Here, you just build a bot but you are unsure about it, or you want some advice about it. Well, here's the thing. You can give advice to YOURSELF by looking at your bot and judging it with these.
First of all, you must know that weight is everything. Do not use weight unless you have a good reason to.
1- Your weaponry. Your bot has a weapon system, or several in the case of hybrids. You have to make sure it is efficient. Answer these.
-Are there some pointless weapons ?
-Can you increase reach, damage, trapping ability or weaponry HP without losing anything ?
-Can your extender work be made lighter without creating critical weak points ?
-Is the total weapon weight insufficient ?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then fix that. If everything is fine, then go to the next part.
2- Your drive system and mobilityYour bot's drive and mobility is essential, and all bots have that.
-Are the wheels unfitted (too big, not enough grip) for the bot's design ?
-Are the drive motors unfitted (too powerful, not powerful enough) for the bot's design ?
-Can I reduce the total number of drive motors without losing speed ? Is it better to have less, but more powerful drive motors since they use less battery power and less weight. A well-balanced 2WD is superior to a 4WD.
If you can answer yes to any of these, fix that. Then you must be able to answer yes to one of the following :
-Is my bot invertible ? (If your bot is very flat, then make your bot invertible, unless it is a VS/hammer)
-Can my bot self-right reliably ?
-Can I afford to not be invertible AND not have a srimech ? (Alternatively: Does the bot's design prevents invertibility or a srimech ?)
3- Your armor and protectionYou must remember, armor does not win battles, but it also helps you to not lose or be crippled. So put the correct amount of armor on your bot.
-Does your bot has any exposed weak points ? (Motors, extenders mostly)
-Can you remove any weak points by a slight change in bot design ?
-Is your bot's armor poorly placed for the type of battles it will fight ? (1v1, 2v2 or rumble)
-Does your bot has excessive armor for it's design ?
-Does your bot has not enough armor for it's design ?
If you can answer yes to any of these, fix that.
4- Your power supply These apply for both air and electricity.
-Does your bot has not enough batteries/airtanks to fully power your motors, bursts, and pistons ?
-Does your bot lacks power at the middle, and end of the match ?
-Is your power supply excessive ? Can you remove some batteries/airtanks and not lose much ?
If you can answer yes to any of these, fix that.
5- Your extender work When you have fixed all the previous ones, then have a look at the bot's extender work.
-Can the bot's extender work be made lighter, more simple, and less exposed ?
-Is some of the bot's extender work too heavy/strong for how exposed it is ?
Fix that if yes, gain weight, use this weight for something worthwhile.
6- Your bot's looks Then it is about your bot's looks. How to judge look is mostly personal, but here's a few universal pointers. First answer this:
Am I willing to use weight to make my bot look better ? (The answer to this is where your bot stands on the IRL/DSL-S scale)
-Is my skin not overly simple/n00bish ?
-Do some of my component's aesthetics clash due to color/shape ?
-Does the skin's color/shapes clash with the component's color/shapes ?
-Does my bot's aesthetics fit a theme ? Is it a good theme ?
7- Your bot's nameActually more important that you think. Even if your bot is named "gotta go fast" (make it 6WD or 8WD) or "Hitler Loves Jews" (give it a flamethrower) or some sh**.
-Is my bot's name not fitting the bot's design ?
-Is my bot's name too short ? (In case you haven't got enough of a gratuitously long name due to botlab limiting you, feel free to use BFE
)
If you can answer yes - oh you know the drill.
There, everything has been said. You should be able to give good self-advice, if you know the components of your game well enough though. If you manage to not be biased, self-advice is the best !
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