2008 FIRST game

[vivek16]

hmm... ok. I guess that makes sense.

[Roger]

Originally Posted by basicxman

i doubt they'll be using the tubes again because theres a blowout sale on the FIRST store where the tubes are 2.00 dollars each (trying to get rid of them obviously)

And the rest went to Building 19 ... well, yesterday they had only one left and that was the display piece. Not that I was looking for them, mind you. I do go there for other things.

And we're due for squares. I started with the triangles, then two years of circles. So it's squares. Lots of squares.

[Mr.VW]

Are we alowed to use bluteooth control this year?

[JohnBoucher]

Originally Posted by Mr.VW

Are we alowed to use bluteooth control this year?

I thing not, but offical rules are published at kickoff.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by vivek16

Hey guys, I was just waiting for kickoff.... and thinking about what was at the end of last years film. woodie flowers and some other people were floating on the some game peices and woodie said " what are we going to do with all these inner tubes" or something along the lines of that.

What do you think the chance of using the same game peices this year would be?

thanks, vivek

Nil. And don't belive anything put in the kickoff video is a hint for the next year; the GDC still has to deal with the rules changes for the year they just released.

Originally Posted by Roger

And we're due for squares. I started with the triangles, then two years of circles. So it's squares. Lots of squares.

Not again.

Someone brings this up every year...at least once per year...maybe more. The debunking:
1998: circle (exercise balls)
1999: circle (floppies)
2000: circle (playground balls)
2001: circle (excercise + playground balls)
2002: circle (soccer balls)
2003: square (bins for Stack Attack)
2004: circle (excercise + playground balls)
2005: triangle (tetras)
2006: circle (Poof balls)
2007: circle (pool tubes)

Personally, I think we're due for balls again. The real pattern seems to be: ball, odd shape/game play method, ball. (Odd years have the odd tricks.)

[Roger]

I stand corrected. I didn't know we were in for three more years of circles (sounds like the Farmer's Almanac or el nino or something). I'll batten down the hatches and put the squares away until 2013. I did make it sound I wanted squares; far from it. I just thought we were due for them.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Buckets











.

[Mike Nawrot]

I think buckets would be an interesting concept, but I doubt FIRST would use them. They have built in handles. What fun is that? As for boxes.. I've had this thing for boxes lately, and last time I had a feeling like this, it involved FRC robots shooting things in '06. Of course, that's not reliable at all, but I'd like to see boxes this year. Not massive ones like stack attack, but maybe something like 10" cubes. Who knows? Only 74 days until we find out

[Sam N.]

traffic cones.

[basicxman]

traffic cones would be interesting to pick up because there slanted so i doubt you could use a traditional gripper, maybe using a hook and hooking on to the hole in the top

[ewankoff]

i think these would be an awesome game piece.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22847

[Dan Petrovic]

What about life-size Darth Vader cardboard cut-outs?




.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by ewankoff

i think these would be an awesome game piece.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22847

They would!

The object appears to be made from 3" schedule 40 PVC pipe, cut to about 8" length and capped at both ends. Cheap stock, easy to get.

To make handling the gamepiece more challenging, you could place an inexpensive 3" diameter toy ball inside before attaching the end caps. The pipe measures about 3.04" inside diameter so the ball would roll from end to end, causing the gamepiece center of gravity to shift when it is tilted.

[Now to search for a cheap 3" ball ... Hmmm ... rubber baseballs might work, can I find 'em for under a buck? ...]

[Madison]

Originally Posted by ewankoff

i think these would be an awesome game piece.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22847

I want to see y'all try to get something like that through security at an airport.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by ewankoff

i think these would be an awesome game piece.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22847

So, just for fun I built one, using 3" schedule 40 PVC (non-pressure rated) and standard caps. Overall assembled length is 10" and it weighs ~1.5 lb. Inside I placed a 2.188" diameter steel ball, taken from one of the largest ball bearings that Emerson uses. The ball also weighs ~1.5 lb. (Don't expect to get them cheap -- motors that use that size ball are rated for 4000 horsepower and stand about fifteen feet tall. Production quantities are small relative to most FRC components.) So the total weight is about 3 lb. and the center of gravity shifts about six inches when the ball rolls from one end to the other.

As you can easily imagine, the weighted capsule is unwieldy! Grab it in the middle, tilt it slightly, and it will torque your wrist. Holding it level is a challenge.

A diabolical gamepiece if ever there was one.