Beat the Clock - SBV

[R01]

I bet one of the flipper bots will take it.  Seems like the most efficient way to go about getting rid of the Clock.  Here's hoping mine doesn't completely embarrass itself.  (it probably will)

That's why I built a flipper, was thinking about how to get rid of it, but with the disc on top as well as having the blade on side, a hammer+sidehammer setup didn't seem to be effective. Was thinking about doing a V bot with a flamethrower and hammer but that simply didn't seem effective enough than pushing it off or flipping it out of the arena.

Originally I had a flipper with two beta motors in mind, which meant that the chassis would be big, also for some reason they still wouldn't have the power that I wanted as well as making the entire bot too heavy which gave it low battery life. Then switched over to this "skeleton flipper"(wouldn't really call it that) setup, just focusing on the main thing, if it wouldn't be able to flip out the Clock then there's no need to delay the match any further.
The bot needed strong flipping power(which the two betas didn't give, think the power of the 3 VDMA's is lower but there's more initial speed/pushing power which is what was needed?) as well as fast drive(regular twm's were out of question and no idea how much better NPC's would be, they had odd AP's) and having a low angled wedge(at one point I was going for a Forkie like setup, didn't really work out and the bot was too heavy), small chassis(similar to clone clash) so that there's enough weight for components.

During testing I noticed how adding angled skirts wouldn't be a bad idea as it makes it harder for spinners(was using Redace's DSL IRL Pack Grog) to get around to the side as well as how the bot could need a larger wheel base to make it more stable. Didn't want to move the motors sideways as this could make them a easy target. The spikes(originally even longer) worked out well and as long as you aren't going at SNS speed, they don't cause any issues.
Also added a bit of armor to protect the flipper motors and some extra supports which lead to the spikes being shorter, but they were still stable enough. Buster Wheels because I felt like it and thought they look nice.

Testing against Grog(which was 200 kg heavier than the Clock but also less damaging) was mixed, luckily I figured out the perfect position to flip and as such got the smartzone right.(since DSL's smartzones are outdated they weigh 0.1 kg which made the bot a 399.0 HW, discussed this with DSC as it should be ok for smartzones to get the bot over the weight limit. It's a unwritten tournament rule just like Mad's smartzones being allowed in almost all tournaments)

Now I've seen the actual height of the blades on The Clock, I think I mounted mine too low. rimp me

Hyperslash was pretty good. Go Hyperslash.

You aren't the only one that expected the Clock to be different. I didn't think it would be as tall and that the blade would be in the middle, not a undercutter like that. Think next time it would be better to have pictures from all angles.

Hyperslash got lucky, some bots were just lacking range or having the wrong height to attack.

If I knew about the height I would've made a adjustable HS, similar to what Bombshell had, but with the normal ring spinner setup(where the blade is in the middle) it didn't seem like a good idea.

Loved the details like Speedy Speed Boi and Waluigi.

Episode 1:

Akaname sadly didn't have long enough hammers or the right height(again a problem that couldn't be seen in the preview image), else would've had a good chance.

Time Machine did surprisingly well, now if it only wouldn't bounce around that much after a hit.

Saber, I can see the concept you were going for but think it really needed a V setup to deal with the knockback and push the clock away, also there wouldn't be any supports when driving inverted. Were the spikes that heavy?

Hyperslash I feel like it got really lucky and if it wasn't for that one perfect ram and the Clock getting flipper over like that it would've had it.

Episode 2:

The Little Bot that Could, lacks stability which is a big issue here. Also seems to be missing the side pannels it had in the preview? The Clock did quick work of it.

Mule's Kick, looks serious, also like the 3 wheel drive. Wedge is a bit steep but I guess it was trying to do what Green Arrow did in Wildcard Rally. First flip was nice but too much upwards and too little forwards. The Clock almost had this one.

Speedy Speed Boi, a nice entry. Althrough I'm not too much of a fan of Eteks, are they really worth it? They never really felt much faster for me. it started nice again, with a good flip but once again it went too much upwards(then again you really need that upwards flip to get bots over the walls) The Clock then started to mess it up but it was able to push it off. Wonder what's up with that track setup, only having a low part touch the ground.

Pinchy, ah, so this was Rob's entry for this. It looks nice but I doubt it's able to get far, missing defense. The claws were on axle mounts?

Episode 3:

Try Hard or Try Home, nice idea but because the Clock was an undercutter it didn't have much of a chance. Nice to see how it destroyed the Mechav discs however. Messy BTC Fix version, I see, mini and MechaV disc. Didn't know that the flat armor plate could be used like that, gotta keep it in mind.

Cyanide, same problem as  Akaname, not enough range and maybe not enough defense? Depends on how it gets hit. Did do a good job at ripping away one of the Typhoon teeth. Almost got destroyed by the Clock.

R01. I don't know why the bot is that far back as I sent it in a lot earlier, bot didn't have a skin and name at that point and since I didn't have time or ideas, the plastic texture simply got colored grey and it got the name R01. Usually I wouldn't do that with textures but since it's just a tiny box at the back of the bot and the entire thing is grey already, it wouldn't make much difference and fits more with the bot design.

Because the flipper pannel would clip the other motors, I had to add that tiny extender in front, during testing it didn't break so it seemed to work even if the wedge was a bit more in front.
The first flip was risky, the bot could've gotten into a position where it couldn't self right properly, wasting time and getting hit(similar to what happened to Badger's) but it was able to stablize itself. Due to the fast speed the flip was too late, also looks like it got hit and pushed a bit to the side.
The second flip was perfect, althrough all the weight from the Clock made it fall over. Amazing height and I think even if there was a wall, the Clock would've been out of the arena.
Happy with the performance, the bot won the fight and that with only two flips, a one flip OOTA would've been even more amazing but hard to pull off and I should be happy that the AI managed to not mess it up.

Baconflipz, the spinner killer wedge is nice, but as you can see during the video, the Clock was still able to clip through the top of it. Would've almost had a win there.

Final thoughts

I'm a bit surprised that I won and happy that the AI pulled it off right.
I originally expected this to be way more close and not to have many bots that fail to complete the challenge, but they either got screwed over by the height of the Clock or not having taken the knockback/range into account. Still was fun to see so many different entries.

So... I won (one of?) those components. If they wouldn't be part of the next irl component reskin packs I would ask if the Tournament Host would be ok releasing them to everyone as I'm not a fan of limiting components, but I'm obviously in the minority with that thought. Well, still nice, hope I can use them well on a bot one day.

Congratulations to R01, who snuck in at almost the last moment and took the title with a Nine-second knockout of The Clock!

Thank you to everyone who took part too, thank you for making my first tournament a success, hopefully more will be following in the future.

Thanks, I'm a bit suprised about the last second part however since I originally submitted the bot as 7th person. It wasn't until later where I updated the bot(name & skin) but it was sent in early.
Loved the little details you put into this. Also what was the victory music(or music in general)/where did you get the other sound effects from?

[F1Krazy]

That means I have to fight F1 again!? Well it's pretty much a tradition at this point for every tournament we enter  ;s

ngl I was gonna ask for a grudge match against Pinchy just for the hell of it, but then I realized we'd be fighting each other in the rumble anyway :P

But yeah, it's pretty much become a running gag at this point

[dragonsteincole]

R01, the running order was randomised using one of the widgets on random.org, I didn't want to run in the order people submitted.
Also, I am going to include the two prizes in a side-pack for everyone to download, and then merge them into IRL Pack 3 when that is released. I will post that within the next few days.
And for the umpteenth time, there will be a fight involving F1Krazy and Rob Collins. Shocking

So far the list of Bonus matches I have is:

- Top 4 Rumble
- Middle 4 Rumble
- Bottom 4 Rumble
- Flipper Rumble

I am also thinking of running this match:

The Clock vs Two Brothers (Guldenflame and Havok McSplosion)

I'm looking for one more matchup, can be either against The Clock or another participant.

[Baconus_Yum]

R01, the running order was randomised using one of the widgets on random.org, I didn't want to run in the order people submitted.

And for the umpteenth time, there will be a fight involving F1Krazy and Rob Collins.

So far the list of Bonus matches I have is:

- Top 4 Rumble
- Middle 4 Rumble
- Bottom 4 Rumble
- Flipper Rumble

I am also thinking of running this match:

The Clock vs Two Brothers (Guldenflame and Havok McSplosion)

I'm looking for one more matchup, can be either against The Clock or another participant.

Rumble of the bots that has numbers divisible by 3

[Philippa]

Three rumble winners.

[dragonsteincole]

Bonus matches have been filmed and will be up within a day or two.

In the meantime, AWARD VOTING is now ready, with the following:

- Most Exciting Bot
- SFTW Award
- Luckiest Bot
- Unluckiest Bot
- Surprise of the Tournament
- Greatest Moment of the Tournament

There's a few more awards I will dish out myself once voting is closed.

[Badger]

- Most Exciting Bot - The little bot that could
- SFTW Award - Hyperslash
- Luckiest Bot - Hyperslash
- Unluckiest Bot - 09's flipper

[R01]

R01, the running order was randomised using one of the widgets on random.org, I didn't want to run in the order people submitted.
Also, I am going to include the two prizes in a side-pack for everyone to download, and then merge them into IRL Pack 3 when that is released. I will post that within the next few days.
And for the umpteenth time, there will be a fight involving F1Krazy and Rob Collins. Shocking

So far the list of Bonus matches I have is:

- Top 4 Rumble
- Middle 4 Rumble
- Bottom 4 Rumble
- Flipper Rumble

I am also thinking of running this match:

The Clock vs Two Brothers (Guldenflame and Havok McSplosion)

I'm looking for one more matchup, can be either against The Clock or another participant.

Ah I see, I didn't know about this and as such was a bit surprised to see my bot that far back and the comment about a bot that was that late in the list doing so well.(As such I wasn't sure which date was used as entry one, since I sent a "unfinished" version early on and only updated the skin and name a few days before it started).

Also was going to suggest to release the pack here(if the other people that got stuff don't have anything against it) so people get to access it earlier, but I didn't know how far pack 3 was and it wouldn't make much sense to directly release it if pack 3 was about to be released as well.

The Tournament was well done(even if I basically saw everything at once), great host.

For bonus matches I was going to suggest the two hammers vs the clock and a match of the three rammers, dunno if they're still available and think the ones that were done are already enough.

Most Exciting Bot: Time Machine, from the first few hits where it was bouncing around like crazy, you wouldn't know what would happen.
SFTW Award: Saber(sorry, but I just don't see this bot working, would love to see a updated version however)
Luckiest Bot: Hyperslash
Unluckiest Bot: Speedy Speed Boi. Actually no, Baconflipz because it would've had a time of 20 or 21 seconds if that AI mistake didn't happen.
Surprise of the Tournament: Hyperslash making the Clock bounce away like that.
Greatest Moment of the Tournament: Dunno if you're allowed to vote for yourself, but I found that last flip of R01 quite impressive.

[Gulden]

- Most Exciting Bot:  Mule's Kick
- SFTW Award: Saber, too slow and underpowered for its own good.
- Luckiest Bot: Hyperslash, been rubbing that in for a while
- Unluckiest Bot: Bacon Flipz, they were so close to getting an OOTA.
- Surprise of the Tournament: My brother not shutting up about this dang tournament.
- Greatest Moment of the Tournament: RO1's match.

[F1Krazy]

Only just saw this...

Saber, I can see the concept you were going for but think it really needed a V setup to deal with the knockback and push the clock away, also there wouldn't be any supports when driving inverted. Were the spikes that heavy?

Both good points. I'll remember the V-setup suggestion for next time. And yes, the 120cm heavy spikes are 50kg each, so that's 1/4 of its entire weight sticking out of the front.

Award votes:
Most Exciting Robot: Time Machine, hurling itself and The Clock all over the place.
SFTW Award: The Little Bot That Could, its weapon was too big and heavy and its body was too fragile.
Luckiest Bot: Not sure, I'll have to watch through them again.
Unluckiest Bot: Bacon Flipz, so close to getting The Clock out.
Surprise of the Tournament: Try Hard or Try Home getting torn apart quicker than Saber, I thought it would beat The Clock comfortably.
Greatest Moment of the Tournament: That first immense flip that R01 got in.

- SFTW Award: Saber, too slow and underpowered for its own good.

I'm not going to object to your vote, but I would like to note that Saber is powered by 2 T64 Fasts and I could hardly have made it much faster. Though maybe all the tipping over didn't help.

[Badger]

Only just saw this...

Saber, I can see the concept you were going for but think it really needed a V setup to deal with the knockback and push the clock away, also there wouldn't be any supports when driving inverted. Were the spikes that heavy?

Both good points. I'll remember the V-setup suggestion for next time. And yes, the 120cm heavy spikes are 50kg each, so that's 1/4 of its entire weight sticking out of the front.

Award votes:
Most Exciting Robot: Time Machine, hurling itself and The Clock all over the place.
SFTW Award: The Little Bot That Could, its weapon was too big and heavy and its body was too fragile.
Luckiest Bot: Not sure, I'll have to watch through them again.
Unluckiest Bot: Bacon Flipz, so close to getting The Clock out.
Surprise of the Tournament: Try Hard or Try Home getting torn apart quicker than Saber, I thought it would beat The Clock comfortably.
Greatest Moment of the Tournament: That first immense flip that R01 got in.

- SFTW Award: Saber, too slow and underpowered for its own good.

I'm not going to object to your vote, but I would like to note that Saber is powered by 2 T64 Fasts and I could hardly have made it much faster. Though maybe all the tipping over didn't help.

You could've added more/better weaponry than 2 pole spikes.

[Baconus_Yum]

Are the bonus matchups going to be up soon?

[dragonsteincole]

Yes, matches have been filmed, but I've not had the time to put the video together due to other projects. In total there's 7 matches to go into the video.

[dragonsteincole]

Bonus Matches are now up and posted in the OP. Anybody wanting to vote for the awards needs to do so by the end of today.

[HavokMcSplosion]

You said Havok so what is it?

[Philippa]

:^)

[HavokMcSplosion]

I do want to fight GuldenFlame, but DSL 2.2 isn't working for multiplayer.  Just... ok GuldenFlame you have my bot I think tell me when you do the fight or someone record it and give the video to us.

[HavokMcSplosion]

Here are my votes

most exciting. That 9 second match for R01.
Spinner from the west. that was me.
luckiest entry. Me again.
unluckiest entry. Saber. you were way to slow making your 120 cm heavy spikes useless
worst entry. the little bot that could. I think this is more appropriate the little bot that couldn't
best entry. R01. "wow jaw drop"

[dragonsteincole]

The results are in, thanks to the five people who actually made an effort to vote.

Most Exciting Bot: Guldenflame's Time Machine (with other votes for Mule's Kick, The Little Bot That Could and R01)
"People seemed to enjoy Time Machine being able to fling The CLock and itself around the arena on it's way to victory"

SFTW Award: A tie between Havok McSplosion's Hyperslash, and F1Krazy's Saber (with another vote for The Little Bot That Could)
"A little undeserved for both bots, there were far worse bots in the tournament, with Hyperslash outranking everyone aside from R01, and Saber outlasting three other bots before defeat."

Luckiest Bot: Havok MCSplosion's Hyperslash
"This is one that Hyperslash deserves as it was a shock to see it leading up until the penultimate match, however it was able to slam The Clock twice more in it's bonus match victory alongside Time Machine, so it may have been more than luck."

Unluckiest Bot: A tie between 090901's SPEEDY SPEED BOI, and Baconus_Yum's Bacon Flipz (with one vote for Saber)
"I guess due to SPEEDY SPEED BOI screwing the flip and it's match turning into a slow crawl along the wall. And for Bacon Flipz almost having The Clock tipped over and out but ultimately failing to Beat the Clock."

Surprise of the Tournament: A tie between Hyperslash's victory, and Try Hard or Try Home's sudden death.
"Again, the shock of seeing Hyperslash slam The Clock and land at the top of the timesheets for so long was a big surprise, just as big as seeing Kurt's bot getting strewn around the arena after looking to be one of the favourites."

Greatest Moment: R01's Almighty Second Flip
"A unanimous decision, it was R01's 9-second victory over The Clock, doing what Mule's Kick and SPEEDY SPEED BOI were designed yet failed to do."

I have a few personal awards too, to recognise moments that were missed:

The Punisher: Redace's Cyanide
"Cyanide was the bot that came closest to actually killing The Clock during it's match. Whilst it wasn't quick or pretty, it was brutal. Special mention also goes to Cyanide during the Middle 4 Rumble, for continuing to beat the sh** out of Akaname well after it was eliminated."

Most Waluigis on a Bot: Thrackerzod's Akaname
"Waaah."

[Thrackerzod]

oh dang somehow i totally missed that this was doing awards oops

at least i won something

Thanks for hosting a great tournament, DSC!