Battlebots - General Discussion

[enoughcats]

Several lessons for this evening:

In two matches, no good deed went unpunished.

I will starve before I spend five cents for a certain Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza. At least six times in two hours is an insult to viewers. 

When you make a decent looking older contestant put on a faux mohawk hair mass, maybe your values and mine no longer coincide

Too many bots are just variations on the same theme.

[Vermicious Knid]

A title card that actually lived up to the hype. Managing to get Mad Catter under the Pulverizer multiple times, along with flinging it up and down the box and frying it's brains out. Now that was a fight.

[enoughcats]

A read about Ghost Raptor, but really more about the layout of the venue and how things are done.

They keep the lithium batteries in a separate tent, and other stuff about the show.

[grommit2]

These are amazing machines.  250 pounds and they go flying around the battle box, shedding parts, catching fire.  This is great entertainment!

[Rickster]

19 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Too many bots are just variations on the same theme.

True, but the purpose is to win, and given the parameters of the competition, bots have evolved to the most effective design. Not really a surprise. If you want more variety, you need to change the rules.

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

The contest is held in a cluster of semipermanent tents in a parking lot behind Caesar's Palace on the Las Vegas strip.

This is incorrect. The tents were across Las Vegas Blvd on East Flamingo, in the parking lot next to the Ceasars Entertainment employment center which is a small one story building just east of Bally's. I know because I drove past it last fall. You can see a bit of the parking lot to the left in this picture. If you go to Google maps and drop the little guy into the street view you can see the full parking lot. It's on land owned by Ceasars, but is definitely not behind Ceasar's Palace.

[Totale]

On 1/28/2022 at 12:34 PM, enoughcats said:

A read about Ghost Raptor, but really more about the layout of the venue and how things are done.

I didn't know that if you can't get off the new elevated part of the floor in ten seconds you got counted out, as this article claims.  Maybe because no working bot has been seen up there yet,

[proserpina65]

On 1/27/2022 at 11:18 PM, enoughcats said:

When you make a decent looking older contestant put on a faux mohawk hair mass, maybe your values and mine no longer coincide

Someone made Chuck Pitzer do that?  I just assumed he did it because he wanted to.  Whatever.  It didn't detract from the fight one bit, and the fights are what I'm here for.

Hey, it's the return of Cat Ears Guy!  My best friend and I were talking about him recently because Jameson Go and someone else whose name I can't remember both used to be part of the Overhaul team.  We were wondering what had happened to him.

[Quilt Fairy]

Faruq:  Hey, they can't all rhyme!

[libgirl2]

We need the old Duck back. 

[grommit2]

Nice try going with two 125lb bots.
But it really does not seem to work when you have to confront a 250lb bot. 
Oh well.

[CoderLady]

4 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

We need the old Duck back. 

Some redesign was in order, but the changes didn't address the problem because their strategy didn't change. They still just roll around, pissing their opponent off until the opponent self-destructs, but it's been known for a while that instead of trying to smash Duck!, you just need to be fast enough to chew off a couple of its tires or flip it out of the BattleBox. 

Like other unique bots like Huge or Mammoth, a design is only effective until everyone else figures out your weaknesses and starts consistently beating you. Also, now that Duck! has that long, apparently fragile beak, it's subject to something it's avoided in the past for being just a rolling brick -- it's got parts that can be ripped off to score damage points against it.

I'm glad they came back, but they have to do better. A rookie just beat them.

[libgirl2]

5 minutes ago, CoderLady said:

Some redesign was in order, but the changes didn't address the problem because their strategy didn't change. They still just roll around, pissing their opponent off until the opponent self-destructs, but it's been known for a while that instead of trying to smash Duck!, you just need to be fast enough to chew off a couple of its tires or flip it out of the BattleBox. 

Like other unique bots like Huge or Mammoth, a design is only effective until everyone else figures out your weaknesses and starts consistently beating you. Also, now that Duck! has that long, apparently fragile beak, it's subject to something it's avoided in the past for being just a rolling brick -- it's got parts that can be ripped off to score damage points against it.

I'm glad they came back, but they have to do better. A rookie just beat them.

I agree, Duck does need a real weapon/overhaul, I just meant old Duck is preferable to this version. And like you said, now they can get damage points against it pretty easily. That beak isn't just getting bent it is breaking at the first real hit. 

[CoderLady]

1 minute ago, libgirl2 said:

I agree, Duck does need a real weapon/overhaul, I just meant old Duck is preferable to this version. And like you said, now they can get damage points against it pretty easily. That beak isn't just getting bent it is breaking at the first real hit. 

Yeah. Maybe some actual weapons besides being extremely infuriating and annoying. Something sharp. Or flames. Or a tactical nuke or two.

Since it usually manages to remain mobile for the entire 3 minutes, it needs to take more advantage of that and have some other defense than expecting its opponent to have a heart attack and die on its own.

[proserpina65]

So at this point in the competition, it's clear that End Game has a great chance of repeating for the giant nut and Saw Blaze is a beast.  And Witch Doctor is still overrated; they had one fantastic season but otherwise they've been mediocre.

[libgirl2]

On 2/7/2022 at 12:09 PM, proserpina65 said:

So at this point in the competition, it's clear that End Game has a great chance of repeating for the giant nut and Saw Blaze is a beast.  And Witch Doctor is still overrated; they had one fantastic season but otherwise they've been mediocre.

I was just saying that to my husband last week the same about Witch Doctor. He was never a fan. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by libgirl2

[Quilt Fairy]

On 2/8/2022 at 1:03 PM, libgirl2 said:

I was just saying that to my husband last week the same about Witch Doctor. He was never a fan. 

One of the few teams I actively hate (other than any team with a Ewert on it).  I don't mind costumes on any other team, but Witch Doctor's just turn me off. 

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

One of the few teams I actively hate (other than any team with a Ewert on it).  I don't mind costumes on any other team, but Witch Doctor's just turn me off. 

My husband isn't terribly fond of them either. I don't care one way or another. 

[Vermicious Knid]

They must be filming for the next season, the Battlebots tent is back up. In the parking lot at the corner of Koval and Flamingo. Which is about a literal mile from Ceasar's Palace. I don't think it was there last week. I'll try to take a picture.

[proserpina65]

Finally, FINALLY, Hypershock seems to be living up to its potential.  That fight with Lockjaw was fantastic.  And I loved how awed Will Bales was to have beaten the man whose work inspired him to get into robot fighting.

[libgirl2]

Regarding last night.

Spoiler

Spoiler

That Cobalt /Ghostraptor fight was something else! And I loved Huge's victory dance!

 

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by libgirl2

[rmontro]

Lol, it's funny how people are still hating on Witch Doctor.  Don't get me wrong, I had the same initial reaction to them, but at some point I simply became ambivalent about them.  Not sure what it is about them that is so triggering?  But I'll take a stab:  Do they somehow convey the impression that they think they're cooler than they really are?  

I can't remember if I ever disliked Tombstone and Ray Billings or not.

Liked how Huge climbed up over the screws to dance on the platform.

[CoderLady]

31 minutes ago, rmontro said:

Liked how Huge climbed up over the screws to dance on the platform.

Throwing its stabilizer bars up into the air like a couple of arms while it danced was the perfect touch.

[enoughcats]

One bot's stage to die on became another bot's playground.

[Vermicious Knid]

Pretty good fights this week. Have we ever seen a bot left literally in pieces before?

Battlebot tent pictures. Taken from my car while stopped at the red light, so not very good. But I think it shows where they are pretty well.

[enoughcats]

Some good ones tonight. And it would have been better if:

the imperfections in the floor stopped interfering: the killsaws seldom kill, but can take out a good competitor. 

Something that bothered me: Smeeeee.  Several years ago I read the rules of that season and they were very specific: that the bot MUST FIT WITHIN THE BOX painted on the floor before the lights hit green to start.  Maybe they dropped that requirement, but only half of Smee fit. Does anyone know of that rule got tossed?

[proserpina65]

On 2/18/2022 at 4:51 PM, rmontro said:

Not sure what it is about them that is so triggering? 

For me, it's simply the impression that the announcers/writers think they're fantastic when their record over the years has been quite mediocre.

[4Sibes Redux]

On 2/18/2022 at 3:51 PM, rmontro said:

Lol, it's funny how people are still hating on Witch Doctor.

For me, it’s just fun to have a team to yell “boo” towards. They’ve grown on me, but one reason I dislike them is the costumes. 

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

For me, it’s just fun to have a team to yell “boo” towards. They’ve grown on me, but one reason I dislike them is the costumes. 

Don't like top hats?  :)

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

For me, it’s just fun to have a team to yell “boo” towards. They’ve grown on me, but one reason I dislike them is the costumes. 

I liked them at first, but the costumes and whole act has really gotten old for me.

With the new design of the floor, and they mentioned how bots can’t go up on the rails so easily with the wall design, they haven’t mentioned that they seem to have created corners that bots can be easily flipped into and can’t get out. That seems new this season.

[Totale]

Wow, Faruq got down after introducing Ribbot!

[Omeletsmom]

17 hours ago, Totale said:

Wow, Faruq got down after introducing Ribbot!

He was a doing Kermit flail!

Edited February 27, 2022 by Omeletsmom

[rmontro]

6 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

He was a doing Kermit flail!

I know, that was awesome!  One of the best Muppet impersonations I've ever seen.

[proserpina65]

So End Game has to be the number 1 seed for the tournament, doesn't it?  That was a rare mistake on Jamison Go's part, letting Sawblaze turn its back on an opponent, so I think it'll still get a pretty high seed, too.  But it looks like we may have a tournament without Ewerts in it.

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

But it looks like we may have a tournament without Ewerts in it.

That would be great, but without knowing how many bots have actually fought (there are lots of unaired matches, I think) it's hard to establish what is a 'good record'.  If there aren't enough 3-0 and 2-1 bots to make up the final 32, the judges will select who they think are the best of the 1-2 bots, and a Ewert might creep in that way.   

[proserpina65]

8 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

That would be great, but without knowing how many bots have actually fought (there are lots of unaired matches, I think) it's hard to establish what is a 'good record'.  If there aren't enough 3-0 and 2-1 bots to make up the final 32, the judges will select who they think are the best of the 1-2 bots, and a Ewert might creep in that way.   

That is possible, but I'm crossing my fingers that there will be enough winning robots and Hydra won't make it, and I don't think Fusion has won a match yet this season.

[rmontro]

7 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

That is possible, but I'm crossing my fingers that there will be enough winning robots and Hydra won't make it

Is Hydra one of the most hated bots now?  I don't care about their success, but I do think flipper bots make for entertaining matches.

[proserpina65]

Just now, rmontro said:

Is Hydra one of the most hated bots now?  I don't care about their success, but I do think flipper bots make for entertaining matches.

Yeah, I think Jake Ewert has succeeded Ray Billings in the most-hated department.  (Although in Billings' case, I think it was mostly for show, whereas I think Jake Ewert is just an ass.)  That said, if it were anyone except a Ewert running Hydra, I'd be more disposed to enjoy the flipping because it is fun to watch.

[enoughcats]

I sort of like the Ewerts, udder gun and all.  I know a few serious farmers and they have skill sets that I can only dream about.  Keeping a dairy farm going nowadays is a complex.

I also wonder at the newest Ewert and can imagine the arguments that lead to his breaking away.

And I'll cheer any flipper.  Especially since they learned a way to do unlimited flips in three minutes. And the flippers usually have protected tires, which seems to be a no brainer to me.

[enoughcats]

Last night's episode had some very good flipping, even flipping with fire. 

But to me the highlight was hidden in the ads: a discussion of how the sport has changed.  Showing how the current competitors come with replacement parts, how they can fabricate i three dimensions as needed and the boxes of spare parts they bring with them.  Contrasted with an "old timer" remembering bringing a single box with tools to do repairs. 

[libgirl2]

5 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Last night's episode had some very good flipping, even flipping with fire. 

But to me the highlight was hidden in the ads: a discussion of how the sport has changed.  Showing how the current competitors come with replacement parts, how they can fabricate i three dimensions as needed and the boxes of spare parts they bring with them.  Contrasted with an "old timer" remembering bringing a single box with tools to do repairs. 

I did find that interesting. The sport has changed quite a bit, like anything. 

About last night

Spoiler

Isn't Duck now retired? Hal Rucker seems to be going through the motions at this point. There really is no joy. I say this for Donald Hudson, he might be an old timer and not doing so well right now, but you can tell he still has that spirit. I think he needs to do a bit of tweaking with Lock-Jaw for next season but man, he can still drive! 

 

[madmax]

14 hours ago, enoughcats said:

But to me the highlight was hidden in the ads: a discussion of how the sport has changed.  Showing how the current competitors come with replacement parts, how they can fabricate i three dimensions as needed and the boxes of spare parts they bring with them.  Contrasted with an "old timer" remembering bringing a single box with tools to do repairs. 

My favorite part of that was seeing the very young Donald Hudson and Disector!  That was my favorite bot, way way back in the day.

[libgirl2]

Regarding last night

Spoiler

It took how long until Fusion was smoking? Yikes. I was glad to see Icewave get the win. Poor Rusty, they really put it out there as the sacrificial lamb to Witch Doctor. I was glad to see that they went for the win but didn't destroy the bot. 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by libgirl2

[enoughcats]

I surprised myself because I got angry that a bot I do not like was matched up with Rusty.  As I see it, it was a way to guarantee that the bot I do not like made it into the final 32.  

I wonder if any of the other matches were all but preordained to make sure that certain bots made it.

 

[madmax]

7 hours ago, enoughcats said:

I surprised myself because I got angry that a bot I do not like was matched up with Rusty.  As I see it, it was a way to guarantee that the bot I do not like made it into the final 32.  

I was angry, too.  I hate Witch Doctor as well.  Mr. Max called it a bye for Witch Doctor.  With WD being such a fan favorite, I'm not surprised they put it up against Rusty.  I do like Rusty, well, I like the builder's enthusiasm.  But I wouldn't care if they didn't bring him back again.

I feel bad for the youngest Ewert (the only one I like).  Fusion seems like it would be a good bot, but he has so many problems with it.

Pretty much called the top 5 for the tournament.  Liked that Tombstone is below 20.

[Vermicious Knid]

Has Rusty ever won?

Don't remember which match it was, but the one that only took like 10 seconds was hilarious.

[lynxfx]

It would be pretty funny if Rusty just keeps coming back with scrap parts from other bots welded on. That's a Real Steel movie plot right there.

[Quilt Fairy]

17 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Regarding last night

  Reveal spoiler

It took how long until Fusion was smoking? Yikes. I was glad to see Icewave get the win. Poor Rusty, they really put it out there as the sacrificial lamb to Witch Doctor. I was glad to see that they went for the win but didn't destroy the bot. 

 

@libgirl2, I don't understand why you're spoiler tagging events from episodes that have aired.    

[libgirl2]

7 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

@libgirl2, I don't understand why you're spoiler tagging events from episodes that have aired.    

It was still early and I wanted to make sure everyone got the chance to see it. 

10 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Has Rusty ever won?

Don't remember which match it was, but the one that only took like 10 seconds was hilarious.

I know he won one battle for sure. 

[proserpina65]

I think it's bogus that Hydra gets a chance to fight a 2-1 bot (Defender) for one of the last 2 tournament spots.  Defender should've gotten that spot.  Then if there were not more 2-1 teams, they could've pitted Hydra against another 1-2 bot.  Ugh, Ewerts.