Enjoy The Violence - 80kg Tournament

[dinowarrior]

I dont know. I was told to have them like that. I dont know the first thing about batteries.

[knightrous]

Google or ask someone. I hear its a pretty good way to learn :wink:

[dinowarrior]

Thats where I got the 3x 12v batteries at 24v, from asking someone.

[joey_picus]

If you want my advice (which you most probably didnt, but meh), you could probably get away with two NiCad packs in a robot with two wheels driven by two motors that isnt a pure pusher, like a thwacker or similar. Things like having four wheel drive, tracks, more motors, electric weapons, and the like will increase the amount of power you need, up to say four packs for a four wheel drive robot with a weapon, possibly six if you have a lot of motors or a big current-heavy spinner (in which case go petrol :P) I wouldnt bother with stating capacities and discharge currents unless you really feel the need to, since its just not important to battle writers.

NiCad packs should be fine for just about any robot - selaed lead acid are a touch on the heavy side, and with NiMh, A123, Li-poly, and other technologies, you have to know what youre talking about to be able to use them, and the weight saving is negligible.

[joey_picus]

...

...hello everyone :P

I did promise that I would finish this tournament - indeed Kody made an official record of that - and with some very good designs entered in this tournament I didn't want to leave it hanging like so many others.

However, there are quite a lot of demands on my time these days - most of the last month has been taken up by my applying to universities to study Earth Sciences, and my A levels are starting to tax me quite a bit (not to mention that I've introduced myself to the sport of fighting real robots since I began this) - so there was no real possibility that I'd find the time to write this out in full. However, I find that usual hypotheticals, being just a list of results, don't conclude the tournament as satisfactorily as I'd like.

So I've compromised a bit with summaries written in an approximation of the style of the late, great Tectonic Robot Wars UK fansite, although in the later battles they might have departed from that a bit into my usual walls of text. Whatever style you take them to be in though, hopefully you'll enjoy reading them ^_^

So with as little further procrastination as possible, je presente...

Le Grande Tournoi d'Quatre-Vingts Kilogrammes, Apprciez La Violence
un production de Team Picus

ROUND THE FIRST
Iris vs. Bad Temper Jr:
Iris started quickly, ramming into Bad Temper Jr but failing to dent the armour. Bad Temper got a few early hits in with the knife blade - most of which went deep into the HDPE armour - but was outmaneuvred and Iris pushed it into the arena walls, and then into Sargeant Bash. Bad Temper got free but then was attacked by Iris again, almost getting pushed over the pit edge, but then landed a knife hit on Iris before being slammed into the wall. However the same shove into the arena side snapped off the end of Iris' hardened aluminium spike, and Bad Temper was able to pin it next to the patrol zone and hit it a few times with the blade. Iris got free but afterwards seemed to occasionally have problems steering, later revealed in the pits to have been caused by a twisted chassis lifting two of the wheels off the ground. Despite losing some maneuvrability Iris pushed Bad Temper Jr onto the flame pit, only for Bad Temper Jr to push it back across the arena and into Dead Metal. It escaped but then was wedged in Shunt's CPZ while evading the knife, allowing Bad Temper to attack it again. At the very end of the fight, the house robots intervened to get Iris free from the corner, and Bad Temper's blade seemed stuck in the fired position. The match went to a judges' decision.
Judges' Decision: Bad Temper Jr

Junkyard Mawler vs. Shadow
This was a short fight - both robots drove at each other, and Junkyard Mawler's flipper went beneath the front ground clearance on Shadow, allowing it to push straight to the arena wall, fire the flipper, and flick Shadow over the arena wall and out!
Winner: Junkyard Mawler

DownFall vs. Weapon ZED
Both robots drove in, and used their weapons. DownFall was able to bow the top armour down with a few hits but not penetrate it, but was pushed back by Weapon ZED and pinned to the arena wall with the arm. DownFall got free by using the axe, and was able to get underneath Weapon ZED from the side and push it into the opposite wall, hammering it again and breaking the hinges on the access panel, allowing it to drag Weapon ZED away. However the more powerful Weapon ZED dragged DownFall to the edge of the lower left patrol zone, and after Sir Killalot attacked both robots DownFall fled. Weapon ZED then caught up with it, DownFall used its axe, but was flipped by Weapon ZED and, before it could self right, was pushed down into the pit!
Winner: Weapon ZED

Chaos 2 vs. Delta Rex
The robots drove at each other and circled, before Chaos 2 flipped Delta Rex over. Delta Rex self righted before Chaos 2 could get under again, and flipped Chaos 2, which also self righted. Delta Rex then pushed Chaos 2 to the corner and flipped it over the back of Matilda, Chaos 2 landing the right way up and then overturning Matilda! Dead Metal drove across and tried to intervene but could not get a grip on Chaos 2, while Delta Rex came in and flicked one side of Chaos 2 up, but not succeeding in flipping it completely. Chaos 2 recovered and flipped Delta Rex over, but one of the spikes went through Chaos 2's front polycarbonate armour and pulled Chaos 2 over with it. Chaos 2 self righted on top of Delta Rex, and was flipped onto its back again when Delta Rex self righted. Chaos 2 self righted again, evaded Delta Rex's run, and the two robots then charged straight at each other; Chaos 2 turned at the last second and got underneath the front corner of Delta Rex, driving it backwards before flipping it over and pushing it into the pit before it could self right.
Winner: Chaos 2

Full Life Consequences vs. Wrath Of Fangorodrim
Wrath Of Fangorodrim started the faster, and got underneath Full Life Consequences on the initial charge. It pushed Full Life Consequences to the arena wall, crushing into it with the main arm, but Full Life Consequences seemed undamaged internally after being released. It drove away, came back and got beneath Wrath Of Fangorodrim's side, but the pincers did not seem to be functioning (it turned out the claw had pierced the main compressed air line to the valve and rendered them useless) so instead it drove Wrath Of Fangorodrim to the CPZ. Sgt. Bash attacked, bending in some of Wrath Of Fangorodrim's front armour and breaking the bolts holding the outer polycarbonate layer on the wedge. Wrath Of Fangorodrim broke free, got beneath Full Life Consequences at the front, and lots of sparks were made from the sawblade until it was stopped as Wrath Of Fangorodrim pushed it to the arena wall. It crushed in again but once more Full Life Consequences seemed to be driving alright when released. The two robots then drove around and rammed one another, neither gaining an advantage, before Wrath Of Fangorodrim pursued Full Life Consequences into Dead Metal and both robots were attacked. Both escaped after a while, but Wrath Of Fangorodrim seemed very sluggish, and continued to slow as Full Life Consequences pushed it into the arena grinders, and then avoided the claws to get underneath the side and ease it into the pit just before time ran out.
Winner: Full Life Consequences

Bambi vs. Cassius II
Cassius II started faster and lowered itself in the centre of the arena just as Bambi drove at it, getting beneath the skirts. It then pushed forward and used its flipper, but pushed Bambi back into the wall rather than flipping it. Bambi then got at the side of Cassius II and although it seemed to have trouble clamping it - the flipper prevented the claws from getting a grip - it overpowered Cassius II and pushed it into Killalot. Cassius II escaped after the side armour was cut into, and both robots circled each other before Cassius drove straight into Bambi's claws, up the wedge and was gripped. Bambi pushed Cassius II towards the pit, the suspension of Cassius II allowing it some grip at the last second as it got traction and pulled both robots over the edge of the pit. Cassius II then used its flipper and jolted itself free from Bambi, but overbalanced as its still spinning right hand tyre touched the floor and fell down the pit!
Winner: Bambi

Mortis vs. Diva
Both robots drove at each other, with Diva getting beneath Mortis' ground clearance and flipping it over. It pushed Mortis to the edge of the arena, flipped, but Mortis began to self right and was only flicked up on top of the barrier. It used its axe and got free, before driving in on Diva and attacking. The tanto axe blade penetrated the titanium armour a few times, but Diva was the stronger robot and pushed Mortis about two thirds of the way down the arena before it backed up and turned to one side. Diva then threw Mortis over only for it to use its arm to self right, but pushed Mortis into Shunt, who turned it over again. In the time it took Mortis to retract the arm to self right, Bambi got past Killalot, rammed Mortis into the arena wall and used the flipper, Mortis coming down the right side of the arena wall but on its side. The lifting arm pushed Mortis away from the wall, but Bambi got to the stricken robot again and flipped it over the arena wall and out!
Winner: Diva

Le Nez vs. Fox In The Box
Le Nez started quickly, but was unable to catch Fox In The Box on its initial charge. It then pursued Fox In The Box and got underneath it at the side, and flipped it high into the air. Fox In The Box landed near the wall right way up and came back on the attack, and swung the disc into the side of Le Nez before the front plate got beneath Fox In The Box again, the flipper flicking Fox In The Box over such that its disc hit the arena floor and chewed up part of it! Both robots then drove at each other, and Le Nez got beneath Fox In The Box at the front. However a massive shower of sparks ensued as the disc connected with the front wedge and Le Nez fired its flipper only to flick Fox In The Box up in the air. It then tried to drive beneath it and get Fox In The Box down the pit but drove just to the side of the pit and ended up pinning Fox In The Box against the wall. Fox In The Box then broke out from beneath Le Nez' flipper and got the (stopped) disc in underneath it before it could close, and pushed it back towards Dead Metal's CPZ. The house robot gripped onto Le Nez but could not get its saw in effectively, and Le Nez broke free. Fox In The Box was able to spin up again and the two robots drove at each other, Fox In the Box hitting the front right side armour with the disc before being flipped again. However it got away once it landed, while Le Nez only seemed to have drive to one wheel, and could not move in a straight line to get at Fox In The Box. Its opponent came in again with the disc, attacking the rear, and the removable link of Le Nez was jolted loose.
Winner: Fox In The Box


ROUND THE QUARTER FINALS
Bad Temper Jr. vs. Full Life Consequences
Full Life Consequences, its claws repaired, began quickly and got beneath Bad Temper, who used its blade to little effect other than to push its own body upwards. Full Life Consequences then clamped it and pushed it down towards the pit, but Bad Temper was able to get traction and wriggle free into the CPZ, where Sir Killalot pinned it in and tried to drill through the side to little effect. It escaped, but Full Life Consequences was waiting and, despite sustaining damage to the top from the blade, managed to manipulate Bad Temper into the pit only for Killalot to lift it out with its claw. The house robot then cut Bad Temper's weapon before dragging it over the flame pit, while Full Life Consequences went after a curiously reluctant Matilda.
Winner: Full Life Consequences

Junkyard Mawler vs. Bambi
Both robots charged at each other but Bambi accelerated faster and got its weapon to bear first, getting a firm enough grip on the sides of the flipper that Junkyard Mawler struggled to lift it before the claws lost their grip and Bambi fell down onto the front wedge of Junkward Mawler. Bambi was then pushed into the arena wall but Jukyard Mawler, flipper raised, could do little, and eventually had to back away to lower its flipper - whereupon Bambi rammed and got underneath Junkyard Mawler, closing its claws on the corner of the robot, and pushing it backwards towards the pit. Junkyard Mawler then used its flipper to free itself, jolting upwards enough to escape the claws' grip, but due to Bambi's trajectory and lack of traction it came down on top of Bambi, who lifted its arm to slowly turn Junkyard Mawler over. Junkyard Mawler was able to self right and drove after Bambi, but Bambi was able to claw onto the flipper of Junkyard Mawler again and prevent it from getting close enough to use the weapon. Junkyard Mawler backed out of the grip while turning to set up another attack, but Bambi was able to spin around and hit Junkyard Mawler with its claws, causing two of its wheels to drop into the pit. Precariously balanced, Junkyard Mawler fired its weapon to get free, but just as it got traction on the pit edge Bambi rammed it and pushed it fully over the edge and into the smoke, going down itself for good measure!
Winner: Bambi

Weapon ZED vs. Diva
This fight started slowly as Weapon ZED remained in its start position while Diva edged forward slowly. The robots eventually met, whereupon Diva flipped Weapon ZED, leaving it upside down and resting against the wall, from where it used its weapon to free itself. Diva then chased Weapon ZED around the arena, only catching up with Weapon ZED when it had turned around, and Weapon ZED's weapon then caught the front of Diva and threw it on to the flame pit, before Weapon ZED drove over the flames itself to push Diva back into the arena wall. Diva then pushed back, but when it tried to use its flipper clouds of CO2 vented from beneath the robot and it did not move, meaning all it could do was push Weapon ZED into Shunt, whose axe had little effect. Weapon ZED was able to back out of the patrol zone and pinned Diva to the wall, but Diva escaped, and the robots then spent a large part of the fight trying to push each other into the house robots or pit with little success. Weapon ZED seemed reluctant to use its lance and only used it to self right after being pushed into Matilda, who overturned it. It then rammed Diva head on, was pushed backwards, but then used its weapon and flipped Diva up and over. With no working weapon, due to the flame pit softening a pneumatic hose up enough to blow under pressure, Diva could not self right.
Winner: Weapon ZED

Chaos 2 vs. Fox In The Box
This was a very destructive fight - Fox In The Box got its weapon up to speed and attacked the front of Chaos 2, the polycarbonate panels covering the top of the flipper being removed with the very first impact. Chaos 2 was however able to flip Fox In The Box in the same impact and in a repeat of the first round it landed on its weapon, gouging a series of deep holes in the arena floor before coming to rest and spinning up again. Chaos 2 got underneath the side of Fox In The Box and flipped it again, but this time only rolling it over without stopping the weapon, which turned into Chaos 2's right drive pod and removed the titanium and polycarbonate armour with its second hit, which caused one of Chaos 2's drive chains on that side to come off the sprocket and left it with drive on one side only. Fox In The Box then attacked the now helpless Chaos 2 again and again, bending the chassis plates before tearing a hole in the left wheel, disabling that side too. The disc finally smashed away the 'W' shaped brace for the flipper at the front of Chaos 2, in the process shaking one of the batteries loose and dragging it into the disc where it was punctured, totally immobilising Chaos 2 which was then left alone. The fight was stopped due to the broken lead acid battery before the house robots could get involved.
Winner: Fox In The Box


ROUND THE SEMI FINALS
Full Life Consequences vs. Weapon ZED
Both robots started quickly, ramming each other and using their weapons. Weapon ZED's lance, when extended, was long enough to prevent Full Life Consequences from reaching the robot as the hooked spike still made contact with the top of the robot, although it caused only cosmetic damage to the titanium armour. Weapon ZED lacked the torque of Full Life Consequences though, which pushed it backwards and to one side before it reversed away. Full Life Consequences then rammed Weapon ZED from the side but was unable to get a grip on its sloped armour, instead pinning it against the wall. Weapon ZED escaped and then went in with its lance extended; this hit the saw, creating many sparks, and only succeeded in rotating both robots and bending the spike on the end of the lance. Full Life Consequences then rammed it again from the side and pushed it into Sergeant Bash, whose claw did minimal damage to Weapon ZED's titanium armour and chassis. Weapon ZED drove forward to escape and turned to face Full Life Consequences, which attacked again only to be thrown backwards and over by the lance. It then turned and rammed into Weapon ZED again, closing its claws and pushing it this time into Shunt, who again had little impact. Full Life Consequences then backed away to try and bring its saw to bear, but Weapon ZED escaped and tried to get underneath the skirts of Full Life Consequences from the side, but failed and could only push Full Life Consequences into the saws. The rest of the fight continued in similar vein, ending with Weapon ZED pushed firmly into Killalot's CPZ (the house robot, again, failing to do much to the bombproof robot) while Full Life Consequences' pincers appeared to be stuck in the open position. The fight went to a judges' decision.
Judges' Decision: Full Life Consequences

Bambi vs. Fox In The Box
Bambi drove straight at Fox In The Box, trying to reach it before the disc spun up fully, but Fox In The Box managed to turn away from the approaching claws and instead hit the side of Bambi as it drove in. This caused Fox In The Box to hit the wall though, which stopped the weapon, and Bambi was able to get underneath the side of Fox In The Box and lift it up, closing the claws and driving forward to tip Fox In The Box over and leaving it stranded on the side walls. The house robots then came in to have a go at Fox in The Box; however after having its underside grilled by Sergeant Bash, Sir Killalot's claw could not grip the titanium body cleanly despite going through the bottom panel and instead dropped it back on its wheels. Fox In The Box and Bambi then teamed up against the house robots, with Bambi clawing and removing the back end of Bash while Fox In The Box spun up, and responded to being chased down by Killalot and Dead Metal by hitting Killalot's tracks with its disc, causing one side to jam up and the speed controller powering the right hand tracks to expire in clouds of smoke! Fox In The Box then bent one of Dead Metal's claws before being stopped by the wall and Shunt, whose axe dented the top armour before Dead Metal, under pressure from Bambi, held Fox In The Box over the flame pit before being lifted over it itself by Bambi! Fox In The Box escaped from the claws as a result, but drove too far forward and ended up with its disc stuck on the wall.
Winner: Bambi


ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH
Weapon ZED vs. Fox In The Box
Weapon ZED's lance had been straightened since the last fight and it started the faster in the third place playoff, using its lance to try and get a grip on the slot housing Fox in The Box's disc. This worked, with Weapon ZED using it to drag Fox In The Box down towards the flame pit, but Fox In The Box became unhooked when Weapon ZED tried pushing and promptly hit Weapon ZED from the side with the spun up disc as it fell, creating a deep gouge in the side. Weapon ZED then turned and got underneath the disc of Fox In The Box, and used its lance to flip Fox In The Box into the arena side wall. Fox In The Box then backed up, giving its weapon time to spin up, before the robots charged at each other and the resulting impact threw Fox In The Box into the wall again. Weapon ZED, however, lost all power as a result of the impact dislodging its removable link and was left immobilised.
Winner: Fox In The Box


ROUND THE BEND
Full Life Consequences vs. Bambi
This was the grand final, between two very similar robots. Full Life Consequences started quickly but Bambi moved out of its starting position and turned to get at the side of Full Life Consequences, however it could not get its claws to grip on the side. It did, however, buckle one of the skirt hinges leaving the skirt trailing. Full Life Consequences then turned and rammed Bambi's left claw, sending showers of sparks from the saw (which was rendered inoperative as a result, as the drive chain broke). Its superior torque helped Full Life Consequences to push Bambi into Matilda, whose chainsaw had little effect on the Hardox body beyond sparks. Bambi was pinned in though, and when Full Life Consequences reversed to line up another attack it was unable to capitalise until its lifter caught on one of Full Consequences' own claws, which when they closed dropped it onto Bambi's wedge and allowed Bambi to push it all the way across the arena and into Shunt, whose axe punctured the 3mm titanium armour. Full Life Consequences escaped and got underneath the front of Bambi again, ramming it and pushing it back to the top of the arena before Bambi again returned the favour while lifting Full Life Consequences up and over. This caused the claws of Full Life Consequences to land on the top of the arena wall, bending the ram operating the claws and reducing their effectiveness. Full Life Consequences was able to wriggle out from under the lifter and get back underneath the side of Bambi, pushing it over the flame pit and ramming it into the wall. Bambi escaped, turned around as Full Life Consequences drove away to line up another attack, and as the robots drove into each other again it lifted Full Life Consequences' front end up and pushed it backwards into Shunt again, who axed it and then used its scoop to turn Full Life Consequences over so all four wheels were raised off the floor by the railings, the bent ram meaning the claws could not retract enough to allow it to get down. Bambi then made sure of victory by lifting the front end of Full Life Consequences up and tipping it out of the arena!
Champion: Bambi
2nd place: Full Life Consequences
3rd: Fox In The Box
4th: Weapon ZED
5th: Junkyard Mawler
6th: Bad Temper Jr.
7th: Chaos 2
8th: Diva
9th: Cassius II
10th: Wrath Of Fangorodrim
11th: Le Nez
12th: DownFall
13th: Shadow
14th: Iris
15th: Delta Rex
16th: Mortis

FIN

So there you have it, finished after almost three years! Congratulations to Liam on his victory, to Steve, Marti and Alex on their runners up, third and fourth places respectively, and commiserations and thanks to all other entrants (especially Andy who got stuck with two tough first round draws :P). I hope this has brought the tournament to a satisfactory end, and apologies that circumstances meant it had to turn out this way.

For now though, over and out ^^

Joey McConnell
Psychiatric Unit, Wing B, Pontefract Hospital
November 2010

[death robotics]

Well done to the winner

That was pretty good Joey. I enjoyed reading the battles

[kodster]

5th ain't bad, really, and hey there's a 'W' on the scorecard at last.

Statistical semi-gloating aside, no problem Joey. I understand why you had to do this but I'm glad you found a way to make it more entertaining than just a simple hypo, especially at a time like yours right now. Most impressive.

Congratulations to Joey just for managing to finish it (bonus points for the paragraphs ), and of course to Liam for winning and the others for participating.

[archie2000]

I am so trying this
Archie
team fire force

[death robotics]

Archie, please dont bump threads that stopped months ago please

But its nice to see that you might be trying your hand at this sort of thing too, nice to see
a new guy in the fanfic community