Mayhem in Merrimack 2016

[Francis-134]

Originally Posted by plnyyanks

We're trying to support more nonstandard playoff types on TBA - if someone (Francis?) has the data, I'd be happy to help work with them to get everything represented accurately on TBA. We can tweak how we display some events, as well (it's a benefit of being open source ) Match data for all!

I will have some data real soon I promise! I'm in the middle of getting ready for the NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge here at WPI, but in my downtime, I'll get the videos split and up on the YouTube.

EDIT: Good news! I got the quals matches on YouTube. Check out the playlist here.

[ZeroGAdam]

Now that I've got my voice back and made it safely back to PA after a lovely 6 hour drive, I'll chime in with my thoughts & thanks from my first Mayhem.

Originally Posted by Dan Petrovic

Yes, Jay O'Donnell, Brandon, and Adam were excellent this weekend. I look forward to seeing them volunteer at official events in the future!

Thank you for such kind words! It's been a wild season Game Announcing 3 districts, BattleCry, and now playing double duty GA/MC @ MiM. I think I might be done for a while, but that's what I said all the way back during week 4 at Rhode Island

Originally Posted by Dan Petrovic

the person with the most challenging job this weekend that we cannot thank enough was our FTA, Matt McQuaid.

Couldn't agree more! Matt had a lot to stay on top of and it definitely didn't help with all of the field faults that occurred. My hat goes off to him for keeping things running all of Saturday!

Originally Posted by Dan Petrovic

Despite all of this, 1768 selected this robot as their second pick for fun. 1768, 811, and 9319 (aka Teh Simbots, High Rollers, and other teams that Adam decided to mention) actually wound up eliminating our own Stronghold robot later in the tournament. 9319 couldn't score, but they could play some punishing defense.

I can't take the credit for those little plugs. The drive team was hysterical and provided all of the inspiration. They changed it every single match. Like I said, seeing that robot run around the field was one of the most entertaining things I had seen all season!

Originally Posted by Jay O'Donnell

Thanks to everyone for making Mayhem in Merrimack 2016 an awesome event! Chop Shop did a great job as always running the event, and I had a blast MCing and Game Announcing with Brandon and Adam.

It was great to work with both you & Brandon, Jay. I'm definitely looking forward to announcing with y'all again soon!

I had a great time at Mayhem and hope to be back again for the next one! Thanks again to 166/9319 and congrats to 133,1519, & 4906 for the win!

[Dan Petrovic]

Hey everyone,

I've put together a very quick survey to collect feedback on Mayhem in Merrimack 2016. You can find it right here.

We've already gotten a few great responses (one was exceptionally sweet and I wish I knew wrote it ) and we'd love to have more responses from those who attended. The more feedback we receive, the better we can make future competitions!

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Dan Petrovic

Hey everyone,

I've put together a very quick survey to collect feedback on Mayhem in Merrimack 2016. You can find it right here.

We've already gotten a few great responses (one was exceptionally sweet and I wish I knew wrote it ) and we'd love to have more responses from those who attended. The more feedback we receive, the better we can make future competitions!

Dan, I can't fill out the survey as I was there solely as a spectator BUT I'm going to share some bits of feedback.

Merrimack - always a solid venue for an off season, my only real complaint is that it's inconvenient to get to from my house... but I am going to blame the state of New Hampshire for that so I won't hold it against you

Visibility from the stands was pretty solid. But, the score display was very washed out and hard to read but that's mostly a minor irritation. The part I was happy with was that the sound seemed appropriate for the venue. Too often I see events with the sound turned either too high or too low. So, kudos on that.

Actually, I'll shorten this up, really my only problems with Mayhem this year were:

1) I had no idea what the playoff structure was - could have been my fault for showing up late. Probably was, wouldn't worry about this.

2) Unbearably hot - I actually had to leave the event because I was overheating in the stands. I get that it was a really warm outside but some moving air would have gone a long way to making it feel bearable in there.

But seriously, if the air circulation is the only thing I can complain about at an event it was pretty awesome. Can't wait to watch robots there next year.

[Dan Petrovic]

Andrew,

Thanks for the honest response.

As a matter of fact, others have shared the same concerns as you. We are discussing acquiring a new projector screen and possibly a new projector for next year.

I admit that the playoff structure was poorly communicated and it doesn't help that it was difficult to read our Excel bracket off of our projector. We haven't yet discussed better ways to communicate the playoff structure and how it all works, but that will certainly a point of emphasis when we start planning for next year.

[BenBernard]

We really enjoyed Mayhem, and wouldn't change the structure. I was among those confused by the playoffs--but luckily I had a student who got it and explained it to me. We're looking forward to Week 0 next winter (sincerely hoping you host again!) and Mayhem next spring! Thanks for all you do in NE!