Predictions for UTC New England Regional

[Todd Derbyshire]

What is your team's predictions on the outcome of the New England Regional who do you think will raise to the top and who will be the darkhorse out of the field. Don't forget to stop by the pit on Thursday to say hi and don't forget to stop bye the pit Saturday at noon to discuss alliances!!

[Joel J]

Who will win the competition?? Well, if an excellent 2 goal grabber teams up with a decent ball grabber, they will pretty much win.

PS. It isn't THAT easy to stop some ball getters from getting balls....(BTW: was the PS the first thing you looked at?)

[SSwaszek]

In the finals at Rutgers we beat BUZZ in the semifinals simply becasue of the fact we had a fast and maneuverable. We blocked BUZZ from getting a lot of balls and we would stay between them when they tried to dump them.

[Jeff Rodriguez]

i think there are 2 possiblities:
either 1 good goal bot that grabs 2 goals, and a good ball bot that can put 20+ balls in
or two really good goal bots, with tethers to their endzone.
if 2 robots can control 3 goals than you can't beat them

[Andy A.]

I'm thinking the goal handler + ball handler allience is going to be a real force at utc.

I think that everyone has seen that the two, when they work together are near impossible to beat. It's all a matter of how well the two teams work together and plan. Just as predictied, at first teams kinda looked at us like: "huh? you can pick up balls? well, ok, can you move a goal to? We want to try to get all 3". Using a ball bot to grab goals is a waste if you ask me. By the end of Q rounds we had to do very little talking because teams knew how ball handlers and goal handlers worked together best.

Not to mention balls make the game so much more fun to watch.

My prediction: Not only are match points going to reguraly break 100, ball handlers are going to be very involved in the finals. The combo of speed and ball points make ball handlers very attractive to strong goal handlers these days.

What I can't wait to see is 2 combo alliences play a match. Then you involve the fight over the 3 goals, and the fight over the balls. Very exciting I think. I have yet to see it, I hope I do.

-Andy A.

[Elgin Clock]

In NYC the finals had mostly robots just concentrated on getting two goals(or more) into the scoring zone, the only real ball machines were mostly blocking so that the goal grabbers can get to the zone with no problems from the other alliance.

As for predictions, well.....I don't want to even guess how it will turn out, there are a lot of powerhouse teams that go to UTC but personally for my team I want to see our expierimental Blind Driver system, codenamed I.D.A.N. (Intelligent Detection, Analysis and Navigation), in action in at least one round and be successfull!

[Mark_lyons]

From what I've seen, the best alliance would be one real strong two goal grabber and two ball pickers. The two goal grabber would play in all matches with the ball pickers alternating. Problem is, I don't see too many quality ball pickers, so having two in one alliance may be tough. I would put us 157 (winners in Philly) with 173 (LI winners) with 230 and play anyone!

I would say that whatever alliance comes out of New England on top would be a force anywhere. The quality in this field is incredible.

[jeremy562]

Just a quick plug for my team.. 562 has a great 2-Goal Grabber that should be pretty bulletproof. UTC New England is our first and only regional this year, so we haven't had a chance to prove ourselves, but don't be surprised if you see us in the finals! I can't wait, I'm really looking forward to see how we stack up against everyone else!

I also agree with what you all have been saying. The alliance that is going to win the UTC regional will be the one that has a good ball grabber and a very strong goal grabber. The teams that are able to grab onto the goal are many. But the ones that are able to get the ball quickly and in high amount are few and far between (at least that is what i have seen at the Mid-Atlantic Regional).

I wish good luck to all the teams that will be with us at the UTC regional and i look foward to seeing how it turns out.

Remember always

[JAlpert]

In my opinion, balls dont matter in the eliminations, unless a goal controlling team breaks. At GLR, the winning alliance had two ball bots and one goal bot. The ball bots never once picked up a ball. They did, however, do a great job integrating high-torque capabilities, enabling them to control a goal well. In short, balls dont matter in the eliminations. Imagine a red team with a 2-goal grabber and a ball bot, and a blue team with two ball bots. The only way to win in the eliminations with balls is to let the red 2-goal grabber sit alone with its goals in scoring position, and have blue try to fill up the third free goal with over 20 balls. In order to do this, blue would pretty much have to have the goal to themselves. However, the red ball bot would simply harass them. The one red ball bot could easily keep two other blue ball bots from putting many balls into the goal. Also, in order to win at the end, the two blue ball bots would have to abandon their (possibly) filled up goal to retreat to their endzone. Not only will the red 2-goal bot most likely block at least one team from getting back to their endzone, but the red alliance will have a free robot ALONE with the goal. All it would have to do is pull the goal into its own endzone, or into neuteral territory and the match is over. So, in the end, balls are a distraction in this competition. However, ball bots score high in qualifications and inevitably end up in eliminations. If those ball bots have some torque (like team 65 and 67), however, they can do a great job helping to control the third goal.

Best of luck with your strategizing!

Jeff Alpert
Team 469

This message is a product of the "How is Joe Johnson going to beat us" brainstorming session.

Now, we participated in the Long Island Regional this year and I went up and watched it last year. I'd have to say, it just doesn't come close to compairing with the New England Regional. There are many heavy hitters attending and it will make for a very exciting competition.

I think the best combination during Qualifying would be an excellent two goal grabbing robot (like ours) along with a good ball scoring robot (one that can grab around 10 balls). During Elimination it's different. I'd still want good 2 goal grabbing robot (yes, like ours), but I'd want to alternate two robots whom are good at pushing goals and blocking. This is how we were paired up for in the LI Regional. I think we could have made it a little farther had our alliance partner's robot not overheated its motors in the closing seconds of the 3rd match of the quarterfinals (no hard feelings though!). We're looking to do well in New Haven.

Best of luck to everyone who attends!
Stop by and say hello in the pits. I'm an operator for Team 230 Gaelhawks.

[Jestin McCarthy]

[quote]Originally posted by JAlpert
[b]In my opinion, balls dont matter in the eliminations, unless a goal controlling team breaks. At GLR, the winning alliance had two ball bots and one goal bot. The ball bots never once picked up a ball. They did, however, do a great job integrating high-torque capabilities, enabling them to control a goal well. In short, balls dont matter in the eliminations. Imagine a red team with a 2-goal grabber and a ball bot, and a blue team with two ball bots. The only way to win in the eliminations with balls is to let the red 2-goal grabber sit alone with its goals in scoring position, and have blue try to fill up the third free goal with over 20 balls. In order to do this, blue would pretty much have to have the goal to themselves. However, the red ball bot would simply harass them. The one red ball bot could easily keep two other blue ball bots from putting many balls into the goal. Also, in order to win at the end, the two blue ball bots would have to abandon their (possibly) filled up goal to retreat to their endzone. Not only will the red 2-goal bot most likely block at least one team from getting back to their endzone, but the red alliance will have a free robot ALONE with the goal. All it would have to do is pull the goal into its own endzone, or into neuteral territory and the match is over. So, in the end, balls are a distraction in this competition. However, ball bots score high in qualifications and inevitably end up in eliminations. If those ball bots have some torque (like team 65 and 67), however, they can do a great job helping to control the third goal.

Best of luck with your strategizing!

Jeff Alpert
Team 469

I wouldn't be so sure that ball robots won't be a factor in the elimination rounds. Did anyone see 173 RAGE in Long Island? Now you tell me that ball robots aren't going to be a factor in the eliminations. I think you are digging your own grave if you think that balls won't be a factor. But I do agree that you will need a solid goal grabber to win it all. See you all there, and good luck.

Jestin McCarthy
Team 131

[Kyle Fenton]

This is not a full list of teams but there seams like there is more ball handlers than 2 goal grabbers in UTC.

Ball Handlers
58
69
95
103
121
126
131
145
166
173
175
236
271
348
500
782
811

2-goal grabber
38
151
237
287
505
596
839

Other
293
809

[Steve Prairie]

Originally posted by Jestin McCarthy
I wouldn't be so sure that ball robots won't be a factor in the elimination rounds. Did anyone see 173 RAGE in Long Island? Now you tell me that ball robots aren't going to be a factor in the eliminations. I think you are digging your own grave if you think that balls won't be a factor. But I do agree that you will need a solid goal grabber to win it all. See you all there, and good luck.

Jestin McCarthy
Team 131

Thanks Jestin for the compliment, you're right though. When a team can score 20 to 25 balls in under 30 seconds (and control the goal it scores into), it has a deep impact on who wins.

Heres an okay video of us winning because of balls in the SBPLI finals:
RAGE Video

See you in New Haven,

Steve Prairie
Team 173

[Kevin Ray]

TEAM 173 RULES !!!!

Team 329 had the fortunate/unfortunate luck to be in the round immediately behind 173 EVERY time at the Long Island regional. We never got to ally with or oppose them. We got knocked out of the top 8 in the last match, otherwise we would have picked 173. Even in the elimination rounds we didn't get to go against them. I have seen them in action in easy and tough matches. They are in the top ten in the country WITHOUT A DOUBT.

-They manhandle goals
-They have awesome speed
-They have great traction/power
-Maybe only my shop vac could get up balls quicker
-GREAT DRIVERS!!! --cool under pressure
-could do it themselves if they had to

if paired with an awesome goal grabber who is fast to the goal, I don't think they can be beat anywhere, YES, even the Nats.

My money is on you guys.

Can't wait to see you at EPCOT

Is 'ol one arm going to be back to full capacity by then?

_______________________________________
Mighty Mouse is back and very much improved.