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First, a major thank you to all of you for inspiring me to join and get back into this game. I'm fairly sure I have negative artistic/creative talent, but I enjoy giving this stuff a shot anyways and I'm always looking for advice and ways to improve what I'm building technically and aesthetically.
So since my joining this site kicked off with entering a tournament right off the bat, here's the Cruiserweight that will be repping me in GTM Robot Wars, Witching Hour:
(http://i.imgur.com/F0fvdVL.jpg)
Witching Hour
"Ring" Spinner
Weight: 593.00
As far as ways to improve it for the future, I definitely need to get better at extender-work. It also has some trouble maneuvering when cornered, but that may have more to do with the AI I've been playing around with? When I've taken it for a whirl, it's not nearly as sluggish/awkward.
Also, watching it Mauler dance is amazing. :beer: My goal was to make a bot that could pull the dance off and still keep on moving when inverted. From that standpoint, I'm incredibly pleased with how it turned out. I think it actually hits a little harder and lower when inverted, oddly enough. Makes it naturally very successful against flippers but it's obvious weakness is to well-timed hammers and any spinner with better mallets that can out-range it.
The full HW version is a complete rebuild with a larger frame, a different drive-setup, and panel-work around the ring. I may enter it in a future Redditbots tournament under the name "Forever Midnight" if the current tourney there is popular enough to guarantee it.
Eager for any advice anyone has!
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Looks pretty neat. With the DSL bars sticking out of the sides, and the clock face on the top, it kinda looks like a wristwatch.
What kind of armour does it have? If it's tough enough then a few axe blows shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise you'll have to be on the lookout for Deathstalker ;)
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Looks pretty neat. With the DSL bars sticking out of the sides, and the clock face on the top, it kinda looks like a wristwatch.
What kind of armour does it have? If it's tough enough then a few axe blows shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise you'll have to be on the lookout for Deathstalker ;)
Thanks! That's absolutely what I was going for. :)
Iirc the armor is Titanium, though I can't for the life of me recall which one. It can take some punishment though and it's best defense will obviously be to keep the weapon moving to hopefully deflect an opposing hammerbot when it's smartzone tells the AI to fire the axe/hammer.
In a 1-on-1, I think it could do some work. The qualifiers will be a challenge just because it could get ganged up on or the recoil from landing a big hit could send it into the pit if it's unlucky. Hoping neither of those scenarios occur, but that's just the nature of the game.
Also, Deathstalker's pretty rad. I downloaded and played around with it a bit and it's a quick little sonofagun. Cool use of the Vlad piece as a tail too! :)
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That's really nice for a newcomer. You certainly seem to know what you're doing.
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Definitely one of the most impressive entries from a newcomer, if not the most impressive. I think it should do pretty well. Time will tell!
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That's really nice for a newcomer. You certainly seem to know what you're doing.
Thanks! It's a design I've been working on, scrapping, and trying again for a long while now.
For reference, here's the abomination that I entered into Redditbots (Bottom Feeder), built in 1 long overnight at work with nothing better to do:
(http://i.imgur.com/fsrULOw.jpg)
Wicked waste of space and all sorts of flaws, haha. I have a few different options I'm toying around with for a Version 2.0, but I feel like I'm still not quite optimizing the design. Trying to find a build that sacrifices the least while keeping the humongous weapon the main focus. Considering I used a laptop touchpad to build it, I guess it could have turned out worse! :p
Main points of improvement:
-Use the solid disc
-Shorten the chassis, and possibly angle it too
-Either guard the wheels and their extenders better or find a better balance between chassis width and disc radius
-Armor up the front
-Find the best teeth to fit the weapon without slowing it down significantly
So much work in store but it's a start! And it will be fun to watch it get torn apart against Galactic Terror. :popcorn
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oh hey that's the robot mine is fighting :V
i'm pretty sure wheels on extenders have no grip value so i would fix that at some point
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oh hey that's the robot mine is fighting :V
i'm pretty sure wheels on extenders have no grip value so i would fix that at some point
Ah, so that's why it Tokyo drifts like crazy!!
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Yeah, you might wanna replace those with axle extenders, it's presumably what they're there for ;) Looks pretty darn powerful though. I'm excited to see how it does; whether it tears its opponents to pieces or loses control and flies around the arena, it should be pretty entertaining either way :D
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Even if you used axle extenders it would still do that.
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Yeah, you might wanna replace those with axle extenders, it's presumably what they're there for ;) Looks pretty darn powerful though. I'm excited to see how it does; whether it tears its opponents to pieces or loses control and flies around the arena, it should be pretty entertaining either way :D
I believe axle extenders are mainly meant to be used for adding multiple weapons to a single axle, like a row of saw-blades, etc.
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Even using a smaller wheel as a spacer would cause the same drift. I think the only solution is mounting the engine closer to the edge of the chassis, or using a motor with a longer axle.
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Even using a smaller wheel as a spacer would cause the same drift. I think the only solution is mounting the engine closer to the edge of the chassis, or using a motor with a longer axle.
Ah, so there's really no trade-off using standard extenders there vs. the axle extenders?
I honestly don't mind the drift too much in this case, it's kind of endearing. >.>
Of all the flaws, it's probably the one I'm least concerned about in the rebuild. This was one of my other approaches to a rebuild:
(http://i.imgur.com/kIYeIqi.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/YzmQVTr.png)
Still have to do some extender work to guard the wheels. Went from the Tornado Mer box to the 6-Mag, though it didn't seem all that more powerful in practice...? I haven't decided whether I like this concept better than ol' extra wide Bottom Feeder.
In terms of things I'm unsure about:
-Is there any benefit to adding the 2 Typhoon teeth along with the Rippers? Are there pros or cons to either? If I add 4 teeth I feel like it A: slows the spin down, and B: minimizes the impact when it does connect.
-Should I trade out the current disc for a DSL one? Didn't realize it until after I built this, but the DSL discs all seem statistically better than the "shell-spinner" ones in every way. Are there any drawbacks?
-What would you guys recommend to guard the front of the chassis? Extender work instead of the armor plates?
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Shell spinner disks allow you to attach a larger amount of weapons that the DSL discs. I am at school, and the image isn't showing, so I will get back to you in a bit. Extender work tends to be less successful at protecting than armour plates, as if the first extender in a chain gets hit, the rest fly off at once. Armour plates tend to only have itself there and nothing major attached to them.
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Some extender work in the front certainly has the potential to look cooler, depending on how you do it.
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Shell spinner disks allow you to attach a larger amount of weapons that the DSL discs. I am at school, and the image isn't showing, so I will get back to you in a bit. Extender work tends to be less successful at protecting than armour plates, as if the first extender in a chain gets hit, the rest fly off at once. Armour plates tend to only have itself there and nothing major attached to them.
Cheers! I decided for now to buff up the base armor and spend weight guarding the wheels for the time being. Not sure how I'll settle on doing so, but it's in my thoughts.
I feel a lot better about the look of the new build. Hopefully it's nearing completion of a true Version 2.0
(http://i.imgur.com/I1gPSur.png)
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Wheelguards and interesting chassis shape make it infinitely better.
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Wheelguards and interesting chassis shape make it infinitely better.
I'd hoped so :) Coming up with some interesting ideas for it as I start to learn how to skin. Maybe some seaweed-esque graphics on the sloped face of the bot, name on top, and a graphic on the back?
Anyways, I practiced a bit on what will eventually be Witching Hour's full heavyweight "big brother", so to speak.
Working name is "Forever Midnight" (793.00):
(http://i.imgur.com/zSspTkU.png)
Ignore that I totally botched the skinning on the first attempt. I'll have to go back to the drawing board on that one and make sure it's orientation is correct. -_-
Entirely new build, from the ground up. Still the same principle of a ring spinner with a long reach. However, it runs on four wheels, spread between the top and bottom of the bot. Gone are the hammers and in are those gnarly teeth and some added protection around the body. Also, the panels around the ring allow me to offset the two bars so Mr. Midnight can deal hits down low and up high no matter what side it's running on.
I may begin working on modular designs for this one, using the same basic setup but changing the weaponry around the ring. Perhaps one setup will use the panels to form a dome over the top, sacrificing the ability to run inverted but offering protection from hammers? I've been racking my brain trying to envision a setup that makes the ring's attachments form more concave or convex shapes. It's definitely a long way from complete, but I'm very much devoted to making it work.
Other things in the work:
-A light/middleweight follow-up to Bottom Feeder, 2-wheel setup with extenders keeping it from slashing the floor.
-An egg-beater design
-A lightweight 2-disc that looks a bit unconventional and I've yet to refine
-And someday, I'll figure out how to make a decent flipper. >.<
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Forever Midnight looks pretty cool so far. I love the idea where you put two wheels on the top and two on the bottom, but can it drive properly like that? I assume so otherwise you wouldn't have done it :P
For the light/middleweight Bottom Feeder, I have a suggestion. I find that four-toothed discs (as used in Dentophobia and my own undercutter, Bluebird) are extremely stable if spun fast enough, so if you can fit four teeth onto the disc and spin it fast enough, you might not need extenders to stop the disc hitting the floor; the disc will do the work for you.
And good luck with the lightweight 2-disc bot, especially if it's IRL. I can barely make an IRL lightweight with one disc, as both Kurt and Rob will testify :P
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Forever Midnight looks pretty cool so far. I love the idea where you put two wheels on the top and two on the bottom, but can it drive properly like that? I assume so otherwise you wouldn't have done it :P
Yep, it does have a little trouble getting around once in a while, but like Witching Hour, I chalk that up to AI issues I'm trying to sort out. I was actually inspired by a bot in the Exchange that I checked out a while back (called "Lord of the Locusts", I think). The drive setup is offset like that.
For the light/middleweight Bottom Feeder, I have a suggestion. I find that four-toothed discs (as used in Dentophobia and my own undercutter, Bluebird) are extremely stable if spun fast enough, so if you can fit four teeth onto the disc and spin it fast enough, you might not need extenders to stop the disc hitting the floor; the disc will do the work for you.
Thanks for the tip! Yeah, the extenders serve the 2nd purpose of guarding the wheels too, but I'll give it a shot & see what looks better :)
And good luck with the lightweight 2-disc bot, especially if it's IRL. I can barely make an IRL lightweight with one disc, as both Kurt and Rob will testify :P
I'll definitely need the luck! It looks too junky to post here atm, gonna have to do a few rebuilds before I'm satisfied with the aesthetics.
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Just toying around in the Bot Lab from the hospital bed because what else is there to do here? :ermm:
First flipper attempt that I'm actually somewhat satisfied with so far. Shot for a middleweight and will be doing extensive wheelguard work, modifications to the flipper arm itself, and skinning, methinks. Maybe throw another battery in there too just to be safe. But it works!
Abeyance:
(http://i.imgur.com/WWSII71.png)
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Just toying around in the Bot Lab from the hospital bed because what else is there to do here? :ermm:
First flipper attempt that I'm actually somewhat satisfied with so far. Shot for a middleweight and will be doing extensive wheelguard work, modifications to the flipper arm itself, and skinning, methinks. Maybe throw another battery in there too just to be safe. But it works!
Abeyance:
*snip*
I'm sorry that you are in the hospital and I really hope you get better soon. The 'bot you've made is rather simple, but neatly made. I like it. ;)
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I'm sorry that you are in the hospital and I really hope you get better soon. The 'bot you've made is rather simple, but neatly made. I like it. ;)
Thank you! I'm going to try to cobble together/refine some things I've had lying around for Sword of Glory throughout this week because it looks like a really fun tournament. But after that, I'll likely be off the grid for a month or 2, at minimum.
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It's been a hot minute or two since I've had the chance to delve into my weird & impractical 'bot building mind. I'll post a couple of works-in-progress.
On the left: I had a strange impulse to create an axe-build with a 2-wheeled chassis, I guess akin to Toe Crusher, in a way?
Got it all built and realized I set the axe up backwards. :facepalm: Off to a great start. Gonna have to either rebuild the weapon or change the armor around. Not sure if either approach will work, but we'll see.
Also, on the right: A MW angled spinner that I'm currently tweaking. Have to stop it from tilting forward and clipping the ground when turning. The beater wedges helped a little, but there has to be more I can do. Bar isn't necessarily the final product either, just what I'm working with for now.
(http://i.imgur.com/8txEHgU.png)
Any tips or recommendations would be most welcome :)
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I like the angled spinner, can you shave off some weight somewhere to get large typhoon teeth? And does the bar intersect the wheels?
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I like the angled spinner, can you shave off some weight somewhere to get large typhoon teeth? And does the bar intersect the wheels?
Thank you! Fortunately, the bar just clears the wheels, added the small DSL disc not only for aesthetics but also to give it that space.
There's definitely weight left to use. May have to extend the weapon height a little more to keep Large Typhoons from clipping the ground, but it's possible. :)
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It's been a hot minute or two since I've had the chance to delve into my weird & impractical 'bot building mind. I'll post a couple of works-in-progress.
On the left: I had a strange impulse to create an axe-build with a 2-wheeled chassis, I guess akin to Toe Crusher, in a way?
Got it all built and realized I set the axe up backwards. :facepalm: Off to a great start. Gonna have to either rebuild the weapon or change the armor around. Not sure if either approach will work, but we'll see.
Also, on the right: A MW angled spinner that I'm currently tweaking. Have to stop it from tilting forward and clipping the ground when turning. The beater wedges helped a little, but there has to be more I can do. Bar isn't necessarily the final product either, just what I'm working with for now.
(http://i.imgur.com/8txEHgU.png)
Any tips or recommendations would be most welcome :)
yo these are sweet lookin bots
can you snap the insides of the spinner so i can see what kind of camber set up/motors you got?
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*snipped*
yo these are sweet lookin bots
can you snap the insides of the spinner so i can see what kind of camber set up/motors you got?
Oh dang, I wish I'd seen this sooner! I scrapped Exodus (working name) for the time being and started a rebuild of it, mainly because I couldn't get the weapon setup to work well enough and still have enough weight leftover to build support around the armor and balance it. Iirc, it only had Astroflights for drive at I wanna say the wonky 22.5 degree angle because they're the only ones that would fit properly, and the weapon had a Mer-Motor.
My pet project right now is playing around with CF Extender-botting for the first time and refining my first draft of this ridiculously garish hammer design:
(http://i.imgur.com/RJdtiTK.png)
(A little bit of inspiration from poor ol' Mega Melvin on that weapon design, though I've had the image in my head of a hammer structure like that for a little while leading up to this)
1. Major problem is that the wedge corners have that gap between them and the rest of the extenders. Also, the support for the weapon could be fleshed out a little more. I have to look for some places to shave off weight to make it up in those areas.
2. The weapon itself is pretty modular. I played around with a version made entirely of Beaters and a version that had Spikes instead of the Frenzy Hammer (which I think I personally prefer). Only showing the FH in the picture because it's the last version I tested before I snapped the shot.
3. All in all, I'm pretty excited that I'm actually building something with CF that I don't want to scrap in the first 5 minutes for a change. My armor work is super sloppy so far, but hopefully I'll get the hang of that eventually.
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I like the side panels. The way the bulky hammer attaches to the burst motor looks really off though, can you try to do something with that?