Official 2005 Clue Thread

[Mike AA]

just as a thought, and seeing that there hasn't been an early BOM list. maybe someone could ask around at home centers around FIRST's HQ and see if they've gotten a large order or specific things from first. if just a way to see what might be included on the field

I would guess FIRST wouldn't be switching away from alliances but to get the larger number of teams using more per match would require more teams per field.

But I guess after 15 pages people start to repeat things....

[David Guzman]

Originally Posted by Pin Man

hmm... thats interesting... but now that i think of it i agree that that comma is bothering me... it sounds like you and me are between Pi... So maybe like you start inside something with the other team... hmm...

Maybe what that comma is trying to tell us is that You and Me are in between Pi, so Pi is half of a circle so the team players could be in the middle of the field, they would be in the semicircle. So red aliance would be in Quadrant 1 or 2 and blue in the other quadrant.

Inside there the human players would have to something to which they have to look closely. I am not sure what, but anyways just guessing.

[jparkteach]

What if the center piece was more like a tetrahedral? 3 lateral sides...

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Mike AA

just as a thought, and seeing that there hasn't been an early BOM list. maybe someone could ask around at home centers around FIRST's HQ and see if they've gotten a large order or specific things from first. if just a way to see what might be included on the field

You could just go to a remote kickoff location and hide in the trees with binoculars and perform surveillance in the couple days and night before the event and see what they carry inside. Of course, that would be maliciously amateur, not graciously professional.

[Katie Reynolds]

Look closely and you will see something between Pi, You and Me."

I see all the vowels of the alphabet, between "pi, you and me"

[Kevin Kolodziej]

First, a quick grammar note. The way the comma was used ("...Pi, You and Me.") is acceptable according to some style guides. I disagree with it (1,2, and 3), as does the English department at MSOE, but the MSOE newspaper uses the comma in the way that the quote does.

On to my thoughts!

I really like that idea of two hexagonal fields, each with their own alliance, but the scores work together somehow. It reminds me of an idea I had last year for a game that is still untold to most...

What I get out of the hint is this:

Amethyst = purple, which to me means the red and blue alliances combine somehow. I think there could be a purple, or neutral, zone in the middle of the field that counts for nothing (the center is out????)...OR, how about this: the points in the blue zone multiply the points in the red zone, which gives both alliances the same base score. The points in the alliance's zone then get added to that base score. FOR EXAMPLE: 5 points in red, 10 points in blue. Base score = 50, red gets 55, blue gets 60.

I don't think the shape of the field will change. My early FIRST history is rusty, but was the hexagon field used for 5 years? The square field of '99 certainly was not =)

There is plenty of room on the current field for three teams per side and six robots on the field at once. As far as the radio is concerned, aren't there 14 channels (4 dipswitches)? I don't know much about the controller..so I could be very wrong. One way or another, it worked for the CDI competitions (3v3), so I don't see why it wouldn't work for regular FIRST. I really hope that it is 3v3 because those CDI matches were the best matches that I ever participated in or watched.

Pi leads to circles, and what is in the middle of Pi you and me?

PIYOUME -> center letter is O...what I'm getting at are INNERTUBES! Cirlces extruded about circles =)

Kev

[Mike AA]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

You could just go to a remote kickoff location and hide in the trees with binoculars and perform surveillance in the couple days and night before the event and see what they carry inside. Of course, that would be maliciously amateur, not graciously professional.

Yes, I know it would be, and it occured to me, but it was just a joke.

[Pin Man]

I like your thinking on the inner tubes... having 3 vs 3 would be incredible... unless you were on an alliance with two broken robots... then it would be like instant death... I would love to see 3 vs 3... It would bring so much excitement to the competition (no I'm not saying that the competition is dull right now because we all know how crazy everyone can get)...

[Jeff K.]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

You could just go to a remote kickoff location and hide in the trees with binoculars and perform surveillance in the couple days and night before the event and see what they carry inside. Of course, that would be maliciously amateur, not graciously professional.

LOL but hey, it'd be funny and something to laugh at.

[CyberWolf_22]

When I read about the red + blue = purple. I started thinking about the best robotics game this year.

In it, there were multiple scoring zones one for each color and then four others where two of the four teams shared the points put in to this zone.

Maybe, the FIRST game is like this in that Instead of having to help your opposing alliance score points in a game like in stack attack were you were blowing the opposing alliances out it was to your advantage to help them score. You can put many of your scoring objects in a shared zone that makes both alliances score points, providing for a better qualifying score.

[Dested]

They coudlnt have given us these things like 3 days before? SOME OF US NEED SOME FREAKIN SLEEP BEFORE THE SIX WEEKS!!!!!! :-P

[Yov]

May I just say "you" litteraly is in between "pi, you, and me"

Just some food for thought ;P

[Daniel Brim]

"While wearing Amethyst colored glasses, John Neun gave George Burns the following riddle: 'Look closely and you will see something between Pi, You and Me.'"

I apologize if this has been said, but I don't have time to read through 230-something posts. John Neun and George Burns were both baseball players (as I saw when I attempted to read this thread). Baseball is played on a diamond. A diamond and amethyst can both go on rings. Rings are circular, as are glasses, as is the o in the middle of Pi you me. All of these circles are not solid; they have holes in them (donut/bagel shaped). This also goes with "the center is out" rumor earlier.

[kmcclary]

Originally Posted by gb8

Vmax = 10 ft/sec

Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on."

The proceeding was the clue from last year. The max velocity of the arm to grab the bar wasn't so encrypted. Last year people noticed the quote was from a Led Zeppelin song. So maybe the Beatles idea isn't so far off.

Originally Posted by KimT

Call me dumb, but can you clarify how this hinted at last year's game? I must say, I'm rather baffled. I could see it more for Stack Attack than FIRST Frenzy, but I think understanding last year's connections (or if there's some pattern with clues from previous years?) will help us determine where we're running wild with the clue. Thanks!

The clue was a Led Zeppelin song lyric from "Stairway to Heaven". We all then assumed there was a staircase or multiple steps to climb. Many of us (including me) believed there might be a "Stile" as a centerline divider access (or choke point) device, to replace the dual ramp or teeter totter in past events.

We were PARTLY right. It wasn't a "stile" ladder after all.

Instead, the center platform had three 2" microsteps at each end (a misdirection IMHO, as any robot using them would then have to navigate around the static goal on a VERY narrow shelf to get to the bar) . It also had a 6" (or 12") step if you approached the platform from near a midpoint side.

If your bar device required you to be directly under the bar, you were forced to "climb the staircase" by stepping up 6" twice.

BTW... The 10ft/sec maximum also in essence threw out ballistic acquisition of the bar from the floor. Do the math to determine how close you'd have to be for a 10ft/sec projectile shot upward to stall out vertically and you'll see what I mean... You had to be so close, manual placement was (IMHO) easier, and more reliable.

Does this help?

Now... Given THAT, how do we interpret THIS year's clue???

- Keith McClary

[MikeDubreuil]

Originally Posted by Katie Reynolds

I see all the vowels of the alphabet, between "pi, you and me"

You forgot, "and sometimes Y."