The Crash & Burn Tournament: The Dual Duels

[alex_holt]

This seems liek a perfect oppertunity to use my hydraulic setup - it enables me to lift these rammers off the ground, thus depriving them of their means of attack. Drive in - lift and drop oota or in the pit.

I have no real preference for who I go for first, but whichever it is easier to get a purchase on would make sense.

[samuel3764]

Achilles and Wedge Devo FTW.

[kodster]

The first heat final, go me.

Heat A Final
Achilles and Wedge Devolution vs. Firefly and System Shock

Roboteers, stand by€¦

Booth #1: Alex Holt, Steven McGregor
Booth #2: Jamie McHarg, Liam Eliot

The Double Whamlet axes his way in, with all four of his precious axes and front scoop with a middle lifter. Partnering him is Shunt, who is similar but has only one axe, and entire scoop can lift.

3€¦
2€¦
1€¦
Activate!!!

All four robots are off the mark. Wedge Devo and Firefly meet plate to scoop, as do Achilles and System Shock. The tracks of System Shock (which were somehow called €˜wheels€™ last battle ) are grinding furiously and the power and torque advantage means that Achilles is being shoved backwards. Alex therefore moves backwards, and reverse spins sending System Shock flying out in front, but before Achilles can take advantage, System Shock reverses itself and ends up back where it was. Achilles roams in, trying outmanoeuvre the rammer but it ain€™t working. The tracks are slow and torque-y enough to keep control but quick enough to chime in Achilles€™ movements. Achilles decides to box-rush System Shock again and does so€¦but turns up on the wrong end of the stick, as System Shock€™s scoop gets under Achilles€™ plate and shoves it across the arena! WHAM! Achilles does not go flying across the arena but is stuck against the wall, pinned by the scoop of System Shock.

Wedge Devo meanwhile is in a bit of a tussle with Firefly. The spatula is up under Firefly€™s own scoop, and FLIP! Firefly is sent sailing, actually into a rough 270 onto its nose, and back right-side-up! Not what Steve wanted, but he brushes it aside as Wedge Devo comes forward€¦and this time, he isn€™t so lucky. The scoop prevails this time, however it only raises the flipper panel of Wedge Devo. Wedge Devo backs off, but Firefly zooms in immediately, still holding up the panel and definitely faster than the recent Robot SMASH champion, and pushes him into the arena wall! WHAM! Ooh! That€¦looked painful. The flipper took a mighty blow from Firefly€™s own lifter, smacking it into the wall and tilting Wedge Devo onto its rear€¦and stacking it. FLIP! Nope, the flipper€™s okay as Wedge Devo rights itself€¦back onto Firefly, who gives the Braveheart robot another little lift.

It€™s not looking good for the veterans as Achilles is pinned in place by System Shock, and can€™t really escape. In comes The Watcher to break it up, but he bumps into System Shock from the wrong place, and that€™s the rear. Silly ref, you should know that when you come from the rear, the offender can€™t move away. The Watcher gets the message and backs off to get System Shock to release Achilles€¦and System Shock backs all the way across the arena - BZZT! Right over the saws! Nothing too bad, as System Shock€™s mobility hasn€™t been restricted in any significant way, but it has put System Shock near a key area - the pit release, which he gratefully backs into. The pit descendeth, and Achilles interprets the plan right away. He€™s not going to let Liam get a lucky break and so flies into him. BANG! The two meet face-to-face again, Achilles going a little too far to avoid it, and neither can get a break over the other€¦until System Shock starts pushing Achilles again!

The Watcher€™s separation party isn€™t over yet, as Wedge Devo and Firefly need a seeing-to, and bumps Firefly€¦who lowers the lifter as Wedge Devo rights off the wall and back onto it. This time, the lifter is all the way under the wedge and Firefly slowly pushes the weapon up, hoisting Wedge Devo off the ground€¦and letting it fall off, as it was unbalanced. Luckily for Jamie, it landed inverted and so had to self-right: Firefly races under it as it rights itself again (FLIP!) but the lifter cannot close in time and Steve grasps his chance. FLIP! The flipper fires, and the pressure shakes Wedge Devo out of Firefly€™s grasp! Off goes Wedge Devo in a swish of tartan, with the newcomer in pursuit. Passing near the gaping pit€¦WHAM! Wedge Devo comes into contact€¦with System Shock! The skirts are penetrated, and FLIP! System Shock is given a flight lesson, and directly onto Achilles! And€¦Firefly crashes into Wedge Devo from behind! The scoop comes into play, and breaches those damned skirts! The wheels are off the ground, and seeing his machine high-centered, Steve can only watch in grief as his flipper is shoved directly down into the pit! However, his grief is soon assuaged, as System Shock is brought over by Achilles, and a shove sends it directly down on top of Wedge Devo!

It€™s now a one-on-one battle, and Achilles and Firefly turn straight around to face each other. Achilles is the first to act, and guns off towards Firefly€™s side. Firefly tries to keep him in check, but ends up turning a little too fast. Achilles bumps into the side, but doesn€™t get enough leverage and pushing doesn€™t do much either, as it isn€™t moving anybody. Firefly backs away a few feet and tries to line Achilles up again, and finds Achilles again trying to get at Firefly€™s side. Firefly€™s motion is correct this time, and it lines it up squarely, and guns the motors, seeing too late Achilles coming around to face him. WHAM! This time, neither can get the other backwards, and again they can€™t get under the other one€¦until Achilles backs off, and Firefly comes in€¦and Achilles prevails! Firefly takes the bait and drives straight onto the wedge, and Jamie is ruing it now as Achilles activates the hydraulics and gives Firefly its own treatment, as it€™s suspended onto the upraised wedge!

Achilles now moves towards the pit, but the sudden turn unbalances it, and at that moment Firefly moves the lifter into the ground. The balance is further ruined at this and spills Firefly off of the lifter, and nearly throws Achilles onto its back! Jamie is thanking his lucky stars for that, but it€™s not over until the fat lady sings, Mr. McHarg! Achilles is back at it and ramming into Firefly, trying to emulate what just happened, but it€™s not working for him as both machines meet and grind to a halt. Neither can outpush the other, and it looks certainly painful for either driver, knowing that this can very well lead to the tension of a judges decision, and who needs all that stress?

Firefly decides to try another tack and activates the lifter, lifting Achilles€™ own weapon with it. Achilles backs off immediately, Alex not wanting to risk what might have happened to Wedge Devo, but Firefly isn€™t giving up. It lowers the lifting arm completely just as it hits Achilles again, and to his astonishment, he€™s gotten under Achilles€™ blade! Achilles in response tries to drive off the back of Firefly, but he only gets halfway when Firefly starts to back up, and Achilles falls off the back€¦well, at least his front! The rear is still hanging onto the rear of Firefly€¦mental image aside, Jamie starts to push Alex towards the pit, as System Shock€™s scoop protrudes from it. Achilles tries to use the lifter, but no go, and a seconds later, a huge upset is achieved, as Achilles falls beside System Shock and on top of its ally, Wedge Devo!

CEASE!

Achilles learns to heel, and Wedge Devolution devolves beyond the outer limits!
Firefly and System Shock advance to the Series Finals!!!

[kodster]

Next up - Heat B

Namie€™s Style & Son of Wedgie vs. Slammer V & Metal Sonic Spin Dash
Infusion Alpha & GeForce 4.0 vs. Tough As Nails & Henry VIII
Sithis & Tornado vs. Crash Bandi-bot 3 & With Or Without You
Autoism 2.0 & No Objections vs. Wheely Pure Evil 2 & Sakura

Tactics, predictions, comments, and thoughts, lads.

[tacoman]

SITHIS & TORNADO vs Crash Bandi-Bot 3 & With Or Without You

Hmm.. Crash hasnt got that great armour, and Im invertable, so it cant do that much to me, so Im not too worried there. The problem is With or Without You. My basic tactic is to drive right into it Without You probably killing both of us, which thanks to the 50% rule will mean With You is eliminated . Then, if Crash is still alive, Samuel can probably deal with it.

[majinb]

Sithis & Tornado vs. Crash Bandi-bot 3 & With Or Without You

woohoo, 3 vs 2

any ideas Chris?

[dinowarrior]

Well, neither of our oppodents SHOULD be able to flip your clusters over, so I shouldnt, in theory, need to keep a low profile. Crashs aim will be to flip Tornado onto its back and keep it that way. Because, either way around it, if hes on his back, hes stuffed.

If he uses the wedge or lifter, theyll be useless.
If he uses the drum, it wont be that efficiant. Either way, Im solid enough to take on Tornado.

As for Sithis, I think a three-on-one thing would work. I mean, Crash has taken on Tengu before...OK, it got destroyed, but its still a different machine altogether.

EDIT: Just occured to me...it appears our oppodent doesnt realise that, even if he knocks Without You as well as himself, that doesnt mean With You has to stop fighting.

(Message edited by Dinowarrior on May 13, 200

[joey_picus]

Autoism 2.0 & NO OBJECTIONS vs. Wheely Pure Evil 2 & Sakura

Ill use my usual NO tactics of spinning, and lifting things if it comes to close quarters and Im not spinning. I propose that if we target anyone, well try and push Wheely Pure Evil into Sakura, which will eventually kill WPE and may kill Sakura as well. Thoughts, Paul?

[paulc]

I think that I may have to let Joey do the tactivcs, as I wont be able to post by Friday - Im posting from school.

[joey_picus]

Have done What happened?