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Botball Update!
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Helpful GCER Information
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Dear Robert,
I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on some
observations from the tournaments this year; remind everyone of the
new game tie breaker changes; and give everyone a heads-up on some
game scoring changes for GCER. Remember: every team is eligible to play
at the International Botball Tournament in July. See the GCER website
- http://www.botball.org/season/2009/GCER/
- to register for all of the events. You can also get to the GCER
website from a link at the Botball home page.
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Observations from the Tournaments
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Several observations
have been made consistently from tournament to tournament this year.
Four items in
particular:
- There
are plastic joiners between the 4x4 foot sections of the game
board. These joiners form a small bump between the board
sections, and make it difficult to slide some objects from one
board section to another. If you have
been practicing on a game board that is not using the official
plastic joining strips, be aware that objects such as fuel
containers do not slide well over those bumps unless they are
tilted or lifted. It is disappointing to see an otherwise
viable robot get stuck behind a cup wedged against a 2 mm
barrier. Be sure to test your robot on a realistic game board,
or have a strategy that does not rely on sliding objects across
a smooth board.
- During
double elimination, a significant number of games quickly bog
down as robots get tangled up in the middle of the field when
they go after Botguy. If you think Botguy is the key to
the game -- the other team may think so too. If you go
after Botguy, make sure your robot will be able to extricate
itself from a collision in the middle of the board and/or your
other robot will stay clear of the middle and score some points.
The multiplier for Botguy is worthless if your base score is
zero. A surprising number of teams have scored Botguy, but
no points, while the other team goes ahead and gets a few points
reliably -- winning match after match.
- Speaking
of a few reliable points...Don't leave that turbine sitting
in the start box! Don't forget that a wind turbine starts in
your starting box and can be anywhere you want in the starting
box, including on your robot. A wind turbine is the only
object that can score by being in the positive vertical
projection of the slope or peak.
- Teams
trying to do PID control of the IFI motors ran into some power
issues.
There is a detailed explanation of the phenomenon on the FAQs.
Bottom line, you are less likely to have problems with IFI
motors if your use the motor command rather than mav, mtp or
mrp.
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Tie Breakers
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Some additional tie-breakers were published in the FAQ a couple weeks
ago. These do not effect scoring, but in a tie situation teams
will get credit for putting pieces almost in scoring position, which
could make all the difference.
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Scoring Changes for GCER
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To help reduce the number of pileups during double elimination and
remind everyone that it is more important to have good technology in
place than to have the politicians on your side (though having both
is best of all), Mayor Botguy will have reduced multiplier rates for
GCER. At the International Botball Tournament in July, having
Botguy on your hill will act as a 1.25X multiplier (rather than the
2X multiplier he is in the regionals). Having Botguy on your
peak will act as a 1.5X multiplier (rather than the 3X multiplier he
is in the regionals). We think that this change will make for
some more exciting games at GCER.
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New GCER Feature!
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New this year is the GCER-Botball Documentation Award. Rules for the GCER-Botball
Documentation program will be posted on your team home base and the
GCER website during the first week of May. Be sure to check it out!
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We hope to see all of our teams at GCER in July! If you
have any questions about the Global Conference or the International
Botball Tournament, please contact Marci Corey - 405-579-4609 or mcorey@kipr.org.
--Dave Miller & the KIPR team
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