Next Year's game idea....

[Rob Colatutto]

Water game anyone? ...just kidding.

I think we'll be seeing something vertical again next year. Hopefully some large moving object will return such as the 99' puck or the 01' bridge. I would like to see the 14.75" field divider take another year off since we've had too much of that recently, however it is fun when there is a step under it similar to the 3" step in 01'. I think we should see another non-uniform game object (but not totes) since there are many many good models now for picking up small balls and large balls due to thier frequent appearances. A completely new object (soda bottles? maybe we could see that game preview photo with the mysterious road cone come in) would be a good idea.
One thing I would like to see is the entire driving area go back to carpet or go to a completely new surface all together. Maybe a surface where metal would be allowed to contact it.

I'm sure sometime soon Dave will post his official "so how about you design the 2005 game" thread.

In my oppinion, changes are always good in FIRST games.

[suneel112]

They should do something balace -ey. Like Diabolical Dynamics 2001. I also liked the three color system of alliances.

I'd like a game 5 minutes long. FIRST MEGAFRENZY!!! balances, bars, slippery ramp, balls, 2x multiplier totes (yes, put 8" balls in the totes themselves (opening required)), spikey things, pyramid things, floppy things, 4x multiplier 48" balls, 6 autonomous beacons. THis will be super hard, and tax good thinkers. We need to raise the bar. And by the way, 8 teams per match.

[hansTP2S]

Originally Posted by suneel112

They should do something balace -ey. Like Diabolical Dynamics 2001. I also liked the three color system of alliances.

I'd like a game 5 minutes long. FIRST MEGAFRENZY!!! balances, bars, slippery ramp, balls, 2x multiplier totes (yes, put 8" balls in the totes themselves (opening required)), spikey things, pyramid things, floppy things, 4x multiplier 48" balls, 6 autonomous beacons. THis will be super hard, and tax good thinkers. We need to raise the bar. And by the way, 8 teams per match.

8/3=2.666...

[tkwetzel]

Why do I think this? IR is the only way (in FIRST at least) to track a moving target. Yuo can't track a line, wall, or use dead reckoning to find something constanly changing position.

That would only be during autonomous that you would need IR sensors.

And to everyone who says look at what Dave has hinted at: Look at everything he says and does. He can relate two totally bizarre things. These hints may hardly mean anything about the game.

[DCA Fan]

Inner tubes, staircases, and/or evil inflatable clown punching bags. Pick your pick.

I'd love to see autonomous at the end of a match, but I'd like to see a balance of difficulty so rookie teams get a fighting chance out of the gate.

[Mike Rush]

I did hear that it would be to every teams advantage to learn how to use the IR sensors that were on this years game. Apparently it is going to be much more important than this year. I don't think a lot of teams used the IR sensors. Most appeared to be dead reckoning or line following. Not all but I think most.

[Don Knight]

Footballs, moving targets, humans and robots score points

[Billfred]

Footballs would be genius. They're available, yet harder to grip from an unknown direction.

The only hard thing about moving targets is making it so that teams can replicate it. But a suspended bag would be pretty neat--just attach some braces that go outside of the field.

Or, if we were feeling especially devilish...good ol' play sand? That'd be a real test of drivetrains.

[Ryan F.]

Originally Posted by Billfred

That'd be a real test of drivetrains.

Personally, I hope that next years game will be a test for the drivetrains in some way. That was something that was really neglected this year. Some teams built complex gearboxes etc., but in the end, they weren't that crucial. Though, I have a feeling a match like this would be very high contact, so people would also have to build very sturdy robots, something I was surprised at the lack of.

-But then, I may be a little bias

[AJunx]

Having attended the past five FIRST National Competitions, I think that the most exciting games (to watch as well as to compete in) have been fast-paced. I recognize, of course, that not every second of every match has been fast-paced. However, I would suggest to anyone thinking up a new game idea to make sure that they allow for the game to be fairly fast-paced. After all, speed and excitement are two of the many aspects of robotics that inspire young people to become involved in FIRST.

[Greg Needel]

i was talking to a few friends at nationals and we came up with a solution to save first money and keep things very interesting.....i think that they should keep the field the same but just change the rules

things like the doubler ball would half the points in the goal

robots can score balls in the goals

balls start on the field and are worth twice as much if they are scored in the ball drop bins and the balls on the tees can be knocked off at any time to descore those balls

the field would be set up that the mobile goals are sitting infront of the stairs on the opposite side of the field.

human players serve the same pupose as this year

and the bar will be broken in to sections painted red and blue and depending on where you are hanging depends on what team gets the points.....



these are just a few of my ideas.....

[FizMan]

The only problem I see with increasing the match time drastically (i.e. to five minutes) is battery power...

And I really like the idea of having the robot out of view in a particular section with the human player spotter... I doubt it'll ever happen, but I like the uniqueness of it.




Maybe we'll have the robots pick up random, unmarked CD's, pop them in a stereo, and see if they find YMCA.

Not too keen on the idea of disabling opponent's robots though... but again, an interesting idea.


I'd like to see some sort of thing, where you get points for accomplishing a task. Whereas all the games I've been a part of where the score is based on the final configuration of the field, maybe if your bot does something in autonmous mode... or does whatever task, you GET 20 points or something.


EDIT:

I just realized that there were two more pages of posts in here when I replied (thought there was just one) so sorry if I went and said something that the lot of you already discussed in great detail

[sburro]

Originally Posted by Rob Colatutto

Water game anyone? ...just kidding.

I think you are on to something. Water would be interesting. Just imagine.

[Ryan F.]

This has been discussed many times. Just run a search for the thread.

[RBrandy]

What about a game with a verticle pole? That would be challenging. Use bean-bag chairs for scoring objects. Have the goals for the bean bag-chairs be closed unless opened during autonomus mode. That all would be cool.