Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
James:
Ill explain my logic, with the proviso that the disadvantages I can see may still be outweighed by the advantages.
The problem with having an inverted wedge at the back and combining that with the design aim of having the rear wheels on the ground when the front ones are raised is that it requires the wheels to be quite near the angle of the bottom of the inverted wedge.
A wedge needs to be able to deflect spinners and the like safely above the robot (sort of). Having the wheels near enough to the angle of the inverted wedge to allow for the raised front business to work would mean that they would be dangerously exposed at the top of the (right side up) wedge. Weapons would slide up the wedge right into the wheels. Also the wheels would serve to push the opposition back off the wedge again.
The less youre worried about having grip when the front of the robot is raised, the less exposed the wheels need to be and so the less this is a problem, but since the tail shape is a deliberate feature of Tornado its clearly something theyd like to preserve.
Ed: Oh, I didnt doubt its solidity, I was just curious (and mistaken) about the shape. Given how thick the armour is, does the frame actually do anything? :-)
Ive always felt that, although horsepower is very handy for ramming things and sticky wheels are nice, by far the most significant factor in who can push whom around is which robot gets underneath the other (see the final of the second World Championships). Wedges wedges everywhere. One reason I think the way to introduce the biggest shakeup in robot combat would be to introduce a non-planar arena.
--
Fluppet
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Off road robot combat? Could be fun and would introduce a whole new set of challenges. Could even do it in a soil/mud/grass environment with deep puddles and water hazards etc. Completely new class of robot required for that one.
-- Kev
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Er. That might be a bit enthusiastic (and I suspect roboteers will get tired of digging sand out of gearboxes quite quickly). I was just thinking of some ramps dotted around the arena - or more specifically, raised areas linked by ramps (think Marble Madness rather than Robot Wars pinball challenge). Nothing so steep that wheeled robots couldnt cope, and maybe not even anywhere which a robot could fall off, but something to stop the race to be lowest to the ground (or at least to make it harder). Spinners would have to be more careful as well.
Kind of scuppers much of the effort on many existing bots, though, and it makes arena construction a bit of a pain - so unless its a rarity as a special extra I dont think itd catch on. If the ramps were removable (which, along with making them able to take a careless spinner hit, makes arena construction even harder) it might be possible to do the occasional special format fight, though.
Some robots wouldnt cope - Storm2 would probably ground itself, and Typhoon2 probably couldnt negotiate a slope either, at least while spun up - but Id have thought Firestorm, Gravity, S3, THz, maybe Razer (with the fifth wheel), Tornado, etc. would handle it quite well. Stinger would excel. :-)
Another of my odd thoughts, anyway - although I think its been discussed before.
--
Fluppet
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
About this double wedge stuff.
Does anyone remember spawn of scutter from series 4, and the wedge they had?It mobved but didnt use anything mechanical to do so.
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Yes, I remember that one! It was a simple hinged wedge, almost like a skirt.
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Hang on.
Using the simple fact that their is 7 flippers (call Storm 2 a flipper as it has that lifter) at least 1 flipper will make it into the grand final.
That flipper will either be
Firestorm 5/Mute/Storm 2/Grim Reaper
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Actually, Storm 2 may HAVE a lifter, but its really more a Rammer than a flipper. Its never been counted as a flipper on the RW forum.
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Storm 2s lifter is a questionable item.
*changes wording of last post to say*
A robot with a lifting weapon will get though etc
I call Storm 2 an electric well engineered arm (although Gyrobot is more enginnered in my view).
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Storm 2s principle weapon has always been the ramming though. If Hypnodisc installed a small rear lifter, wed still call it a spinner.
Likely No Flippers in Grand Final
Its got one. You just have to end up carelessly sitting on its srimech. :-)
--
Fluppet