Wall 'o Boxes

[dlavery]

Originally posted by etoleb
It also seems like this tactic is self-defeating during the qualifying rounds. In one situation, a koth bot would get 29 bins on their side, and end up with a 2 stack, while the opponents have a 2 stack with their human player boxes, which would give the winning alliance 114 (2*35+25 + 2*[2*6]) QPs.

Yet, in another situation, the koth bot would only take 17 boxes, leaving 12 for the other alliance. If koth bot's alliance gets a 2 stack and allows the opposing alliance to get a 3 stack, the winning alliance would get 173 (2*23+25 + 2*[3*17]) QP's. I mean, all stacks being equal, each box is worth twice as much in the losing alliance's scoring zone for the winning alliance. Why the need for a massacre?

Thank goodness - someone who has actually started to THINK about how to play the game!!!

Teams - particularly rookie teams that may not have run into this type of play in prior years - need to get used to the idea that what matters in this game is the QP score and not the "game score." Folks need to understand that decimating an opposing alliance is a BAD IDEA. Yes, you may win the match. But your QP score will be lower than a team that lets the opposing alliance get a good score (just not quite so good that they win!).

Originally posted by GregT
A game with no stacks is a low scoreing match. This is the first time something like this has been in a FIRST game since i've been involved. Last year there was no easy way to destroy a high scoreing game nearly as fast as there is this year.

Yes, you can wipe out a high-scoring game quickly (this isn't the first time this has happened, but that is for a different discussion). But (and we have been through this discussion before, back at the beginning of the season) when teams really start to think about how the game is played they should understand that although they CAN do something, this is a game where they don't WANT to do it.

Strategy is particularly important in this game. Standard tactics focused on driving your opponent into the ground will be used by the simpletons that haven't taken the time to really think through the game and how to maximize their scores. Veteran teams should hopefully know better, and help explain this to any of their alliance partners that don't "get it."

-dave

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Y = AX^2 + B.... ehhh, whatever