Re: Robot Sport (thread from below)

[archiver]

Posted by colleen.   [PICTURE: SAME | NEW | HELP]


Other on team #126, No, from what team I haven't decided yet and I don't know how I will!.

Posted on 7/18/99 11:10 AM MST




Things are getting lost in the thread, so I thought I might bring this topic of dicussion back up to the top.

I'll make my point 1st and it is followed by the reasoning.

My point in a long-winded nutshell. My grandmother would be proud of the way i drove our robot these past 3 years. Many broken parts on our side and even more on our opponents but we never really heard a complaint. We always went out we scoring mechanisms built to win and more importantly a robot built to take it.
My idea to solve all the problems-
-be less concerned with another robots ability to beat you and more concerned with your own ability to win.
-everyone's got to build a robot to score but you also have to build a robot which can defend your right to do so. No one is just going to hand you the match because you're a quicker scorer- no one should. We've all seen the underdog take victory and normally it's because the can play rough. I think many feel that if they think they have the best robot that they should win, hands down... but that would make the game unfair
-the game will never be fair- build a robot that will make your chances of winning fair. build a robot that can do it all- or do enough to win which includes taking the hits.

the reasoning:
my thoughts
I agree with Andy- FIRST is contact but should not be with the intent to break or 'injure' another robot. But, something I think generally can be agreed upon- FIRST equals contact.
Yes, the stress this year was to play as if your grandmother was watching but, the stress as well was on a robot's ability to handle the pain of rough play and falling off the puck- therefore, since kickoff, we should have known full well that this game would get rough, and it did.
And myself, more than many, am a fan of a tough match. Driving for 3 years, my favorite matches have been ones that put the most scratches on the sides of our bots and truly made up beat the other team- not just cause we had a quicker scoring mechanism or faster drive but because they made us work for it. And no matter how little of a chance the had of beating us they never let us have to easy.
Every year our team has built a robot that can do what we decipher as important, and every year first on that list is score. Offense has always been our focus (what I always say, your best defense is an unbeatable offense) but we are never lacking in a strong robot. We don't, as I think maybe Tom from CHAOS was saying, have to slack off on our ability to score cause the game's focus is on rough play. The best robot built is one that can do both, because the are both part of the game.
As for tipping, this is the first year that we have ever tipped a robot. And this year not different from any other, we did not build in a mechanism to tip- never have and probably never will. We clamped on to the puck and could spin it around and in the process of our moving the puck, robots climbing on got tipped. Not on purpose, but it the play of the game, each of us wanted control, only one of us would get it.
As for #177, they are close to the line. They stole our floppies, but we tipped them. They came after us to block our basket, we fought back. Did we cross the line too? Because we did what a lot of people around here seem to think is illegal, but everyone sees a problem in 177. Where exactly do we draw the line between right and wrong? It's all in the interpretation of the rules and like we all agree, everyone interprets them differently. Also- it's usually in the outcome of the match, many of us don't mind the roughness if we win.

My point in a long-winded nutshell. My grandmother would be proud of the way i drove our robot these past 3 years. Many broken parts on our side and even more on our opponents but we never really heard a complaint. We always went out we scoring mechanisms built to win and more importantly a robot built to take it.
My idea to solve all the problems-
-be less concerned with another robots ability to beat you and more concerned with your own ability to win.
-everyone's got to build a robot to score but you also have to build a robot which can defend your right to do so. No one is just going to hand you the match because you're a quicker scorer- no one should. We've all seen the underdog take victory and normally it's because the can play rough. I think many feel that if they think they have the best robot that they should win, hands down... but that would make the game unfair
-the game will never be fair- build a robot that will make your chances of winning fair. build a robot that can do it all- or do enough to win which includes taking the hits.