Bite Sized Tournament

[parassyte]

Lightweights


Ad Infinitum - Alex M and W
Just a Little Baldur - Alex Holt

Anti-Virus - Kody Kunz
Another Night at the Bar - Martijn Benschop




Middleweights


Scorpion Bite - Alex M and W
Sith - Alex Holt

Solstice - Kody Kunz
Waiting for the Axe to Fall - Martijn Benschop



Heavyweights


IFHW - Alex M and W
Black Panther Queen - Alex Holt

Wedginator Reborn - Kody Kunz
Flick of the Wrist - Martijn Benschop



Superheavyweights


Eurypterus - Alex M and W
Red Knight - Alex Holt

Red Flag - Kody Kunz
Sheer Heart Attack - Martijn Benschop


Second Round

Lightweights

Ad Infinitum vs Just a Little Baldur
62%-38% Ad Infinitum, due to its low frame and anti-wedge drum. Its likely Baldur can get under if it charges, but Infinitum would have better luck sticking close and nudging its outriggers under the sides by spinning/maneuvering.

Anti-Virus vs Another Night at the Bar
76%-24% Anti-Virus. Its an unfortunate outcome for Martijn, as two of the three opponents are fierce anti-spinners. I also have to be critical of the lack of any stabilizing brackets in ANBs design though, which makes for a somewhat flimsy fight. Its very uncomfortably powerful, but its a bit of a suicide bot. Ill give it good odds in the last fight, but not against yet another dedicated spinner killer.


Middleweights

Scorpion Bite vs Sith
60%-40% Scorpion Bite. Maybe Im biased to spinners a bit. I see enough dedication to the weapon to do a substantial amount of damage to Siths normally good armour. Sith is set up in a way that presents a lot of surface to strike, while Scorpion Bite minimizes its flipping area, particularly from the front. The clincher here is its invertibility, which will create some engineering difficulties with the weapon, but will pay off heavily against flippers such as Sith.

Solstice vs Waiting for the Axe to Fall
51%-49% for the Axe. This is a tough one to call, particularly because Im not sure how the Axes armour will react to Solstices weapon. The biggest thing going on here is the large, poorly armoured top on Solstice that contributes to its invertibility. If it had more range, I would give it the fight immediately, but WAF has the range to strike it dead center if the two make contact. I would say it has a slightly better chance of threatening a knockout. If this were a decision, Id give it to Solstice. Tough call.


Heavyweights

IFHW vs Black Panther Queen
51%-49% Black Panther Queen. I know, youll kill me for this, but front leverage doesnt mean everything, particularly when youre fighting a Swiss Army Knife. The abundance of armour dedication to IFHWs front leave it vulnerable at every other side. The actuating mechanism looks relatively flimsy, easy to break when the Panther is benched on that front pan. IFHW will get under initially, flip Panther into a wall, but not really have the speed or refire rate to capitalize on that much. Panther will really go to town every time it gets under IFHW.

Wedginator Reborn vs Flick of the Wrist
60%-40% Wedginator. This WBC-shaped flipper presents very little surface area from the front for Flick to take advantage of, while Flick presents a lot. Granted, Flick is faster, probably more maneuverable, and it would put up a fight whenever it doesnt recieve an ungodly gigantic flip, I think the amount itll get flipped will just more than compensate for its overall control of the fight. Damage, both robots look sturdy enough to survive anything the other can dish out, actually.


Superheavyweights
Eurypterus vs Red Knight
80%-20% Eurypterus takes it. I guess Im not biased toward spinners today. Red Knight has sufficient power to cut through Eurys armour, but it will take a giant load of cutting to actually affect that tank much, due to the amount of ablative armour on the front and sides. In the meantime, the shape and configuration of the front wedge on Eury gives it good leverage against Red Knights particular type of spinning weapon, and the Knight is mostly vulnerable from any side other than the front.

Red Flag vs Sheer Heart Attack
55%-45% Red Flag, sorry Martijn. The system of a front weapon and leverage spikes works pretty well on paper against non-gigantic spinners it seems. I think SHA has the better offensive weapon overall, due to its area of coverage, and mass devotion. The clincher is the vulnerability of SHAs tracks to that flywheel. A bit more front armour protecting the tracks would go a long way to making SHA more competitive against opponents with huge knock-out weapons.

And theres Round 2. One more to go.


Alex M and W - 59.125%
Kody Kunz - 55.375%
Alex Holt - 49.375%
Martijn Benschop - 36.125%

The Holtster got a bit of an upset this time, and now hes below 50%. Kody is moving up in the world, and Martijn isnt having the best luck in the universe. Note that Martijn is actually doing well in 3 weight classes. Its just the 80-20 losses in the lightweights that are keeping his score low.

[parassyte]

Just as a disclaimer, Ill take full responsibility for the crappy writing this time. I kinda feel like I didnt put as much effort into it as the first one, so if the stuff seems sloppy, now you know why. I pride myself on realism, so feel free to burn me for any lack of it. However, Im confident about these outcomes. Some of them will be unpopular, but stick with it. Remember that this arena has no hazards, no moat, no nothing, so that shifts the outcomes of many things.

Also, dont take too much stock in the driver stats. Really what will matter is the individual robot stats at the end. The highest percentage in each weight class will win. Interestingly, someone with two narrow losses and a staggering victory could win, despite losing a majority of matches.

Its actually possible for Martijn to sweep 3 weight classes despite the 36%, because 3 of his robots are at or just barely under 50%.

This is why I write it this way. Things are always uncertain until the end.

[knightrous]

Boo

[siphai]

Whoo =D I wont kill you for that 51%-49%, Nick, mainly because its so close. I like the points you gave for BPQ winning, and I have to agree with them.

When I made IFHW, I wanted it to get under wedges and thats all I thought of so I made it as low as possible. I never really made a weapon that was synergetic with the idea (the flipper base is too long, thus making it inefficent; an axe or a saw would work better).

But I am please at Ad Infinitums win =) Its my best bot in percentages now. Though, itll probably lose to Night on the Bar, unless it takes off a wheel.

[parassyte]

You can enter next time Aaron. I promise Ill be gentle.

[parassyte]

apologies for the slowness; Ill try to have them some time this week

[parassyte]

Lightweights


Ad Infinitum - Alex M and W
Another Night at the Bar - Martijn Benschop

Just a Little Baldur - Alex Holt
Anti-Virus - Kody Kunz




Middleweights


Scorpion Bite - Alex M and W
Waiting for the Axe to Fall - Martijn Benschop

Sith - Alex Holt
Solstice - Kody Kunz



Heavyweights


IFHW - Alex M and W
Flick of the Wrist - Martijn Benschop

Black Panther Queen - Alex Holt
Wedginator Reborn - Kody Kunz




Superheavyweights


Eurypterus - Alex M and W
Sheer Heart Attack - Martijn Benschop

Red Knight - Alex Holt
Red Flag - Kody Kunz



Lightweights


Ad Infinitum - Alex M and W
Another Night at the Bar - Martijn Benschop

65%-35% Another Night at the Bar. This is the sort of fight its good at.

Im going to lean to the Bar on this one, as the way it damages opponents

will create warps in the long outriggers on Ad Infinitums hull. This will

make maneuvering, and pushing the Bar around very difficult, and to

complicate that further, its central drum will be flimsy in the face of a

true-blooded high-power spinner. Some points go back to the loser, because

I still have to be critical about the Bars stability. Every time the

weapon spins down enough, it will maneuver sloppily.

Just a Little Baldur - Alex Holt
Anti-Virus - Kody Kunz

55%-45% Anti-Virus - for the priorities enumerated in the stats. I had to

do a double-take, because the designs are similar - 4 wheeled invertible

pushers with a leverage device on the front. At first glance Baldur looks

more carefully constructed, so this would be close. Anti-Virus puts its

priorities where they matter for this fight: speed and pushability. Baldur

focuses on armour, as an anti-spinner. So while it looks like Baldur would

win to an outsider, it would be sluggish and easier to push. Anti-virus

would get its opponent into walls more often and harder, and thats what

wins these types of fights.




Middleweights


Scorpion Bite - Alex M and W
Waiting for the Axe to Fall - Martijn Benschop

65%-35% Scorpion Bite - two robots that specialize in weapons, both

threatening a knockout. Scorpion Bite presents less area for the Axe to

attack with its weapon range, so Alex is likely to get a victory here.

Small points go back for the small chance that the Axe hits something and

breaks it, particularly the weapon axle (which is unlikely).


Sith - Alex Holt
Solstice - Kody Kunz

70%-30% Solstice - a very big spinner vs a robot that isnt particularly

equipped to handle them. It could end better in competitions that allow

modifications before a fight, or have a smaller arena with less room for a

spinner to power its weapon. Im going to give this to Solstice.



Heavyweights}


IFHW - Alex M and W
Flick of the Wrist - Martijn Benschop

55% Flick of the Wrist - Alex is going to disagree probably. I think he

doesnt have as much leverage as he thinks he has though. Those things on

the side of IFHW? They look low. Theyre actually perfect anchor points for

Flick to sneak a spike under and push it into a wall with. Its a similar

case as with Black Panther Queen, actually, with a similar outcome. Small

points go back to IFHW for its strong flipping front, which would likely be

more spectacular than anything Flick could manage to do. Not enough to fix

the control disadvantage.


Black Panther Queen - Alex Holt
Wedginator Reborn - Kody Kunz

This was tough. I gave it to Wedginator at 51%-49%, mostly because it has a

clear leverage advantage from the front and a lot of maneuverability. BPQ

has a tendancy to recover from flips and pins, so its close. Its likely

both would hold the other against a wall for a significant period.



Superheavyweights


Eurypterus - Alex M and W
Sheer Heart Attack - Martijn Benschop

60%-40% SHA. Both robots basically put equal emphasis on their drivetrains,

a 6-wheel vs a tank. The distinction comes from leverage, which SHA has due

to its drum. A direct collision would favor Eury, but front/side collisions

either way would favor SHA due to its tracks (which wedges cant get under

easily). Small points go back though, because these advantages are small,

and the fight mostly depends on driving. Neither can do anything

spectacular to the other, perhaps SHA being a bit more interesting overall,

but Eury would definitely have better control. Even if Eury lost some wedge

panels, I doubt SHA threatens a knockout against it. Its a close fight.

Red Knight - Alex Holt
Red Flag - Kody Kunz

51%-49% Red Knight - the front stabilizers on Red Flag that helped it so

much in the past will suddenly hurt it against this aggressive horizantal

spinner. I think RF has the weapon advantage, but this time (unlike the SHA

fight), RK has a good setup for getting around that scary front, and taking

something important off. Small points go back to Kody due to his robots

weapon advantage. Its likely he can damage RK whatever happens, and it

wont be pretty, but the concept of a knockout is a bit high against him.


So lets look at the numbers:


Kody Kunz - 55.67% who will be sharing the title with
Alex M and W - 55.67%, since they somehow tied.
Alex H - 47.5%
Martijn B - 41.17% hey at least you broke 40!

Now as to who won the weight classes, which is really what matters:

Lightweights
Alex Holt - 58%
Kody - 56.67%
Alex M and W - 52.67%
Martijn B - 32.67%

Middleweights
Alex M and W - 58.67%
Kody K - 56%
Alex H - 40.33%
Martijn B - 45%

Heavyweights
Alex M and W - 58.67% again!
Kody K - 51%
Martijn B - 46.67%
Alex H - 43%

Superheavyweights
Kody K - 59.33%
Martijn B - 52%
Alex M and W - 52%
Alex H - 40%

Well thats it. 3 rounds, everyone wins. Fun times were had.

Some interesting things:

-I spent more time compiling the statistics than writing.
-Alex Holt is the only one to win something despite losing a majority of fights (lightweights).
-Sheer Heart Attack was my favorite robot in the comp, mostly because it was the only non-wheeled entrant.
-If we re-tally everything going by win/loss, two people would be tied for each category, because no robot won all 3 fights.

[kodster]

w00t. Not bad for a demo tournament.

However, I am really surprised at Solstices 70%-30% advantage over Sith. I was expecting to lose that one, to be quite honest, since flippers are generally good against FBSs. Reading over the stats again, I see the point, though. Cheers to a w00ty demo tournament and hoping to see some action in your next tourney!

[siphai]

Whoo two titles and an overall title =D
I have to say Im flattered. Especially that IFHW takes the title despite going 1-2 in win loss ratio =D

[parassyte]

Oh yeah, didnt notice that IFHW lost too. That makes two robots that won despite losing 2 out of 3 matches.

Thats sort of what I was going for in this tournament. A robot that loses closely and wins by landslides is favored over one that wins closely and loses by landslides.

Sith underperformed. Its design was excellent, but the stat allocations didnt work well against really specialized spinners like Solstice and Scorpion Bite. 2 out of the 3 robots in the weight class in this tournament. I think I weighed the specializations a bit more heavily into the decisions in the last round.

If it had been a larger tournament, those types of spinners would be weeded out by specialized rammers. Only 4 bots per category kinda skews things.