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Robot Arena => Showcases => DSL TC Showcases => Topic started by: DG on June 20, 2010, 07:01:58 PM

Title: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 20, 2010, 07:01:58 PM
Hey, new here. Also new to Robot arena 2 which i started playing about two months ago. Reason is that i remembered the good old days of Robot Wars which i loved and i love computer games too so; RA2!  :approve:
Almost immediately downloaded the DSL conversion though, which is awesome.

Anywho, this is my first real successful battlebot:

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/80960GRinder_Botlabshot.jpg)

-2 by 2 chassis (as low as possible)
-1 mm titanium armor
-2 of those red and two of those ant batteries and the blue control chip
-16 spiked clubs
-4 of those jagged spikes
-cool looking wheels
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: trumpetguy on June 20, 2010, 07:18:07 PM
If you are going to use the two motorcycle wheels for drives then use a drive motor, and attach to the motor directly, it gives more grip. This can run for 4 ants (5 will be ideal IMO). Might want to upgrade the armor. The back wheel drive motor is lacking. Other than that, cool design.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: 090901 on June 20, 2010, 07:20:34 PM
Quote from: trumpetguy on June 20, 2010, 07:18:07 PM
If you are going to use the two motorcycle wheels for drives then use a drive motor, and attach to the motor directly, it gives more grip. This can run for 4 ants (5 will be ideal IMO). Might want to upgrade the armor. The back wheel drive motor is lacking. Other than that, cool design.
The E-tecks power the Drum and the wheels.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: NFX on June 20, 2010, 07:25:03 PM
I think you should move the Spike Strips back and remove the motorcycle wheels completely, so that the Spike Strips are keeping the drum off the ground. And replace the TWMR3 motors with NPC's, but they MUST be the normal kind, not left, right, fast, or any combination of the above, because normal NPCs have more HP's than the other kinds for some reason. But the chassis itself is excellent, I can see nothing wrong with it at all.

Oh, and remove the lone Typhoon Spike, it does nothing.

Welcome to the forums, dude. ;)
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: trumpetguy on June 20, 2010, 07:26:27 PM
Quote from: 090901 on June 20, 2010, 07:20:34 PM
Quote from: trumpetguy on June 20, 2010, 07:18:07 PM
If you are going to use the two motorcycle wheels for drives then use a drive motor, and attach to the motor directly, it gives more grip. This can run for 4 ants (5 will be ideal IMO). Might want to upgrade the armor. The back wheel drive motor is lacking. Other than that, cool design.
The E-tecks power the Drum and the wheels.
Still its a weapon motor, not meant for driving, but I do see the use of the motor, but driving wouldn't be the strong suit of this bot.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 20, 2010, 07:26:47 PM
Hence why he needs drive E-teks.

It's quite a cool robot and not bad for a newcomer, but looks unrealistic (we the DSL community do bitch about realism) because the clubs spin right ??

Also congrats for creating a new robot type.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Badnik96 on June 20, 2010, 07:41:31 PM
If the plan is to chew up wedges, then this is OK. If the plan is to use the clubs like El Diablo's, then get rid of the front wheels and use a wedge to support the drum. And make it spin upward. Also, you need only 4 ant batteries (the small oranges ones) for power.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 20, 2010, 08:09:24 PM
Yeah, the weapons spin upward, goal is to grind a bots belly, as it were. There's an axle between the discs and the motorcycle wheels, but i'll try without them, see if its detrimental.
The spike strips are excellent to "trap" a bot into my line of damage, and to keep my bot from flipping over (it is invertible, but still annoying).
Will try with 4 ant batteries, that'll save me 18 kg then i think. Idea of how i could use it? (a metal plate to protect my back wheels perhaps, although bots rarely manage to reach them?).
The typhoon spike is merely for looks though. (although i guess you could use it as a visual point of reference :))

I forgot to mention its name; GRinder.
I will try to make a middleweight version and a lightweight version of this bot, some ideas?

Some battleshots (i zoomed in on the action with PS):

Btw, can i download some tougher AI bots to pit him against?
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 20, 2010, 08:11:54 PM
Use 6 ant batteries.

For the tougher (and really tougher) bots, check my signature for the NAR AI pack. You might want to try v1 first.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 20, 2010, 08:15:37 PM
Cool thanks. I have this feeling my bot's gonna be ripped apart, haha.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 20, 2010, 08:17:04 PM
Maybe not by the popups, but the flail shell spinners and SnS...
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 20, 2010, 08:25:24 PM
Oh, i almost forgot, to make a realistic version of this, then removing the spikestrips would suffice, yes? Or is there something else unrealistic i'm overlooking.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Badnik96 on June 20, 2010, 08:50:28 PM
Didn't know there was an axle in between the drum and the wheels, very creative. NAR AI v1 should give you a difficult challenge. If they're too hard, I released the MM AI beta today, good for testing Heavyweight bots.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: R0B0SH4RK on June 20, 2010, 11:29:11 PM
Reminds me of this:

(https://gametechmods.com/TournamentFiles/botm/Jan10/008.png)

Very nicely done.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: yoda9726 on June 21, 2010, 03:48:22 AM
As far as i can see with these old eyes, the spike strips are the only thing keeping it from being realistic. is there a big enough gap between the spike clubs to keep it from going through your extender?  looks to me like they might hit it a bit, but i don't think it's that big of a deal. 
 
Regardless,  I LOVE that bot.  Very cool way to introduce yourself :D
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 21, 2010, 11:38:23 AM
Hey, thanks. Searched for a introduction thread but couldn't find it so figured i might as well make a thread to show my bots from the cutoff.  :smile:.

Made some new versions of GRinder with the advice given taken into account.

v2:

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/73528GRinder-v2_botlab.jpg)

Uses 6 ant batteries now, and i changed the drive motors to plain NPC's which make the bot a lot more nimble but slightly more difficult to correctly navigate, i do prefer them over the other ones i used. The bot is still unrealistic though.

v3:

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/81974GRinder-v3-realism_botlab.jpg)

I think this is the final version. The spike clubs don't rotate through the spikestrips or any extenders anymore, so its fully realistic now. As a result the spikestrips now also support the front side of the bot, thus the motorcycle wheels are gone, i added small beater bars to the DSL discs, to add some extra sting from the side.
Components used:
-Carbon fibre extenders (kinda paranoid about using these, but i haven't seen one break yet)
-Flipper segments for angled corners
-8 small beater bars
-6 ant batteries (think i can get away with 5 or even 4 though, but matches didn't last long enough to find out yet  ;))
-blue control chip
-2 NPC motors and those broad 32 kg wheels
-16 spikeclubs
-4 spikestrips
-1 hexplate and typhoonspike

Here's a clear battleshot of its main tactic:

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/61915GRinder-v3-realism_Grogbat.jpg)

2 seconds later the match was over.  :laughing
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Badnik96 on June 21, 2010, 12:29:52 PM
Doesn't look bad.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: 090901 on June 21, 2010, 12:47:28 PM
<3
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Somebody on June 21, 2010, 12:53:54 PM
Good bot. I see potential.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: The Ounce on June 21, 2010, 12:58:45 PM
Excellent!  Although I don't recall what armor you're using for that chassis.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 21, 2010, 03:03:16 PM
I forgot to mention that, they're all 1 mm titanium.

I tried making a middleweight version but failed (or better said, i succeeded, yet he royally sucks in comparison). Any tips?
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: The Ounce on June 21, 2010, 04:57:47 PM
I don't think 1mm titanium armor on a chassis that small is a very good idea.  I would try to find a way to free some weight for a half-sheet on the bottom or at least 5mm plastic.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 22, 2010, 04:58:15 AM
Pretty nice.

But yes, improving armor is a good idea
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 22, 2010, 01:36:41 PM
I removed 1 ant battery and 4 beater bars and upgraded the armor to 10mm plastic. Is that a good choice?
Weight is now 799.5 kg.

edit: btw, don't know how to add the NAR AI teams, do i just copy/paste them into the AI folder of RA2? Or do i need to remove the original teams first.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: NFX on June 22, 2010, 02:13:28 PM
There's some tutorials in the RA2 section, you have to alter the AI Teams folder .bot files, and also the Bindings.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: 090901 on June 22, 2010, 10:15:51 PM
Quote from: DG on June 22, 2010, 01:36:41 PM
I removed 1 ant battery and 4 beater bars and upgraded the armor to 10mm plastic. Is that a good choice?
Weight is now 799.5 kg.
Yes, it's one of the best choices.
Overwrite your old AI folder with the Nar AI one.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 26, 2010, 01:32:12 AM
Made a new bot, sorta like a flipper, my first sorta flipper.

Fingers of Death:

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/59210FOD_botlab1.jpg)
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/22908FOD_botlab2.jpg)

5mm plastic armor (i know, sucks)
10 ant batteries
3 red PN batteries
NPC motors and Techno wheels (love them)

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/11962FOD_bat.jpg)

Fun trying to juggle opponents  :smile:.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Pwnator on June 26, 2010, 01:43:35 AM
I'm quite surprised at the wedginess despite the use of skirt hinges, but it's all good.

And you don't need MEs for the drive. Attaching the NPCs directly to the baseplate gives you a lower ground clearance. And 5mm plastic armor is quite awesome, though you might want to shrink it a bit to get stronger external armor (poly sheets can't protect you throughout the whole match).
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 26, 2010, 02:13:02 AM
Underpowered ?
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 26, 2010, 02:26:27 AM
Yes, it does feel quite underpowered. Tips on what i should aim for battery wise?
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 26, 2010, 02:27:24 AM
Spam PC625's... when you are using beta bursts it's the way to go.

Technically 6 would be enough but you wouldn' have the weight.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 26, 2010, 02:30:07 AM
Then i'll have to make some adjustments to the chassis design, i used a lot of diagonals to try and prevent the bot from tipping over too easily.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: The Ounce on June 26, 2010, 03:10:38 AM
I would use a U-shaped chassis, and as for the "tipping over" problem, you could easily solve this by attaching sideways-pointing skirts somewhere, the flippers, on multis, or maybe even a baseplate halfsheet if you have the weight.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 26, 2010, 03:12:13 AM
Is it worth underpowering the bot for more stability ?
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 26, 2010, 08:09:30 PM
I think i made some improvements.

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/78869FOD2_botlab1.jpg)
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/79045FOD2_botlab2.jpg)

5mm plastic (i heard it was rather good somewhere  ;))
4 big batteries
4 ant batteries
NPC fasts
better and stronger steel wedges (although i might change them for angled ones, thoughts?)
protective titanium sheet on its belly

A negative is that it doesn't self right as easily anymore and its probably still underpowered (lol), also damage wise its mainly hoping to get a lucky hit in. (although that might be less of a problem when AI'ed? dunno)
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 27, 2010, 04:08:44 AM
It is still underpowered indeed.

And the lower wedge is a near joke, and why axles ?
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: DG on June 28, 2010, 09:32:46 AM
The lower wedge is near the same as in your avatar pic. The axles alow for the spike strips to damage bots when flipping while protecting the spike strips from attack when not flipping. I put the bot on hold until i have some inspiration on how to improve it and push it into the direction i wanted it to.

In the meantime i've been building another bot. It started as an idea to have "sweeping" arms (slightly differing from conventional flailers). But it didn't perform the way i wanted it to, until it grew into this one named "Facehu^^er", which is the fifth iteration, and i'm very pleased with it, even outperforming my initial expectations.

(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/63610Facehu^^er_botlab1.jpg)
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/24843Facehu^^er_botlab2.jpg)

5mm plastic
3 ant batteries
NPC fasts
12 beater bars (dunno if i should keep the 6 "upright " ones, although i have the impression they do a fair amount of damage when under another bot)
6 light DS teeth
8 Robot X swords
4 protective titanium sheets on the sides, 2 aluminium ones on top of the back, one titanium halfplate on the front, 2 ramplates protecting the face.

feats:  Very quick and nimble, spins faster then expected.
Can ram with the swords, can swing and sweep with the swords, can pound left and right when trapping a bot with the swords (bye bye wheels) can trap bots front back and side with the swords while chipping health away with the ds teeth (funny to see as it appears to "grab" a bot with one arm, while swinging its body to for example the side of the opponent when driving forward, then holding the bot in place with the other arm ready to eat away with its "face" in one fluid motion)
Its invertible, has extremely low ground clearance. (in fact so low that i can't protect the belly with plates or sheets, which is one of the downsides)
Its slightly unrealistic (as the swords cross each other and they slightly touch the faceweapon), but imo its reasonable.
Virtually impossible to decently AI?

Things i think can still be improved: Better chassis design, better extender work, removing the 6 beater bars or not), uprgrading chassis armor, using better/more armor sheets, trying to find a way to protect its belly, MOAR ROBOT X SWORDS? (or using vlad spikes instead? And how do they practically differ in battle?)

I have some battleshots destroying SHW's and whatnot if interested.
Title: Re: DG's bots
Post by: Naryar on June 28, 2010, 09:34:42 AM
Heh, i built a LW front flailer with razors somehow like that for NAR AI v2.2 but it wasnt realistic so i scrapped it.

It would be better with a V-shape trapping system imo.
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