The Chevron Championship Series 2 - Medium Medium Speed Ones

[swimm3r]

Classic Setup for the gauntlet

[joey_picus]

Tracks or wheels?

[swimm3r]

wheels

sorry i forgot i put that in the stats :P will be more in formative next time, and faster

[joey_picus]

Thanks for that dude.

Will get the gauntlet done...at some stage. Its still on track for one heat a month isnt it

[joey_picus]

Onwards and upwards, or downwards as the case may be...

Heat B - Gauntlet

ROBOTEERS, STAND BY

Rich Southworth is back for this episode, this time first up with MORD 2.

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Within one second of the activate Richard has applied power to his machines motors and MORD races forward out of the starting cage, moving a few metres before pausing, contemplating the breezeblock wall ahead of it as Richard decides which direction to take. There is a short pause, followed by a high pitched whine as Killalots tracks activate and the house robot moves up past the Sentinel, which MORD takes as its cue to turn, the shuffling feet vibrating as MORD curves to the left and drives with increasing speed towards the angle grinders, which whir up obligingly, as MORD brakes one side and performs another 90 degree turn before speeding up again, moving forwards...and although the ramrig is closed, the only a third of a metre wide MORD manages to slip between the rig and the saws regardless of this, much to Richards excitement as he picks up speed, accelerating MORD to its full 20mph velocity and flying down the ramrig route...only to meet a sudden stop and a shower of bright sparks as one of the titanium side skirts clips the saws and brings MORD to an abrupt halt, having gone down the route at a slight angle. Momentarily set back, Richard reverses his machine slightly, turning one side to line MORD up for an escape, and then flooring the accelerator to push his machine forward just as the rig closes in...and MORD avoids the rig, Matilda comes in, raising the tusks to try and grab on to the skirt hinges of the machine, which she does, but only succeeding in changing MORDs direction slightly, the tip of the tusk wrenched away as the charge continues, and MORD avoids Matilda, the flames flare up, MORD avoids the flames, MORD avoids the fence, but MORD does not avoid the end zone!

STOP, AND DEACTIVATE ROBOTS

MORD 2 - Completed in 25 seconds

***

ROBOTEERS, STAND BY

Next up is Thor, back again with Jason Marston and Shane Swan.

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A slower start from Thor, driving forward into the arena, and beginning a very deliberate and controlled curve past one of the dividing fences and turning into the Sentinels route. The arena spikes come up in warning from the arena floor, as Jason eases off on his controls and allows Thor to coast to a gentle collision with them, awaiting their retraction so he can move across and into the route proper. The spikes retract...and Thor turns up the power, accelerating almost perfectly across the spikes before they raise again, the leftmost catching the rear of the robot but only succeeding in making it jump slightly as the momentum pulls Thor away. Past the first pit, and Thor picks up speed as it approaches the Sentinel, hoping to time it right...and Thor does, missing the arm as it edges beneath the obstacle, but now faces a much more difficult challenge in the shape of Sir Killalot. The house robot moves forward to block any chance of Thors escape, but something Shane is saying up in the booth makes Jason keep going, in fact slamming the sticks forward - prompting a burst of speed and an almighty crash as competitor and house robot meet, and the pneumatically powered hammer weapon flies over the top of Thor, burying itself into the fibreglass shoulder plate of Killalot!
The crowd are startled into paying attention by this sudden excitement, but their reaction is extremely positive, and egged on by this Shane retracts Thors hammer and brings it over again, this time seeming a lot slower but still hitting with enough force to cleave into Killalots mask and cause something to fall away from the front of the house robot! Shane is celebrating up in the control booth, as Jason pushes the sticks forward with a grin on his face...a grin that turns into a concerned grimace, Thor doesnt seem to have the power to shift the great 300kg house robot out of the way, only producing a tiny bit of backwards movement. Behind Killalot, Dead Metal comes in, ramming the house machine with pincers closed, but to much the same effect; Killalot is immobile there in the middle of the route, and as Thor reverses slightly - the hammer dropping from its crevice in the house robots armour before flicking back into place atop the robot - and rams in again, it doesnt seem as though Thor is going to progress much further, with the house robot broken down and in the way, and time is ticking down...

STOP, AND DEACTIVATE ROBOTS

Thor - 8.5 metres

***

ROBOTEERS, STAND BY

At the controls of the next machine Disco 5, Martyn Forsyth.

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Disco 5 starts rather quickly, clattering the starting cage as one side moves before the other but driving out into the central section of the gauntlet after a few more seconds of clattering, and Martyn keeps going in towards the wall, his machines front wedge undercutting the front bricks and causing the blocks to fall backwards onto Discos wedge, before the flipper fires and kicks away the blocks, the disturbance bringing down more blocks from the still standing sections of the wall. Surrounded by concrete chips and white dust, Disco pauses briefly as the flipper retracts, before edging forward on to the ramp...pausing again...and Martyn leans forward in his booth to see whats going on, as Disco 5 doesnt appear to have any traction on the arena floor. The wheels spin and spin from the four horsepower motors, but the robot is well and truly stuck in the interface between the ground and the ramp; a flick of the flipper jolts the machine but cant seem to free it. Martyns face falls as he tries everything on his transmitter to free his stricken machine, but his efforts have not gone unnoticed by a repaired Sir Killalot, who is now rounding the top corner and closing in on Disco...the house robot pauses, lowers the lance, and drives forward, impaling the disc slot in the rear of the machine and stopping the weapon from rotating! The poke has given Disco some traction with the front wheels, but the weight of Killalot doesnt let it escape, and there is naught but tyre smoke from the ramp, as Killalot lifts Disco slightly and pulls it to one side, the lance wrenched free of the machine as it topples over the side of the ramp, flipper opening to arrest its descent, and now completely without traction as the wheels slow in the air.

STOP, AND DEACTIVATE ROBOTS

Disco 5 - 3.75 metres

***

ROBOTEERS, STAND BY

All the way from Canada with Shadow Zone Forever, its Kody Kunz.

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Kody slams his transmitter stick forward almost pre-emptively, and Shadow Zone immediately rushes out and barrels into the breezeblock wall, tyres squealing, sending white clouds and chips everywhere as the barrier implodes around his machine. Not slowing down, Kody keeps pouring on the amps and the front scoop scrapes up the concrete fragments from the floor and drives forward onto the ramp...and stops. The sound of chains on sprockets fills the arena as Shadow Zones wheels spin, but the rear blades are jamming into the arena floor with the weight of the robot acting on them, and with the front scoop hung up on the ramp, Shadow Zone is facing the same problems with having zero ground clearance at the front and rear as Disco 5 had earlier!
Kody tries the flipper, looking worried as Killalot has sensed his machines stress and is making his way up the Sentinel route to meet him, while Matilda is driving up the ramrig in support...and with the rear blades jammed in the ground the flipper only gives a small kick to the robots position...and jolts the ramp forward, allowing Shadow Zone to get free! The still spinning wheels clutch at the arena floor and amidst much squealing jolt the robot forward...forward onto the ramp...and Kody clasps his hand to his head as he realises his robot is stuck once more, that chain-on-sprocket sound confirming his suspicions. Matilda interrupts his despair by barging past the vestigial wall with her dangerous backside (...oo-er) and, revving the chainsaw, deliberately forces it down onto Shadow Zones shell, creating a steady stream of brilliant white titanium sparks from the chainsaw blade, but not having much penetrating effect.

STOP, AND DEACTIVATE ROBOTS

Shadow Zone Forever - 3.85 metres

***

ROBOTEERS, STAND BY

Liam Eliot is the penultimate contender, with System Shock.

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Like Shadow Zone before it, System Shock immediately moves straight out of the starting box, but unlike the previous machine not having the lightning acceleration of Shadow Zone with its 28mph top speed. It is enough however to maintain a straight line collision trajectory with the blocks and cause another wall implosion as the bricks tumble on to the Hardox lid of System Shock in a white mist. Liam backs up a bit, turning as he does so, before driving forward and turning again to effectively sweep the path in front of him of bricks, and facing the ramp again powers forward onto it...and, in a first for this heat, maintaining traction and getting up on to the ramp with ease. A relieved System Shock hesitates for a second, across the ramp Shunt is backing up almost to catch it as it comes down, but after that pause Liam drives forward again, picking up speed...up over the halfway point, the ramp topples over just in time for System Shock to fly off it, and there is no yielding in direction to the house robot as Shunt awaits...the competitor slams straight into the house machine, and as the axe pecks down and dents the top armour of System Shock, scraping away the grey and yellow paint, the sound of wheelspin fills the arena...the two wheels of Shunt are not proving to be a match for the four wheel Lynch drive of System Shock, and the two machines are edging backwards...backwards...almost to the line! Dead Metal charges in to come to his house robot friends aid, hitting the deadlock, but its not enough to stop System Shock and Liam from edging over the finish line, to joyous shouts from Liam!

STOP, AND DEACTIVATE ROBOTS

System Shock V - Completed in 31.5 seconds

***

ROBOTEERS, STAND BY

And finally Night Stalker, captained by Tim McTigue with Elliot Stevens on the weapons.

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Night Stalker is the widest machine in the heat, and as such is starting from in front of the cage...and is making a slow start, easing forward and pushing against the concrete wall, which gives way after a few seconds with bricks falling left right and centre , bouncing off the steel outer dome of Night Stalker. Tim reverses the machine and drives forward again, turning and allowing the dome to rotate and push some more of the blocks away, before turning again, coming up to the ramp, and the far reaches of the blade catch on one of the spiked pyramids and jam it against the surface of the ramp. Elliot turns on the full body spinner, and Night Stalker remains still for a couple of seconds before the pyramid is wrenched free, allowing Tim to drive his machine up on to the ramp.
Ascending the obstacle at something of a jaunty angle, Night Stalker pauses just before the halfway point, bringing the spinning shell to a stop, and can be seen beneath the clear top making some adjustments to the angle of the inner body, before Tim turns up the throttle again, and Night Stalker drives sideways and over the edge of the ramp, the sawblade edge of the shell jamming itself in the dividing fence.
Tim hangs his head, reversing the two wheelchair motors of Night Stalker to try and claw itself back on the ramp, but Elliot shakes his head as the ramp is merely forced backwards by the turning of the wheels, leaving their robot well and truly stranded now. Dead Metal grapples onto the ramp with its claws, the two series wound drive motors of the house robot forcing him further up the course, but as the saw arm comes down it doesnt seem to be able to reach the stranded shell spinner, and Tim retracts his transmitter aerial with a shake of the head, but also a small smile in the knowledge that the house robots cant reach his machine, and also confident that while he may not have got far, hes got far enough...

STOP, AND DEACTIVATE ROBOTS

Night Stalker - 5.5 metres

Leaderboard:
1: MORD 2 - Completed
2: System Shock V: Hex - Completed
3: Thor - 8.5m
4: Night Stalker - 5.5m
5: Shadow Zone Forever - 3.85m
6: Disco 5 - 3.75m

*cut to pits*

Joey: Martyn, I kind of realise this might not be the best time to tell you this, but...youre out of the tournament...
Martyn: Yes...
Joey: ...by ten centimetres.
Martyn: Ouch.
Joey: Yeah...how did you end up stuck on the ramp?
Martyn: Ground clearance problems I think...theres no hinges in the design, the rear wedge (pushes down on rear wedge) is sprung down to the floor and it cant travel up beyond a certain point, and because the fronts scraping the floor as well I had trouble when going onto the ramp.
Joey: Ah. Kody was saying he had that problem too...better luck next time though, sorry it had to be you that went out.
Martyn: Yeah, best to look to the future.

COMING UP NEXT:
Tug Of War (vs. Dead Metal, dont think Ill need tactics so will get on that tomorrow)

Any comments/thoughts/random fish?

[eene]

Since Nightstalker is designed for destroying things and not for playground games, I think it is going out

[swimm3r]

w00t!

Great writing Joey, hopefully the traction of my err.. tracks and lynch motor power will see through here

Same setup as before, but with tracks instead of wheels

(Message edited by Swimm3r on March 14, 2009)

[swanaldo]

thats what we would do with thor too. sweet

[steven_mcg]

On behalf of Mr McConnell...

Joey sez: Firstly, I can't post on my own account right now because apparently phpbb's standard setting is to block all IP addresses from Kuwait, or some other odd reason, and therefore I can do everything with my own account except actually post anything.

Which...sucks.

I have had words with Kane and hopefully a solution is on the horizon, but until such a time that I may be able to post freely I shall have to put my words in the mouths of other people. How I go about that, I know not; I can imagine saliva, tubes and tongs may or may not be involved.
(and on that topic thanks to Steve for posting this for me, cheers dude )

And for now...I present to you the Chevron Championship Heat B Tug Of War!

MORD 2

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After a brief pause both machines move, and the chain pulls tight over the pit...and immediately slackens again, MORD's shuffling beams losing grip on the floor of the gangway as they lift up and down, with Richard checking his hands are in the right place, pulling back on the sticks...MORD pulls back, bringing the rope tight again, but as Dead Metal

moves forward it jerks MORD back towards the pit, the drive is working but to little effect on the floor. MORD grabs some advantage though, managing to pull the chain tight, but the four go-kart motors can't get the grip needed, and Dead Metal drives forward a third time, closing its pincers, and reaches the ramp down, MORD kicking and screaming

as it's dragged back, almost to the edge! Richard raises his controls above his head, hoping for some last minute reprieve, and the shuffling beams edge his robot away...until a final pull, Dead Metal descending the ramp and MORD going sideways on to the pit before tumbling over the edge, into the smoke and darkness!

MORD 2 - 15 seconds

***

SYSTEM SHOCK V

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System Shock powers forward almost immediately, the white markings on the belt tracks moving forward and swallowed by the inky blackness of the wheel holes, and the speed of the machine catches Dead Metal off guard, jolting the house robot backwards and forcing the drive motors to kick into gear...the wheels spin, but not producing much

forward movement, as Liam applies the throttle and Dead Metal is increasingly faster as it approaches the edge of the pit! The pincers open, doing little more than scraping the paint from the barriers as the backwards slide continues...and stops, Liam deciding to reverse System Shock towards the pit a few centimetres. Dead Metal siezes his chance and

begins to pull the chain taut, but Liam has a sly smile on his face...removing his fingers from the throttle trims and flooring the power, his robot flying down the gangway and dragging Dead Metal, saw arm waving in the air, to the edge of the pit and sliding down until the pincers snap at the air like a wounded dolphin, to an eruption of smoke from the pit,

joy from the crowd, and cheers from the pits and from Liam!

System Shock V: Hex - WON in 11 seconds

***

THOR

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As usual, the two robots start pulling, the chain pulling tight above the central pit. Thor's wheels squeak against the floorboards, and the faintest trace of tyre smoke can be seen drifting up from the base of Thor...but also from the base of the house robot too. Dead Metal pauses and finds itself dragged back an inch by Thor, but Jason's efforts are

cancelled out as the series wound drive motors resume operation and slowly edge back to equilibrium...both machines pulling and pulling, the slightest bit of some movement towards the bottom of the arena as Dead Metal seems to be proving slightly the stronger, but it's almost indiscernible, interrupted only by brief periods of pulling one way or the

other as either house or contestant robot take a break. No end seems to be in sight, Thor is pulling and slowing the progress enough to survive, Dead Metal is advancing at too slow a rate to really be worthwhile...and the only resolution forthcoming is the klaxon, the chain slackening once more as Jason shrugs contentedly.

Thor - Survived

***

NIGHT STALKER

Joey: So let me get this straight...you're not confident at all?
Tim: Nope.
Elliot: Not at all *grins*
Joey: ...how come?
Elliot: Well it's built for smashing things to pieces, not for pulling house robots...we're pretty much not going to win this.
Joey: Right...there's nothing quite like complete and total unadulterated confidence is there?

*cut to arena*

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Dead Metal moves down the arena, pulling the chain tight, as Night Stalker's wheelchair motors begin to push it up to the top end of the gangway...but it moves less than half a metre before the chain pulls it back, the shell rocking precariously as the 1.2m diameter circular machine slides down towards the pit, not looking as if it'll stay in there much longer.

Elliot, at the controls, puts some more pressure on the sticks, but Dead Metal is determined...pausing as Night Stalker sits a hair's breadth from oblivion, the competitor robot pulls at the chain but can only produce a few centimetres of movement up towards safety...and as Dead Metal turns up the power again, Night Stalker loses all grip as the front

end tilts up, the wheels lift, and the house robot pulls it over the edge, leaving it wedged in the pit, the green eyes disappearing in the smoke.

Night Stalker - 8.5 seconds

***

SHADOW ZONE FOREVER

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Shadow Zone starts quickly, pulling the chain tight and arresting Dead Metal's attempts at gaining the upper hand, the house robot's pincers rising up in the air as the rear end of the house robot is yanked downwards. The wheels of both machines spin, a squealing sound filling the arena, as Shadow Zone slowly drags Dead Metal closer and closer to the pit, the two Lynch motors giving plenty of power to close the gap...Dead Metal turns though, slowing the progress of Shadow Zone, and the wheels begin to spin slower as they get some grip on the gangway. Kody pauses for a second, the sudden relief in the chain tension causing Dead Metal to move a few inches forward and gain some ground, but then the pulling resumes...Shadow Zone slowly but surely getting the better of the house robot. The progress is slow though, there is but a metre between the tail end of the house robot and the drop down into the pit, but it's not closing very fast, Dead Metal slowly beginning to cancel out the pulling of the competitor robot, and as Kody tries and tries to drag it the final short distance into the pit, time ticks down...and while Dead Metal might not have been too successful this round, it ends it on a high, the klaxon going as Dead Metal clings on to the area at the end of the gangway.

Shadow Zone Forever - Survived

Leaderboard
1: System Shock V: Hex - Victorious
2: Shadow Zone Forever - Survived
3: Thor - Survived
4: MORD 2 - 15 secs
5: Night Stalker - 8.5 secs

Coming next:
Heat B - Arena
System Shock V: Hex vs. Thor
Shadow Zone Forever vs. MORD 2

To paraphrase Marti: Gimme your tactics, gimme your predictions, gimme your thoughts

[swimm3r]

w00t! :P

System Shock V: Hex vs. Thor

hmm.. Thor.... It's a tough robot, so I'll be using the wheeled setup and putting the spinning drum on the front, mainly attempting to ram Thor from the sides with the drum with knock it around the arena, using my superior power to help with this. I'm aiming for the pit, or even over the fence if I can manage it. Good luck Shane

Shadow Zone Forever vs. MORD 2

This will be close, but I think MORD2 may edge a judge's decision on damage.

Excellent stuff thus far Joey, keep up the great work