2013 ACTUAL game hint!!!

[karomata]

While everyone has been discussing who wasn't at the GDC meeting, and how 31 inch robot criteria can change the game... I did some more thinking. So just to recap:

This is the hint:

31 88274153, 622341415326

412383975388 9788533197

31 262383835388, 332341415326

93276426238397 995323979397

Which somebody was able to turn into this:

A ROSE, KISSED
SINGER GREAT
A DINNER, MISSED
HOLDING WEIGHT

Now, from that we have been able to deduce that the first 2 lines refer to a song by Seal, and so while thinking about that, I thought about the different plays on words with seal. I kept going through words like seal-ed, seal-proof, seal-ling. Then using ceiling, I looked back at the riddle, and created such idea:

Similar to 2004, FIRST Frenzy, game pieces will be stationed above the field, although in this game, it is a large platform that is stationary and above the robots on the field, similar to a large table, where most people associate eating dinner with. So, with that, and looking at the riddle, to explain the lyrics of:

A DINNER, MISSED
HOLDING WEIGHT

So in the first line, if you miss a dinner, you are standing some one up, which we can interpret as describing how robots will have to stand up to reach the game pieces. And to confirm that game pieces would be elevated, we look at the last line: holding weight. This "weight" would be the game pieces. The game pieces may actually be weighted for more of a challenge, or they are just calling it weight to be more vague about it. This theory is very plausible, seeing as many of these ideas have been replicated in past years. The only missing component is that we are unsure of how to score, if the game pieces start on the elevated platform, I'm assuming for complexity, the scoring on a lower level, so that we don't end up with a ton of just really tall robots.

I am pretty sure that the Rick Astley picture was a hint, but I could be wrong. There are 2 previous hints that have yet to be defined, because Frank said so himself in the most recent post on the blog. That is why I believe the Rick Astley picture in legit, and I believe that the meaning of that hint is that matches will be 3 minutes long to allow for more complex and developed strategies, why also increasing the need for strategic play due to a lacking number of matches.

As for the 3rd hint: I have absolutely no idea. Although I feel that I can safely shoot down a few theories of what the 3rd clue would pertain to:
-Number of alliances: I am fairly certain they will not add a 3rd alliance. It would make coopertition so much more complicated, and matches would quickly turn from X vs. Y vs. Z to X+Y vs. Z when alliance Z is given a powerhouse team. Not even to mention the fact that the GDC would have to redesign the shape of the field. That would mean that FIRST would have to create new FIRST fields and NASA would have to do the same with their fields, the there are all those teams out there with warehouses where they have a field set up for year around, they would have to now restructure the entire field.
-Water Game: Yes, congratulations, you have successfully found a relation between water and the most ridiculous things on the internet. You should win the Nobel Peace Prize. We can relate anything back to water, and by anything, I literally mean ANYTHING. Surfing around on Chief Delphi has proven that to me. I honestly believe that FIRST is closer to developing a flying game than a water game, based on the CARD demonstration at Championships in 2011.

I'd keep going but I think I have gotten the point across. What do you guys think?

[LaurenMary]

I dont think anyone explained yet how they found:

A ROSE, KISSED
SINGER GREAT
A DINNER, MISSED
HOLDING WEIGHT

I was able to find this too ( i actually thought I was crazy because it made no sense to me) by using this:

31 = A
41 = B
59 = C
26 = D
53 = E
58 = F
97 = G
93 = H
23 = I
84 = J
62 = K
64 = L
33 = M
83 = N
27 = O
95 = P
02 = Q
88 = R
41 = S
97 = T
16 = U
93 = V
99 = W
37 = X
51 = Y
05 = Z

These are the first 52 digits of pi. I assumed that a pair of numbers represented a character and then went through in order and coupled each pair of numbers with a letter.

[dellagd]

I think im leaning towards more of Rick Astly being less and less of a hint.

It did just say a picture from the GDC lab, and maybe someone there wanted to be funny and posted a picture of "Never gonna give you up" on the board because it had the lyrics "Never gonna let you down" in it, just like the end game of lifting your teammates off the ground I think will happen this year.

Its very possible that there just happened to be 2 red one blue and one yellow pushpin available for use when whoever posted the photo on the board.

Also, the fact that this rhymes (And with the correct syllable counts) makes me think it is the correct decryption even more:

A ROSE, KISSED
SINGER GREAT
A DINNER, MISSED
HOLDING WEIGHT

[pandamonium]

Ceiling = seal ing I think that this would be clue worthy

[CLandrum3081]

All I can say is that you guys are way better at this than I am. For some reason, I tried to convert the number pairs to binary and hexadecimal. I need to get better at this

[gyroscopeRaptor]

The first two lines of Kiss From A Rose by Seal:
There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea.
You became the light on the dark side of me.

There will be a neutral structure in the center of the field. I would like to guess that the endgame will be like 2004 where only a few robots can get it and there would be intense competition to get it and also deny the other alliance from having it.

From the pushpins, if they are legit: there will be two like structures on the other side, one for each alliance, but nowhere near as important.

My friend is thinking the game could be like 1994's Tower Power with a central tower that can be scored on.

And honestly, I have no idea how I cracked the riddle. I just thought Pi when i saw the strings of numbers, and then I thought pairs of digits would easily encrypt letters. A bit later, with a few substitutions needed, and here we go.

Does the fact that Pi was part of the cipher become a hint in itself?

[Hallry]

Originally Posted by gyroscopeRaptor

Does the fact that Pi was part of the cipher become a hint in itself?

We seem to all be making hints out of things that are not. If it something was a hint, it would have been a hint.

[F22Rapture]

Originally Posted by dellagd

I think im leaning towards more of Rick Astly being less and less of a hint.

It did just say a picture from the GDC lab, and maybe someone there wanted to be funny and posted a picture of "Never gonna give you up" on the board because it had the lyrics "Never gonna let you down" in it, just like the end game of lifting your teammates off the ground I think will happen this year.

Its very possible that there just happened to be 2 red one blue and one yellow pushpin available for use when whoever posted the photo on the board.

Also, the fact that this rhymes (And with the correct syllable counts) makes me think it is the correct decryption even more:

I have a hard time reconciling that the screenshot having been taken at exactly 3:00 is a coincidence. "Three" is a recurring theme this year... I still think it's significant.

[jtechau]

Originally Posted by F22Rapture

I"Three" is a recurring theme this year... I still think it's significant.

"Three" is a very common number. It's pretty easy to find coincidental relationships with things so common.

If you play "The Wizard of Oz" and "Dark Side of the Moon" simultaneously, there are an impressive number of coincidences. But they're still coincidences.

[Daryl Vogel]

I think what we should do is post (in one thing) everything we know for sure and
then start trying to make connections

[pandamonium]

Karomata came up with a concept that hasn't been discussed ceiling

This is the hint:

31 88274153, 622341415326

412383975388 9788533197

31 262383835388, 332341415326

93276426238397 995323979397

Which somebody was able to turn into this:

A ROSE, KISSED
SINGER GREAT
A DINNER, MISSED
HOLDING WEIGHT

Now, from that we have been able to deduce that the first 2 lines refer to a song by Seal, and so while thinking about that, I thought about the different plays on words with seal. I kept going through words like seal-ed, seal-proof, seal-ling. Then using ceiling,

weighs being held from the ceiling that robots have to STAND UP to get

[DampRobot]

Usually I don't post on this type of thread, but, well, here goes nothing.

Three is the recurring number. No one denies that. (I especially like the 12/21/12 release date clue.) I think we can safely say that there will not be three alliances, as indicated from the bumper material,the difficulty setting up the field and creating eliminations, etc.

Aren't we missing something huge? I haven't read every single post on this thread, but I don't thing anyone's mentioned yet the possibility that we could be doing a replay of Triple Play.

Here's why it makes sense.

One, the hints consistently point to three. Tetras, three by three scoring grid, three robots per alliance for the first time, etc were all features of 2005. 'Nuff said.

Two, we haven't had an "arm game" (or what most people would consider an "arm game") in a year. The GDC likes to mix it up, and since 2005 (what many would consider the beginning of the modern FRC era) arm games have frequently followed shooter games, like 2007 and 2006, or 2011 and 2012. I guess they don't want us to be able to refine one design for too many years in a row (at least in terms of the manipulator). 2005 was an arm game, and the time is ripe for an arm game in 2013.

Three, it follows the much-debated recent pattern of "going one year back." 2011 "copied" 2007, and 2012 copied 2006, which leads me to suspect that the 2013 game will be similar to the 2005 game.

Other ideas, like changing match length, schedule, or frame size seem a little too speculative for me to comment on. I'll only venture that the GDC has a tenancy to stick to what works.

So, here's what I'm thinking for the 2013 game: the return of 2005. Probably a 3x3 scoring grid, possibly tetras and certainly a 3 robot alliance (although that shouldn't surprise anyone).

[CrazyHorse]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

Three is the recurring number. No one denies that. (I especially like the 12/21/12 release date clue.) I think we can safely say that there will not be three alliances, as indicated from the bumper material,the difficulty setting up the field and creating eliminations, etc
....
Two, we haven't had an "arm game" (or what most people would consider an "arm game") in a year. The GDC likes to mix it up, and since 2005 (what many would consider the beginning of the modern FRC era) arm games have frequently followed shooter games, like 2007 and 2006, or 2011 and 2012. I guess they don't want us to be able to refine one design for too many years in a row (at least in terms of the manipulator). 2005 was an arm game, and the time is ripe for an arm game in 2013.
......
So, here's what I'm thinking for the 2013 game: the return of 2005. Probably a 3x3 scoring grid, possibly tetras and certainly a 3 robot alliance (although that shouldn't surprise anyone).

Well, a few things. The only thing that I see stopping the three alliances is the elim schedule. (See my above post about bumpers and field).
Secondly, 2011 was an arm game, with a scoring grid (Logomotion). The GDC wouldn't recycle a game that they did a year ago.

[gabrielau23]

Originally Posted by CrazyHorse

Well, a few things. The only thing that I see stopping the three alliances is the elim schedule. (See my above post about bumpers and field).
Secondly, 2011 was an arm game, with a scoring grid (Logomotion). The GDC wouldn't recycle a game that they did a year ago.

Yeah, they would. I made an excel graph plotting game pieces (misc., tubes, and balls (big or small)), and it I thought we may be due for a tube game. While I may not be right, we could see another arm game. I can't find a way to upload it though.
Here's how I did it. I went back in time to the FIRST website, and categorized each game piece as 1, 2, or 3. Ball = 1, Tube = 2, and Misc. = 3. Connect all the dots. If you slit it down the middle, fold the left side (older) down, and then fold across to the right, it will match up perfectly. The next predicted game piece is a tube. For further proof, in 2009 they used balls. 2010, balls. 2011, tubes. 2012, balls. 2008, balls. 2007, tubes. 2006, balls. 2005, misc. So another way of looking at it is that this year we will have a miscellaneous game piece, although you could "technically" consider Lunacy a miscellaneous game piece.

[Zeromonkey]

Someone mentioned this a little earlier, but no one really jumped on it or said anything about it. Everyone is looking at the number 3 and thinking "Three Alliances" and "Three distinctive parts of the game" and "Three Minute Games". Although I do agree with some of these, what about three different game pieces in the game? In Rebound Rumble's Kickoff video, they threw game pieces from past years across the theme and I know my team members were thinking it was going to be a mix of different games. What if they did that this year? Something to ponder...

Also everyone is thinking water game. With actual water. What if it was just water themed? We have determined the hint refers to Seal and have found other references to water, what if it is just water themed?

Going back to what I said earlier, maybe the game pieces are a "Log" (a large cylindrical piece) a "Coconut" (a ball) and an intertube/ beach ball. This would definitely be an interesting game and different for teams to work with different weights and sizes of game pieces.

Just some ideas to think about.