Is the TRAP a trap? Should you ignore the TRAP or is the TRAP critical to winning?
I need another response: TRAP is a TRAP, but more teams than expected may be able to do it.
I don’t think it’s only for the elite, but I don’t think it’s for most teams.
The pyramid goal was worth more in 2013 and even that wasn’t worth it.
Obligatory: https://youtu.be/4F4qzPbcFiA?si=YFgOtvBYdeF0iIlp
i wouldnt put much effort if any into trap. Would rather spend more time working with auton.
I wasn’t around in 2013, was there an RP associated with the pyramid? I don’t think the value of the trap is in the 5pts, but the significant reduction in difficulty of the ensemble RP if you can score a note in a trap.
None of the above. The TRAP is a rank point skill. Choose wisely.
If I recall correctly, non-win/loss RP were introduced in 2016, so I doubt it.
The easier ensemble RP is significant, but I bear in mind that 2 robots must be onstage to trigger the RP regardless of score- so the “1 robot does trap + onstage and other 2 park” doesn’t work even if it adds up to 10.
If only two robots can climb the chain, to get ENSEMBLE they need to either:
So either one of the robots needs to be able to do trap, or both robots need to be able to climb on a chain and have a good human player.
I think most teams will not be able to do TRAP, but many of them will try unsuccessfully.
I think the trap isn’t necessarily a trap, but I think that its true value isn’t purely in scoring. If you look at it solely through the lens of points, the trap is a trap, five points (the equivalent of one amped note or one auton note) that will likely require you to implement a separate mechanism for. And since an alliance with multiple trap bots will likely not be able to harmonize them (unless a team is willing to risk dropping), the value of the trap goes down further. With all that said, (imho) the true value of the trap is in allowing you to get the melody RP with only two bots capable of climbing, and without relying on the HP to hit their high note. Being able to trap removes two elements of (semi) randomness from the melody RP; a team doesn’t have to rely on either having three climbing bots or a successful spotlight, making for a more consistent melody.
I’m beginning to think the trap is a RP trap for playoffs.
I think most elite teams will be able to do it, without slowing down their climbs, but it’s fairly useless in playoffs where RP doesn’t matter. So unless you can do it awesomely and become a captain, it doesn’t help you much to be chosen for an alliance. You’d be better off focusing your resources and drive practice in other areas.
The time it takes will be important to note for sure. It is worth 5 points each so you could theoretically get 15 for just trap points which is pretty hard to earn otherwise… It is important to get the RP for Melody also, but I am assuming with a good alliance that should not be too bad.
The TRAP is interesting. There is a concept known as “low threshold, high ceiling” where the goal is to make an activity that is easy to get started with (a low threshold) but will take a lot of skill and time to master (a high ceiling).
This year’s game was less effective with the low threshold. Last year tabletop bots and less capable bots were able to compete on defense and score low cubes but this year they are completely useless they have some kind of shooter or hook. It will take more to get in but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, matches will certainly be more competitive.
As far as the high ceiling, this year went above and beyond! There are a lot of intricacies to this game that teams will consider. Picking up notes from the floor, scoring on the amp, how to use scored points on the amp, climbing systems and how to get an ensemble, and of course the trap. The trap will allow that upper level of gameplay at the risk of losing the extra ensemble points.
It isn’t worth writing of the trap if you aren’t at that top level of competition either, more basic bots could use the trap system to nearly guarantee a ranking point per match in the regular season by scoring 9/10 of the needed stage points (one bot would get 5 trap points and 3 climb points + a possible spotlight point). After that, any other alliance member just needs to get into the stage zone to secure the ranking point.
If you are planning to be a support bot then the trap should be a high priority! I would argue that less-funded and less-experienced teams who want to go far should focus on the end game and the amp points since most teams may choose to avoid some of the complexities that come with them.
So: The TRAP isn’t much of a trap. It’s a tool that teams can use to make up for other weaknesses and an important part of this year’s game that will end up deciding a lot of matches!
Everyone is concentraring on doing a single trap. But what if you spent your match doing all 3 traps? Presuming climbing is a skill you also need to do that and you can get auto in mobility.
So 3 traps, mobility, and a climb are worth 20 points. Yes it isnt a fantastic play nice strategy, but youll likely win a fair number of district matches and will be setup to get the encore whenever anyone else can climb. I have to believe youre in a picking position.
Im not saying youll have wild success in elims as you wont be amplifying as many shots as other alliances, but if you can do it semi quickly and defend or drop amps, you could be onto an upset.
Is this possible? The way I understood the game was that stage points were only counted in the last 20 seconds of the game which is how it is described in 6.1 Match Overview.
i would think most designs for scoring in the trap could also score in the amp, so your robot wouldn’t only be limited to trap scoring and climbing.
I think the trap is definitely something to go for if you’re trying to maximize RP. Scoring the trap + having two onstage robots, in my opinion, reduces the uncontrollable variables. if you’re able to do both, you only have to hope one other robot on your alliance can climb up the chain.
Otherwise, you’d need 3 robots onstage with at least two harmonized or rely on the spotlight mechanic which seems very difficult from a human player perspective. I also agree that a mechanism for scoring in the amp would probably work for the trap as well. It’s definitely challenging but I think more than just elite teams should go for it to be competitive in the rankings.
When people say “build a 3rp robot and drive it well”, typically they mean the other RP.
