The Vapourbot Grand Prix 2010

[death robotics]

Stick my name down

The Servant's Assistant
Weight: 100kg
Shape: Box with a wedge on the front ala Mortis
Colour: Behemoth style yellow and black stripes
Dimensions: 0.36m x 0.76m x 0.91m
Drive: 4x 24v S28-400 Magmotors, powered by 5x 3000mAh NiCad Battlepacks
Locomotion: 6 internally mounted solid rubber wheels.
Armour: 6mm thick Titanium all over. 3mm Polycarbonate baseplate
Speed: Limited to 18 mph. Can reach 40mph.
Turning Circle: Zilch
Ground Clearance: 0mm at the front. 8mm elsewhere
Weapons: A full-pressure rear-hinged Co2 flipper which starts off from the back of the robot and finishes at the bottom of the front wedge powered by a fire extinguisher using a 70mm bore 100mm stroke ram. It can flip 500kg.
Srimech: The flipper of course. Hubs on the sides to stop it being stranded
Strenghs: Fast despite speed cap. Good flipper
Weakness: Not sure
Bio: The Servant takes on a new shape and armour. Will do proud. Or will it flop. Only time will tell
Win/Loss Ratio: N/A

[kodster]

Claiming my reserved spot!



Killobite Sigma

Shape: Please look at the render, lol. It's a pentagon wedge of sorts, with the rear panels angled ever so slightly with the front sloping down about 27°.

Colour: Pic is self-explanatory, lol

Weight: 100kg

Drive: 2 S28-400s, run at 24v, and geared 4.5:1.

Power: 4 NiCad Battlepacks

Motivation: 4WD, similar to Razer. Urethane rubber for tires, CNC hubs for wheels.

Speed: 12mph; 18mph max.

Armour: 6mm Ti/V monocoque, with 3.2mm Hardox bars surrounding it.

Chassis: 5mm steel

Ground Clearance: The forks run along the ground, and can press into the ground via the lifter powering it, so absolute zero at the front, probably less than that. 20mm at the sides and rear, so it can try to drive away if wedged slightly. Skirts are overrated. :P

Turning Circle: 0

Dimensions in CM (LxWxH): 110 x 75 x 50 (with claw; 20cm height without the claw)

Weaponry: The hardened steel crushing arm from Killobites 5.0 and Hex returns, and it is much much larger than either of those two incarnations. It's powered by a Vivoil pump, a LEM130 run on 48v, and appropriate NiCad batteries. It should put out approximately 25 tonnes at the ram, and 15 at the tip, making it very dangerous weapon to get caught by. It should at the very least dent moderate Hardox armour, and absolutely decimate any less armour it comes into contact with. The second weapons are the lifting forks at the front. They're powered by a lightweight linear actuating system and can lift about 250kg. They run flush with the ground and can lift 90 degrees in both directions, meaning they can press into the ground and negate any hinged/sprung/solid wedge attempts and get under them instantly, while the crusher comes into play. A deadly weapons synergy to fight.

Srimech: A S28-150 activates a bungee-cord mechanism, which in turn activates the two 'wings' on the sides of the claw. It may be Razer-esque, but it's proven to work. :P Plus the angle of Killobite Sigma at the rear is such that it can't fall onto those sides and remain there; it'll get forced into a position where it can self-right.

----

Hope all is well with that, Stevey-boy!

[andrewj]

I'll go for Axeon 4.0, please.

[steven_mcg]

Sorry, Lian, but I'm afraid you're a bit too late. All eight spots had been filled shortly before you posted. Don't be too disappointed. I'm sure we can come to some arrangement... :wink:

Also, Matt's confirmed over MSN that he'll be entering Delirium Tremors. Full stats can be found here: http://strickenone.proboards.com/index. ... thread=641

Matt'd also like to mention that two of the rows of teeth are removable, and that the bot comes complete with narrow hinged skirting attached just above each wheel. Should be fun to watch, that.

Aaaaand that's everybody!

FINAL ENTRIES:
1. Axeon 4.0 (Andy Jackson)
2. Eye of Ran II (Joey McConnell)
3. Slammer VI (Alex Holt)
4. 9.9 on the Richter Scale (Daniel Stickler)
5. O.I.D. (Jack Orr)
6. Flick of the Wrist (Martijn Benschop)
7. Killobite Sigma (Kody Kunz)
8. Delirium Tremors (Matt Fowler)

Thanks to everyone who's entered. The official intro and first arena will hopefully be posted up sometime tomorrow.

[death robotics]

Thats ok mate

[steven_mcg]

Ladies, gentlemen and imaginary remote-controlled death machines, I bid you welcome to the VAPOURBOT GRAND PRIX 2010!

Over the next few weeks, eight vapourbots from as far apart as Britain, Holland and Canada will be duking it out to win our coveted invisible trophy. This will be a contest not just of strength, but of strategy and endurance. Our eight competitors will duel each other simultaneously in ten different arenas all over the world. At the end of each fight, points will be awarded based on the position each robot finishes in. The robot with the most points by the end of the contest will be the crowned the Vapourbot Grand Prix champion of 2010.

The first battle venue will be announced momentarily, but before we do let's take a closer look at this year's competitors:

AXEON 4.0
OWNER: Andrew Jackson
HOME: Bourne, Lincolnshire
With previous versions of Axeon proving very successful in other tournaments, Andy will be hoping that Version 4.0 makes a big impact on the VGP in more ways than one. This latest incarnation is an angular box shape with a pair of front wedges and a powerful axe designed to bludgeon rather than puncture. The axe is made entirely of Hardox and runs on liquid carbon dioxide, allowing for plenty of powerful strikes per match. Axeon ranks high on defense with its wedged body and 8mm titanium/vanadium alloy monocoque shell (now there's a mouthful). Its pushing power is decent, but the front-mounted wheels could affect control and with so many bots running around at once, Axeon may risk spending its CO2 too rashly.

DELIRIUM TREMORS
OWNER: Matthew Fowler
HOME: Dadford
The best way I feel I can describe this entry is 'The Disc on steroids'. Delirium Tremors is essentially an enormous spinning drum with three wheels on each side mounted in a Y-shaped housing. Said wheels are each protected by narrow hinged skirting hanging down over the top of them. It might look a bit silly, but it could prove very effective. The 29kg drum is made of 10mm thick aluminium and spins at over 3000rpm. Touch those four rows of teeth at your peril. It's destructive, it's invertible, but its pushing power is weak and its wheels could well be in danger from another robot's blades.

EYE OF RAN II
OWNER: Joey McConnell
HOME: Pontefract, West Yorkshire
Here's an entry with its eye firmly on the prize. This unsual T-shaped machine has as its weapon of choice a frightening meter-long Hardox spinning blade with hooked claws. Mounted on the underbelly of its flat front, it weighs 30kg, spins at 2500rpm and can produce over 90kj of energy at its full speed. I hope everyone's brought extra tyres with them. Eye of Ran can run upside-down and is well protected with a mixture of polycarbonate and Hardox armouring and a titanium/vanadium chassis. It's a decent pusher too, but its unusual shape could hinder its control and its invertible frame leaves it wide open to a bird's eye attack.

FLICK OF THE WRIST
OWNER: Martijn Benschop
HOME: Enschede, The Netherlands
This is one of the toughest bots in vaporboteering today and it's easy to see why. Flick of the Wrist's design is simplistic in appearance, a basic invertible box with an angled rear and a pair of lifting spikes on the front, but what's important is the execution. The spikes are made of Hardox with diamond tips and the box itself runs on a grand total of six wheels at speeds of up to 22mph. Hardox + Diamond + (6 X 22) = OUCH. Flick of the Wrist makes for a great rammer with its top-notch traction and 7mm titanium shell, but the powerful wheels are vulnerable to axes and crushers, and its defensive weaponry may not be as effective in our more airtight arenas.

KILLOBITE SIGMA
OWNER: Kody Kunz
HOME: Toronto, Canada
This is the seventh member in the Killobite family, and clearly Kody's hoping it'll be the luckiest one. Like its last two incarnations, this high pentagonal wedge is armed with a horrible hardened steel crushing claw, but now it's even bigger and more powerful than ever. How powerful? How does 15 tonnes of pressure at the tip and 25 at the ram sound? In addition to the claw, Killobite has a pair of lifting forks powered by a lightweight linear actuators making for a very efficient weapons combo. Four wheel drive and speeds of 12mph make it strong and nimble, but that weapons combo is pretty slow and the 20mm ground clearance could be exploited by the others.

OOH! I'M DIZZY...
OWNER: Jack Orr
HOME: Richmond-Upon-Thames
Better known on the fighting circuit as O.I.D., 'dizzy' won't begin to describe how you'll feel after clashing with Jack's entry. This equilateral triangle's primary weapon is a vicious horizontal spinning disc mounted on the front. Weighing in at 20kg and constructed from 8mm Hardox, it can reach speeds of 2000rpm and tear a hole in most anything. O.I.D's shell is also made of Hardox, offering plenty of protection from its fellow spinners, and has a hinged wedge on the back for extra defense. It's invertible and highly manoueverable, though it's possible this might sacrifice its controlability and pushing power.

SLAMMER VI
OWNER: Alex Holt
HOME: Northants
Certainly the oldest robot here in terms of its heritage. This sixth incarnation of the Slammer dynasty remains much the same as its predecesors in its basic design - a squat axlebot with a front scoop, flipping arms on top and bottom, and a variety of interchangeable add-ons. Slammer VI features three such devices - a pair of crushing pincers, a vertical flywheel or a protective 'mask' to defend itself from powerful spinners. Such interchangability will prove very useful in a contest like this and its unique ability to self-flip makes it highly manoeverable. Its pushing power is comparatively weak however and those big wheels are a bit too exposed for my liking...

9.9 ON THE RICHTER SCALE
OWNER: Daniel Stickler
HOME: Merthyr Tydfil
Last, and by no means least, we have the most recently-built robot in the contest, having been constructed specially for this contest. Reminiscent of Tornado, 'Richter' is an invertable box with tapered sides and a 10kg rectanglar spinning bar (the eggbeater) mounted on the front. The blade runs at 2400rpm, but can be geared up to as high as 12,000rpm if need be! Pity the poor egg that gets beaten by this beast. It's a solidly-built bot with titanium/vanadium and polycarbonate armour and 15mph makes Richter a nimble machine. Its four wheels are exposed to aerial attacks, though, and its low 4mm ground clearance could prove troublesome later on.

Best get used to those bots, folks, because we'll be watching them beating the snot out of each other for a good long while. But now that we've met the bots, let's say hello to our first arena. The Vapourbot Grand Prix hath begun!

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THE VAPOURBOT GRAND PRIX 2010
ROUND 1/10: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX
ARENA: The Robot Wars UK Arena

We're going to kick things off with something nice and familiar to get our competitors settled down. The Robot Wars UK Arena has been the homeground of British robotic combat since 1998 and seen many alterations over the years. Our eight entries will be playing in the most recent incarnation of the warzone, the home of cutting discs, Flame Grills, the Drop Zone and of course the Pit of Oblivion. Our special thanks to the International Imaginary Planning Committee for expanding the arena to comfortably fit in all of our competitors.
The UK Arena is, of course, home to the House Robots, the superheavyweight monsters specifically created to make the life of any robot foolish enough to stray into their Corner Patrol Zones a living hell. Typically only two House Robots are allowed in the arena at one time these days, but today we're going to be doing something a little different. We're going to be throwing four House Robots into the ring to play with our competitors, and not just any four - the original four. Welcome back Shunt, Matilda, Dead Metal and Sergeant Bash!

Your arena plan badly drawn in Paint may be found below:



Everyone have a good hard think about your tactics and post them in ASAP. The sooner you all get something in, the sooner we can get started. Don't forget you'll all be fighting at once till only one remains, so you'll have to take all of your rivals into consideration, not just one or two.

Aaaand that's it. Good luck, all.

[joey_picus]

Tactics: *produced after no thinking whatsoever*

Start in reverse, use the back end of the T and its skirt to keep opponents at bay while I get the bar spinning...then, hit people a lot while generally staying away from the pit and the house robots, and the arena walls. Try and avoid any large pileups of robots and strike machines on their own, or on the outer edge of a pile if nobody's behind me, and if there are robots close by keep myself parallel to the wall if I'm close to it, as I attack.

Good luck everyone

[team_britespark]

Tactics, sponsored by L'Oreal, because you're worth it:

OK I have a strong feeling most of these matches are gonna go down to the Judges so I need to be aggressive from the word go. First thing I would do is to make sure my weapon is spinning as fast as it can go - a lot of these machines have strong armour and if I am going to score highly with the Judges I need to get some sparks flying or at least do SOME damage to them!

Once the eggbeater is spinning, I am going to whisk it *groan* and attack Delirium Tremors. The shape of the machine and the gyroscopic effects of that drum must cause it to have some issues in turning, so I plan to exploit this and slam the eggbeater straight into the sides of it - preferably as close to the wheels as I can without risking a strike from that drum.

I will also attack Killobite during this match and aim to immobolise it using a two-step attack. First, attack Killobite from the sides, using the eggbeater weaponry to flip it over onto its sides. Secondly, attack the Razer-esque srimech wings as it self rights. Hopefully this damage should score muchos pointos in the eyes of the Judges. I could also drive straight up onto Killobite's wedge and slam into the hydraulic pump which powers the crusher with my eggbeater. Hydraulic fluid + broken weaponry = POINTS!

I will attack Slammer by bringing my eggbeater into play on the sides (near the wheels) and on its front. Should I drive up its front wedge shape, my eggbeater should cause a lot of damage to the main body of it, as well as any weaponry equipment it might have, depending on its setup. Also, the wheel guards on the side of Slammer look as if they have lots of 'sticky-out bits' so a swift hit with my eggbeater on one of those should cause Slammer to soar upwards.

In conclusion, focus my attacks on these three machines and try to get some points on the board in case it does go to the Judges decision. Avoid the horizontal spinny weapons of Eye of Ran and O.I.D. If possible, use the power in the LEM motors to push an opponent into the CPZs and exploit the low walls of the arena by using the eggbeater to send opponents up and over the edge. DO NOT COME LAST! I WANT TO BE ON THE SCOREBOARD!

[kodster]

General tactics - wait for something to come to me, then kill it. Avoid or sneak-around-and-attack any potential spinny threats, and be aggressive only when there's need to be. Patience is key here, and provided I survive I shouldn't be last on the scorecard. :P

Preferred targets - most of them, really. :P Their shapes are quite easy to latch onto, and if I can't pin them by clamping, I'll beach them by lifting.

g'luck mateys!

[alex_holt]

Lets go for the claw here. Go for whoever looks most grabable, grab on and slam. I'm not actually too concerned about being rammed on the basis that to be ramming me, firing my underside flipper will mean they go with me. If I can get a decent grip on anything, trash it back and forth with my slamming as much as I can.