I was disappointed that I couldn't get my combat robot, Footloose, ready in time for the Robobrawl tournament last month. However, I found a plastic antweight tournament in Southern California that takes place today and will finally get a chance to put Footloose to the test. Had to modify the weapon, as there is no metal allowed here. It's a single elimination tournament, so it could be over quickly, but there are lots of bots here and it should be a fun event regardless.
Turns out it is double elimination, so as long as Footloose can still move, I should get at least two fights. The tournament will be livestreamed on Twitch at the socalattackrobots channel.
My first match wasn't streamed as there are two simultaneous tournaments that they are toggling between, but I won my first match. Now my opponent's bot had some drive troubles going on, so I got lucky, but I felt that Footloose was driving well, if slowly (it's a shuffle bot, so slow by design) Whew! Chilling out before round two now.
Damage report from the first match. The horizontal spinner I went up against took a chunk out of Footloose. Fortunately it hit the thickest part of the shell. I don't have a backup shell, so once it cracks through, I'm out. Gonna have to protect the right flank in my upcoming fight.
Full body spinner bot "Ryan Reynolds" currently up against "Fighting Eagle" whose entire back side is held together with Zip ties. Looks like Ryan will make it to the next round.
OMG - I won my 2nd bout against a bot and driver who has won competitions before! The adrenaline rush is intense! Got a bystander to take video. Here is the match in full:
Lost my third bout in a push match to a flipper bot because my weapon motor failed entirely. At least there was no additional damage to Footloose. I drop down into a different bracket, but will get to keep fighting matches until I lose again.
Also, just spent a bunch of time disassembling/reassembling my bot, so I couldn't watch the other fights, but was amused to hear the match announcement discussing the infill density and pattern of one combatant's weapon. I assume it wasn't going well for that bot!
Just lost match #4 in a judges decision in a low-damage fight. My weapon was a bit off-balance and the resulting vibration made it hard to be effective. I'm done for the day, but had a fantastic time, and I'm very happy with how well Footloose's shuffle mechanism worked. The weapon system clearly needs improvement, but I think I'm hanging up my robot fighting hat for the foreseeable future. All in all a good day.
@MLE_online they are streaming it, but there are two competitions at once - an educational one and an open. I'm in the open. They are mostly streaming the educational division, and my first match wasn't streamed. Just fought (and won!) my 2nd bout, and posted video I got a bystander to take to this thread.
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