Text Only | Text with Attachments

gametechmods

Off-Topic => Real Robotics => Real Robotics Discussion => Topic started by: RFS on April 27, 2014, 12:32:33 AM

Title: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: RFS on April 27, 2014, 12:32:33 AM
Over the past few years I've posted a couple one-off threads for various little writings I've made about robotics and robot combat. I've decided to pool them all here into one thread where you can check them out and disagree with my opinions and call me an Internet fag.  :dumb) I've been busily combing my archives of writing and other odds and ends to bring all of these articles to Twilight Foundry's new website. I'll also update this post any new stuff I write (or find in my archives) so keep your eyes peeled for that.


Here are the articles listed chronologically (by creation date) with the newest first:

08/24/2014: McDonald's BattleBots Toys: Reviewed & Deconstructed (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/08/mcdonalds-battlebots-toys/)

07/22/2014: BattleBots "MiniBots" Toy Collection/Review (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/07/battlebots-minibots-toy-review/)

06/21/2014: The 10 Literal Worst BattleBots of All Time (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/)

02/10/2012: The 7 Most One-sided Fights in BattleBots History (http://twilightfoundry.com/2012/02/most-one-sided-battlebots-fights/)

06/02/2011: KILLER ROBOTS / RoboGames 2011 Commentary (http://twilightfoundry.com/2011/06/killer-robots-robogames-commentary/)

??/??/2011: REVIEW: Robot Arena (PC) - Still missing in action, sorry.

06/15/2008: The Best of "BattleBots Update": Season Two (http://twilightfoundry.com/2008/06/battlebots-update-season-two/)

04/06/2008: The Best of "BattleBots Update": Season One (http://twilightfoundry.com/2008/04/battlebots-update-season-one/)

09/04/2007: REVIEW: Robot Wars Metal Mayhem (GBC) (http://twilightfoundry.com/2007/09/robot-wars-metal-mayhem-review/)

06/03/2007: The Worst BattleBot Design Ever (http://twilightfoundry.com/2007/06/worst-battlebot-design-ever/)

2001 - 2002: Battle Clash (http://twilightfoundry.com/projects/battle-clash/)


(Currently, TwilightFoundry.com is a work-in-progress and is functional but incomplete. If you really wish to celebrate mediocrity then most of RFSHQ's content library has been successfully migrated over however there is still content missing. I moved over all of the robot combat content first, though, so I could share it here.  :smile: )

edit: I feel I should elaborate a bit on this Twilight Foundry business before I get anyone confused. It's not "my" site; I merely contribute to it and I have a lot of content there because I'm one of the group's inaugural members and have a ton of backlogged stuff because of it. There are other writers involved with the project plus a lot of former members and guest writers represented in the archival content. Once I am through adding the archives my involvement with the website will be mostly marginalized to an upcoming side project. Roastmaster is this website's lead writer. RFSHQ technically has nothing to do with Twilight Foundry at all but we agreed that more content is always a good thing so that's why RFSHQ's archive spontaneously shows up on the site. :P
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: MassimoV on April 27, 2014, 12:45:56 AM
Alright sweet. I'll probably read some of these tomorrow. I remember the 7 Worst Designs one.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: HurricaneAndrew on April 27, 2014, 12:26:25 PM
Mods/Admins get paid $8,000 per minute
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: Mr. AS on April 27, 2014, 12:59:28 PM
I disagree with your opinions, internet fag.

But nah, I've always liked the 7 most sided battlebot matches article. I'll probably read some of the other articles.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: Badnik96 on April 27, 2014, 01:01:00 PM
lmao that worst design ever one
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: RFS on April 27, 2014, 02:31:16 PM
Quote from: HurricaneAndrew on April 27, 2014, 12:26:25 PM
Mods/Admins get paid $8,000 per minute

Looks like someone read the contents of the quote generator.   :p
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: Resetti's Replicas on April 27, 2014, 03:49:37 PM
Cant wait to read them!  Let me know if you need a consultant on any of the writings.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: Kossokei on April 27, 2014, 03:55:12 PM
Quote from: RadioFSoftware on April 27, 2014, 02:31:16 PM
Quote from: HurricaneAndrew on April 27, 2014, 12:26:25 PM
Mods/Admins get paid $8,000 per minute

Looks like someone read the contents of the quote generator.   :p
Blame the government. :p
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: RFS on April 27, 2014, 04:48:10 PM
Quote from: Sonny_Resetti on April 27, 2014, 03:49:37 PM
Cant wait to read them!  Let me know if you need a consultant on any of the writings.

I might need to get some insight on Robot Wars moments since you're pretty well versed in that. Also, I still have the article you sent me. Are you cool with me migrating it to the TwilightFoundry.com site?
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat.
Post by: Resetti's Replicas on April 28, 2014, 09:19:49 AM
Quote from: RadioFSoftware on April 27, 2014, 04:48:10 PM
Quote from: Sonny_Resetti on April 27, 2014, 03:49:37 PM
Cant wait to read them!  Let me know if you need a consultant on any of the writings.

I might need to get some insight on Robot Wars moments since you're pretty well versed in that. Also, I still have the article you sent me. Are you cool with me migrating it to the TwilightFoundry.com site?
. Oh certainly!
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on June 21, 2014, 07:38:15 PM
BRAND NEW ARTICLE IS UP: "The 10 Literal Worst BattleBots of All Time"

http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/ (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/)


Abbatoir is not on this list I promise.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: El Chickenado on June 21, 2014, 08:27:56 PM
Quote from: RFS on June 21, 2014, 07:38:15 PM
BRAND NEW ARTICLE IS UP: "The 10 Literal Worst BattleBots of All Time"

http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/ (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/)


Abbatoir is not on this list I promise.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Natef on June 21, 2014, 10:31:38 PM
the guy who built #4 competed at motorama this year
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: MassimoV on June 21, 2014, 10:55:35 PM
Reading this right now. Really funny, love the writing style.+1 for that man.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: MikeNCR on June 21, 2014, 11:31:25 PM
Quote from: Natef on June 21, 2014, 10:31:38 PM
the guy who built #4 competed at motorama this year

Here are those matches-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S44q0JMhyCw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S44q0JMhyCw)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qF2ScbzMMo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qF2ScbzMMo)
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on June 23, 2014, 10:37:05 PM
http://forums.delphiforums.com/battlebot_tech/messages?msg=10878.1 (http://forums.delphiforums.com/battlebot_tech/messages?msg=10878.1)

If you want to find how Prototype 4 lost its on this page somewhere
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on June 25, 2014, 02:14:07 PM
DP

Found another forum page talking about Team Wetware:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=battlebot_tech&msg=11577.1 (http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=battlebot_tech&msg=11577.1)
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on June 25, 2014, 10:16:32 PM
Thanks for the kudos you guys. :) Funny to see that Rim Tin Tin's builder still struggles with lifters a decade later.

All in good fun though. :P I've actually spoken to Dave Calkins (RoboGames, former BattleBots judge) in the past and we chatted a bit about Team Wetware so I knew some of what Ray posted about on the forums. Abbatoir is legitimately one of my favorite robots even though it never worked. Trey Roski is also a pretty good sport about Ginsu never winning battles either.


edit: oh man you guys
Quote
Prototype's drill hits the ground as he turns, and it stops after the first hit on Road Rage.

oh man  :gawe:
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Mr. AS on June 25, 2014, 10:18:29 PM
Quote from: RFS on June 21, 2014, 07:38:15 PM
BRAND NEW ARTICLE IS UP: "The 10 Literal Worst BattleBots of All Time"

http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/ (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/)


Abbatoir is not on this list I promise.
RUSTLE DETECTED
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on June 25, 2014, 10:34:04 PM
Quote from: Mr. AS on June 25, 2014, 10:18:29 PM
Quote from: RFS on June 21, 2014, 07:38:15 PM
BRAND NEW ARTICLE IS UP: "The 10 Literal Worst BattleBots of All Time"

http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/ (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/06/10-literal-worst-battlebots-of-all-time/)


Abbatoir is not on this list I promise.
RUSTLE DETECTED

Full disclosure, since the initial new-ness of the article has worn off, when I made the Abbatoir MLG video montage I had to ultimately remove over 250 overlays, sound effects, transitions, or animations. While rendering the video it just kept crashing at certain parts, or lagging and creating a bad memory leak resulting in a rendered final production whose audio desynced and the video would lag and look compressed in some parts. I literally threw too much at it. There is a very nominal artifact of bad audio in the beginning where Mark Beiro's introduction cuts a couple times. I could not fix that.

Below is a list of some of what got cut and what I wanted to include originally:
- Most text emphasis had to be toned down throughout the whole video, like the "8TH PRESTIGE" bit.
- There was originally an entire train of Snoop Dogg's at the "smoke weed" part, with some additional sound samples too.
- A very highly animated "4:20" on the BattleBots timer during the Snoop Dogg part was also cut.
- In the Plinko scene I removed almost 100 hitmarkers and accompanying sound effects each time the coin bounced off of a peg.
- Audio from a Brach's Rocks candy commercial was dropped, as was an animated image of the mascot.
- One entire audio track of MLG gamers screaming was removed because I was already using 4 audio tracks at the time.

I can't remember what else.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Natster-104 on June 26, 2014, 10:20:02 AM
Humour, wittyness and lots of facts.
I really like it, great stuff  :claping


Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on June 26, 2014, 11:56:37 AM
From that same page, here's Rim Tin Tin vs Whirligig

Whirligig(won) vs. Rim Tin Tin

Whirligig attacked early, with his very noisy flailing spin move. He banged on Rim Tin Tin a bunch, and made a satisfying racket, but didn't do damage that I could see. He then changed tactics, and pushed the wheel rim into the wall hard. He alternated back and forth between those two strategies all though the match. Poor Rim Tin Tin never got a chance to show what his new lifting arm could do, since Whriligig moves around so quickly and erratically. It couldn't have done much to a robot that does not know or care what side up it is, and will always have at least one wheel on the ground. Whirliging was probably the worst opponent he could have drawn! The poor bot never had a chance, the only bad thing that ever happened to Whirligig was when he accidentally slammed himself into the wall.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on June 26, 2014, 09:59:20 PM
Quote from: Natster-104 on June 26, 2014, 10:20:02 AM

For a period of years, off and on, I was actually in the journalism field as a gaming correspondent. I had work picked up and published by BitMob and VentureBeat and there was also a period of time where I was being considered for a place at Something Awful though admittedly I lost that to someone else far more talented than me. I continue to make infrequent appearances here and there. I enjoyed doing it, but one thing that I really did not like was the editorial process.

For example, my article Shame is Plastic: 6 Gaming Peripherals of Dubious Quality (http://twilightfoundry.com/2012/02/6-gaming-peripherals-of-dubious-quality/) that was picked up by VentureBeat wasn't actually titled that to begin with, as the "Editor's Note" mentions the original article contained ten items -- four of them were taken out and the entire article itself was copyedited to be more "politically correct". I disagreed with that because that's essentially taking my voice and bending it so that I appear as someone I am not and I hated it.

I don't know if I'll pursue professional writing much. The pay was not great and the experiences I had in regards to editors was relatively poor. I enjoy keeping it a hobby because it allots me much more freedom to pursue topics that I actually care about and give enough coverage that I am satisfied with. I don't want to say I've "given up" on it, but writing is not my dream job or anything, it's just something I'm good at doing. Hell, I have a nice IT job now and not even that is my dream job. I'd much rather dick around with reptiles all day than fix someone's website or write about awful BattleBots for a living. :P
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: helloface on June 27, 2014, 03:23:46 AM
I've watched the Abbatoir video so many times
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on June 27, 2014, 11:51:56 AM
I am my own worst critic, I did not know it was that good. XD

The original version was fantastic, I guess I was mostly discouraged from having to remove so much of it so it would actually render. It wasn't easy making a 2 minute video out of about 30 seconds of actual robot footage.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 08, 2014, 04:25:28 PM
Just an update, I've finally retrieved my collection of "MiniBots" toys that I wanted to write about. I am also in the process of securing something pretty awesome that's BattleBots-related that I am remaining tight-lipped about for now mostly because I don't want to hype anything up if I can't deliver on it. I've learned my lesson there. I've spoken to some bot builders from the original BB era and they've checked out the Twilight Foundry site, which has made me incredibly nervous mostly because I KIND OF make fun of robots in some of those articles. D:

Anyways, once I get some free time I would like to put together my MiniBots article. I don't know when I'll have a finished version of that however. Next week I will be largely unavailable since my partner is visiting. I'll get it done eventually. :)
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Natster-104 on July 08, 2014, 04:30:13 PM
Sounds good, I'm a bit intrigued as to what this thing you've discovered is
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 08, 2014, 04:45:09 PM
Looking forward to a new article whenever it arrives :)
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: freeziez on July 08, 2014, 04:46:51 PM
these are really interesting to read, keep it up
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 21, 2014, 03:27:24 PM
Quote from: RFS on July 08, 2014, 04:25:28 PM
Anyways, once I get some free time I would like to put together my MiniBots article. I don't know when I'll have a finished version of that however. Next week I will be largely unavailable since my partner is visiting. I'll get it done eventually. :)

This article is pretty much done, however I appear to be missing some of my MiniBots figurines so I've asked my brother to look for the missing ones and send them to me so I can take the necessary photographs. As soon as I get those I'll finalize the MiniBots piece. :)
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on July 21, 2014, 04:18:49 PM
Which ones do you need? I know the wiki has a lot of them.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 21, 2014, 04:46:07 PM
Quote from: Badnik96 on July 21, 2014, 04:18:49 PM
Which ones do you need? I know the wiki has a lot of them.

Robots that I am aware of include Ginsu, Frenzy, Bad Attitude, and Ankle Biter. I know the BB Wiki has photos but I was intending to take some better ones since I mention in the article that these are "personal collection" ones. :(

I have an Ankle Biter, however it's still sealed in its package. I kept some of my dupes sealed just because, so I am missing the opened Ankle Biter for sure. I have Ginsu's and Frenzy's stickers so I know that means at some point I had to have gotten the robots as well and I know for a fact I had Ginsu because it was my favorite one.

My collection is pretty much identical to the ones on the Wiki. I do not own any of the bots missing from the list unfortunately, including the chromebots. I always keep an eye out for the toys on eBay but they are exceedingly rare and hard to find. I'm pissy because I'm missing my Ginsu since that was one of the rarest ones (by my math at least, considering I owned only one Ginsu and I personally bought several dozen packs of the MiniBots while they were around).


edit: My brother can't find my Ginsu so I guess I will just finish the article as-is. I'm really pissed off that it's gone missing.

double edit: The description of this auction listing is ****ing hilarious: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-MC-DONALDS-BATTLE-BOTS-ACTION-TOYS-SET-OF-8-TOYS-MIP-/141352611147?pt=Fast_Food_Cereal_Premiums&hash=item20e945ad4b (http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-MC-DONALDS-BATTLE-BOTS-ACTION-TOYS-SET-OF-8-TOYS-MIP-/141352611147?pt=Fast_Food_Cereal_Premiums&hash=item20e945ad4b)
Quote
THIS SET IS FROM THE TV SEIRES IN 2001/2002 THAT WAS CALLED BATTLE BOTS WHERE MEN AND BOYS AND WOMEN MADE ROBOTS LIKE THINGS THEN THEY BATTLE IN A RING IT WAS FUN TO WATCH

WHAT U WILL GET IS A SET OF 8 TOYS ALL MINT IN PACKAGE THERE IS 7 PULLBACK ACTION TOY AND 1 WINDUP ACTION TOY

GOOD LUCK AND PLEASE CHECK MY OTHER AUCTION
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 6/21/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 22, 2014, 09:59:39 PM
Finished up my article about the MiniBots toys. Overall I'm happy with it considering I lost a small number of my figurines somewhere along the line. :(

Here's the article: http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/07/battlebots-minibots-toy-review/ (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/07/battlebots-minibots-toy-review/)

As a bonus, and in case the BattleBots Wiki needs them, here is a .RAR of the high-resolution(-ish) pictures used in the article including a couple dozen extra shots I did not use: http://1cf430cdcfb604c7e722-2ccb14d5afddb3d527fa7490e95bf9df.r23.cf2.rackcdn.com/battlebotsminibots.rar (http://1cf430cdcfb604c7e722-2ccb14d5afddb3d527fa7490e95bf9df.r23.cf2.rackcdn.com/battlebotsminibots.rar)

edit: This site also has a nice promotional picture from Interactive Toy about the figurines:
http://leaf.maple.tripod.com/battlebots/bbextras/bbtoys.html (http://leaf.maple.tripod.com/battlebots/bbextras/bbtoys.html)
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 23, 2014, 11:34:06 AM
Just read the minibots article, and very much enjoyed reading it :)

Some of those battlebots minibots look better quality than the robot wars minibots I own, although there are still some really good robot wars minibots too. I might dig my minibots out and have another look now, to see if they still look up to standard. I remember the pussycat minibot being pretty horrible, but not much else.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Scrap Daddy on July 23, 2014, 12:11:54 PM
Nice article, makes me wanna go find my mini bots. I actually remember buying these in a bag of two from kb toys for a dollar. I never bought or havd even seen the three pack.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 23, 2014, 02:25:47 PM
Quote from: Lemonism on July 23, 2014, 11:34:06 AM
Just read the minibots article, and very much enjoyed reading it :)

Some of those battlebots minibots look better quality than the robot wars minibots I own, although there are still some really good robot wars minibots too. I might dig my minibots out and have another look now, to see if they still look up to standard. I remember the pussycat minibot being pretty horrible, but not much else.

Thanks! :3

By all means please do, I've never seen any Robot Wars merchandise. Then again, I've never specifically sought it out but I'm intrigued as to what it's like. :)

Quote from: Scrap Daddy on July 23, 2014, 12:11:54 PM
Nice article, makes me wanna go find my mini bots. I actually remember buying these in a bag of two from kb toys for a dollar. I never bought or havd even seen the three pack.

See, that's the crazy thing -- the Wiki mentions they were told in packs of 2, 3, and 5. You may have been one of the folks who found the 2 pack but much like what you said about the pack of 3, I've never seen them sold in sets of 2 before. Must have been a regional or overstock-type of situation. It's also very strange that across everyone who's pooled their resources for the Wiki NOBODY has any of the finalists or chromebots which leads me to believe that maybe they had not yet been produced; Interactive Toy may have wanted to get people hooked on the set first and then start including the champions and such.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: 090901 on July 23, 2014, 02:30:14 PM
I got the chrome Ziggo minibot when I was like 6 years old....and then I managed to break the flag off of it and lose it within 5 hours....woops  :dumb)
Also seeing the picture I took of that Ginsu minibot makes me wanna go find where I put all of them.......
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 23, 2014, 02:35:26 PM
Quote from: RFS on July 23, 2014, 02:25:47 PM
Quote from: Lemonism on July 23, 2014, 11:34:06 AM
Just read the minibots article, and very much enjoyed reading it :)

Some of those battlebots minibots look better quality than the robot wars minibots I own, although there are still some really good robot wars minibots too. I might dig my minibots out and have another look now, to see if they still look up to standard. I remember the pussycat minibot being pretty horrible, but not much else.

Thanks! :3

By all means please do, I've never seen any Robot Wars merchandise. Then again, I've never specifically sought it out but I'm intrigued as to what it's like. :)
Right, a little digging later and I've found them. I don't think I have them all, but I have most of them. I'll edit a picture into this post once I've found a camera.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 23, 2014, 02:49:52 PM
Quote from: 090901 on July 23, 2014, 02:30:14 PM
I got the chrome Ziggo minibot when I was like 6 years old....and then I managed to break the flag off of it and lose it within 5 hours....woops  :dumb)
Also seeing the picture I took of that Ginsu minibot makes me wanna go find where I put all of them.......

Congratulations, you destroyed the only known chromebot Ziggo in existence.  :gawe:

Also, thanks for owning a Ginsu and being able to post a picture of it. I cannot tell you how pissed off I am that I somehow managed to LOSE mine. It was my favorite one. (Knowing me, because of this I probably put it somewhere separate to keep it "safe".)

In other news I am also still diligently working on the "something pretty awesome" thing I mentioned earlier in this thread. It's actually more than one thing -- one of which I am making promising progress on -- and I'm eager to put the articles together when I can. I'm hoping to at least have the biggie completed this year.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 10:18:59 AM
Ugh, camera problems meant I only just got the pictures I said I would take. Still, here they finally are. There were more minibots, but these are the only ones I own.
I've also given my personal opinion on every minibot since I don't have a fancy website of my own to put them on :P


Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Natster-104 on July 29, 2014, 10:47:48 AM
Another great read from you RFS, very informative and funny, also Since I have never had a piece of battlebots merchandise, comparing them to our mini bots from first glance I'd say their actually better xD

Lemon, I agree with most of the statements on that review, but was that all of them? Could've sworn there was more. Iirc there was 30 odd
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 11:39:54 AM
Quote from: Natster-104 on July 29, 2014, 10:47:48 AM
Lemon, I agree with most of the statements on that review, but was that all of them? Could've sworn there was more. Iirc there was 30 odd
Quote from: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 10:18:59 AM
There were more minibots, but these are the only ones I own.
:P
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Natef on July 29, 2014, 02:19:23 PM
He was talk about the bb ones
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on July 29, 2014, 03:35:58 PM
There was a total of 50. I know because I have the checklist card that came with each pack :V
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 03:42:33 PM
Quote from: Natef on July 29, 2014, 02:19:23 PM
He was talk about the bb ones
Who is 'he'? If you're talking about Natster, then the fact he addressed that part of his post to me suggests he was talking about the RW ones. He wouldn't have asked me about the battlebots ones.
For the record, according to the RW wiki there were 21 total.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Natef on July 29, 2014, 03:55:04 PM
i was referring to rfs. my bad, should've been more specific
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 03:57:05 PM
Ahh I see which post you meant now. No worries
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Natster-104 on July 29, 2014, 03:57:35 PM
Quote from: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 11:39:54 AM
Quote from: Natster-104 on July 29, 2014, 10:47:48 AM
Lemon, I agree with most of the statements on that review, but was that all of them? Could've sworn there was more. Iirc there was 30 odd
Quote from: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 10:18:59 AM
There were more minibots, but these are the only ones I own.
:P
XD, honestly sometimes I am blind
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: RFS on July 29, 2014, 10:11:38 PM
Quote from: Natef on July 29, 2014, 03:55:04 PM
i was referring to rfs. my bad, should've been more specific

There were 50 in the BattleBots set. I own 28 of them, so more than half. As far as I know there are no known owners of any of the 8 finalists (except for the user here who had Ziggo as a kid) and none of the chromebots are accounted for sadly. My article was only about my favorites and some reflections on the ones I owned since I can't have a hands-on look at the ones that I sadly don't own. I've been trying to track them down but they are very rare so I opted to write my article only owning 28 of 50.

Quote from: Lemonism on July 29, 2014, 10:18:59 AM
Ugh, camera problems meant I only just got the pictures I said I would take. Still, here they finally are. There were more minibots, but these are the only ones I own.
I've also given my personal opinion on every minibot since I don't have a fancy website of my own to put them on :P



These are fantastic! I can see where the exaggerated/cutesy geometry might be a bit distracting but overall I'd say they're superior to the BB ones in terms of paint/decal quality and mold.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: kill343gs on July 29, 2014, 11:50:34 PM
RE: BB Minibots:
I had Snowflake and Hamanuptra
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on July 30, 2014, 12:14:08 AM
You mean Frostbite right? Snowflake wasnt a minbot.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Resetti's Replicas on July 30, 2014, 07:44:32 PM
A friend of mine gave those out at his brithday party in 2002.  I really should've asked where he got them from because I never saw them in the local toy stores.  I got Frenzy and Hammerhead.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: kill343gs on July 31, 2014, 12:03:28 AM
Quote from: Badnik96 on July 30, 2014, 12:14:08 AM
You mean Frostbite right? Snowflake wasnt a minbot.

thats what i meant yeah
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: RFS on August 11, 2014, 02:03:10 AM
Right now (as in recently) I am putting together an article about McDonald's BattleBots toys. It's been taking me a while because I've had to go out of my way to procure some ridiculously expensive hardware to put this feature together. The fact that I worked ~60 hours last week is also totally not an excuse or a cop-out. Promise.  :gawe:

This new article is essentially "done", I just have to take all of the pictures for it. I only post a handful of pictures but as you saw with the .RAR file I provided from the MiniBots article, I take way more than I need. Makes for a nice Tumblr post afterward.

I've also been tracking traffic to my site over the past month or so and most of it is coming from GTM. So, thank you. Now I just need to hope Google does its thing and brings in some decent search traffic or else I'm boned with this project and doomed to a life of writing only about BattleBots. I reviewed some sh**ty candy Lego things last week. You should go check that out if you like copious amounts of autism jokes and commentary on candies based upon things kids choke to death on.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: helloface on August 11, 2014, 02:50:28 AM
I still have a couple of those McDonalds toys. Overkill and Ankle Biter.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: RedAce on August 11, 2014, 08:39:48 AM
I do have some McDonalds toys as well, I don't have them all, but I was close.


Also, these articles are pretty cool to read. Keep up the good work man!
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Natef on August 11, 2014, 10:58:54 AM
Ive got mechadon, diesector, ankle biter, mac attack, and ginsu
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: freeziez on August 11, 2014, 11:11:06 AM
I have them all. Somehow
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on August 11, 2014, 11:27:39 AM
I too have every McDonalds BB toy.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: RFS on August 11, 2014, 10:50:04 PM
I had to buy a whole new set for the purposes of this article. You'll see why, though.

Also strangely I had to buy the set all NIB because it was cheaper that way. I shed a single tear as I tore all of these decade+ old mint condition toys open.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 7/22/2014)
Post by: Resetti's Replicas on August 11, 2014, 11:04:32 PM
I bought Tentomushi because it had a cursory appearance on Robot Wars.  Couldn't help but feel like I'd be disappointed by the rest.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: RFS on August 24, 2014, 12:03:36 PM
http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/08/mcdonalds-battlebots-toys/ (http://twilightfoundry.com/2014/08/mcdonalds-battlebots-toys/)

The article about the McDonald's toys is finally done. Coming in at a staggering 5,200 words with a 21-minute bonus video (and a special 14 minute recut of it) this is the longest feature I've written about BattleBots to date. This took me about a month and $40 to put together.

The project kind of started ballooning out as I wrote it but I figured because I was invested in it and already writing it that I should at least see it through. People have written about these toys before but nobody has actually written about them and taken them apart to show how they work and what's inside. I figured in that regard my article is somewhat unique and warranted being written.

It's a long one, and I don't blame you for skipping through it if you want. The video is at the very bottom of the article, or you could just watch it here in the thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWVk2DuTa6w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWVk2DuTa6w)

edit: I don't know how to embed videos.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: Philippa on August 24, 2014, 12:23:31 PM
Quote from: RFS on August 24, 2014, 12:03:36 PM
edit: I don't know how to embed videos.
Turn https:// into http://

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWVk2DuTa6w# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWVk2DuTa6w#)
Tada.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: Natef on August 24, 2014, 12:44:54 PM
one of jeff vasquez's kids had one during the shooting of robotica, and they had to take it away from him during filming!
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: AlexGRFan97 on August 24, 2014, 01:38:55 PM
Very nice article RFS as usual. I really wanted to know what made them tick, and I have never seen those instruction scans before. According to this link here (http://www.drivingthedeathcar.com/battlebots/bb410.html), the toys were originally going to have names with Diesector and OverKill facing bowdlerized variants, but it looks like they backed out at the last moment, especially with the BioHazard I mean Heavyweight Champion controversy.
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: RFS on August 24, 2014, 11:50:21 PM
Quote from: AlexGRFan97 on August 24, 2014, 01:38:55 PM
Very nice article RFS as usual. I really wanted to know what made them tick, and I have never seen those instruction scans before. According to this link here (http://www.drivingthedeathcar.com/battlebots/bb410.html), the toys were originally going to have names with Diesector and OverKill facing bowdlerized variants, but it looks like they backed out at the last moment, especially with the BioHazard I mean Heavyweight Champion controversy.

I never actually thought of that, wow. And that sucks because I caught the omission of "when sparks fly robots DIE", this one was staring me right in the face and I still missed it. XD
Title: Re: My various articles on robot combat. (UPDATED 8/24/2014)
Post by: Badnik96 on August 25, 2014, 08:05:09 AM
Mac Attack always stumped me as a kid. Then again I never saw Ginsu fight until I discovered YouTube so I can't really argue :P
Text Only | Text with Attachments