Deadmetal showcase

[DeadMetal]

Thanks for the input. I had the idea of horizontal saw blades so that the bot would have a bigger surface area do aim with.

I don't understand how an ant pack which provides 10 or so amps can provide power for a motor that needs 45 amps to be at full power.

Also, what are the reasons for not using casters in DSL?

All good advice people, thanks.

[Clickbeetle]

I don't understand how an ant pack which provides 10 or so amps can provide power for a motor that needs 45 amps to be at full power.

https://gametechmods.com/forums/index.php/topic,2654.0.html


Power consumption in RA2 is broken and makes no sense, basically.

[DeadMetal]

Like most of the rest of the game is broken then basically,  this is a hard game to like at times.

[Clickbeetle]

Yet you have no choice but to like it, because it's the only game of its kind. :P

[Somebody]

Try not to build for the in-game tournaments. It kills efficiency a bit for the bots, and many of us here don't compete in those anymore, whether it be because they are freak glitchy and crash my game a lot (not fighting, just the tournaments), and because many of us build to just fight a lot in exhibition, or in AI Tournaments.

[DeadMetal]

If something wants 45 amps to be at full strength then it shouldnt run at full strength on 10 amps. Simple. This game uses mcphysics.

That's where you're wrong because I think I've tipped over the edge of not liking it tonight, its done for me now I think. DSL is a great patch, but there is jsut too many f*** ups in the core game that get on my nerves.

Plus winning tournaments is what a game like this is all about. Building something to defeat something else.

I would have been happy to play this game just to build bots, but they managed to cock that side of the game up as well.

I wonder what the developers were smoking when they were putting this game together at times. Probably just an after thought by Infrogrames to make a quick buck off of the success of Robot Wars back then. Shame really, could have been a classic! More Ralph than Michael me thinks.

[Somebody]

If you look deeper into the game, you can really see that it was unfinished. So many glitches. Unfinished components. Unused sound and UI. Not just in DSL but in Stock the most. Its all in the coding, which we can't edit.

And we build nowadays more to advance building, which the aim of entering tournaments in the tournaments section here on GTM. They are much more prestigious, and carry prizes and notoriety (check my sig for my tourney record). In those tournaments, you don't have to sacrifice your bot to think about fixing it. Its all about who has the best robot, and luck to a certain extent. To build the best robots, you need to separate yourself from real life building. You must tell yourself that it isn't Robot Wars, or isn't Battlebots, and that you need to treat it like its own separate thing. RA2 is its own world, where different rules apply. In that world, things can ask for certain power and run on 10 amps. Getting better at building robots is where its at for most of us. For others its innovating. Find your niche and go with it.

Mine by the way, is SnS (Sit n Spin). Bots that Sit and spin and let other bots run into them for damage.

[Scorpion]

The game was made about 8/9 years ago.
The only other game that's like it is robot wars extreme destruction which is as fun as stabbing yourself in the eye with a pencil.
The games glitches and little oddities don't really ruin the game IMO, it just gives it more character perhaps.

[Naryar]

It's above average for a first fully showcased DSL bot.

Anyways -

-You need 1-2 ants per spin motor, nothing more
-That weapon setup is only efficient against bad or average bots. Overall, horizontal sawbots are bad.

[G.K.]

-You need 1-2 amps per spin motor, nothing more

You mean Ants?

Edit by naryar : Yes of course I do. Stupid typo and stupid low Wisdom score. Thanks for correcting

[NFX]

Overpowering is wasting weight, it has no benefits.

I'm inclined to disagree here, I always try to make a point of overpowering my bots by at least one or two ants, especially with rammers, just to keep them going at full power for the whole three minutes. I don't really want to be unable to throw the opponent around in the last few seconds and still be behind on points.
 
As for the bot, it's certainly an interesting concept. The general guideline is one ant per spin motor, but sometimes you can go over that without being stupid. But lose the Long battery in there, it really does suck.
 
I think the extender work could be improved a little bit too. You could replace the Baseplate Anchors with Multi Extenders, they're 1kg lighter than Baseplate Anchors, and smaller, as well as being indestructible mounted on the baseplate.
 
Chassis could probably be made a bit smaller, and you might want to replace the casters on the underside with Titanium Halfsheets, using the "secret" attachment point in the middle of it. It offers a good degree of defense, but it's not totally invincible.
 
On the whole, I think it's quite a good job for a second DSL bot, but there are still ways for you to improve it. =]

[DeadMetal]

Well that has helped me to figure out why the bots in DSL are so powerful: They have full power engines but can run on batteries that don't give the bot a realistic weight payoff. It's like being able to run a T2 tank on a lawnmower engine. Its cheating. I think it should be a rule if the actual game can't be changed, then people should have to have the battery power that their engines say they need. So if your power consumption adds up to 120 amps, you need to have 120 amps worth of batteries. Lets have a slight sense of reality?

[Badnik96]

Agree with everyone here, make the saws vertical.

[DeadMetal]

This game has actually spent more time crashing than working today, that combined with the fact that the best patch for the game has been made with the same sence of reality that Michael Jackson had, I think I'll give this game a miss. Was fun, annoying - but fun - when it wasn't crashing - which wasn't very often.

[Badnik96]

If that means you're leaving then... bye.

[NFX]

Well that has helped me to figure out why the bots in DSL are so powerful: They have full power engines but can run on batteries that don't give the bot a realistic weight payoff. It's like being able to run a T2 tank on a lawnmower engine. Its cheating. I think it should be a rule if the actual game can't be changed, then people should have to have the battery power that their engines say they need. So if your power consumption adds up to 120 amps, you need to have 120 amps worth of batteries. Lets have a slight sense of reality?

That's only for spin motors, though. If you have a burst motor, the amount of batteries you need increases quite a lot. A Beta Geared Motor, for instance, needs 21 ant batteries to be effective. The so-called "unrealistic power consumption" only applies to spin motors.

[Naryar]

And despite being flawed (all games are) that really is a great game if you bypass the "flawed" thing.

Maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions after only a few days playing DSL.

[Somebody]

DSL didn't change much by the way of coding. DSL gave new components, AI, UI, and the already-created six bots per team.

Lets say this slowly now... SEVEN. YEAR. OLD. RUSHED. GAME.
There will be glitches, and it is nearly impossible to model all of the real life variables that come with robot combat. Its the best robot combat game ever made though, and its the best you are going to get.

[Scorpion]

DSL didn't change much by the way of coding. DSL gave new components, AI, UI, and the already-created six bots per team.

Lets say this slowly now... SEVEN. YEAR. OLD. RUSHED. GAME.
There will be glitches, and it is nearly impossible to model all of the real life variables that come with robot combat. Its the best robot combat game ever made though, and its the best you are going to get.

I wouldn't say rushed, it's amazing what they managed to put together with the technology available at the time IMO.
And yeah as I said before, it's main competitor was robot wars extreme destruction which is unmeasurably worse.