I was wondering what the consensus was on building a robot that could play “goalie” or defense… I think a crab drive system would work since all goalies do is move side to side.
But is it worth building a defensive robot this year?
I think that a defense robot would bring a asset to an alliance. like imagine if a robot was really good at defense, and had a really good kicker, as in it could kick balls from one end to the other. This would allow the defense bot to play goalie all day, and if it has the opportunity to steal a ball, it could kick it away to its scoring zone, where its alliance partners would take over. its a very good idea. the only way the goalie bot would fail is if two robots ganged up and scored on the two goals alternately, but that would take another robot from another section of the field. It’s worth a lot of consideration. Strategy will be key in this game.
Defense wins Championships.
There are better ways to prevent scoring in this game than by strafing between the opponent’s two goals.
That’s all I’d like to say for now.
Very true, correct on both things…
But hmmmm… is that a strategy hint from Team 2791 or 1714??
It’s a strategy hint for matches I’ll be involved in. So… even I don’t know yet o.0 I guess both?
And perhaps you could use powerful motors with superior torque to pin the opponent.
Pinning for any significant amount of time (More than 5 seconds) is forbidden–see Section 7 <G39>.
But taking them ‘for a ride’ across the bumps (especially if they cannot traverse them back on their own) isn’t forbidden 
I don’t think you build a ‘defensive robot’. I think you build an offensive robot that can play defense if necessary (due to breakdown in scoring mechanism, poor scoring ability, or specific match stratedgy calls for it).
I think the role of defense will be very similar to that in 2007. In 2007 there were, in my mind, two ways to play defense. The first was a ‘man to man’ approach, where the defender would harass and push the opponent all around the field (ie, push them when they are picking up a tube, moving towards the rack, trying to score). The second was a ‘screening defense’. In this approach, the defender would position themselves inbetween the rack and the opponents, trying to screen the scoring robots from getting into the rack. Each had its strengths and weaknesses.
I honestly don’t see defense bots having a significant role in the gameplay.
Defense == goal-tending. If I were a defense-bot, I’d go after opponent bot instead of staying in front of the goal.
P.S. Don’t forget the scoring algorithm for this year.
For those who follow NHL hockey, Washington Capitals/Team Russia should be the model to follow.
The best defense is when I have the puck and you don’t.
-Pie Man
I’m kind of curious how refs are going to rule on that sort of thing if you end up tipping or damaging a robot that was never designed to traverse the bumps. Especially if you end up damaging a robot. I know the whole “Build robust” thing, but there’s only so much some of the rookies are going to do there.
I preferred the man to two man approach. This is where you have your robot alternate between two robots so neither can really score. This is the most effective form of defense.(in my opinion) It frees up your alliance partners to play 2 vs 1. I have never seen a game that made defense worse then offense. It is just as hard to build a good defense robot as a good offense robot. Especially in this game. Speaking from a team that became an alliance captain without scoring but a handful rings in 2007, defense can be very effective if played right. It just requires a good robot, good driver, and good strategy. Sounds alot like offense, doesn’t it?
I think G38 <A> will apply as if this happens on a regular basis i think it can easily be called aggressive and intentional. As well as G37 <B> which says Incidental contact is generally allowed… So If you are over aggressive and push them over a ramp you may find your self in some serious trouble.
5 seconds may still be quite significant as this is only a 2 minute game. If you can pin the opponent and kick the balls away from your goal before he recovers?
Well, actually it is kind of a nonsense idea. If you get an ultra high score, like 50 x 0, it would mean a tie, so the ideal would to get a 50-49 score, wich would mean 148 x 99, or a victory and lots of points.
Being good at every aspect of the game? :rolleyes:
Defense bots are always good to have on your alliance. Especially in this game.
Instead of taking them for a ride across the bumps, how about parking
them on top of a bump. Done gently, without robot or field damage,
how is this overly aggressive? The team could just come out and fetch
their robot after the match was over with no harm done.
Eugene
I have to agree with that. Puppy guarding isn’t really going to get very far in my opinion. Especially since you’ll only have one robot there. If two go into that zone, then it’s almost pointless. Also, I can’t help but think that teams who start to build these goalie-bots would end of losing speed or ball maneuverability or something. They could be tanks, but tanks are very slow.
However, I still feel that defense is key to this game. But more like the 09 defense. Not necessarily a best defense is a good offense approach, but the best defense is to keep them moving. Robots are going to have to move a lot depending on where the balls are and what their strategy is. If a team can keep a robot occupied by either screening like mentioned before or just controlling the balls so the others follow you, or even with some sort of pinning or something, that would be the most effective defense.
It would depend how your refs define pinning. The rules claim it’s if a robot is being pushed against a wall or part of the field. So if you’re pushing a robot up the ramp, they may count that as pinning, no matter how gentle.