7.5, G26 reads as follows:
If you’re going to deliver GEARS, you have to use a LIFT. Any GEAR transferred to a PILOT
during the MATCH must be done so via a LIFT.
Does this mean that it is a violation of G26 to hand a gear to the other pilot in the airship because it would not have been transferred to that pilot using a lift?
That addresses how gears get into the airship. Once they are in airship, you can handle them as you like as long as you don’t let them leave the air ship or take them of a rotor once they are installed. So yes you can hand a gear to the other pilot. Throwing them probably would be a bad idea.
But the rule says “Any gear transferred to a pilot,” not “Any gear transferred into the airship.”
Wouldn’t that mean that the rule does apply to any transference of any gear to any pilot?
Taking the rules too the letter, I would say yes, as it is written now, it would be technically illegal to do that.
However, I am not sure that the refs even know the rules enough to the letter to know this without FIRST HQ telling them to look for it. I would just ask the head ref when you get to the competition if they would enforce that reading of the rules. Additionally you can ask the Q&A and they will probably give a clarification.
I do not think the intent of the rule was to prevent gears from being handed from one pilot to another. That brings up a whole other can of worms we probably don’t want to get into, but I would think in this case it is relatively inconsequential. Each competition ref will just start ruling one way or another(probably against the letter of the law), and will become a de-facto rule as the season progresses.
Let’s use a little common sense here. The game has been out for seven weeks and this rule hasn’t been changed or even become a point of controversy. You really think the GDC really wants teams to be penalized with a technical foul and a yellow card because two pilots worked together? Come on. If you want to get into technical details about why this isn’t the case, note that the rule book doesn’t specify which team(s) would be penalized if two of them executed a hand-off. It implicitly says that the foul only applies to the actions of a single team. Every game has nuances and intricacies to which you should pay close attention, but here’s a rule of thumb: if a rule seems way too stupid to be true, it probably is way too stupid to be true.
Seeing as you can’t use a LIFT to transfer a GEAR to another PILOT on the AIRSHIP, we can safely assume that G26 relates to the ROBOT to PILOT interaction, not PILOT to PILOT.
Well to be honest, I don’t think it seems stupid, and there are other rules which are actually enforced which seem a lot more stupid. For example, take into consideration the fact that if two gears are sitting on top of each other blocking the retrieval zone, it is illegal to move them.
I suspect that the rule is meant to say something like:
Any GEAR transferred from a ROBOT to a PILOT during the MATCH must be done so via a LIFT.
or:
Any GEAR transferred to the AIRSHIP (not PILOT) during the MATCH must be done so via a LIFT.
As the rule currently stands, any transferring of a gear to a pilot without using a lift is illegal, including one pilot handing a gear to another pilot. I really doubt this would actually be called as such during a match though, considering that this is very likely not the GDC’s intent for the rule. If teams are concerned, they may want to ask in Q&A. Perhaps we’ll see this change in a future Team Update, probably tacked on to some other, more important, changes.
The context of the rule is pretty clear that they are talking about delivering the geasr from the field. Part of the problem is that they are trying to use first grade English with Steam Punk… Anyway for an official answer ask Q & A. If you phrase it right they might actually answer it. Almost better to ask during the driver’s meeting.
This is what the Q&A system is for.
I agree, it should go to Q&A for a definitive answer.
However I would note that under this strict reading of the rule, the GEAR that starts on the AIRSHIP would be worthless, as the PILOT gets it without using the LIFT.
What prevents you from manipulating the top gear in the pile?
Q&A asked
https://frc-qa.firstinspires.org/qa/610
The G rules are aimed at robots.
The H rules are aimed at humans.
I agree, it should be more specific at the beginning of the G rules, and state “These rules are for the robots”.
G26 also prevents this by the Human Player: Robot has climbed, and a gear on the robot is within reach of the Pilot. S07 would not prohibit a Pilot from reaching out and taking the Gear.
That would actually be the best way to resolve that issue – add to S07 the perennial rule that human players (pilots in this case) may not touch a robot or a game piece which is in contact with a robot.
Agreed,
BTW as the rule is written the pilots cannot even take the spare gear that’s already in the airship since it wasn’t delivered by lift.
Team update 15 clarified that G26 applies to robot to airship transfers.