Gameplay – All Match Periods

[Billie Jean]

Answers to questions about Gameplay – All Match Periods.

[Air Jordan]

Subject: Rings that Exit the Playing Field Boundary, Impact an Object, and Bounces Back Into the Playing Field Boundary

Question: Are Rings that come to rest inside the Playing Field Boundary after bouncing off an object outside the Playing Field Boundary, such as the garage wall, eligible to be scored?

Answer: Yes

[Air Jordan]

Subject: Rule <RG08> Launching Game Scoring Elements

Hello! We are FTC Team 12524 and we have a big discussion about <RG08> rule from the Game Manual Part 1. The rule states that Robots must show that a launched scoring element
cannot travel in the air more than a 16 ft. (4.88 m) distance or more than 5 ft. (1.52 m) in elevation. The main problem is with the definition of the word "or".

Referees at our today League Meet told that our shooter is not legal because Rings travel more than 16 ft with the elevation of 3 ft.

Question: So, the question is: Could a Scoring Element travel in the air more than 16 ft. if it doesn't elevate higher than 5 ft. Or both limitations should be respected for the shooter to be legal?

Thank you

Answer: A Launched Ring that travels in the air more than 16 feet violates rule <RG08>. A Launched Ring that travels more than 5 feet in elevation violates rule <RG08>.

[Air Jordan]

Subject: Resetting Power Shot Targets

Question 1: Is the Human Player allowed to reset the Power Shot Targets during the autonomous period?

Question 2: Is the Human Player allowed to reset the Power Shot Targets during driver-controlled period?

Answer 1: No

Answer 2: The Human Player may reset Power Shot Targets to an un-Scored state during the first 100 seconds of the Driver-Controlled Period (the 90 seconds before the start of the End Game plus a 10 second grace period following the start of the End Game).

[Air Jordan]

Subject: Rule <RG08> Launching Game Elements - Enforcement

We have questions about the definition and enforcement of rule <RG08> from Game Manual Part 1.

Question 1: Is the rule violated if the ring is shot with enough velocity to travel over 16 feet, but is impeded by the goal (by hitting the backboard, being scored, etc...), for example, and only actually travels, say, 10 feet? If this does in fact violate the rule, how would referees make such a determination?

Question 2: How is “excess velocity” defined? (For instance, our robot has a flywheel for shooting rings with variable speed selection. We can score rings into the high goal at a relatively low velocity, but our accuracy increases as we increase our shooter velocity. Would such an increase be considered excessive velocity, given that we can technically shoot and score at a lower velocity, albeit with less accuracy?)

Answers 1 and 2: At a Traditional Competition, the referee will require a re-inspection for rule <RG08> compliance if a height or distance violation is observed, or if the Launched Ring clearly has excessive velocity that is likely to result in exceeding the rule <RG08> constraints if the Ring had not impacted an object.

The scenario described in Question #1 violates rule <RG08>.

At a Remote Competition, Field Personnel scoring a Match are expected to follow the same guidance provided above to referees at a Traditional Competition. Robot actions that violate rule <RG08> are required to be remediated and pass a rule <RG08> inspection before participating in another official Match.

[Air Jordan]

Subject: May We Remove Rings Stuck in the Gap Between the Playing Field Tiles and Wall?

Question: Our field tiles have a slight gap between the wall and the edge of the field surface. At times a ring will become lodged (vertically) between the wall and the field tile. Is someone allowed to pick the ring up and set it down on the field, or pick it up and take it back to the return rack?

Answer: For safety reasons, Field Personnel and Drive Teams are not allowed to enter the Playing Field after a Match starts. The Game Manual Part 2 restricts Playing Field Access for the Drive team in rules <G12> and <G22>.

For Remote Events only, to accommodate the variety of allowed Playing Field walls and floor surfaces, Teams may fill the gap between the Playing Field Tiles and wall with an appropriate filler material (for example, sections of PVC pipe or strips of wood).

[Air Jordan]

Subject: Power Shot Target Dynamics

Statement 1: The Ultimate Goal Field's power shot structure has been extremely finicky throughout the season, with power shots occasionally falling when a power shot next to them is hit or bouncing back from the scored position immediately after being scored. Our team has been experiencing trouble with this since the very beginning of the season, as well as many other teams (9527, 14531, 16461, 10641 have all proofread this forum post). 10641 kindly provided this example match video, at 3:01 you can see some of the issues with power shots occur: https://youtu.be/t-VwyFs__TI?list=PL...9iy_o-ya&t=181

Statement 2: Due to the ruling of GS13, these issues result in many teams receiving major penalties often due to the unpredictability of the power shot structure, which leaves them feeling unfairly penalized, and we feel that some sort of change is needed. The advice given in the Remote Field Guidelines document for securing the power shot structure very slightly assists in reducing major penalties, but seems to increase the chance of power shots descoring. Our team personally has tried securing the power shot assembly to a chair, a weighted box, and a cinderblock assembly padded with foam, but none of these solutions have prevented major penalties and descoring entirely. Our team also has complete compliance to RG08, with rings shooting approximately 12 feet at the velocity we use to score power shots.
As far as we understand, GS13 was primarily updated to counteract intentional scoring of power shots by shooting into the frame: the wording and implementation of the rule seems to unjustly penalize teams for normal scoring actions.

Now, onto our specific questions:

Question 1: Are teams permitted to attach foam to the power shot reset bar as a mitigation tactic for descoring?

Question 2: Can a change be considered to GS13 and/or Game Manual 2 4.5.4 3d that would enable teams to score power shots without worry of an undeserved and unpredictable major penalty?

We suggest an approach be taken where only power shots directly scored by a ring score, but teams are not penalized for indirect scoring (we feel that the penalty of being unable to score that power shot again is enough). An alternate approach could be reducing the penalty for indirectly scoring a power shot to a minor penalty, which effectively negates 2/3rds of your points for that specific power shot, which also seems sufficient. It would also be wonderful if power shots were scored solely by being hit, similar to the DIY field: this would fix any issues with descoring that teams have. This would require a change to 4.5.4 3d in Game Manual 2, which we understand may be too much to ask, but we'd like a change to power shot penalties and scoring to be considered in order to prevent unwarranted penalties for all teams: it's a horrible feeling when you did everything right and implement a routine to do power shots, but you get penalized due to the unpredictability of remote fields.

Answers 1 and 2: No, the requested modifications affect gameplay.

Note: Rule <RG08> Launching Game Scoring Elements comes into play when a Referee at a Traditional event or Field Personnel at a Remote event believe that launched Scoring Elements have excessive velocity to achieve the Scoring task. The distance and elevation constraints in rule <RG08> provide an objective measure of what the Game Design Committee designates as the maximum safe and sufficient "launching" ability to accomplish the game's Scoring tasks. These linear distance constraints do not guarantee that the resulting launch energy does not cause, in the Team's viewpoint, undesired outcomes.

Recommendation: Reducing the Robot's Ring Launch energy and adjusting the launch angle will likely prevent the scenario described in this post. By design, FIRST Tech Challenge Game Element dynamics should be a major consideration when designing and operating a Robot to play the game.

[Air Jordan]

Subject: <GS6> Control/Possession Limits of Scoring Elements - Robot Arms that Aid Ring Collection

Question: Recently there have been some questions about penalties for a strategy of blocking rings so that they are in the front of the field to shoot. So the question is if a robot sits where rings come out of the return rack but also shoots in that position does the robot get a penalty if another ring from the return rack is blocked by the 18" of the robot and/or an arm designed specifically to block rings when the robot already possesses/controls 3 rings? Such as seen here: https://youtu.be/JCv7zwYPTOs. The reason for this question is that rings are deflected on the bot when driving to and shooting from a single spot but the strategy of deflecting them is intentional. (Permission was granted by 6323 to use their video for the example).

Answer: There is nothing inherently illegal in the usage of Robot arms. How the arms are used determine potential rule violations. The risks are different for each rule, but managed by the Drive Team, the arms could be used without Penalty.

In this scenario, Rings returning to the Playing Field that impact the "core" of a Robot that hasn't extend its arm(s) are not subject to the rule <GS6> Ring Control/Possession constraint.

A Robot that deploys part of its mechanisms [arm(s)] into the path of Rings is subject to rule <GS6> Control/Possession Limits of Scoring Elements. Ring impacts anywhere on a Robot with its arm(s) extended are subject to the rule <GS6> constraints.

[Air Jordan]

Subject: Rule <G22> Drive Team Contact with the Playing Field or Robot - Intentional Robot Contact

According to <G22>, a warning is issued if a member of the drive team contacts the field, robot, or game elements. If it happens again, a minor penalty is given.

Question: Does this mean that if our robot has a ring get jammed, provided we haven't touched the field, robot, or any game elements yet during the meet, we can drive the robot over and remove the stuck ring without a penalty?

Answer: No. This is a reasonable interpretation for applying rule <G22> if we don't consider other parts of the Game Manual. Section 4.5.1 states that once the Match Manager gives the Playing Field set-up complete signal, the Drive Team may no longer touch their Robot until the conclusion of the Match. Rule <G12> states that Drive Team members cannot enter the Playing Field for any reason. An immediate Minor Penalty is assessed for violating rule <G12>.

The Game Design Committee believes that Drive Team contact with a Robot during Match play is a safety hazard and is therefore not allowed. Your valid question will prompt us to consider clarifying our intent and adjusting the Penalty value for future seasons.