The Fighting Vapourbots Association League 2 - A fresh start

**joey_picus** · 24th July 2009, 23:50

The Fighting Vapourbots Association League II
(attempt 2)

Yes, it's here. The one you all wanted. And this time, the spots haven't been filled up via MSN, as in retrospect it was really the wrong way to go about things last time. Yes, certain people who would probably not have upheld the quality of writing or entries that such a showpiece tournament would be expected to have were excluded, but so were a lot of perfectly adequate people who happened to not be on MSN at the time or didn't have it, and as a result a bit of alienation and anger arose and it frankly turned into a big mess.

Many apologies to anyone who was offended or who wanted to enter the last one but couldn't, mistakes were made and I hope everyone can forgive and forget.

Now, let's see what we can do with a view to getting this going again

RULES OF ENTRY

1) This is supposed to be a showpiece of the community's very best battle writers' skills and vapourbot designs. Nobody is excluded from entering if they abide by the rules, but please attempt to be civil towards each other.

2) You do not need to write battles for the tournament, although of course we'd like it if you volunteered to do so.

If you do volunteer it will be up to the organising committee (that is, myself, Andy, Martijn and Kody) what battles and how many (if any) are assigned to you.

3) This is a heavyweight tournament. Commonly accepted Fanfic rules apply;

-3a: Maximum weight for wheeled (including omniwheeled) machines shall be 100 kilograms. Tracked machines get an additional 10%, or 110kg; as do shufflers and other miscellaneous forms of mobility. TRUE walking machines (the organising committee shall have the final say on what constitutes a true walker; Anarchy, despite being awesome, does not meet true walking standards) will recieve a 100% bonus, or 200kg.

-3b: The FRA ruleset applies with regards to allowable weaponry and anything not stated in these rules - with the following exception:
--Any gas may be used in a pneumatics system as long as it isn't obscenely dangerous (nitrogen, helium, compressed air, argon, kryptonite, etc. are all A-OK)

Therefore the limit for compressed gas is 1000psi, and the hydraulic fluid pressure limit is 3000psi.

3c: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE attempt to be somewhat realistic with your stats. Pushing the boundaries of technology is fine; sticking twelve 50kj spinning discs in a 100kg heavyweight isn't.
Equally please try and be as detailed as possible with your stats; I believe most if not all of the community are very good at this and keep adequate stat sheets, but any details that aren't stated will be assumed by the writer, possibly to your disadvantage.

4) Twelve people are required to enter two heavyweight vapourbots each. The following spots have been reserved:

Myself (Joey McConnell)
Kody Kunz
Alex Holt
Daniel Stickler
Martijn Benschop

Reserved spots will be held open for a period of ten days; after that they will become open for others to use.

5) The format of the tournament shall probably look something like this:

- A first round of 12 one-on-one battles to reduce 24 to 12
- A second round of 6 one-on-one battles to reduce 12 to 6
- Two 'loser's melees' of four of the losers of the second round each, the winner of which go back into the competition to bring the number of robots back up to 8
- From then on in straight one-on-one knockout battles will be used to determine the ultimate FVAL II Champion

6) Other details such as arenas, determining battle writers beyond the opening rounds, house robots if any, schedules, and grand prizes are to be determined closer to the time.

7) Try not to let this thread degenerate into arguing like the last one did. The tournament is for the enjoyment of all; please raise any issues you have with the fight quality or technical issues with the entrants reasonably so we can all improve, but don't start attacking each other or flaming. Leave the fighting to the robots, not the drivers

8 ) Please be aware that most of us - me included - can't spend all our free time on writing fights, and delays are something you will just have to accept. Don't bump the thread needlessly, and please have some patience and respect for the writers as they find the time to write fights of epicness.

9) That's all I reckon...oh yeah, get entering (seven non-reserved spots left), have fun and let's see some great action.

**andrewj** · 24th July 2009, 23:56

Reserve me one of those remaining places, please.

**steven_mcg** · 24th July 2009, 23:58

Take 2, aaaaaand action!

I'd like to add E Clawdius Unum and Mornington Crescent to the guest list please.

1. E Clawdius Unum (formerly Clawdius Decimus Murderous)
SHAPE- skirted wedge with small box section and rounded back
COLOUR- deep green with red shield emblazoned on the wedge, depicting a gold lion with a crown
WEIGHT- about 100kg
DIMENSIONS- 95cm X 70cm X 40cm
SPEED- 14mph
TURNING CIRCLE- 0m
GROUND CLEARANCE- virtually 0mm at the front, 0mm at sides and rear thanks to skirts (arranged in a Biohazard fashion, corner-to-corner), 10mm without
ARMOUR- 4mm Hardox
WHEELS- inside robot, 4-wheel drive
POWER- 2 X S28-400 MagMotors
WEAPONS- The main weapon, as ever, is the hydraulic diamond-tipped crushing claw. It is powered by a Vivoil pump with an 80mm x 40mm ram, with a 2kg tank for storing the hydraulics. The claw runs at 3000psi and, aided by the diamond tip, should be able to leave plenty of holes in another robot.
The front wedge also features a Firestorm-style blade and two flat 'spears' to aid in getting under the opposition. The wedge itself is now home to several Mute-style barbs to help ensnare other robots.
SRIMECH- A rear-hinged pneumatic arm on either side, powered by a pair of linear actuators. The rounded rear also prevents the robot getting beached.
NOTES- flies the Scotland flag, thanks to AJ, et tu, Brute? written on the underbelly
STRENGTHS- Quite nippy, good traction, powerful weapon, difficult to get underneath, fairly quick srimech
WEAKNESSES- so-so manoeuvrability
PIC- http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1801 ... numor1.png

2. Mornington Crescent
SHAPE- flat cylinder
COLOUR- white, with the London Underground sign for Mornington Crescent on the top and bottom
WEIGHT- approx 100kg
DIMENSIONS- 100cm X 20cm
SPEED- 12mph
TURNING CIRCLE- 0mm
GROUND CLEARANCE- 8mm
ARMOUR- 3.5mm Hardox
MOVEMENT- 4 x inner wheels
POWER- 2 x S28-400 Magmotors, running at 24v
WEAPONS- Mornington Crescent is armed with not one, but TWO outer spinning rings, one on top of the other. The top ring spins anticlockwise, while the bottom ring spins clockwise. Each ring has four teeth and weighs about 10kg. The rings are powered by an LEM-130 running at 36v each and can reach speeds of 1500rpm. The two rings spinning in alternate directions should also help the robot be easier to drive - theoretically, anyway.
SRIMECH- invertible
NOTES- flies Scotland flag, thanks to Joey and Andy for helping with stats
STRENGTHS- two spinners for the price of one, nippy, manoueverable, tough, more controlled than regular ring spinners
WEAKNESSES- wheels open to axes and crushers, unpredictable bouncing?
PIC- http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5661/m ... escent.bmp

**kodster** · 24th July 2009, 23:58

Yay, no arguing! Sorry about the bit of idiocy I spewed forth in the previous thread.

1. Seung Mina VI

Shape: Gone back to the original III design with a few twists. She's a long, low wedge with the flipping arm in the middle, and sloped, curved sides. The rear is a reversed wedge, but rounded off at the bottom where the 2WD pokes out.

Colour: Mix of whites and greens, with some red accents thrown in.

Weight: 100kg

Drive: 2 LEM130 Lynch motors run at 49.5v, gearing is an average 6:1; no overkill, but no slouching either.

Power: 15 M1 A123 Lithium-Ion battery packs

Motivation: 2WD inner; 200mm CNC hubs with the usual urethane tires. The wheels are big to provide more traction while still giving more weight at the front of the robot so the flipper gets under bots easier.

Speed: 16mph

Armour: 6mm Ti/V alloy with the flipping arm made out of 8mm Ti/V. The top claws are titanium and the underbelly is 10mm polycarbonate.

Ground Clearance: 0mm at the front, rising at the sides from that to 10mm at the rear.

Dimensions in CM (LxWxH): 105 x 102 x 30

Weaponry: You know the drill for the Seung Mina series of vapourbots...what? You don't? Fine. It's a rear-hinged flipping arm, powered by 2 2.5kg CO2 tanks, a 5L buffer tank, and a 250mm stroke 100mm bore ram. This gives Mina enough power to easily clear about 2 tonnes, and has enough in the tank for 25 full power flips. The ram is positioned underneath the middle of the flipping arm.

Also, the spikes from the SM3 design return, only they're more pointy and curved. They're to trap wedges that try to fly over SM6.

Srimech: Flipper

Theme song = No Giving Up by Crossfade

----

2. Jinx

Shape: See the render. Basically a very, very low scoop shape with an low angled rear and flat sides, and spiky bits on the scoop and rear wedge. The spikes on the front are actually part of the armour, while the rear spikes are hinged.

Colour: Yeah, same thing, see the render. Or else, think navy blues and pinks.

Weight: 100kg

Drive: 2 LEM130 Lynch motors run at 36.3v, gearing is 6:1 so acceleration is good, but shouldn't be too reckless either

Power: 11 M1 A123 Lithium-Ion battery packs

Motivation: 2WD inner; CNC hubs with urethane tires. Yes, we North Americans call 'em tires, deal with it. :P The wheels are set near the back of the bot so the front has more weight pushed upon it and can get under opposing robots much easier.

Speed: 14mph

Armour: 7mm Ti/V alloy, with an extra 8mm of Ti/V on the front, making 'er pretty much impenetrable from the front. Underside is 15mm polycarb.

Ground Clearance: Dead 0mm at the front, 0mm rising to 12.5mm at the sides, and 12.5mm at the rear.

Dimensions in CM (LxWxH): 90 x 80 x 15, so she's quite compact.

Weaponry: A nice rack-and-pinion mechanized pneumatic axe/hammer powered by 2 custom 2.5kg CO2 tanks and a 250mm stroke 150mm bore double-acting ram. It can smack opponents with about a tonne of force and has about 15 full pressure shots. The shaft and axe head are both made out of Hardox so it doesn't break upon impact, and the axe head is shaped to inflict the most damage possible.

The other weapon explains why a double-acting ram powers the axe. It's a claw-wedge thingy on the axe shaft, protruding past the axe head. It's bolted on, but can rotate as if it was hinged. Thing is, when the axe lands, the momentum of the axes travel causes the wedge on the shaft to tilt back enough so it doesn't hit the floor before the actual axe head. When the axe head lands, the wedge will then hit the floor. Jinx can then use this wedge to flip opponents, as shown here.

Srimech: Axe/flipper hybrid thingy whatever

Theme song = Evil Angel by Breaking Benjamin

----

Looking good, WARGH!

**Bblader** · 25th July 2009, 05:19

lethal weapon
shovearound 3

ZED is being slow atm so I can't direct link to my stats page, this will have to do: http://strickenone.proboards.com/index. ... kedvapours

**team_orr** · 25th July 2009, 07:58

hmmm...il have o.i.d and CroOkED eVo

(yes evo

) both on zed

**eene** · 25th July 2009, 08:32

Thanks, Joey. I'll use The Kill Point II and Skullcrusher EVO (On old FVAL 2 threat)

I still think they need some modifications, but I'll leave them to you first