Was play this year too aggresive?

[Marc P.]

I'm not sure what to think. I don't think it's right to call other robots "flimsy" or compare robots to any given standard. Each team has and will design robots to play the game as they see it necessary. Some teams may choose a complex, multi-function design that may appear "flimsy," while others mount a drive train on a block of steel and call it a tank.

The point is, everyone will always play the game as they designed their bot to perform. Just because aggretion is a part of one team's gameplan does not mean it's required for all teams to play that way. I agree a certain level of robustness is required to compete in FIRST these days, but I don't want to see the competition become another battlebots or robot wars. I'd rather see bots perform complex tasks and play a game rather than simply bash into each other, especially given that 6 weeks of my blood, sweat, and tears are in that bot. I don't want to see my hard work bashed up and destroyed at the hands of a more aggresive bot. That's not to say I wouldn't be at fault for mounting my electronics in a vulnerable position, but given the nature and intention of FIRST as an organization, I'd rather assume an event to be friendly competition rather than battle to the death.