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[Battlebots]. Let's check out the action in the arena!

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Posts

  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    Cello wrote: »
    ROOOOOOOBOOOOOOOOOOTS

    (Man, Radioactive got wrecked)

    With all the "Radioactive sucks and Tombstone is unstoppable" talk from the announcers going into it, I was almost worried that Radioactive was gonna win somehow to satisfy a TV narrative. It made watching that dumb plastic robot getting torn up even better.

    I do like the way Tombstone didn't spin up his bar immediately. Made it look like something had gone wrong (despite them saying that all they really needed to do after the last match was recharge). Built a little bit of tension that maybe something didn't get hooked back up correctly and that Radioactive might have a chance of rolling away intact...

    Then: nope. Chunks everywhere.

  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    Kind of wish they'd allow projectile weaponry on the bots. Not actual guns, but like a harpoon or something would be awesome to see. Launch it, stick the other bot, then reel them back in Scorpion style.

  • Ghostly ClockworkGhostly Clockwork Registered User regular
    Welp, Tombstone took it....And really, it's a bit..boring. I dunno but Tombstone's driver just grates on me even more. Guess I just don't like cocky/arrogant players. I do really hope that something happens with him being cocky and a flip happens.

    FTC: honk.
    FTC: HONK.

    HLRpxno.png
    PAX Prime 2014 Resistance Tournament Winner
  • AvalonGuardAvalonGuard Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Dragon6860 wrote: »
    Welp, Tombstone took it....And really, it's a bit..boring. I dunno but Tombstone's driver just grates on me even more. Guess I just don't like cocky/arrogant players. I do really hope that something happens with him being cocky and a flip happens.

    I don't know, there's something going on about it that doesn't grate on me at all.

    Radioactive is a silly robot with weak armor, a useless weapon, and it can't maneuver for shit. Like, it looks fun and all, but it's just not fun to watch.

    Tombstone is a fucking engineer's wetmare, with incredible power and the ability to wield it correctly. It's destructive efficiency incarnate and I love it for that.

    If I were in the same position, I would be cocky as fuck, too. Counter Revolution was a shit design, Radioactive was a shit design, get that shit outta my way and make the crowd happy with pulverized bots.

    Don't get me wrong, I would be perfectly fine with a Tombstone loss. I'd probably find it exciting, too. In fact, I hope it's Tombstone against Icewave or Bronco at the end, and I wouldn't care who won.

    edit: having just seen an older clip of Counter Revolution in action, it feels super weird it lost so hard to Tombstone. CR has serious killing power, where the hell was it?

    AvalonGuard on
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    If I were in the same position, I would be cocky as fuck, too. Counter Revolution was a shit design, Radioactive was a shit design, get that shit outta my way and make the crowd happy with pulverized bots.
    I'm not going to argue about Radioactive. Euro-bots seem to have different design requirements that apparently say they can't have fun weapons, so they can get away with lighter armor.

    But Counter Revolution is a good design. It took an unlucky hit that put it down, that's the way the game goes. As evidence of CR not terrible design, here is some youtubery of recent matches where CR rolled away the win.

    The first: Tombstone from earlier this year. There's probably some minor differences in design due to the weight limit being higher for ABC's battlebots, but both bots look largely the same.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD5EyzyvGiQ&feature=youtu.be
    If CR had hit Tombstone spinner to spinner, instead of taking the hit to the wheel, the ABC match might have gone differently. It might not have as well, we'll never know.

    And another match against a bar spinner/wedge bot, because @Emissary42 posted it in the D&D thread as well.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVY3v7vlGwc
    My favorite part of this one is about 43 seconds, you can see CR lining up a hit to spray shrapnel directly into the (bullet proof glass that protects the) crowd.
    That's some showmanship right there.

    see317 on
  • AvalonGuardAvalonGuard Registered User regular
    Yeah, clearly CR can do damage. Just weird the Tombstone fight was such a roflstomp

    In the blathering I lost my point; any bot that involves the creation of scrap metal is a bot that rocks my socks.

  • Emissary42Emissary42 Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    @see317 , I AM SUMMONED.

    If anyone wants greater detail on some of the bots, the link in my sig takes you to the D&D thread with a decent OP and 2nd post that has links to every single interview with each team about their robot. Spoilers may result due to the color coding system for wins/losses.

    If you have any behind the scenes questions, I didn't compete but can field some questions to my contacts on a few teams that did participate in this tournament.

    One bit of brief clarification: despite the show being off the air, competitions have been continuously ongoing since 1992 to the present. That's right: even after the end of Season 5 on Comedy Central about 10 years ago, the battles and various bizarre arms races have continued.

    Final note: White Sparks are Titanium, Yellow Sparks are steel, Aluminum Sparks don't happen.

    Emissary42 on
  • CelloCello Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    Man, tonight's Robot Hunger Games have actually been pretty good!

    Cello on
    Steam
    3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
    Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
  • NaphtaliNaphtali Hazy + Flow SeaRegistered User regular
    I don't think I'm a fan of welding on a giant arm like what ghost raptor did

    "hey our robot sucks so lets just build a big battering ram so it can't touch us"

    also the tombstone fight - holy shit that was scary to see it go flying like that

    Steam | Nintendo ID: Naphtali | Wish List
  • Emissary42Emissary42 Registered User regular
  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    at least Ghost Raptor's team was honest

    "Did you expect the De-Icer to work?"

    "...No"

  • CelloCello Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    I did love when Stinger got launched into the air and there was fire everywhere and oh god it was so cool

    I wish I had the cash to build one of these things and strike another childhood dream off the list

    Cello on
    Steam
    3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
    Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    Bronco's fights are always exciting because shit goes flying everywhere

    Bronco vs Tombstone is gonna be crazy as fuck

  • Emissary42Emissary42 Registered User regular
    Cello wrote: »
    I did love when Stinger got launched into the air and there was fire everywhere and oh god it was so cool

    I wish I had the cash to build one of these things and strike another childhood dream off the list

    There are weight classes ranging from the 75g Fleaweight all the way up to the currently active (and televised) 250lb Modern Heavyweight. A competitive 1lb or 3lb robot costs from $200 to $500 and go up from there the crazier you get, and also have far more accessible and frequent competitions. They're also a bit less likely to instantly kill you.

  • WhippyWhippy Moderator, Admin Emeritus Admin Emeritus
    Man it is straight bull that nerd team cat ears lost against the other boring white guys with the other boring bitey robot

    I think nerd team really pulled it out in the last minute of the match, also fuck those guys and their treads

  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    aren't their treads magnetic?

  • Emissary42Emissary42 Registered User regular
    Pony wrote: »
    aren't their treads magnetic?
    Looks like modified chains attached to aluminum tread segments, each with two rubber feet and a spot to apply either an additional rubber foot or a magnet.
    11703190_1463684960619609_5574470623640795768_n.jpg?oh=280ca4afcecb266644c070c4544b56bd&oe=564E29B3

  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    Emissary42 wrote: »
    Cello wrote: »
    I did love when Stinger got launched into the air and there was fire everywhere and oh god it was so cool
    I wish I had the cash to build one of these things and strike another childhood dream off the list
    There are weight classes ranging from the 75g Fleaweight all the way up to the currently active (and televised) 250lb Modern Heavyweight. A competitive 1lb or 3lb robot costs from $200 to $500 and go up from there the crazier you get, and also have far more accessible and frequent competitions. They're also a bit less likely to instantly kill you.
    On the plus side, little bots can still do some damage to each other since they don't have to contend with 200+ pounds of metal. And physics say that a small spinning disk can still pack a punch since they can spin up a lot faster and spin at higher speeds.
    And while there's less chance of one instantly killing you, if you try hard enough, anything is possible.


    Looking around a bit, looks like Team Nightmare recently updated their page with their take from this season. It makes for an interesting read, but damn is that a 90's website.
    Also talks about the upgrades he put on Nightmare for the new season here and some other info. My favorite picture: the chunk he took out of the floor of the box after Warrior Clan flipped him.
    dgcexdoc2mhf.jpg


    Emissary42 , any suggestions where a person should look for small bot components?
    I know that Team Nightmare has a store where they sell kits, with a basic Antweight kit starting at $235. Just curious what other online resources you may know about/ could recomend.
    Also, I'm curious where a person would look to find a listing of local competitions for these tiny bots. I think this might be a fun hobby to get into, beyond just watching it on TV.

    Naphtali wrote: »
    I don't think I'm a fan of welding on a giant arm like what ghost raptor did
    "hey our robot sucks so lets just build a big battering ram so it can't touch us"
    Personally, I'm of completely the opposite opinion here. That was a great touch to pull out at the last minute. It wouldn't have worked against any other bot in this competition, and had ICEwave managed to slip to one side it would have been useless. If the arm had been too high it could have missed ICEwave's "head" altogether, too low and it would have been spinner chow. It's a remarkable last minute weapon, and the fact that it worked as well as it did is a huge testament to the driving skill of that team.
    Now, had it been a big-ass hoop around Ghost Raptor at the right height to hit the motor box, that'd be pretty lame.

  • Emissary42Emissary42 Registered User regular
    edited July 2015
    see317 wrote: »
    Emissary42 , any suggestions where a person should look for small bot components?
    I know that Team Nightmare has a store where they sell kits, with a basic Antweight kit starting at $235. Just curious what other online resources you may know about/ could recomend.
    Also, I'm curious where a person would look to find a listing of local competitions for these tiny bots. I think this might be a fun hobby to get into, beyond just watching it on TV.

    There are a number of excellent resources online. edit - as well as a number of kits that are a decent way to start, but I would be cautious about grabbing one of those.
    Tutorials & Guides
    Riobotz Combat Robotics Tutorial (available in English and Portuguese)
    The Riobotz tutorial is a little dated on electronics (particularly batteries) since it's from 2009, but it covers most other topics very well. If you have a question, it will have an answer or at least directions on how to find an answer. The guide was created by Team Riobotz, the Brazilian repeat champions of RoboGames which is probably the largest robot combat competition in the world.
    SPARC - Standardized Procedures for the Advancement of Robotic Combat
    This is more up-to-date but still focused on smaller robots. The best thing about this community's resources is a listing of suppliers and machining services.

    Competitions
    Builders Database
    BuildersDB is both a listing for smaller competitions and a low-detail repository for what kinds of robots are out there. From the front page, I can see there's a competition in Kirkland, WA in a few weeks and no fewer than four scheduled for the month of October in other locations.
    SPARC Forums
    I haven't actually used the SPARC forums before, but it looks like they have listings of events as well.

    Components
    Raw Materials - Amazon Supply, McMaster-Carr, OnlineMetals, VXB Bearings, Speedy Metals, and whatever is in the above guides (these are simply the most common)
    Electricals - HobbyKing, Robot Marketplace, FingerTech Robotics, and others listed within above guides

    Fabrication - see the guides for anything from waterjet cutting to custom heat-treating. If you have a hackerspace/makerspace nearby, getting a membership there is likely one of the cheapest ways to get access to tools & equipment.

    Testing Your Robot - Covered more in guides, but for smaller robots (3lbs & below) just keeping off the floor is quite effective. Testing spinning weapons can be done with the entire robot clamped in a vice or to a cinder block, and full systems testing (driving with active weapons) can be done with a simple lexan shield or from behind a closed door with a reinforced glass window. Test boxes are also cheap in the small weight classes, since you can make them mainly out of wood.

    Emissary42 on
  • NaphtaliNaphtali Hazy + Flow SeaRegistered User regular
    see317 wrote: »
    Naphtali wrote: »
    I don't think I'm a fan of welding on a giant arm like what ghost raptor did
    "hey our robot sucks so lets just build a big battering ram so it can't touch us"
    Personally, I'm of completely the opposite opinion here. That was a great touch to pull out at the last minute. It wouldn't have worked against any other bot in this competition, and had ICEwave managed to slip to one side it would have been useless. If the arm had been too high it could have missed ICEwave's "head" altogether, too low and it would have been spinner chow. It's a remarkable last minute weapon, and the fact that it worked as well as it did is a huge testament to the driving skill of that team.
    Now, had it been a big-ass hoop around Ghost Raptor at the right height to hit the motor box, that'd be pretty lame.

    I'll agree with you on the driving skill aspect, I hadn't thought of it that way. But I don't see a huge difference between slapping the hoop on there vs a pusher arm, personally. Fight with the robot you came with vs the robot you can slap shit onto between fights.

    Steam | Nintendo ID: Naphtali | Wish List
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