River Rage...What should it be??

[Justin]

Hello All,

We on the River Rage committee are looking to gain some insight on what prospective attendants/the FIRST community at large thinks of some of the idea "game ideas" we are kicking around.

They primarily consist of...

-> 2on2 similar WPI.

-> A unique game w/the single goal of breaking the 720 record...details of this game are still being worked out but essentially teams would play qualifying rounds. Viving for the top 5 ranks. The top 5 teams could then choose _any_ of the participants at the event (including other top 5 teams or other teams that were not picked) in an attempt to break the 720 point record. (Note: these rules are subject to change but u get the idea).

-> The tried and true 2001 FIRST Game "Diabolical Dynamics" - without time multipliers. The rationale behind this is that, some of the most exciting matches of the season were those where teams played the full two minutes and as the clock ran out were still trying to balance the goal was one way, then the other, and they almost had it. As opposed to matches where teams just gave up and clocked out because it was all too hopeless. This game is about playing the game.

-> The tried and true 2001 FIRST Game "Diabolical Dynamics"

-> Other...post ideas here.

Thanks for your input,

Justin

[Andy Grady]

Ok so maybe I said that I was done, but seeing that the "Record Breakers" was my brainchild, I've been asked to clarify exactly how it works. First of all it would be unfair to teams if just the top 5 went on to choose any partners they want. So in order to keep it interesting and fair, there are a few different methods to being in the "Record Breakers" Round.

1. The top 2 seeded teams will go on to the "Record Breakers" Round

2. One team will be chosen by a panel of judges. This team will be chosen by the criteria of who can present the best strategy for breaking the record.

3. One team will be chosen by a peoples choice format. Each team will be given a ballot and the winner gets a shot.

4. The last team will be chosen at random from the rest of the teams who are not captains of the record breaking round.

How the "Record Breakers" Round works:
Each captain will chose 3 partners from the rest of the team. These parters can be any team, reguardless of rank and reguardless of whether or not they have competed in the "Record Breakers" Round or not. Each dream alliance will get 2 chances to break the record. (The record is a 720 point raw score). If an alliance does break the record they will be given a special award.

The Winner:
The winner of the competition is the alliance with the highest raw score throughout the competition. This includes qualification rounds (to keep it fair to teams who may not have been picked)

Hope this clarifies things...any questions drop me an e-mail or IM, skrach42@aol.com

[Pamela]

My reasoning behind the vote....

- WPI Style ~ Good, I miss REAL competition with defense and offense, but I thought that the game was a little too sloppy when played as a 2v2 the way the game was designed this year.

- Breaking 720 ~ Cool Idea, I would love to see this record broken, but could leave lesser teams feeling a little left out if they could not get near that score, what if noone comes near breaking it, people would be really disappointed come the end of the day....

- X-nay on the Multipliers ~ I rather like this idea, the scores wouldn't be quite as high, but it would encourage more tasks to get done and better, would very much penalize alliances who could not do a task like grabbing a big ball, would leave them with no chance at mastering the feild.

- Regular Unleaded ~ What can I say, one last chance to play this lovely game before they hopefully change the format back to one with more competition involved

[Chris]

I for one would just like to comment that i know the entire staff of team 151 loved the compition at WPI, there were tons of interesting strategys that were performed and almost everyone i talked to wanted another compition like that. I was shocked when i looked at the poll offered above and saw that like 16 people voted, that isn't nearly enough to make a decision off of. I just have one thing to add, if RiverRage does end up being same rules i think there is one that should be changed. At WPI they counted a bridge balanced if they could pull the object out from underneath and it remained balanced, i thought this was a bad rule, because at times i saw them gently pull the ball out, and others i saw them kick it out. Also a robot stuck under the bridge should also make the bridge count as unbalanced. These are just my thoughts on things. any comments? I for one am really hoping for another WPI style compition. But no matter what they choose i know teams will go and have fun. So good luck to all, and see you there.

Chris
Team 151

[ColleenShaver]

I voted for the 2v2 cause I think yeah, it was a bit 'sloppy' cause it was the first time round. I think the 2nd time it can only get better and seeing as how it would be many similar teams and maybe referees etc there would be more clarity in rules and calls.

And I think the "record breakers" idea kicks... but it should be an 'extra' of the competition. i.e. Competition 8am-4pm.. Record Breaker rounds 4:15-5pm or something. Throughout the day (and prior once the list of teams is out) ... teams can start building alliances.. deadline for 'strategy idea' submissions can be like 12noon on competition day and then X# of strategies can be chosen to try.

Combine 'em both.. old style first with the old school 'grudge matches' of Rumble :-P