A Trend in the FRC Games?

[Big Kid]

Originally Posted by acdcfan259

Heres my idea. Theres a ball like in '05 that you have to hit over, that triggers the pancake batter pouring into the pan. The robots race over to the pan, wait for it to cook, flip it. Race the pancake over to the judges table and place the pancake on the judges plate. The judges judge each robots pancake on its taste, texture, and appearence. Now there would be the bonus chocolate chip pancake batter ball on a 10 foot pedestal.

And then an extra 50 points if the robot can make the coffee. and maybe another 10 for putting the judge's choice of syrup on the pancake

[acdcfan259]

Originally Posted by Big Kid

And then an extra 50 points if the robot can make the coffee. and maybe another 10 for putting the judge's choice of syrup on the pancake

I like how you think.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Big Kid

And then an extra 50 points if the robot can make the coffee.

I recently met one of the parents on our team who has a son in junior high. She told me about a robot that he is working on that will fetch and deliver coffee. She says right now the robot wants to move diagonally but I'm sure he will have all of that worked out by the time he is a freshman. Can one develop a code that says: 'drive straight to Jane'?

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by acdcfan259

Heres my idea. Theres a ball like in '05 that you have to hit over, that triggers the pancake batter pouring into the pan. The robots race over to the pan, wait for it to cook, flip it. Race the pancake over to the judges table and place the pancake on the judges plate. The judges judge each robots pancake on its taste, texture, and appearence. Now there would be the bonus chocolate chip pancake batter ball on a 10 foot pedestal.

Oh, the poor judges! Unless they could all eat pancakes the way Dave Lavery can eat donuts!

[Q. Sheets]

I've noticed a real pattern with the games, as each relates closely to either a common sport or game:

2008 - NASCAR -- racing around track
2007 - Connect Four -- placing circular objects in rows and columns
2006 - (U.S.) Football -- scoring high in the middle (like the uprights) or low (like endzones)
2005 - Tic-Tac-Toe -- rows of three
...

[AndyB]

Originally Posted by Q. Sheets

I've noticed a real pattern with the games, as each relates closely to either a common sport or game:

2008 - NASCAR -- racing around track
2007 - Connect Four -- placing circular objects in rows and columns
2006 - (U.S.) Football -- scoring high in the middle (like the uprights) or low (like endzones)
2005 - Tic-Tac-Toe -- rows of three
...

Lets just hope we never see an iteration of robot scrabble...

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Q. Sheets

I've noticed a real pattern with the games, as each relates closely to either a common sport or game:

2008 - NASCAR -- racing around track
2007 - Connect Four -- placing circular objects in rows and columns
2006 - (U.S.) Football -- scoring high in the middle (like the uprights) or low (like endzones)
2005 - Tic-Tac-Toe -- rows of three
...

So what were 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, etc? The only pattern I've seen that continues for a long time is that there's a ball, oddball, ball, oddball pattern between 1997 or earlier and 2008 (exception being 2001--but that was an odd year and the "oddball" would have been balancing the bridge).

[JaneYoung]

Just for fun - I'm thinking of a little bit of mental exercise.

Here's a few of questions:
a. why is the game piece important?
b. what does changing it up from year to year do?
c. how does the game piece affect the overall game?
d. how does the game piece affect the strategy or strategies of the game?
e. what are the limitations to a game piece when making a decision as to what to use?

I see lots of discussions trying to predict game pieces and suggest game pieces but I never fully understand why that is important. Help me out.

[GaryVoshol]

Jane,

If gamepieces are too similar from year to year, existing teams have another edge over rookies in that they already know how to build a manipulator that would work with the gamepiece. Or, conversely, know what wouldn't work.

Having an oddball piece (like tetras and ringers) puts teams back on similar levels; no one has had experience with that piece.

Since we had a ball year this season (even though it was a huge ball!) we're "due", by some people's figgerin, to have another oddball piece next year. Having fun trying to guess what that piece will be is like trying to guess what a certain curmudgeon's hints mean. Maybe it's time for bananas or fish!

[commodoredl]

To be fair inner tubes were also used in Toroid Terror as a game piece. I don't recall which year that was.

I hope we see a game which has one or two crazy ways to play that very few teams will want to attempt. They may or may not turn out to be legal. Things that jump to mind are teams 190 and 1519 from this year.