pic: All folded up

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Originally Posted by NOV8R

Can you imagine trying to see around a 72 inch by 38 inch piece of diamond plate between you and the rack? If we don't move at all from our starting position in the home zone and just deploy our ramps at the start of the match we've blocked the other alliance from getting to a lot of their tubes.

OMG!

You've prompted me to envision a terrifying new breed of robots

Blockers

What if a team decides not to bother with ramps or rings? But decides just to create a massive wall that prevents the other alliance from scoring?
It sounds silly, but this could work, it would change the entire way the game is played...

[NOV8R]

With the advent of a 6 ft high robot new strategies and tactics are possible. We are a blocker and we don't have to make contact to do it. If we simply drive into the other alliances home zone and park in front of their drivers we've obstructed their view of the field. They have to be over 6 1/2 ft tall to see over our bot. It will also be almost impossible for any team's arm to reach over us if we are between them and the rack. If we deploy our ramps in our home zone at the begining of the match without even moving we'll deny the other alliance from getting to most of their tubes leaning against the wall in our home zone. There is a lot of diiferent kinds of defense we can play with this robot.

[dtengineering]

Last year the "block the view" tactic (parking in front of a driver station) was specifically vetoed by the GDC in the Q&A.

That was last year... haven't seen anything about it this year, however G35 would suggest that while you may DEPLOY your ramp in your end zone during the main part of the match, that you would also receive a penalty EVERY time an opposing robot contacted you outside your bumper zone.

I'm not the final word on strategy, by any means, but FIRST does attempt to keep the game moving and dynamic. You may want to ask Q&A before basing a strategy upon static obstruction.

I like the ramp, though. Whether or not the obstructive strategies are allowed, I am sure you will be a very valuable alliance partner.

Jason

[JamesBrown]

How tippy is the bot, it seems like alot of the weight is very close to one side of the robot. Typically if you get tipped while you are playing defense and the other team is trying to score the other team doesn't get penalized. Is this going to be a problem for you?

-James

[NOV8R]

Hi James, That big ramp weighs less than 18 LB. The total robot will weigh 128lb in the match. Trnslation....It's not tippy at all unless there is a strong crosswind.

[Rich Ross]

Originally Posted by NOV8R

Hi James, That big ramp weighs less than 18 LB. The total robot will weigh 128lb in the match. Trnslation....It's not tippy at all unless there is a strong crosswind.

I guess those huge muffin fans will come in handy then

All humor aside, looks like an interesting robot to play with. Lots of strategy possibilities, many of which have already been discussed.

Just to play devil's advocate though, lets say you park in your home zone, and are ready to drop your ramp, and a robot parks so that you'd have to smash them before you could lower your ramp. i'd do it in a second. Sure, i get 30 pts in penalties, but to shut down a 60 pt threat, its worth it.

Just something to consider (and i'm confident that you have already thought about it)
-Rich

[Barry Bonzack]

I'm betting in most qualifying matches 60 points should be enough to win the match if it doesn't take a full minute to get the other two robots up the platform. Watch out for the other alliance to put two robots on defense against your alliance members, they could possibly prevent your partners from returning to their home zone.

When do you plan to deploy the ramp? I am betting you don't have an arm to score (correct me if I'm wrong), will you deploy first thing in the match, or play defense for the first 30 seconds/ minute / 1.5 minutes of the game?

The obstructing strategy is ill advised. Even if there is no solid rule against that, good judgment says thats against the spirit of FIRST.

Thanks for showing the full scope on your robot and answering questions about it instead of vague "what could this be" pictures!

[NOV8R]

Hi Barry, Our strategy from the begining has been to play defense from the start and then deploy ramps for bonus points during the end game. There are many ways to be defensive with our design all the way from deploying the ramps in our home zone at the start of the match to keeping opposing alliance bots from reaching the rack. Test we did early on showed us that our bot anywhere between the opposing alliance drivers and the rack make it very difficult for them to place tubes. This years' 6 ft tall bots have expanded the defense play book. Using what the rules allow is not contra to gracious professionalism. There is a big difference between being agressive and being defensive. Our goal is to play excellent defense.

[Uberbots]

and excellent defense you will have to play...
robots like this are just one more reason for me to get the camera working... if you block our view, the robot will still know where it is.

[rohit]

That looks great! I would upload a pic of our ramp.. but I want it to be a surprise.