You know, I have to laugh today, even though my team’s ranking (2537’s) is so bad. I think we’re ranked like, 55 or something, but we’re putting up 40+ points nearly every match. And the match where we put up 24 points, our hopper (frisbee storage) jammed. It’s truly crazy how low we’re ranked right now. At this point our team really can’t do much other than laugh and keep playing tomorrow.
This is certainly something that happens with this style of gameplay ( where you are paired with two random teams, and paired up against three more random teams). There are always a few teams at each regional that, while performing better than average on their own, their random pairings creates a situation that ranks them lower than their individual scoring would normally. This is the ‘luck’ component of the random alliance selection. Sometimes you get paired with awesome teams, and you do alright and other times you have to deal with a not so great alliance member. This works both ways, however, and there will inevitably be several teams ranked much higher than is warranted. Not to slight those teams, but some teams are definitely carried by their alliances, and that is what makes scouting like this so valuable in terms of meaningful data, it goes beyond just the team scores and ranks and really dials down to each team in each match.
As for data credibility. I would say that the data is as accurate as can be expected with regards to human error. This data is tirelessly obtained by a dedicated Team 250 scouting team. The system is computerized, and the data is scored in real time with 6 xbox 360 controllers. The scouting team has practiced with the system by watching two separate regionals and doing it live at the Finger Lakes Regional during week 1. Having seen the data at FLR, and having used it FIRST hand, I would judge the data to be pretty spot on.
So, what I am trying to say is, the scouting team has some serious practice time with the scouting system, and they are hand picked for this role on the team. Will there be discrepancies with other teams scouting data? SURE! But that is the nature of using students who are also HUMAN! I would personally be surprised if another team’s scouting data aligned perfectly with ours. Just not going to happen at this level.
With that being said, I think this data stands well on its own, and in conjunction with another teams scouting data is just that much more powerful and accurate. I know that moving forward into tomorrow, that I will feel better having access to this data, and I hope that it helps other teams at the Chesapeake Regional.
@Team250, the numbers are, as I mentioned, different, but in nearly all cases except one, there is less than +/- 3-5 points in difference…about 1 disc. It’s negligible. What you guys are doing is AWESOME. Can’t wait for tomorrow. Come to think of it, I’ve NEVER seen a team scout that way…something to think about for next year!!!