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Messages - Clickbeetle
2741
« on: February 01, 2009, 08:11:35 PM »
I like how you used a long single wedge. In the HW class, that's often a huge advantage.
The chassis could still be smaller, but even as is, I'd say Savior is about on par with Hunter-Killer Tank.
2742
« on: February 01, 2009, 07:29:02 PM »
Nope, you're both wrong. Sorry for keeping you all in the dark... I wasn't going to say anything, but then I was answering a question about Frag Beetle, and yeah... I couldn't resist hyping the bot a little.  So here it is... hope you're not too disappointed! I had to make an extra-big splash because, well, this bot's battles cover a lot of area. :icon_twisted:  Pretty much everything is visible. 2 Supervolts, DSA, 16 iron spikes. It can usually self-right with the Snapper wedges. This is a very destructive bot... whether a win or a loss, most matches end quickly and in very dramatic fashion. That's one reason why I'm considering it for BBEANS. The other reason is that it's good against horizontal spinners. While I wouldn't be so bold as to call Heaven's Sawmill an HS- killer, if it came up against an HS in BBEANS, the match could at least go either way. It can also get under a good number of opponents, though that's more due to the wedge placement than actually having good wedges. On a head-on wedge collision, Heaven's Sawmill is at a disadvantage. But the wedges are so long (180 cm) that they're good at getting under opponents purely by outdistancing them. And yes, it's capable of one-hit KO's, though that doesn't happen very often. I might have gotten 2 or 3 so far. Its main weakness is its slow turning. If any bot gets on its flank, it's pretty much doomed. I tried to fix this problem by stacking the batteries and moving the drive motors out more, and indeed it could turn faster, but a couple of dumb things happened then. One, the wedges magically went from "meh" to "might as well be sledgehammers for all the good they do". It couldn't even get under Fatal Incision (in Team Emergency). Two, there were certain bots (Lethal Force and Ultimate Spammer, to name a couple) that when I fought them with the old version, my turning would be slower. But with the wide-wheel version, I was mysteriously unable to budge an inch whenever I fought those bots. I still don't know what causes that glitch, but at least with the narrow wheels I have a fighting chance. And three, with faster turning, it started gyro-dancing. The narrow-wheel version turns about as fast as it can without gyro-dancing (except when fighting Lethal Force and Ultimate Spammer, then it turns slower for some reason). So I decided to stick with the narrow wheels. Also, tall chassis for the win. (I had to do that to deal with the 7-part limit).
2743
« on: February 01, 2009, 06:48:58 PM »
Nice work. The ruler skin looks better with the increased contrast, but it could still be more accurate. Now that I think about it, a completely new skin would probably be best. It could also benefit from higher resolution.
Idea: make a ruler alongside the chassis height slider with 5-click increments. (The minimum Z-tek height is 5 clicks above the bottom.) That would help with other precise height adjustments too... like sometimes, I have to make a chassis with 12 click height or something, and it's inconvenient to count that high every time I make a shape adjustment.
2744
« on: February 01, 2009, 06:34:47 PM »
Looks like I got off pretty easy. A byebot, and no Sage, Naryar, or R0B0.
I'm feeling better about BLEVE's chances now.
(I haven't posted it, but it's a dual-disc VS. The discs are replaced with wheels for TT.)
2745
« on: February 01, 2009, 06:08:11 PM »
Leave it to BBEANS to pull old veterans out of the woodwork! Welcome back, hope to see you in BBEANS5.
(I use the term 'veteran' to mean 'time playing RA2', as Redline himself will admit he was never known for his bot-building skills. Though Double Damage would have been a very strong entry if only it was invertible.)
2746
« on: January 25, 2009, 10:59:21 PM »
Put the Snappers further apart, in the front wedge prongs, instead of having those long sideways extenders. Should make the wedges better.
You could also give it rubber wheels, for a ~10% wedge efficiency increase (see the Mythbusters thread) and to make it at least look different from NWB.
Your bro is pretty good. That rammer is not bad at all.
2747
« on: January 25, 2009, 10:40:09 PM »
I've tried designs similar to Medium 2 and they always fail because the weapons get torn off by HS before they can reach the meaty center. And with that V-shape of casters, it's a shame to not be able to beat HS's. Have you had better luck with Medium?
Wavelength is cool, and Infra just looks good. And nothing at all like Inside the Clock.
2748
« on: January 25, 2009, 09:58:52 PM »
The claws are made up of a series of 20 cm extenders attached by the side connection points and rotated one click. The maces are attached to the end connection points. It's easier to see how it's done on the MW, Frag Beetle Larva.
Also, I have another new HW nearly done. Just needs to be skinned, and I need to think of a good name.
With Sage almost certainly entering Vise in BBEANS, I might enter this new bot instead of Frag Beetle. Why? It's capable of consistently throwing any HS I pit it against OOTA, it's capable of consistently getting under most opponents (including Rabid Pit Bull) and it's capable of one-hit KOing even bots with DSA and big chassises. And it's not a HS or a popup. I'll keep you guessing as to what it actually looks like.
2749
« on: January 25, 2009, 09:42:07 PM »
It sounds like the necessary txt files are missing from your styles folder. Though I don't know why that would be.
Check in C:/Program Files/Robot Arena 2/Components/styles and make sure the files speaker2.txt, speaker3.txt, all the way up to speaker7.txt are in there.
Also, do the other components with drop-down menus work? Or is it just the speakers?
2750
« on: January 25, 2009, 09:31:05 PM »
Updated design for the tank treads.  They don't look a whole lot different... yet. I'm planning on making a new elliptical style too. But the updated parallelogram also has some improvements. Firstly, it's a real wheel now, thanks to Serge's compiler. Before Serge's compiler, all the wheels I made had to be "fake wheels" using a hinge to hold on the traction zone. The update bypasses the hinge, making for a more solid tread. You know how the black tread could pop out of the metal armor on the old tread design? Not so with this one. The new tread also looks slightly smaller. I'll be the first to admit that the old one was too big and bulky. However, I don't want to mess with any existing bots, so the tread only looks smaller. On the old one, the black tread was actually the traction zone, so it could pass through the floor. Now the tread collides with the floor and the traction zone is invisible. So I was able to scale the tread down, while keeping the collision the same size. Also thanks to Serge's compiler, the updated design is more Havok-stable. For example, you can now do this  and the worst that can happen is the collision getting messed up. Putting axles on treads won't trigger the AGOD unless the tread is on a freely rotating motor. In theory, at least. It should be more stable with the locking motor. Lastly, the treads handle a little differently than regular wheels now. I bumped up the "resistance" in the txt file to 1 (regular wheels have 0.1 or 0.2). It's hard to explain, but it makes the bot slide less when you're turning. Subtle, but it makes it feel more like you're driving a tank rather than a car with stationary wheels. And of course the treads have a new skin. I went for something simpler with less contrast.
2751
« on: January 20, 2009, 12:15:10 AM »
Well, it wasn't particularly funny... I don't get it. Is anything in this thread particularly funny? It seems like the goal is just post a random picture and state the most obvious thing possible about it. I suppose, in a way, it's kinda funny... but not really.
2752
« on: January 19, 2009, 11:38:13 PM »
I hear you. I still have dreams to make another antweight. And once I actually get some wins with it, move up to a heavier class. Maybe a new Defy Ant, maybe something different. But with no events close by coming up, I don't have a lot of incentive to put in the time. Ouch, that thing looks like it took quite a beating. Glad to see it will be stronger. Superficial scratches, mostly. You can tell how good a bot is by the amount of dents and scratches in its armor. If it's all scratched up, it means it's been in a lot of tough scrapes and survived. But if the armor is fresh and shiny, it either means it's untested or it had to be replaced after the last fight When do you think you'll get that flamethrower in Apollyon? Just kidding, I know the armor is a priority.
2753
« on: January 19, 2009, 11:13:10 PM »
14197. Not bad. Not bad at all.
What happened to Archimandrite?
2754
« on: January 19, 2009, 11:10:09 PM »
normally the small wedge's are not that effective Small wedges have magic effectiveness in stock RA2 and it's no different in DSL. You just have more options in DSL. Every bot I have with small wedges gets under all other skirt wedges, every time. Granted, I don't have all that many DSL bots with small wedges (skirts have so many other advantages, it's hard to pass them up) but still. I can't say much for Gyroman 4's looks. Well, actually I can. While it's technically realistic just going by the rules, it looks ugly with that Perm belt floating out in space. But it looks effective. But is it more effective than the old Gyroman? The Perm 80 is actually a step down from double Magmotors. I'm not sure invertibility is a fair trade for power and rear protection, especially when the old version could self right.
2755
« on: January 19, 2009, 10:13:34 PM »
Here's my entry. I might update the splash later.  Edit: Updated the splash. I think it looks a little better now.
2756
« on: January 19, 2009, 02:00:46 PM »
The ruler is useful if your chassis is a weird shape and the grid boxes don't line up with the edges. But in most cases the grid is accurate enough. It's easiest to use from a complete top-down perspective.
2757
« on: January 19, 2009, 01:56:48 PM »
Anything goes as long as it's in the bot lab. Same as previous tournaments.
Rupt glitch is allowed. But man, I haven't seen a new bot that actually uses that glitch in forever.
2758
« on: January 19, 2009, 01:51:22 PM »
I know how you feel. I spent I-don't-know-how-many hours working on a recent bot (Slaying Mantis V) and it turned out terrible at first. But eventually I got it to the point where I was satisfied.
Something you could do is copy the armor setup on Pyscolone's Spite. Ideal Tyrant might use it too, I don't remember. But you have casters just on the corners, where HS's are most likely to hit, and ram plates/plows in the middle, so bots don't snag on the casters.
Man, you could almost give that thing 6WD and an extra Supervolt. But not quite. Not with the bigger chassis you would need. But maybe... nah, you'd probably be better off with more armor.
2759
« on: January 19, 2009, 01:23:46 PM »
Two new heavyweights. One of them for BOTM. Now which one to pick? Slaying Mantis V...  A hammer bot designed to trap bots in two dimensions (horizontally and vertically) and then hammer away. You wouldn't know it unless you've built a lot of them, but the bane of hammer bots is when the opponent drives on top of you and cuts off your hammers. It's vital to hold bots down while you hammer. Originally, Slaying Mantis V had wedges as well, so it could trap bots in both vertical directions (up and down) and the only way to escape would be to destroy it or back straight out. But I just couldn't get the wedges to work. It was much more difficult to control with wedges, and it seemed like they only got in the way rather than helping. It was so bad I couldn't even beat Fury with wedges. But when I took the wedges off and added another battery and the decorative/ballast swords in the back, suddenly it could beat any HS I pitted it against. Like magic, almost. So I'm not gonna complain about lack of wedges. (Though I wouldn't mind some if I could get them to work.) Its main weakness is actually not its lack of wedges though, but its instability. Any good ram will cause the bot to flip over (and it can't self right), forcing me to approach opponents slowly. The hammers can still hit bots that are under me, so it's not the end of the world if I fight a bot with wedges. I wouldn't put Slaying Mantis V quite on par with Sage's Fatal Encounter, but it does look cool if I do say so myself. And that's what I was going for. A good candidate for BOTM.  ...or Cold Front? It doesn't look as cool, but I think it's a more original design. And more versatile. I haven't ever seen anything like this that I recall... a wedgy rammer. Or "Wammer" as I call it. The idea was to get the best of both worlds in a rammer and a wedge: the sheer quantity of weapons on a rammer, combined with the underside-hitting potential of a wedge. The bane of most rammers is the lack of a wedge, so I thought it would be a good combo. Cold Front sort of succeeded. I didn't get the best of both worlds... more like the middle of both worlds. It's durable, it's wedgy, it can take on burly HS's and VS's alike, but it's not as powerful as either a popup or a rammer. It usually takes a long time to KO an opponent. But hey, as long as it wins I'll take it. As far as what bot's it's good against, it's sort of a jack of all trades. Good against everything, excellent against nothing. Its main weakness is that it's not invertible, and it can't self right once the wedges are gone (which happens all too frequently). And even when the wedges are there, self-righting will take a few tries at best. But it's good enough and original enough that I'm considering it for BOTM. Though right now I'm leaning more toward Slaying Mantis, because it looks cooler.
2760
« on: January 19, 2009, 12:49:47 PM »
Awesome bot. It's definitely better than your other horizontal hammer made out of Fatal Encounter's chassis. Might be better than my Frag Beetle too.
Let's see...
Things Frag Beetle has over Vise:
-Invertible
-More spikes in front
-Curved claws designed to wrap around bots and hit the sides
-Better extender protection on the back of the claws
-2 more maces
-Some wheel protection
Things Vise has over Frag Beetle:
-Longer wedge
-More battery
-Faster claws
-Arguably better trapping ability
-In-line maces might do more damage
-Chrome maces look cooler than red ones
Which one is better? Probably depends on what bot you're fighting. Vise might edge out Frag Beetle purely by virtue of its wedge... but I think Frag Beetle is close behind, if so.
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