Next Year's game idea....

[Marc P.]

I saw in another thread, someone posted the possibilities of having the team colors controlled by the arena. It was mentioned how strategically interesting thing would get if halfway through a match, the alliances flip-flopped. One team would switch from red to blue and vice-versa.

[Scooter]

Now that we have an absoulute way to determine where on the field we are, move the autonomous period to the end of the match.

-Bill

P.S. What are floppies?

[Jay H 237]

Originally Posted by Scooter

P.S. What are floppies?

The floppies were stuffed round disk shaped objects. Basically like round pillows. They were the main part of the game in '99. Your robot had to pick them up and raise as many of them as possible up about 8' (don't recall exact height) in the air to score points. They didn't hold they're shape, think of throwing a pillow around and how it could land, and how much fun (difficulty) it was to pick them up.

[tkwetzel]

Floppies were used as scoring devices in 1999 and are round cloth things that are somewhat hard to describe. They are about 2.5-3' in diameter and the middle is sewn together to make it flat, however, around the sewn together part the rest of it is stuffed with something. It isn't stuffed with much making them very floppy (hence the name). If anyone has corrections or additions to that description, please add. I have handled one of them in the recent past (my brother has one somewhere), but I was not around when they were used in the FIRST game.
edit:

Basically like round pillows.

I woudl agree that they are sort of like pillows, but they are not as stuffed as most pillows are. They were very floppy and as he said don't hold their shape.

As for future years...I would like to see pyramid or cylindrical shaped pieces. a device to pick up something pyramidal in shape would need to be a little more complex than most of the arms that pick up the balls.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

Originally Posted by Scooter

Now that we have an absoulute way to determine where on the field we are, move the autonomous period to the end of the match.

I like this idea! Finally something that will give programmers (and not drivers) some respect!

[Steve W]

How about pyramids instead of balls?