What we learned from week 1

[Jay O'Donnell]

We certainly learned a lot up here in NH, but what did others learn across the country? Here's what I learned...
1) A robot with an intake for frisbees on the ground is going to do well as there are frisbees all over the field to pick up.
2) Most teams can either shoot well and hang for 10 points or just play defense and hang for 30.
3) A triple hang for 30 points each would be the coolest thing in FIRST history.
4) There is a major lack of variety in shooters this year, but a wide variety of hangers
So what did you learn?

[DonRotolo]

Watching on the web, I noticed that the majority of frisbees on the ground were right-side up.

[dellagd]

This year really leveled the playing field for teams

[EricDrost]

Originally Posted by dellagd

This year really leveled the playing field for teams

Agreed. It's really easy to put up big points as a new team.

[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by dellagd

This year really leveled the playing field for teams

There are multiple things a team can do to score a large amount of points-and things that require more than just a drivetrain(ie. balancing last year).


Automated live scoring isn't the blessing it was last year.

[Gregor]

Never to do week 1 again.

[falconmaster]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

Watching on the web, I noticed that the majority of frisbees on the ground were right-side up.

I am glad to be confirmed on this prediction. What a relief!

[EricDrost]

A robot that climbs and dumps for 50 points can be outscored a lot more easily than I anticipated.

Having more than two robots shooting in the same autonomous goal is a bad idea.

[jblay]

Originally Posted by EricDrost

Having more than two robots shooting in the same autonomous goal is a bad idea.

I didn't really see this being a problem for any alliance in the webcasts, do you have an example of it being an issue?

Originally Posted by Wing

4) Referees are NOT calling the 10 point hang properly. I have videos of this, but in our Quarterfinals match 1-2 Team 1772 was not hung up properly, but they got the points, which ended up being the deciding factor and sending our quarterfinals to a 3rd match.

What exactly happened? Seems like a bot is either off the ground or it's not.

[darkember]

1. Scoring in auton is big.
2. Not as many consistent shooters as i thought there would be.
3. Strong shooter>climber
4. There are a lot of Frisbee on the ground.
5. Penalties have been a serious factor in qualification. Specifically about contact with a robot in protected zone or while touching pyramid.
6. Hardly any effective long range shooters(at start of season a lot of people speculated on full court shooting).
7. Smart defense is the way to slow down best scorers. It was done effectively by a few teams from the webcasts that i watched.

[Sean Raia]

Originally Posted by darkember

2. Not as many consistent shooters as i thought there would be.

You and I must have been watching different Ultimate Ascents.

A lead gained in autonomous can stay permanently through the match.

[Sean Raia]

Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence

A lead gained in autonomous can stay permanently through the match.

So true. Mid-Game scoring can not be relied upon as much as it could in Rebound Rumble (meaning, I feel that defense is somehow more effective in this game). If you are going to pull ahead in a match it had better be early on in Auton, or at the end with high climbs.

[TheMadCADer]

Originally Posted by Sean Raia

So true. Mid-Game scoring can not be relied upon as much as it could in Rebound Rumble (meaning, I feel that defense is somehow more effective in this game). If you are going to pull ahead in a match it had better be early on in Auton, or at the end with high climbs.

A 7-disc autonomous is a killer this year, because it can be made much more reliable than a bridge autonomous could last year. 24 extra points right off the bat gets you a huge lead. The other alliance has to score 8 more discs than you just to catch up, and chances are your robot is also good at shooting tele-op discs if it can do a 7-disc auto.

I'd also note how huge of an impact 610's drive team had for them. They were spinning past defenders every trip, and had an awesome technique that used the defender's own pyramid to get free (they'd get them stuck up against the diagonal all the time, it was very fun to watch). First Nick Lawrence, now this driver, plus the always great driving from 1114 and 2056... I guess great drivers come from Ontario.

Originally Posted by TheMadCADer

A 7-disc autonomous is a killer this year, because it can be made much more reliable than a bridge autonomous could last year. 24 extra points right off the bat gets you a huge lead. The other alliance has to score 8 more discs than you just to catch up, and chances are your robot is also good at shooting tele-op discs if it can do a 7-disc auto.

A 7 disc auto would give you 42 points, no? Even more emphasizing your point on the importance of gaining a lead in autonomous. Your opponent would need to score 14 frisbees in the top goal to catch up.