Still don't understand why we can't snag spinners

[daveimi]

I understand that if I drove round the arena unravelling duct tape as I went then it would create boring matches and be unfair. However, the last time I asked this I don't feel as though I got a legitimate answer other than "entanglement is banned in the rules".

I'm not talking about stopping robots running round the arena, just trying to come up with a solution to the actual blade or disk of a spinner. I noticed at the weekend that as soon as a cable got caught up in a blade, it just snagged and stopped. So in terms of this being an engineering sport and trying to promote ingenuity and a variety of designs, why would I not be allowed to wrap my robot in cables? It's then up to those that build the big power spinners to counter with new blade designs with low profile bearings and so forth to not get wrapped up?

At the minute it feels as though the rule set gives credence to more and more powerful spinners, and that any other type of robot is handicapped to defend against it. Almost like the field being full of flame throwers and then telling everyone they can only use wood to build a robot. I don't want us to be without spinners, I just want the rule set straightening out to say that you cannot stop translational movement round the arena by entanglement, but that using it as a form of permanently fixed armour to resist spinning weapons is OK. I can see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be able to use various ideas to snag blades.

[typhoon_driver]

"I understand that if I drove round the arena unravelling duct tape as I went then it would create boring matches and be unfair"

Change duct tape to rope or cables and you have your answer. Boring matches and once entangled you wouldn't be able to disconnect from the other machine. Crushers have to disconnect after a period of time and demonstrate they aren't stuck on the other machine.

About the only way in the rule book you could get around it would be to use a tethered projectile and hope the tether gets tangled up. Again you would likely be disqualified if you couldn't disconnect from the other machine.

There's also the issue of safety. If the arena marshals have to enter the arena to untangle two machines they may not be able to access the removeable link easily if the machines are tangled up. I'm sure as hell not putting my hands near a robots weapon if I don't know the link is out so I wouldn't expect them to either.

[daveimi]

Yeah well that's my point, don't want to stop people driving about just bind up blades/disks etc.

[typhoon_driver]

What's your point?

[daveimi]

That the entanglement rule is too generalised. I think it should only count towards translational movement and not weaponry. You shouldn't be aiming to stop someone's mobility but I don't have a problem with weaponry.

[typhoon_driver]

This issue still stands regardless

"There's also the issue of safety. If the arena marshals have to enter the arena to untangle two machines they may not be able to access the removeable link easily if the machines are tangled up. I'm sure as hell not putting my hands near a robots weapon if I don't know the link is out so I wouldn't expect them to either. "

[daveimi]

Hmmm...will grudgingly admit what you say makes sense lol....

[Ellis]

Also, it isn't ingenious to win against a spinner by entangling it. It would be incredibly easy. You'd need to loosely attach some netting to your bot and just feed it to the spinner, which will lock it up, with the rest of the fight being a shoving match between a bot not meant for shoving and one most likely just a box. There's no cleverness there; it's not a fight. No skills are required.

It's equally biased to expect spinners to all redesign in order to be immune, which would be pretty much impossible anyway; nets and cables would remain insta-win methods.

Plus the safety points Gary makes.

All in all this is something that was revised in (or is it out) of the rules a long long time ago. Entanglement being banned is the better way.

[daveimi]

So what if someone comes up with a way to disable a disk? Don't see why it's such a negative thing if it's part of the evolution of robot fighting?

Ie spinners are the most destructive weapon, look...we've found a way round them... forces people to rethink their weapon and design and so the evolution continues. The rules favour spinners which isn't right, they should favour all types of robots equally.

[cavecrusher]

So what if someone comes up with a way to disable a disk?

I think that's called a hardox wedge...