Serpentine Draft Alliance Parings, Like/Dislike

[Nawaid Ladak]

well searched for this and surprisingly no results...

here is a simple question

Do you like the Serpentine Draft system or would you rather go back to the old draft alliance parings?... if you feel like it, explain why

[ReaperGoat]

I find that I both like and dislike the serpentine draft. I definitely like the idea that it helps to even out the eliminations field a lot, in some cases. However, I find that I dislike it, because it seems a higher ranked alliance captain becomes much more likely to pick from withing the top 8, and the likelihood of a juggernaut first alliance becomes that much greater. (Although, it does tend to make for very interesting finals! )

I think it might be interesting to see a reverse serpentine draft, with the 8th alliance captain picking first, then going up to the first alliance and then back down. If FIRST is going with a serpentine draft with the goal of leveling the field, this might possibly be one option.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Oh wow, could have sworn this was discussed before. I've been a heavy opponent of this style since it was first instated. It just gives the lower seeds a larger advantage over the higher seeded teams. MOST higher seeded teams earned that spot to pick first/second/third and should get all the spoils for being in that position. I'd rather see a team that earned their right to pick an amazingly dominant team than an 8 seed upset the 1 seed in the first round because they were able to make a better rounded team. Then again, sometimes my reasoning is flawed by high seeds still forming dominant alliances.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Nawaid Ladak

well searched for this and surprisingly no results...

here is a simple question

Do you like the Serpentine Draft system or would you rather go back to the old draft alliance parings?... if you feel like it, explain why

Sorry, this is my 2nd year..what was the old selection process? I want to know before I judge. Thanks.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by lilstogi11

Sorry, this is my 2nd year..what was the old selection process? I want to know before I judge. Thanks.

1-8, 1-8 instead of 1-8, 8-1.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Jeremiah Johnson

1-8, 1-8 instead of 1-8, 8-1.

This years serpentine because it keeps the "juggernaut" alliances closer to the the others' level. But I like the idea above, of letting the 8th alliance pick first, although that may defeat the purpose of teams trying to win each match lol.

[EricH]

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ght=serpentine
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ce+selectio n

It's been a few years.

[Lil' Lavery]

A poll conducted shortly after kick-off '06, when the rule was first released.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=41298

[Nawaid Ladak]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

A poll conducted shortly after kick-off '06, when the rule was first released.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=41298

Originally Posted by EricH

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ght=serpentine
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ce+selectio n

It's been a few years.

I stand corrected then

when i searched i used the word serpentine thinking someone would actually put that in one of those threads/posts, but i guess it wasn't there

maybe this is can be a "how do you like it now" type of thing, seince those threads were done 2 years ago... maybe sort of like a follow up

[whytheheckme]

I don't like the serpentine system. I'm with Jeremiah. Top seeds should get top picks. Sure the matches wouldn't be as interesting, but at least they would be fair.

Jacob

[bduddy]

I like it because it gives a lower-placed team (theoretically, the 24th-best team) a chance to win a regional if they can make a contribution to their alliance, because not even two "juggernauts" can usually win against the well-balanced alliances serpentine selection usually generates. It emphasizes that robots need to work together to emphasize their strengths, not just gather the three best teams in the building (or the two best and the 9th best... whatever)

[waialua359]

it depends on the game also.
I think the current selection process worked to even out the alliances in '07.
You pick 7 or 8 and you could get the best ramp/bonus point bot on the go around.

[Steve Ketron]

I think the serpentine drafting is fair. With the qualification pairings of the last couple of years, being the number one seed doesn't actually mean you are the best robot. I think depends a lot on whole you are matched with. Perfect example is the Detroit Regional this year. My team got to compete against the top four seeds but had one of them as a partner once. We were the number nine seed after qualifications and think that if some of those teams were on our team we might have been able to go with one loss instead of 4. That would have made us a 1-3 seeded teaM (BIG DIFFERENCE)

[Danny McC]

This selection process isn't so good for this game this year. I would love to see it go 8-1, 1-8. That I think would make the elims so much more interesting.

[IKE]

The draft seems to work pretty well at regionals with a lot of depth. This year we went to MWR, WMR, and GLR. These were all crazy tough regionals with a lot of depth. 910 was the 24th pick at GLR and that was a great machine. I understand people's reasonings for wanting even more level of a playing field. That being said I often compare FIRST to other Motorsports. There are only a few strange specialty races that put the fastest qualifier at the back of the pack. I would not be a fan of the 8-1 then 1-8 as that would lead to strategic dumping in final matches.