2006 Official Game Hint Discussion

[MrBlack298]

ok im gonna go nuts on this clue, and say this:

five 'bots tangling with pasta: i guess it could be foam noodles. (already said)

a game piece obsessed with a shovel's show: Spade is a synonym for a shovel. David Spade was on the show Coneheads in 1993. Therefore, this refers to a cone shaped object, or rather, a cone shaped game piece.

and seeing montana's green heights: a hill of some sort in the middle of the field.
(already said)

[Eldarion]

I think some other people must be thinking the same thing but:

The 2006 advance field parts list has us buying a lot of plywood, as well as some diamondplate and lexan. I think this pretty much confirms there will be an elevated area or areas, topped with either diamondplate or lexan.

Also, it looks like they are distributing the rest of the game objects in the KOP due to the number of boxes. Rats! No guessing what the game objects could be!

Only 1d 03h 48m till kickoff...

[Nuttyman54]

i don't know about the diamond plate...couldn't that just be the same stuff we've had protecting the player stations in the past? or do they not included that in the BOM?

[aaeamdar]

For all those interested, look here: http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/2006...s.htm#Section3 for the list of materials. Obviously, as has been said, this isn't a completed list.

Also, isn't it more like 38 hours till kickoff?

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by VulcanXP

FIRST is trying to make the games fairly simple so that people who are unfamiliar with the game and FIRST can walk into an event and walk out understanding the game and somewhat understand FIRST.

The "five 'bots tangling with pasta" does not mean that there will be only five robots on the field, but instead five robots that are "tangling with pasta", while a sixth robot is not tangling with pasta, and that the game remains 3v3.

You've come the closest to what I think is simple-- 2nd grade math (subtraction):
6-1=5
There will be 6 robots in each match, playing King of the Mountain (Montana/height). Only one can be on top, leaving 5 'bots below.

I like the idea of pool noodles. Surely they can't be any more fragile than the Stack Attack containers, and they're cheaper. Plus, no assembly required! But there would be a new rule: no Tug-Of-War with the pool noodles! They'll be a challenge to drive over, though. (Transportation note: they can bend easily to fit inside just about any vehicle or crate.)

Here's another possibility involving pasta of any shape: The human players will have an eating contest! Pasta instead of Krispy Kremes. (My cat ate an entire piece of Alberstons Essensia gnocchi last night, so it must be so. It was kind of rubbery, like a football skin.)

Shovel's show--I prefer the interpretation of the part of the shovel that's showing. This could be a simple stick protruding up from a broader base. Or it could be a shovel handle with the perpendicular grip loop at the top. In any case, it could protrude up from the top of the mountain. Maybe the loop part would be big enough to put something through or in. Maybe that's where the mailbox will be (if you believe that rumor).

Originally Posted by drew.fineberg

and seeing Montana's green heights:
Montana's mountains aren't green, they are white because they are covered in snow

They are green in summer--dark green, covered with pines and firs (hey--like the shovel handle??).

With all the negative things Dean Kamen has said about our culture's obsession with sports, I'm not sure I like the idea of FIRST using obscure sports facts in game hints two years in a row. Last year was baseball, then this year football? Hmmm... So I prefer to think of Montana as the state, not the athlete.

About the 2000 mailbox rumor: Do you really believe that an employee is going to risk his job sharing confidential information about customer orders on the Internet? Even if this is the case, a search for 200 Bedford Street turned up:
--Manchester Historic Association (Millyard Museum)
--University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
--St. Mary's Bank/The Mortgage Center
--Science Enrichment Encounters
--New Thalian Players (lists 2nd floor of FIRST admin offices as a "venue")
--Holliday Picture Frames Inc. (in PA)
--SEE Science Center
--WEE PLAY SCHOOL INC

I'll leave it to others to guess why any of the above might want 2000 mailboxes.

[leeweek]

that has me thinking.... mabey one has to dig something out of a box on top of something and down onto the field!?!?!?!?

[Eldarion]

Originally Posted by aaeamdar

Also, isn't it more like 38 hours till kickoff?

I don't know...I just copied it from the countdown on the ChiefDelphi banner.

If it's off, I'd like to know

[1075master]

Originally Posted by KarenH

You've come the closest to what I think is simple-- 2nd grade math (subtraction):
6-1=5
There will be 6 robots in each match, playing King of the Mountain (Montana/height). Only one can be on top, leaving 5 'bots below.

I like the idea of pool noodles. Surely they can't be any more fragile than the Stack Attack containers, and they're cheaper. Plus, no assembly required! But there would be a new rule: no Tug-Of-War with the pool noodles! They'll be a challenge to drive over, though. (Transportation note: they can bend easily to fit inside just about any vehicle or crate.)

Here's another possibility involving pasta of any shape: The human players will have an eating contest! Pasta instead of Krispy Kremes. (My cat ate an entire piece of Alberstons Essensia gnocchi last night, so it must be so. It was kind of rubbery, like a football skin.)

Shovel's show--I prefer the interpretation of the part of the shovel that's showing. This could be a simple stick protruding up from a broader base. Or it could be a shovel handle with the perpendicular grip loop at the top. In any case, it could protrude up from the top of the mountain. Maybe the loop part would be big enough to put something through or in. Maybe that's where the mailbox will be (if you believe that rumor).

They are green in summer--dark green, covered with pines and firs (hey--like the shovel handle??).

With all the negative things Dean Kamen has said about our culture's obsession with sports, I'm not sure I like the idea of FIRST using obscure sports facts in game hints two years in a row. Last year was baseball, then this year football? Hmmm... So I prefer to think of Montana as the state, not the athlete.

About the 2000 mailbox rumor: Do you really believe that an employee is going to risk his job sharing confidential information about customer orders on the Internet? Even if this is the case, a search for 200 Bedford Street turned up:
--Manchester Historic Association (Millyard Museum)
--University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
--St. Mary's Bank/The Mortgage Center
--Science Enrichment Encounters
--New Thalian Players (lists 2nd floor of FIRST admin offices as a "venue")
--Holliday Picture Frames Inc. (in PA)
--SEE Science Center
--WEE PLAY SCHOOL INC

I'll leave it to others to guess why any of the above might want 2000 mailboxes.

well the last thing is a playschool mailboxes make good shoe storage.(like in mcdonalds playplace). and ya thats alot of different places that could order them to put ur job on the line.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Eldarion

I don't know...I just copied it from the countdown on the ChiefDelphi banner.

If it's off, I'd like to know

Why not just install the Firefox Countdown Clock extension? I have it installed, and it's been counting down to the Kickoff on both of my computers for the past month. I also made it so that is plays a Hallelujah sound clip when it gets to 10:00 AM Saturday.

[Mark Pettit]

What part might a human player play in the whole scheme of ideas that we've created here?
I can see the human player briskly walking pool noodles over to the mailbox loading station and dropping them in for the robot to retrieve.

[Petey]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

Why not just install the Firefox Countdown Clock extension? I have it installed, and it's been counting down to the Kickoff on both of my computers for the past month. I also made it so that is plays a Hallelujah sound clip when it gets to 10:00 AM Saturday.

...we FIRSTers are sad, sad people.

--Petey

[Nuttyman54]

not sad, just....different...yeah DIFFERENT!

[Nica F.]

i know this may be kinda random; but has anyone thought of the saying "green with envy" ?


since there is no green paint on the field material list, i think we should look at different possiblities for the "montana's green heights" part

[Doug G]

Originally Posted by Katie Reynolds

Here's the way I interpreted the situation:

People running the remote kickoffs are bound to have the Kits by now - or, at least, a list of what teams are going to need. They know that, in addition to the Kits, teams will have to buy one extra part that is going to cost $125. Whoever is running FIRST WA took the initiative to contact a dealer of said part and buy a bunch in bulk, getting a discount on each part. Rather than having the teams attending that kickoff go out and buy the parts for $125, they are requesting that each team bring $58 to get the part, at a discounted price, (a one time only deal!) at kickoff.

I don't think there will be an email blast saying "bring $58 to kickoff!" I do think that, at each kickoff, we will find out what this extra part is and be responsible for obtaining it on our own.

The Regional Director for Washington is either Jim Beck or Jason Morrella, they also oversee kickoffs at all west coast locations - they wouldn't show preference by helping one location over another - they are very fair. At UC Davis, we received the KOPs yesterday and they've been secured until Saturday 10 am. That is most likely true of many remote kickoff sites. I doubt they have opened up those KOP's in WA to find out the game piece. Looking at the Advance BOM - perhaps they're getting a good deal on the lexan or diamond plate which are hard to find at your local hardware store, or it is something else entirely.

[Nuttyman54]

I'm going to agree with whoever suggested that someone in the WA area found a good deal on a field material (the diamond plate is the most likely) and simply wanted to pass it along to the other teams at the kickoff