2008 Game- Overdrive

[Tetraman]

Originally Posted by Drwurm

Also, this isn't really the most exciting/interesting game to confront the media with.

This.

Where did the incredible game designs go from 4+ years ago go? The games are getting a lot more simple for outsiders to understand, but in the simplicity there isn't enough room for incredible innovation and hurts teams in the longer run. All the designs of summer projects have basically gone to waste unless you made a drive train that turns fast. I do enjoy the idea of something new, but when you get down to it, this game can turn out to be another stack attack where whomever can build a robot that can go over the line faster wins.

I've seen some mentor and student game designs so much more thought provoked and laid out. What if next year the game design committee were a group of senior team mentors?

Now this little rant may be only because of my headache. But there are some truths to it.

One thing I must applaud is a judge certification. While I may fail at it and might not even be able to judge, I'll see if I can take it. Maybe it would be a good idea if all FIRST students take it.

[cicib99]

this is a very creative and good game.

Its give rookie teams something that they can be really good at and for other teams like us it posts the big challenge of hurdling..

Its seems like competition time will be exciting too.

[Drwurm]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

but in the simplicity there isn't enough room for incredible innovation and hurts teams in the longer run.

EXACTLY! ARGH! I hated that, this year, it took us all of an hour to exhaust our feasible strategies before we turned to highly eccentric and probably illegal ones. I like being able to weigh a few good options for a couple days. I would have much rather had an overly complex game this year. They're fun to design for and even more fun to whine about.

[Herodotus]

To be perfectly honest, I don't like it. My main problems with it are as follows.

Too much linearity and repetitiveness. Go straight, turn left, go straight, turn left, go straight, turn left. Will our robots even really need to ever turn right? As I driver I am personally annoyed at this aspect.

Also, I don't like the DRASTIC reduction in defense this year. I think last year had a perfect balance of offense and defense, and it REALLY kept it exciting. It's not fun watching a robot just perform an action, it needs to be confronted and challenged to make it interesting. A robot putting tubes on a rack is not cool, even if thy ring the whole thing. What made it cool was when a robot would put a ring on, while being rammed into by another robot. I mean, we don't need battle bots here, but we do need robot vs robot interaction.

Those are really my main beefs with the game. That said , hate is a strong word. I would simply say I'm not excited by the game itself, but luckily the FIRST organization has many things to offer besides just the game itself. Also, I do like the scoring piece in a sick and twisted way. Those things will be a monster to carry around and will prove to be a fun challenge to overcome. I also like the hybrid period idea.

So, here's to making the best out of the competition. And I have to say I understand the GDC has a tough job, and I can't expect them to always do things the way I would want.

[enpurx]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

All the designs of summer projects have basically gone to waste unless you made a drive train that turns fast.

I'm not that fond of the game itself either, but at least now rookies and veterans are on the same level. This game is atypical enough that the majority of teams will have to start anew. We're all rookies now!

[Pavan Dave]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

This.

Where did the incredible game designs go from 4+ years ago go? The games are getting a lot more simple for outsiders to understand, but in the simplicity there isn't enough room for incredible innovation and hurts teams in the longer run. All the designs of summer projects have basically gone to waste unless you made a drive train that turns fast. I do enjoy the idea of something new, but when you get down to it, this game can turn out to be another stack attack where whomever can build a robot that can go over the line faster wins.

FIRST is a business. They want more customers so they make it easy to follow. Its that simple.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

If you still think this game is really easy, I suggest you inflate your track ball. You'll quickly realize the enormity of this challenge (literally). Building a manipulator that will be light yet strong enough to hold those balls will be hard.

Also realize that we will have to "catch" these balls after hurdling them. In order to score a hurdle the ball must bounce on the ground - it will then likely bounce away...

As to the excitement of this game I will remain neutral until I see it in action. Although many aspects of this game remind me of the two worst games of all time - 1995 and 2001 (IMO).

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Tetraman

Where did the incredible game designs go from 4+ years ago go? The games are getting a lot more simple for outsiders to understand, but in the simplicity there isn't enough room for incredible innovation and hurts teams in the longer run. All the designs of summer projects have basically gone to waste unless you made a drive train that turns fast. I do enjoy the idea of something new, but when you get down to it, this game can turn out to be another stack attack where whomever can build a robot that can go over the line faster wins.

While I personally think that the 2004 FIRST Frenzy game was arguably the best FRC game ever, I strongly disagree that games of late has stifled innovation. If anything, the level of sophistication and innovation has only grown over time. With the addition of items like the Kitbot to the KoP and companies like AndyMark, gone are the days when just getting a robot that drove was a major hurdle for some teams.

As an avid fan of Top Gear, and with mechanical design being my personal branch of robotics (CS is my second favorite), I really love this game. I loved Triple Play, just because teams could build nice mechanisms and score, score, score without having to really worry about defense. The best defense is a strong offense.

Now this year, not only do we have racing, but now we have rules that encourage us to try cool mechanical designs for manipulating the huge trackballs without worrying that the game will degrade into a defensive pushing match, a la Stack Attack.

[Tetraman]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

Now this year, not only do we have racing, but now we have rules that encourage us to try cool mechanical designs for manipulating the huge trackballs without worrying that the game will degrade into a defensive pushing match, a la Stack Attack.

My personal opinion, is that Overdrive will be fun and exciting. There is however, the issue that Nascar gets laughed at: six robots performing one motion each for 2 minutes. To me, there is no innovation in waiting for other robots to make mistakes. I realize there will be new technology in drive trains and grips...to that I have no doubt. But it's not like we haven't done that before. And rookie teams only have to make an order off a website for the newest and most powerful assembly, something veterans had to actually build and design which was innovation.

This leads me to say that defense will be huge. Just as big as it was in Rack n' Roll, and similar to Rn'R, no one will find it until the third week of regionals when defense strategy comes to light:

Red alliance with three top scorers and blue with two. Red wins so long as they don't screw up more than four passes. The other blue robot can do a "Stop Go Stop" defense. Stopping in front of an opponent, start the 6 seconds, move out of the way and than get back into the way. This can mess a team's tempo. Being able to keep balls away from opponents will just as big, maybe even bigger.

My personal opinion is that this game, as solid as it is, still lacks something that makes it thrilling to watch over and over again.