Is alliance selection usually this bad?

[mwtidd]

Originally Posted by techalex

I heard from a ref at a different event that I called when I saw this that they would probably have classified this as a decline, and thus they would not be eligible to play at all. So, as pointed out, they probably chose to play over get nothing.

Yeah this is what I suspected watching the webcast...

I think the philosophy behind the rule, is to not allow stacked teams. It's already a huge problem this year. Allow teams to rig selection and it becomes a bigger problem.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by lineskier

I think the philosophy behind the rule, is to not allow stacked teams. It's already a huge problem this year. Allow teams to rig selection and it becomes a bigger problem.

From what I've heard, it's the selection-rigging that was the bigger issue back when there were unlimited declines.

For the record, the toughest selection for a single team probably happened back in 1999/2000, somewhere around there. Mind you, this is back before we all got this whole selection thing fully figured out. This is at the Nationals (and yes, I do mean Nationals, not Championship) at Epcot. One team somewhere in the middle of the order called on 5 or 6 or more different potential partners before getting an acceptance, or something like that (memory is kind of funny when stuff is that long ago). Picked already, declined, declined due to needing to catch a plane, picked already, declined, that sort of thing, until someone finally accepted. Not a place I'd want to be...

[Grim Tuesday]

Interesting, there are no actual scouting guides out there, just programs/sites to use. Noone actually teaches rookies how to scout...

[TJ92]

I don't think there is anything wrong with alliance selection this year, FIRST just doesn't rank teams well. I don't even look at the data FIRST provides. When I'm up there making picks I go solely off what my scouters give me.

[h1n1is4pigs]

i was out there as a team captain at SVR and watching it i was surprised at how ill prepared some of the alliances were. i have a small team, less than 15 people and we still have a relativly decent scouting program and would easily have been more organized than some of the alliance captains out there.

[mwtidd]

Originally Posted by TJ92

I don't think there is anything wrong with alliance selection this year, FIRST just doesn't rank teams well. I don't even look at the data FIRST provides. When I'm up there making picks I go solely off what my scouters give me.

If you can find a recording from SVR, you'll see what we're talking about. Teams picking weak teams for their first pick, trying to opt out of captainship, and the list goes on...

Lower ranked captains were in a good position to create strong alliances, but failed to do so. Good teams are rarely left for the 1st and 2nd alliances, however at SVR, good teams, were widely available.

One reason, people focused on minibots. Well at SVR it was autonomous that won the finals not minibots.

[TJ92]

Originally Posted by lineskier

If you can find a recording from SVR, you'll see what we're talking about. Teams picking weak teams for their first pick, trying to opt out of captainship, and the list goes on...

Lower ranked captains were in a good position to create strong alliances, but failed to do so. Good teams are rarely left for the 1st and 2nd alliances, however at SVR, good teams, were widely available.

One reason, people focused on minibots. Well at SVR it was autonomous that won the finals not minibots.

I so wish I could have been there, MTR would have crushed alliance selections; the competitions we have been at have been pretty good for selections. When I said nothing is wrong I probably exaggerated a bit, because I have noticed a few lower teams getting picked at regionals/districts , but they were raked low on our data. As far as how high those teams ranked according to FIRST I have no idea what it was.

Also does anyone have video from SVR? I would like to take a look at it.

[mwtidd]

Originally Posted by TJ92

I so wish I could have been there, MTR would have crushed alliance selections; the competitions we have been at have been pretty good for selections. When I said nothing is wrong I probably exaggerated a bit, because I have noticed a few lower teams getting picked at regionals/districts , but they were raked low on our data. As far as how high those teams ranked according to FIRST I have no idea what it was.

Also does anyone have video from SVR? I would like to take a look at it.

A big problem with FIRST's ranking is it favors consistent minibots. If you get first place in most Q matches you will win most Q matches. However come the finals, its a very different story, and sometimes very hard to predict. At SVR the field was starved for tubes, so ubertubes accounted for huge portion of the tube score. 254's alliance did not have the fastest minibots, but put up 2 or 3 ubertubes vs 1868 who had the best minibot, but their alliance only put up 1 ubertube. The match was over before the drivers touched the controls.

The game that ends up being played on Einstein is going to be crazy interesting.

[Matt Howard]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

Interesting, there are no actual scouting guides out there, just programs/sites to use. Noone actually teaches rookies how to scout...

That's because there is no real single way to scout. Many teams do it different ways. Some teams go strictly off the Scoreboard and ranking. Others take other things into account. Some do both. Some teams run a server with a dedicated scouting team in the stands. We've done this with great success since 2008.

There isn't a right or wrong way to scout. It really comes down to what factors are important to your team.

[Grim Tuesday]

Originally Posted by Matt Howard

That's because there is no real single way to scout. Many teams do it different ways. Some teams go strictly off the Scoreboard and ranking. Others take other things into account. Some do both. Some teams run a server with a dedicated scouting team in the stands. We've done this with great success since 2008.

There isn't a right or wrong way to scout. It really comes down to what factors are important to your team.

There is a wrong way: Not scouting at all, like the team who just picked down the rankings.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

There is a wrong way: Not scouting at all, like the team who just picked down the rankings.

Worst form of scouting ever:

"Anyone want to get picked make some noise!"
This actually happened at Buckeye in 2008.

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Worst form of scouting ever:

"Anyone want to get picked make some noise!"
This actually happened at Buckeye in 2008.

That actually just happened at SVR, leading to this discussion. We have had some misplaced teams and head-scratching picks at Philly but noting that bad. Most of the questionable picks are made with quickly, so there must have been some thought process behind them.

[Laaba 80]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Worst form of scouting ever:

"Anyone want to get picked make some noise!"
This actually happened at Buckeye in 2008.

They picked us

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by lineskier

After watching SVR and watching the alliance selection, I can't believe how bad some of the alliance selection has been. The fact that 691 wasn't picked at all is mind boggling to me. Maybe its just me, but alliance selection seems horribly unorganized and is costing some teams banners.

On another note I am excited to see if the 2nd alliance can beat the poofs. I think they have a significant chance of pulling it off!

I have so far been to five events this year and one thing that is consistent are teams in position to pick who are obviously unprepared to make a pick and are just overwhelmed by the moment and a shallow pool of teams to pick from.
This year's game is very challenging with all of the tasks that have to be done and the potential for crushing penalties it magnifies the potential for stupidity and there are many teams eagerly embracing it.
At every regional I have been at there were several teams in the elims who had no business playing on Saturday afternoon. Next week we will see MUCH better quality of matches in Michigan and Philadelphia and see this games true potential of how things will be in St. Louis (for the most part).

[IKE]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

I have so far been to five events this year and one thing that is consistent are teams in position to pick who are obviously unprepared to make a pick and are just overwhelmed by the moment and a shallow pool of teams to pick from.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2370
Here is a thread I started a year or so ago about scouting methods. One thing it does not cover in great details is "The Pick List". I will post up a template that we use. Every team Friday should make a list of at the very minimum 1-23 (24 if you include yourself). Teams that you would be interested in having as a partner. With detailed scouting, this usually still requires an hour of debate mostly trying to flesh out the slots for 12-24. This is the most difficult area as this area typically has the smallest differentiators between teams.
On our team, we also include a bubble section of around 4 teams, and a DNP section (Do Not Pick). DNPs usually result from gathering an abundance of general penalties, DQ potential penalties, and/or often not functioning or broken. Here in Michigan, this list is usually quite long at the first event, and much smaller at the second as teams get their controls sorted out, and most teams learn the rule better.
Saturday morning, we do a walk through on the bubble teams to see how they are doing, and discuss any issues we may have noticed on Friday. If there are specific behaviours we would like to see from a team (tube herding or defense), we will talk to them about their schedule and ask them to exhibit this behaviour in a match of their choosing. Some will agree to this, some will turn us down. We then refine the list right up until the end. Make a duplicate, and send it out. The duplicate is then used to discuss selections with you partner. Typically off to the side.

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Even knowing all this things, we are still often caught of guard for the alliance selection process.

Part of the selection issue is that with the WLT system, ranking tend to fluctuate a lot right up until the very end. This makes it very difficult to discuss strategies with potential alliance partners. Also, because team captains are called to the field immediately after the last match, there is very little time to adjust lists relative to rankings.
I would love for teams to be given a 10-15 minute break after the first round to discuss next round picks with their scouting teams and new partners. Yes this would add some time into the alliance selection process, but it would be so beneficial to the overall competition. As the captains out of the field are frequently members of the competition team, they haven't seen enough matches to make informed arguments with their other partner.
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As a thought of discussion:
What if there was the "Wheel of Fortune" picking rule where you loose your turn if you pick a team that is already in an alliance? Would this reduce the ill-prepared, or would it just be adding injury to embarrassment?
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Another thought. If you notice that a young team is doing well enough that they could be in the position to be an alliance captain, go up and remind them of the importance of making a pick list. If you are "mentoring" another team, make sure they do this.