest to them? Or is it same for both fields?

Assumedly it's the same for both fields, so that the match cycle of all teams playing with the same defense is still intact. Splitting into two fields is purely to expedite the qualification match process.

[Foster]

Originally Posted by alephzer0

I shall continue to make fun of FIRST for coming up with such a hilarious name as Octofinals.

They were not first, it's a term that's been around for a long time, it pops ups as a reference during March Madness NCAA basketball.

But if you want, you can lay claim to duodecafinals.

There was a comment on how you can use multiple fields. At some VEX events with 4 fields, I've had a field being reset, one loading in robots, one running and one scoring. Lots of action and you can get lots of matches in. Downside is roboteer fatigue, there is very little time between matches.

[Tungrus]

FYI: FIM did an excellent job last year (which was first time with dual field as far as I know) and continue to believe they will do an equally good or better job! Having said that things happen a match on one field may get delayed (which happened at least once) and they went ahead and started match on other field. The field setup was going smooth and emcees were not talking over each other.

[lamiet01]

Originally Posted by jaunvie

What happens when there is a delay on one field and the other one is reset and ready to go? Do they have to wait for the first field to finish playing before they start their next match?

I general, the delayed match has to complete before they switch to the second field. I don't remember any specific exceptions to this last year. Even with occasional delays, the pace of the competition was pretty swift.

[Christopher149]

Originally Posted by Tungrus

FYI: FIM did an excellent job last year (which was first time with dual field as far as I know).

As far as I know too. The only other dual field to happen that I know of was Einstein 2015 (but that was like 2 weeks later).

[AndrewPospeshil]

Originally Posted by Foster

Downside is roboteer fatigue, there is very little time between matches.

With 102 teams (!) competing in the same division/bracket, I find that this isn't really an issue. The average match turnaround was something like 15 matches last year. Couldn't tell you how long a cycle time between matches was, but I think three or four minutes is a pretty good guess. That's more time between your matches than District competitions. So while the pace of competition is swift, your team actually isn't rushed much at all. This is helped by the DeltaPlex's convenient setup: the pit-to-field walk is no more than a minute or two.

Originally Posted by Tungrus

FYI: FIM did an excellent job last year (which was first time with dual field as far as I know) and continue to believe they will do an equally good or better job!

This can't be overstated. The success of such a huge event rests on the shoulders of its volunteers. FIM events are staffed by actual superheroes. They make stuff like a 102-team 2-field event happen. They're like an incredibly well-oiled machine that gets more efficient over time.

Originally Posted by lamiet01

I general, the delayed match has to complete before they switch to the second field. I don't remember any specific exceptions to this last year. Even with occasional delays, the pace of the competition was pretty swift.

I think there was one super long delay on a field last year - something like half an hour? Does anybody remember if the other field was running during that time? I think my team was one of the bots waiting on the field but I honestly couldn't tell you anything more.

[nikeairmancurry]

Here's how last year worked.

Quals:

-Odd number matches were played on field A, even number matches were played on field B.

-As one field reset the other would be playing. With the scoring taking a bit longer to confirm last year, they would introduce the next match before scores from the previous match would be posted. (I assume that they may do this again this year , but probably not)

-If there is a delay on one field there is a delay on both fields. Last year I believe it was a scorpion issue that caused the huge delay.

Elims:

-For octo-finals you only played on field A or B for that portion of elims.

-For quarter-finals on, you played on field A. (If you are likely to be in elims for the long haul sitting in front of this field at the beginning of Saturday is a must as viewing might be hard from extreme angles.