Am I the only one that thinks that Breakaway is a game for the powerhouse vets?

[smurfgirl]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I noticed this. Even at a regional with 29 teams (WPI), the #1 seed faced the #2 in the finals. I thought that was really weird.

I actually think this makes more sense at a small regional. The field isn't very deep, so by the time the last seeds get to pick alliance partners there aren't any really strong teams left... the first few alliances end up being the strongest. At larger regionals and on the Championship fields, there is a much deeper pool to draw from, so there can be really strong teams left later in the selection process leading to a lot of well-rounded alliances that are all capable of winning.

In terms of the topic of this thread, I don't think this game is particularly easy for veteran teams over rookie teams. A lot of new talent has been discovered this year, and I've seen a lot of alliances that I might not have expected beforehand because of this.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by smurfgirl

I actually think this makes more sense at a small regional. The field isn't very deep, so by the time the last seeds get to pick alliance partners there aren't any really strong teams left... the first few alliances end up being the strongest. At larger regionals and on the Championship fields, there is a much deeper pool to draw from, so there can be really strong teams left later in the selection process leading to a lot of well-rounded alliances that are all capable of winning.

Agreed. As teams finish/improve their robots and deeper fields show up later in the season, we may well see some more "upsets".

[Racer26]

I see what you're saying Chris, it just seemed like more than usual I could look at the entry list for a regional and pick out the high seeded team which would eventually win it, before the regional even started. Yes, I also realize each team IFI member was strong pre-collaboration, and it only makes sense that they are moreso now, but they're not infallible, they *can* be beaten. They just aren't being beaten.

EDIT: Jason, I totally agree, these teams are not great because of their robot or the game, but rather the team and their program. I just noticed what seemed to be alot of the regionals where there was one super-dominant powerhouse, and everybody else lagging some distance behind.