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Thread: Of Entanglement & Pins

  1. #1
    I'm having difficulty understanding the FRA rules on entanglement & the largely unwritten rule on pinning:

    Two examples for you to explain:

    360 vs Beauty 2 - 360's tooth wedges into Beauty 2's chassis and the match has to be stopped. Who is considered the entangler and why?

    Panic attack vs Axe Awe - who is the pinner here & why?

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by psychostorm
    Two examples for you to explain:

    360 vs Beauty 2 - 360's tooth wedges into Beauty 2's chassis and the match has to be stopped. Who is considered the entangler and why?
    I wouldn't consider that an entanglement situation, therefore would say neither is the entangler. The entanglement rule is written more to cover the use of tape, nets and other such (usually fabric) objects that are deployed with the express intention of getting the opponent's machine caught up or tangled round the wheels, jamming them up and prohibiting movement.

    Quote Originally Posted by psychostorm
    Panic attack vs Axe Awe - who is the pinner here & why?
    Extreme Wild Card Warriors match? If so, I don't see any pinning. I see tactics in the form of getting Axe Awe on top of Panic Attack and then taking advantage of the situation by opening the pit and chucking Axe Awe down it. Pinning would be if, say, Panic Attack pushed Axe Awe against the arena wall and held it there so it couldn't move. This would mean Axe Awe isn't moving anywhere and Panic Attack can't really move anywhere if it wants to keep Axe Awe against the wall, which would lead to a boring battle if it was permitted for more than the regulatory 30 seconds.

  3. #3
    kane's Avatar
    Roboteer

    From the FRA Judging Rules
    Pinning
    It is not permitted to hold or restrain an opponent for more than 30 seconds, for example, where a hydraulic
    crushing weapon grips its opponent, or one robot pins its opponent to arena side or floor, to do so is instant
    disqualification. If two or more robots become entangled or a crushing or gripping weapon is employed and
    becomes trapped within another robot, then the competitors should make the timekeeper aware, the fight
    should be stopped and the robots separated by the safest means. The fight will then be judged to the point
    where the robots became trapped.
    Kane Aston
    http://www.makerobotics.com

    Co-owner and builder of BEHEMOTH

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by kane
    From the FRA Judging Rules
    Pinning
    It is not permitted to hold or restrain an opponent for more than 30 seconds, for example, where a hydraulic
    crushing weapon grips its opponent, or one robot pins its opponent to arena side or floor, to do so is instant
    disqualification. If two or more robots become entangled or a crushing or gripping weapon is employed and
    becomes trapped within another robot, then the competitors should make the timekeeper aware, the fight
    should be stopped and the robots separated by the safest means. The fight will then be judged to the point
    where the robots became trapped.
    Thank-you Kane, that solves my entanglement issue clearly.

    Pity really then that the pin rules can call Panic Attack & Axe Awe to both be instantly disqualified.

    You can argue equally that Panic Attack that is holding Axe Awe there just as much as you could argue Axe Awe is pinning Panic Attack to the floor with its own weight.

    So... What would the judges rule then?

    I'm just checking my liability under the rules. I don't want to be instantly disqualified for not knowing my obligations.

    I could well in a melee situation be far too busy defending my robot to bother with any fool who's managed to beach itself onto the flat of my machine for 30 seconds.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by psychostorm
    Pity really then that the pin rules can call Panic Attack & Axe Awe to both be instantly disqualified.

    You can argue equally that Panic Attack that is holding Axe Awe there just as much as you could argue Axe Awe is pinning Panic Attack to the floor with its own weight.
    I think you're reading a bit too much into the rules here Ceri
    The description of a robot holding another is, to give an example, Razer or Kan-Opener crushing an opponent and deliberately not letting go just so their opponent can't escape, or a scenario along similar lines. In the Panic Attack v Axe Awe match, while Axe Awe is on top of Panic Attack it is not prohibited from getting off except for the fact its wheels clearly aren't making contact with PAs lid. However it could slide off if PA turned very quickly, as it's not being held in place by any weapon of PA. I think the idea of a robot perceived to be pinning an opponent to the floor because it's stuck on top is a little extreme. If a day comes when a judge disqualifies said robot, then I'd demand a new judge! :P

    Quote Originally Posted by psychostorm
    I could well in a melee situation be far too busy defending my robot to bother with any fool who's managed to beach itself onto the flat of my machine for 30 seconds.
    The entanglement and pinning rules are by far more likely to be applied stringently in competition battles. I think someone being stuck and riding around on top of another opponent in a competition melee is not going to get either machine disqualified. Absolutely no chance of disqualification in a whiteboard melee either, all the rules go out the window in whiteboards!

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