How will they top WILL I AM?

[pandamonium]

Any thoughts how they will try to top what they did for kick off last year? I am sure that Dean and friends have some tricks up their sleeves. My guess and this is just a guess is that it may be Barack Obama. That would explain the pre recording kickoff...

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by pandamonium

That would explain the pre recording kickoff...

There is a presidential primary going on in New Hampshire the same weekend as the kickoff. There isn't a hotel in a couple of hundred miles available and the rates are ridiculous. You couldn't do a live kickoff there because no one could show up.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by ebarker

There is a presidential primary going on in New Hampshire the same weekend as the kickoff. There isn't a hotel in a couple of hundred miles available and the rates are ridiculous. You couldn't do a live kickoff there because no one could show up.

I'd be willing to bet there would be no live kickoff regardless of what events are occurring in the area.

[Ninja_Bait]

They will have a robot Will.i.am. And they will announce many desirable rule changes.

[Koko Ed]

I'll just be happy if they give us a great game.

[Peyton Yeung]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

I'll just be happy if they give us a great game.

Amen. I've been counting down the days until FIRSTmas....January 7th

Originally Posted by Tubatroopa

Amen. I've been counting down the days until FIRSTmas....January 7th

You celebrate that holiday too?! Every year my team has their annual FIRSTmas party! It involves endless speeches from Dean, waking up at 4 in the morning, watching the new game video, and spending more time in the robotics room than we do at our houses!

For those who don't celebrate FIRSTmas, it's closely related to your holiday of "kick-off", but a lot more fun, and you loose a lot more sleep.

Originally Posted by Ninja_Bait

...they will announce many desirable rule changes.

As soon as it starts, Dean and Woodie walk on stage, and say just one thing:

"Minibot scores will be lowered"!

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Cory

I'd be willing to bet there would be no live kickoff regardless of what events are occurring in the area.

Why?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Why?

The pre-recording announcement was issued before the primary date was set.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by EricH

The pre-recording announcement was issued before the primary date was set.

I'm interested in why Cory is willing to make that bet.

Edit: It's easy to figure out the impact of the primary and what the safe action would be regarding that - before the date is established but having a pretty good idea...

Jane

[Andrew Schreiber]

As for how they will top it. They will give us a game with logical bumper rules (none?), clear rules that don't need to be radically changed on update 1, suppliers that can actually supply parts in a timely fashion... and finally, by putting 5 fields on the floor of the dome again.

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

I'm interested in why Cory is willing to make that bet.

Edit: It's easy to figure out the impact of the primary and what the safe action would be regarding that - before the date is established but having a pretty good idea...

Jane

Live events cost money (yes prerecording costs money too) and limit what you are capable of doing. As I mentioned in the thread discussing the announcement this will allow FIRST to do some more interesting things such as having guests speak who would otherwise be unavailable for 2+ days to fly to frigid NH.

This just opens up new options for them.

This isn't based on conjecture, it comes from a conversation I had with John Dudas a couple weeks back at a STEM conference.

[Aren_Hill]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

As for how they will top it. They will give us a game with logical bumper rules (none?), clear rules that don't need to be radically changed on update 1, suppliers that can actually supply parts in a timely fashion... and finally, by putting 5 fields on the floor of the dome again.

^That, over and over again that

[thefro526]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

As for how they will top it. They will give us a game with logical bumper rules (none?), clear rules that don't need to be radically changed on update 1, suppliers that can actually supply parts in a timely fashion... and finally, by putting 5 fields on the floor of the dome again.

Andrew, why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel about 2011...?

I'd be happy to see a game with readily available game-pieces (Or a game where extra pieces aren't absolutely needed - see 2008) and to see someone throw a minibot in the trash and say 'Never again'.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by thefro526

I'd be happy to see a game with readily available game-pieces (Or a game where extra pieces aren't absolutely needed - see 2008) and to see someone throw a minibot in the trash and say 'Never again'.

I think some of you guys are a little harsh on the minibots!

Dr. Joe made a prediction in our lab a couple weeks ago, and I am fully on board with it. He basically predicted that minibots would return, but would be REQUIRED to be smart, and not necessarily by rules, but by necessity to complete the task. The example he gave was completing a maze.

I think in an implementation like that, minibots have the potential to be a very cool and different aspect to games that we haven't seen before. It helps break up the somewhat repeatable actions of handling some sort of ball, picking up some kind of tube and placing it on a peg, hanging from a bar of some sorts, etc.

-Brando