Spinnerproof

91: Legally Compelled To Fight

This episode is pointless Rules and judging! Yay! Rule changes You should read them and not just trust what we say: Design rules, Tournament rules, Judges’ Guide Safety! Power lights you can see [Design rules: 3b] Cradles that cradle [Tournament rules: 3.4.2] Fires are bad [Design rules: 16] Minibot battery limitations [Design rules: 4b] No more OotA disqualification threat But a higher wall Lifting/pinning/grappling timing changes [Tournament rules: 7.5.6/7/8] Separation procedure [Tournament rules: 7.5.9] Mobility & count-outs If you’re moving, you’re moving [Tournament rules: 7.6.2] Even if you’re only using your weapon to do so Reducing the chances of people getting angry at officials Unsticks [Tournament rules: 7.6.3/4] We won’t see nearly as many unsticks More fights will end early, but they’re more likely to end ‘fairly’ Time savings for production? Minibots get removed after a second unstick Engagement avoidance [Tournament rules: 7.6.7] Judging changes Post-match functionality displays [Tournament rules: 7.6.11] Aggression - circling is more aggressive than staying faced up [Judges guide: Aggression FAQ] Control - Robots which get their weapon and the hazards into play better than their opponent should win a control tie [Judges’ guide: COntrol matrix] Appeals [Tournament rules: 2.4.7] 1 minute window to lodge your appeal, requiring a specific reason for appealing A failed appeal removes your right to appeal Should there be a mid-ground? Sam explains why this doesn’t apply to refereeing decisions Experimental UK judging system The system! Already used at BBB’s ‘Subterranean Showdown’ and in use for the upcoming BBB Beetleweight Champs Intended to give all robots fairly equal access to every category Damage is dead, long live weapon effectiveness! Not all weapon types can be expected do damage, so judging them on damage is dumb. Everyone with a weapon should be able to use it effectively Lifters lift, grabbers grab, flippers flip, spinners do damage just like before Wedges are a blind spot for the system. They were also a blind spot in the existing system, but the name we’ve used makes the issue more visible Active weapon rule? Aggression is still aggression Free a stuck opponent? ALL OF THE POINTS! Control & Strategy Control - control your robot well, get your weapon into play, use the hazards Strategy - make smart choices Think of strategy as a place for judges to add points, but not a place where we really take them away

90: Things that Exist, Exist

We’re back! Back-ish Editing sucks and we’re not doing it. BEVs Northdown Havoc Sportsman feathers are dope Judging Judging is hard Coin-toss fights Let The Good Times Stroll vs Crossblow III vs Head for the Exit Battlebots… This community sucks as talking about this stuff The system doesn’t seem that ‘broken’ Do we need Battlebots? What now? No Battlebots episode reviews Robot building? Events? Clickbait awfulness? Hoping Sam doesn’t die

89: The Fallibility of my own Everything

We went to the BBB summer showdown with Split Decision 2 We’re a little rusty, and failed to record a proper outro. I hope you can come to forgive us. Here are the pictures! https://imgur.com/a/TVheEHJ

88: Have My Love

Follow Up/Front Matter There is a bingo winner. We haven’t worked out who yet A quite vast amount of information about brushless motors and ESCs Sensorless still involves some small degree of sensing/feedback, and this is important Dual brushless hammer fun Stripped grub screw threads Ryan made a fuss Fake spinner test The real testing setup Battlebots and stuff General thoughts A very strong season, especially under the circumstances A slightly underwhelming end result Robot by robot Hydra The journey Vs Gigabyte - a fight for newcomers? Whiplash Mad lifts vs Valkyrie Sam’s sympathy for Valkyrie Ribbot Not a joke bot. Tantrum There are no words. Except the words we speak. Sawblaze Mammoth vs Copperhead Judging… The judging is made of judgment The whole AMA is very much worth checking out Shatter! Making bets Shatter! shirts Since recording this episode, shipping to the UK has been made available. Trying not to believe and believing anyway End Game M E T A Variety and length of forks Not being Biteforce Being Biteforce Aftershow: Sam’s computer troubles

87: Tickling my Eyeballs

Front matter Lockdown finally made Sam build things More on that later! Ryan doesn’t know what tools he owns Bugglebots 4K special Vote here! (may require time machine) Watch here! 5 episodes of Battlebots 2020 in