At palmetto, a software glitch was found in the driver station assignments. We had to call FIRST HQ, and then replay semis. Did everyone else have to?
Something similar happened at hub city
hi, we were one of the teams who were effected by this glitch.
to further elaborate the situation, the fms/our laptop showed that our player station 1 and 3 were switched, the blue alliance/frc spyder showed that 1 and 3 were switched, and when questioning we were told to continue with the layout we had.
So I was right. Yeah, it was wrong at South Florida but wasn’t caught or replayed. I didn’t fight it (it wouldn’t’ve swung it for us, and I had bigger problems in the few minutes when I realized it after we became a red seed), but I thought I was going nuts when my second pick asked what to do over by the boiler. Teach me to automatically trust the FMS without checking my recollection of the Team Update. Really glad that didn’t lose us the semis.
Section 10.5.3 Playoff MATCH Bracket [TU4]:
ALLIANCE Leads are assigned to PLAYER STATION 2, the first picks are assigned to the PLAYER STATIONS closer to the BOILER, and second picks are assigned to the PLAYER STATIONS closer to the opponent’s LOADING STATION. If a BACKUP TEAM is in play, they will be assigned to the PLAYER STATION that was assigned to the DRIVE TEAM they’re replacing.
we had it assigned correctly according to the rules for the first two semi matches we played and won semis when we were told we had to replay them, which ended up costing us our spot in the finals.
would be nice to see them addressing this problem somehow.
The rules as originally released, or the rules per Team Update 4, which are still the current set?
I don’t know the answer to this, but depending on what it is, the TBA story is interesting:
South Florida was played incorrectly, with the 2nd pick in Red 3 (closest to the boiler). TBA seems to reflect this as it was played; you can see that our alliance’s order between quarters (blue) and semis (red) does not invert. This is also visible on the full list, which appears to have been played correctly in quarters (even for Red) and wrong afterward. The bug even flipped Alliance 1, which was Red both times and correct in quarters but wrong in semis.
The team you’re asking is shown by TBA Palmetto as being placed wrongly in the matches the lost. (TBA lists them as the first pick but having lost semis from Red 1.) That may be TBA or the input data. Either way, it’s been a rough week 1.
Also happened at west valley. Our 1/2 picks were forced to switch, but had no deterrence on gameplay in our semis matches. (we were red alliance, unsure if it happened to blue)
At Waterbury, the stations are numbered with 1 being closest to the boiler (presumably for it to be easier for the match scheduling algorithm and FMS and such). Maybe this will solve it?
I brought it up to Mark our FTA and our alliance captain to talk to the head ref. We initiated the questions because I had earlier asked for clarifications on where we needed to be in our initial quarterfinals matches and knew that it should remain throughout the playoffs.
When the queuer showed us handwritten driver station assignments, we had argued it wasn’t right. Finally they called FIRST headquarters and was told it was a software glitch.
We are sorry for the replays as it caused headaches, several different outcomes and matches lasting 2 1/2 hours extra at Palmetto, as an example. The crowd was tired and very patient in waiting it out throughout the playoffs and the awards ceremony.
It was suggested that perhaps more Week 0 events should occur and somehow they missed it in The Manchester event.
I heard the same thing. To get around it, they had to play “test” matches to get everyone into the correct stations, and then spend time running the data from the test matches into the real matches behind the scenes to get the database updated and results pushed to FIRST correctly. I applaud everyone who stuck through it at an event watching it, and all of the volunteers that focused on getting it right for teams, even if the work around was a pain for them to do every match!
Interesting twist (and could be screwing up TBA), but in the other locations I’ve heard so far including S Fl, quarters appear to have been played correctly. So I think under that method with the same glitch (without further correction), quarters would’ve been wrong and semis correct. One way or another, I’m sure they’ll fix the glitch Week 2.
the layout stated on the team update 4
Thanks for the explanation Glen. It was all initiated by asking the field judge that 359 could be positioned correctly according to the rules (359 is a shooter, was our 1 pick and was supposed to be at the boiler). We hoped it would be a quick fix but spun out of control. The worst part of the delays was 2614/2393/4265 had been thru a tie and field fault in their quarters and were drained.
The stations are numbered 1-3 from left to right when looking at the field. This means that station one is closest to the feeding station on the red side and closest to the boiler on blue.
When things make the field wrong, please ask to talk to the FTA directly.
The field is the FTA’s responsibility. The Refs don’t really follow that.
If it’s a game play issue, talk to the Head Ref.
If it’s a robot or rope inspection issue, talk to the Lead Robot Inspector.
If it’s an issue with the rope while it’s installed on the field, that’s an FTA field issue.