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Thread: Battlebots is Back
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2021-01-15, 11:29 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Episode VI: Battle of the Undefeated
Valkyrie vs. Rotator
Spoiler
Valkyrie with its horizontal spinner lucked out against Tantrum in the earlier fight, will it do better?
Rotator is a spinner which lost a deeply controversial match to
Beta in the first round. Maybe this time they can show their stuff.
Fight's on: Rotator and Valkyrie are both aggressive. Valkyrie is momentarily knocked on its vertical axis but recovers; meanwhile Rotator keeps its wedge pointed towards Valkyrie. It is holding the low ground but its primary weapon is inactive.
Rotator's blade starts up again. They charge each other again, and again, like knights on horseback. Although there are plenty of sparks and Valkyrie is knocked 6 inches into the air at one point, still there is no crippling damage and the combatants fight on.
Valkyrie knocked vertical again but it presses in and now we see bits and pieces coming off of rotator, but it's still strong.
Rotator starting to show minor mobility issues; it's hurt.
Both bots primaries go inactive and they go in for a last wrestler's clench as the timer counts down.
What a fight!
It goes to the judges. I'm calling it for Valkyrie on behalf of visible damage but Rotator has NOTHING to be ashamed of. If I were on the selection committee,
I'd pick it in a heartbeat over some of our other contenders who never used their weapons and scored technical victories.
The judges make a special request! They enter the battlebox to examine the combatants and the debris up close and personal, the decision is that close.
After they return , making sure they got it right, they hand down their unanimous decision.
WINNER: VALKYRIE, by decision, 3-0.
Gigabyte Vs. Extinguisher
Spoiler
Copperhead was bisected by Copperhead in its last fight. It has, as the driver admits, one more chance to prove itself to the selection committee.
Extinguisher was defeated by Perfect Phoenix with one hit; it has to impress the selection committee this time around. They're bringing a wedge and a hammer in this fight.
Fight's on; Extinguisher misses the hit and allows Gigabyte to get its weapon up to speed. It quickly pays as Gigabyte rips up its hammer, putting it at a 45 degree angle and useless.
At this point the fight is already over; Extinguisher has no weapon but Gigabyte's spinner is at full speed. We wait for the coup de grace.
It is not long in coming. Gigabyte takes off one of E's tires and it is reduced to crabwalking. Gigabyte backs to a distance as the referee counts Extinguisher out.
WINNER: Gigabyte, by KO.
Sharkoprion vs. Slap Box
Spoiler
Sharkoprion lost to Smeeee because it couldn't bite through Smee's gimmick tape. Shark is a biter which , the announcers tell us, can operate a maximum of 30 times before being out of pressure. Let's see how it does against a more conventional bot.
Slap box is a rookie team who had the misfortune to go up against Tombstone in its first ever battlebox matchup, and what happened was exactly what you would expect. Again, it has a second chance to show its stuff against an easier foe. For pity's sake, it's like facing Sephiroth as the first boss of FF VII before you've even left Midgard. The announcers note that the eight year old daughter of the team will be operating the flamethrower. Lucky kid. I didn't get to operate a flamethrower when I was eight!
Slap box successfully box rushes sharko and knocks some bits off. Shark tries to bite down but Slapbox is just to fast. So far the fight is all slapboxes' way.
Sharko at last bites down on Slap-boxes lifting/flamethrower arm but this does nothing. It bites it again and this time Slap box takes it for a ride around the battlebox while the flamethrower spews hellfire into sharkos face, giving an impressive visual.
Slap-box successfully flips Sharko and the shark's primary weapon is disabled. Slap-box continues to try to stick its arm underneath the shark and flame it while Sharko tries to flip back over.
Sharko desperately spins in place to flip itself over but can't.
Slap-box flips them over, then flips them back again.
At last sharko stops moving. Whether damage from Slap-box or the attempt to flip it burned out the batteries, it's hard to tell, but Sharko is counted out with 35 seconds left and Slap-box gets its first win!
As the fight ends the Shark's captain shouts the same thing to Slap-box that Ray Billings did: "Great Fight! That was a great fight, man! That was awesome!" Everybody's impressed with this up-and-coming rookie team!
Even though slap-box got the win and I'm happy for them, their bot just isn't showing me the destructive potential to go the distance. Even so, they've definitely proved they belong here on Battlebots.
WINNER: Slap-box , by KO.
Malice vs. MadCatter
Spoiler
Malice is a horizontal spinner with a very determined Captain, who delighted in destroying Axe Backwards. "Bunny" has been a pit crew member for other bots and is here as Captain in her own right. She is determined and passionate, but can she repeat?
Mad Catter managed to defeat Fusion last time, and brings a flaming hammer. The intent is to flip Malice and then hit the underside with the flaming hammer. They also have a minibot whose purpose I do not understand. Maybe to do the flip? Anyway, this is their chance to prove the victory wasn't a fluke.
Mad Catter's Captain -- Martin Mason -- is zany. He has a little poem all made up celebrating his win before hand. I'm already rooting for Malice.
Fight's on. There are several vicious collisions and Malice is knocked vertical. It can't move, and starts shaking its wheels to get horizontal again. If it can't, this is a KO.
To add insult to injury, the minibot zips up and now we see its purpose; it lights up a flamethrower which singes Malice's hindquarters.
A shot to Malice's controller frantically working the stick back and forth but to no effect; Malice is counted out.
Well, that was a valuable lesson. I haven't seen a horizontal spinner knocked vertical before but now we've seen it twice, once in this fight and once with Valkyrie.
Mason gives his victory interview SHOUTING THE ENTIRE TIME. Was he a pro wrestler before he was a community college professor?
WINNER: Mad Catter, by KO.
Tantrum vs.Atom #94
Spoiler
Tantrum dominated the fight with Valkyrie right up to the point it stopped moving. They've stripped off the fists and flamethrowers to add more batteries; apparently running out of juice is what caused them to lose against Valkyrie. They expect this , a pair of forks to prop 94 up, and a vertical spinner to give them the victory.
Atom #94 is an Indian team advised by Ray Billings; It brings a vertical spinner. They had serious issues in their initial debut against Big Dill, and have completely rebuilt their drive train for this fight.
Fight's on. 94 still looks like its struggling , but it lands a nice hit on tantrum. Tantrum comes back and manages to pick up 94 and give it a ride around the battlebox, lots of sparks.
Tantrum drives underneath and pops 94 with its weapon, inverting 94.
One more hit from Tantrum and 94 is stuck , inverted, immovable, counted out.
I have many Indian colleagues and I was rooting for this team because I really wanted to see an Indian team do well, but it looks like this year is not going to be the year. I think it's time for them to step back, re-think , and come back stronger next year.
WINNER: Tantrum, by KO.
Smeeeee vs. Pain Train
Spoiler
Smeeeee is a strange little bot ; two spinners joined by a tape. It won tne earlier decision against Sharkopion, going against Pain Train , a rookie vertical spinner captained by a former marine which also struggled with control issues, much like Atom #94. Pain Train has lowered its speed in this match so they can get sharper turns against Smeeeeee.
Fight's on. Pain train charges right into Smeee and is foiled by the tape but equally Smeee can't turn on the flanks to do any damage.
Smee is able to clip pain train for minor damage but pain train doesn't seem to be able to come to grips with Smeee.
PT's driving issues manifets again.
Then the match turns around. Pain train flips around and goes head to head with Smee's port bot, ripping the spinner right off.
Now the battle swings the other way. Smee knicks Pain train, and PT's massive blade digs into the arena floor and falls out! Pain Train is disarmed!
But the impact disables smee as well! Neither bot is armed , and neither can properly push the other.
As they count down the two get into a shoving match and smoke comes from Pain Train as it shoves against Smeee but to no avail.
It goes to a decision.
I thought both bots performed poorly, but I have to give it with reluctance to Smeeeee because Pain Train had a lot more control issues. Smeee did a better job of driving and hitting PT, so I have to give it the edge in control points and the match.
The judges decision is split, but they give it to Pain Train. Defensible, but both bots underperformed. You must do better to impress the selection committee!
WINNER: Pain Train, by decision (2-1).
Main Event: Sawblaze vs. Uppercut
Spoiler
Sawblaze destroyed Whiplash with an impressive display of driving in its first match , while Uppercut, the team from MIT, destroyed the twin bot Gemini by annihilating each of the two bots in rapid succession. Let's see how it does against a more conventional bot.
Fight's on!
They try to get around each other but with one shot Rotator knocks sawblaze across the arena and nearly out of the box!
It tries to follow up and rupture's Sawblaze's flamethrower fuel tank, which explodes! KA-BOOM! A fireball in the battlebox!
Upper cut hits sawblaze again and again, knocking a chunk off of Sawblaze.
Uppercut keeps at it, picking Sawblaze apart and in short order Sawblaze is done, immobile, and counted out.
Great fight, and great performance by Uppercut!
The announcers are greatly impressed: They've seen this kind of damage only from the top contenders in this sport, and suddenly Uppercut is being mentioned in the same breath as Monsoon and Tombstone.
After the fight, there's a quick shot of bits of sawblaze still blazing merrily away.
WINNER: Sawblaze, by KO.
Respectfully,
Brian P.Last edited by pendell; 2021-01-15 at 11:45 PM.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-01-23, 12:21 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Episode 7: Turning up the Heat.
This is the final first round; next time we go to the round of 32 as chosen by the selection committee.
Axe Backwards vs. Captain Shred
Spoiler
Axe was annihilated by Malice in its first round , while the Captain was crushed by lockjaw, being reduced to a mere moving frisbee. It's been rebuilt entirely from the last fight.
Fight's on!
They approach each other cautiously, giving gach other time to spin up. Captain hits from back and draws first blood, bouncing Axe over the box.
More contact. Axe presnting its wedge. Shred goes flying over the top but comes back. Still more contact but both bots are still fully operational.
More contacts. Axe Backwards is crab-walking a bit but still has forward motion. Eventually the Captain gets around behind him and takes off a wheel. That's the end of the match for axe backwards.
WINNER: Captain Shrederator, by KO.
Copperhead vs. P1
Spoiler
I will always think of Copperhead as "Muramasa" after it bisected Gigabyte in its first fight.
I don't recall seeing P1 before. It looks like a cute little formula 1 racer. It has an AR500 stel wede to protect against copperhead, but I don't see what it's primary weapn is. The pre-fight interview suggests they're going to try to get under copperhead and knock it into the air. Will it work?
Uh-ho, not a good omen. Barely is the command "Robots activate" given when bits start falling off of P1. Not the best engineering, seemingly.
But now we see it's weapon -- a flipper build into the front. So the plan is for it to get under its enemy and flip it into the air. Frankly, after that little display, I'm not hopeful.
Fight's on. Copperhead spinning up sounds like a jet engine warming up, remniscient of Minotaur in earlier season's.
Alas, it plays out exactly as I expected. Two hits from Copperhead and P1 is done, just like that. It's flipper waas totally ineffective and that drum spinner did a number on him. One hit and it was barely moving, 2 hits and P1 was out altogether.
This match definitely shows that Copperhead is for real. I would be surprised if it falls short of Top 8. As for P1,
I hope they can show us more next year!
WINNER: Copperhead, by KO.
Rusty vs. Beta
Spoiler
Rusty is our underdog made on a budget, taking on Beta which never used its primary weapon in its first bout. I'm hoping
it can show us more this time. There's only one person on the team, Captain Dave Eaton, who lives on his parent's farm. Show us!
The bot expert is worried for Rusty ; he's not convinced the pneumatic drill can penetrate Beta's top layer, while Beta's hammer will be extremely powerful if it hits.
Fight's on!
Beta Out-drives Rusty and eventually gets just what it wants, to get around behind and strike with a single , precision blow to the back of Rusty, putting a huge dent in Rusty's behind.
Rusty's shaking now. I'm not sure it's mobile.
It is moving, but very slowly. Beta hits it again, then backs off as Rusty struggles to show it is still effective.
Beta rams it twice more but Rusty isn't moving. It is counted out.
So it appears that Beta is for real and I must revise my opinion of them upward. They are a very cautious, tactical team which drove very well and struck with two precise blows to end the match. I'm still not convinced Beta will be a top contender, but they really showed us some skill in this fight!
Mammoth vs. Hypershock
Spoiler
Mammoth is a very large bot which overcame Huge in tis previous encounter.
Hypershock is a vertical spinner which was defeated by Gruff, presumably by when Gruff's flame overheated the internal components.
Fight's on!
Hypershock is outdriving hypershock and casuing damage. Now flips Mammoth over and pushed into the crew.
Mammoth's chain is off and that's the end of the fight.
Mammoth asks Hypershock to flip him over and he dtries, but he doesn't flip all the way and now smoke is coming out .
The countdown starts , and finishes without dispute.
WINNER: Hypershock, by KO.
Subzero vs. Sporkinok
Spoiler
Subzero looked like it was winning against Jackpot, right up to the point it shut down and was counted out. Reliability issues.
Sporkenok is another hammer which was defeated by Rusty.
Fight's on. Subzero dominates the match. It flips
Sporkinok and for a few seconds it appears the fight is over, but subzero flips them back over. The announcers speculate that this is so subzero can better show its stuff
to the selection committee.
Subzero charges, misses and impales itself on the screws.
It flips itself off, upside down, flips itself back upright,
then goes back to work on the hapless Sporkenok, which has been off to the side doing nothing while all this is happening.
Subzero tries repeatedly to flip Sporkenok out of the ring but can't do it. Doesnt' matter, Spork isn't moving. The ref has seen enough, and counts Sporkenok out.
WINNER: Subzero, by KO.
Bale spear vs. Tracer
Spoiler
Tracer was defeated by a design flaw in the last fight as it has no self-righting mechanism, and Ribbot had indeed knocked it over. Bale Spear I have no record of. It looks like a barn. Not surprising, as the captain is indeed a farmer. It has a spear on the front to pierce, but it can also flip, apparently.
Fight's on!
Bale spear chases the minibot while tracer move slowly, though it tears off one of the cosmetic barn doors.
next, the minibot shows it stuff, pinning Bale Spear so Tracer can line up and hit it. Next , Tracer takes Bale Spear into the screws , where it is immovable. Counted out. Seemingly Bale Spear was not able to take hits.
WINNER: Tracer, by KO.
Main Event: Gruff vs. Whiplash
Spoiler
Gruff is a lifter/grappler with a torch which destroyed Hypershock, a verteran contendr, in its first fight.
Whiplash was defeated by Sawblaze, but it was a very tough fight.
Fight's on. And what a fight it is! Both bots are very a
aggressive, a whirlwind of action, flames spewing everywhere, and we can't tell who's winning.
Looks like Gruff has lost one of its flamethrowers and is now pushed into the corner as Whiplash tries, and fails, to
flip him out.
Both flamethrowers are now inoperative and Gruff is shwoing
damage , but it's still functional and still in the fight.
But what can it do to Whiplash as Whiplash continues to try to flip him and bring the saw to bear?
Gruff gets the reversal and Whiplash is smoking!
Whiplash's saw is no longer active but it can still
flip.
Gruff is smoking too.
Whiplash drives Gruff into the corner , and now smoke leaking from both bots.
Whiplash continues to flip gruff, ut doesn't seem to able to inflict a finishing blow as the timer counts down.
Even so, with such a dominant performance by Whiplash,
it seems likely Whiplash will win by unanimous decision.
Even so, both bots show they belonged today, in my opinion.
The announcers call it that way too, and sure enough that's what the Judges give us. Still a very entertaining fight!
WINNER: Whiplash, by decision (3-0)
Respectfully,
Brian P."Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-01-29, 07:56 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Episode 8: Hit the Jackpot
We're still working through the first round for selection, but this should be the last set of qualifiers.
Huge vs. Kraken
Spoiler
Huge is down 0-2 and has one last chance to impress;
Kraken lost to Black Dragon but won against witch doctor, although neither was a KO. We'll see how it does against hte biggest bot in the field. It brings a harpoon today. Our bot whisperer has no idea how Kraken can fight Huge tonight.
Fight's on!
Kraken charges right in and bites down on Huge, immobilizing the vertical spinner weapon before it can reach damaging velocity. It next cuts loose in flame and is definitely winning the control battle, at least at the start of the fight.
Kraken releases after the full 30 seconds, and bits of huge come off.
Kraken comes in, bites, stops the weapon, but a glancing hit. Next time around it allows Huge's weapon to spin up and this time contact with that weapon takes a BIG chunk out of Kraken, but it's cosmetic. The fight continues.
Continued hits by Huge while Kraken can't do anything, big chunks being ripped off. Kraken is still armed and operable, but how long can that last with the damage it's taking?
Kraken uses its spear to stick to the side of huge and evade the primary but can't do anything. Huge lands another massive shot and this time Kraken is knocked over , can't move, only spin in place. This happened with nine seconds left so there will be no KO but there is no doubt, in my mind, who the winner of this fight is.
WINNER: Huge, by decision (3-0)
Ribbot Vs. Axolotl
Spoiler
Ribbot , with its vertical spinner lost to madcatter, the only undefeated bot in the field, so that's no shame. It also overcame Tracer, a rookie, giving us a record of 1-1 coming in tonight. They bring an undercutter horizontal spinner tonight, going weapon-to-weapon with Axolotl. They plan to use their greater speed and agility to advantage, pick and choose their spots to hit.
We haven't seen Axolotl yet this season; it's previous match was untelevised and a lost to War?EZ! It looks like a vertical spinner with wedgelets on the floor, a rookie.
Bot whisperer thinks Axolotl has very little chance. Here's hoping they prove better than his expectations.
Fight's on!
Two hits and Axolotl's primary is disabled. We hear their team yell, "We can't move it!" The fight is over.
The countdown starts but Ribbot charges again out of vainglory and rips off its own head. It is still mobile, so only Axolotl is counted out but that was a VERY costly mistake. It could have cost them the match, instead it will cost them some repair time.
WINNER: Ribbot, by KO.
Big Dill vs. Rotator
Spoiler
Big Dill, a lifter, is 1-1 defeating Atom 94 in a decision but that didn't tell us much about this fight. 94 has really struggled this season, so defeating it doesn't really demonstrate that its opponents are top contenders. Lockjaw, a much more dangerous veteran team, overcame Big Dill with a decision. So this is make-or-break time for the giant pickle. They have reinforced their front with heavy armour to compete with Rotator's weapon.
Rotator is a spinner down 0-2, first against Beta and then against Valkyrie. Down to its last chance; I expect the team to give their all tonight. They've stripped the armour and other things off because , after seeing BD's match against Atom 94, they believe it will be a liability, just more stuff for Big Dill to grab onto. The bot weighs in at 215 pounds , 35 pounds under the allowed weight, a record for lightest bot as a competitor.
Fight's on!
A very cautious approach, some dancing around. Rotator starts biting into BD, BD lifts rotator once to no effect. After that its having a hard time lifting Rotator while Rotator continues to slice away with its spinner. The forks on BD are showing wear.
Bit by bit Rotator outmaneuvers Big Dill and takes off more and more pieces until Big Dill stops moving. Their gamble has paid off; they now have a record not only for lightest contestant, but lightest winner as well.
WINNER: Rotator, by KO.
Lock-jaw vs. Jackpot
Spoiler
Lock-jaw , a vertical spinner, has proven very effective this season, defeating both Captain Shredderator by KO and Big Dill by decision.
But Jackpot is no easy opponent. This bot is the cheapest out there, built for $4000 (the cost of batteries alone on some of the other bots), it has defeated the veteran SubZero and Ghost Raptor, both by KO. I'm going to be rooting for this team tonight.
And, as the pre-fight talk goes, only one of these can emerge as an undefeated 3-0.
Heck, I don't have to be neutral. GO FOR IT JACKPOT!
Buzzer sounds.
Jackpot charges straight in for a weapon to weapon hit and afterwards Lockjaw's weapon isn't spinning fast at all. Captain Hudson intended to win this match with his driving but so far Jackpot is the one winning both the driving and damage games.
A third collision and one of Jackpot's belts come off. Smoke comes from Lockjaw's motors, overheating.
A fourth hit, but this time it's jackpot's weapon that is disabled. This is now a pushing match. Jackpot is the heavier bot, but Hudson is a far more experienced driver.
More smoke out of Lockjaw.
Lockjaw stops moving. Countdown starts.
That's it! The rookie bot, Jackpot, is now 3-0 against one of the toughest veterans in the sport! YES!
WINNER: Jackpot, by KO.
Chronos vs. Bloodsport
Spoiler
We haven't seen Chronos on air this season so I assume their fights were off camera. The report is that they are winless this season. Bot whisperer tells us this is a ring spinnner which is a very hard design to make work; which is why it's the only one in the field this year.
Bloodsport overcame Skorpios, tonight's main event contender, by KO. They would seem to have the advantage against a relatively unknown team, but anything can happen in the box. They are undefeated this season.
The whisperer points out that Bloodsport spins a lot faster than Chronos, so when there is contact they will probably send Chronos flying into the wall. We'll see.
ROBOTS ACTIVATE.
Chronos runs from Bloodsport, but Bloodsport chases it down and delivers a punishing shot, instantly disabling Chronos' primary weapon.
More hits. Chronos lures bloodsport into the corner of the battle box and, in the process of hitting Chronos, Bloodsport hits the wall with it's blade. It can't do that too often and keep its weapon operable.
Bloodsports weapon is powered down. Is it inoperable or is it just powered down? Lot of pushing going on right now.
A few seconds later, it spins up again. So powered down to save it. Looks like some more damage coming up.
More sparks, but Chronos is very durable. Bloodsport powers down its weapon again. Perhaps they don't think they can do more damage , and they want to save the blade for future bouts.
A few more cycles of this. Bloodsport powers up, hits for sparks and nothing else, powers down again. Powers up at the end of the fight to demonstrate that they disabled Chronos' primary but their own is still functional. That should be enough to get the judge's nod as the clock expires.
It is. Bloodsport, along with Madcatter and Jackpot, is undefeated this season.
WINNER: Bloodsport, by decision (3-0)
Fusion vs. War?EZ!
Spoiler
Fusion has dual weapons and this proved a liability in tis fight against Madcatter, which it lost by KO, but it has overcome Aegis by KO to enter this round 1-1.
War?EZ! I haven't seen yet; It is a vertical spinner which are 1-1 in untelevised bouts, including a bout against Axolotl, a fellow rookie who was not particularly distinguished this season. Fusion is a tougher foe. This is a father-son duo John and Dillon Juarez.
The announcers expect Fusion to be heavily favored. They aren't going to pretend this is anything like an even contest.
The bot whisperer is really nervous about War?Ez!'s exposed wheels.
Fusion sniffs that they are viewing this as a practice bout. I hope War gives them reason to regret that arrogance.
Fight's on!
Fusion has trouble with the floor, allowing War!Ez to get in some free hits . For a few brief seconds it looks like an upset -- then Fusion pivots with its weapon and BOTH bots go flying across the box from the contact! Here the difference in experience shows -- Fusion is flipped ( I think) but is still fully operable and drivable. War?EZ! is flipped over, has lost a wheel (just as the whisperer feared), and is immobile. This fight is over. I like war's design, but some rookie flaws give the victory to Fusion.
WINNER: Fusion, by KO.
Main Event: Skorpios vs . Tombstone
Spoiler
The pre-fight chatter builds up Skorpios as "specifically designed" to take down Tombstone. Skorpios KOd
Perfect Phoenix, so they can beat up little kids, but in turn lost to Bloodsport. Now they're going up against what may be the toughest bot in the field. They have a wedge to break Tombstone's weapon, then hit from the top with their own saw. They've been waiting for this match for four years. They've been working overtime to repair every crack and tape every wire for this fight.
Tombstone? Well, everyone knows Tombstone. Death incarnate, this monster is still beatable; but it's still an unexpected event and a cause for cheering , akin to seeing Darth Vader lose. Endgame got Tombstone's number early this season, first breaking T's weapon and then stuffing him out of the box. T's next match was against a rookie, which went exactly as you would expect when your first match is against the most lethal bot in the field. Now Captain Ray has to prove that his bot is still effective against a veteran contender, in this highly anticipated main event bout. The announcers tell us he believes, based on the matchup, he can beat Skorpios 8 out of 10 times but he's taking this fight very seriously indeed.
The announcers talk about Skorpios winning as "huge upset". Ergo, they think Tombstone is the favorite here.
Whisperer says Ray has gone with a lighter blade which spins up faster. He doesn't want to go out of the box again, as he did against Endgame.
Here we go!
So far Skorpios' strategy appears to be working. The wedge is resisting Tombstone's blade and he has managed a hit from the top saw. Both bots still fighting viciously, though. Skorpios is driving brilliantly. Ray keeps trying to come in from the side and rip off the wheels but Scorpios keeps its wedge pointed right at Tombstone and rushes in again and again.
More hits! Skorpios' wedge is showing damage and one of those tires looks weak but it's still aggressive and coming into the fight! If it can just take down Tombstone's weapon, it can still win this!
Tombstone loses a wheel! The countdown starts!
Ray Billing is in shock. "They're counting me out?"
Yes, yes we are. With only one wheel you're crab walking. Announcer Kenny Florian says "I'm not sure that's controlled movement" and I don't think it is either.
The Ref finishes the countdown and, in an epic fight for the ages of Battlebox, Skorpios triumphs over the enemy it was designed to defeat!
WINNER: Skorpios, by KO. (!!)
Respectfully,
Brian P.Last edited by pendell; 2021-01-29 at 08:00 PM.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-01-29, 08:09 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
I went back and watched all the battlebot matches on youtube. I didn't watch it much as a kid, but it's fun to go back and see them. The newer form of Chomp and Icewave tend to be my favorites, and the wedge bots my least. I know it's the best design but the big crappy looking ones are nearly always more fun.
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-01-30, 07:31 PM (ISO 8601)Colossus in the Playground
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- Dec 2010
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- right behind you
Re: Battlebots is Back
As far as tombstone goes,
Spoilerim not sure why, but he seems to have lost a lot of that air of inevitable destruction, and has been trading more on rep than results. And ribbot shows why showboating is bad."Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room." Originally Posted by Nerd-o-rama
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2021-01-31, 12:39 AM (ISO 8601)Barbarian in the Playground
- Join Date
- Aug 2006
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Re: Battlebots is Back
I like Chomp a lot more this season than I have before, although I doubt they'd ever go into the finals. So far Uppercut is definitely one of my favorites, especially because so many of their wins have been dramatic this year like the fight between it and Gemini or Sawblaze last week. Originally Posted by Tvtyrant
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2021-01-31, 08:47 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
Re: Battlebots is Back
Sorry for the absence from a thread I started. Real life got in the way. Pendell has done his usual excellent job summing up.
Episode 6
Spoiler: Valkyrie vs. RotatorHave to agree that this was one of the most even and entertaining fights we've seen. It started well for Rotator but turned around once Valkyrie started landing solid hits. I agree with the decision. You can tell by their expressions before the announcement that Rotator didn't think they won.
Spoiler: Gigabyte Vs. ExtinguisherFairly quick. Gigabyte has always been its own worst enemy, with the force of their hits often causing them to break. But they are able to keep the bot on the ground in this fight and make short work of Extinguisher.
Spoiler: Sharkoprion vs. Slap BoxSharko is one of those bots that doesn't impress me. The jaws seem to do no real damage, and it doesn't have a lifter attached, so it can't flip bots out of the arena. They like talking about the tail slap, but at no time did I see a tail slap move Slap Box more than an inch or so. With the exception of that one grapple, this was Slap box all the way.
Spoiler: Malice vs. MadCatterFirst let me say that I can't stand Martin of MadCatter. I've never enjoyed that whole wrestling style persona, and it is worse in this case since it's a very poor Jesse Ventura imitation. I actually mute anytime he is talking.
So you can imagine my disappointment when this fight is over fairly quickly. This shows the disadvantage of having a flat back on your robot. it's a freak hit in this case, but a grappler using the side of the box might be able to do the same thing. Unfortunately this means MadCatter will almost certainly advance to the playoffs.
Spoiler: Tantrum vs.Atom #94Tantrum has gotten rid of the fist, which is good. Going into the match I still don't like that punch design. It hasn't seemed effective at all. Now you have to have your timing down to get a hit unless you can force the other bot on top of you.
And of course I get to eat some crow. 94 got in one good hit at the beginning, then it was all Tantrum. They won the battle for low ground, and were powerful enough to win the shoving matches. I still think the punch design isn't really benefiting them. Their best shots came when they were able to force 94 up on top of them.
Kenny has put together a weapon power ranking, which should spark lots of debate. Here it is:
Spoiler: Weapon Power Rankings10: Gruff's lifter
9: Sawblaze's hammer saw
8: Beta's hammer
7: Valkyrie's horizontal spinner
6: Rotator's horizontal spinner(s)
5: Bloodsport's horizontal spinner
4: Witch Doctor's vertical spinner
3: End Game's vertical spinner
2: Hydra's flipper
1: Tombstone's horizontal spinner.
Kenny believes spinners are dominant, as they take up 6 of the top 10 and 4 of the top 5. My only real gripe would be Beta's hammer and Sawblaze's hammer saw. They typically don't do that much damage barring the occasional lucky shot. I do agree with Hydra being in the top 5, since that robot has the best chance of one-shotting an opponent by flipping them out of the ring.
Spoiler: Smeeeee vs. Pain TrainSmee is one of those bots that I dislike from a style perspective. It's way too long, and you're almost certainly losing power trying to keep this thing going. There's a comment that Smee and Pain Train are using the exact same type and amount of batteries, but Smee is the biggest bot here (debatable) and Pain Train is the smallest.
The fight starts very slowly. pain Train is having driving issues. The problem (to me) seems to be that when they accelerate they rear up, which prevents them from getting under anyone. it's a design issue, not a floor issue. First significant blood comes when pain Train takes out one of Smee's spinners. However, a short time later Smee gets a hit on the front of Pain Trin and Pain Train's spinner comes completely off. Nothing significant happens after this and it goes to the judges. I'd give it to Pain train mostly on aggression. Judges come down with a split decision in favor of Pain Train.
Spoiler: Sawblaze vs. UppercutJameson of Sawblaze is one of the best drivers in the game. And for the most part that's actually how he wins his matches. The hammer saw seldom does significant damage. Alex of Uppercut used to be on Sablaze's team in 2018. They met at MIT where Jameson mentored Alex, and Jameson's girlfriend Lucy was Alex's TA. A lot of connection between the teams, and there's a "The apprentice may become the master" vibe.
The fight starts and within 10 seconds we have the answer. The apprentice strikes down the master. And this isn';t a long drawn out fight with a judges' decision at the end. The first solid hit almost ends it as Uppercut knocks them onto the rails. Sawblaze is able to get off but then another hit ruptures the tank for their flame and you actually have an explosion in the box. A few more hits and Sawblaze isn't moving.
Alex and Team Uppercut show that they are significant competition and in contention for the nut.
Episode 7
Spoiler: Axe Backwards vs. Captain ShredderatorThese are two bots that tend to have reliability issues. Let's see which one breaks down first.
They circle for a bit, the CS gets in the first solid hit. Both go flying but recover. There's some more hits, then CS gets one of AB's wheels. That ends the fight. Except apparently not for CS. When they go to the after fight interview CS is still spinning at top speed. This is apparently not intentional, and shows that reliability is still going to be an issue. From the sound of things they are actually waiting for the battery to die.
Spoiler: Copperhead vs. P1As Pendell indicated, this fight is short and brutal. P1 is so outclassed it is losing pieces before the fight begins (a spoiler fell off). Two hits seal the deal and Copperhead gets another victory. When asked who they wanted to take on, they call out Black Dragon (they used to compete against each other with 60 pound bots).
Spoiler: Rusty vs. BetaBeta is looking for a little redemption here. They won their first fight in a controversial decision where they never swung their hammer. They need to how that the bot actually works. Rusty is the cheapest bot of the bunch, but has become a fan favorite.
There's not too much to say about this fight. Beta pushes Rusty around slamming it into the sides. After one slam Rusty is having movement issues. Beta then hits it twice with the hammer, causing significant damage to the mailbox. Rusty isn't really moving at this point and is counted out.
Even more than Pendell I'm still not impressed with Beta. Rusty started having drive issues before Beta used the hammer, which basically dented up a mailbox. They have yet to show me that they can take on a top tier bot and use their weapon to effectiveness (note they only swung it twice).
Spoiler: Mammoth vs. HypershockPendell summed this up, but left out the kicker. When Mammoth asks Hypershock to flip them over, they say "anything but the battery box". Two seconds later the battery box is a smoking wreck. Will says he's sorry, but he's smiling way too much.
Spoiler: Subzero vs. SporkinokNot much to add to this one. Subzero is another bot that still isn't that impressive, as the wins are against low tier bots. I suspect if they make the playoffs they'll be eliminated quickly.
Spoiler: Bale Spear vs. Tracer99 times out of 100 a mini-bot makes no difference in a fight, and can often be a source of loss since destroying it is destroying some of the poundage of the other team. That 100th time though, it can make a big difference. Needle did for Tracer in this fight. This fight was all Tracer, and Bale Spear is almost certainly eliminated.
Spoiler: Gruff vs. WhiplashInterestingly Gruff is missing a wedglit at the front before the battle even starts. Not sure why they couldn't repair that. it seems simple, but what do I know?
The fight starts and it quickly apparent it is going to be Whiplash's fight to lose. They are pushing Gruff all over, and while they don't get many true flip they clearly control the fight. Gruff loses their flamethrowers in a small explosion fairly early on.
It gets a bit interesting at the 90 second mark when Whiplash starts smoking (overheating belts or motors I assume), but Gruff starts smoking a bit later. While Gruff did a little pushing and grappling, Whiplash dominates as the clock runs out. Whiplash gets the unanimous decision. An entertaining fight. And while both are worthy bots, Matt shows that he's one of the best drivers in the game.
Episode 8
Spoiler: Huge vs. KrakenHuge is still one of my favorites, even though it's had a poor season. I'm curious to see how Kraken can deal with them, since it seems like Kraken is one of the worst designs to do anything to Huge. But I've been wrong before.... And it looks like Kraken has made a modification to it's front: a small fork to push Huge around.
Well, I'm somewhat wrong. Kraken's modification works well at the beginning. They grab Huge and subject them to 20 seconds of flame. For a little bit it seems Kraken might pull this off. But then Huge starts landing hits, and armor starts flying. The fight goes the full 3 minutes, and while Kraken got another grapple on Huge, Huge has left pieces of Kraken all over the floor. My money is a unanimous decision for Huge... and I'm right.
Spoiler: Ribbot Vs. AxolotlRibbot is my wife's favorite (she loves frogs) so I'm contractually obligated to root for him...which I would anyway.
Fight starts and Ribbot clearly dominates, pushing Axo around with big hits and it looks like Axo is dying. Ribbot goes for one more hit, and the force knocks the entire top of the frog off. Fortunately it appears mostly cosmetic and armor, as Ribbot is still functional. Axo is counted out, but it shows the danger of showboating.
Spoiler: Big Dill vs. RotatorPendell summed this fight well. It's never really in doubt. Rotator starts off aggressive and just chips away at Big Dill. It takes a while but Big Dill is counted out. Honestly, this fight probably didn't help Rotator's playoff odds that much. It wasn't a spectacular win and it was against an opponent that hasn't impressed much itself.
This looks like the classic case of the boxer vs. the brawler. If Donald can chip away at Jackpot without getting nailed by that huge spinner, they'll win. But if the spinner connects once or twice, it's all over.
Spoiler: Lock-jaw vs. JackpotUnfortunately the boxer tries to out muscle the brawler at the beginning. There's a head to head clash and Lockjaw comes off the worst, losing their weapon. Now a pushbot, Lockjaw continues to slam into the front of Jackpot. My assumption is he's hoping to disable the weapon so they can be on even terms in a push match, nut he takes a fair amount of damage doing so and is smoking by the time jackpot's weapon stops working. The push match goes to jackpot as Lockjaw finally stops working.
Spoiler: Chronos vs. BloodsportNot much to add here. Chronos is a newer bot and I noticed that even at the beginning of the fight they had a long spinup time. That's the kiss of death for a bot. And I like that Bloodsport played it safe. A solid performance and good use of resources. The commentators commented on Chronos' durability, but it wasn't tested that strongly since Bloodsport chose to save the wear and tear.
Spoiler: Fusion vs. War?EZ!A one hit fight that had the potential to take both bots out, but Fusion is able to recover. Having said that, this is not the first time they've had problems with catching on the floor. If they don't get that fixed then they won't go far (if they go at all).
Spoiler: Skorpios vs . TombstonePendell summed up this battle excellently. I will add one comment though. I was surprised about the countdown because Skorpios was still engaged. If bot A is actively attacking bot B, then there's not a countdown. At least, that was the rule in previous seasons. Look like they took it out. I actually thought Skorpios could have gotten the countdown much earlier if they had backed off and let the refs see clearly that Tombstone was disabled."That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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2021-02-05, 06:05 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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- Dec 2006
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- Raleigh NC
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Episode 9: Now or Never
The episode is so named because this is the last chance for some of these teams to qualify for the round of 32; others have to choose what they will risk for a better seed versus damage to the bot which will cause problems in later matches; the rest? They can still finish the season with their heads held high.
Captain Shred Vs. Shatter!
Spoiler
Captain S overcame Axe Backwards but lost to Lockjaw, as it proved ineffective once its primray was disabled. They need this one for a shot at the tournament.
Shatter
Shatter overcame Ghost Raptor but lost to Malice so is also coming into this fight hungry for a win. They have removed their decorative armor which gave them their name, as they believe the optics of shattering armour cost them damage points in their loss.
Fight's on!
They approach cautiously. Captain S chips away at Shatter, doing cosmetic damage. Shatter is trying to wait to slow CS down before dropping the hammer, but he needs to get something going soon or he'll lose on damage again. Decorative armor or no, bits of shatter are still being ripped off.
Captain S starts to struggle as it keeps hitting the wedge of Shatter. Shatter starts to deploy its hammer. Misses, flips itself, rights itself but now Captain Shred is smoking!
Captain Shred's primary is no longer functional and Shatter starts to connect with the hammer. Once. Twice. The fight is now favoring Shatter.
Shatter pins Captain S in the corner and hits repeatedly with the hammer, shattering the Captain's top, but the Captain is still mobile
as the timer runs out.
I'd give it to Shatter; they executed their game plan for perfection and dealt more damage as well.
They agree.
WINNER: Shatter , by decision (3-0)
Gigabyte vs. Claw Viper
Spoiler
Gigabyte was dissected by Copperhead but successfully overcame Extinguisher, a rookie. This is their last chance to show their stuff.
Claw Viper is incredibly fast. It missed the box rush against fellow rookie Hijinx but still out-drove to victory. This didn't work against black dragon. Again, very fast but again, missed the first hit. A veteran doesn't allow that kind of mistake, and Gigabyte is indeed a veteran. Going to be a tough match.
Fight's on! Claw Viper goes for the box rush and misses, allowing Gigabyte to spin up to full speed, the one thing you don't want a spinner to do. Some contact. Gigabyte knocked into the air but comes down intact. Meanwhile, Claw Viper looks like it's starting to have trouble driving.
Gigabyte hits hard for sparks twice and Claw Viper has more and more trouble; it looks like it is no longer an effective combatant but still technically mobile.
Claw Viper is lost a wheel and is under the pulverizer. It is immobile and counted out.
WINNER: Gigabyte by KO.
Chomp vs. Hijinx
Spoiler
CHOMP is our only walker, huge and heavy. It is 1-1 after an untelevised loss.
Hijinx is an experiment which lost to Claw Viper but won an untelevised fight. Let's see how it does against Chomp!
Fight's on!
Chomp steadily waddles into the center of the ring as Hijinx patiently spins up its blade to full speed.
First collision, no apparent damage. Second shot, Chomp's front is bent forward slightly. It deploys its hammer.
Hijinx strategy becomes obvious; Tempt Chomp to deploy the hammer, then dart in and slash the legs on the recovery. So far this is successful, but Chomp is still mobile.
Another hit bends Chomp's skirt, and now the legs can't move the bot. It is immobile, and is counted out.
WINNER: Hijinx, by KO.
Witch Doctor Vs. Slammow
Spoiler
Witch Doctor was last years' #2 but hasn't done nearly as well this year. They have to win this one; the selection committee may bring them in out of respect for their toughness and demonstrated capability, but they need at least one win.
Slammow decisively defeated Pain Train but must have lost an untelevised match, because it isn't listed in the undefeated column. A victory over WD would all but seal its place in the tournament.
Fight's on!
WD charges but it's weapon gets caught in Slammow's claws and does no damage.
Witch doctor can't reach through the front wedge to damage slammow. WD backs off to attempt to attack from the flanks, but Slammow keeps up with them.
WD hits for sparks and bits of Slammow go flying , but still functional. Slammow pushes WD into the corner and grabs witch doctor but WD escapes and turns to re-engage.
WD continues to hit for damage and Slammow's arms are barely functional, if they're functional at all.
Oh, dear. Now huge chunks of slammow are coming off and it looks far the worse for wear.
Slammow is crab-walking. WD lines up for a kill shot, but completely misses and rams right into the wall, very embarrassing for the man reputed to be one of the best drivers in the battlebox. But the error is irrelevant. Slammow is immobile and is counted out.
WINNER: Witch Doctor, by KO.
Extinguisher vs. Gruff
Spoiler
Extinguisher has lost twice: Once to Perfect Phoenix and once to Gigabyte, so as a rookie team they have no hope of advancing. It's ditched the hammer for a vertical spinner this time. It looks more dangerous this time.
Gruff has overcome hypershock and came very, very close in a decision against Whiplash in one of the more entertaining fights this season. I dare to say the result of such a skilled bot against a winless rookie team is almost a foregone conclusion, though of course it's also possible Gruff will get overconfident and lose.
The announcers try to set the expectation that Extinguisher can have a reputation if it "goes the distance"
against Gruff. So it's obvious their expectations are not high.
Fight's on!
Extinguisher gets a shot in but it's spinner spins down. Gruff gets a grip and has an extremely hard time but finally builds up the power to pull of the suplex, flipping extinguisher over.
Extinguisher's spinner is inactive while Gruff continues to attack, trying to do the flip again.
Gruff is smoking; it seems to have overexerted itself.
Gruff is helpless, but Extinguisher can't do anything to it except bump a little.
And there's the countdown. In this fight, Extinguisher didn't beat Gruff; Gruff beat itself. They pushed their engines too hard for too long and burned themselves out, in my view.
And that's why there's no such thing as a foregone conclusion in the battle box!
WINNER: Extinguisher, by KO.
Perfect Phoenix vs. Atom #94
Spoiler
Two disciples of Ray Billings compete with their spinners. Atom 94 has had a luckless season so far. PP has overcome one rookie and lost to a seasoned veteran. Let's see if PP can improve to 2-1 and have a shot at the tournament -- or whether Atom can salvage a victory to take home and make the people of India smile.
Fight's on!
First collisions. Atom is the heavier bot and sends PP flying like a frisbee, nearly out of the box, but it recovers! Atom's vertical disk spinner is now inoperative while PP is still working, but it can't take many more falls like that. It's anyone's match at this point!
PP has the operative weapon while Atom is disabled. PP continues to attack, hammering away, but now it stops in the middle of the floor. It's blade is inoperative and a great plume of smoke is coming out. Reduced to a push bot, it continues to attack relentlessly. The two wrestlers spar for the remainder of the bout until time expires.
PP starts to smoke badly just as the timer finishes.
Despite my favoritism for PP, I think I have to give it to them based on the fact they inflicted damage, while all the damage to PP was self-inflicted as it attacked Atom too vigorously. In all three categories -- Damage, Control, Aggression -- this match is PP's, in my opinion.
The judges agree.
WINNER: Perfect Phoenix, by decision (3-0)
Main Event: Copperhead vs. Black Dragon
Spoiler
Oh. OH. This should be good.
Copperhead has destroyed its way through to an undefeated record so far , impressive all the way. Now it's up to Black Dragon, similarly undefeated, which won a decision against Hydra and a KO against Claw Viper. These bots have both been really impressive so I think this will be a worthy main event!
Black Dragon has brought the "Eggbeater", their biggest and most powerful weapon, to minimize the chance of it breaking.
Copperhead voiced a wish to fight BD earlier in the season; now they get their wish!
Fight's on!
Copperhead doesn't move and BD gets a free hit in. But Copperhead comes back and hits HARD. It inverts Black Dragon which has difficulty using its weapon in this configuration. It hits again to flip it back over and this time a belt comes off of BD.
The Eggbeater on BD is no longer able to spin at combat speeds, flapping loosely. Copperhead is still fully functional, despite the destruction of a minibot, and it continues to hit hard, bouncing BD into the air.
Undeterred, BD uses its raw mass to punch back, and now Copperhead is having drive issues.
BD pushes Copperhead over the kill saws. Neither has a primary weapon active as time expires.
Very close. I'd give it to Copperhead, but I'm guessing this will be a split decision.
Nope, it's unanimous; they give it to Copperhead. The belt flying and the bouncing and the utter dominance in the early part of the match evidently made the difference.
WINNER: Copperhead, by decision (3-0)
Respectfully,
Brian P."Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-02-07, 03:22 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
Re: Battlebots is Back
More excellent commentary from Pendell. Originally Posted by pendell
Spoiler: Captain Shred Vs. Shatter!Interestingly, one of the few times we see a hammer do significant damage. And it reinforces my beliefs about the Captain. People are actually basing strategy on the assumption it will malfunction. May be time to try a new design. I certainly agree Shatter won that fight.
Spoiler: Gigabyte vs. Claw ViperSpeed is wonderful, but only if you can control it. They either need to tone it down, or get a lot more practice. Even when working they tend to miss some easy shots.
Spoiler: Chomp vs. HijinxCan't say I'm unhappy to see Chomp lose. They claim the weight increase is to allow the bot to be competitive. But if you have to double the weight to even have a shot, doesn't that inherently mean the design isn't good for freestyle combat? I've always considered it overrated, and if anything this season strengthen that.
Spoiler: Witch Doctor Vs. SlammowSlammow was apparently undefeated, as they were 2/0 going into the match. In addition to the win over Pain Train, they won an untelevised match against War?EZ!
Witch Doctor needed an impressive win to have any shot at the round of 32. I don't know if this was impressive enough. The poor driving didn't help matters.
Spoiler: Extinguisher vs. GruffYeah, this win won't do anything to help Extinguisher's reputation. 2 losses and a win that they did little to earn isn't impressing anyone. They have a long way to go.
Spoiler: Perfect Phoenix vs. Atom #94This match (when compared to Shatter's) also shows that you can't rely on a wait and see mindset. By getting the damage in early, Perfect Phoenix was able to survive. If they hadn't taken out Atom's weapon, the match would be up in the air.
Spoiler: Copperhead vs. Black DragonI figured it would go to Copperhead, but also expected the split decision. As always, damage is king and Coppertop inflicted the most (and most obvious) visual damage. Black Dragon hs nothing to be ashamed of though, and this was one of the better fights of the season. Both will make the round of 32. I expect Copperhead to be top 4 and Black Dragon to be top 8.
With that, one more week to see who can get into the round of 32. For some, it will be a last chance to impress the judges. For others, they are just gonna have to watch and hope particular bots win/lose.
Let's see how things are looking...
SpoilerRobot Fight Record
Bloodsport 3–0
Copperhead 3–0
JackPot 3–0
MadCatter 3–0
Black Dragon 2–1
Fusion 2–1
Gigabyte 2–1
HiJinx* 2–1
Lock-Jaw 2–1
Malice 2–1
Mammoth* 2–1
Perfect Phoenix 2–1
Ribbot 2–1
Shatter! 2–1
Skorpios 2–1
SlamMow!* 2–1
SubZero 2–1
Beta 2–0
Hydra 2–0
Uppercut 2–0
Valkyrie 2–0
Big Dill 1–2
Captain Shrederator 1–2
Chomp* 1–2
Claw Viper 1–2
Extinguisher 1–2
Gruff 1–2
HUGE 1–2
Kraken 1–2
Rotator 1–2
Tombstone 1–2
Tracer* 1–2
War? EZ!* 1–2
Witch Doctor 1–2
Deadlift* 1–1
End Game 1–1
HyperShock 1–1
P1* 1–1
Pain Train 1–1
Rusty 1–1
SawBlaze 1–1
Slap Box 1–1
SMEEEEEEEEEEE 1–1
Tantrum 1–1
Whiplash 1–1
Atom #94 0–3
Ghost Raptor* 0–3
Axe Backwards 0–2
Axolotl* 0–2
Bale Spear* 0–2
Chronos* 0–2
Sharkoprion 0–2
Sporkinok 0–2
Aegis 0–1
Gamma 9 0–1
Gemini 0–1
GRABOT 0–1
Black Widow –
Rampage –
* means they had one or more untelevised fights.
What's hard to tell with the available info is how many of the bots that have only had one match so far is a result of damage severe enough to remove them from competition. Black Widow and Rampage were apparently accepted but never fought."That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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2021-02-11, 04:41 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
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Re: Battlebots is Back
I went back and watched this one after Gruff's loss. This is literally the only time I have ever seen a flamethrower work. Originally Posted by pendell
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-02-11, 05:47 PM (ISO 8601)Troll in the Playground
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
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- Canada
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Complete Control managed it a couple of times, most notably against Bombshell where Bombshell wound up suspended in the air being roasted by the flamethrower for about 30 seconds. That was one of the more impressive results I've ever seen out of a non-spinner design. IIRC, you could see molten plastic dripping out of Bombshell's interior by the end of that. Pretty sure no bot could have survived that one; all its internal wiring would have been pretty much obliterated, and the battery was probably wrecked too. Pretty sure Bombshell needed a complete rebuild afterwards. Originally Posted by Tvtyrant
The problem with flamethrowers has always been maintaining contact for long enough to start melting the bot's interior components. Gruff's looks a lot more intense than most, and it certainly seemed to cause some huge problems for Hypershock, but with no way to hold the opponent in place it's probably only going to really matter against 'bots that already struggle with heat problems. Which, admittedly, is most spinners, so you could do worse on that front.Avatar by the wonderful SubLimePie. Former avatar by Andraste.
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2021-02-11, 05:55 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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- Oct 2010
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Re: Battlebots is Back
I do wonder about the flamethrower design. Is there a rule that they have to be mounted high? Because the obvious attack angle to me is to melt the rubber/plastic wheels, but that doesn't seem to be anyone's approach. Originally Posted by DaedalusMkV
Oh this explains a lot
"Section 7. Flames
Flame outputs are intended for showmanship only and are not considered to be an Active
Weapon, as defined below.
a. Flame Output Requirements
Flame outputs are subject to the following:
• Only pure propane, pure butane, or a combination of the two can be used.
• Total gas storage per bot (or a Multi-Bot combination) is limited to 16.4 ounces.
• All gas storage tanks must be protected with armor.
• The gas cannot be deliberately heated or cooled.
• The flame effect can be reliably started and stopped at will using the remote control.
• The maximum length of the flame is 4 feet, regardless of the pointing direction.
• The length and angle limits of the flame must be adjustable.
• Flames from Flybots must be aimed vertically downward.
• At maximum gas flow, the flame can’t operate for more than 1 minute total time.
Note that the 4-foot flame length requirement will be strictly enforced, with potentially serious
consequences for bots with flames exceeding this limit. BattleBots officials reserve the right to
test a bot at any time to verify the flame length.
Refer to the Tournament Rules for more details" Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-02-11, 06:47 PM (ISO 8601)Colossus in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- right behind you
Re: Battlebots is Back
Im guessing its primarily about the explosion risk of setting off an oversized tank for a ten foot flame that can actually carve through metal. And maybe the damage of melting the battlebox and releasing poison fumes. Burning the floor while trying to melt tires is probably bad.
"Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room." Originally Posted by Nerd-o-rama
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2021-02-11, 09:12 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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- Oct 2010
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Yeah I imagine that rubber matting they use isn't very healthy to breath. One of the waiver rules is they can just kick everyone out and let your bot burn to the ground without asking you if something goes really wrong and they fear lithium or lead battery fumes. Originally Posted by Traab
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-02-12, 02:11 PM (ISO 8601)Barbarian in the Playground
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- Aug 2006
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Re: Battlebots is Back
I've seen it work a couple of other times. I think it was Complete Control that was a combo lifter/flamethrower that picked up the opposition and completely roasted them because it was able to hold them still and concentrate the fire. Warhead v. Obwalden Overlord had Warhead completely melt the shield and make the bot completely stationary, but Obwalden was a really bad design anyways. Originally Posted by Tvtyrant
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2021-02-12, 08:49 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
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- Raleigh NC
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Battlebots Episode 10: Qualify! Or Wave Goodbye!
Wait, what? We're STILL in the qualification rounds? I thought this was over last week! Ugh.
Hydra vs. Uppercut
Spoiler
Hydra, the flipper, takes on the spinner Uppercut.
The battle starts. Hydra gets stuck on the floor, but recovers and flips Uppercut onto its back, which proceeds to drive around one one wheel. While it rights itself, Hydra goes after Uppercut's nuisance bot and destroys it for damage points.
Now Uppercut is squared off and they are ready to face each other again.
Hydra flips Uppercut twice more, landing once on its weapon, but it recovers and finally hits hydra in the side for sparks. Both bots are very tough; they aren't going down easily.
Again and again Hydra flips uppercut, but it is still fully mobile. Uppercut goes into the screws but comes out again. Its weapon is still spinning although perhaps not at full speed. That's one tough bot!
Hydra is cautious now but Upper cut darts in and hits him, but no serious damage. Two more flips and time expires.
I think the judges will give this one to Hydra.
And they do.
WINNER: Hydra, by decision (3-0)
Rusty vs. Sawblaze
Spoiler
Fight's on. Rusty comes out and Sawblaze immediately takes the bot in the flank and hits Rusty with his saw in a letter-perfect execution of what Sawblaze is built for.
Sawblaze keeps up the pressure and a shower of sparks erupts for several seconds as it bites into Rusty, making the battlebox look like a welder's workshop. It drives Rusty to the screws.
Sawblaze cuts again. We can see the blade visibly cutting into Rusty's thick metal.
Rusty doesn't seem to be doing much, though it is still mobile.
Back into the screws. Rusty is on its side and should be out, but Sawblaze rights it and hits again with the saw.
Rusty continues to move even though Sawblaze cuts huge gashes and flames. Again, Rusty is knocked over but Sawblaze flips him over agin and continues to cut in.
Rusty's top is dented by the sledgehammer but
it still keeps moving and finally the
clock counts down.
Really, there's no question who won this won, but Rusty wins an honorable victory for being so tough to take so much damage and still keep moving. The crowd is cheering for Rusty even though he didn't win.
WINNER: Sawblaze, by decision (3-0)
Tantrum vs. Gamma 9
Spoiler
Tantrum hits Gamma 9 and wins the control battle, pushing him into the corner and then into the screws.
Gamma 9 seems to be having control issues.
Tantrum's weapon sounds like a jet engine as it thrusts Gamma 9 into the side of the box right in front of the ref. It hits again and bits of Gamma 9 goes flying.
Another hit and Gamma 9 is flipped but self-rights.
More hits and Gamma 9 at last stops moving. It is counted out just before the clock expires.
WINNER: Tantrum , by KO.
End game vs. Hypershock
Spoiler
These bots are really good. I anticipate.
But the match doesn't last long at all. Endgame charges right into the action. One, two, three hits and then Hypershock is stuffed out of the battle box , it's self-righting mechanism jammed open. Thus trapped, it cannot move and is counted out.
I double-checked and this is almost exactly the same thing that happened to Tombstone at Endgame's hands. That was also a really powerful spinner knocked out of the box and unable to recover. So Tombstone doesn't have to feel bad; seems Endgame is the new kid on the block! If they don't get a really high seed after such impressive victories I will be very surprised.
WINNER: Endgame, by KO.
Smeeee vs P1
Spoiler
P1 goes right to the middle of smee, picks it up by the tape, and throws one half of Smeeeeee out of the box. That should be KO but we're not done yet; P1 brings Smee back into the box and does the same move again. Smee gets a bite or two into P1 but P1 continues to dominate the fight, again picking up Smee by the tape and attempting -- but not quite succeeding -- in throwing it out of the ring again.
That's it. Smeee is inverted on top of the screws and immobile. Counted out with just seconds left in the fight.
With all respect to the builders and their effort to put out such an innovative bot, I hope they don't bring this design back next year. As with Gemini, two small bots simply don't stack up to one full-size powerful bot. You're simply begging for defeat in detail.
WINNER: P1, by KO.
Beta vs. Grabot
Spoiler
Grabot has drive issues immediately. Beta takes its time and takes control , driving Grabot around the box.
The announcers ask : "When is Beta going to fire that hammer? "
Finally, it does. Pushing Grabot into the corner it lines up squarely and lands two solid hits from the hammer, denting the top of Grabot. Grabot is still mobile but seems helpless; it hasn't been effective since the start of the match.
Beta drives around and carefully lands up grabot in the corner before hitting twice more. They hurt; I can practically feel the impact from here.
Grabot is now crabwalking but Beta moves in and delivers six consecutive hammer strikes. Grabot is now smoking and crab-walking.
We're still waiting.
The announcers speak up: "Oh just count 'em down for **** sakes!"
And right then the countdown finally starts up and we're done.
Beta is a very conservative drive. I appreciate the skill with which he moves his bot and lines up his shot, but I think that's going to cost him against a more veteran bot. If they can damage beta sufficiently Beta will never have a chance to use its hammer. I don't see them making it to the finals, though they will definitely be in the top 32 with a 3-0 record.
WINNER: Beta, by KO.
MAIN EVENT: Whiplash vs. Valkyrie
Spoiler
Whiplash rushes Valkyrie immediately and hits hard, but Valkyrie counters almost immediately. Whiplash comes in again!
Whiplash's wedge proves stronger than Valkyrie's weapon which is disabled. Whiplash tries to throw Valkyrie out of the battlebox over the screws but can't quite manage it; Valkyrie is too far forward and the lifter can't get enough leverage.
For the rest of the fight Whiplash tries vainly to flip Valkyrie out but Whiplash is not Hydra; it does not have the strength. Time expires. With bits of Valkyrie all over the box now, there's no question of the decision even though Valkyrie is still mobile at the end.
WINNER: Whiplash, by decision (3-0)
Now that the last fight is over, they will announce the lineup for the round of 32!
Spoiler: Round of 32
GROUP 4: TOP SEED: UPPERCUT (#4).
Uppercut vs.. Hijinx
Beta vs. Ribbot
Black Dragon vs. Slammow
Madcatter vs Tombstone.
Tombstone is ranked 21, not surprising after a 1-2 season. Still, that's gotta leave a mark.
GROUP 3: TOP SEED: COPPERHEAD( #3)
Copperhead vs. Mammoth
Lock-jaw vs. Shatter!
End game vs. Perfect Phoenix
Jackpot vs. Rotator
GROUP 2: TOP SEED: BLOODSPORT (#2)
Bloodsport vs. Gruff
Fusion vs. Tantrum
Sawblaze vs. Kraken
Skorpios vs. Witch Doctor.
This is Bloodsport's first year but they're already the #2 seed! Great job guys!
GROUP 1: TOP SEED: HYDRA (#1)
Hydra vs. Hypershock (#32)
Malice vs. Gigabyte
Whiplash vs. Huge
Valkyrie vs. Subzero
Respectfully,
Brian P."Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-02-19, 07:09 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
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- Raleigh NC
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Episode 11: Survive and Advance
Now that the qualifiers are over,
we are now into the single elimination tournament.
No desperado tournament this year; too bad, I thought that was a neat idea.
Madcatter vs. Tombstone
Spoiler
Fight's on. Madcatter charges and misses. Tombstone swings its blade and squares on. Mad catter cant approach without being bit. Pieces of mad catter start to litter the battlebox, but they do manage to toss Tombstone into the air once and a second time Tombstone runs straight into the screws in an own-goal. Even so, both bots remain fully functional and deadly.
Madcatter's weapon is inoperative and it is now driving in circles.
Tombstone nips off a bit of madcatter's armor and it crawls forward a few steps and is counted out. That's it for Madcatter. I know some here won't be sorry to see the captain with the pro wrestling persona exit.
I'm not really surprised. So far Ray has been beaten twice, both times by being flipped out of the ring, and Madcatter's vertical spinner didn't really seem up to that job.
WINNER: Tombstone, by KO.
Uppercut vs. Hijinx
Spoiler
The fight is over before it starts. The blades of Uppercut and Hijinx almost immediately connect and BOTH robots go flying. Uppercut is knocked end over end and for a minute it's anyone's guess whether it will be able to recover or not, but after a few seconds they finally come under control and resume movement.
Hijinx is not so lucky; it has been stuffed out of the arena and cannot recover.
WINNER: Uppercut, by KO.
Black Dragon vs. Slammow
Spoiler
Black Dragon brings a dual vertical spinner this time.
Slammow is from Raleigh, so I suppose I have to root for them. I don't see how this is going to work , though. Black Dragon is torugh.
It's a grappler today with a wedge to save it from BD's spinner.
Fight's on. Slammow gets underneath and attempts, but fails, to lift black dragon. That's all they've got. BD cuts into them repeatedly with the spinner, knocking them over, and now some of Slammow's belt is on the floor.
Slammow is knocked over and immovable. It is counted out and the crowd is excited as Black Dragon chalks up its first victory. Evidently you need more than a St. George icon painted on the front to slay a dragon!
We hear Slammow's Captain: "Nearly had 'em; sick of nearly having people."
WINNER: Black Dragon , by KO.
Beta Vs. Ribbot
Spoiler
Beta adds an armor piercing attachment to the hammer for this one in order to penetrate Ribbot's soft top.
Looks like a vertical spinner with wedglets for ribbot. Beta is heavily favored.
Fight's on!
They come together and beta's weapon choice, as well as his lack of aggression, begin to tell. Ribbot closes and, while Beta holds fire, Ribbot knocks Beta repeatedly over , into the screws. Almost out of the box, but Beta levers itself back in with its hammer. It fires off a shot at Ribbot which seems to do no damage, while ribbot continues to hit him, and know bits of Beta's armour are hanging loose.
Beta is immobile. The countdown starts.
Beta takes their hands off the controller. It's over.
WINNER: Ribbot, by KO.
Whiplash vs. Huge
Spoiler
Whiplash charges in and attempts to flip or damage huge and takes some damage from huge's blade when it does so. Whiplash easily controls the pace of the fight but neither bought is able to deliver serious damage as the timer counts down.
I have to give this one to Whiplash. The damage looked about even and Whiplash had all the control and aggression points.
The expert says he sees a lot of bits of Huge on the floor so he would give it to Whiplash too in all three categories.
The judges concur.
WINNER: Whiplash, ,by decision (3-0)
Valkyrie vs. Sub-Zero
Spoiler
Before the fight, Sub-Zero's driver says his objective is to flip Valkyrie out of the arena. "If they get around us, we're done".
So it proves. In the first collision Sub-Zero NEARLY knocks Valkyrie out of the box but she bounces back. Then she starts in with the blade. At first Sub-Zero is able to keep the armour squared up to the blade but at last falters. Valkyrie gets around to the side, then to the rear, rips off Sub-Zero's back panel and at last shuts Sub-Zero down.
WINNER: Valkyrie, by KO.
Malice Vs. Gigabyte
Spoiler
The fight starts and Malice is at a disadvantage; it can't reach Gigabytes lower weapon and any approach causes Gigabyte to hit first. Malice charges and is instantly bounced back. What else has she got?
Gigabyte takes control of the fight and lands shot after shot, then retreats to the center of the box and Malice follow. Malice is now experiencing drive issues and may be crab-walking.
Malice now has only one working wheel. Malice
baits Gigabyte in with a masterful move and uses Gigabytes own energy to send it across the box, but it isn't enough. Malice has only one working wheel and is circling. The countdown starts ... and finishes. That's it.
WINNER: Gigabyte, by KO.
Hydra vs. Hypershock
Spoiler
Some brilliant driving by both teams. Then Hypershock lands a hit and Hydra retaliates by flipping Hypershock end over end! Hypershock is upside down now but still just as deadly as right side up.
Another flip and Hypershock is right side up again. A third flip and Hypershock's weapon is disabled but it is still very, very mobile.
Again and again Hydra flips Hypershock. Flip 8 is especially impressive, nearly the length of the battlebox, and another belt falls off of hypershock.
After flip 9 hypershock is no longer moving but Hydra keeps after him. Finally, on flip 13 , Hydra stuffs Hypershock out of the battlebox and proves why Hydra is the #1 seed this year.
Respectfully,
Brian P."Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-02-21, 02:40 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
Re: Battlebots is Back
Originally Posted by pendell
Spoiler: Madcatter vs. TombstoneThis was vintage Tombstone. Circle your opponent and take pieces off him. And yes, I'm one of the ones very glad to see the personality gone!
Spoiler: Uppercut vs. HijinxThis fight was over in about the same amount of time it takes to read Pendell's comments. Uppercut is probably the most brutal vertical spinner in the competition. I expect them to make it to the semi-finals.
Spoiler: Black Dragon vs. SlammowSlammow! (don't forget the !) has a problem with it's self-righter/lifter. Specifically, when it's up and back, the bot rears up exposing the belly. They need to shift weight forward so that doesn't happen. I agree that Black Dragon dominated this fight.
Spoiler: Beta Vs. RibbotNeedless to say, my wife (who loves frogs) is estatic that Ribbot won. I'm pleased as well. This fight convinces me that Beta didn't deserve the decision they got during the qualifiers. Again, they barely use the hammer. I could MAYBE understand the caution before (not agree but understand), but these are one and done. So what are you waiting for?
Spoiler: Whiplash vs. HugeWhiplash's strategy was to stay under Huge and keep the blade from spinning. And for the most part it works. There's a few times Huge is able to get some speed, but generally their blade is barely moving. Whiplash gets (and deserves) the victory. Incidentally, this is the only fight that went the distance.
Spoiler: Valkyrie vs. Sub-ZeroValkyrie has had reliability issues in previous seasons but those seem to be under control. Other than that first hit, they dominated this fight.
Spoiler: Malice Vs. GigabyteMalice knew the angle of Gigabyte's shell was going to be an issue. It looked like they were hoping that hits would eventually stop it from rotating, but that didn't happen.
Spoiler: Hydra vs. HypershockPoor Hypershock. They are a perpetual "almost" bot. They almost get things right, but reliability always rears it's head. I wasn't surprised at all that their weapon stopped working. Hydra demonstrated why they are the first seed, and the deadliest flipper bot in the game. Even Bronco at it's best wasn't this devistating.
My predictions for the rest of the round of 32....
SpoilerBloodsport v. Gruff: I'm gonna buck the bracket and go with Gruff. I don't recall Bloodsport taking on a bot that is this tough, and I suspect Gruff will be able to close and take a hit or two to grapple with Bloodsport.
Fusion V. Tantrum: This is a hard one. Both bots were 2-1. The wins for both bots were knockouts (Fusion averages a knock out in about half the time of Tantrum). And both bots only had wins against lower tier bots (none of which made the bracket themselves). Honestly, the only reason why one will make the round of 16 is because they are up against each other. Otherwise, I suspect it would be one and done. I'll give it to Fusion because their weapon seems a bit more effective.
SawBlaze v. Kraken: I'm giving this one to SawBlaze. Kraken was 1-2 instead of 2-1 like SawBlaze, and while they may have faced a slightly tougher field they had no knockouts.
Skorpios v. Witch Doctor: Definitely Skorpios. WD may be a fan favorite, but they took a big step back this season. Only one win, and that was against Slammow! Most seasons (except last one) they are a bad luck team, and this season looks the same.
Copperhead v. Mammoth: This should be Copperhead all the way. They were 3-0 and faced tougher competition. The only issue I see is that it might be tough for them to get a solid hit against the frame of Mammoth.
Lock Jaw v. Shatter!: Another tough match to call. Both were 2-1 with one knockout, and neither faced particularly stiff competition. Lock Jaw is the better driver, but Shatter! is faster. I'll give it to Lock Jaw IF he can avoid some of the reliability issues that seem to come up at bad times.
End Game v. Perfect Phoenix: A real heart/mind conflict hear. I really want Phoenix to win, because I love the idea of a two man team that weighs less combined than their bot. However, while both are 2-1 End Game faced much stiffer competition, and took out Tombstone. So this should be End Game's fight (damn it!).
JackPot V. Rotator: JackPot is another 3-0 bot, although the only serious competition they faced was Lock Jaw. Rotator went 1-2, and their only win was against a low tier bot (Big Dill). I actually suspect Rotator got in more for last season's performance that this one's. I'll give it to JackPot.
And my predictions for the first half of the Round of 16....
SpoilerHydra v. Gigabyte: No shock here, this should be Hydra's fight all the way. I suspect the second flip will stop Gigabyte from spinning. Honestly, to me the bet is whether this goes more than a minute.
Whiplash v. Valkyrie: Both are 3-1 (were they participating in Bounty Hunters?). Valkyrie has one more knockout, but Whiplash beat Valkyrie in a JD match this season. I'm gonna give it to Whiplash. Better driver (so far) and Valkyrie sometimes has maneuvering problems because of the design.
Uppercut v. Ribbot: Another heart/head moment. Logically this is Uppercut's fight all the way. They are one of the most powerful spinners in the bracket. But for the sake of my marriage I'll be rooting for Ribbot to pull off the upset.
Black Dragon v. Tombstone: Black Dragon is tougher and has a better record. Tombstone hits harder (which can damage itself as well as an opponent), and was also 1-2 in the prelims (he apparently also won a Bounty match). I'm going to say Black Dragon."That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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2021-02-25, 07:42 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Spoiler: Gruff vs Blood SportI feel like Gruff got robbed here a bit, not going to life. Blood Sport basically just push botted the whole time, gruff caught and burned it twice.
Spoiler: Witch Doctor vs SkorpiosSkropios' body did really well, they couldn't make up for the loss of their primary weapon.
Spoiler: Mammoth vs copper headMammoth pulls of a big upset here, it was a really good match overall. Copper head drove well, but couldn't hit anything important and got tossed a lot.
Spoiler: Kraken vs SawblazeOh hey, Kraken might be the only bot that can drive on one wheel. That's really impressive, even if they were beaten soundly.Last edited by Tvtyrant; 2021-02-25 at 07:47 PM.
Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-02-26, 06:33 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Dec 2006
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- Raleigh NC
- Gender
Re: Battlebots is Back
Responses to TvTyrant's comments inline:
Episode 12: We're beast slayin' tonight!
Lockjaw (#14) vs. Shatter! (#19)
Spoiler
Lockjaw has added top armour to protect it from
Shatter's vertical strike.
Shatter has added their ablative armour back and have added forks to slow down Lockjaw's weapon strikes.
Fight's on!
Lockjaw starts a strategic opening, drives around lockjaw to get their spinner up to speed, and then approaches, striking Shatter's front for some sparks.
A little more driving, but Shatter! finally hits with its hammer. I hope Beta is paying attention --- THIS is how a hammer bot is supposed to be driven!
Shatter! scores repeated hits on Lockjaw. For its part, Lockjaw's spinner doesn't seem to be able to come into proper contact with any part of Shatter! that matters.
Bits of Lockjaw go flying, and now Shatter!'s hammer appears to be stuck inside Lockjaw for a few seconds.
Lockjaw, apparently inverted, backs up, spins itself around and to land -- upside down? Rightside up? Either way it's deliberate on Captain Donald Hudson's part.
Now smoke pours out of lockjaw. It's motor is burning up.
Now Lockjaw is immobile in the center of the box. Shatter! moves in and delivers one more punishing blow, and the countdown starts. That's it.
WINNER: Shatter! (by KO)
Jackpot (#11) vs. Rotator (#22)
Spoiler
Jackpot has removed their self-righting mechanism to add a plow which will contest Rotater's blade. The announcers are concerned. For a bot that succeeded by being simple, this is additional complexity and a gamble on Jackpot's part.
Rotator has brought its large blade and plans on a very offensive battle, avoiding weapon-to-weapon hits.
Fight's on!
Jackpot starts out, shoving with the wedge on the rear then turning around to strike with the great blade on the front. This works, and rotator is hit, but Rotator returns , adjusts , and begins hitting for sparks as well.
Then one huge hit and both bots go spinning. Jackpot lands upside down, and with no self-righting mechanism is out of the fight.
Lesson learned: NEVER EVER discard your self-righting mechanism. Not unless you're Captain Shredderator which is the same upside down or right side up.
WINNER: Rotator (by KO)
Perfect Phoenix (#27) vs. End Game (#6)
Spoiler
Ray Billing steps in behind the young Tyler captaining PP. He's apparently been giving help with quick rebuilds of the bot and has some incentive to see this one go well: Endgame beat Tombstone earlier in the regular season.
Fight's on!
The two bots approach but at first neither bot can damage the other -- PP's spinner is foiled by End Game's bumpers while Endgame's own blade is too far back for weapon to weapon combat. End game is the more powerful bot, however, and shoves PP into the side of the battle box.
Two more hits , and Perfect Phoenix is upside down on top of the screws. I assume it will be dumped off in a second or two.
The screws reverse, but PP isn't completely off and is immobile. That's it. PP is counted out.
WINNER: End Game (by KO)
Copperhead (#3) vs. Mammoth (#30)
Spoiler
Mammoth is concerned their weapon is not ideal, but it's the part they have available at this point. He doesn't seem very confident.
Copperhead tells us they are going to attempt a hit-and-run strategy, hit at the sides, avoid Mammoth's weapon.
Fight's on!
So much for Copperhead's plan. As soon as the bell rings they charge right into each other for a weapon-to-weapon hit. Mammoth seems to take the worst of it.
Mammoth hits copperhead hard, and copperhead retaliates. This is quite a punching fight!
Copperhead's weapon is now inoperative, and I'm not sure Mammoth's is much better.
Time expires. Knock it off.
I think Damage was about even, so I'll give it to Mammoth on control points.
Copperhead's team congratulates Mammoth; win or lose, that was a great performance by the
#30 seed against the #3!
The announcers tell us copperhead did damage at the start of the fight and their drum spinner came back after 45 seconds , when it did damage again, so there's a case to be made for Copperhead on the basis of damage.
It's a split decision, but the judges give it to Mammoth.
Agree with TvTyrant.
WINNER: Mammoth , by decision (2-1)
Sawblaze (#7) vs. Kraken (#26)
Spoiler
Sawblaze has increased the speed of its weapon to the maximum allowed -- 250mph (402 kph)
Fight's on!
Sawblaze hits Kraken, knocks it into the screws, Then lands another shot. Unbowed, Kraken pivots and grabs Sawblazes weapon in its teeth. Exactly what they wanted to do.
Okay, now what? Kraken reminds me of a dog that having chased a car, actually caught it.
30 seconds of clamping but Sawblazes AR 550 weapon resists the crushing pressure of Kraken. Kraken releases, Sawblaze promptly hits Kraken, then drives it into the corner and hits again. Kraken loses a wheel.
Sawblaze hits again. Kraken is moving -- barely -- on one wheel, but is at Sawblaze's mercy. Sawblaze, meanwhile, seems to have lost the function of its primary weapon and is reduced to a pushbot. Even so, the damage it has already done should be more than enough to give it the judge's decision.
Time expires.
In my mind there is no question: Sawblaze wins this one on raw damage.
They agree.
Agree with TvTyrant: Kraken is a tough bot but they need something to do damage with. That bite attack seems kind of awkward.
WINNER: Sawblaze, by decision (3-0)
Bloodsport (#2) vs. Gruff (#31)
Spoiler
Gruff is designed to take on horizontal spinners like Bloodsport, but the announcers credit Bloodsport with really incredible driving skill.
Blood expects a judge's decision -- Gruff is tough so they will be careful in their damage dealing, so that they don't destroy themselves on Gruff's tough body.
Fight's on!
Blood sport avoids, gets up to full speed, comes in .. POW! THe collision knocks both bots to the other side of the box, and Bloodsports three bladed weapon now has only two blades! The announcers declare it inoperable, which means the fight is now Gruff's to lose. Gruff grabs on and lets Bloodsport taste its flame!
Gruff has lost a prong, but the other is still functional and almost flips Bloodsport.
Gruff is having some problems and Bloodsport is demonstrating some great control now. They push Gruff under the pulverizer but Bloodsport takes a hit from the other one as well.
Gruff rips off one of Bloodsport's wedges, and then time expires.
I think Gruff wins this one on damage.
The judges disagree. They give it to Bloodsport. I suppose because the damage to the blade was not caused by the primary weapon.
No, that wasn't why. Judge Jason, who scored the battle for Bloodsport, explained that while Bloodsport lost half its primary weapon, Gruff also lot half its weapon and crippled it's drive; damage to the drive counts more with this judge than damage to the weapon, so he scored it for Bloodsport, though he acknowledges it was a very close call.
TV tyrant: I disagree. As the judge outlined, Bloodsport won this one on damage even if it wasn't obvious to us. But he's right. Now that I think about it, Gruff DID have drive issues and they DID lose one of the forks.
WINNER: Bloodsport, by decision (2-1)
Fusion (#15) vs. Tantrum (#18)
Spoiler
Fight's on!
Tantrum gets behind fusion and starts landing hits!
Weapon to weapon collision and the battle turns around. Tantrum's weapon is badly bent.
Fusion hits them hard from the side and now Tantrum is crab-walking, but they recover.
Tantrum drives forward and now Fusion is directly on top of Tantrum and its primary weapon! A second later, Fusion bursts into flames!
Fusion is trapped on top of Tantrum, which is still moving ,even with 114kg of bot on top of it, and the countdown starts.
WINNER: Tantrum (by KO)
Skorpios (#10) vs. Witch Doctor (#23)
Spoiler
Skorpios has added teeth to the front in order to get underneath WD.
Fight's on!
The two approach cautiously but Witch Doctor starts scoring hits. They take one of the teeth off Skorpios but Skorpios' primary is inactive. They push WD into the corner and use the vertical spinner, Unfortunately, with the weapon in active it is not effective.
WD's weapon is active but Skorpios is not. So long as WD continues chipping away at Skorpios, they should win this one.
Skorpios flips them over (though they flip back ) and continues to hit with anon functional weapon.
But WD still keeps hitting, and it flips Skorpios a full 360.
Time expires. No question in my mind Witch Doctor deserves the win on damage.
The judges agree.
Agree with Tvtyrant; Skorpios fought this won hard but without a weapon they had little chance to win.
WINNER: Witch Doctor, by decision (3-0)
So in this match a bunch of low seeds were matched against high seeds. These were supposed to be "easy matches" , but those easy matches surprised us far more often then I expected. Great job!
Respectfully,
Brian P.Last edited by pendell; 2021-02-26 at 06:34 PM.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-02-28, 01:51 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Originally Posted by pendell
Spoiler: Lockjaw (#14) vs. Shatter! (#19)While I had the wrong winner, part of why Lockjaw lost is what I predicted: reliability. Not only the battery overheating, but his forks were so low that they kept snagging on the floor (esp. in the kill saws). As for Shatter, this silences any doubts (mine included) about the effectiveness of their hammer.
Spoiler: Jackpot (#11) vs. Rotator (#22)So I'm 0-2 on predictions at this point. Rotator did an excellent job. In fairness to me though, I didn't forsee such a significant remodel of Jackpot, esp. removing the uprighter (which seemed incredibly short-sighted even before the fight started). Rotator pretty much handled this exactly right. Wait for an opportunity and send your opponent flying.
Spoiler: Perfect Phoenix (#27) vs. End Game (#6)This fight demonstrates the advantage of experience. End Game played their timing perfectly, and got the quick victory.
I'll disagree just slightly with Pendell. Perfect Phoenix did manage to get most of the way off the screws, but unfortunately was still upside down with no way to self-right. If they'd been right-side up I think they'd have been OK (well, for a few more seconds anyway).
1-2 in predictions.
Spoiler: Copperhead (#3) vs. Mammoth (#30)Have to agree that this was one of the best fights we saw. And this falls into the category of"I'll give it to Mammoth but I'm not sure anyone would complain if Copperhead had gotten the verdict." It was great fun watching the interview with Mammoth's captain at the end. He was so happy! 1-3 for predictions.
Spoiler: Sawblaze (#7) vs. Kraken (#26)Yeah, this was mostly Sawblaze's fight. I didn't get too excited about the 30 second hauling around by Kraken because 1) They didn't do any damage with it and 2) In watching a replay it wasn't so much that Kraken snagged Sawblaze as Sawblaze ran their saw are into Kraken's mouth. 2-3 in predictions.
Spoiler: Bloodsport (#2) vs. Gruff (#31)Interestingly, even without Jason's logic I would still give it to Bloodsport. Remember, judges can award UP TO 5 points for damage. But it's not an all or nothing, and they don't even have to assign a full 5 points (they could go 3-2, or even 2-1). But Bloodsport dominated in the control and aggression categories, and Gruff never really got anything going in those areas. of course, I'm 2-4 in predictions now so what do I know.
Spoiler: Fusion (#15) vs. Tantrum (#18)That has to be the funniest ending to a match we've ever seen. Tantrum's running around with a 250 pound burning bot on their head. We ended up laughing for about 5 minutes. And even today, "I'm on fire" will get a laugh. (In more unfortunate news I'm 2-5).
Spoiler: Skorpios (#10) vs. Witch Doctor (#23)Yeah, this was Witch Doctor's fight all the way. Skorpios may have gotten a few hits but did no real damage (Witch Doctor's spinner stopped after an aggressive hit on Skorpios. So apparently the one win wasn't a fluke. And I'm 2-6 for the week. Sigh...
It was a highly entertaining episode, and here's hoping we get more that are just as good.
My predictions for the rest of the round of 16 (first half is up above).
SpoilerBloodsport v. Tantrum: Bloodsport
SawBlaze v. Witch Doctor: SawBlaze
Mammoth v. Shatter: Mammoth
End game v. Rotator: End Game."That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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2021-03-05, 02:24 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Hydra v. Gigabyte:
SpoilerHydra is boringly good. It is in the running for the best bot of all time and I hate it. Gigabyte did really well not to die in this match.
Whiplash v. Valkyrie:SpoilerWhiplash dominates this fight, Valkyrie like Gigabyte holds on for dear life and shows remarkable toughness but this is a sad day for horizontal spinners.
Uppercut v. Ribbot:SpoilerThis time the spinner wins! Wow, uppercut tears it freaking apart before it breaks down and loses the match. Ribbot is the only horizontal left, having pulled off multiple upsets by not dying and the other bot self destructing.
Black Dragon v. Tombstone:SpoilerTombstone fails to get the wheels and eventually breaks. BD's weapon also breaks, but being a wedge bot it pushes Tombstone around until the match ends.The whole Spin it to Win It strategy is looking pretty dead these days between the weapon limits and better armor.
Mammoth vs. Shatter:SpoilerShatter pulls it off and finally Mammoth is extinct. It's sad because I like Mammoth, but I also like Shatter so it's not terrible. Only wedges remain in the tournament.
Witch Doctor vs. Sawblaze:SpoilerSawblaze avenges it's twin and gets the win Skorpios would have gotten with a working weapon. Witch Doctor's weapon doesn't have the reach to get involved past the oversized wedge, and it's not fast enough to get around Sawblaze.
Bloodsport vs Tantrum:SpoilerSpinner breaks, I stopped watching after that. Gigabyte's death was more entertaining.
Endgame vs. RotatorSpoilerThe most fun match of the day IMO. The game play jumps back and forth the whole match.
Ribbot is the last hope for the underdogs! Go Ribbot! Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-03-05, 06:05 PM (ISO 8601)Barbarian in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
I know exactly what you mean. It seems like everyone who might've been able to defeat Hydra (like Tombstone, or Witch Doctor) got eliminated last night too.
Black Dragon *might* be able to do it since they've had a really good year.
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2021-03-05, 06:18 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
battlebots
Episode 13: Shock and Awe
16 bots left. When this night is done,
there will be only 18.
Spoiler: Sawblaze vs. Witch Doctor
Fight's on. Sawblaze starts off strong,
evading Witch Doctor's first rush,
hits them from the side, drives them into the rails, and perfectly lined up, hits iwth the vertical saw.
Witch Doctor does a little pirouette as it is released before re-engaging.
Undeterred, Witch Doctor comes back and lands a big hit with the vertical blade, sending sawblaze through a 360 in the air. Then hits them again!
Saw blaze tries, misses, witch doctor hits with a counter blow. But Sawblaze isn't done. It comes from the side and again beautifully executes an overhead strike after taking WD into the rails, taking a hit from the pulverizer in the process.
The championship fight can't possibly be better than this!
Sawblaze hits again and Witch Doctor loses it's front wedge! Again Sawblaze pushes them into the corner of the box and WD sustains a double hit both from Sawblaze's overhead strike and the pulverizer. But like a zombie in a horror movie, it won't stop coming.
Three more big hits on WD!
WD begins to smoke.
WD goes into Into the pulverizer again and their primary weapon is nonfunctional.
WD is at last disabled with one second left on the clock.
What a glorious fight and a great show by Sawblaze! They've definitely demonstrated they are contenders for the Giant Nut.
WINNER: Sawblaze, by KO.
Spoiler: Uppercut vs. Ribbot
Ribbot charges in and instantly pieces fly off. Ribbot can't even get close to upper cut without being destroyed. Frog parts fly everywhere.
Then something amazing happens.
Ribbot pushes Uppercut into the pulverizer, which gets hammered and flipped. Now upside down and very heavily damaged, Ribbot comes on but Uppercut is crab walking.
The countdown starts, and in an incredible turn of events Uppercut is counted out! Ribbot took far more damage but at the end of the day they are mobile and Uppercut is not.
Unbelievable.
WINNER: Ribbot, by KO.
Spoiler: Tantrum vs. Bloodsport
In the first collisions Bloodsport draws sparks. Tantrum's primary is inoperative but it proves masterful at the control aspect of the battle, shoving Bloodsport into the screws or the corner again and again. Bloodsport's wedgelets are knocked off , which actually free bloodsports weapon so it is a net gain.
Tantrum is punishing bloodsport severely but not with the primary weapon!
Bloodsport loses a wheel as time expires.
I give it to Tantrum; while Bloodsport may have scored more damage than the primary the control and aggression was all Tantrum.
It's a close decision, but the judges agree.
WINNER: Tantrum, by decision (2-1)
Spoiler: Hydra vs. Gigabyte
Box rush by Hydra. It finally connects, unafraid behind it's wedge, and sends Gigabyte bouncing across the box off the corners like a ball in a pinball machine.
A second flip. Gigabyte is wobbling. A third. Gigabyte loses a belt. A fourth. And again.
Hydra is dominating the match while Gigabyte is unable to spin up or land effective damage. Hydra does take a hit from the pulverizer but that won't be enough.
Two more flips. Gigabyte finally catches a shot. Hydra's flipper sticks up, making it useless just as time expires. The announcers count 13 flips. But Gigabyte is incredibly durable and made it the distance.
Hydra dominated this match and inflicted significant damage besides. I give the match to them.
The judges agree.
WINNER: Hydra , by decision (3-0)
Spoiler: Black Dragon vs. Tombstone
Tombstone has brought a shorter , more durable blade for use against black dragon. BD, for their part has also adjusted their weapon and added additional armor , discarding the flamethrower to make room for it. They've also created a wedge specifically for Tombstone. This oughta be good.
Fight's on!
Tombstone tries to cut in from the side and hits for some damage, but after a few vicious exchanges both bots lose their primary weapons. The battle devolves into a pushing match, which Black Dragon is much better able to compete in than Tombstone is.
Time expires. It was actually pretty boring.
I give it to Black Dragon. Damage slightly favored Tombstone but Black Dragon had all the control and the aggression.
The judges agree.
WINNER: Black Dragon, by decision (3-0)
Spoiler: Whiplash Vs. Valkyrie
Whiplash successfully box-rushes Valkyrie and goes to work, trying to disable Valkyrie's primary weapon before bringing their own lifter to bear. Valkyrie is inverted but her weapon is fully spun up.
Whiplash repeatedly flips Valkyrie over the screws but she bounces back, and her deadly weapon is still at full speed.
Valkyrie's weapon is now disabled and whiplash repeatedly puts them up over the screws, trying to flip them out of the box.
Time expires just as a plume of smoke comes from Whiploash. There's little doubt they won this match, however.
WINNER: Whiplash, by Decision (3-0)
Spoiler: Mammoth vs. Shatter!
Shatter! is having trouble getting close to Mammoth and punts Shatter! into the screws. Shatter! loses some ablative armour (which is supposed to come off) but finally gets a good hit, and Mammoth loses its weapon chain.
Shatter! punctures a wheel, but then its own weapon becomes inoperative.
Just at the end, Mammoth's wheel falls off.
Time expires.
I think Damage goes to Shatter!, Control to Mammoth, Damage to Shatter. This one's going to be very close but I'd give this one to Shatter!
It's a split decision, but the judges also give it to Shatter!
Winner: Shatter! by decision (2-1)
Spoiler: Endgame vs. Rotator
A vicious, tight fight. Endgame takes off one of Rotator's wedgelets but Rotator gets one of Endgame's belt and its weapon slows.
Endgame loses its weapon but delivers a punishing body blow which inverts Rotator. But Rotator seems more dangerous in this configuration and starts delivering damage to Endgame, which is experiencing drive issues.
Rotator's weapon is now inoperative also and Endgame begins racking up the control points as the clock counts down.
Time expires.
Almost too close to call, but I'm giving it to Rotator. The reason being that Rotator used its primary to disable Endgame's weapon, while Rotator's weapon was disabled by pushing. Only damage from the primary weapon counts.
The announcers argue Endgame could be it, as Endgame remained aggressive throughout the match. Control + aggression together outweigh damage, in their view.
The judges split, but give it to Endgame, agreeing with the announceres.
WINNER: Endgame, by decision (2-1)
Some good fights but some disappointing ones as well. Wayyy to many battles ended in a decision.
Can't argue with any of Tvtyrant's assessments.
Respectfully,
Brian P.Last edited by pendell; 2021-03-05 at 06:20 PM.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-03-08, 01:22 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Pendell, I assume you meant there will be 8 bots left, not 18. Good commentary from you and tvtyrant.
This was definitely one of the more exciting bracket rounds...
Spoiler: Sawblaze vs. Witch DoctorYou're looking at one of the rare occasions where Witch Doctor is just flat outdriven. Could never get around and do the damage they wanted. I actually think Sawblaze might have gotten the countdown about 10 seconds earlier if they hadn't kept pushing Witch Doctor around.
Spoiler: Uppercut vs. RibbotThis is probably the biggest upset we've seen on Battlebots so far. Ribbot is getting pounded left and right, and pieces are all over the floor. I've just ducked a smack from my wife because I made the old "What's red and green and spins in circles? A frog in a blender" joke. and then...
"ANIMATE DEAD!".
That's honestly what I think happened. Zombie Ribbot slams into Uppercut repeatedly, and finally gets the win. I'm trying to remember the last time we saw a bot take that much damage and win, and I think we have to go back to Tombstone in the semi-finals against Bronco (who was already being counted out when Tombstone destroyed itself). And Ribbot probably faces the same problem. They took so much damage that I have to wonder if the bot will be even close to 100% next match.
Spoiler: Spoiler: Tantrum vs. BloodsportAnother big upset here, since I doubt many (if any) people thought Tantrum would get the win. But they did an excellent job of shoving Bloodsport around the ring. I do agree with our commentators that Bloodsport did more damage, but Tantrum dominated everywhere else.
Spoiler: Hydra vs. GigabyteHave to agree that the only surprise here was Gigabyte making it the distance. This is a bot that's had its top removed twice in fights. They've definitely improved the durability, but never seem to do the damage they should. Hydra is definitely the bot to beat.
Spoiler: Black Dragon vs. TombstoneI'll agree it was actually somewhat of a boring fight. Tombstone is a one trick pony, so when the loses the weapon it's usually all over. The more important thing to learn from this fight is that you can build a bot that stands up to Tombstone, and is still effective against other bots. I have Bloodsport just a short bit behind Hydra.
Spoiler: Whiplash Vs. ValkyrieValkyrie has definitely shown it can take a pounding, but was obviously outdriven by Whiplash.
Spoiler: Mammoth vs. Shatter!Mammoth put up a hard fight, and was doing better on control. I agree with our commentators that losing the wheel right as the clock count ended may very well have caused Mammoth the fight.
Spoiler: Endgame vs. RotatorThis was a solid match. I see what Pendell is saying about damage. I was also lightly giving it to Rotator, but am fine with the decision. Remember, points are not all or nothing. It could be scored as follows: Damage 3-2 Rotator, Control and Aggression each 2-1 EndGame. And that's ignoring that they don't have to assign all points in a category (so damage could be 2-1).
And with that, this coming Thursday is the finale. My predictions for quarters, semis, and championship matches. Obviously, wrong predictions in the quarters will screw me royally....
Spoiler: Last 3 rounds predictionsQuarter finales...
Hydra v. Whiplash: I'll give it to Hydra. To win Whiplash would have to never go head to head, and Hydra is maneuverable enough that I don't think they can pull it off.
Ribbot v. Black Dragon: This should be Black Dragon all the way. They are tougher and inflict more damage. I'll root for Ribbot but won't put my money there.
Sawblaze v. Tantrum: Jason is too good a driver. This is Sawblaze's fight to lose.
Shatter v. End Game: Have to give it to Endgame. Better drivers.
Semi finals.... Again, this could be totally wrong....
Black Dragon v. Hydra. Have to give it to Hydra. BD is tough, but toughness doesn't matter if you've been knocked out of the ring.
End game v. Sawblaze: Tough call. Sawblaze has the better driver but End Game does more consistent damage. Going to give it to End Game, but honestly this is a tossup.
Hydra v. End Game: Have to give it to Hydra. He's shown he can avoid damage.
Thoughts?"That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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2021-03-08, 03:51 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Originally Posted by tomandtish
Spoiler: Predictions
I mostly agree. I think of the survivors Sawblaze and Black Dragon have the best chance of beating Hydra, so I'm hoping Sawblaze beats End Game so Hydra has more chances to lose.
I'm really hoping for a Ribbot win though. Maybe every bot will kill themselves and it leap frogs to victory. Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-03-12, 03:49 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Episode 14: The World Championship Finals
Quarter Finals
Ribbot vs. Black Dragon
Spoiler
Ribbot has a powerful vertical disc and wedglets
Black Dragon. Ironically, the same configuration of
vertical dual disc spinner and wedgelets as well.
Pete Abramson, the bot whisperer, is concerned that BD is using a lighter weapon, which will make it harder to self-right; a vertical spinner like Ribbot is definitely a threat to flip an opposing bot!
Fight's on!
They circle each other , but Ribbot loses a wedgelet and this distraction is all BD needs; it zips in and starts hitting hard, knocking Ribbot into the air and taking some of its front off.
Ribbot is flipped. Three of its four wedgelets are off and the entire top half has been removed, leaving only the core of the bot , which is still armed and mobile. They're going to lose on damage if they can't turn this around fast.
Black Dragon is smoking and their primary weapon is not active ; it appears they have burned out their weapon motor. Ribbot, meanwhile, is inverted and not able to use its weapon to best effect.
Ribbot's weapon is still moving but doesn't seem functional. ; Black Dragon bursts into flames! This is a pushing match and Ribbot is pushed into the screws. Ribbot flees; can they stay mobile long enough for the fire to shut Black Dragon down?
BD continues to bully Ribbot all over the box, still burning like a torch. Its own right wedgelet comes off, a casualty of the fire, I think.
The fire is spreading.
Time expires. Black Dragon is still moving at the end of the match after being on fire for something close to a minute thirty seconds. Wow.
Ray Billings is grinning like a thief, clapping. Everyone loves this!
The crew enters the box and douse the fire with an extinguisher.
They have to win this one; but I think this may have compromised their ability to take home the Giant Nut; They don't have much time to rebuild and that had to have done some really serious damage to the bot.
There's not much doubt in THIS decision though.
I guess it's true what they say: Fire cannot kill a dragon.
WINNER: Black Dragon, by decision (3-0)
Shatter! vs. End Game
Spoiler
Fight's on!
End Game hits shatter hard on the side, chipping away at that ablative armour. But Shatter comes back and lands some good hits, but End Game comes back and knocks him over.
They come again, and this time End Game takes the Hammer head off the Hammer. With no weapon, Shatter! is helpless.
From this point it is murder. Shatter! is immobile at 1:07, and counted out.
WINNER: End Game, by KO.
Tantrum vs. Sawblaze
Spoiler
Tantrum nips at Sawblaze, hitting repeatedly and getting under Sawblaze. They chip away at the front forks and throws
Sawblaze into the screws. Sawblaze gets a hit in with the Saw but Tantrum is dominating ths round.
Now Tantrum pins Sawblaze against the wall and punches hard from behind.
Another hit from behind, flippng. And anotehr one! Sawblaze is upside down! It self-rights. The right fork is bent up.
Now, in the last few seconds, Sawblaze finally takes control, biting hard down into Tantrum with the saw but
there are only two seconds left; the match is over.
Surely Tantrum has won this one. It dominated for 2:58 and inflicted damage as well.
The judges agree.
WINNER: Tantrum, by decision (3-0)
Hydra Vs. Whiplash
Spoiler
Fight's on!
Hydra misses its flip and Hydra flips them over.
Finally, Hydra flips them.
And again. Twice. Tries to launch them out of the box but fails. A fourth flip. A fifth. A sixth. Whiplash hist Whiplash in the side with the saw. Whiplash hits from the back hard and begins smoking.
What a fight! That was very, very close. I think Whiplash gets this one, though. They scored more damage. Although Hydra did indeed flip Whiplash several times, it doesn't seem to have had much effect.
I bet this will be a split decision.
Those flips weren't as high as before; Whiplash must have damaged it at the outset.
Yup, split decision.
And yes, it's Whiplash. They have knocked out the seemingly undefeatable #1 seed!
WINNER: Whiplash, by decision (2-1)
Semifinal #1
Spoiler
Tantrum vs. End Game
Tantrum uses its speed to flank End Game. They take End Game into the rails and get under End Game, hittiing hard, but smoke comes out. They've burned out heir weapon motor and are helpless.
Now it's End Game's turn and it starts hiting tantrum.
Finally Endgame knocks Tantrum over. It has no self-righting mechanism, and that is all.
WINNER: End Game, by KO.
Semifinal #2
Spoiler
Black Dragon vs. Sawblaze
The announcer Chris describes BD as "The unburnt, breaker of belts" or something like that. Now we'll see if it's still able to fight after being on fire for 2:04 in the last fight. Apparently the fire was in the weapon battery,
which is in a self-contained compartment separate from the drive battery, which is why it was unphased in the last fight.
They have the Eggbeater out again, allowing them to self-right more effectively.
Whiplash box rushes. They circle close. Whiplash Gets connect and takes off part of black dragon. It hits again,
takes black dragon into the rails, and inverts it.
BD is spending a lot of time inverted. Whiplash loses one of its forks.
Both primary weapons are nonfunctional. In a push bot contest, the advantage is all Whiplash.
Whiplash pushes BD vertical! It looks like a knockout, but
Whiplash's primary weapon and reactivates! They continue to hit! Almost BD is out of the box over the rails, but time expires before a countdown can start. BD falls back into the box anyway.
There's no way they can give this to anyone but Whiplash, not after such a commanding performance.
WINNER: Whiplash, by decision (3-0)
Finals
Spoiler
EndGame vs. Whiplash
Endgame is strategic, remaining squared forward to Whiplash, not letting them get around them. Finally gets a hit, then another one, pushes them back into the screws as their vertical spinner is inserted underneath Whiplash's lifter, which is now raised, possibly into the very center of the bot!
Whiplash's vertical spinner is topped.
Whiplash disengages, circles, Endgame remains squared up to them, inching ever closer...
And then, just like that, it is over. Endgame gets some hits, then hits hard and the vertical momentum stuffs Whiplash out of the battlebox, just like Tombstone was in the regular season. That's all.
WINNER: End Game, by KO.
Bolt awards ("best in show")
Spoiler
Valkyrie -- most destructive bot
Skorpios -- Founder's award for advancing battle bots.
Best Newcomer -- Rusty
Best design - renamed after a bog designer who passed away -- goes to Chomp
World Champion
Spoiler
EndGame, our first international battle bot team to go all the way! Congratulations to the New Zealanders!
That's it for this season; I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
Respectfully,
Brian P."Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
-Valery Legasov in Chernobyl
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2021-03-12, 09:14 PM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
SpoilerSo I was completely wrong, and End Game wins! Some of the best matches in history, I almost though Ribbot was going to advance again but BD was just too tough. I really want to see Black Dragon vs Gruff now, battle of the toughest. Originally Posted by The Glyphstone
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2021-03-14, 01:46 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
Usual excellent commentary.... Originally Posted by pendell
Spoiler: The final seven matchesSpoiler: Ribbot vs. Black DragonPendell actually understates the fire here. Smoke started about 40 seconds into the match, and the first flame was seen at 56 seconds. So Black Dragon was on fire for 2:04 of a 3:00 fight. While watching it my wife was like..
"Yay, it's on fire. it'll die soon".
"OK, time for you to die".
"What the %^&* is that bot made of?!?"
And when it survived to the end...
"You got to be $%^&*^% kidding me!!!"
Despite her hopes, her favorite Ribbot just couldn't get anything going. Even on fire Black Dragon dominated. Later in the show, we found out that the weapon battery is in its own isolated compartment. So while the fire looked magnificent, it didn't pose as much danger to the rest of the bot as it appeared. They were basically sweeping ashes out of the compartment.
One correct pick so far.
Spoiler: Shatter! vs. End GameI'll give Shatter points for this season. They performed much better than i expected. But they were outdriven, and losing the weapon put the final nail in the coffin.
Two correct picks so far.
Spoiler: Tantrum vs. SawblazeWell, my first incorrect pick. I assumed SawBlaze would outdrive Tantrum. That never happened. Tantrum dominated in the control and aggression categories. Thumbs up for Tantrum!
Spoiler: Hydra Vs. WhiplashAnd my second incorrect pick, so I'm 2-2 in the quarterfinals. Part of the problem is that Hydra seemed to lack aggressiveness. Hydra couldn't get under far enough to get a good flip when Whiplash was upright. Hydra would get a weak flip, but instead of going for a second flip while Whiplash was inverted, he pulled back and waited. As a result, he had significantly fewer flips than he normally does, and none of them got the height he was known for. Meanwhile Whiplash is winning in aggression and damage.
Spoiler: Tantrum vs. End GameTantrum came out strong, but once they lost the weapon it was all End Game. Nothing really to add.
Spoiler: Whiplash v. Black DragonWhiplash is the better driver, but Black Dragon is the tougher bot... but driving skill wins out. Whiplash pushes Black Dragon around the ring, and is so dominant that even when they have Black Dragon standing on it's butt (and probably helpless) they knock them down and continue the fight. Damage, Aggression, Control... Whiplash dominates in all of them and gets the unanimous decision.
Spoiler: EndGame vs. WhiplashAgain, a skilled driver versus a hard-hitting bot. Should be interesting... and it's over. End Game dominates Whiplash and knocks them out of the ring in short order. Whiplash never got anything going and looked helpless almost from the very beginning. And we have our first international champion!
Spoiler: Bolt awards ("best in show")I'm fine with all the Bot awards except Chomp. I still maintain that if you need 250 additional pounds to be able to compete in a 250 pound limit competition, then your bot isn't really valid. Let's create a competition for walkers.
Incidentally the award is the Grant Imahara award now. Named for Grant Imahara (of Myth Buster's fame) who was also a bot fighter in days gone past."That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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2021-04-21, 08:21 PM (ISO 8601)Ogre in the Playground
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Re: Battlebots is Back
For those not aware, Battlebots: Bounty Hunters is now available on Discovery on-demand without a Discovery plus channel purchase.
"That's a horrible idea! What time?"
T-Shirt given to me by a good friend.. "in fairness, I was unsupervised at the time".
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