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Robot Arena => Showcases => Stock Showcases => Topic started by: Maka on January 23, 2015, 12:05:41 AM

Title: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on January 23, 2015, 12:05:41 AM: So this is my showcase where I'll post robutts.

I've been lurking for a while so I know some stuff already. Here's something I've thrown together recently:
(http://i.imgur.com/jVG53ab.png)
This one was just sort of a proof of concept model. I just wanted to mount everything to see how it would look with all the stuff on it.

In the time I spend waiting for the account to be approved, I made it more efficient:
(http://i.imgur.com/pExOj3l.png)
Figures that it would come up heavy. Thank you based Gabriel Interactive for your arbitrary weight limits.
I can probably get it below the MW threshold if I trim the chassis a bit, but I'm saving that for later because chassis work is a pain.

Yeah so constructive criticism is good mkay.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: R1885 on January 23, 2015, 01:28:04 AM: Good start dood.

My only advice is to lose the wedge and go with sheer weapon mass. Wedges only really work with face spinners and VS.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Naryar on January 23, 2015, 02:57:24 AM: pretty neat, maybe lighten your extender work.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: The Ounce on January 23, 2015, 03:31:25 AM: Not bad for a first bot. :approve:

If you're going for a gut-ripping HS like T-400 Infiltrator, then it might be a good idea to give it something to aid it getting underneath bots, like a chassis wedge. I don't think the plows would be able to do this, at least with the setup you have right now.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on January 23, 2015, 04:20:49 AM: Quote from: The Ounce on January 23, 2015, 03:31:25 AM
Not bad for a first bot. :approve:

If you're going for a gut-ripping HS like T-400 Infiltrator, then it might be a good idea to give it something to aid it getting underneath bots, like a chassis wedge. I don't think the plows would be able to do this, at least with the setup you have right now.

This isn't my first bot at all, just the first one I've shared publicly.

I was originally going for a gut-ripper type thing but I ran out of weight and good places to put wedge extensions. I could put a blade on the side of the extender for the wedge, but if I recall correctly adding weight to the wedge makes it less effective. I've always got the option of doing away with one of the snowplows but I'd really prefer the extra protection.

I'll play with it a bit tomorrow and see what comes up.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Naryar on January 23, 2015, 05:38:11 AM: if you are going for a gutripper I would remove the plow, really, make the design as flat as possible. and lighten weight as much as possible

you need wedges, decently fast drive and weapons. that's pretty much everything, you can forget about good armor since you are supposed to be under the other bot.

also +1 for lurking and starting very well for a newbie.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on January 23, 2015, 06:11:49 PM: So I've decided to go more in the direction of a gut ripper with this latest iteration. It's more of a horizontal spinner/gut-ripper hybrid, but I think that's probably the best I can do without radically re-designing the internal layout and chassis.
(http://i.imgur.com/mhdoDHS.png)

So as you can see in the splash, I've done away with the scoops entirely. The tribars are angled downward and are serving a triple-purpose role as spinner extensions, a wedge, and overall frontal protection. Also I have the weapons angled differently to serve different purposes, as is also explained in the splash. I'm still not sure if I ought to commit to one way or the other. Angling them upward means they'll be more efficient as gut-ripping weapons but won't be able to get under opponents as well, whereas the opposite can be said about angling them downward. I'm going to have to get a decent AI pack so I can do some testing to figure out which way is truly better, or if the idea is sound at all.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on January 23, 2015, 08:44:06 PM: I got bored and made a lightweight.
(http://i.imgur.com/4XfsMyw.png)

The robot itself isn't anything too special. I was really only trying to see how much firepower and protection I could pack into as little space as possible. This robot was more about designing a compact, lightweight, cookie-cutter chassis which I can use as a base for future lightweight designs.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on January 27, 2015, 04:10:56 AM: Well good to see I'm boring people to death. While I'm at it, here's a somewhat failed experiment made with the same chassis as that last robot:
(http://i.imgur.com/nZMM84X.png)

In order to celebrate my Clapistan heritage, I decided to make a clapper. Sadly, it wasn't fed enough burgers so I couldn't fit any meaningful weapons into the configuration. I ended up trying something where I double-layered blades so that they'd hit simultaneously. I honestly don't think it will work all that well but I really hate to completely throw out something I put a lot of time into trying to get working.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Jonzu95 on January 27, 2015, 05:34:00 AM: You're doing good job so far. Probably one of the best new builders for a while.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: The Ounce on January 27, 2015, 06:05:14 AM: MW's an interesting take on a gut-ripper. If you haven't already, download the Starcore v3 AI pack and pit the MWs in the pack against yours and see if it works.

The LW HS looks okay except for the drive setup. Mount the drive motors to the sides of everything else, and swap the mini wheels for shinies. Unfortunately the chassis won't be as space-efficient as it is now, but the invertibility you'll gain might be worth it.

For the side hammer, use different weapons like razors, since blades aren't very good for causing damage. If you attached your snappers using a T-connector, that will make them in-line with each other, getting rid of the need for asymmetrical arms.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Naryar on January 27, 2015, 06:08:21 AM: Yeah, blades = do not want.

can we see your extender setup ?
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on January 28, 2015, 01:17:54 AM: Extenders:
(http://i.imgur.com/KGZ864d.png)

I'm probably just going to drop this design, I'm not too fond of it.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Sage on January 28, 2015, 04:10:26 PM: crazy extender setup. nice. looks like you have a really solid grasp on the glitches

don't worry if you sometimes don't get comments! just keep posting

next step would be to look at what is optimal in a design. few things:

1. almost always want the drive to be setup so it's invertible. This means horizontal RAD motors and shinies for most LW and MW bots.
2. pinks are rarely good. try to at least fit a nifty battery in.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: R1885 on January 28, 2015, 04:46:08 PM: If all your robot is doing is ramming and pushing, pinks are just fine, otherwise, use a nifty; but if moving snappers are involved, a black is nearly mandatory.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Tibsy on February 01, 2015, 04:21:41 PM: These bots look boss!!
I wish I could build like you in stock, good work & keep it up Maka!
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on February 04, 2015, 01:54:11 AM: Since the BOTM thread seems to have all but died, here's some more info on my entry:
(http://i.imgur.com/g6zyNAs.png)

Yeah that bit about the turning wasn't advertised obviously. Whenever I tried to turn it the conventional way (two wheels spinning one way, the other two spinning the opposite) it just sat still. If I just made one pair of wheels drive forward, it behaved normally and could turn. I have no idea why it did that, and I was already cramming the robot in past the due date, so I never properly sorted it out.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Sage on February 05, 2015, 09:45:21 AM: I love the look that two stacked wheels give it. You're getting better fast.

Tip: Never use red extenders, or I hate you.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on February 12, 2015, 08:40:20 PM: I decided to move out of my comfort zone and build something I hate building... a popup.
(http://i.imgur.com/JrciZpE.png)

I have no idea what constitutes a good popup, so it's a bit rough. I didn't want to spend the time trimming the chassis over and over to add a fifth razor just to find out the design was utter crap. Either way I'm not too satisfied with it, but perhaps that's just because I hate working with wedge chassis (way too spacialy inefficient for my liking).
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Naryar on February 12, 2015, 08:48:16 PM: The burst's rotation point needs to be lower. right now your extenders are too exposed.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: RedAce on February 12, 2015, 08:52:29 PM: Well, you're off to a good start with a lightweight true popup. Couple things though:

1. 5 Razors is a bit overkill, especially for a LW true popup, at least three would work best. This way, the Snapper2s would fire faster and damage better and remove some unnecessary extenders. Could be wrong though.
2. This might not be necessary but you could also use the excess weight with the removed razors, you could expand the chassis to where you could get a black in there. A nifty might not last long enough for two drive motors and two burst motors.

Might not work, but I feel it's worth trying.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Mr. AS on February 12, 2015, 08:56:13 PM: Internal Ztek drive is sh** and a waste of weight.

Did you know you can stack baseplate anchors together? If you do something like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/J3vHMy1.jpg)
At the back of your bot, that should save a ton of weight for more important things, like a bigger chassis. Just make sure the back part is long enough so that the ztek doesn't intersect with the chassis.

Wedge war isn't exactly as huge of a deal in LW as it is in MW and HW, your main priority is being able to facetank all the generic HS out there, and bigger chassis = more HP, so you should be focusing on getting a big ol chassis wedge on the front of your bot.

Most you should be putting on a snapper is 3 or 4 razors anyway. 5 just makes your robot worse.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Badnik96 on February 12, 2015, 09:00:12 PM: Heh, reminds me of Coelophysis. I really should rebuild that thing one of these days, it's outdated as hell.

(and yet it still made top 4 in MO)
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on February 13, 2015, 01:41:25 AM: Quote from: Mr. AS on February 12, 2015, 08:56:13 PM
bigger chassis = more HP

Well this is new to me. Bigger in what way? Surface area? Volume? LxW?
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Naryar on February 13, 2015, 03:11:27 AM: It's mostly a function of weight, heavier chassis = more HP
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on August 09, 2015, 08:23:05 PM: I tried really hard.
sort-of

(http://i.imgur.com/f0eejBG.jpg)

I can't remember what font I used for the splashes. RIP
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Reier on August 09, 2015, 08:31:55 PM: i dont really know anything about stock but LOOKS GOOD TO ME

im not sure if rubbers and birds are better than zteks and shinies though
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Pwnator on August 09, 2015, 08:38:57 PM: Actually it DOES have some empty space (around the battery and snapper), although your best solution to that is to make a wedged trapezoid which is more tedious.

And yeah, Z-Tek+shinies combo is the best drive for LW popups, but I'm not sure if your chassis is still shallow enough unless you want to burst the drive or something.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: 090901 on August 09, 2015, 08:51:32 PM: You gotta make the chassis BIGGER
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Mr. AS on August 09, 2015, 09:06:26 PM: Your focus should basically be to make the top set of chassis points smaller and the bottom set larger. Make it as shallow as possible while keeping a decent amount of weapons/drive/battery power.

Reminder that things like batteries and that snapper 2 can fit inside of wedges to a certain extent.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on August 09, 2015, 10:28:08 PM: Quote from: Mr. AS on August 09, 2015, 09:06:26 PM
Your focus should basically be to make the top set of chassis points smaller and the bottom set larger. Make it as shallow as possible while keeping a decent amount of weapons/drive/battery power.

Reminder that things like batteries and that snapper 2 can fit inside of wedges to a certain extent.

I was trying to make the lower part as big as I could, but I had to slim it down since it kept coming up over weight. I tried to arrange all the components (except the control board) so they would all fit under the flat part of the chassis. The idea was to do that so I could make it as low as possible which would hopefully make the wedge more effective and make it less susceptible to horizontal spinners and rammers.

Of course, I couldn't get the chassis to the right height so after around ten tries I gave up and decided to finish it anyway.

I'm just gonna trash the current design and start from scratch.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on August 10, 2015, 03:10:35 PM: Here's my latest design. It's not exactly refined and finished, but I'm posting it anyway because I've just about had it with editing the chassis over and over. It's just tedious trial and error, and I think my time would be better spent doing something like making a bot for BoTM or a tournament.

I'd still like to know what everyone thinks about the overall design.
(http://i.imgur.com/MszP6F2.jpg)
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: 09090901 on August 10, 2015, 03:29:18 PM: you should be able to get 3 razors by attaching your razors like this
(https://gametechmods.com/uploads/images/52447ext.png)
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: 090901 on August 10, 2015, 03:35:26 PM: you can save 4-5 kgs(don't remember how much a t extender weighs off the top of my head) by attaching your drive like this:
(http://i.imgur.com/LyiUlLw.png)
You'll have the offset the part of the chassis with the BA anchor, but its worth getting the extra weight to make the chassis wider.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on August 25, 2015, 12:16:00 AM: Since I have had a lack of ideas recently and I am reluctant to go back to that lightweight popup, I hammered out something quick and simple just to show that I am not dead.

I decided to go about optimizing my cookie-cutter lightweight chassis so I could be stupid and use the extra weight for a comical amount of weapons. I went about this by removing the chassis-mounted motors and instead putting them on the blue snapper, along with the weapons. The resulting chassis, with three slim batteries, the control board, and the blue snapper weighed about fifty-two kilos.

From a theoretical standpoint it all sounds very nice, but in reality it is much less practical. The blue snapper tends to be very touchy and prone to havoking when overloaded. The robot below actually had several iterations, but I had to keep reconfiguring it to prevent it from just wobbling out of control as soon as it spawned into the test area. The design also puts too much strain on the batteries. The spinners only spin at full power when the drive wheels are not moving and it drains power very quickly. It also has the same problem that "Fire Ant" had with its steering; it can only turn by spinning one wheel at a time.

(http://i.imgur.com/GeZazZH.png)

It is not particularly impressive, but I managed to cram two Ztek tribar spinners on a lightweight so that might be worth something.

Also, yes, I screwed up the splash and am too lazy to fix it.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Pwnator on August 25, 2015, 12:49:37 AM: Swap the position of the snapper and CB so you can use shinies instead of minis. Nothing much you can do about the havok bombing unless you want to make the drive unbursted though.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: rnifnuf on August 25, 2015, 12:54:35 AM: FIRST! (https://gametechmods.com/forums/index.php?topic=14556.msg612797#msg612797) Although seeing this has made me want to go back and change mine a bit.

If you switch to using Shinies instead of minis, you will be able to use either HPZteks for the weapon motors or bear claws for weapons.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on August 25, 2015, 10:49:25 PM: I do not think I am going to be using that chassis again. I tried making a number of improvements to the robot, but the blue snapper keeps freaking out and havoking.

Is there anything specifically that makes blue snappers go berserk, or am I just putting too much stuff on it?
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Pwnator on August 25, 2015, 11:12:26 PM: It usually only havoks when the drive is attached to the snapper. Anything else would probably a hard hit on a bursted weapon motor.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: rnifnuf on August 26, 2015, 01:54:04 AM: Quote from: Maka on August 25, 2015, 10:49:25 PM
I do not think I am going to be using that chassis again. I tried making a number of improvements to the robot, but the blue snapper keeps freaking out and havoking.

Is there anything specifically that makes blue snappers go berserk, or am I just putting too much stuff on it?

Strange. Rude Bot (the LW HS that I built) has, as far as I can remember, has never havoked. The main difference between RK 242.01A and Rude Bot is that Rude Bot's chassis is more than large enough to hold the snapper and a nifty with room to spare. That, and Rude Bot has DSA, whereas this (presumably) has plastic. Perhaps Rude Bot's larger and heavier chassis helps with stability, since RA2 (especially Stock) does not like small chassis (see: Nasty Pickle Glitch). Additionally, Rude Bot's Drive and weapons are mounted on a T-Connecter on the back of the snapper. Perhaps switching to attaching everything to the back of the snapper will fix most, if not all, of this RK's havok problems.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 04:03:58 AM: I personally use spike strips for popups as they can damage from the side and the tip but that's what I do.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:10:03 AM: Quote from: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 04:03:58 AM
I personally use spike strips for popups as they can damage from the side and the tip but that's what I do.

no. never do this. youre wasting weight and reducing the amount of weapons you can use, plus spike strips have normals.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Avalanche on August 26, 2015, 07:24:08 AM: Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:10:03 AM
Quote from: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 04:03:58 AM
I personally use spike strips for popups as they can damage from the side and the tip but that's what I do.

no. never do this. youre wasting weight and reducing the amount of weapons you can use, plus spike strips have normals.
Irons or Razors. That is your choice.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 01:42:39 PM: Quote from: Avalanche on August 26, 2015, 07:24:08 AM
Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:10:03 AM
Quote from: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 04:03:58 AM
I personally use spike strips for popups as they can damage from the side and the tip but that's what I do.

no. never do this. youre wasting weight and reducing the amount of weapons you can use, plus spike strips have normals.
Irons or Razors. That is your choice.
Thanks for the tip.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: rnifnuf on August 26, 2015, 02:38:32 PM: Quote from: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 01:42:39 PM
Quote from: Avalanche on August 26, 2015, 07:24:08 AM
Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:10:03 AM
Quote from: DaSnowingSteak on August 26, 2015, 04:03:58 AM
I personally use spike strips for popups as they can damage from the side and the tip but that's what I do.

no. never do this. youre wasting weight and reducing the amount of weapons you can use, plus spike strips have normals.
Irons or Razors. That is your choice.
Thanks for the tip.

Razors are preferred for popups because they are overwhelmingly piercing-oriented weapons, and thus, do more damage to the chassis than they do to other components. Popup.py, the Python AI script class designed for use on popups, is programmed specifically to wait until the chassis has been in the smart zone for a certain amount of time before firing its weapons. Popups are designed to do catastrophic damage to the chassis in a very short time, and this is best achieved by using razors for weapons.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:26:12 PM: yeah your choice on stock popups is literally razors. never use irons on popups.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Jonzu95 on August 26, 2015, 06:08:21 PM: Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:26:12 PM
yeah your choice on stock popups is literally razors. never use irons on popups.
*cough* missile test *cough*

never again
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: 090901 on August 26, 2015, 06:26:26 PM: Quote from: Jonzu95 on August 26, 2015, 06:08:21 PM
Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:26:12 PM
yeah your choice on stock popups is literally razors. never use irons on popups.
*cough* missile test *cough*

never again

nice dsl bot kid
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on September 01, 2015, 03:42:42 AM: I decided that padding out my showcase takes precedence over showing my hand for G.K.'s upcoming tournament.

(http://i.imgur.com/BnzvjKs.png)

My entries are named Mastergator and Crocksucker (hue hue hue), and they are mechanically identical. The idea behind this robot is that instead of trying to get under the enemy, it tumbles over it. I went for this kind of design because I was hoping it might be a good counter to any of the popups encountered in the tournament. I also assumed that I would stand no chance of actually making a robot of a well established type better than the veteran builders would.

It probably will not work the way I want it to, but it looks cool and that really is all that matters.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Jonzu95 on September 01, 2015, 05:12:10 AM: Quote from: 090901 on August 26, 2015, 06:26:26 PM
Quote from: Jonzu95 on August 26, 2015, 06:08:21 PM
Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:26:12 PM
yeah your choice on stock popups is literally razors. never use irons on popups.
*cough* missile test *cough*

never again

nice dsl bot kid
irons suck in both games on popups. come on 090901, you can do better than that.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Mecha on September 01, 2015, 09:02:56 AM: Nice bots, also the names are.. unique? :rage

Quote from: Jonzu95 on September 01, 2015, 05:12:10 AM
Quote from: 090901 on August 26, 2015, 06:26:26 PM
Quote from: Jonzu95 on August 26, 2015, 06:08:21 PM
Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:26:12 PM
yeah your choice on stock popups is literally razors. never use irons on popups.
*cough* missile test *cough*

never again

nice dsl bot kid
irons suck in both games on popups. come on 090901, you can do better than that.
lol
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: 090901 on September 02, 2015, 10:16:53 PM: Quote from: Jonzu95 on September 01, 2015, 05:12:10 AM
Quote from: 090901 on August 26, 2015, 06:26:26 PM
Quote from: Jonzu95 on August 26, 2015, 06:08:21 PM
Quote from: Badnik96 on August 26, 2015, 04:26:12 PM
yeah your choice on stock popups is literally razors. never use irons on popups.
*cough* missile test *cough*

never again

nice dsl bot kid
irons suck in both games on popups. come on 090901, you can do better than that.
m8 i thought you were trying to say how good missile test was because of bbeans
then i remembered that version had razors
gg you win
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Sage on September 03, 2015, 01:57:13 AM: looks like dark july
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on September 03, 2015, 02:28:09 AM: Quote from: Sage on September 03, 2015, 01:57:13 AM
looks like dark july

It should be a little more well rounded and hopefully better at dealing with wedges, popups, et cetera.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Sage on September 03, 2015, 03:29:32 AM: Do note that weapons touching the ground won't do damage. Your entire bottom row is basically armor.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: madman3 on September 03, 2015, 03:40:41 AM: It's a cool idea but surely it can't get under anything? I've done similar things in DSL where I use a snapper based rack of weapons that flip over the opponent using the momentum of going towards them, but you need a really good wedge for it to work. Also as Sage says, it won't necessarily do much damage with the lower rack unless people get under you.
Title: Re: Maka's Makinations
Post by: Maka on September 03, 2015, 03:54:30 AM: I just got done testing the design, and turns it that it is utter junk and gets destroyed by stuff with wedges. I tried it with and without the bottom row of spikes touching the ground, but it made no difference.

Back to the drawing board.