Teams start with three recycling bins on each side, filled with their alliance color pool noodle. The object of the game is to get the opposing alliances noodles into your side. Teammates can use the totes to build strategic defense barriers, or something. I’m still refining the idea and open to input. I feel like if we can find a way to change the game by only adjusting the rules and not the KOP, it might have some bearing on FIRST. I’m sure they have noticed that the response to RR is a bit…subpar.
This is a really good idea, I actually really really like it. Enough for me to create an account on chief delphi. This introduces more strategy to the game and reintroduces the competition element (which in turn makes the game more interesting for spectators). The only question I have is… what will you use the bins for?
while i dont exactly like this years idea (almost no interaction from the other team? that sounds boring!) he has a valid point. they announced this worldwide today, had the rules planned a while back, did all this work just to change almost everything within a week, either taking away a week of building or shifting everything off by a week (ruining travel plans AND booked venues) this sadly wont happen.
I’m actually more excited for Recycle Rush than I was for Aerial Assist last year. Last year’s kickoff made the game seem like it was going to be fairly flat and boring to me(at least until I dove into the rules and got to know its nuances).
Recycle Rush has multiple game pieces to manipulate, fewer sizing restrictions to encourage creative design, coopertition points, and an interesting qualifications “bonus coopertition” strategy in the form of the Noodle Agreement. It has the possibility of human players scoring game pieces (feeding noodles directly into recycling bins) and the potential to see towering stacks built rapidly by high level alliances. I feel this game has more eye candy and pizzazz to a casual spectator than Aerial Assist did, even though it may seem like less of a direct competition. While truss shots and high goals were cool to watch, I think with pool noodles flying, stacks looming above the referees, and recycling bins teetering on top that Recycle Rush will be a great game to watch!
The new Constant for FRC is change. In the past 3 years we have seen big changes. They have gotten larger as time has progressed. While I don’t enjoy seeing where FRC is going at this point I rely on the FACT this is first time ever we have played a game like this. Anyone who doesn’t like this game needs to get over that or your season won’t be enjoyable. Its too late to change the game. I promise you that FIRST probably won’t stick with this kind of game. 2014 was a new kind of game so is 2015, and 2016 could be a new type of game, the same kind of game, or and old type of game. The old type of game is what we all seem to call “normal”. There isn’t a normal game in FRC anymore and that I like.
I like this game idea, especially in the fast-growing FRC community. To get people sucked into FIRST can be tricky, and normally we have cool robots to back us up. Unfortunately, and this is extremely opinionated, but I don’t think stacking crates and recycling is cool. And I know this is very early on, but there isn’t a huge ‘wow’ factor yet. The past 4 years, the game animation/release has always had me at “wow, what? how are we going to do that?” and I can’t say the same for this year
The audience, I think, will be bored with this game. Capture the flag, on the other hand, will be more interesting to watch, IMHO.
All that being said, it is indeed to late to change the game. I wish they would, and would enjoy if they did, but they wont, so we have to make the most of this game.
I guess we can think of it as another challenge. How do we make this game more flashy and wow for the audience?
This game does seem to be more focused on the building rather than the playing when compared to previous years. Some of the ideas we came up with today were pretty ridiculous (no size constraints!) and would have been quite a spectacle to see on a field had we gone with them.
I can see that it will likely be less fun to play and to watch, but I’m definitely seeing that it’s more fun to design around, program, and build.
Maybe well see some fighting for the center bins and totes in higher level play? That ought to spice things up a bit.
Though this year it will probably be pretty difficult to get people interested in the programs, FIRST is known for always bringing new stuff to the table. I think it will be interesting to see how teams work in this totally different game. I say give it some time, it will probably grow on us.
Ironically the complaint last year was about all the violence in Aerial Assist.Now everyone is unhappy because there is absolutely no violence in this one.
Complaints last year were from the “vocal minority” of some CD users who had some bad matches.
I really don’t understand this game. How could they look at this game, named after recycling and themed around trash and then say, “Yes, kids will love this!” Did they really expect a positive response when they told us we couldn’t touch opponents, or we don’t win or lose matches?
Also, this game isn’t going to work the way they think it will. The robots that win aren’t going to be even close to 28" x 38" or some normal size.
Will the weight rules change this at all? 120 pounds would get rather thin when distributed over that larger area, especially if the team decides to use bumpers.
Yes, but can you say sending the baby out with the bathwater? FIRST loves to compare itself to pro sports. In Pro football, there’s a lot of violence, and a fair amount of concussions and people are very vocal about it, but you don’t see the NFL turning into a ledaerboard where every team just tries to score as many touchdowns as possible.
…which is why the size change is so emphasized. FIRST seems completely okay with this. You’re allowed to literally assemble your robot on the field (within reason) using power tools and alignment devices, two things that have been strictly prohibited in recent years.
I have a really simple way, have there be a winner of each match, and work co-op points like 2012. The flexibility in dimensions and no defense is going to foster some crazy robots this year. But, matches still won’t be exciting if you’re not competing. Plus, you get things like the noddle agreement if you’re not trying to beat the other alliance.
It wasn’t a vocal minority. At least half the people I talked to hated that game. They didn’t like the idea that there was a single game piece that encouraged teams to pass idle moments away by playing defense and encouraged heavy referee intervention.