Quals
The first thing we saw at the event was 973 rocking the Epsilon design that we wanted to pivot to, and it's actuations were some of the fastest I've ever seen in FRC. That put us on edge from hour 1 of the event.
However, as we got into our routine, things started looking up. Our schedule was about as fair as it gets, and we managed an undefeated run through quals landing in a safe 1st rank spot. Heading out of quals, our only real complaint was that the intake was very floppy. It was wiggling around for the entirety of every match, but it held together with help from the best pit crew in the world.
However, as we got into our routine, things started looking up. Our schedule was about as fair as it gets, and we managed an undefeated run through quals landing in a safe 1st rank spot. Heading out of quals, our only real complaint was that the intake was very floppy. It was wiggling around for the entirety of every match, but it held together with help from the best pit crew in the world.
ElimS ◣◿
We managed an undefeated run through quals and a 1st seed position, but we were not the best robot of the event. 4414 was consistently outperforming us. During quals though, they tipped other robots a few times while making high speed runs across the field, which drew multiple red cards and dropped themselves to 9th place.
When alliance selection came, we invited 4414 onto our alliance and made a strategy note that they should avoid tipping opponents during our run through elims. During Match 1 of elims however, 4414 and 696 gave an accidental 1-2 punch to 3647, drawing another red card and dropping us down to the gauntlet of the lower bracket. Our run up through the lower bracket went smoothly, with us and High Tide managing some smooth cycles, and 696 managing their match flow very cleanly.
When alliance selection came, we invited 4414 onto our alliance and made a strategy note that they should avoid tipping opponents during our run through elims. During Match 1 of elims however, 4414 and 696 gave an accidental 1-2 punch to 3647, drawing another red card and dropping us down to the gauntlet of the lower bracket. Our run up through the lower bracket went smoothly, with us and High Tide managing some smooth cycles, and 696 managing their match flow very cleanly.
Finals were a whole other story. The upper bracket alliance in finals was made up of 4481 (2019 world champions), 6036 (on a meteoric rise post-covid) and 3859 (friends of ours from Sacramento). Finals 1 ended as expected, a clean wi- Nope. Finals 1 ended in a 148 to 148 tie when our underpowered climb couldn't push up through the curl. |
Finals 2 went even worse. The fork climb failed us again, causing us to invalidate the engages of both 4414 and 696 and leaving us out of the community zone without even earning park points. A 16 point loss put us on the back foot for a third time in this eliminations round.
In finals 3 we finally found our footing again, pulling out a win, and leaving everything down to a Finals 4 tiebreaker.
Finals 4 was, to say the least, stressful. The bridge got wedged up partway through the match, and we played most of the way through before the match was foghorned and we had to play the same match again. A fifth finals match. On the final final finals match, the auto failed entirely but the drivers focused up and pulled out a narrow 7 point win, with the fork climb barely making it in time. It was the most excited I have ever seen 1678 for a regional banner.
In finals 3 we finally found our footing again, pulling out a win, and leaving everything down to a Finals 4 tiebreaker.
Finals 4 was, to say the least, stressful. The bridge got wedged up partway through the match, and we played most of the way through before the match was foghorned and we had to play the same match again. A fifth finals match. On the final final finals match, the auto failed entirely but the drivers focused up and pulled out a narrow 7 point win, with the fork climb barely making it in time. It was the most excited I have ever seen 1678 for a regional banner.
Parting Thoughts
This event validated our design, and put to sleep our worries about the Epsilon design. It also confirmed for us that traffic in the scoring and pickup areas along with a capped max score makes this a hard game to be exceptional at. The underpowered climb needs to be fixed, too. We're going to have to bring the reduction back up and deal with the risk that the robot can damage itself.
All in all, this was event to remember. 4414 and 696 were great partners. 4481, 6036, and 3859 were scary opponents. We came home with a banner and a to-do list.
17 days until Sacramento.
All in all, this was event to remember. 4414 and 696 were great partners. 4481, 6036, and 3859 were scary opponents. We came home with a banner and a to-do list.
17 days until Sacramento.