When We Were Kings !

**blazerbotics** · 3rd July 2010, 12:01

just to answer that last point, we did a survey this year at Burgess Hill and in Chester in 2008. All of the results from these were positive, of the shows we have done over the last 3 and a half years we have never had a single complaint, and everybody who came has enjoyed it. The problems isnt with the show, its getting 'bums on seats'. The fact is it hasnt been on TV now for a few years (even repeat showings have gone) and we're now having to search for the audiences whereas 10 years ago they came to you.

I'm not going to reply yet to the rest of the points yet as i'll be here all day!

**anukhet** · 3rd July 2010, 16:12

When I took part in the Robot Wars series of programmes,I was made to feel very important,like a star if you like and the signing of autographs for the kids added to the atmosphere.

Meals were supplied,hotels paid for and there was allways a camera crew wanting a interview and it didnt matter whether you had a great robot or a not so great one-you were one of the elite-A Roboteer.

This still happens - the autograph signing, the kids looking at you in awe by the simple act of walking into the loo or queuing up for food and bumping into a 'roboteer'

The interviews for radio and tv - this still happens.

The only thing that doesnt happen is getting your arsed wiped by the tv production company if you just happen to have a 'star' robot - not such a bad thing all this equality :wink:

**ady** · 3rd July 2010, 19:31

i know its a pain as a roboteer, but wot i used to miss is the damage, nothing excited me more from the tv days or now seeing a robot get smashed to pieces, not nice if its your robot i know, but for me personally its what excited me.

when competing i never watched the heavyweights fight, as in my opinion it was either a flipper, or that tyre thing, i found it boring very quickly watching 2 or 3 hw's either chuck each other around or just bash into each other, the only exception was terrorhurtz for me.
this is my own personal opinion of hw fights i saw with my own eyes, which was quite a few, so i dont want a backlash.

the only thing i liked watching in hw's was the razer demos, as at least you saw something get smashed up, even if it was an old tv or something.

that is why i built a fw, i started with a basic wedge, but then i went straight to a spinner, as yeah their unreliable and expensive to fix, but when working nothing beat it for me, or the sound of the crowd when u spun it up

**grant_ploughbot** · 3rd July 2010, 21:23

I have to agree in large part with the first post, not in total but alot of it.

For me, Robot Fighting is robot fighting, not a show. Thats the only bit I get enjoyment from. That is the only reason James and I built the Robo Challenge Arena. We hold 1, sometimes 2 events a year for full combat featherweights because thats the part of the sport we really enjoy, and we hope everyone enjoys them just as much as we do.

On the heavyweight side of things, I have to agree that as a roboteer I've been getting abit bored sometimes. It's not about the autographs, the free food, the interviews at all for me. It's all about the full combat and the nerves you get in full combat - I dont like the idea of putting an awfull lot of time and money into something I can only use to put on a show for an audience... I would have done drama in school for that. As part of Robo Challenge, I know exactly how difficult it is to get the audience in and we have lost a lot of money doing so along the way, so i appreciate the effort RR and RL go to in holding so many events.

But it would make such a difference for just 1 full combat heavy event each year - I would have built my own heavyweight if that happened.

**john** · 3rd July 2010, 21:26

LOL

Meals are supplied for during the break and sometimes during the events where we have to stay over night we camp for free, which is often better then a hotel for the social side of things.

There is prize money for the big events of the year - I have won around Â£1000 over the last 3 years - If it was still on TV I would have prob won 20 times that and the toy deal which would be nice but it's not coming back.

Bring on the One big event per year with a nice cash win,-that would bring em out of the woodwork. I know what your in it for. Where is the money going to come from for the nice cash win your after?

As swanny said If you dont like it jog on.

**typhoon_driver** · 4th July 2010, 12:24

Wow talk about a slap in the face to all the good work, time, effort and cash thrown in by everyone since robot wars finished.

Camera crew always wanting interviews? No that was a pain in the arse at the best of times. Trying to prepare the robot and prepare mentally for the next battle was always interupted. The best interview I ever gave where I took the camera man around the inside of typhoon 2 explaining the various systems and how they worked together, was it shown? Was it hell

Hotel rooms? Really? You are complaining because you aren't put up in a holiday inn? Funny thing was that I never usually got to see a hotel room as those were taken up by the BAE systems support crew. I slept on the floor on the local ATC unit. Far more fun as there was a dozen or so cadets in the same building and we had far more fun there.

Meals? Those are usually provided in some form and the organisers that don't I don't hold it against them one bit. Throwing up an arena and all the support mechanisms around it are far more important than making sure you have a free egg mayo sandwich (not that I don't appriciate when one is available!)

If you want to go feel like a star then apply for big brother or britains got talent. If your ambitions in life are really so vapid as to be popular for a while before being spat out and then touring student unions for years then good luck to you.

9 years on since the end of robot wars? I don't think so. We appeared for the first time in 2001 and if im not mistaken I had several more appearances after that.

One big event? We have those, they are called the heavyweight and featherweight champs. Most of the machines in the woodwork couldn't hope to compete for the titles these days as they are so far behind technologically.

This comment was the best though, There are alternatives to spending a barrow load of bucks on polycarbonate sheeting too.

Yes there are, they are called lawsuits and would usually result from a member of the audience being injured or damage to property etc etc

Is this post a bit cutting and to the point? Yeah probably. Do I care? Not at all.

I am exceptionally grateful to all those members of the FRA, event organisers and other roboteers that I have had the good fortune to meet and work with and to those that I haven't, I know that you have done a lot of work behind the scenes that never gets seen. If anyone would have loved robot wars to return it would have been me as I never got to defend the title I won in the same arena with the same machine. Typhoon 2 was measured up for a toy but that never materialised obviously and I enjoyed the times I had on the tv. But that is in the past. Time to move on.

**anukhet** · 4th July 2010, 12:34

I have won around Â£1000 over the last 3 years - If it was still on TV I would have prob won 20 times that and the toy deal which would be nice but it's not coming back.

Just a small point on the toy deal - exactly Â£0 was made from that - plus the pride of seeing your creation reproduced in the shops. In that respect absolutely nothing has changed - except nowadays we make or commission our own merchandise and our shop windows are the event organisers. What money is made actually goes back into keeping the robot running instead of straight into the pockets of the toy makers and tv companies.

[edit] Well said Gary

**chimera1** · 4th July 2010, 13:27

I must correct the date Robot Wars finished, it was 2003 and not 2001 but it still makes it seven years, I should have known that as I did take part doh

.

Secondly I must correct John- if I was in it for money I would build a robot that wasn't purely made for the fun aspect of taking part and sadly that means a wedge with a powerfull flipper QED.

Many people have knocked Robot Wars but youve got to ask yourself a question:What first got you interested in the fighting robot game?

**cliveb** · 4th July 2010, 14:03

Firstly and most importantly a big thank you to all of the event organisors.Without you people we have nowhere to go and play with our toys.One big event a year with a big cash win? Where is this big cash win coming from? and if it brings people out of the woodwork it must surely prove that they are only in it for the money and not the enjoyment and cameraderie that I believe exists in the current community. I agree with Grant in the aspect of getting a buzz in fighting in a full combat event, my featherweight is totally unsuitable to fight a machine like 360 or Hornet but I just love the adrenaline rush of lining up opposite them and hearing the words 3 2 1 activate(normally resulting in another repair bill) Until a large lottery win turns up to fund a heavyweight spinner arena we will have to accept the fact that the vast majority of machines will be flippers.
So in my opinion thanks to the EO's for your hard work in putting events on all year round for us, and keep up the hard work.You can count on my support.