Station 2 & Match Schedules

[bdaroz]

So it's clear from the various posts about sightlines, pictures posted from NH, and the VR / rendered images, playing at station 2 is going to be more difficult than the other 2 stations.

We posted this to Q&A Last night:

Section 10.4.2 of the Game Manual goes into depth on the criteria and selection process for Qualification Match scheduling. Given the field layout, and the significant sightline impairment of the second PLAYER STATION, compared to PLAYER STATIONS 1 and 3, will the FMS attempt to balance distribution of PLAYER STATION assignments across the schedule? Secondly, during eliminations, will ALLIANCES be able to choose which TEAM will be at which PLAYER STATION, either per round or per MATCH?

Admittedly the 2nd question was a bit of a stretch, but the gist is, it's entirely possible to get a match schedule at an event that puts your team disproportionately on station 2 over other stations. It's also possible, but unlikely, you could get station 2 for every match, or not at all.

GDC Answered (as of 12:50p Eastern):

The assignments for Qualification MATCHES at a given event are done by the FIELD Management System (FMS) using software called "MatchMaker." FMS runs MatchMaker on "Best" Quality mode, which generates about 5 million schedules and selects the best one possible. Details about MatchMaker can be found on the vendor's website here.

The assignments for Playoff MATCHES are based upon selection order (see 10.5.3).

Teams are required to be in their assigned stations, and there is no provision to "trade" stations with other members of an ALLIANCE (see 10.11 for exceptions regarding the FIRST Championship Playoff MATCHES).

Neither the Game Manual or the vendor's website talk about balancing station position, but they do talk about balancing red vs blue assignment.

I don't have a problem with an asymmetric field, or one station having better or worse "features" than another, but when the difference is as severe as this, in the spirit of fair play I think it's a mistake for FIRST not to attempt to balance this part of the match schedule.