And here's today's fights. Thanks again to Brad for having this livestream running so I can archive the matches here in text form.
Day 2
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a match in the 120lb loser's bracket. Cindy lost to Touro in a vicious knockout, Cholo broke down against Frankencat. For both of these robots, this is their last chance. If they lose they're out.
3 2 1 Fight! Cholo seems to still have issues. Cindy comes out and gets some good hits on Cholo. Cholo spins up, still with drive issues, and Cindy is able to grind up the back end of Cholo. Cholo is still sluggishly moving around, and there's some noticable damage on Cholo's top. It's still moving only enough to not be counted out. Then Hurricane Cindy makes the decision to drive into the arena bumper at full speed and stops moving. A cheap win, but a win nonetheless for Cholo. Maybe next time they'll actually move out of their square.
Marvin vs The Mutt
Both bots are silver drum bots. Both lost their first match. Who moves on? We're about to find out.
Fight. Mutt's weapon isn't spinning, but he does a good job juking Marvin's initial charge. there's no contact made for a good half minute, and then Mutt takes the upper hand, shoving Marvin into the wall. Marvin narrowly misses the hammer, then gets maneuvered into it by The Mutt. One, two, three, four, FIVE solid hammer hits dent the top of Marvin, and it escapes. Mutt pins Marvin to the wall again. After this there's more boring maneuvering, neither bot seems to have their weapon working, and then Marvin stops entirely. Mutt wins by knockout.
General vs Touro Classic
Back up to the winner's bracket now. Touro and General are both big names from Brazil. Touro's attached a wedge to the front so it can attempt to stave off General's forks.
Fight. Both robots spin up. The first hit causes sparks and flips General on its back. General tries to self right, Touro gets another big hit and seems to have some driving issues afterwards. General hits Touro a few times while inverted, and Touro's drive is working again. Oh wait, now it's spinning in circles. Another big hit knocks General back on its top, and then sparks fly as General hits Touro hard, then sends it flying. Twice. Touro stops moving! General wins!
Touro Maxmimus vs Shrederator.
Ohhh boy. This is the match everyone's been waiting for. Touro Maximus, the most feared robot at this tournament after annihilating Tanto, is facing off against the fresh-out-of-retirement full body spinner Shrederator, formerly known as Phrizbee from BattleBots. Its internals have been upgraded from the last time it fought and it's ready to square down against the sleek bull from Brazil.
3, 2, 1, Fight! Both robots spin, Shrederator is kinda wobbly. Touro is up to full speed, there's a hit, sparks fly, and... Shrederator stops moving entirely?! That's it?? Touro wins by knockout and continues its one hit KO record. Post fight review shows that the battery connection was severed on that one hit, stopping the robot dead.
Black vs GLaDOS
Black is back from its close loss to Aquiles yesterday, and it seems GLaDOS has recovered from its beatdown yesterday courtesy of K2. Black is sporting its plow setup.
Fight. GlaDOS is up to speed fast and gets two good hits on Black, but after every hit GLaDOS has a chance to shove around the drumbot. There are some hits, but it seems that GLaDOS isn't spinning as fast as it was. Black takes advantage of this, slamming GLaDOS into the wall hard. GLaDOS has now stopped spinning entirely. There's a close pushing match in the back corner of the arena, then Black drives straight under the hammer, taking a solid hit. Black can't really get a good position to shove around GLaDOS. Black tries a sit and spin maneuver as the match ticks down. After the match ends we see a puff of smoke and apparently fire from GLaDOS. Black wins the judge's decision.
Aquiles vs K2
Two undefeated robots in the lightweight division. Aquiles never spun up in its first fight, so there's no idea as how powerful its drum is. There's no question, however, as to how powerful K2's weapon is, as it caused a massive lipo fire at the end of yesterday's fighting.
Fight. Both bots spin up and the first hit knocks Aquiles into the air. Aquiles answers with a massive uppercut that knocks K2 up, over and onto the wall, and there is smoke pouring out of K2's undercarriage. Aquiles is moving on.
Maelstrom vs Killa KT
And we're back down to the middleweight loser's bracket. Both these bots lost pretty fast, so it's a chance at redemption for these teams.
Fight. Maelstrom is still kinda shaky spinning up. Killa KT gives no craps and plows straight into it, stopping its spinning. Killa KT maneuvers Maelstrom into the hammers, and Maelstrom takes several hits. Maelstrom is no longer spinning. Killa KT takes a hit from the pulverizer. Killa KT has most of the control over this fight, wedging Maelstrom into the corner and keeping him there. And then the entire shell of Maelstrom breaks from the top bars! Maelstrom is shoved back under the hammers where it takes hit after hit and is eventually counted out. Wait, no that was the end of the match. The judge decision, unsurprisingly, goes to Killa KT.
And now we go to break. During the break, we see Shrederator being tested, and it looks functional. Excellent. Hope they've fixed that battery problem.
Tanto vs Polar Vortex
We're back with another heavyweight matchup! Tanto has recovered from its match yesterday and is ready to face off against the unique Polar Vortex, still in the fork setup it used against Ziegenkase yesterday. Tanto is sporting a Team Toad flag, thanks to the fact that they helped the British team get Tanto ready for this match.
Fight! Tanto still has some slight drive issues but wedges under Vortex first. Neither robot really takes the upper hand early as there is lots of jockeying for position. Both robots take a hammer hit. Polar Vortex is unfazes, Tanto's top has fallen off and it's stopped moving. Is that it? Yeah it is. Tanto is out of the competition.
Tetnis vs UBRuined
Tetnis made it to the second round of the loser's bracket after forfeiting to teammate GLaDOS in round 1 and then taking a forfeit from RIP in its first loser's bracket fight. Tetnis is a non-invertible box with a set of horizontal spinning hammers at the front. UBRuined has been repaired from yesterday's match against UnMakerBot, got a much-needed bye into this fight and still has an undercutter.
Fight. Tetnis spins up as soon as the fight starts. UBRuined is a little more hesitant but does get spun up. There's one tap between the two robots and then there's a big hit which sends UBRuined skidding away, and a wheel falls off. UBRuined is still skidding around on its weapon but can't really move. UBRuined's weapon then gives out, and that's the end for UBRuined.
Black and Blue vs Touro
Both Black and Blue have their plows on. Touro is unchanged. Only one of these 60lb bots needs to die for the match to end.
Fight. Black and Blue are pretty tentative, and they both eat a direct hit from Touro's weapon, the hit on Black actually causing the arena camera to bend lower and give us a worse perspective of the fight. Both clusters are still alive. Touro's weapon has stopped. There's a little infighting involving Black and Blue, and Touro spins back up. The next sends Black out of the arena, and that's the end of the fight. Touro wins.
Mrs. Plow vs Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy
Mrs Plow and Electric Gnome both dominated their first matches to get here. Neither bot has changed.
Fight. Gnome spins up, Mrs Plow tries to stop it and gets a shower of sparks in return. The next hit flips Mrs Plow on its back, and the wedge won't work anymore. A third hit flips Mrs Plow back right side up, but they've stopped entirely. There's a count out, and your winner is Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy.
UnMakerBot vs Touro Light
Both these bots are silver drums. Both beat horizontal spinners to get here. Who's the better bar killer? Let's find out.
Fight. Both robots are up to speed. They're kind of tentative to hit each other, and the first one sends Touro Light flying. So does the second. Smoke starts coming out, and a third hit sends sparks flying. There's smoke everywhere, the drum stops, so does a drive motor, and the last hit of the match props Touro Light in a way that it can't move. UnMakerBot is moving on.
Witch Doctor vs El Gran Rey Cholo
Both bots are very nasty vertical spinners from Florida. Witch Doctor's replaced the burnt weapon controller from yesterday.
Fight. Both bots spin up, Cholo is still fairly slow. Witch Doctor speeds behind Cholo and flips it over with one hit! El Gran Rey Cholo can't drive inverted, so that's the end for Cholo.
Blue vs Federal M.T.
Federal M.T. is the lightweight from Team Uai!rrior and is essentially the same as the team's middleweight General: A wedged robot with a vertical spinning disc. It got this far thanks to a forfeit. Blue's got the anti spinner plow on for this match.
Fight. Both robots move out and Federal MT gets the early upper hand, knocking around Blue all over the place and getting some good hits in. Eventually Blue is knocked under the hammer where it takes a few good hits. Federal MT is relentless with its hits, continuously knocking Blue into the air. Blue keeps coming at Federal MT, but each time he does he gets knocked a few feet into the air. Eventually Federal MT pins Blue against a side wall but is forced to let go. A few more hits from Federal MT and the match ends. Federal MT wins the judge's decision, although massive props are given to Blue for surviving the 3 minutes.
Touro Classic vs Octobot
Both bots are completely unchanged from their last matches. Touro Classic has already inverted a spinner once here, so let's see if it can do it again.
Fight. Both bots spin up. The first hit knocks a piece off of Octobot and sticks Touro on its side, while Octobot starts smoking. Touro sticks itself on the arena bumper, and we see Octobot still moving in its smoke screen. Touro gets off the arena wall and moves in to attack Octobot again, and then we see all sorts of fire coming from Octobot. That thing is seriously on fire. It gets counted out and the crewbots go in to put out the blazing Octobot.
Proton Shaker vs Killa KT
And after this latest lipo fire break, we have two school teams up against each other. Proton Shaker's still red and blue and has a spinning drum. Killa KT is still a paintless wedge.
Fight. Proton Shaker is up to speed. Killa KT gets under, shoves Proton Shaker into the hammer and a belt is knocked off. The drum stops moments later, and Proton Shaker takes another hammer shot. Now it's pinned against the wall. The drum is not doing any damage whatsoever to Killa KT. Proton Shaker drives under the hammer itself and takes a hit. Proton Shaker is then driven under the hammer again by Killa KT and there's some noticeable damage to the back of the drumbot. Proton Shaker somehow gets to the back of Killa KT and is able to pin the wedge in a corner, but the match ends with Proton Shaker pinned against the wall. Killa KT takes another decision.
General vs The Big Cheese
General and Big Cheese are both coming off fairly tough matches against Touro Classic and Witch Doctor respectively.
Fight. The first hit inverts The Big Cheese, and so does the second one. Big Cheese is able to maneuver General into the hammers for a shot. The next hit from General is massive, sending The Big Cheese flying and killing it. General moves on.
K2 vs Black
And back into the lightweights for one more fight. K2's been repaired from blowing up earlier today, and Black is coming off of a fairly dominant victory over GLaDOS. Black has the plow setup once again.
Fight! K2 is not spinning up its weapon at all and is able to use its wedge to maneuver Black around the arena and into the hammers early. Black tries a sit and spin maneuver, but K2 gets Black to the hammers again. And again. There really isn't much Black can do against K2's wedge. And there's another hammer shot. K2 is absolutely dominating this match. K2 gets some more pins in. Black goes back to the sit and spin technique and it works for a short time, knocking K2 away, but K2 gets Black back to the pulverizer again. The match ends with Black being pushed around by K2. K2 wins by a judge's decision, even though it doesn't have its weapon.
Polar Vortex vs Shrederator
The last match of the day is the semi finals in the heavyweight loser's bracket. This is it for Shrederator. It lost in one hit against Touro Maximus earlier in the tournament, and so it's in the loser's bracket now. Polar Vortex is using the steel scoop for this match.
Fight. Shrederator spins up to speed and hits Vortex on the wedge, but bounces back and takes a hammer shot. Vortex pins Shrederator in the corner and lifts it up, but Shrederator is back to life. A chain is seen dangling from the bottom of Shrederator but it seems inconsequential. Shrederator spins up again and pinballs off Vortex's wedge, then comes in for another hit. This one damages one of Polar Vortex's wheel hubs. Vortex is tentative to hit Shrederator, but it pinballs off the wall anyway. There's more hits and more sparks, but Polar Vortex gets Shrederator stuck in the corner again and that seems to be it for Shrederator's spinning. It's stopped, and it doesn't spin up again. The rest of the match is Polar Vortex dominating with its wedge. The match ends with Polar Vortex rushing Shrederator and tipping Shrederator up against the wall right as time runs out. You probably don't need me to say this but the winner of the match is Polar Vortex.
That's the end of Day 2 fighting. Tomorrow is the last day of the event and there's still lots of bots in contention. Massive props to everyone still in the tournament and good luck to everyone tomorrow.
Monday, May 5, 2014
USATL 2014: Day 1
So I got bored, and decided to write up every match that was streamed this week down in Miami. Here's Day 1.
Touro vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a middleweight fight. Touro is the #1 ranked middleweight in the world, hails from Brazil, and is incredibly dense and compact. Its weapon is a vertical drum. Their opponent is Hurricane Cindy, a relatively new robot featuring a horizontal disc and a hinged wedge.
Fight! Touro spins up while Cindy comes in with the wedge. The first hit pretty much warps Cindy's wedge to the point of uselessness, but Touro isn't moving. Sandy takes this opportunity to land some blows on Touro's chassis, but can't seem to deal much damage. Eventually Touro starts moving, uses its drum to get under Hurricane Cindy and chew it up. One big hit removes Cindy's hinged wedge from one of its hinges, and the bot stops moving. Hurricane Cindy taps out.
Black vs Aquiles
Down to the lightweights for this one. Black is a wide rectangular machine with a thick steel plow in front. Aquiles is a small, sleek looking drumbot from Brazil.
Fight. Aquiles is not spinning its drum, surprisingly. Black moves out to ram Aquiles, but Aquiles has more torque and hangs Black up on one of the spiked bumpers. Black can't move but a well-placed pulverizer shot knocks it down. The rest of the fight is a very close and boring push match, with Black getting some pulverizer hits on Aquiles, but Aquiles winning most of the pushing matches. Aquiles wins a unanimous judge's decision at the end of the three minutes.
Touro Maximus vs Tanto
For the third match in a row we have a sleek Brazillian drumbot, this one's called Touro Maximus and is a heavyweight. Its opponent is Tanto, the only robot hailing from Britain at this event. It features two Hardox forks in front and is supposedly the most resilient robot in the UK. Let's see how it holds up.
Fight. Maximus spins up to speed, Tanto comes out at it, the two maneuver for a bit and the two collide... WHOA! Tanto is sent up into the air and over the arena boundary, parts flying! Touro Maximus wins! but what's this? Touro Maximus is on fire! Its batteries are on fire! The crewbots go in and put everything out, and the tournament is paused for about half an hour for the smoke in the arena to clear.
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Frankencat
El Gran Rey Cholo is a robot built by a high school team that won one of the 120-lb competitions last time BattleBots came to Miami. It features a spinning drum. Frankencat is a new middleweight with a very similar design, but is lower to the ground and is fully invertible.
Fight. Both robots spin up, Cholo tries to come out with the back end but seems to have drive issues. Frankencat tries to deliver some hits but can't really get a bite. Some sparks fly from Cholo's weapon, Frankencat's drum doesn't seem powerful enough to really do damage. Cholo's still trying to limp away from the wall, and more sparks fly from Frankencat's weapon. Cholo finally exits its square at a snail's pace, and Frankencat shoves him straight into the wall with its weapon at full trot. This slam seems to fix some of Cholo's drive issues as it's moving a little faster now. Frankencat gets to the side and keeps gnawing on it, but this is a really boring drum v drum match. Frankencat is doing a great job driving and maneuvering around Cholo's weapon, but it looks like that slam stopped the weapon entirely. Then Cholo stops dead. Frankencat tries to line up a hammer shot but pushes Cholo too far and almost hits itself. Cholo gets counted out in the last few seconds of the match.
And now we're going to lunch break. So many breaks...
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs Little Bill
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy, shortened to "Electric Gnome" for this competition, is another low, silver drum bot. Little Bill is a basic invertible wedge.
Fight. Both bots come out, Gnome's weapon isn't spinning, after a nudge from Bill it gets up to speed and that thing sounds fierce. one big hit gets Little Bill stuck on the bumper. Another hit knocks Bill upside-down, and the wedge has stopped moving. A third hit knocks the front wedge panel loose. Little Bill taps out.
The Kombattan vs Black and Blue
The Kombattan is your basic double-wedge design. Black and Blue features the lightweight named Black from earlier, and its teammate Blue, who looks almost exactly the same. Blue has some green wedge prongs to help it get under things.
Fight. Black and Blue both look faster than The Kombattan, though neither can really get under it. The Kombattan tries a spin-in-place maneuver that looks fairly effective. Kombattan gets under Black and shoves it in the wall, but no harm seems to be done. The Kombattan keeps spinning, then tries to get under Blue from the side but misses and wedges itself under the bumper. Blue tries to free its opponent in an act of charity, but because it's only half the weight of the larger bot it fails to do much. The clusterbot moves back to its square and then the match stops for an unstick, but it looks like The Kombattan isn't stuck and just died when it hit the wall. Black and Blue advance.
Polar Vortex vs Ziegenkase
Polar Vortex is the latest robot from Team Toad. It features a 4-bar lifting scoop, but instead of the bars lifting an arm, the lifter lifts the entire chassis with the bar attached. Ziegenkase was supposed to be another multibot, but one of the two bots never came, so it's a 120 lb robot fighting in the heavyweight division. The one half of Ziegenkase that did show up is named The Big Cheese and is your basic cheese wedge-shaped robot. It's even painted yellow. Polar Vortex usually has a large steel scoop as its weapon but it seems to have swapped it out with a pair of forks to control its opponent better.
Fight. The two come out at each other, and there's a wedge stalemate. Cheese almost gets under but Polar Vortex knocks it aside and shoves it in the corner hard. Polar Vortex goes for the lift but Cheese gets away at the last second. After some maneuvering Cheese gets underneath and surprisingly is able to push Vortex as a pretty fast clip. Then Vortex slams Cheese and vice-versa. Despite the 100-pound weight difference this is a very balanced fight. Vortex gets to the side and tries to lift, but he only gets the wheel of Cheese and so can't do anything. Vortex very narrowly dodges a pulverizer shot. Polar Vortex does a nice wheelie as its weapon retracts and then inverts The Big Cheese. More maneuvering, with Vortex apparently trying to flatten Cheese's tires. Then The Big Cheese, with its motors exposed (there's no bottom plate on it, apparently) drives under the pulverizer and takes two or three very small and insignificant-looking hits. It still seems to be moving fine though. Then Vortex gets a good ram, lifts The Big Cheese on its side and keeps it there, all the while eating a blow from the pulverizer. Those things aren't as effective as they were 10 years ago. The Big Cheese gets down, but time runs out before anything else happens. Amazingly, Ziegenkase wins a split decision.
Cortana vs Mrs. Plow
Back down to the lightweights for this one. Cortana is an invertible 4-wheel drive box with a vertical spinning weapon. Mrs. Plow is a basic wedge.
Fight. Cortana seems to be the faster of the two and spins up its weapon then charges at Mrs. Plow. Mrs Plow gets under Cortana while avoiding the weapon and slams it into the wall. Cortana can't seem to get any purchase on Mrs Plow who shoves him into the wall across the arena without taking a single hit and tries to prop it on its side. Cortana is now making some grinding noises when it moves, it seems a chain got misaligned or something. Both bots have some traction issues and there isn't much contact. Mrs. Plow gets another impressive slam on Cortana, then lines it up for an impressive pulverizer shot. This is clearly Mrs. Plow's fight. Cortana rides up Mrs Plow's wedge again and there's a single spark, looks like Cortana's weapon finally did something. Another few rams from Mrs. Plow and Cortana starts smoking heavily. Cortana taps out during the count out.
Proton Shaker vs Octobot
Proton Shaker is another 2WD vertical drum. The only difference is this one isn't from Brazil. It's also painted blue and red, which helps distinguish it from the silver drums here. Octobot is an octagonal full-body spinner.
Fight. Both bots spin up to speed. The first hit stops Proton Shaker's weapon, but Octobot is driven into the wall and stops moving entirely. Octobot is counted out without moving anywhere else.
RIP vs Touro Light
RIP is essentially a lightweight Last Rites-a pentagonal robot with a massive spinning bar. Touro Light is yet another Brazilian drum. Actually, both of these robots are from Brazil.
Fight. Touro Light comes out flying, but misses RIP entirely and slams into the red square wall hard. RIP manages to get up to speed during this time. Touro spins up and knocks RIP into the corner, and RIP takes several pulverizer shots while trying to move. Actually, it never really moved at all. The top of RIP looks kinda bent, and RIP is counted out.
The Mutt vs Witch Doctor
The Mutt is a new robot with sloped sides and a wide drum at the front. It also proudly features its name on top, which seems to be a dying tradition of sorts. Not many bots with their names on them anymore. Witch Doctor competed last time BattleBots came to Miami and ended up taking home the professional championship. It's a low, wedgy box with a narrow vertical drum at the top of the wedge.
Fight. Witch Doctor does a no-nonsense rush over to Mutt while the drum spins up and knocks Mutt onto the bumper and eventually onto its back. Mutt's having some drive issues and a second hit sends some parts flying. You can see Mutt's wheels turning, but the wheels are just short enough to not touch the ground. Mutt gets counted out while Witch Doctor spins down.
UBRuined vs UnMakerBot
UBRuined looks a lot different from the last time I saw it. It's now a longish blue box with an undercutter blade, as opposed to the Moros-esque overcutter I saw it with last time. UnMakerBot is a brand new drumbot.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed almost instantly, and after a few light taps, a big hit causes UBRuined to be sent on its back and shrapnel to go flying. UBRuined stops moving entirely, while UnMakerBot is able to move around just barely with its drum, which is now unbalanced. UnMakerBot moves on.
Marvin vs The Big Cheese
Marvin is a boxy, 4WD drumbot not unlike Frankencat. The Big Cheese is back in its intended weight class and is exactly the same from the last time we saw it.
Fight. Marvin spins up but can't get a purchase on that very well-done wedge of Big Cheese. Marvin attempts to get to the sides but really can't, and The Big Cheese gets under. Marvin escapes but Cheese gets under again and makes a beeline for the pulverizer. Marvin takes several shots, and afterward has some driving issues. Big Cheese takes a hit from the other side pulverizer (remember, the hammers are controlled by the competitors, so one side's hammers are controlled by each team), but this is really The Big Cheese's fight. Marvin takes one more hammer shot before time runs out, and there's no surprise that the winner is Big Cheese.
K2 vs GLaDOS
K2 is the number one ranked lightweight in the country and sports a vertical spinning weapon on top of a wedge. GLaDOS is a new robot that was supposed to have fought once before, but its opponent forfeited. It's a low boxy robot with a low wedge and a vertical eggbeater. As you may have guessed, GLaDOS and Cortana are on the same team.
Fight. GlaDOS has some major issues spinning up its weapon, while K2 drives over with its weapon spinning at full speed. The first hit starts up GLaDOS' weapon, but knocks it onto its back. K2 goes in for another hit which knocks it back onto its wheels. The weapon is going now, but it isn't moving, and so K2 goes in again. Up and over it goes, and one more hit opens a battery and causes smoke to erupt from GLaDOS' chassis. That's the fight.
General vs Killa KT
And after the break for the lipo fire, it's time to go back to fighting. General is another Brazilian robot with two wedge forks in front. In between them is a thick, red, vertical spinning disc. Killa KT is the middleweight from the Mrs. Plow team and is essentially a middleweight edition of it, pretty much a 2WD wedge.
Fight. General spins up and charges at Killa KT, knocking it over in one big hit. Another few smaller blows from General, and Killa KT taps out. As General spins down, we see sparks and a chunk of something fly out from General, no clue what that was about. The count out goes anyway, but it doesn't matter.
Maelstrom vs Touro Classic
Maelstrom is a red and black full-body spinner with a pretty neat spiral paint scheme. Touro Classic is the last of four drum bots from Brazil. It's essentially a boxier version of Touro.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed, but Maelstrom is kind of shaky. Touro has some movement problems, but the first hit between the two knocks Maelstrom into the wall and stops its spinning. It doesn't spin up again. Touro spins up to full speed and after some grinding on the shell, knocks Maelstrom onto its back. It can't self right, so Touro Classic wins by knockout.
ToothFairy vs Blue
ToothFairy is another wedged vertical spinner in the vein of K2. Blue is the same as it was before, except it's swapped out the green wedge array with the plow Black was using in the middleweight fight.
Fight. Both robots come out at about equal speed. ToothFairy's weapon isn't moving, and it manages to beach Blue on its wedge before stopping entirely. Some smoke is seen from the top of the robot, and an unstick is called for. The match restarts and ToothFairy is very barely moving. Blue beaches itself on ToothFairy's wedge again, and ToothFairy taps out.
Octobot vs The Kombattan
We're now into the loser's bracket for the middleweights. You've already seen both these robots before, and neither have any changes from their previous bouts. Both of these bots lost their last matches from hitting the wall, so this'll be interesting to see if either of them can avoid wall-related fatalities.
Fight. Octobot spins up to full speed, and Kombattan is...also spinning? Octobot delivers a big hit to Kombattan and sparks fly, and Kombattan stops moving entirely. Octobot rides up Kombattan's wedge, causing sparks to fly, and The Kombattan is counted out.
Frankencat vs Touro
Now for a winner's bracket matchup in the 120 lb class. Both of these bots won their matches fairly handily, so we'll get to see who has the better robot here.
Fight. Both bots spin up but neither are really moving. Oh wait, there they go. Touro gets the better of the first exchange, and the second clash flips Frankencat on its back. Smoke starts coming out and Touro grinds on Frankencat's rear end with its drum. Frankencat stopped moving after the second big hit, and Touro moves on to the next round.
Proton Shaker vs Black and Blue
Two more robots you've seen before. Two more robots that have won their first matches. Both Black and Blue have their plow setups on. Proton Shaker is unchanged.
Fight. Blue plows straight into the wall while Black takes an early hit from Shaker's drum. The clusterbot pins Shaker to the wall early, and one of them takes a hit from Proton Shaker's drum. Black flanks Proton Shaker and shoves it into the hammers, but Blue pays for it with a big hit. The numbers game is really too strong for Proton Shaker to deal with, as they're able to get Proton Shaker into the hammers multiple times. Blue is pushing so much that there is smoke coming from its tires. The clusterbot is pretty much dominant so far, they're able to get around Proton Shaker most of the time and avoid the drum. The match ends with the two clusterbots pinning Proton Shaker between them. A unanimous judge's decision goes to Black and Blue.
The Big Cheese vs Witch Doctor
The last match for the day is the impressive Big Cheese, who's beaten both Polar Vortex and Marvin so far in 2 different weight classes, and Witch Doctor, who dominated its match against The Mutt earlier today.
Fight. Big Cheese is hesitant to attack Witch Doctor... Oh wait, the match needs to be restarted, as the pneumatics for the pulverizers weren't ready.
Once the match actually starts, Both robots come out and Witch Doctor goes right up and over Big Cheese. Smoke starts coming out from Witch Doctor's weapon, and we see fire shoot out from the back end. Witch Doctor is still driving OK though, looks like the weapon blew up. The Big Cheese gets Witch Doctor into the pulverizer, landing two shots. Early on this is Big Cheese's fight, but Witch Doctor gets Big Cheese on the wedge and manages to overturn it. Witch Doctor gets a few impressive slams in before Big Cheese gets under it again and gets it into the hammers, with the pulverizer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's chassis. Down, down, down comes the hammer, landing lots of hits. Witch Doctor seems unfazed though, as it comes back around and shoves The Big Cheese into a hammer as well. Big Cheese is then able to hang the hinged wedge of Witch Doctor on the lip of its wedge and uses this advantage to bring Witch Doctor to another pulverizer. There's a couple more good pushes from Witch Doctor, but The Big Cheese gets one more good run to the pulverizers in with the hammer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's back. Witch Doctor ends the match with another push, but Big Cheese wins the judge's decison, although it is a split decision.
Onto day 2!
Touro vs Hurricane Cindy
Our first match of the day is a middleweight fight. Touro is the #1 ranked middleweight in the world, hails from Brazil, and is incredibly dense and compact. Its weapon is a vertical drum. Their opponent is Hurricane Cindy, a relatively new robot featuring a horizontal disc and a hinged wedge.
Fight! Touro spins up while Cindy comes in with the wedge. The first hit pretty much warps Cindy's wedge to the point of uselessness, but Touro isn't moving. Sandy takes this opportunity to land some blows on Touro's chassis, but can't seem to deal much damage. Eventually Touro starts moving, uses its drum to get under Hurricane Cindy and chew it up. One big hit removes Cindy's hinged wedge from one of its hinges, and the bot stops moving. Hurricane Cindy taps out.
Black vs Aquiles
Down to the lightweights for this one. Black is a wide rectangular machine with a thick steel plow in front. Aquiles is a small, sleek looking drumbot from Brazil.
Fight. Aquiles is not spinning its drum, surprisingly. Black moves out to ram Aquiles, but Aquiles has more torque and hangs Black up on one of the spiked bumpers. Black can't move but a well-placed pulverizer shot knocks it down. The rest of the fight is a very close and boring push match, with Black getting some pulverizer hits on Aquiles, but Aquiles winning most of the pushing matches. Aquiles wins a unanimous judge's decision at the end of the three minutes.
Touro Maximus vs Tanto
For the third match in a row we have a sleek Brazillian drumbot, this one's called Touro Maximus and is a heavyweight. Its opponent is Tanto, the only robot hailing from Britain at this event. It features two Hardox forks in front and is supposedly the most resilient robot in the UK. Let's see how it holds up.
Fight. Maximus spins up to speed, Tanto comes out at it, the two maneuver for a bit and the two collide... WHOA! Tanto is sent up into the air and over the arena boundary, parts flying! Touro Maximus wins! but what's this? Touro Maximus is on fire! Its batteries are on fire! The crewbots go in and put everything out, and the tournament is paused for about half an hour for the smoke in the arena to clear.
El Gran Rey Cholo vs Frankencat
El Gran Rey Cholo is a robot built by a high school team that won one of the 120-lb competitions last time BattleBots came to Miami. It features a spinning drum. Frankencat is a new middleweight with a very similar design, but is lower to the ground and is fully invertible.
Fight. Both robots spin up, Cholo tries to come out with the back end but seems to have drive issues. Frankencat tries to deliver some hits but can't really get a bite. Some sparks fly from Cholo's weapon, Frankencat's drum doesn't seem powerful enough to really do damage. Cholo's still trying to limp away from the wall, and more sparks fly from Frankencat's weapon. Cholo finally exits its square at a snail's pace, and Frankencat shoves him straight into the wall with its weapon at full trot. This slam seems to fix some of Cholo's drive issues as it's moving a little faster now. Frankencat gets to the side and keeps gnawing on it, but this is a really boring drum v drum match. Frankencat is doing a great job driving and maneuvering around Cholo's weapon, but it looks like that slam stopped the weapon entirely. Then Cholo stops dead. Frankencat tries to line up a hammer shot but pushes Cholo too far and almost hits itself. Cholo gets counted out in the last few seconds of the match.
And now we're going to lunch break. So many breaks...
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy vs Little Bill
Electric Lawn Gnome Supremacy, shortened to "Electric Gnome" for this competition, is another low, silver drum bot. Little Bill is a basic invertible wedge.
Fight. Both bots come out, Gnome's weapon isn't spinning, after a nudge from Bill it gets up to speed and that thing sounds fierce. one big hit gets Little Bill stuck on the bumper. Another hit knocks Bill upside-down, and the wedge has stopped moving. A third hit knocks the front wedge panel loose. Little Bill taps out.
The Kombattan vs Black and Blue
The Kombattan is your basic double-wedge design. Black and Blue features the lightweight named Black from earlier, and its teammate Blue, who looks almost exactly the same. Blue has some green wedge prongs to help it get under things.
Fight. Black and Blue both look faster than The Kombattan, though neither can really get under it. The Kombattan tries a spin-in-place maneuver that looks fairly effective. Kombattan gets under Black and shoves it in the wall, but no harm seems to be done. The Kombattan keeps spinning, then tries to get under Blue from the side but misses and wedges itself under the bumper. Blue tries to free its opponent in an act of charity, but because it's only half the weight of the larger bot it fails to do much. The clusterbot moves back to its square and then the match stops for an unstick, but it looks like The Kombattan isn't stuck and just died when it hit the wall. Black and Blue advance.
Polar Vortex vs Ziegenkase
Polar Vortex is the latest robot from Team Toad. It features a 4-bar lifting scoop, but instead of the bars lifting an arm, the lifter lifts the entire chassis with the bar attached. Ziegenkase was supposed to be another multibot, but one of the two bots never came, so it's a 120 lb robot fighting in the heavyweight division. The one half of Ziegenkase that did show up is named The Big Cheese and is your basic cheese wedge-shaped robot. It's even painted yellow. Polar Vortex usually has a large steel scoop as its weapon but it seems to have swapped it out with a pair of forks to control its opponent better.
Fight. The two come out at each other, and there's a wedge stalemate. Cheese almost gets under but Polar Vortex knocks it aside and shoves it in the corner hard. Polar Vortex goes for the lift but Cheese gets away at the last second. After some maneuvering Cheese gets underneath and surprisingly is able to push Vortex as a pretty fast clip. Then Vortex slams Cheese and vice-versa. Despite the 100-pound weight difference this is a very balanced fight. Vortex gets to the side and tries to lift, but he only gets the wheel of Cheese and so can't do anything. Vortex very narrowly dodges a pulverizer shot. Polar Vortex does a nice wheelie as its weapon retracts and then inverts The Big Cheese. More maneuvering, with Vortex apparently trying to flatten Cheese's tires. Then The Big Cheese, with its motors exposed (there's no bottom plate on it, apparently) drives under the pulverizer and takes two or three very small and insignificant-looking hits. It still seems to be moving fine though. Then Vortex gets a good ram, lifts The Big Cheese on its side and keeps it there, all the while eating a blow from the pulverizer. Those things aren't as effective as they were 10 years ago. The Big Cheese gets down, but time runs out before anything else happens. Amazingly, Ziegenkase wins a split decision.
Cortana vs Mrs. Plow
Back down to the lightweights for this one. Cortana is an invertible 4-wheel drive box with a vertical spinning weapon. Mrs. Plow is a basic wedge.
Fight. Cortana seems to be the faster of the two and spins up its weapon then charges at Mrs. Plow. Mrs Plow gets under Cortana while avoiding the weapon and slams it into the wall. Cortana can't seem to get any purchase on Mrs Plow who shoves him into the wall across the arena without taking a single hit and tries to prop it on its side. Cortana is now making some grinding noises when it moves, it seems a chain got misaligned or something. Both bots have some traction issues and there isn't much contact. Mrs. Plow gets another impressive slam on Cortana, then lines it up for an impressive pulverizer shot. This is clearly Mrs. Plow's fight. Cortana rides up Mrs Plow's wedge again and there's a single spark, looks like Cortana's weapon finally did something. Another few rams from Mrs. Plow and Cortana starts smoking heavily. Cortana taps out during the count out.
Proton Shaker vs Octobot
Proton Shaker is another 2WD vertical drum. The only difference is this one isn't from Brazil. It's also painted blue and red, which helps distinguish it from the silver drums here. Octobot is an octagonal full-body spinner.
Fight. Both bots spin up to speed. The first hit stops Proton Shaker's weapon, but Octobot is driven into the wall and stops moving entirely. Octobot is counted out without moving anywhere else.
RIP vs Touro Light
RIP is essentially a lightweight Last Rites-a pentagonal robot with a massive spinning bar. Touro Light is yet another Brazilian drum. Actually, both of these robots are from Brazil.
Fight. Touro Light comes out flying, but misses RIP entirely and slams into the red square wall hard. RIP manages to get up to speed during this time. Touro spins up and knocks RIP into the corner, and RIP takes several pulverizer shots while trying to move. Actually, it never really moved at all. The top of RIP looks kinda bent, and RIP is counted out.
The Mutt vs Witch Doctor
The Mutt is a new robot with sloped sides and a wide drum at the front. It also proudly features its name on top, which seems to be a dying tradition of sorts. Not many bots with their names on them anymore. Witch Doctor competed last time BattleBots came to Miami and ended up taking home the professional championship. It's a low, wedgy box with a narrow vertical drum at the top of the wedge.
Fight. Witch Doctor does a no-nonsense rush over to Mutt while the drum spins up and knocks Mutt onto the bumper and eventually onto its back. Mutt's having some drive issues and a second hit sends some parts flying. You can see Mutt's wheels turning, but the wheels are just short enough to not touch the ground. Mutt gets counted out while Witch Doctor spins down.
UBRuined vs UnMakerBot
UBRuined looks a lot different from the last time I saw it. It's now a longish blue box with an undercutter blade, as opposed to the Moros-esque overcutter I saw it with last time. UnMakerBot is a brand new drumbot.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed almost instantly, and after a few light taps, a big hit causes UBRuined to be sent on its back and shrapnel to go flying. UBRuined stops moving entirely, while UnMakerBot is able to move around just barely with its drum, which is now unbalanced. UnMakerBot moves on.
Marvin vs The Big Cheese
Marvin is a boxy, 4WD drumbot not unlike Frankencat. The Big Cheese is back in its intended weight class and is exactly the same from the last time we saw it.
Fight. Marvin spins up but can't get a purchase on that very well-done wedge of Big Cheese. Marvin attempts to get to the sides but really can't, and The Big Cheese gets under. Marvin escapes but Cheese gets under again and makes a beeline for the pulverizer. Marvin takes several shots, and afterward has some driving issues. Big Cheese takes a hit from the other side pulverizer (remember, the hammers are controlled by the competitors, so one side's hammers are controlled by each team), but this is really The Big Cheese's fight. Marvin takes one more hammer shot before time runs out, and there's no surprise that the winner is Big Cheese.
K2 vs GLaDOS
K2 is the number one ranked lightweight in the country and sports a vertical spinning weapon on top of a wedge. GLaDOS is a new robot that was supposed to have fought once before, but its opponent forfeited. It's a low boxy robot with a low wedge and a vertical eggbeater. As you may have guessed, GLaDOS and Cortana are on the same team.
Fight. GlaDOS has some major issues spinning up its weapon, while K2 drives over with its weapon spinning at full speed. The first hit starts up GLaDOS' weapon, but knocks it onto its back. K2 goes in for another hit which knocks it back onto its wheels. The weapon is going now, but it isn't moving, and so K2 goes in again. Up and over it goes, and one more hit opens a battery and causes smoke to erupt from GLaDOS' chassis. That's the fight.
General vs Killa KT
And after the break for the lipo fire, it's time to go back to fighting. General is another Brazilian robot with two wedge forks in front. In between them is a thick, red, vertical spinning disc. Killa KT is the middleweight from the Mrs. Plow team and is essentially a middleweight edition of it, pretty much a 2WD wedge.
Fight. General spins up and charges at Killa KT, knocking it over in one big hit. Another few smaller blows from General, and Killa KT taps out. As General spins down, we see sparks and a chunk of something fly out from General, no clue what that was about. The count out goes anyway, but it doesn't matter.
Maelstrom vs Touro Classic
Maelstrom is a red and black full-body spinner with a pretty neat spiral paint scheme. Touro Classic is the last of four drum bots from Brazil. It's essentially a boxier version of Touro.
Fight. Both bots get up to speed, but Maelstrom is kind of shaky. Touro has some movement problems, but the first hit between the two knocks Maelstrom into the wall and stops its spinning. It doesn't spin up again. Touro spins up to full speed and after some grinding on the shell, knocks Maelstrom onto its back. It can't self right, so Touro Classic wins by knockout.
ToothFairy vs Blue
ToothFairy is another wedged vertical spinner in the vein of K2. Blue is the same as it was before, except it's swapped out the green wedge array with the plow Black was using in the middleweight fight.
Fight. Both robots come out at about equal speed. ToothFairy's weapon isn't moving, and it manages to beach Blue on its wedge before stopping entirely. Some smoke is seen from the top of the robot, and an unstick is called for. The match restarts and ToothFairy is very barely moving. Blue beaches itself on ToothFairy's wedge again, and ToothFairy taps out.
Octobot vs The Kombattan
We're now into the loser's bracket for the middleweights. You've already seen both these robots before, and neither have any changes from their previous bouts. Both of these bots lost their last matches from hitting the wall, so this'll be interesting to see if either of them can avoid wall-related fatalities.
Fight. Octobot spins up to full speed, and Kombattan is...also spinning? Octobot delivers a big hit to Kombattan and sparks fly, and Kombattan stops moving entirely. Octobot rides up Kombattan's wedge, causing sparks to fly, and The Kombattan is counted out.
Frankencat vs Touro
Now for a winner's bracket matchup in the 120 lb class. Both of these bots won their matches fairly handily, so we'll get to see who has the better robot here.
Fight. Both bots spin up but neither are really moving. Oh wait, there they go. Touro gets the better of the first exchange, and the second clash flips Frankencat on its back. Smoke starts coming out and Touro grinds on Frankencat's rear end with its drum. Frankencat stopped moving after the second big hit, and Touro moves on to the next round.
Proton Shaker vs Black and Blue
Two more robots you've seen before. Two more robots that have won their first matches. Both Black and Blue have their plow setups on. Proton Shaker is unchanged.
Fight. Blue plows straight into the wall while Black takes an early hit from Shaker's drum. The clusterbot pins Shaker to the wall early, and one of them takes a hit from Proton Shaker's drum. Black flanks Proton Shaker and shoves it into the hammers, but Blue pays for it with a big hit. The numbers game is really too strong for Proton Shaker to deal with, as they're able to get Proton Shaker into the hammers multiple times. Blue is pushing so much that there is smoke coming from its tires. The clusterbot is pretty much dominant so far, they're able to get around Proton Shaker most of the time and avoid the drum. The match ends with the two clusterbots pinning Proton Shaker between them. A unanimous judge's decision goes to Black and Blue.
The Big Cheese vs Witch Doctor
The last match for the day is the impressive Big Cheese, who's beaten both Polar Vortex and Marvin so far in 2 different weight classes, and Witch Doctor, who dominated its match against The Mutt earlier today.
Fight. Big Cheese is hesitant to attack Witch Doctor... Oh wait, the match needs to be restarted, as the pneumatics for the pulverizers weren't ready.
Once the match actually starts, Both robots come out and Witch Doctor goes right up and over Big Cheese. Smoke starts coming out from Witch Doctor's weapon, and we see fire shoot out from the back end. Witch Doctor is still driving OK though, looks like the weapon blew up. The Big Cheese gets Witch Doctor into the pulverizer, landing two shots. Early on this is Big Cheese's fight, but Witch Doctor gets Big Cheese on the wedge and manages to overturn it. Witch Doctor gets a few impressive slams in before Big Cheese gets under it again and gets it into the hammers, with the pulverizer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's chassis. Down, down, down comes the hammer, landing lots of hits. Witch Doctor seems unfazed though, as it comes back around and shoves The Big Cheese into a hammer as well. Big Cheese is then able to hang the hinged wedge of Witch Doctor on the lip of its wedge and uses this advantage to bring Witch Doctor to another pulverizer. There's a couple more good pushes from Witch Doctor, but The Big Cheese gets one more good run to the pulverizers in with the hammer landing squarely on Witch Doctor's back. Witch Doctor ends the match with another push, but Big Cheese wins the judge's decison, although it is a split decision.
Onto day 2!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Video from Bot Blast & Pennbots plus Nocturne Redesign part 1
Uploaded my video from Bot Blast and Pennbots:
Bot Blast:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv7PDQZG0FsrGOJEeU9T3qYAOdoF46gL
Downtown Dog Fight: https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLv7PDQZG0Fu2CQ_NduACrmEwCcmnIaQN
First sketches of Nocturne's redesign are being worked on now. Initial plans are for an aluminum bar with tool steel teeth, a rear wedge to keep from side stranding and invertibility. Hopefully I'll finish drawing it up soon.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Pennbots Downtown Dogfight 2014 Event Report
The Downtown Dogfight went incredibly well. We managed to cobble Nocturne together in time (Thanks for the rush order Titan Tech!) and brought both bots down to Harrisburg, PA for this weekend's competition. We met up with Alex, who had my pulley together and we assembled the thing, got both bots through safety and were ready to battle.
I also learned some things about battery C ratings and why buying Nocturne as a whole was a pretty bad idea :P
Match 1: Nocturne vs Junkyard
My first match of the day was a beetleweight fight against Junkyard, a last-minute entry with a 3D printed chassis, Lexan armor and duct tape wedges. My 1000RPM gearmotor jammed up again so I only had 1WD for this match. I spun up Nocturne and tried to move out to hit him, and I tore off some duct tape, but really didn't scratch the Lexan at all. Eventually he got under me and shoved me down the pit.
Match 2: FireArrow vs Don't Get Pushy
Don't Get Pushy was a 4WD box made out of carbon fiber that came third at its first event and was driven by a nice young kid. When the match started I got under him and after some driving managed to pull off an impressive slam into the pit. FireArrow was moving on.
Bonus Match: D-12 vs Mondo Bizarro
While I was waiting for my next match Brandon asked me to drive his Biohazard toy, D-12, against his drumbot Mondo Bizarro, as he didn't have a second driver. I agreed to it and popped it into the arena. I have to say I wasn't expecting to win at all, but I have to say I did fairly well. I pushed him around for a while before he popped me onto my back and then shoved me into the pit.
Match 4: FireArrow vs CrocBot
The only antweight with an active weapon was my next opponent. CrocBot has a massive servo lifter on it that it used to flip its previous opponent into the pit. In our fight, it managed to flip me, but when I self-righted I hit Crocbot in a way that made it stop responding to its driver, so from there I was able to shove it into the pit. FireArrow gains its first knockout in 9 matches.
Match 5: Nocturne vs USS Monitor
Nocturne's loser's bracket match was against USS Monitor, a very heavily-armored box with a cool articulated drive system. The gearmotor was working again but I still wasn't used to driving Nocturne, so I was having a hard time. Nocturne got some good hits in, causing sparks and dealing damage, but one big hit knocked me into the pit, sadly. Nocturne goes out with a 0-2 record.
Match 6: Nocturne vs Dumb Post Motorama Idea #1
Since someone needed time to fix their robot, Alex took all comers with his derp wedge thing. I accepted his challenge. The first match I got shoved into the pit, same with the second, though I was causing damage. On the third match, I wanted to take out the wheels, but he drove himself onto the edge of the pit and I shoved him in. Nocturne won a fight!
A side effect of this fight was that the motor mount bent and the weapon motor was at a 45 degree angle. However, the irony with this is that the weapon now completely cleared the pulley (beforehand it very slightly clipped the bottom of the pulley), but the gearmotor was jammed again and I didn't feel like fixing it again.
Match 7: FireArrow vs Dave Graham's Robot
I have no clue whether Dave Graham's Robot is named after the robot builder or the rock climber, but either way it was an interesting robot using what appeared to be a BattleBots toy system and an Erector set plow. It was driven by a promising young driver. My first ram actually flipped it, and it couldn't self-right, so I shoved it down the pit. Onto the final!
Match 8: FireArrow vs Little Wedge
Antweight final! Little Wedge was built by the same fellow that made Weed Whacker, who I fought at Bot Blast, as well as USS Monitor, the beetleweight I lost to earlier. Its wedge hooks seemed potent and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to get under its low ground clearance. However, once the match started I outmaneuvered him, got under the side, and went for the simple pit maneuver! Team Ignition wins its first championship!
Match 9: Antweight Rumble
And now it was time for the rumbles! FireArrow was still in top condition so I tossed it in, so we had all six present antweights there and ready to fight. Once the rumble started I pitted Crocbot, but it got put back in the ring, so after some maneuvering I got both it and Don't Get Pushy down the pit, but then drove in myself! I had no regrets though, it was a fun rumble. At the end only Team Runaround's Baboon Butt was left standing (Excellent name by the way).
Match 10: Beetleweight Rumble
The biggest and in my opinion the most entertaining fight of the day was the beetleweight rumble. Pretty much every single beetleweight from the event was in it, and I threw in Nocturne for fodder (We had decided to rebuild it from the ground up at that point so why not?) with only one wheel turning. I survived much longer than I thought I would, keeping the weapon spinning and damaging a few robots, including 2 Taps, a nasty vertical spinner who I really wanted to damage at some point, but eventually Mondo Bizarro took off my wheelguard and the other wheel stopped turning, leaving me with no drive but a working weapon hanging on the edge of the pit. The last hit from Mondo Bizarro actually bent the weapon bar, and we ended up face-first in the massive pile of robots that was the pit. Purple Boxer ended up winning, so congrats to him.
I also got a cool poker-chip esque win pog that serves as a nice little souvenir, as well as a piece of paper commemorating my first place victory.
I also learned some things about battery C ratings and why buying Nocturne as a whole was a pretty bad idea :P
Congratulations to everyone that competed and I'm looking forward to Bot Blast!
Official Results (so I don't forget them later)
Fleaweights:
Champion: Flea Wee
2nd: Flea Catcher
3rd Place Tie: Bar Buster and Little Red Riding Hood
Antweights:
Champion: FireArrow
2nd: Little Wedge
3rd: Dave Graham's Robot
Rumble: Baboon Butt
Beetleweights:
Champion: Mondo Bizarro
2nd Place: Demonator
3rd Place: 2 Taps
Rumble: Purple Boxer
Rumble: Purple Boxer
Long Distance Award: Team Adventure Bots (Don't Get Pushy and Linus, a line-following robot, came all the way from Ohio)
Damage Award (or something of the sort, I wasn't paying attention at the time): Junkyard (They managed to get duct tape stuck on the ceiling of the arena, definitely something I haven't seen before)
My photos from the event are here: http://imgur.com/a/64RmO
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Pre-Pennbots Update
So several things have happened in the past few months or so since I last posted. First of all, all the parts for Nocturne came in, but once we wired the thing up...
First things first, we had a weapon test. The bar spun up fine, but the pulley (which had been drilled out wider than it was supposed to) snapped almost instantly under the force and left us without a weapon and needing a larger pulley and belt to get it running at top condition.
Also, after realizing why I should never trust cheap mixers from RobotMarketPlace (hint: they're cheap), we tried to get the motors running with dual stick. We screwed up something wiring wise (Thinking something to do with BECs, but we don't know) and both TinyESCs we were running got fried. I made a decision to not have that happen again and go with Vex controllers for next time around, but without motor controllers, a belt or pulley around in time for Pennbots we had to pull our new beetle out. A major shame, as the beetleweight competition looks like it has some major competitors this time around.
FireArrow went together without a single hitch (well maybe one). We didn't have weight to make the thing self-right with our new steel wedge, and we also didn't have weight for any form of wheel guards, but we were able to do some nice chassis milling, and also have some motor protection/self-righting mechanism in back:
Nocturne pre-catastrophic failure.
First things first, we had a weapon test. The bar spun up fine, but the pulley (which had been drilled out wider than it was supposed to) snapped almost instantly under the force and left us without a weapon and needing a larger pulley and belt to get it running at top condition.
Also, after realizing why I should never trust cheap mixers from RobotMarketPlace (hint: they're cheap), we tried to get the motors running with dual stick. We screwed up something wiring wise (Thinking something to do with BECs, but we don't know) and both TinyESCs we were running got fried. I made a decision to not have that happen again and go with Vex controllers for next time around, but without motor controllers, a belt or pulley around in time for Pennbots we had to pull our new beetle out. A major shame, as the beetleweight competition looks like it has some major competitors this time around.
FireArrow went together without a single hitch (well maybe one). We didn't have weight to make the thing self-right with our new steel wedge, and we also didn't have weight for any form of wheel guards, but we were able to do some nice chassis milling, and also have some motor protection/self-righting mechanism in back:
Dat booty
That's 4130 steel, a lot stronger than the aluminum we were using earlier, and a lot heavier too. After learning that FireArrow couldn't self-right no matter what material wedge we used my dad crafted this bar as a very nice solution. Wheelies a little now but that can't be helped.
And now, the finished photo (minus paint):
Ta daaaaa!
Not sure if we'll have time to paint it in the upcoming days, but FireArrow is all set for Saturday. Hope a few more ants show up, if not it'll be fairly boring. But hey, at least my beetle envy will get me through the day :P
See you guys at Pennbots!
Monday, December 23, 2013
Moto 2014 Predictions
Just because I'm not going doesn't mean I can't make predictions!
Fairyweight
Everyone's gonna be hard-pressed to beat Demise again, but to be honest I don't think anyone in this field can do it. Maybe Itsy Bitsy Spider? I can see Bar Buster coming a distant third unless Sean can make Gyroscope a competent fairy this time around.
1st: Demise
2nd: Itsy Bitsy Spider
3rd: Bar Buster
Antweight
Lots and lots of tough spinners this time around, and in all varieties too. Last year's champ Low Blow is gonna be hard to beat, but wedged spinners like Algos and Four Minute Warning might have what it takes. Also, Slim Pickens has been constantly improving with each tournament and could be a shocker. However, I wouldn't count out the several drum bots either. Klazo, despite never really doing well, is always a threat, and Gyroscopic, Poco Tambor and Maelstrom are all very potent as well. Another dark horse is Ferocious, who could bring back the 4WD ant scene.
1st: Algos
2nd: Low Blow/Vile Ant
3rd: Slim Pickens
Beetleweight
A very diverse Beetle field as per usual. The Robojackets fleet looks potent, as does Franklin champion Grande Tambor. Mondo Bizarro is going to be hunting for revenge, and bar spinners like Maniac Kathy and Scrambles round out the spinners. Trilobite and Thunder Child are also mixed in there, as well as Revenge of Dr. Super Brain. There's also Wedge of Destruction, one of my favorite beetles in ages, as well as Dragon Con runnerup Slim Margins. Slopapotamus and The Hammer are also back to go for another shot, and both of them are extremely potent spinners as well. Then there's Big Data, whose builder made a full-body brushless motor last year, and Cyberkitty Salad, Charles' latest crazy contraption. All in all it's anyone's game and I probably won't be surprised no matter what happens.
1st: Grande Tambor
2nd: Trilobite
3rd: Misdirected Aggression
Hobbyweight
As usual, the hobbyweights are the least-populated class at Motorama. However, there's some nice variety here. Pneumatic flipper Jumbonator is back, and the giant Trilobite named Isotelus Rex looks ready to lay the smackdown on some spinners. The only question is if Cataclysm will go quietly... I don't think so. There's also Fiasco's successor, Vortex. If it can live up to its predecessor it will be tough to beat as well. Jeremy's Warlock and Attrition are gonna have to try hard to beat such a tough field, and Enigmasaur is the wildcard. If its builder can learn from its mistakes at Franklin, it could also be a factor.
1st: Isotelus Rex
2nd: Cataclysm
3rd: Vortex
Sportsman
And the Sportsman class, as usual, gives us some fantastic variety as well as some great action. Upheaval's looking for revenge on Jack Reacher, or at least its successor Magneato. Team Solo's back in the action too, after a 4 year retirement, with Knuckle Buster back in action. I'm looking forward to seeing the builder of Rim Tin Tin fight again. Mike's two sportsmen, Nyx and his new build Spanky, could also take the class by storm. Piston Wax also looks fearsome, its 6lb counterpart came third at Bot Blast and proved its potency. There's also Sinister Scorpion, another bossing design from Jeremy that could do well. Rounding out the class is Uberclocker, back for another shot at the crown. However, only one robot can stand atop the wackiness that is the Sportsman class. (Hint: It won't be Creebot :P)
1st: Nyx
2nd: Upheaval
3rd: Knuckle Buster
Featherweight
Finally we arrive at the biggest class at Moto, and the one with the least amount of fitting preview images. Tetanus is back for one more shot, as is Shaka. Alex's new drumbot ReEnforcer also looks vicious. If Atomic Bumble actually finishes in time this time around, it could be a tough contender as well. I'm also eyeing both Jamo's new 30 and Hardcore Robotics' entry, Suitcase Nuke. If it's anything like Last Rites it could be a vicious competitor. Charles also returns to the featherweight scene with... whatever his preview image suggests... The Magnificent Poncho also takes my vote for favorite name in the class, in a class with a literal truckload of hilarious names.
1st: Suitcase Nuke
2nd: Tetanus
3rd: ReEnforcer
Fairyweight
Everyone's gonna be hard-pressed to beat Demise again, but to be honest I don't think anyone in this field can do it. Maybe Itsy Bitsy Spider? I can see Bar Buster coming a distant third unless Sean can make Gyroscope a competent fairy this time around.
1st: Demise
2nd: Itsy Bitsy Spider
3rd: Bar Buster
Antweight
Lots and lots of tough spinners this time around, and in all varieties too. Last year's champ Low Blow is gonna be hard to beat, but wedged spinners like Algos and Four Minute Warning might have what it takes. Also, Slim Pickens has been constantly improving with each tournament and could be a shocker. However, I wouldn't count out the several drum bots either. Klazo, despite never really doing well, is always a threat, and Gyroscopic, Poco Tambor and Maelstrom are all very potent as well. Another dark horse is Ferocious, who could bring back the 4WD ant scene.
1st: Algos
2nd: Low Blow/Vile Ant
3rd: Slim Pickens
Beetleweight
A very diverse Beetle field as per usual. The Robojackets fleet looks potent, as does Franklin champion Grande Tambor. Mondo Bizarro is going to be hunting for revenge, and bar spinners like Maniac Kathy and Scrambles round out the spinners. Trilobite and Thunder Child are also mixed in there, as well as Revenge of Dr. Super Brain. There's also Wedge of Destruction, one of my favorite beetles in ages, as well as Dragon Con runnerup Slim Margins. Slopapotamus and The Hammer are also back to go for another shot, and both of them are extremely potent spinners as well. Then there's Big Data, whose builder made a full-body brushless motor last year, and Cyberkitty Salad, Charles' latest crazy contraption. All in all it's anyone's game and I probably won't be surprised no matter what happens.
1st: Grande Tambor
2nd: Trilobite
3rd: Misdirected Aggression
Hobbyweight
As usual, the hobbyweights are the least-populated class at Motorama. However, there's some nice variety here. Pneumatic flipper Jumbonator is back, and the giant Trilobite named Isotelus Rex looks ready to lay the smackdown on some spinners. The only question is if Cataclysm will go quietly... I don't think so. There's also Fiasco's successor, Vortex. If it can live up to its predecessor it will be tough to beat as well. Jeremy's Warlock and Attrition are gonna have to try hard to beat such a tough field, and Enigmasaur is the wildcard. If its builder can learn from its mistakes at Franklin, it could also be a factor.
1st: Isotelus Rex
2nd: Cataclysm
3rd: Vortex
Sportsman
And the Sportsman class, as usual, gives us some fantastic variety as well as some great action. Upheaval's looking for revenge on Jack Reacher, or at least its successor Magneato. Team Solo's back in the action too, after a 4 year retirement, with Knuckle Buster back in action. I'm looking forward to seeing the builder of Rim Tin Tin fight again. Mike's two sportsmen, Nyx and his new build Spanky, could also take the class by storm. Piston Wax also looks fearsome, its 6lb counterpart came third at Bot Blast and proved its potency. There's also Sinister Scorpion, another bossing design from Jeremy that could do well. Rounding out the class is Uberclocker, back for another shot at the crown. However, only one robot can stand atop the wackiness that is the Sportsman class. (Hint: It won't be Creebot :P)
1st: Nyx
2nd: Upheaval
3rd: Knuckle Buster
Featherweight
Finally we arrive at the biggest class at Moto, and the one with the least amount of fitting preview images. Tetanus is back for one more shot, as is Shaka. Alex's new drumbot ReEnforcer also looks vicious. If Atomic Bumble actually finishes in time this time around, it could be a tough contender as well. I'm also eyeing both Jamo's new 30 and Hardcore Robotics' entry, Suitcase Nuke. If it's anything like Last Rites it could be a vicious competitor. Charles also returns to the featherweight scene with... whatever his preview image suggests... The Magnificent Poncho also takes my vote for favorite name in the class, in a class with a literal truckload of hilarious names.
1st: Suitcase Nuke
2nd: Tetanus
3rd: ReEnforcer
Thursday, December 19, 2013
December 2013 Update: Registered for Pennbots!
Team Ignition is all signed up and ready to go for Pennbots' Downtown Dog Fight on March 22, 2014. I have pretty much all the parts I need for FireArrow v2, so now it comes down to finishing Nocturne up. I still need about 100% of the electronics for it, but that's about it really. So, since I don't want this to be some boring "oh hey i signed up for something bye" sort of thing, I'm gonna talk about Pennbots a little.
Pennbots is probably a lot different from Bot Blast. For instance, it's a smaller event that draws in a smaller crowd, and most of the competitors (at least from what i've seen of past years) are young kids who are doing it for fun. This is evidenced by last year's BW runner-up Demonator, a 4WD toy with some plastic on it. Another difference is that the arena has *le gasp* pits. Two of them to be exact. I keep fearing I'm going to accidentally drive into one and lose out on an easy win. Also a problem is a lot of the machines are designed to take advantage of this, so I'm pretty nervous that Nocturne's gonna go out early. Especially if Mondo Bizarro comes back and wrecks face.
In other news, Motorama registration closes tomorrow, so I'll probably post predictions then (yes, even though I'm not going).
Pennbots is probably a lot different from Bot Blast. For instance, it's a smaller event that draws in a smaller crowd, and most of the competitors (at least from what i've seen of past years) are young kids who are doing it for fun. This is evidenced by last year's BW runner-up Demonator, a 4WD toy with some plastic on it. Another difference is that the arena has *le gasp* pits. Two of them to be exact. I keep fearing I'm going to accidentally drive into one and lose out on an easy win. Also a problem is a lot of the machines are designed to take advantage of this, so I'm pretty nervous that Nocturne's gonna go out early. Especially if Mondo Bizarro comes back and wrecks face.
In other news, Motorama registration closes tomorrow, so I'll probably post predictions then (yes, even though I'm not going).
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