AJWars: Era Ache

[joey_picus]

being 8mph faster that its oppodent

Reminiscent of anyone we know? :P

Good stuff Andy, unexpected result there. I'll go for Back To Rock to deflect Krackotoa enough to bounce it into the pit or out of the arena here, that thing is strong.

[swimm3r]

...We all know who that is

[andrewj]

Thanks guys!

Krackotoa vs. Back to Rock III

3€¦
2€¦
1€¦

ACTIVATE!

Back to Rock III makes an early surge towards Krackotoa and rams against it before Krackotoa can even get off the starting grid! Martijn immediately brings the lifting arm into play and starts to lift Krackotoa up. The large translational spinner is too difficult to pick up though, and Kody finally manages to get his robot away. The translational action begins straight away, but Back to Rock III is quickly back on the attack with a charge to slow down the spinning speed. This time the saw blade is used to pick away at the side of Krackotoa, but there€™s nothing more than a scratch in the paintwork. This allows Krackotoa to break away again, and this time Kody drives his robot as far away as possible. The translational speed is starting to pick up now, but Back to Rock III goes for another box rush. Krackotoa dodges nicely to the side and leaves Back to Rock open to an attack€¦ and Krackotoa swings nicely into the side, putting a nice indentation in the side skirt. Kody flees to start spinning up again, and it doesn€™t seem to take very long at all, as it again dodges away from an oncoming Back to Rock III. Krackotoa chooses to unleash an attack on the other side this time, again targeting the skirt, and again causing damage! There€™s a nice slice cut into the 7mm Titanium skirt now.

But it€™s all cosmetic damage, and Back to Rock III turns around to meet Krackotoa and gives it a hard ram using the powerful drive system. Krackotoa has maintained enough speed to bounce away off the front of Back to Rock, and moves away to get spinning again. Back to Rock III attempts to chase Krackotoa down, but Kody seems to be in full control of his whirling dervish. Krackotoa seems to have reached its highest speed so far, and decides its time for another attack€¦ but Back to Rock III turns aside very well to miss the attack! But not for long! Krackotoa backs in and cuts into the already buckled side skirt, and with the spinning momentum continuing, the Canadian strikes the skirt again, this time breaking one of the hinges. The skirt hangs loosely at the side of Back to Rock, but after a double attack, Krackotoa has almost slowed to a standstill and the Dutch machine scoops under Krackotoa and slams it against the arena wall. Back to Rock III reverses and rams Krackotoa again! On the third attempt, Kody manages to sneak out of the way, and as Back to Rock hurls itself into the wall, the translational spinner begins to rev up.

Krackotoa starts dancing around the arena, as Back to Rock decides it wants to bring the pit into play. Martijn drives his robot at the target, and the pit lowers. Krackotoa is really moving quickly now, and Back to Rock hesitantly drives towards it. Kody decides his robot is spun up enough, and heads for Back to Rock, circling it for a moment and then striking! Well, that€™s the end of the buckled skirt as it is flung aside from the first impact! Krackotoa has more in the tank and swings in again, now striking the exposed side panel and giving it two great slices! The third impact flicks Back to Rock away towards the pit! Marti finally regains control of his robot, and he needs to, because Krackotoa is already heading towards its top speed. Back to Rock III is manoeuvred neatly and is lined up ready for a charge€¦ and so it Krackotoa! The two robots head right towards each other€¦ and what a collision!! Krackotoa propels itself off the front of Back to Rock III in an eruption of sparks! Back to Rock III seems to be glued to the ground and Krackotoa is quick to correct itself and unleash another attack! There goes the other skirt, just completely torn away from the side of Back to Rock III, who has now regained some life.

As the mayhem ends, it becomes apparent that the first attack by Krackotoa completely dislodged the vertical saw blade of Back to Rock III and carved a huge gash out of the lifting arm in the process! Despite having both its side skirts removed and both its weapons severely damaged, Back to Rock III continues to function. But it might not last long, because Krackotoa is cranking up again. Martijn decides he has to try and slow Krackotoa down, and goes about it right away, but the translational spinner continues to be excellently controlled by Kody. Back to Rock rides side to side against Krackotoa and the two miss each other by no more than a couple of centimetres! That is until Krackotoa turns inwards slightly and thumps against the back edge of a blue side panel. Back to Rock III stops still for the second time in this match and Krackotoa takes the opportunity to increase its spinning speed€¦ and Martijn looks on with panic, because we have seen this before. Back to Rock III€™s lifting arm raises and lowers, as Krackotoa becomes an uncontrollable blur. Back to Rock III manages to get going again! But it€™s all too late, as Krackotoa rolls forwards€¦ WHOA! What an almighty collision! :shock: Just like in Round 1, Krackotoa takes to the sky on impact, with sparks flying all over the place! Back to Rock III gets hurled against the arena wall, and the poor side panel that took the impact has been ripped and warped as if it were paper! Krackotoa thumps against the arena floor on landing and spins like a coin. Back to Rock takes off away from the wall and pushes Krackotoa€¦ into the pit! What on Earth?! I€™m not even sure what happened there, but after an explosive attack from Krackotoa, Back to Rock III not only continued to work, but calmly scooped Krackotoa up and dumped it into the nearby pit.

CEASE!

Back to Rock III goes through to the final! (I think)

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AJWars: Era Ache
The Final

Nitro-Gene 5.0 vs. Back to Rock III

Tactics, predictions and stuff?
*dodges oncoming transmitter thrown by Kody*

[joey_picus]

Great work Andy, completely out of the blue win for BTR there...channeling a bit of the Hypnodisc/Bigger Brother spirit there, or something like that.

I think the final will be very close...I'm not actually going to call a winner I don't think. Back To Rock is likely to have more of the control and win if the fight is drawn out or if it goes to the judges, but there's ample opportunities - which I think Paul will take - for Nitro-Gene to flip BTR out of the arena. It geniunely could go either way here

[kodster]

...

Good fight, but very, very disappointing result...stupid pit. :P

[corsair_lightning]

Okay.

Nitro-Gene 5.0 vs. Back to Rock III

I'm willing to say Nitro-Gene FTW.

[andrewj]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try and get the final done soon.

Paul's tactics:

I've already beaten Back To Rock once, in the PTT, and I plan to repeat the by winning this battle (Great plan )

Seriously though, I'll get under his sides and try to the throw him OOTA. I'm going to reserve flips in this battle for OOTAing him, seeing as he can overturn me quite a bit, and I can run inverted, but I can get underneath better if I'm the right way up :wink:
Although I have 12hp compared to his 24hp, I still have more than enough to push him in a straight line if I get underneath. I also have 4 wheel drive compared to his 6 wheel drive, which although makes him more powerful traction-wise in a straight line, it means that he's less controllable than me, so I should get to his sides OK.
If he tries to open the pit up, chase him to the button, seeing as I'm 5mph faster I'll catch him, get under then launch him out

Basic plan - get under, shove to the sides and throw out. Nothing fancy, just OOTA him and win the Final

Good luck Martijn :wink:

[andrewj]

...surprise!

Nitro-Gene 5.0 vs. Back to Rock III

3€¦
2€¦
1€¦

ACTIVATE!

Nitro-Gene 5.0 immediately heads towards its opponent at top speed. Martijn turns his comparatively slower robot out of the way, causing Nitro-Gene 5.0 to slam head first into the arena wall. Back to Rock III moves in to capitalise on the mistake, pinning Nitro-Gene up against the arena wall. A couple of sparks scatter as the vertical saw blade cuts into the rear 4mm Titanium skirt. The great red lifting arm of the Dutch machine starts to raise its foe into the air, but Nitro-Gene€™s length makes it hard to stack and Paul€™s robot bumps back down onto the arena floor. The robot from England gets away to safety and looks for an opportunity to attack. Back to Rock III is quick to follow, and both robots make a charge towards each other! The two finalists go wedge to wedge, and it€™s the design of Back to Rock€™s lifter that allows it to get under Nitro-Gene 5.0 once again. The lifting platform begins to rise, but Nitro-Gene has enough grip on the floor to be able to back away. With Back to Rock€™s lifter in the air, Paul drives his robot quickly back in and this time gets under. But rather than taking its chance to flip, Nitro-Gene 5.0 is heading towards the arena wall at 20mph! Now there is the flip, sending Back to Rock III 5ft in the air and overhead.

Martijn looks relieved and quickly goes about self-righting. Nitro-Gene is on the attack again though and hurtles into the side of its opponent. The skirting on Back to Rock III prevents the flipping plate from getting under. This allows Back to Rock III to launch its own attack at the side of Nitro-Gene, but Nitro-Gene€™s own skirts are preventing Back to Rock from getting under! The atmosphere is tense in this stalemate, with both robots side by side trying to find an opening. It€™s the more manoeuvrable Nitro-Gene 5.0 that does so, backing away and getting a run up at Back to Rock III. It€™s under! There€™s a flip! Nitro-Gene 5.0 launches its huge flipper open just as Back to Rock slips away, and the velocity sends the English robot right over onto its back! But Paul keeps it cool and simply drives his invertible robot backwards to the arena centre before stylishly self-righting. Meanwhile, Martijn looks for a different plan and drives his robot into the pit release target. Nitro-Gene 5.0 begins to head that way€¦ and look at the speed! The member of Team Insanity collides with its foe at 20mph and both robots bump away like dodgems.

Back to Rock III recovers quickly and gets its lifting plate under Nitro-Gene 5.0 and lifts it right up into the air. The push begins, and Nitro-Gene is only heading one way, and that€™s towards the€¦ no! Back to Rock III almost had Nitro-Gene on the edge of the pit, but a big flip from the English robot got it out of trouble. Now Nitro-Gene has a chance to attack itself, and there€™s another huge flip! Back to Rock III travels vertically and then thuds straight back down right behind Nitro-Gene 5.0! Nitro-Gene 5.0 starts to push Back to Rock III backwards towards the pit€¦ but Back to Rock III is pushing backwards itself€¦ Nitro-Gene 5.0 begins to smoke just like it did in Round 1, and Paul looks concerned as his robot gives up its push. Martijn manoeuvres his machine towards the back of Nitro-Gene 5.0, which seems to have suddenly stopped. Back to Rock III begins the push towards the pit and€¦ Nitro-Gene 5.0 is away again! Suddenly Nitro-Gene comes back to life and steers away from the pit, causing Back to Rock III to jolt right onto the edge of oblivion!

Back to Rock III reverses backwards quickly, and now goes straight for Nitro-Gene 5.0, slamming into the side and getting the lifter under the side skirt. Nitro-Gene is lifted slightly off the ground, and now Back to Rock III is turning back towards the pit. Nitro-Gene again uses it€™s flipper to leap off the lifting arm, but Back to Rock III continues to drive forwards and on to the flipper, and there€™s another flip! That was much less impressive than those earlier in the match, but it has done enough to roll Back to Rock III over right next to the pit! Martijn cautiously operates his robots lifter€¦ but Back to Rock III is right on the pits edge! I think the three wheels down the one side of Back to Rock III are actually in the pit and it can€™t get away! But€¦ Nitro-Gene 5.0 isn€™t going anywhere again either, with smoke still venting from the wheel slots. Paul fires his robots flipper, which does nothing but inch Nitro-Gene forwards. With both robots unable to move, this one is going to have to go to the judges€¦

CEASE!

The judges will be marking damage, style, control and aggression. There is a possible ten marks to be won in each category. Whichever robot scores the most points in total will be the winner. Simples.

Damage

Nitro-Gene 5.0: Didn€™t cause any external damage but could have damaged internal components with the big impacts. 3/10.
Back to Rock III: Not much damage caused, but the judges noted the early damage to the skirt. 6/10.

Style

Nitro-Gene 5.0: The huge flips racked up style points, with the self-righting being a highlight. 8/10.
Back to Rock III: Not much style, but the lifting was quite cool. 4/10.

Control

Nitro-Gene 5.0: Seemed to lack a lot of control. The flips were unpredictable and the drive system seemed to fail twice. The judges noticed that the motors were very hot. 5/10.
Back to Rock III: In control whenever it was on the attack but sometimes got caught on the flipper. 7/10.

Aggression

Nitro-Gene 5.0: Very aggressive in the way it threw Back to Rock III around the arena with some powerful flips. 8/10.
Back to Rock III: Always went on the attack when possible and used the saw blade a few times. But the lifting wasn€™t very aggressive. 6/10.

Well, the results are in, and it€™s very close. It was a 24-23 decision, so by one point€¦ the winner of AJWars: Era Ache is Nitro-Gene 5.0! Congratulations Paul Cuomo.

Sorry that you had to wait for so long for a battle as bad as that.