Next Year's Game?

[Chexposito]

I think there should be moveable obstacles, like if they did it this year, it would be a fake boulder and you could move it to slow others down. I liked the moving goals, but what if they made it where there the entire goal would be movable, like you could move it to your teams side for sight advantage, or play keep-away. not like lunacy, but make a part in the kit where you can quickly attach or release, or make your own. We could do a terrain event if there where more advanced chassis parts.
An obstacle course would be cool. and you have to move varying weights to your teams goal area. Make some surfaces rotate and others slick others move in one direction (conveyor belt). maybe a beginning and end autonomous. Beginning, get to a goal area for points, end get to your starting area. Light playing objects are too easy, Round is too easy, but the effect of a ball able to roll everywhere is nice. Maybe a ball bearing surface on the objects, like a mouse wheel, except a lot more.

A year where wheel's are not allowed!!!!!!!
Like legs, hovercrafts, etc.

No more constrained to bumper space, arms make it more fun.

Lunacy was too boring. Overdrive was awesome, you could really get into it and the game was usually a very close score.

[Thing2_1723]

One of our coaches thinks that this past year was jsut camera practice and that this coming year is gonna NEED the camera to perform the task.

Personally, I dont have any preferences of what I think should be done, but it should be something that makes people think not just outside the box, but outside the box that the original box is in.

[Zack247]

A few things:

-You should be able to win the match by preforming perfectly (with the robot alone) in the bonus. Im a real fan of the 2007 bonus. Getting two bots on top of another was great. If you pulled it and got those 60 points the game was pretty much over.

-Human player fouls should never cost the robot and alliance partners the match. On more then one occasion, including with us, I saw human players get penalties for small things like putting the tips of your fingers across the appropriate plane that cost the entire alliance the match. Im not sure of the solution but it needs to change. Maybe asking teams to have several human players ready and having teams switch when one commits a penalty.

-I loved the defensive aspect of Lunacy. Truly you should be rewarded for creating a great and powerful drive trains. There should never be a hitting penalty and always have bumper rules.

There are lots of things that they can do. I don't want to suggest specific pieces for the GDC to make but I hope they can follow these basic concepts.

[ratdude747]

i would like to see:

• jaguars with CAN enabled
• no more "mandatory" wheels
• return of the giant CIM/gen 2 gearboxes/more than 4 cims allowed- let battery life limit teams, not rules
• more durable game pieces- no 03 bins (i heard they broke all the time), no 97/07 pool rings (constantly getting popped), and definitely no 09 orbit balls that break when you breathe on them
• along with that, a flooring that is more durable- during traction/slip tests, we were powdering the fiberglass regolith)
• no more penalties for being good
• less restrictions on bumpers- this year's were a big pain...
• allowance of other, non MK batteries
• targets not mounted on opposing robots- the camera can only go so fast
• more emphasis on defense- like 06
• size classes like 07
• hybrid mode (minus the bad IR boards of doom)
• and a DS that doesn't die upon actual use

i think this would make a better game

i know some of you disagree, butthat why it's a forum, we can discussthis stuff

[595294001]

I would say, the big thing I would like to see is more auto. Lunacy barely had any bonus for good programming, which means a good portion of many teams became irrelevant.

Also, I would like to see a challenge, with arms and shooters, maybe a really high goal, or maybe a bar that was spring loaded way up..... *Looks up* that would release a bonus object (or maybe a flood of small scoring objects), it would be a cool bonus and encourage arms simultaneously.

Also a more strategic game would be good (triple play was nice). And the humans were way too powerful

But most importantly:

- MORE AUTO

[Josh Goodman]

Definitely less focus on camera like sensors. Yes, I know FIRST is extremely proud of NI's camera this year, but to be honest, with many cameras in years past, not only is it hard for most teams to calibrate, but the lighting is never the same from competition to competition.

I agree about multiple game pieces. For example (a mix between 2009 and 2007) shooting balls into a movable goal but for extra points, lift the goal up 2' at the end of the match. Or hurdling, herding, or lapping in 2008.

No more than 3 alliances. Think about the controversy this could cause with 2 alliances that have close teams on it. It becomes a 2 on 1 and in my eyes, strategy from the beginning that is trying to take down 1 alliance and not necessarily win is smart, but non-GP.

And finally....please. More freedom. As someone else said in this thread earlier. No more refrigerator bots.

[bigbeezy]

I really like what people are saying about making the game "3D."

The hanging bar would be sweet, someone mentioned either a slowly rising bar, or multiple height bars that would be cool and challenging.

FTC was cool this year with the uneven floor. Maybe we have hills in portions of the floor that would be difficult to go over and if you could its faster and easier to score; but to keep it simple for rookies and not as "elite" teams, they can drive around the hills and still compete. Or better yet those teams could have another way to score that would have simplier terrain to traverse.

I say bring back the Tetra!

[Shelabot]

I have to agree, a more 3-D terrain would be very exiting... maybe a feild simulating moutinous terrain? I like that idea! Perhaps 2011?

Though I do agree with the game designers that bumpers are good. Perhaps they should merely be... optional?

[nahstobor]

one word: Carpet

[lbl1731]

One rule: no wheels allowed.

[Jrock0793]

I think something like Laser Tag would be really cool. it would be a challenge, but it would be really cool to see what kind of robots people would come up with and what kind of terrain the designers would make for the playing feild.

[ShadowNinja]

Well i think human players should be more of the game..maybe have them go against the robots...lol....well maybe something with paintball guns,,,,underwater,,,,floating....hovercraft maybe?

[Duncan Macdonald]

I would like to see the return of a meaningful autonomous where points are earned, with a bonus for the team in the lead. Spinning in a circle is not exactly hard. Let the programmers do their thing.

[ehochstein]

Something where there are smaller blocks that you have to build up to make bigger blocks. Which ever team has the bigger structure wins, and each alliance can also picks up balls to shoot at the opposing team's structure. In between the two there is a short wall that stops robots from switching sides.

[Pat McCarthy]

I'd like to see a game piece that is nearly a cube, but with one dimension a few inches longer than the others. I would also like these game pieces to weigh at least 4 pounds each.

The return of friction to the majority of the field as well as to the robot locomotion system.

A game in which large manipulators are necessary. I also want to see robots being allowed to expand outside of their starting configuration like 2004 and prior, as long as out of bumper zone contact isn't penalized for incidental contact. (I love large unfolding manipulators)

Like them or not, I think bumpers are here to stay for the foreseeable future though.