Thank you GDC for an incredible game!

[Blackphantom91]

I found it very easy to explain this years game to people who have never seen a first tournament. Thanks GDC! Two thumbs way up!

[nlknauss]

I really have to echo everything that all of you have said thus far. The FRC GDC did a great job creating a game that everyone was competitive in. Keep up the good work!

I also really have to through some props towards the FTC GDC. They created a game that similar to that of Breakaway in that it was exciting for spectators and just as much fun for teams to build robots for.

Certainly a "best of" year for both committees!

[Zach O]

I very much enjoyed the game this year, and would also like to thank the GDC! I think they set the bar high, with several tasks that robots could preform that teams had to decide which one they wanted to do in the very beginning of the design process! (I'm referring to moving, which should always be a/the top goal of a robot, and the decision to move over bumps or though tunnels or none at all) The game was relatable for spectators, fast paced, with so many robots moving between zones and scoring, the low scoring kept things close and kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the very end, and once we got to the very end, robots pulled themselves up into the air, what a great crowd pleaser!

On the other aspect I deal with, it also made a challenge for scouting. Sure, we still needed to figure out who scored the most and maybe who moved the most, but you needed people that could work well and compliment your robot, unlike in Lunacy where you just got the two highest scorers. No longer was alliance selection so easy for the unprepared teams, and the prepared ones collected their reward for their hard work though both quantitative and qualitative data, both of which I feel was needed more for this game then last year.

Not to be "that guy", but I just want to mention the camera situation. One thing I remember Dean saying at Kickoff is, "We think we have it this time." and that cameras would be used more in the games to track the giant vision targets and score balls. Now, from my viewing, I didn't see a single team use a camera to track and score balls. I know back at our shop, we had a test robot that we planned on having an autonomous program that would use the vision target to score balls, but we had issues with the lighting providing a false target. We got rid of the idea completely after we came to the conclusion that with teams flying over bumps, we'd get way too shaky of an image to be able to do anything with (which I find funny, because we didn't even end up going over the bumps). Just something to look at for next year's game, if they want to keep pushing the cameras, something I personally feel is very beneficial.

[Chris Hibner]

This game gets a big thumbs up from me. I am always critical of the games on these forums, mostly because I bring a LOT of non-FIRSTers to watch events and I always ask them what they think of the game. This year's game was the best feeback I've received in many years.

Of everything in the game, I have one minor criticism - but I'll save that for another thread.

I really want to give a big thank you to the GDC. I think Breakaway is a TV-ready game, which is exactly what FIRST needs. Bravo.

[The Cyborg]

I think Breakaway was a great game, especially to introduce new people into FIRST. I brought someone with me who wanted to join a robotics team next year to the Troy competition to show him what it was like, and after a brief description of the game to him, he picked up practically everything else without much help. The understanding of the competition actually increased his interest in joining FIRST, and I was pleasantly surprised when he wanted to stay to see the final matches. Good job GDC!
Breakaway was also an exceptionally great spectator game, and I kept finding myself staying in the stands just to watch the matches that didn't even have well-renowned robots in it. In my opinion, 2008 and 2009's games were pretty boring to watch in comparison to this year's game.
I look forward to when the next year's game is announced!

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Chris Hibner

I really want to give a big thank you to the GDC. I think Breakaway is a TV-ready game, which is exactly what FIRST needs. Bravo.

Quoted for Emphasis.

In retrospect I like Breakaway because it forced many teams to venture into uncharted territory. The bumps were like nothing in recent memory, and kicker designs forced many teams to put some serious thought in and "Do the Math."

I hope next years game is just as awesome.

[Chris]

Ditto to everything said...

I didnt' believe it when i was at scrimmage...in fact i was scared...

But regionals, and espcially championship proved it...

GREAT GAME... Way to go GDC..!!!!!!!!!

This game is definitely up there with 2000, and 2006 in my mind.

Bravo!! Take a bow.

[Koko Ed]

Best FIRST game since 2006.
Third best game I've seen (would have probably been second if it wasn't for the seeding system).

[Peter Matteson]

In my opinion this is the best game we have had since Aim High, FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar will be hard to knock off my top spot. Once the 6 vs 0 issues got cleaned up with the 5 point bonus for a win I think the game generally played very well with high level robots/teams on the field. It was easy to follow and explain compared to previous games, as long as 6 vs 0 and scoring on yourself didn't come into play.

It was visually impressive and had many challengers to conquer that were not mutually exclusive but made things tougher. Hanging is always visually impressive and the bumps were a great challenge to see how teams would traverse them and use them in their strategy. The only thing that I think was too hard for many teams was ball control.

The fact that many of the robots looked very similar/identical this year detracts from things a little, but is not a deal breaker. The penalties also hurt the game a little, because there were so many, but again at a high level of play they were rarely an issue.

[Norman J]

Echoing many before me, I thought this was a great game. As a Junior, I've only seen Overdrive, Lunacy and Breakaway, but out of these three, Breakaway was definitely the best game. My favorite part of this game was the fact that the way it was best played, the alliance depended on all three robots. A successful alliance had to have a good defender, midfielder and striker. Yet in qualifications, a great robot could still stand out over the rest of it's alliance.

As has been said many times, Breakaway was a great spectator game. The GDC has definitely outdone themselves this year. I can only hope that they can repeat this next year!

[DonRotolo]

Echoing many others: Really good game this year. Sure, there were some quibbles here and there, but overall a challenging and exciting game.

As for easy to explain: I was standing right behind Dave Lavery as he explained the game to Gen. Bolden (the administrator of NASA) on Curie field during eliminations. It took Dave only about 6 sentences to explain it, and he did a pretty good job.

[Foster]

You did good. And once we decided to read the rules for what they said rather than trying to get inside the GDC's head (dark scary place that!) we did very well.

GDC isn't going to make Discovery Channels "Dirty Jobs", it's one that I don't want but are very impressed with the people that do have it.

Looking forward to the water game in 2011 for our new Championship Home on the Mississippi!

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Foster

Looking forward to the water game in 2011 for our new Championship Home on the Mississippi!

They should do that just to catch us while our guard is down. Also, It would help them raise the bar even further than they did this year.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Collin Fultz

In Kansas City, Week 1, Bill Miller said that this game was Woodie's idea from a few years ago and they have been tweaking it and figuring out the nuances for a few years.

"...figuring out the nuances for a few years."

Makes me think of something I read about James Cameron and the movie, Avatar - that he had the idea for a long time but had to wait for the technology to develop to the point that he could make the movie he wanted to make.

I wonder what else Dr. Flowers and members of the GDC have been tweaking and figuring out nuances for - for a few years. Worth the wait, I'll just bet.

Thank you for the insight, Collin.

Jane

[KrazyCarl92]

I simply cannot see how the GDC could top this game next year. But then again, I couldn't see 1114 and 469 losing together on Einstein. This season has left me wanting more and I hope I'm as naive as I think I am when I say I can't fathom the GDC making a better game.