Barróg - Featherweight Lifter Build Diary

[Shooty]

ROUND 3: PIP

My third fight was against Sam Graham's PIP (Pretty In Pink), a vert at its first event, and I believe the first event Sam had competed at as well. The weapon was certainly scary, but I knew from previous fights that the bot wasn't the most controlled, and once I heard he was removing the front wedgelets due to driving issues, I knew that so long as my front was facing his, the weapon shouldn't ever make contact. We prepared the plastic wedgelets as was the given vert strategy at this time, and entered the arena.



Some observations from this fight:

• My hope for the fight was to get in under PIP and grab him right down the middle, keeping my claws safe and granting me full control for a pitting. It seemed though that I'd need some speed to get under him fully.
• After some failed attempts I had PIP in a position where I thought I'd have a perfect grab, only to find out that I was just a little short. As it turns out though this meant the lifter could keep going up, and due to PIP's drive issues and Barróg's height, I realised I was in a position to score an OotA.
• At this point PIP tried spinning up and driving around the front piece, eventually chewing into my lifter claws, while I tried shaking him off. At this point the arena marshalls started to get nervous, as PIP leaving the arena in this state could pose a safety risk. In hindsight I should have gone for a different wall for the OotA, but at this point I just had my blinkers on and did not want this fight to go on any longer.
• Eventually PIP is told to spin down, and a few bumps later and the bot finally slipped off over the arena walls.

POST-FIGHT:

Certainly not a way I had ever intended to take a win, but I was always happy to have taken down another vert. Damage wise the bot had actually taken a surprising amount; my left front claw had snapped at one of the joints from an earlier hit, the right spine took quite an amount of cosmetic damage from the spinner, and for some reason the fuse for the left side ESC had blown. The last one was the most confusing, but nonetheless I replaced the claw and fuse, and got ready for my final fight.


The right side spine after what seems to have been a trip to the hairstylists.

ROUND 4: GRAFFITI

The final fight for me was at some point going to be against Get Shrekt, but over the event the Round 4 draws were redone, and I was due to fight against Will Owen's Graffiti. The stylish linac lifter had been doing decently at the event so far, and was currently 2-1, same as me, owing to some impressive driving. I decided to keep the plastic wedgelets to test them, as I'd never really used them against another wedge before.



Some observations from this fight:

• From the start, it became apparent that his wedge was far more effective than mine, owing I'd imagine to the increased weight on it and the damage the wedgelets take over time. This put me at a disadvantage, further increased by Graffiti's excellent driving.
• Eventually at 40 seconds in I get a lucky grab and can once again do what the bot was always intended to do, bring an opponent to the pit. Barróg has "worked" more here than at all the other events I've been to combined!
• Unfortunately, thanks to some sloppy driving and fortunate weight distribution on Graffiti, the bot barely escapes out of the pit, and after one more failed grabbing attempt from me I've basically scuppered my last chance.
• The rest of the fight is a combination of me desperately trying to get around Graffiti and avoiding the pit. While I'm satisfied in my driving skill to avoid the pit in an arena that small for the full 3 minutes, ultimately I'm still constantly getting pushed around, and it goes to the judges.

POST-FIGHT:

So unsurprisingly the fight goes to Graffiti, which was absolutely well deserved. No damage was sustained minus some messed up plastic wedgelets. Barróg finished the tournament with a respectable 2-2 record, but I was here for data and fights over glory, and so while I was at the competition, I wanted to get in as many fights as I could, which led to my final whiteboard fight held after the main competition.

WHITEBOARD: BINKY

Binky, the vert that had dealt the most damage to me over the bots life, was at the show, but was a reserve. As it had not fought yet and I was hungry for more data, I offered a whiteboard match to the Botwrights, which they agreed upon. Usually I would use the HDPE wedgelets against verts, but after my confidence was shaken in them a little after the last fight, I decided to switch over to the metal wedge as I knew from Manchester that it could get under Binky, plus now I could properly test it against a vert in a 1v1.



Some observations from this fight:

• I got a nice grab on Binky earlier in, being able to use the bots weapon issues to its advantage. Unfortunately I overestimated the strength I'd need for a good grab, and all pressure from those good grabs earlier on in the competition had accumulated to causing the front to just snap.
• At least I was able to keep my grip on the bot, and managed to drive it into the pit, unfortunately slipping in a little myself. As it was a whiteboard though the pit was brought up again and the fight was allowed to continue.
• The next minute was me just trying to outmanoeuvre Binky, taking a few token blows along the way but for the most part surviving. The metal wedge is still doing good so far.
• Unfortunately at the two minute mark Binky gets a hit on the wedge, and the full force of the impact travels up the bot, ripping the wedge off, ripping the linac out, and leaving me stranded and left for dead. Fun to watch frame by frame though!

POST-FIGHT:


...oh boy.

So that fight was certainly fun, and I don't feel any shame in losing at that point after all I'd done earlier, but man that was the most violent hit the machine has received yet. The wedge was somehow bent in four directions, the green piece was now three individual green pieces held together by bolts, the casing for the linac gearbox was broken in so many places, and due to it being ripped out the power wires for the right side drive were all disconnected. I believe that the linac was ripped out mainly due to how instead of the green piece breaking off in chunks upon nasty hits, getting hit dead centre in the wedge transferred far more of the energy upwards, causing the casing break. The machine was done for today, but as it was near the end of the day that doesn't matter too much to me, and hey, at least the match was entertaining!


The linac after the Binky fight. Gimson have informed me that they can repair this, which was a relief to hear as this model is discontinued!