Battlebots - General Discussion

[rr2911]

I guess I'm one of the few Witch Doctor fans here.  Maybe it's because I like Andrea.  She seems like a very nice young lady.  I'm wondering why her husband didn't get away from the corner.  He just let End Game finish him.

I'm also a fan of Ray Billings' Tombstone.  I have to wonder though, is he finally going to retire Tombstone or revise it and update it.  Right now, it's at a great disadvantage to the better and harder hitting robots coming along.

I just finished watching the 2015 season of Battle Bots.  It's kind of cool seeing some of the people that were on other teams now have their own teams.  The robots have changed alot since 2015 to the present day.  Many of the robots didn't have the armor they have now.  Starting the 2016 season soon.  I've seen the seasons already.  I'm just watching them again.

Anyone know when the regular BB season starts?

[Vermicious Knid]

Final fights that actually lived up to the hype! 7 fights, 6 knockouts. I don't think I've seen a bot pretty much self destruct like that. And I love it when a bot gets flipped into the gap between the bumper and the wall. It's like a ringout.

[enoughcats]

8 hours ago, rr2911 said:

I'm also a fan of Ray Billings' Tombstone.  I have to wonder though, is he finally going to retire Tombstone or revise it and update it. 

Tombstone used to be awesome.  Last night it was painful to watch that bot damage itself. At one point, it was as if it hit the other bot (which was standing still) and the other bot did nothing while Tombstone went bat sh*t crazy knocking itself around a corner until it wore itself out.  I wonder if Tombstone has too much kinetic energy to transfer and too few 'tires' to hold it in place. 

I'll always admire the treadded vehicle that it uses to get to the battlebox. 

[Colorado David]

38 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Tombstone used to be awesome.  Last night it was painful to watch that bot damage itself. At one point, it was as if it hit the other bot (which was standing still) and the other bot did nothing while Tombstone went bat sh*t crazy knocking itself around a corner until it wore itself out.  I wonder if Tombstone has too much kinetic energy to transfer and too few 'tires' to hold it in place. 

I'll always admire the treadded vehicle that it uses to get to the battlebox. 

Agreed I felt Tombstone pretty much took itself out with loss of kinetic control.

I'm glad Endgame won. I've no animosity against witch doctor, they just seem to dominate at times so its nice seeing a serious competitor. So a large (ie long) vertical spinner seems to be the key - even if your opponent has wedges, a long enough spinner can still connect with the front of your opponent's chassis.

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, enoughcats said:

Tombstone used to be awesome.  Last night it was painful to watch that bot damage itself. At one point, it was as if it hit the other bot (which was standing still) and the other bot did nothing while Tombstone went bat sh*t crazy knocking itself around a corner until it wore itself out.  I wonder if Tombstone has too much kinetic energy to transfer and too few 'tires' to hold it in place. 

I'll always admire the treadded vehicle that it uses to get to the battlebox. 

I told my husband, Tombstone beat Tombstone! 

[rmontro]

8 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Tombstone used to be awesome.  Last night it was painful to watch that bot damage itself. At one point, it was as if it hit the other bot (which was standing still) and the other bot did nothing while Tombstone went bat sh*t crazy knocking itself around a corner until it wore itself out. 

I was wondering why Billings didn't immediately turn off his weapon when he started to get into trouble in the corner.  Maybe he tried, I don't know, but it didn't appear to me like he did.  At that point, it basically knocked itself out. 

Yeah, Tombstone is fairly far down the ladder now.  I was impressed that it won its qualifying bracket, but that's about the only big win from it that I remember recently.  

[madmax]

I think Billings is trying too hard to make his weapon bigger and badder.  All it's doing is making the bot self-destruct.  Also, bots have evolved since he won, with better armor.

Yeah, not a fan of WD, so I was glad to see Endgame take the win.  I still wish Will Bales got to go all the way.  A nice surprise that After Shock lasted as well (and as destructive) as it did.

Mr. Max finally got the answer to his question.  The Giant Nut fits the Giant Bolt!!!!

[proserpina65]

On 9/8/2022 at 11:42 PM, rmontro said:

For all the hate Witch Doctor gets here, I thought its fights tonight showed it to be completely legitimate.  I knew it didn't have a chance against End Game though, I almost felt sorry for them.  They just can't get over that final hump, it's got to be frustrating.

They got lucky with Hypershock's tire, but Mike really did take advantage of that.  For all that I still think Witch Doctor is overrated, he really is a great driver.

On 9/9/2022 at 9:58 AM, enoughcats said:

Tombstone used to be awesome.  Last night it was painful to watch that bot damage itself. At one point, it was as if it hit the other bot (which was standing still) and the other bot did nothing while Tombstone went bat sh*t crazy knocking itself around a corner until it wore itself out.  I wonder if Tombstone has too much kinetic energy to transfer and too few 'tires' to hold it in place. 

I'll always admire the treadded vehicle that it uses to get to the battlebox. 

Ray Billings has tinkered with Tombstone's blades a lot over the past few years and it really seems to have hurt the robot more than helped.

19 hours ago, madmax said:

I think Billings is trying too hard to make his weapon bigger and badder.  All it's doing is making the bot self-destruct.  Also, bots have evolved since he won, with better armor.

This, exactly.

[rr2911]

On 12/11/2020 at 10:10 PM, rmontro said:

That was a good one.  I couldn't tell if Mammoth was doing all that flipping on it's own or if Huge was flipping it.

The Hydra/Witch Doctor fight was good too.  I'm glad I didn't have to judge that one.  Witch Doctor kind of reminded me of Duck, it took so much abuse but kept coming.  I've never been a big fan of Witch Doctor either, and I'm not sure why.  It's a former giant nut winner, and was the runner up last year, so it shouldn't be surprising, but that is one tough bot.

Witch Doctor has never won the Giant Nut!

[rmontro]

34 minutes ago, rr2911 said:

Witch Doctor has never won the Giant Nut!

You're right, I knew that, I don't know why I said that. 

[Vermicious Knid]

Apparently emails that will notify you when tickets are available for filming are a lie, 'cause I signed up and never got one. According to the Kats report in the Review Journal the season is finishing filming. And then it becomes a regularly scheduled show.
 

Quote

“BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon” opens Feb. 3 at BattleBox Arena at Caesars Entertainment Studios. Show times are 6 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with 3 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and noon on Sundays. Tickets are onsale Nov. 14. Prices range from $49 general-admission, with $150 family “bundles,” to $125 VIP packages where guests are allowed to view the robots and their teams up close before and after the show...Through this month, it is where “BattleBots World Championship VII” has been filmed. The final taping is Sunday. The competition airs in January on Discovery.

Without question, the “BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon” show is the first production of its kind in Las Vegas Vegas. It is Crush du Soleil, the only live, ticketed, daily robotic combat show ever.

Quote

Gutteridge is convinced the show will find its audience in Las Vegas. The theater show he and his team have developed differs from the championship tournament, in that it doesn’t not graduate to a single winning team. The destruction is confined to single, 80-minute performance.

Producers have issued a casting call for entertainers who can play the roles of combatants. From the posting, “You do not need to design robots, just act like you are competing.” Emcees and team members, male and female, are filling roles for the Vegas show.

There will be five fights per night with two costumed team members per fight. The team members perform the the walk in, pretending to drive the robots, while the robots’ actual drivers are at the commands. These actors react to the action, and the hired performers conduct interviews at the end of each fight.

But the stars are the robots.

If you don’t already, get to know Witch Doctor, Kraken, Mammoth, Lock-Jaw, Hypershock and Whiplash, along with a host of new robots being specially created for the BattleBox Arena. 

[Rickster]

Looks like this Vegas show might be going in the direction of professional wrestling. I can’t imagine that people will pay good money to watch a bot shoving match, or one burn out or lose its weapon in the first 30 seconds. I’d suspect there will be “cannon fodder” bots meant to end up tossed 10 feet in the air or with pieces scattered around the arena when they come up against the top teams.

[grommit2]

4 hours ago, Rickster said:

Looks like this Vegas show might be going in the direction of professional wrestling. I can’t imagine that people will pay good money to watch a bot shoving match, or one burn out or lose its weapon in the first 30 seconds. I’d suspect there will be “cannon fodder” bots meant to end up tossed 10 feet in the air or with pieces scattered around the arena when they come up against the top teams.

Hi Rickster:
This all seems like a really good idea...smashing, bashing, parts flying, some flames, ... yup, sound good to me!

[CoderLady]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:01 AM, Vermicious Knid said:

Producers have issued a casting call for entertainers who can play the roles of combatants. From the posting, “You do not need to design robots, just act like you are competing.” Emcees and team members, male and female, are filling roles for the Vegas show.

There will be five fights per night with two costumed team members per fight. The team members perform the the walk in, pretending to drive the robots, while the robots’ actual drivers are at the commands. These actors react to the action, and the hired performers conduct interviews at the end of each fight.

The audience gets to watch actors pretend to fight, not the builders and drivers who built and tested the robots and would be the best people to do the fighting since they have the skills and know their bots literally inside and out.

Trying to be fair, and since this is obviously a done deal, I guess it could work. I wouldn't be at all interested in watching the fakery after getting hooked on the real thing but I'm not the target audience, though.

I'm mildly interested in what the producers think combatants should look like vs. what real robot combatants actually do.

The post-fight interviews will be much shorter considering that the performers will have no idea what they're talking about.

Edited November 1, 2022 by CoderLady

[Colorado David]

1 hour ago, CoderLady said:

The post-fight interviews will be much shorter considering that the performers will have no idea what they're talking about.

We will get the same fantastic insight that a lot of NBA players give...nothing technical, much self hype, maybe a bit of shade on the opposing teams.

[Vermicious Knid]

Commercials now running that say new season starts January 5.

[grommit2]

Interesting...fake combatants. Does not seem worth it.
BUT...I'm happy as long as there is LOTS OF BASHING, SMASHING, FLAMING, PARTS FLYING, ... Yes!!

[enoughcats]

We're in the process of changing access. The battlebots website hasn't been updated, does anyone know which streaming services will have it?

[Rickster]

6 hours ago, enoughcats said:

We're in the process of changing access. The battlebots website hasn't been updated, does anyone know which streaming services will have it?

I would check Discovery Plus, where it’s been in the past.

[Vermicious Knid]

Six miles to the south of the Strip is the independent locals casino the Silverton, which has no connection to Ceasars as far as I know. You guys have probably never heard of it. Somehow, they have gotten the Battlebots. 

By which I mean they have this:

But they also have these:

Sorry about the blurry one. 

If you're wondering about the weird fake stone background, that's the entrance to the attached Bass Pro Shop by the front door of the casino. There's no mention of Battlebots on the website, you just walk in the door and bam, there they are. The Silverton's big thing is a giant aquarium that features mermaids at several times during the day, so this is not a natural fit. They actually took the custom made motorcycle created on American Chopper (remember that show?) that normally sits by the front off it's display and replaced it with the bots. No idea how long they will be there. 

[proserpina65]

It actually looks like this season's competition will involve more serious contenders and fewer cannon-fodder type bots.

The first show's fights were mostly great.  Minotaur appears to be in great form and it seems that having the one guy back is stabilizing for the team.

[grommit2]

YES!!!  Smash, bash, clobber, grind, toss in the air...that's entertainment!! 😛

[CoderLady]

1 hour ago, grommit2 said:

YES!!!  Smash, bash, clobber, grind, toss in the air...that's entertainment!! 😛

You forgot lots and lots of flames!

[grommit2]

...and flames...lots and lots of flames, mixed with flying wheels, crashing bolts, snapping axles...and T-Rexes stomping around.  Oh boy!!

[enoughcats]

Are the flames for show, or do they damage the other bot?  I've been trying to remember the flames of years past, and I remember getting bored with them because most seemed to be more damaging to themselves than to the other bot.

My dream of a blowtorch bot probably won't happen because they don't want to melt the floor of the cage (a nice sticky trap that would be less forgiving that the occasional kill saw)

A flame never flipped another bot, at least not yet.

[Rickster]

16 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Are the flames for show, or do they damage the other bot?  I've been trying to remember the flames of years past, and I remember getting bored with them because most seemed to be more damaging to themselves than to the other bot.

My dream of a blowtorch bot probably won't happen because they don't want to melt the floor of the cage (a nice sticky trap that would be less forgiving that the occasional kill saw)

A flame never flipped another bot, at least not yet.

I think I’ve seen more flamethrower bots catch fire themselves than do any damage to opponents. Seems pointless.

[CoderLady]

Flame weapons overheat opponents' electronic components and melt weapon belts as well as set other internal parts on fire. I don't remember if any bots use fire as a primary weapon, but I always welcome the drama it causes.

[Rickster]

9 hours ago, CoderLady said:

Flame weapons overheat opponents' electronic components and melt weapon belts as well as set other internal parts on fire. I don't remember if any bots use fire as a primary weapon, but I always welcome the drama it causes.

That’s the theory, but I can’t remember ever seeing a bot disabled by a flame thrower. I guess you could speculate that the risk of getting melted forces a driver into avoidance maneuvers they wouldn’t have to do otherwise. 

[rmontro]

11 hours ago, Rickster said:

That’s the theory, but I can’t remember ever seeing a bot disabled by a flame thrower. I guess you could speculate that the risk of getting melted forces a driver into avoidance maneuvers they wouldn’t have to do otherwise. 

Heat is the enemy of electronics.  I'm sure there are many times when a bot has quit working that at least indirectly had something to do with a flamethrower.  It just probably wasn't obvious to the eye.  I seem to recall one bot specifically that was knocked out by a flamethrower, but unfortunately I don't remember any specifics.  

[4Sibes Redux]

I always thought their weight flamethrowers added weren’t worth it. But I’m guessing on that. 
 

Personally I would rather have a self righting capability or the ability to operate upside down. 

[Colorado David]

Any bot that can operate equally upside down to me is in a great position. No matter how you are flipped or thrown, you can still come back and attack. I agree on flamers, it's dramatic but it seems the bots aren't under the flame long enough for anything inside to warm up significantly, it's more like a flash of heat.  Considering their armor, I doubt the heat even gets inside most of the time.

I wonder is there a rule regarding crushers and their size? I ask because they always have these thin piercing blades (like teeth). What about a 3 inch wide blade? That'd do significant interior damage, like being bitten by a hippopotamus.

 

[proserpina65]

So as heartbroken as I was to see Hypershock lose after doing so well in the Golden Bolt tournament, I would totally be down for HyperBlaze.

That wasn't End Game's best performance but damned if they aren't the bot to beat again this year.

Edited January 19, 2023 by proserpina65
really gotta proofread before I hit post

[rr2911]

I was kind of surprised the show let Faruq say and I'm paraphrasing, when he was introducing Deathroll, he said "...those dumb white people..".  That is not cool to say in today's world, even in a fun show like this one. 

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, rr2911 said:

I was kind of surprised the show let Faruq say and I'm paraphrasing, when he was introducing Deathroll, he said "...those dumb white people..".  That is not cool to say in today's world, even in a fun show like this one. 

Yea, I kind of cringed on that one. 

[rr2911]

4 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Yea, I kind of cringed on that one. 

The thing is, this show isn't live, so they had time to go back and rewrite it and take it out.  I wouldn't be surprised if there is an apology before the next show or something is mentioned about it or Faruq is replaced.   

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, rr2911 said:

The thing is, this show isn't live, so they had time to go back and rewrite it and take it out.  I wouldn't be surprised if there is an apology before the next show or something is mentioned about it or Faruq is replaced.   

Does he write his own stuff to begin with? I don't want to see him replaced, maybe just a mention? 

[rr2911]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

Does he write his own stuff to begin with? I don't want to see him replaced, maybe just a mention? 

I just read on Facebook, that the show has writers that write the intros for the teams, so Faruq just reads them.  There are a few posts on FB about the intro.

[rmontro]

26 minutes ago, rr2911 said:

I just read on Facebook, that the show has writers that write the intros for the teams, so Faruq just reads them.  There are a few posts on FB about the intro.

Most likely a white person wrote them.  I doubt that Faruq would get into any trouble anyway.  Our culture seems to accept insults toward white people, but no other races.

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, rr2911 said:

I just read on Facebook, that the show has writers that write the intros for the teams, so Faruq just reads them.  There are a few posts on FB about the intro.

Yea, I haven't really seen that much about it. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by libgirl2

[proserpina65]

Ugh, Jake Ewert!

[CoderLady]

Ugh, any Ewert. There's another one whose first name I don't remember who was given the opportunity to say something nice or funny about what he would do if his own bot and Jake's got into a fight and Jake's won, but instead grunted "I'd kick his ass." Ewerts are jarringly unpleasant compared to almost any other combatants. In fact, I can't think of others.

[rr2911]

On 1/23/2023 at 5:08 PM, CoderLady said:

Ugh, any Ewert. There's another one whose first name I don't remember who was given the opportunity to say something nice or funny about what he would do if his own bot and Jake's got into a fight and Jake's won, but instead grunted "I'd kick his ass." Ewerts are jarringly unpleasant compared to almost any other combatants. In fact, I can't think of others.

Lol....I would like for them to let the young girl say something.  I think she's pretty and interesting!  

[xfuse]

I don't know if Witch Doctor should have won against Fusion. 

[grommit2]

OK...here's my latest brilliant idea.  You're gonna like this...
Install a small explosive inside every bot.
You have to smash and bash your way...knocking parts off, dismantling your opponent, until you get all the way to the bomb. 
Then, when you hit the bomb, it explodes with a little mushroom cloud.
WOW...what a great idea, eh?  
Geez, I'm so funny. 😜

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, xfuse said:

I don't know if Witch Doctor should have won against Fusion. 

I am no WD fan (or Fusion for that matter), so I just watched it without prejudice. It was close, but I did give WD a slight edge. TBH, I would love to see Minotaur kick both their a---- 

[TheProf]

On 2/6/2023 at 4:44 PM, libgirl2 said:

I am no WD fan (or Fusion for that matter), so I just watched it without prejudice. It was close, but I did give WD a slight edge. TBH, I would love to see Minotaur kick both their a---- 

 

I am so done with the Witch Doctor favoritism by TPTB at BB. I hope Claw Viper beats it into an oily pulp early in the finals.

“When they cast

Their entrance jinx

It leads to favoritism

That always stinks!

Well you can run

But you can’t hide

From the bot that’s always a bridesmaid

But never a bride.

It’s…… WITCH DOCTOR!!!!”

 

 

On 1/20/2023 at 2:24 AM, rr2911 said:

I was kind of surprised the show let Faruq say and I'm paraphrasing, when he was introducing Deathroll, he said "...those dumb white people..".  That is not cool to say in today's world, even in a fun show like this one. 

I was hyper offended by this, and still am. There should be a public apology issued and the person responsible should be fired. Is there a petition going around or anything? I was not able to find any mention on message boards or Facebook about any potential backlash. But from what I see here, some things were said.

[proserpina65]

In your face, Jake Ewert!

[enoughcats]

I'm a week or two behind in watching.  It's come a long way from must see TV.

It's interesting to see changes made by the teams we've come to know. And, for me, that's a problem. We don't have any new kids on the block, any underdogs with unknown potential.  

The new teams seem to have a leader or two who have left their motherships to do things their own, maybe new way.  

Rusty has a place in my heart.  Heck, when did we last see the innovation of more automated Chomp. 

My solution: next year announce a not-heavier than 100lb. weight class will be the only class.  Let's see if they can think minimalism and what is important and what can be discarded. 

(I'd bet Minotaur could minimize with the best of them.

[proserpina65]

15 hours ago, enoughcats said:

We don't have any new kids on the block, any underdogs with unknown potential.  

Well, there's Ripperoni.  That team does have members from other teams from what I understand, but coming into this season as a new bot they were definitely an underdog.  And boy was that fight against End Game a massive upset.

For me, Battlebots is just as great as it always was and is still must-see tv.  I just don't actually see it until the Saturday after the episodes originally air because I watch with my best friend and that's when we get together.  Nothing like some robot violence while eating dinner in front of the tv.

As for your minimalism idea, it would be interesting for a week or two, but I'd want the heavyweight class; they're what interest me.

That said, this past week's fights were not inspiring for the most part.  Other than End Game's loss, which was stunning and definitely demonstrated that there is a limit to how long the forks should be, and of course, Tantrum's takedown of that asshole Jake Ewert's bot.

Edited February 13, 2023 by proserpina65

[rr2911]

On 2/8/2023 at 11:21 PM, TheProf said:

 

I am so done with the Witch Doctor favoritism by TPTB at BB. I hope Claw Viper beats it into an oily pulp early in the finals.

“When they cast

Their entrance jinx

It leads to favoritism

That always stinks!

Well you can run

But you can’t hide

From the bot that’s always a bridesmaid

But never a bride.

It’s…… WITCH DOCTOR!!!!”

 

 

I was hyper offended by this, and still am. There should be a public apology issued and the person responsible should be fired. Is there a petition going around or anything? I was not able to find any mention on message boards or Facebook about any potential backlash. But from what I see here, some things were said.

I don't think there was any apology by Faruq or the writers of the show.