Chaosmancer's bots (don't expect good quality ever)

[Chaosmancer]

Right, this is my first bot, don't expect quality. I will also show some results, it looks like ass, but can work quite well.

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Results:

[GoldenFox93]

Ah, Chaosmancer! Good to see you here- you might already know me. I'm Lincoln Fox from the ST forums.

[Jack Daniels]

Welcome to the forums!  Glad to see you are having fun with Robot Arena 2. My best suggestion is to take a look at the different showcases on the forum to see how bots are built by other members.

My first suggestion is to make your bot much smaller.   Having a chassis that big will result in it being damaged quite easily.  Try to focus on making a bot with a much smaller chassis and is also invertible in case it gets flipped over.   There are other points to make about your first bot, but we can start with the basics. 

You are going to get a ton of feedback, try not to be overwhelmed. 

[Scourge of teh Galaxy]

1) Welcome to GTM! 8D
2) Shrink the chassis
3) Use Z-Teks
4) Use Shiny Hubs
5) Nice battery setup
6) Make the pistons longer and shrink the extenders for more awesome
7) Nice victory over EMERGENCY
8) Go to your preferences and unlock JunkYard :3

Ah, Chaosmancer! Good to see you here- you might already know me. I'm Lincoln Fox from the ST forums.

He knows XD

You are going to get a ton of feedback, try not to be overwhelmed. 

'tis why he posted it :D

[nightcracker]

No offense, but that bot's just horrible. I'll try and give you some tips, because you seem to lack the basics (once again, no offense).

First of all, weight is your enemy in RA2. If you use components that weigh less or use a lighter chassis that means you can place more components in your bot. I'm not sure what the weight of that bot is, but my tip is to always build to the weightlimit. That is 249,0 kilo's if you're building a lightweight, 399,0kg for middleweights and 800,0kg for heavyweights.

Leading from my weight tip I'm going to suggest a few things:
1. Make the chassis smaller, adjust the height so that the air tank just fits and place the second supervolt next to the other one.
2. Make the chassis as square as possible and don't use such weird shapes.
3. Use "Shiny Hub Wheels". They are just as good as your big rubber ones and weigh less.

Second of all, not all components in RA2 are as effective. Generally you should be using HP-Zteks for driving and for weapons on heavyweights. For weapon components usually you should only be using razor tips, maces and iron spikes. I can't help it, they are just the best in RA2.

After you've succesfully introduced these tips to your bot I will help you further :)

[GoldenFox93]

A good way to start is through utilisation of a box-like chassis, with HP Z-teks as drive- they're very powerful, and provide good torque for relatively little battery power taken. If you shrink the chassis height just enough to enclose the Z-teks, you could make the robot invertable. Good wheels to use are Shinies (lighter and a good size), Grannies (the grey wheelchair wheels, ideally used in cases where Shinies are too small), and small Rubbers, for very low ground clearance- good for flippers.

[Scourge of teh Galaxy]

If you shrink the chassis height just enough to enclose the Z-teks, you could make the robot invertible.

That is, five "clicks" from the bottom

[madman3]

Nice chassis shape.
We have been informed of your existence by Powerrave btw, just so you know.
Anyway, to get you started, you want all Drive motors (in your case, the redbirds) to be on a mirrored position to each other, like this:

            0[Redbird  Redbird]0
              [                          ]
            0[Redbird  Redbird]0
0=wheels
[=Chassis sides

Sorry about the diagram's awful quality, hopefully someone can get a screenshot or something.

As for the weaponry, I'd get rid of the spinner and get more weaponry on the pistons; I'll leave someone to post a diagram of how since I'm lazy.

Also, I'd recommend either shiny hub wheels or granny wheels for this bot.

[Naryar]

And now advice from a better builder :P (though Madman, Jack and Nightcracker are generally worth listening to. If only they didn't posted before me)

-Shrink your chassis in order to make your bot invertible. Also, use HP Zteks (the best motors) and since the wheels are all the same excepted for size and weight, use shiny hubs.

-Samurai swords are crap. No, really. They only do damage with their sharp edge and are not fitted for a FS (face spinner, that spinning weapon you have here). Irons, razors and maces are the best.

-Try to reduce extender work. You don't need extenders that long.

-Make your chassis so it fits components, not some random shape. I know you're supposed to be chaotic, but being lawful in building robots nets you better bots. Try to build symmetrical as well, it will help your driving.

-Also, general advice for Stock : http://beetlebros.gametechmods.com/ra2techs.htm Also be sure to check the RA2 Wiki as a decent source of information.

[nightcracker]

And now advice from a better builder :P (though Madman and Jack are generally worth listening to)

I'm not?

 

[Naryar]

And now advice from a better builder :P (though Madman and Jack are generally worth listening to)

I'm not?

 

I was writing my post and didn't see yours. I fixed my original post.

[Scorpion]

You should also look around the stock showcases as a source of inspiration and information.

[J]

(Image removed from quote.)

This image made me LOL, as the AIs in this game tend to get stuck like that all the time.
......Which is why that arena is kinda' terrible to begin with.

[madman3]

You should also look around the stock showcases as a source of inspiration and information.

This. Good stock Showcases these days tend to be Sage's, Scrap Daddy's, Infiniteinertia's, Virus Bomb's and ROBOSH4RKs.

[Mecha]

HP-Z-teks are the best for drive, try to use them instead of redbirds.

i would put those motors and pistons inside the chassis, so they're protected.

swords look cool, but they are not good weapons. try razors tips, iron spikes, or maces.

:D

EDIT: aw, naryar beat me to it

[madman3]

HP-Z-teks are the best for drive, try to use them instead of redbirds.

i would put those motors and pistons inside the chassis, so they're protected.

swords look cool, but they are not good weapons. try razors tips, iron spikes, or maces.

:D

EDIT: aw, naryar beat me to it

Motors could be left outside without too much trouble, though I agree with the pistons unless some exterior armour is added.

[Hydro]

Oh hey, it's Chaos. Welcome to GTM!

[Naryar]

Removed pointless posts again...

[Chaosmancer]

Right then, this is the improved version. Pretty much just a shorter rectangular version of the first. But it managed to kill Emergency with annihilation, so I'm quite happy with it, probably can be classed as 'good' though.

Top:


Side:


Weight:


Result one:


Result two:


To be fair, I was only able to win because of the fact that I can drive upside-down

Glitch:


Can anyone tell me/figure out why that happened? It is quite strange and happened several times during the building process.

Either way, I should've probably gone to bed an hour ago. I'll be back later to look at all of the comments/hate/letterbombs.

[NFX]

It's invertible, that's a plus. Drive seems to be okay, maybe use Shiny Hub wheels if you can, but the awkward pistons are caused by something called AGOD, or the Axle Glitch Of Death, which effectively screws up the position and direction of the components. It's a problem with the Havok physics engine, and it can easily be solved by attaching the pistons to Baseplate Anchors instead, which will also net you some extra weight to spend on added weaponry.