Next Year's Game?

[Robert Cawthon]

Originally Posted by CORE 2062

I think that all communication between the drivers station and the robot should be delayed by 15 seconds. Obviously, the communication about the robot's mode (which means that response to the e-stop button would be instant.)

What would be the round trip delay for a signal to Mars next January? Might the GDC build that amount of delay into the video/return signaling from the robot to the drivers station to simulate the control of the Mars Rovers? Could we be going to Mars this year instead of the moon?

[Chris is me]

The GDC likes thinking outside the box, right? What about thinking outside the two minute time limit? What if there's a way to end the game before the timer runs out?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

The GDC likes thinking outside the box, right? What about thinking outside the two minute time limit? What if there's a way to end the game before the timer runs out?

Have you looked at the 2001 rules?

The short version: 4v0 (otherwise this wouldn't have worked), multipliers for hitting the E-stop and shutting off your robot early. Catch: everyone had to do it to get the multiplier. Ever since, there has been a note in the rules about the E-stop not being reversible and not affecting scoring.

I forget what the exact multiplier was, but I think it was x1 in the last 30 seconds, x 1.5 in the last minute, x2 in the last 1.5 minutes, x3 in the first 30 seconds. Someone correct me on that, because I think there was an x4, but I don't know where and it's been a *few* years since I watched that one.

[SushaK]

Originally Posted by demosthenes2k8

whatnot may be boring. Try for some shenanigans.

A delay could be dangerous and expensive...how about, for a much more interesting idea, humans riding the robots?

oo i like that! i'd be so up for it... 461 has experimented with that before too, it was fun but a bit dangerous, especially if the robot came to an unexpected jerky stop...

how about something to do with squares? or cubes? maybe soft, colorful, and large cubes like the ones thaT little kids play with or that i used as chairs... some game to do with those would be fun

[NorviewsVeteran]

Maybe PVC cubes, rather like the tetras?

[youngWilliam14]

we should get a bunch of beanbag chairs and use those as game pieces!

[jmanela]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

This year, while the super cell did make/break some matches, I don't think it played THAT big of a role in the larger scope of the matches. So I think that the last second bonuses will also be more influential.

I am sorry, but for us, the supercells made a huge difference. Without them, alot of our matches wouldv'e changed for the better, or worse...

[jmanela]

Originally Posted by youngWilliam14

we should get a bunch of beanbag chairs and use those as game pieces!

That would actually be interesting...
You would have the build a robot that picks up something that contantly shifts it's wheight.

[youngWilliam14]

Originally Posted by jmanela

That would actually be interesting...
You would have the build a robot that picks up something that contantly shifts it's wheight.

don't forget the shifting dimensions as well

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

The GDC likes thinking outside the box, right? What about thinking outside the two minute time limit? What if there's a way to end the game before the timer runs out?

OHHHHHHH!!!. That is a one interesting idea. For example,

Like there are balls on the field, and a robot can hit the stop button once it has let's say 15 balls in various containers. Once the robot hits one of the stop buttons, then it's frozen. And the scoring goes opposite of the order of the robots to get stopped. So 1st robot stopped gets 50 points and the second robot stopped gets 45 points, etc.

Or it could be the other way around, but simply the idea of it is simply...sleep depriving.

[demosthenes2k8]

What? It goes into the 8th dimension?

That actually sounds fun (beanbag chairs I mean, not other dimensions)

[youngWilliam14]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

Like there are balls on the field...

why balls? what about about an object non-uniform in shape, that's magnetic or something?

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

This year, while the super cell did make/break some matches, I don't think it played THAT big of a role in the larger scope of the matches. So I think that the last second bonuses will also be more influential.

This is mostly because many teams, mine included, ignored the cells when they shouldn't. Teams such as 217 show what leaving the 15 point Supercell on the table does to a match, and I don't think it was a surprise that both of the final alliances on Einstein had teams that had used robot-loaded Supercells in the past.

Teams with long range, low throughput shooters really were what the Supercell was designed for in my opinion, as throwing two of those in a trailer's the equivalent of a fairly substantial power dump.

I honestly don't know why more teams didn't make the Supercells part of their game plan and load them into their robots. It's not terribly hard to convert an Empty Cell and it's one of the best ways to beat pinners and ball starvation strategies.

(yes my team will be doing supercells at IRI, you just wait )

[hipsterjr]

HINT(sort of) "What do Crackerjacks have to do with anything?

from Bill's blog today -http://frcdirector.blogspot.com/2009...o-do-with.html

[NorviewsVeteran]

Well, Crackerjack just went back to their old label design for a while and sells them in 3-packs at Walmart...

Could be a throwback and/or using 3's in a new way.