A very chill dog. Yes this was also necessary to include.

Semi-Final: Barróg Vs. CATastrophe


Fight starts at 48:32

Remarkably, thanks to the scoring system used in the competition and the change from a top 8 to a top 4 bracket, Barróg Doom was out of the competition, while Barróg managed to qualify! The semi-final matchup was against Ellie’s CATastrophe, a very effective 2WD wedge grabber. Once again, the new forks and Barróg’s general shape and drive were the difference makers in this match. While CATastrophe was very well driven, Barróg was just able to score lift after lift, and then eventually managed a grab that was enough to lead to a pitting. It’s fights like these that make me believe that Barróg might actually be a better bot to win a tournament over Doom: in an arena with a pit the bot only needs one good grab, and the match can essentially be over from there.

Final: Barróg Vs. Terabyte


Fight starts at 51:24

The final match gave the second Barróg a chance to face off against Terabyte. Unfortunately this match was much the same as the first one. Barróg was able to last a little longer due to some decent evasive driving and the catlike ability of Barróg to consistently roll back onto its wheels, but eventually Terabyte got Barróg into the ball bit, resulting in a 2nd place finish for my dad, not a bad day in all!


Barróg and Terabyte pre-match.

Whiteboard 1: Barróg Doom Vs. Pizza Time, Grab Crab


Fight starts at 54:51

In between the final four matches, I was able to get Barróg Doom into a really fun lifter-based whiteboard with Pizza Time and Grab Crab. Barróg Doom was operating about as well as could be expected, though the low ground clearance forks did give me trouble whenever I ended up close to the pit area. Everyone was performing pretty evenly until the midway point, where Pizza Time ended up in the pit, leaving just me and Grab Crab, where we would continue to trade lifts back and forth until I seem to lose drive on one side. Despite some valiant self-righting, there was little I could do after losing drive, so all that was left to do was to self-right until the match ended. After the match I discovered that the failure point was that one of the wires connecting the drive ESC to the main power loop had popped out of the terminal block, so a frustrating (though thankfully inexpensive) mistake was learnt.


Doom getting loaded in for its last match.

Whiteboard 2: Barróg Vs. Aganemnon, Terabyte, honk!


Fight starts at 1:04:57

Right before the event ended, Barróg got to be part of one more match, against the lifter Aganemnon, the axebot of honk!, and a rematch against Terabyte. Despite getting one good lift this match was pretty similar to the final, where Barróg continued to get flipped over and over, flopping back onto its wheels before getting officially counted as out of the arena (though the bot managed at least a post-match pitting of Terabyte by means of mutually assured destruction!)

Conclusion:


Doom in the arena before its first 1v1 FW fight in 5 years. The time sure flies by!

It was incredibly fun to compete with our FW’s after so long, and this was a great event to remind us both what worked and what didn’t with these bots. Drive-wise, the system both bots used remained grippy and nimble, if not a little fragile sometimes. I can absolutely see many ways I would like to redo the system for a Barróg 3 (I’ve had some 5065’s and VESC’s collecting dust for a few years at this stage…), but no matter how you shake it four drill motors on 5S are gonna push things around, and so for these bots at least I’m exploring better hubs to help the wheels last a little better, especially for more aggressive driving styles.

Weapon wise Doom did seem to be missing a little bit of energy, though when taking the bot properly apart months later I would learn that it was down to some wear and tear on the connecting bolts. Self-righting remains quick at least, and while getting an opponent up far enough for the exciting lifts, the bot can still be a surprisingly competent rear-hinged flipper when a grab has not been fully secured. Barróg’s weapon system remained somewhat temperamental, particularly the new linac which was incredibly effective right up until the motor decided to self-destruct. The Aliexpress linac still did the job however, and we now have clear proof that, in the right circumstances, all the bot needs is one good grab to end the match. Self-righting meanwhile was not 100% (possibly due to less weight at the front without the hardox forks), but fortunately Barróg remains capable of self-righting from a number of different positions, and given its awkward design I’m happy not to break what isn’t broken for now.

And so that was the end of North Down Havoc 2024! I had a great time at the cider farm, and it was incredibly fun to meet and fight with so many familiar faces. I don’t know when I’ll next be over to a UK event to compete, but these events have definitely accelerated my desire to ensuring that these bots can be competitive going forward well into the future. Hopefully these Irish FW’s can see full combat in Europe once more!


Both Barróg's in the car being moved from our tent to the arena!