Battlebots - General Discussion

[4Sibes Redux]

On 10/9/2018 at 7:43 AM, AConspiracy said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9mk4dx/we_are_the_winners_and_runnersup_of_the_tv_show/

 

Hi all, we build robots for the TV show BattleBots, which just aired its finale episode on Discovery this past Friday. We have team members here from the final two teams, Championship winners “Bite Force” (USA) and the Runners-up “Minotaur” (Brazil). Both of our teams have been building robots for fun and professionally for 15+ years.

Loved both teams. 

I was curious if the Minotaur team had to travel back in forth during the months of competition, or if they stayed in the States the whole time. 

[enoughcats]

55 minutes ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

during the months of competition

It was a two week long competition.

Remember reality show time is different that real time.

[BuffaloChuck]

I was sorry to see JHLipton's comments about "all about Billings, all the time" but it certainly seems that way.  My only solace is that, maybe, just maybe Tombstone's reputation for being the most destructive bot takes a bit away from the "BIllings" shadow.  I would have preferred so many other matches, however.  This is the cost of the Billings Rudeness, dear TV producers. 

 

Then, EnoughCats mentions Chomp's added technology earning it some show-leadership points - "the direction that TPTB wanted to go".  As much as I like the destructive bots, I do enjoy some of those weird ones - even though few of them were designed to survive, apparently.  My Chomp negativity is based on my dislike for Hammerbots.  If hammers were effective, the Pulverizer would crush bots with a single blow.  Instead, it mostly bounces them around and adds chrome-glitz and sound effects.  Frankly, it'd be the one 'feature' I'd dispense with entirely, and put in more screws or a powerful slapper-flipper and knock bots back into the middle of the floor.

 

I'd complained about Whiplash's loss of two wheels resulting in a 'premature' count-out against Biteforce in the Final Four bout.  Upon rewatching a few moments in earlier episodes, there two contradictory events: Overhaul and Warhawk battled and each lost one side of their mobility, but continued the match.  Then, I think it was Valkyerie vs. Brutus, and one lost power on one side, and the count-out was initiated quickly. 

 

There was a succinct note that was mentioned at this point, but it certainly could have been directed at DUCK in that Big Rumble: "Damage wins points, not pushing the other guys around."

 

One last note about "loss of mobility resulting in premature count-outs" - a victorious bot probably enjoys not enduring more self-damage if it's required to take out all mobility.

[jhlipton]

On 10/9/2018 at 5:43 AM, AConspiracy said:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9mk4dx/we_are_the_winners_and_runnersup_of_the_tv_show/

 

Hi all, we build robots for the TV show BattleBots, which just aired its finale episode on Discovery this past Friday. We have team members here from the final two teams, Championship winners “Bite Force” (USA) and the Runners-up “Minotaur” (Brazil). Both of our teams have been building robots for fun and professionally for 15+ years.

This was really cool!  Thanks!

[Quilt Fairy]

New season starts Friday, June 7th!

[Totale]

I enjoyed the first double episode, though none of the fights were especially thrilling.  Is the pink haired judge the one that used to drive the bots that looked like bugs and always got beat, maybe Lisa?  She should be sympathetic, anyway, but I wish she was on the floor asking questions rather than the new BotBunny.  Glad it was DVRed so I could skip through the long long long trash talk/hard look into the camera buildup to the final match.

[Omeletsmom]

I'm ambivalent.  I liked seeing all of the bouts in their entirety, but there was SO MUCH filler.  They could cut out the filler and still show all the bouts in an hour and a half.

[rmontro]

13 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

I'm ambivalent.  I liked seeing all of the bouts in their entirety, but there was SO MUCH filler.  They could cut out the filler and still show all the bouts in an hour and a half.

I agree, there was way, way too much filler.  It's good to know some background on the combatants, but cut it down.

I was rooting for the new robot Quantam, but I thought the ruling was controversial.  Not wrong, necessarily, but controversial.  Quantam was the crusher bot that got it's teeth stuck in Blacksmith's armor and couldn't release it within the 30 seconds.  Well, it did release it, but Blacksmith was still stuck to it.  I thought a fairer ruling would be to stop the bought, have someone separate the two bots, then continue.  I think they said there was no safe way to disengage them, so maybe that's what they would have done?

What if someone put barbs on the back of their fangs so they wouldn't release?  I'm assuming that would be against the rules.  Anyway, tough way to lose for Blacksmith, but I would have been angry had they ruled the other way.

[Quilt Fairy]

On 6/9/2019 at 12:31 AM, rmontro said:

I was rooting for the new robot Quantam, but I thought the ruling was controversial.  Not wrong, necessarily, but controversial. 

I was very surprised when they said the judges had ruled for Quantum, when it was clearly - although unintentionally - breaking the rules and the referees had to stop the match because it couldn't disengage from Blacksmith.  I don't know that we've ever seen it on this show, but I expected a forfeit in favor of Blacksmith.

[rmontro]

5 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I was very surprised when they said the judges had ruled for Quantum, when it was clearly - although unintentionally - breaking the rules and the referees had to stop the match because it couldn't disengage from Blacksmith.

Considering the way Quantam is designed, I'd say it's fairly likely to happen again.  IMO they really need to find some sort of solution, because I'm not sure that the way they resolved it was entirely fair.

[QuantumMechanic]

Can anyone explain the difference between the Friday night shows on Discovery and the shows during the week on Science?

Science shows a whole bunch of Battlebots shows as "new", which several differently-titled shows with the same episode number.  And some are 60 minutes and some are 120 minutes.

As an example, go to the Science Channel schedule and look at the full-day schedule for tomorrow (June 12), starting at 2pm and through the end of the day.

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, QuantumMechanic said:

Science shows a whole bunch of Battlebots shows as "new", which several differently-titled shows with the same episode number.

I HATE that they do this.  

If they keep to what they did last year, brand new episodes will air on Discovery on Friday night, then the following Wednesday they will re-air on Science as "New" with a different title and episode number but with a few minutes of extra footage, either an extra battle or behind the scenes stuff, which was their hook.  Although Science is airing Battlebots all tomorrow afternoon, it looks like most of them are from last year. The "new" repeat from last Friday looks to air at 7pm Central (8pm Eastern), however it appears to be a 2 hour show just like Friday's, no extra minutes.  Still, there was plenty of filler in last week's show, so there could be something different. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Quilt Fairy

[StatisticalOutlier]

I swear, it's almost as if they don't want people to watch the show.*  I saw the same thing @QuantumMechanic did, on my on-screen guide, and went to the Science channel website to get the lowdown, because, you know, it's their own website.  It didn't explain anything and all I can get schedule-wise is primetime for the day it actually is.  I clicked on other dates and "show full day" and nothing changed.  I even tried a different browser.  And the Discovery channel website.  No help whatsoever.

Fortunately, I remembered that actual people discuss the show, so I came here and found out what the schedule actually is.  Thank you. 

And really??  Changing the title and episode number for the repeat on Science Channel?  WTF???

*Or they don't want people like me to watch the show...you know, the ones with a TV and a couch.  I've about had it.

[rmontro]

9 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

And really??  Changing the title and episode number for the repeat on Science Channel?  WTF???

The Discovery family of channels is known for this sort of trickery.  But this isn't that big of a deal.  Just watch the new episodes on the Discovery Channel, and don't worry about the Science Channel episodes unless you are heavily into the show and want the extra footage.  If I understand correctly, the Science Channel airs the complete matches, whereas sometimes Discovery will edit them.  But Discovery airs them first.

All the "new" tag means is that it's a new episode on the Science Channel.

[libgirl2]

18 hours ago, rmontro said:

The Discovery family of channels is known for this sort of trickery.  But this isn't that big of a deal.  Just watch the new episodes on the Discovery Channel, and don't worry about the Science Channel episodes unless you are heavily into the show and want the extra footage.  If I understand correctly, the Science Channel airs the complete matches, whereas sometimes Discovery will edit them.  But Discovery airs them first.

All the "new" tag means is that it's a new episode on the Science Channel.

WE always watch the repeat on SC for that reason. Plus we just like the show so much. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/12/2019 at 5:28 PM, rmontro said:

The Discovery family of channels is known for this sort of trickery.  But this isn't that big of a deal.  Just watch the new episodes on the Discovery Channel, and don't worry about the Science Channel episodes unless you are heavily into the show and want the extra footage. 

Yes, now that I've figured out that there's a new season on.  Which neither the Discovery Channel website nor the Science Channel website even mentions.  And the onscreen guide, which is what tipped me off that there might be a new season afoot, was too confusing to figure out if that's what was actually happening.

I was scurrying to try to get last Friday's episode somehow, and managed to get the Science Channel version.  Some of the bouts it showed weren't complete, to judge from my unscientific method of making note of the clock.

But you're right about the Discovery family of channels.  90-Day Fiance, on TLC, has about a million different versions and then there are expanded versions of some of the different versions, and people have fits trying to keep track (and trying to organize the discussions here).  I wonder if it has something to do with just maximizing the number of times a DVR records something, and it translates to viewers.

Whatever--it's maddening and making me kind of hate all the Discovery channels.

.

On 6/9/2019 at 12:31 AM, rmontro said:

What if someone put barbs on the back of their fangs so they wouldn't release?  I'm assuming that would be against the rules.  Anyway, tough way to lose for Blacksmith, but I would have been angry had they ruled the other way.

But Quantum blamed the inability to release the bite on Blacksmith's choice in armor, so it's not like putting barbs on the fangs, which is designed not to release.  Now, I don't know what kind of armor would make releasing possible, and think maybe they were implying that it needed to be less strong, but that doesn't seem like a logical way to run a competition.

I didn't like the ruling but Mr. Outlier was okay with it, so it's a split decision in this household.

[enoughcats]

On 6/14/2019 at 12:38 AM, StatisticalOutlier said:

On 6/9/2019 at 1:31 AM, rmontro said:

What if someone put barbs on the back of their fangs so they wouldn't release?  I'm assuming that would be against the rules.  Anyway, tough way to lose for Blacksmith, but I would have been angry had they ruled the other way.

But Quantum blamed the inability to release the bite on Blacksmith's choice in armor, so it's not like putting barbs on the fangs, which is designed not to release.  Now, I don't know what kind of armor would make releasing possible, and think maybe they were implying that it needed to be less strong, but that doesn't seem like a logical way to run a competition.

I didn't like the ruling but Mr. Outlier was okay with it, so it's a split decision in this household.

Was it three or four years ago that something vaguely similar happened?  One bot trapped another by tossing netting over it, such that the trapped bot was....trapped? 

The weapon couldn't be taken back by the tosser.  The tosser did not win, and the trapped bot got an additional (IIRC) chance. 

The driver of the 'toothed' bot said it was up to the impaled bot to get off his tooth?  If I were to apply that to the entrapped bot several years ago, the toothed bot would be responsible for getting his tooth back. 

[Quilt Fairy]

7 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Was it three or four years ago that something vaguely similar happened?  One bot trapped another by tossing netting over it, such that the trapped bot was....trapped? 

The guy that used the net is now one of the judges.  The referees called that 'entrapment' and said it was forbidden in the rules.  I think you could argue either way as to whether that barbed tooth is considered an entrapment device.  The contestants didn't intend it to act like that, but the one time we've seen it in action, the other bot was indeed entrapped. 

On to last night:

Oh, Huge, what did they do to you?  As soon as I saw the new, 'improved' wheels I knew it was going to be a disaster.  

Black Dragon was absolutely robbed in the bout against Texas Twister.  Whether it was on fire part of the time or not, it was without question the more aggression bot inflicting the most damage the entire match. 

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Oh, Huge, what did they do to you?  As soon as I saw the new, 'improved' wheels I knew it was going to be a disaster.  

Black Dragon was absolutely robbed in the bout against Texas Twister. 

Agree about Black Dragon, lousy decision.

To be fair to Huge, it probably wasn't going to beat Son of Wayachi anyway.  Seems like they had a fairly desperate battle plan, trying to drive over it and attack it from the top with that short blade.

Nice to see Duck back and getting some revenge over Bombshell.  The first time I saw Duck, I thought it was the dumbest robot I'd ever seen, but that is one tough bot.  I'd be surprised if it doesn't make the top 16 this year.

[4Sibes Redux]

I enjoyed each of the bouts this past week. My new favorite is RailGun Max. 

I enjoy “hating”  Witch Doctor. I get a kick out of booing every time I see them. I’m glad to have something to be a curmudgeon over. 

Edited June 25, 2019 by 4Sibes Redux

[enoughcats]

Tonight's new card featured some really great fights.  And the post fight interviews were a hoot and enjoyable and a positive addition to the show.

Some cocky bots owners got major doses of humility; some cocky bots owners showed that there was basis for their bravado. 

And one bot flew ten times and won his match.

[Quilt Fairy]

13 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Tonight's new card featured some really great fights.  And the post fight interviews were a hoot and enjoyable and a positive addition to the show.

ITA about the fights.  I usually FF through the interviews, maybe I'll have to go back and listen to them.  I do like the BTS bits that the new girl is doing.  She brings a "just an average viewer" vibe to those scenes. 

I felt for Quantum this week.  I thought they should have been disqualified in their previous fight against Blacksmith, but the new footage they showed this week changed my mind.  Quantum actually did release Blacksmith, to the extent that they lifted that 250 lb. bot up on their tooth!  So is it entanglement at that point or not? 

It's interesting that so many fights are won not by the most aggressive bot or the one causing the most damage but the one left moving at the end. 

[4Sibes Redux]

23 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Tonight's new card featured some really great fights.

This was a great episode. I agree with all you said. The Bot Gods must be fans of water fowl because WOW!

I also loved the interviews. Ray Billings always comes off as cocky, but he can back it up with results. I thought he was actually cute when he made the comment/joke “let’s talk about how awesome I am.”

 I have yet to see a fire spouting bought use flames in a successful way, but I want to see it deployed against Ribbot.

Finally, I want to have a job I love as much as Farouk seems to love his. 

[rmontro]

On 6/28/2019 at 11:24 PM, enoughcats said:

And one bot flew ten times and won his match.

Duck never ceases to amaze me.  Cobalt even tore his face off, but Duck still ended up the winner.  Duck needs to be in the final 16 this year, and no desperation tournament involved.  At 2-0, that's looking pretty solid right now.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/29/2019 at 12:26 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I do like the BTS bits that the new girl is doing.  She brings a "just an average viewer" vibe to those scenes.

I thought the previous woman they had on the show brought nothing to it, but I'm really liking this new one.  She seems to be really interested in what they're doing.  Maybe the previous one was, too, but just wasn't given that role...I don't know.  But I don't FF through any of the show any more, which means they're doing something right in my eyes.

[Quilt Fairy]

12 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Maybe the previous one was, too, but just wasn't given that role...I don't know.

ITA. She was just another "hot chick in a short skirt".  Although I feel that Faruq is superfluous as well, but at least they give Faruq something to do. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Although I feel that Faruq is superfluous as well, but at least they give Faruq something to do. 

Possibly unpopular opinion, but I don't think Faruq's voice is as deep as he thinks it is.  He always sounds like he's straining.

I'll tell you who's not superfluous is Chris Rose.  That guy kills me.  I had a new person watching last week's episode with me, and he howled when Chris screamed, "There's frog parts all over the battlebox!"

[Destiny74]

21 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Possibly unpopular opinion, but I don't think Faruq's voice is as deep as he thinks it is.  He always sounds like he's straining.

I'll tell you who's not superfluous is Chris Rose.  That guy kills me.  I had a new person watching last week's episode with me, and he howled when Chris screamed, "There's frog parts all over the battlebox!"

Chris Rose and Kenny Florian are the BEST commentating duo!  I love them both.  

[4Sibes Redux]

Not the most exciting episode. But I was happy that Huge put the old wheels on. 

I do think this was the only time I have seen a hammer bot win. 

[rmontro]

23 minutes ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

I do think this was the only time I have seen a hammer bot win. 

I was thinking something similar, although I'm sure it's not the case.  And they beat a vertical drum spinner also, which is usually a successful design choice.  They said Shatter fired his hammer 54 times in that fight.  I don't know how many actually connected, but it was a lot.  And yet the other bot was still running at the end and it had to go to the judges.

I think the other bot was Wan Hoo?  Faruq had one of his lamest introductions for that bot, it was so bad I had to laugh.  It was something like "if you have three Hoos and take away two, what are you left with?  Wan Hoo!".

[jhlipton]

On 6/13/2019 at 9:38 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

I didn't like the ruling but Mr. Outlier was okay with it, so it's a split decision in this household.

How did the third judge vote????

[enoughcats]

I rewatched on Wednesday night, and there was (towards the end) a fight that wasn't shown last Friday.  It wasn't very exciting, and the new to the fighting ring bot got whupped by the experienced bot.  

I wonder if they need a prelim for the newbies.  Putting them in with some of the powerful bots may not be what they need to see what changes they need to make to be competitive.

I am almost embarassed to admit that I love to see bots flipped.  Not just a single flip, but multiple 360's airborne.  And that is why I am so enamored of Duck.  It, ahem, took a licking and kept on ticking.  

Does anyone know if Bronco is in the line up this season and I wonder what new iteration Chomp will have.  Chomp had the AI, but the weapon didn't work until they made an adjustment and then it seems to stay upright so much better. 

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, enoughcats said:

I rewatched on Wednesday night, and there was (towards the end) a fight that wasn't shown last Friday.  It wasn't very exciting, and the new to the fighting ring bot got whupped by the experienced bot.

Interesting that you caught that, because Science Channel hasn't been promoting the Wednesday shows this season, and I wondered if it was because Discovery is airing 2-hour episodes with IIRC, no WWWA matches.  

[enoughcats]

Friday night July 12.  Forget, or at least set aside, my love of bots being flipped through the air.

You know the guy who destroys property, Mr. Mayhem, in the insurance ads.  Tonight's fights had two with as much mayhem as any fan could hope for, but not expect to see.  If you could disembowel a bot, that happened.  The first two had such mayhem that they weren't putting the bots on the carrying four wheeled carts, they were just picking up pieces.

To answer my question, Bronco was back in a smaller, more Titanium used, more compact form in the final, main card event.  It wasn't one of his flip out evenings. 

Only one fight went to the judges (IIRC).  That's a lot of knockouts. 

That was entertainment, with no blood spilled.  Since bot fluids don't count.

[Quilt Fairy]

58 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Only one fight went to the judges (IIRC).  That's a lot of knockouts. 

That was entertainment, with no blood spilled.  Since bot fluids don't count.

ITA, it was a great episode with a lot of surprises and a lot of mayhem.  But damn, Free Shipping got screwed.  I don't care if Yeti tore it apart, it was in control for the majority of that fight, even when it was in pieces. 

[rmontro]

7 hours ago, enoughcats said:

To answer my question, Bronco was back in a smaller, more Titanium used, more compact form in the final, main card event.  It wasn't one of his flip out evenings. 

Too bad Bronco lost that key piece of its flipper.  That bout between Bronco and Bite Force ended up being a disappointment, I was expecting a better fight.

6 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Free Shipping got screwed.  I don't care if Yeti tore it apart, it was in control for the majority of that fight, even when it was in pieces. 

I was thinking I would have hated to be a judge for that one.  That was probably the closest fight I've ever seen on Battlebots.  But I have to admit I would have given the nod to Yeti.  

[4Sibes Redux]

I was glad to see Yeti win. That’s a bot I always cheer for and end up disappointed. 

I can’t imagine the weapon on Sidewinder would ever be successful against and experienced driver, but points for something new. Seemed comparatively flimsy, though. 

[rmontro]

5 hours ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

I can’t imagine the weapon on Sidewinder would ever be successful against and experienced driver, but points for something new. Seemed comparatively flimsy, though. 

Yeah, they were comparing that bot to Tombstone, but it looked really flimsy to me also.  Not to mention that side blade didn't have the mass or size Tombstone's does.  I wasn't surprised it got dismantled.

[enoughcats]

Flimsy, dismantled, etc.

How much of this is a result of our seeing the bots from a distance, in the cage?

Whenever I've looked at Duck, I've seen him (and I do see him as a him) as about the size of a pack of  typewriter paper.  That's what my mind used to see.  Then we saw our announcers with the bill and bill support after Duck's loss of his bill, and all of a sudden my mind made the connection:  Duck=Big=Strong.

We've seen bots go for their weigh in.  But are some of the apparently less substantial bots way, way under weight?  Or do they just fight that way?

[jhlipton]

On 7/12/2019 at 10:21 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

ITA, it was a great episode with a lot of surprises and a lot of mayhem.  But damn, Free Shipping got screwed.  I don't care if Yeti tore it apart, it was in control for the majority of that fight, even when it was in pieces. 

That was a hard one to judge.  Yeti did a lot more (visible) damage, but Free Shipping was in control for most of the fight.  Can we have a tie???

[rmontro]

6 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Flimsy, dismantled, etc.

How much of this is a result of our seeing the bots from a distance, in the cage?

Whenever I've looked at Duck, I've seen him (and I do see him as a him) as about the size of a pack of  typewriter paper.  That's what my mind used to see. 

I've had that tendency to think of the bots as smaller also.  Another time to get perspective is when they wheel them into the arena on the carts.  You're right, that piece of Duck the announcers had looked massive.  And mass is also a big factor in determining the winner, or at least I've always been convinced of that.  A bigger, heavier bot can push a smaller, lighter one around.

So yeah, when we say flimsy, we're speaking relatively.  Tombstone looks much more substantial than Sidewinder.

[4Sibes Redux]

When I said Sidewinder was flimsy, I meant the wedges looked like they weren’t solidly connected. 

[enoughcats]

Tonight was a crazy quilt of well known bots and never heard of them before bots.  Two matchups could have been "the" game of the night.  

Lots of fire, that didn't burn much.

The retrospective of Duck's win by survival last week was lots of fun.  Some of the losses were real surprises. 

Next week is the fight for the bolt (and a place in the final 16).  Some of the bots with multiple losses may be too beaten up to participate. 

The Chinese woman tonight looked really foolish waving a cooking whisk in the air.  On one hand, they'd like women to be a major part of the competition, and then ....wire whisks for everybody? 

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, enoughcats said:

The Chinese woman tonight looked really foolish waving a cooking whisk in the air.  On one hand, they'd like women to be a major part of the competition, and then ....wire whisks for everybody? 

They described the spinner part of her bot as an "egg beater", so I assume the whisk was about that. 

[rmontro]

Two more very close fights with Lock-Jaw/Duck and Sawblaze/Blacksmith.  I really thought Duck should have won its fight.  Funny thing is, I had thought before watching it that Duck really needs to win by knockout, because it doesn't really have much of an offense weapon, and the judges supposedly weigh heavily for the main offensive weapon.  Duck's best offense is its defense.

I'm beginning to see why people don't like Ray Billings.  Rotator beat Tombstone fair and square, but he somehow turned it around to being all about himself, saying he had the most destructive bot because he had "destroyed himself".  I thought he should have showed a little more sportsmanship in that situation.  He had also said earlier in the show that Tombstone either wins or it beats itself.  No opponent wants to hear that garbage.

[4Sibes Redux]

I never like extra non-functioning crap on a bot. But I’m a fan now of Deathroll! I did think they were done for when they lost a belt at the beginning. 

I know myself well enough to say I don’t think I’d practice Good Sportsmanship if my opponent got disabled quickly. I think I’d do some late hits on upside down Bombshell.

Gemini - no. Tantrum - slightly less no.  

I like Duck & Lockjaw. Good match. Why doesn’t Duck guy (Hal Rucker) have anyone standing beside him at decision time?

I lost interest in Sawblaze vs Blacksmith. But I dislike hammers as a weapon. 

I said earlier in the season that I loved Rail Gun Max. I still do. 

Rotator vs. Tombstone. Fun match! Nice to see a big fire because Ray Billings wouldn’t stop running Tombstone.

[Totale]

We thought Blacksmith got screwed, but at least we got to see Tombstone lose which is always a good time.

[Quilt Fairy]

14 minutes ago, Totale said:

We thought Blacksmith got screwed, but at least we got to see Tombstone lose which is always a good time.

I agree to both sentiments.  I thought the redesign of Sawblaze was poor, it put too much weight in the back and the imbalance really showed once it was in the battlebox.   I dislike that type of bot in general, the designers may think they're lethal but they seldom have a chance to utilize their main weapon in an actual fight.  While I don't care for hammer bots, I thought Blacksmith was in control for the whole of that fight, and landed a surprising number of blows.  I would have awarded it the win over Sawblaze.

I was convinced that Tombstone would make it to the final buzzer and the judges would award Billings the win just because it's Tombstone.  Alternately I feared that Rotator would stop working and be counted out while Tombstone was sitting there on fire.  "I requested this matchup."  Does everyone get that privilege?  Billings continues to come off as an asshole.  It was thrilling to watch Tombstone burn up. 

Edited July 20, 2019 by Quilt Fairy

[4Sibes Redux]

2 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I dislike that type of bot in general, the designers may think they're lethal but they seldom have a chance to utilize their main weapon in an actual fight

Totally. Very few bots are susceptible to overhead saws. 

[rmontro]

14 hours ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

I like Duck & Lockjaw. Good match. Why doesn’t Duck guy (Hal Rucker) have anyone standing beside him at decision time?

I noticed that also.  Some of these teams have a huge group when they come out, I think Rucker just came out with his son?  Or am I thinking of someone else.  Makes me wonder how many of these people are just hanger-ons who want to get on TV.

10 hours ago, Totale said:

We thought Blacksmith got screwed

That was a really close fight.  Maybe since hammer bots aren't generally very effective, there is some unconscious bias against him.  If you want to build an effective bot without putting too much creativity into it, put a good vertical spinner on it, and you will likely at least contend.  That's kind of boring, though.

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Billings continues to come off as an asshole.  

I was almost impressed when he told the Rotator guy "Good luck" before the fight started.  But it almost sounded like a challenge coming from him, sort of like "Good luck, you'll need it".  Or maybe I'm being too harsh.  I swear I've heard somewhere Billings is well liked backstage, even though he comes off like a jackass on TV.