No official FIRST game hint yet??

[tkwetzel]

Originally Posted by George1083

Each of the 2 V-shaped goals (4 posts, get it?) will have IR beacons to make it possible to score in autonomous mode.

There will probably be an increased score given to objects scored during autonomous. And "eat dessert first" means that autonomous will be at the end, requiring the robot to use the IR beacon to find its way to the posts. I think Dave is feverously designing a new game now, since we have figured out the game he had already planned.

[Wetzel]

We know they build and play out game ideas and tweak from that. Perhaps Dave was playing the game and you score by 'posting'.

Horseshoes? Frisbee golf?


Wetzel

[John Neun]

Originally Posted by Amanda Morrison

Wait! That's right! John has a brother, which he mentioned in this thread.

That means there THREE J. (V- optional) Neuns. ... TWO of which are John (V- optional) Neuns. 2 + 3 = 5!

You are all starting to scare me. Actually, I don't care for Krispy Kreme donuts. I'm from the Northeast, and we have Dunkin' Donuts here.

[tkwetzel]

Originally Posted by John Neun

You are all starting to scare me. Actually, I don't care for Krispy Kreme donuts. I'm from the Northeast, and we have Dunkin' Donuts here.

Uh oh! John Neun now has 4 posts (the magic number...according to some).

[Swampdude]

Originally Posted by John Neun

You are all starting to scare me. Actually, I don't care for Krispy Kreme donuts. I'm from the Northeast, and we have Dunkin' Donuts here.

Riiiiight.... you know, you look familiar

[Karthik1]

Originally Posted by tkwetzel

I think that to make the top of the "v" start at the bottom of the plexiglass on the current player station walls and have them slope downwards to meet the other slope at the floor level in the center wouldn't be too hard or too exspensive (if they don't use exspensive materials to create it). They could also add a flat part at each end of the field (at the top of the slopes) to make the slope steeper or to have a spot to put something so it would not automatically roll to the middle. It is very doable, but I doubt that we will see a field in such a manner in this year's game.

Well when I thought V shaped field I really meant a sloped field only at the edges sort of like this \___________/ , and a elevated platform at the ends. so we would only have to build a ramp on each side of the field (the shorter side) so if u were a driver the base of the robot would be like eye level with thew base when you start. Then in like autonomous mode you would go down the ramp, or wait does eat desserts mean that autonomous is at the end. Wo that would mean that that all the robots would need like a GPS like system.

[Jay H 237]

Perhaps this "V" is actually a ramp the robot has to drive over and/or balance on similar to 2001. We all know how they sometimes like to incorporate ideas from previous games.

[RbtGal1351]

wow autonomous at the end?
that'd be reali hard/weird/complicated.
cuz ud hafta know where you are in order to do stuff, so in order to do ur autonomous right, everyone would be scrambling at the end of not-autonomous to get to where they need to be. (itd also then be hard to not block other ppls bots when you know where they need to get...just sorta be right where they need to be... la dee da )
but then, if you're NOT where you need to be, who knows where you're bot would end up if it just did what it'd normally do... (course a good programmer would make an override switch that the driver could flip right before non-auto mode ends so that nothing happens , for fear of running your bot into other things...)
also, what if some bots were broken but still ran, or piled on top of each other cuz one fell over, and they went to do what they wanted to do during autonomous!
no, i dont think they'd have autonomous be at the end after some non-auto time. esp after only having auto mode at all for a couple of years!
my opinion anyway
~Stephanie

[pakrat]

Eat Dessert First

I dont know about you, but for me and most people i know, desert is a pleasing thing to the masses. And what do the masses do at competition?? they cheer, and when do they cheer the loudest?? (apart from when something catastophic happens

That's right folks, they cheer when the socre comes out. Im onto you, Dave.

Eating dessert first means that we will have to predict our score before the match starts. This is gonna make it a bit harder, and the best defense could be a good offense (make the opposing team get too many points), so, that means that its gonan be a crazy year.

And in regards to the post about 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen.

Obviously, this has got to do something with more than juyst the surface. Dave is often a cryptic fellow, so im guessing this has somethign to do with either the fact that hydrogen is explosive and oxygen is fallamable, or maybe something to do with number 7, the next consectutive number (mass of 2 hydrogens divided mass of an oxygen, roughly.

Well, thats my speculation for the moment. LEt the newest rumors begin!!!

[Karthik1]

Haha 2 hydrogens and 1 oxygen, maybe 2 on 1. No just joking. Eat desserts first has got to be a clue so think about it. what does he mean.

[tkwetzel]

Originally Posted by Karthik1

...Eat desserts last...

Dave actually said "Eat dessert first"...changes everything that you have said and all your thoughts that you didn't want to share.

[ahecht]

I still think he's talking about donuts.

[Heretic121]

Wow... my first post on speculations...

I want to know what the main #'s are going on... I'm hearing 5 and 4 being thrown around a lot... I'm assuming that means the # of teams involved in each alliance... which could make sense ESPECIALLY if the game is 3v3... but that would move the # of teams in the elim rounds down to 20, which i don't think they would do... But if it was 4 the regionals would need at least 32 teams... (and do all regionals have 32 teams???)

I'm going to stand firm on the 3 team alliance, but with the V shaped field theory and the 4 posts... I am imagining right now... a field where is almost an |_ shape that looks like a V w/ a 90* angle... the 4 posts being 2 on the points of the right angle (one near side one far side) |._ and then having one post in the middle of it on each end in front of the player station X yards out... *maybe a diagram coming???*

But also another theory of the "V" shall we call it... is the same |_ shaped field, but in the middle of the field... there is a /- in the middle of the field at the bend, kind of like a table top *like 2003's ramp but on a smaller scale* which connects the 2 parts of the field. The 4 posts would be in the same spot and they would be opposite scoring sides like 2003 once again, where you would have to put the "deserts" on the posts...

[Swampdude]

Here goes my almost complete best guess:

I like Georges idea of the 4 posts to hang the donuts on.

So in keeping with the 2001 format, we all need to work against the clock to get the donuts hung, and these donuts will likely be red, blue, yellow and green inner tubes - or the posts are the different colors indicating "your" scoring location. This way you can affect your own score like 2001 with the colored balls. But there's also an objective. I think the 4 bots (4 bots, cuz there will only ever be 4 driver stations) work together to assemble something (don't think we've seen the hint on this yet).
I think all those fancy transmissions and defensive strategies are going on the shelf. I'm thinking good maneuverability, not muscle, when working as a team. I think we're grabbing inner tubes and hanging them on posts. I think these tubes are going to be the place to be selfish and up your individual score, like 2001. We're also going to need to move fast, and hit the button to get the time multipliers. I think these posts are going to be a painful height like last years bar - so amble, fast and long arms. The human players will be tossing these donuts on either your bot, or on the tall posts.
When looking at 2001's best teams, the designs all met a specific need and complimented each other. I think a game like this will call for a variety of designs such that we will be able to compliment each other. This objective is the key to our design, that can also allow us to grab the donuts without defeating the objective design. This will be our real challenge..... I'm sure that in this year, as we've had almost every year, we will be dragging a big mobile object around (or multiple) - possibly mobile posts. As usual there will be the place for the "box bot" with nothing more than a drive train, that can still be "in the game". Which supports the mobile objective.

[RbtGal1351]

whoah wait!
if dave said "eat dessert first," and we normally eat dessert last, doesnt that mean that something we normally do last will be done first, not the other way around?

so, persay, taking from last years comp, we get a bunch of points if we start on the bar and then get down so that we're NOT on the bar at the end...

or, cuz i dont think autonomous will be at the end, you could go with this donut theory and say that we could be taking the donuts OFF the posts and putting em somewhere else... or on the bot maybe? a bunch of donut carrying bots...
hmmm
sounds interesting

~Stephanie

ps- and with the thought from Swampdude that there will still be "the 'box bot' with nothing more than a drive train, that can still be 'in the game'.", a V shaped field is unlikely. itd be harder for ppl to "wing it" on their bots.