Human Players are definitely important and it’s good to cast some attention on what can be considered a low status position (“I made the drive team, but I’m only the human player”).
HP’s that operate any kind of feeder or receptacle (like the pilot in Steamworks) must be paying attention. I have GoPro footage of our robot driving up to a feeder stations and then sitting there, waiting, until the HP notices that we’re looking for a gear. Then they spot the robot, reach down to grab a gear from the pile, and push it through the slot. Why weren’t you ready? Why wasn’t that already in your hand, ready to go?
We had an active gear release in SteamWorks and we had to tell pilots not to attempt to pull up the gear until we had released and driven away. Most understood. Some simply did not. Pulling on the gear while it was still trapped in our robot only caused it to fall off the peg.
And nothing beats 2015, and watching our team’s human players practicing their full-court javelin throws with pool noodles.