Next Year's Game?

[LWakefield]

I would like to see a game where the drivers can't see their robots, so they have to rely on the cameras. I don't know what type of game it would be.
They would have to have some screen at the driver's station.

[lingomaniac88]

In Lunacy, I liked how the scoring locations were the robots. Something cool would be to make the scoring locations the game pieces themselves. For example, you might have to hang a game piece on an already scored game piece.

[Ice Berg]

Maybe something with a lot of very small game pieces, like rubber super bounce balls, ping pong balls, or something small that's a cube, like dice.

Maybe something that changes shape like this:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=3499683

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

One really cool idea would be to have an "alliance" of an FTC robot and an FRC robot (or two of each) competing in the same game. The FTC robot would have to do some task that enables the FRC robot and vice versa.

OCCRA did something like this this year (VEX robots but the concept is the same) Can anyone who competed comment on how that worked out?

[Aren_Hill]

My hope would be optional bumpers and also to have the only rules that govern the robot geometry to fit in the size box in starting configuration

fit inside the box at the start, only requirement

[GreerD]

I liked the strategy involved this year, but I didn't like all the rules governing the robot. I'd personally like to see the return of carpet and no bumpers. I'd also like to see the same sort of scoring on other robots, or something else to encourage more robot-to-robot interaction.

[Chris is me]

I think that if bumpers are optional then there should be some incentive to use bumpers on your robot, like if you have bumpers they won't count weight wise or size wise. I'd hate to see a competition with hundreds of dinged, dented, and damaged robots.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I think that if bumpers are optional then there should be some incentive to use bumpers on your robot, like if you have bumpers they won't count weight wise or size wise. I'd hate to see a competition with hundreds of dinged, dented, and damaged robots.

2006 and 2007, you got the weight and volume free, just like this year. You just didn't have to use the bumpers. Probably about half the teams used them; maybe more.

[A_Reed]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I think that if bumpers are optional then there should be some incentive to use bumpers on your robot, like if you have bumpers they won't count weight wise or size wise. I'd hate to see a competition with hundreds of dinged, dented, and damaged robots.

If that is the case for the bumpers then you would have to limit them to prevent them to be used for some offensive purpose, i.e. wedged bumpers to funnel scoring objects into the robot. you would gain an advantage of going outside of the starting configuration at the beginning of the match.

[Dillon Carey]

-Return of wedges
-no bumper requirements
(I wish)
-less human player
-a raised platform
-square or rectangular playing objects
-less destructible playing objects
-larger playing objects
-fewer playing objects
-robot oriented endgame
-little or no pushing required
(possibly the return of restricted wheels)

[bobwrit]

Originally Posted by Pikat

Try climbing up those ramps with rover wheels...

I was acualy thinking of something like that, Just to throw something new in...

[jsasaki]

i think
-less human players
-no trailers or something like that
-no round objects
-no punishment on doing good
-giant ramp

[andrew348]

I've been saying it since 2006 - the return of the rectangle. That last time it was used was 2003.

Also predict there will be something in the middle of the field that is a different material than the rest of the field so it is harder to get to the otherside. A gravel pit would be awesome

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by SuperJake

If contact had been limited to the bumper zones and all robots had bumpers, damage like this could have been avoided. Even last year (Overdrive) damage was limited a lot from previous years with the emphasis being that robot-to-robot contact was to take place only in the bumper zone. It was enforced through penalties and lots of people complained.

I feel that the restriction placed on teams this year was less about an interesting design challenge and more about protecting robots. <R08> had some sections that were directed at making a sturdy robot - I'm thinking the one that required the bumper to be fully supported on the back side was a nudge towards making a REALLY sturdy chassis.

While I agree that teams should start out from a strong chassis on their own, there are some that feel that aggressive defense to the point of damaging another robot shouldn't be part of the game. Until there is some sort of agreement between teams, FIRST is handling the dispute by implementing rules that protect everyone as best as possible. This means that rookies build sturdy frames from the start and veterans that need some additional challenges need to accomplish whatever task they are aiming to hit with the additional design burden of the bumper zone.

ummmmm.... it actually would've made grabbing goals next to impossible if contact was limited to what you propose.

[SuperJake]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

ummmmm.... it actually would've made grabbing goals next to impossible if contact was limited to what you propose.

I'm not entirely clear on what you are getting at, but I believe you are trying to say that in the 2002 game with a restriction on robot-to-robot interaction limited to the bumper zone would make grabbing the mobile goals difficult.

With that assumption in mind, I'll say that last year (Overdrive) was the first year to introduce the restriction on robot-to-robot interaction to the bumper zone with robot penalties linked to contact outside of the bumper zone. Last year's game also had an aspect of the game where teams reached outside of their bumper zone to accomplish a game task. I propose that grabbing the 2002 mobile goals wouldn't be any different in that regard, but that some of the robots in 2002 would be designed differently with the robot contact restrictions in place at the beginning of the season... just as the robots would have to change to include bumpers.