Let's Read: The Han Solo Adventures (1979)

[pendell]

I suspect the differences between a Battlebot and the gladiator Droid are exactly in the names. Wasted mass is crippling and showboating in BB can easily cause you to lose a match, but gladiators are entertainers as much as they are fighters, so a certain level of inefficiency is beneficial to the design intent.

Battlebots need to be entertaining as well. The reason being is that there's only 32 seats at the table for the second round. Each 'bot fights 3 combats in the first round, which means there are a lot of bots with 2-1 and 1-2 records who are all in contention. The judges select based on a number of things, but among the most critical is if the robots make good TV or not. A 1-2 bot that is very entertaining can win a spot over a bot that is 2-1 but is utterly boring to watch, especially if the two victories were decisions in which the victor just barely won on points over the loser.

You don't need to be entertaining if you can turn in a 3-0 record. And an 0-3 bot ain't going to the dance no matter how good a show it puts on. For the rest of the bots, they need a combination of skill AND show. The true winner is the person who can combine both these attributes into a single, elegant package. No more mass than necessary yet making a deep impression on the audience, either through beauty or through sheer intimidation, as Ray Billing's Tombstone did for years, though it is now outmatched. The intimidation factor is hard to keep up when your bot is in pieces all over the arena.

So battlebots are gladiator bots in that sense, and being able to put on a show is every bit as important as it would be in the GFFA.

For instance, the name Martin Mason. Tomandtish hates his guts because he's a showboat and puts on a pro wrestler persona for the cameras, but his team always -- always! -- gets selected to go on to the second round.

Coincidence? I think not.

Respectfully,

Brian P.