October Obliteration 2019 Event Report
I brought 2 robots to fight at October Obliteration. Here’s how they all did.
Sandstorm
Sandstorm is my 3lb full combat robot. It features an AR500 steel vertical spinner and an aluminum unibody frame.
Leading up to the event, I upgraded Sandstorm’s drivetrain which led to freeing up enough weight to add a new spring-loaded fork attachment. I was quite proud of how everything turned out, but none of that matters until I take to the arena.
Fight 1 — Vs Lynx
Over in less than 2 seconds. Lynx out-wedged me and clipped me at just the right angle to send me flying into the pit. Sandstorm suffered minimal functional damage in this fight. Lynx’s driver offered to redo the match since it ended so quickly.
Result: Loss via Ring Out
Fight 1B — Vs Lynx (Redo)
A far more eventful fight, but one that caused the bulk of the damage. I took several hits from Lynx, eventually succumbing to some particularly bad drivetrain damage that prevented me from gyro dancing back into position.
Result: Loss via Tap Out
Fight 2 - Vs Cutting Board
I wasn’t able to fully repair the damage from the previous fight so this one was plagued with too many drive issues to do anything. I also botched the reassembly of the weapon module. The weapon belt threw and jammed itself due to missing a standoff that enforced the belt spacing and alignment internally.
Result: Loss via judge decision
Event Result: 9th place, eliminated in loser’s bracket round 1.
Final thoughts on Sandstorm: I am far from satisfied with how Sandstorm did at this event. This is the second time now that I made strategy mistakes that cost me future matches. The lesson here is to take the easy L if you can and make a stronger run through the loser’s bracket. Don’t take risks until you’re against the ropes. I’ll be redesigning major components of Sandstorm to improve on these issues.
Sandstorm will return at Sin City Showdown on 11/8 in Las Vegas.
Faultline
Faultline is my entry into the 1lb plastic weight class. It features a single piece 3D Printed ABS frame.
At its core, Faultline is mostly the same coming off of it’s win at Rocky Mountain Gear Jam. Thanks to my new 3D printer, I was able to iterate on the weapon and front end attachment designs. I ended up bringing 3 different variants on the fork/wedge attachments for this event.
Fight 1 — Vs Dicer
I brought out my dummy thicc wedge attachment for this fight since Dicer was a horizontal dual spinner. That seemed to work well since Dicer’s weapons shattered upon initial impact.
Result: Win via JD
Fight 2 — Vs Just A Bad Dream
This was a fun driving match. I brought the long fork config for this fight, but I wasn’t able to get a good angle on my opponent. The forks just became a tool to avoid his massive weapon.
Neither of us could get a decent bite on the other so it became a continued war on gaining higher ground. I eventually won by driving him into the pit.
Result: Win via Ring Out
Fight 3 — Vs Free Hugs
Yet another control fight, but this time I was able to do some decent damage to my opponent’s wheel guards. I brought the weird fork/wing config for this fight so that I could scoop under his grappling arms a little bit better.
Result: Win via JD
Fight 4 — Vs Dicer (Finals 1)
I brought back the wedge attachment, but it didn’t fare nearly as well as the first fight since he responded with a single, thicker weapon bar. This time, it was my robot that shattered and Dicer won via judge’s decision.
Result: Loss via JD
Fight 5— Vs Dicer (Finals 2)
Similar story as the previous fight, but this time, I was able to disable his weapon eventually. The fight was lost due to Dicer removing one of my drive wheels and absolutely shattering all of the new parts I brought for the event.
Result: Loss
Event Result: 🥈2nd place, eliminated in grand finals.
Final thoughts on Faultline: I’m happy with the results of the fights, but not terribly thrilled about how it performed as a robot. It was effectively a wedge robot dealing minimal damage using its weapon. It’s time to retire V1 and move onto designing V2.
Faultline V2 will debut at the LA Maker Faire Bash on 12/5 in Los Angeles.