Finally decided to sit down and type this event overview for MakerX Columbus Combat 2020
Now that our new beetleweight is fully under construction, we decided to bring back H5N1 for one last hurrah before being replaced. After a full year of fighting it was starting to really show wear on a lot of the components, especially the frame and weapon.
Also, we brought Sean V2 as well because why not.
Right after passing weight during inspection, H5N1 refused to turn on. We quickly went back to the pits and swapped out the battery only to find out that it refused to work again. After heading back for the second time we checked the voltage of all three backup lipos and every single one gave readings of only around 3 volts, meaning that all of them were completely toast. This meant that we had no working batteries for H5N1 and were going to have to forfeit all of its matches. Thankfully, the driver of Honeycomb graciously let us borrow one of his 3s lipos. This meant that the robot would run at a lower voltage than usual but it could at least compete still.
The first fight was H5N1 vs Sweaver
Due to the lower voltage there was a noticeable difference in the power of the weapon and the speed of the drive. At one point the weapon did get lodged in a speed hole on Sweaver which worked out pretty well for driving it around but the ref had me back up due to a risk of entanglement.
Then Sean V2 had its first fight against the drum of Snowfire
This was a really close match but after getting stuck in the corner with the pit open there was nowhere to go but down. Despite the large hit early on, nothing broke on Sean throughout the whole fight which was pretty impressive considering all other robots that faced Snowfire came out in pieces.
After getting its eyes ripped off during this match Sean was pissed and was determined to enact its revenge upon all other robots in the tournament.
Next up was a rematch from the Ohio State Fair this summer, H5N1 vs Honeycomb
The all new Honeycomb is a huge upgrade from last year and truly is a tough bot. After a few nasty exchanges Honeycomb nipped one of the plates holding our top armor on. This caused the loaned battery to pop out the top and eventually spill out onto the floor, ending the match. The battery actually did suffer a small tear from Honeycomb's drum during the last impact but a few patches of duct tape later it was good as new.
Afterwards, Sean V2 fought Sweaver
Unfortunately, the camera footage got corrupted and all of this fight was lost. It wasn't too particularly interesting of a match anyways. The two wedges just pushed each other until both of Sean's gearboxes finally gave way, most likely due to the impacts from Snowfire. This loss eliminated Sean V2 from the tournament.
Then H5N1 fought Ripper
Ripper's foam wheels allowed H5N1 to push it around very easily. Since we were unable to deal any damage, this was crucial to us winning the fight. Ripper's weapon also had a very long spinup time so we weren't in too much danger when both bots came face to face.
After that, H5N1 faced off against Sweaver once again
This match was dumb. Right after hitting Sweaver at the perfect spot to make it stand up, I drove over to knock it back down and continue the fight. Unfortunately the left drive wheel decided it was time to liberate itself from the drive shaft and popped right off. The rest of the match I spent hobbling around while Sweaver got KO'd
It was now the semifinals and H5N1 was facing Honeycomb again
This was another match lost by the camera. It started out similar to last time with both of us exchanging blows but then the drive motors failed once again causing us to be counted out. The power light was also ripped off and got stuck inside Honeycomb's drum which stopped working after several impacts. However, it stayed connected by its wire even though both bots were tugging against it. This was the first and only time out of the whole event that one of our cheap chinese parts refused to fail..
Finally after Snowfire was crowned champion, it was time for the beetleweight rumble.
Once again the footage for this fight was lost. This was one of the best matches of the event and I hope somebody else will be able to upload a video of it. The match was going very well for us early on with H5N1 taking on Snowfire and SeanV2 pushing Honeycomb around. Then suddenly Sean's drive totally failed once again. After I tried to come push it with H5N1, Snowfire landed a huge hit on the right side, causing one of the wheels to fall off and completely ripping the frame apart at the front. Honeycomb ended up winning the rumble by hitting a sweet 3 point shot from downtown when it collided with Snowfire drum on drum and launched it into the pit.
This was a great event overall and was truly a grand sendoff for H5N1... because its completely toast. Even with all 3 batteries dying and systematically destroying 7 gearmotors throughout the course of the event, we still took home a third place trophy.
Another special thanks to team Bloomington Sting with Honeycomb. Without you guys we literally wouldn't have been able to compete with H5N1 at this event. Hope to see you again at Ohio State Fair so that we can face off once again, this time with our new machine
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I just wish that youtube didnt compress the sh** out of them lmao