Battlebots 2016

[Scowling Dragon]

I think just against a blade bot it would get torn to shreds very quickly.

Its a neat idea. I think THIS idea would work great with a better arena.

[BannedInSchool]

Am I remembering correctly? Battle Bots is American, Robot Wars is UK right?

I also think smaller scale?

And does anybody remember that Ladybug bot? I remember it from a much older Battlebots thing.

It's a little messy in that the original "Robot Wars" started in 1994 as an event in San Francisco which ran for several years. Business/legal stuff led to a "Robot Wars" TV show in the UK and the SF area becoming "Battlebots" with a TV show eventually on Comedy Central. And, yes, the American version did have various weight classes which are no longer used. The one class now is slightly heavier than what was the Heavyweight division.

[tomandtish]

Mecha Tentamushi. It was actually a really cool idea. A trap bot with a saw blade inside its shell. Honestly, the plastic shell was actually surprisingly long lasting and I think I recall it being fairly effective as a pushbot. Its hard to steer your bot safely out of danger when you cant even SEE it anymore. I dont recall it having much in the way of dramatic victories but I still thought it was a neat idea.

I think just against a blade bot it would get torn to shreds very quickly.

Its a neat idea. I think THIS idea would work great with a better arena.

It was Mega Tento this season, and was a capture bot with a drum spinner. They only showed highlights from its qualifying match, which it lost to Poison Arrow.

Part of the problem it faced was that while you can't see your bot, it turns out Mega Tento's driver didn't have a very clear picture of what was going on in there either. And the advantage you have (especially with something like a drum spinner) is that you can't really miss it once you are inside. Poison Arrow won on unanimous decision, and part of the commentary online was that it was obvious Mega Tento was being hit from the inside (from the way it was jerking around), while it wasn't obvious at all that Mega had really done anything to PA other than envelope it.

"I knew an old lady(bug) who swallowed a fly... I don't know why she swallowed that fly.... I guess she'll die..."

It's a little messy in that the original "Robot Wars" started in 1994 as an event in San Francisco which ran for several years. Business/legal stuff led to a "Robot Wars" TV show in the UK and the SF area becoming "Battlebots" with a TV show eventually on Comedy Central. And, yes, the American version did have various weight classes which are no longer used. The one class now is slightly heavier than what was the Heavyweight division.

Banned is correct. The classes used to be:

Lightweight: 60 lbs.
Middleweight: 120 lbs.
Heavyweight: 220 lbs.
Superweight: 340 lbs.

Currently they just have a 250 lb. limit. Of course, if you use multibots, the combined weight cannot exceed 250 lbs. And if your bot has different configurations, none of the configurations can exceed the weight limit. Likewise, everything must start in the 8 foot by 8 foot square.

[Avilan the Grey]

Interesting.
The only times I watched Battlebots it was definitely less interesting than Robot Wars (For a short while both shows were running in Sweden). The American show was much less about two big strong robots mauling each other and much more about things like labyrinths and stuff. It seems only about half of every episode was about "roboto a roboto" fights while Robot Wars was about that and only that.

Also, back then, the British robots were simply better made. I remember a crossover episode where 4 out of 5 robots making it to the final rounds were British, for example.

[Yora]

Seriously? Someone thought it was a good idea to give Wrecks another chance? This thing doesn't work. It's slow and can barely turn. It seems more dangerous to itself than to its opponent.

[tomandtish]

Seriously? Someone thought it was a good idea to give Wrecks another chance? This thing doesn't work. It's slow and can barely turn. It seems more dangerous to itself than to its opponent.

Yeah, Wrecks looks neat but is wildly impractical.

[Rakaydos]

Back in the day, walkers like Wrecks would get a 20% to 50% weight bonus to make up for how unwieldly they were. looks like they removed that from the current rules, so yea, wrecks doesnt make sence.

As for wildcards however... half the bots who were defeated got wildcards. Considering how many newbies were on the field, I wouldnt be suprised if many of them were disqualified from wildcards based on not being able to repair their bot in time. This meant even bots like wrecks got wildcards if they were able to fight.

[Traab]

I just watched the blacksmith versus minotaur match. Wow, that was a GREAT match. It got off to a slow start, the drum weapon wasnt doing much of anything and neither was the smiths hammer. Then BAM! The smith started getting knocked around like crazy, then its front armor got torn off. Then it started to chew through its body, and finally, in the last seconds he blew it up and made it catch fire. Holy crow man. That was one tough, powerful little bot. It had tons of pushing strength, a weapon capable of doing extreme damage, and it was clearly able to utterly ignore blunt impact damage.

[BannedInSchool]

"I knew an old lady(bug) who swallowed a fly... I don't know why she swallowed that fly.... I guess she'll die..."

Banned is correct. The classes used to be:

Lightweight: 60 lbs.

They also introduced a Flyweight class below Lightweight at some point. Cube/Square Law and all I guess lighter bots would be relatively more robust, but I don't recall from memory anything other than seeing smaller bots battling.

Interesting.
The only times I watched Battlebots it was definitely less interesting than Robot Wars (For a short while both shows were running in Sweden). The American show was much less about two big strong robots mauling each other and much more about things like labyrinths and stuff. It seems only about half of every episode was about "roboto a roboto" fights while Robot Wars was about that and only that.

Funny, I don't recall US BattleBots doing anything like that on television, while the UK Robot Wars had: http://robotwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Gauntlet . Seems you have the two reversed somehow.

I just watched the blacksmith versus minotaur match. Wow, that was a GREAT match. It got off to a slow start, the drum weapon wasnt doing much of anything and neither was the smiths hammer.

Yeah, I was going to say that the drums trade off some of the big spinning blades' per-hit damage for less self-inflicted impact damage and longer endurance, less of a glass cannon basically, and that fight exemplified that.

[Traab]

Well he also had a hard time making direct contact due to the "horns" on the front and the shape of the smith. But once he started warping the smiths armor, he made more and and more contact till he tore it apart. Spinners like ziggo or blade bots like tombstone are great for instant huge damage, but like you said, there is a lot of recoil damage to deal with. I really like this guy.

[hustlertwo]

Blacksmith only got a wild card because the fire hammer looks good for show adverts. Hammer bots suck, fire sucks worse. His primary ability was to get beat up a lot and lose his weapon. Still, hard to complain about crappy wild cards when this show is so entertaining. I loved the old one as a teenager and have enjoyed having it back.

That beatdown on Witch Doctor was a long time coming. Shaman was a waste of space. Hopefully next year they drop it entirely. With the plow for armor the main bot had a real chance.

[Avilan the Grey]

Funny, I don't recall US BattleBots doing anything like that on television, while the UK Robot Wars had: http://robotwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Gauntlet . Seems you have the two reversed somehow.

Might just be that the shows are cut differently in different seasons. All the Robot Wars I remember only had the fights, interviews and the enthusiastic female host poking around in the back. ...Yes that came out wrong...

[BannedInSchool]

Might just be that the shows are cut differently in different seasons. All the Robot Wars I remember only had the fights, interviews and the enthusiastic female host poking around in the back. ...Yes that came out wrong...

If she was ever Carmen Electra then that was US Battlebots. If you remember huge "House Robots" in the corners that was UK Robot Wars.

And a new, pretty sad, qualifying fight:


So the fight was interrupted after they got locked together, but Wrecks was immobile by then anyway. I can't even say that it was Red Devil that caused it. Sigh.

[Avilan the Grey]

If she was ever Carmen Electra then that was US Battlebots. If you remember huge "House Robots" in the corners that was UK Robot Wars.

House Robots, Craig Charles, Philippa Forrester.

No Carmen Electra.


...Ah.

The Wiki Page says there was an American Robot Wars, that was actually the original that aired in 1994. There was three challenges each robot had to pass. Must have been what I saw.

[BannedInSchool]

House Robots, Craig Charles, Philippa Forrester.

No Carmen Electra.

Yeah, so that's UK Robot Wars.

The Wiki Page says there was an American Robot Wars, that was actually the original that aired in 1994. There was three challenges each robot had to pass. Must have been what I saw.

And I don't think those early years were ever televised. Now I'm thinking you had UK Robot Wars and then something other than US Battlebots.

Ah, ah, ah! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_combat Has a "Robitica":

2001 - Robotica appears on The Learning Channel as a weekly series. The format features tests of power, speed and maneuverability as well as combat. The show ran in three series, ending in 2002.

So that looks suspiciously like the other thing you saw.

[Traab]

If she was ever Carmen Electra then that was US Battlebots. If you remember huge "House Robots" in the corners that was UK Robot Wars.

And a new, pretty sad, qualifying fight:


So the fight was interrupted after they got locked together, but Wrecks was immobile by then anyway. I can't even say that it was Red Devil that caused it. Sigh.

Oh my god, that was the saddest, most pathetic, terrible excuse for a robot ever. It was bad enough last season watching it lumber around. But that? He destroyed himself right off the freaking bat! The fight should have been called long before they got locked together. Just because theoretically it could self right, doesnt mean it was self righting, because it clearly wasnt. Just.... just wow.

[BannedInSchool]

So the fight was interrupted after they got locked together, but Wrecks was immobile by then anyway. I can't even say that it was Red Devil that caused it. Sigh.

Watching it again, looks like it was the impact with the side that broke Wrecks', uh, legs, so credit for that hit goes to Red Devil.

[BannedInSchool]

Ah, ABC is also putting up the televised fights under their own YouTube channel playlist:
BattleBots Season 2 - Just the Fights!

[Rakaydos]

So reviewing the tapes...

You either win by opponent's bot design failure, knockout, ringout, or judges decision.

-Bot design failure covers the usual failings- does it have self righting/invertability? does it have sloped armor? Can your electronics survive being bashed around by another bot?

-To win by knockout, you almost have to be using a spinner/drum of some kind* (exception made for Red Devil's grapple+sawblade... and even then Witch Doctor was overconfident in the pits) The only significant other exception is Bronco, who's weapon is a 6'-10' fall that doesnt care about your armor.

-To win by ringout, (technically knockout, but I'm separating it because it's accomplished differently you have to get a bot past the spike strips and keep them there. Hang them up on the screws seems the most reliable option, or be a powerful launcher like bronco.

-Grapple Combo seems to be getting some success with Complete Control's flamer and Red Devil's sawblade. These matches seem to go to time, but each grapple is 1/10 the entire match, giving a massive advantage in Judge Decision

Spinners/drums can and have been beaten- the standard defence seems to be a 45 degree ground scraping titanium skirt on the front corners. Ground scraping means the spinners strike the flat of the skirt, giving them nothing to hook on, and the titanium has a good balance of resiliance and durability.

Ringout is difficult to accomplish at the best of times- most self righting mechanisims can get you back into the fight.

Judges Decision. Each primary weapon hit, every arena hazard hit, counts toward your score. Your drive system is essential here. Flashy weapons, lots of sparks, flames... they all matter here most of all. But none of it matters if you cannot survive. Bots like Stinger thrive on this- expert drivers, simple weapons that reset quickly and show dominance without actually damaging their enemy (beyond what the enemy's weaponry does to itself when it fails)

Any other thoughts to add?

[BannedInSchool]

And another qualifying video:


Ah, don't need to spoiler shield the results for that one, eh? A pretty innocuous-looking hit looks to have knocked-out one side of Black Ice's drive with the first hit, and then either the other side was knocked out too or the side with drive was in the air after they got pushed against the wall. It also seems that Tombstone maybe using a smaller blade. The impacts didn't seem as violent as I was expecting, and hardly any kickback from hitting the wall with the blade.

[Scowling Dragon]

What was Black Ices weapon even?

Also if it had better internal guts, I think it may have defeated Tombstone with pure resilience alone.

edit:

Huh. Wrecks is an upscaled version of a Robot that won lightweight tournaments.

Its not a bad design. Just a ugly duckling I suppose.

[BannedInSchool]

What was Black Ices weapon even?

At 0:51 you get a good look at its front, and it looks like it had two small vertical spinning blades and something else (maybe a flame thrower?), but you can also see one of the blades just sticking out and not spinning during the fight.

Oh, even better:


And http://battlebots.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Ice has the rest of the story.
The third hole is for a flywheel-launched tethered harpoon. It was pretty banged-up in its prelim match and won because one bot got stuck and the other burned-out its drive motors.

[Traab]

I couldnt believe how many times tombstone hit the wall. I mean, this isnt his first rodeo, you know? And yeah, wow what an underwhelming opponent he had. Looks like his entire strategy would be to get under his opponent and do... well pretty much nothing. Maybe drive them around into hazards or something?

[Yora]

They also introduced a Flyweight class below Lightweight at some point. Cube/Square Law and all I guess lighter bots would be relatively more robust, but I don't recall from memory anything other than seeing smaller bots battling.

I've once seen an event with robots that couldn't have been over 5 pounds. Probably a lot less. Though at that scale weapons become almost impossible and it's all about shoving.

[BannedInSchool]

Another sad qualifying match:

Spoiler

Show

So Escape Velocities' spinner secondary-bot hits the wall at the start and flips over, taking it out of the fight. Overdrive's weapon breaks on the first hit. EV's flipper is just barely capable of flipping OD, but was more active as a weapon. Sigh.

[Traab]

Wow, I couldnt even watch the whole thing. At least the flipper works. Too bad its only useful against non self righting robots. At least toro can hurt you bad with a flip. And the other guys blade lasted all of one shot and did nothing good. Oh, then of course there is the stupid half dome mini bot that flipped itself over in the first few seconds. /face palm. How do these bots even get allowed into the qualifying round?

[BannedInSchool]

How do these bots even get allowed into the qualifying round?

Well, with the wedge-flipper/spinner combination of bots I guess I can see some strategy of using the flipper to make your opponent more vulnerable to your spinner while also being the one to take the shots from the opponents weapons. The wedge-flipper is the defense side of the tag-team and the spinner the offense. <Dr. Stranglove>But the entire point of having a separate offensive bot is lost if it flips over in the opening seconds!</>.

[Scowling Dragon]

Well, now I see why some fights aren't worth coverage of.

[ChillerInstinct]

Another sad qualifying match:

Spoiler

Show

So Escape Velocities' spinner secondary-bot hits the wall at the start and flips over, taking it out of the fight. Overdrive's weapon breaks on the first hit. EV's flipper is just barely capable of flipping OD, but was more active as a weapon. Sigh.

...That was just sad. You know you've got a real winner of a fight when the secondary bot disables itself in the opening seconds and SOMEHOW that bot wins because the loser's weapon broke EVEN BEFORE THAT. Oh, EV is going up against nothing short of TOMBSTONE in its next match. Yeah, I can't see how that might possibly end badly.

Speaking of Mega Tento, judging by how badly Poison Arrow tore up the bottom of the trapper despite being low to the ground, I can't see it lasting much longer. Even if it manages to get past Stinger (which it might, the question will be whether Stinger's claws or Tento's saw gives out first), it'll be going against Yeti, which is even lower to the ground than Poison Arrow. It's a neat design, but honestly it doesn't strike me as remotely practical.

[Traab]

Well, with the wedge-flipper/spinner combination of bots I guess I can see some strategy of using the flipper to make your opponent more vulnerable to your spinner while also being the one to take the shots from the opponents weapons. The wedge-flipper is the defense side of the tag-team and the spinner the offense. <Dr. Stranglove>But the entire point of having a separate offensive bot is lost if it flips over in the opening seconds!</>.

The theory is grand and all, but i mean, the spinner flipped itself over right away with no input from its opponent, and the blade broke on its first hit. Do these people even bother to TEST their bots before bringing them in? "Hey earl, I think we finished building the bot." "Yeah steve? Should we see if it works?" "Nah, im sure everything will turn out fine."

Also, im a bit leery of the idea of splitting your bot in half like that. I mean, how effective could the spinner be against a bot that probably weighs twice as much? It cant have enough mass to actually do much damage really.