BattleBots - IT'S ROBOT FIGHTING TIME (probably spoilers)

Ehhhh the line doesn't really bother me (besides I'm a horror junkie and I can assure you white people are just as dumb and as bad as living as black people in those movies). To me it's just a weak attempt to push politics in a sport primarily dominated by nerdy men who love to watch the things they build blow up.
 
Coelacanth said:
Ehhhh the line doesn't really bother me (besides I'm a horror junkie and I can assure you white people are just as dumb and as bad as living as black people in those movies). To me it's just a weak attempt to push politics in a sport primarily dominated by nerdy men who love to watch the things they build blow up.
Click to expand...
>Sees this line.
>Takes a look at the majority of the builders in the sport.
You do have people like Jamison Go, former judge Grant Imahara and and the occasional woman in the sport but it's overwhelmingly a white man's game. Paul with Biteforce, Ray with Tombstone, the Ewerts, Donald with Lockjaw, I could go on. It's been this way even since the CC days.
Plus as Sporkinok found out last season, bringing politics into a sport with specific engineering requirements doesn't work. Other sports like soccer can virtual signal all they like, even give the game to an opposing team filled with different colors of melanin over perceived guilt but Battlebots is about destruction, if your bot is shit, ain't no amount of pandering is going to get you that win to dedicate to your community.

In short, people would rather watch your bot get destroyed than think about what message you have and skin color doesn't even really matter compared to design and skill driving bots. Matthew Vasquez and Whiplash for instance is considering on of the best bots in terms of control, for several years running.

Fights this week.
Death Roll vs Cobalt.
Death Roll continues to roll around the area, too bad it couldn't get the win against Cobalt.
Ominous vs Claw Viper
Claw Viper is wicked fast, too fast for even the omniwheels on Ominous to do anything.
Copperhead vs Blood Sport
One god damn hit was enough to rip off Blood Sports horizontal bar and send it face down. Brutal.
Lock-Jaw vs Malice
Another case where the weapons on both bots die. Lock-Jaw needed a serious redesign after it's 0-3 last year but Hudson put it back in. Yawn.
Triton vs Lucky
So Triton is Deep Six if his vertical bar was horizontal instead. It's an 80 pound bar on a 170 pound bot. That's massive. You can hear what sounds like an "eeeeeh" sound like you get from tinnitus coming from the blade of Triton. But then he ends up on the side and can't move.
Jackpot vs Skorpios
A decent fight, Skorpios has always been a fairly sturdy bot except for the wheels. Glad to see it have no trouble here.
Hydra vs Rotator.
Hydra is so damn low to the ground. I know ground clearance is everything to a flipper but this is just ridiculous. Some good flips and the win.
 
Two quick things to follow up on before the next episode.

Season 8 has been confirmed, filming sometime in the summer.

Caeser's palace entertainment, where Battlebots is now, wants nightly shows. So they're dusting off some classic bots and getting 5 of them together to throw at each other with one per night through the week. This starts in Feburary and I assume will mean some steady employment of build teams keeping their bots in working conditions as they rotate them through the week.
meanwhile-on-the-strip-v0-4g24sestjtda1.jpg

looks-like-theyre-gonna-start-pushing-the-fight-nights-a-v0-jyvtp3mbzmda1.jpg

a-perfect-star-shape-this-time-with-nightmares-v0-fdwaq55k1pda1.jpg

looks-like-theyre-gonna-start-pushing-the-fight-nights-a-v0-egf1i4mbzmda1.jpg

looks-like-theyre-gonna-start-pushing-the-fight-nights-a-v0-tdqle4mbzmda1.jpg

looks-like-theyre-gonna-start-pushing-the-fight-nights-a-v0-xe53zvmbzmda1.jpg

I will say that BB is getting the push it is now that it didn't have back in the CC days. Back in Vegas, nightly shows and a main series and spin off series on Discovery.
 
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battlebots season 8 episode 4
lisa winters lays an egg at battlebots with an 'abused' mini bots skit.
 
Already 4 weeks in.

Monsoon vs Black Dragon
Always nice when weapon motors don't burn out after a bit hit. I also through Monsoon would include some kind of self righting mechanism but I guess they didn't add one.
Malice vs Emulsifier
On the opposite end, this is what happens when motor drives burn out too fast. Malice somehow crabwalks to a win.
Overhaul vs Starchild.
So Overhaul somehow gets the win despite Starchild being the one with an active weapon. Got it.
Gruff vs Quantum
Just goes to show how powerful that bite is when it can actually bite something.
Kraken vs Beta
Kraken's spinner is pretty powerful, considering how it bent the hammer of Beta. Not enough for the win however.
Horizon vs Shreddit Bro
This fight... was a fight.
Whiplash vs Hypershock.
The RC car is back and as deadly as ever. Getting behind Whiplash and tearing it was a good move on Hypershock's part. Whiplash is now 0 - 2 this season already, not looking good.
 
Rockzo said:
Already 4 weeks in.

Monsoon vs Black Dragon
Always nice when weapon motors don't burn out after a bit hit. I also through Monsoon would include some kind of self righting mechanism but I guess they didn't add one.
Malice vs Emulsifier
On the opposite end, this is what happens when motor drives burn out too fast. Malice somehow crabwalks to a win.
Overhaul vs Starchild.
So Overhaul somehow gets the win despite Starchild being the one with an active weapon. Got it.
Gruff vs Quantum
Just goes to show how powerful that bite is when it can actually bite something.
Kraken vs Beta
Kraken's spinner is pretty powerful, considering how it bent the hammer of Beta. Not enough for the win however.
Horizon vs Shreddit Bro
This fight... was a fight.
Whiplash vs Hypershock.
The RC car is back and as deadly as ever. Getting behind Whiplash and tearing it was a good move on Hypershock's part. Whiplash is now 0 - 2 this season already, not looking good.
Click to expand...
Monsoon's design looks to be intended to eliminate the need for a self-right by simply having the two halves fall down to the floor regardless of the robot's orientation. Similar to how Uppercut is designed.

The Malice/Emulsifier fight should have been a double knockout but I think in the episode they mention the new rule that if the robot has ANY mobility, it isn't counted out. Probably due to the number of complaints about it being vague in how 'driver has control' was being interpeted by the refs last season.

I'm pretty sure Overhaul got the win purely on damage and control, and only in damage because a lot of the cosmetic crap on Starchild came off. I can't say I've ever really been impressed with Overhaul but it definitely was the better bot, since Starchild's weapon has a very narrow hitbox that the driver clearly wasn't used to.

Quantum chewing up Gruff was a given. These are the same guys who made Razor in Robot Wars, right? I'd honestly like to see how it contends against Hydra because if it can win that low ground, Hydra is done without the internals.

Kraken definitely looks like a far stronger bot this season (and confused the hell out of me when its name started popping up because the guy said he was retiring the robot last season), but I think this too was teething trouble because there were a lot of chances that weapon should have been dropped on Beta and it just wasn't.

Horizon/Shreddit...the former I feel like wasn't even turned ON for weapon testing before the fight, which raises the question of how this robot even got into the competition (even Malice at least has a working weapon most of the time that can be directly pointed at the enemy) and Shreddit outright being just an upsized design of a smaller bot just seems more like the guy is desperate to replicate previous success after Pain Train...without having learned a thing from Pain Train because the same reliability problems were present (you could see the chain from one of Shreddit's drive motors fell off immediately after first contact and was causing all kinds of driving problems).

Whiplash vs Hypershock was thankfully a good fight, with the move that I think sealed Whiplash's fate being the driver hitting Hypershock again after it got stuck in the wall. At the very least he should have taken the chance to gouge one of those tires to mess up the RC car's driving if it had freed itself. Given the team's prior history and if they can get wins in the next two bouts, I'm confident that if they don't make a tourney seed proper they'll be a wildcard.

Though for Hypershock, I have to think there needs to be a serious consideration for putting a self-right back in. I know they mentioned it's supposed to use gyroscopic forces to do this but that's twice this season the robot spent a non-insignificant time on its back simply trying to flip itself back over. At the same time, while not possible this season, maybe redesign Hypershock to drive inverted and eliminate the problem all together, since that would just require moving the spinner mechanism down and forwards slightly, but I'm not a robot designer so maybe there's factors I'm not aware of.
 
Another week and more fights.

Minotaur vs Free Shipping
Mintoaur eats some yummy rubber tires off of Free Shipping. Thought for sure that Shipping's flamethrower would explode but no such luck.
Ribbot vs Claw Viper
"STAY THERE!" Disabled the left side of Ribbot then put it up on the wall. Clever. Then it becomes a pushing match.
Sawblaze vs Lock-Jaw
Lock-Jaw flips over and locks up. Donald really does need to redesign the bot.
Huge vs Blip
Not really suprised that they got stuck. What did the producers think that Blip could do to Huge? Seems like an odd match to put together. After that it becomes a push fight.
Fusion vs Witch Doctor
That first hit was a 360 to witch doctor, amazing. And lots of huge hits. Great fight.
Double Tap vs Doomba
Doomba is made out of freakin plastic. Look at Radioactive vs Tombstone for how well that holds up against bar spinners.
Riptide vs Madcatter
Riptide just showed why I think it'll have a good shot at the nut this year. It only lost to Sawblaze last year and is up against Shrederator and Black Dragon in it's fights this year. It'll easily get 4 - 0 I think.
 
S08E06:
Ripperroni vs End Game
I warned about the slots and the floor game before. Was only a matter of time before one of those stupid prongs got caught in them. Upset yes but only at Endgame using such long forks for Ripperoni to actually get hits in. The former champs should know better.
Switchback vs Deathroll
Finally Deathroll shows off it's powerful disk. Good fight.
Cpt Shrederator vs Hijinks
The Cap won against Hijinks. I'll still root for Cap but this isn't the bot that won against Tombstone.
Rotator vs Jackpot
Rotator has gotten real good at the keep your armored pointed towards the enemy then swing around to hit them with the spinner tactic.
Big Dill vs Skorpios
Big Dill just dies. Shocker.
Banshee vs Valkyrie
Valkyrie should have been way more aggressive, even upside down. Was basically a pushing match.
Hydra vs Tantrum
Now this is what you want to see out of the current champ. Where was this when they faced Minotaur?
 
They really should have known better, those joke-forks would have caused them to lose to Hydra last year in their opening fight if Hydra didn't literally piss itself after the first flip.
 
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Whoops, missed last week.
S08E07:
Bloodsport vs Gigabyte
That one massive hit that sent them across the box. Brilliant.
Claw Viper vs Overhaul
Claw Viper is powerful with that quick motor. Still just a push match unfortunately.
Horizon vs Monsoon
Monsoon gets an easy win. What even is Horizon.
Starchild vs Mammoth
A retard fight, to be honest. The swingset vs Ironsides. Entertaining at least if low energy.
Triton vs Copperhead
Triton's backside obliterated by Copperhead. They have such a heavy blade they didn't plate their ass. And the Copper gets caught on Triton's guts. Meaning a double KO.
Lucky vs Kraken
Hydra lost to Lucky. That's all that needs to be said.
Minotaur vs Cobalt
This right here. Championship level match. The energy both threw at each other, with Minotaur getting the KO. Best match of the season so far I think.

And this week:
S08E08:
Free Shipping vs Hydra
20 flips from Hydra. Not much Free Shipping could do. More flips than Bronco, going as high.
Huge vs Fusion
Two good hit from Huge. Not much Fusion could do.
Lock Jaw vs Glitch
LockJaw got a good hit in. Except it bursts into god damn flames somehow. Hudson needs to redesign the bot.
Beta vs Shatter
Kind of a conservative approach from John, I thought he would fire Beta's hammer more. It's also got that long sloping front, meaning the hammer can't quite reach where it should.
Quantum vs Black Dragon
Kind of an ehhh match. Black Dragon scraped it's weapon inside Quantum that means they couldn't get unstuck.
Terrortops vs Slammo
Terrortops was the only one with a weapon. That's it.
Tantrum vs Blip
Tantrum fails against former team mates. Thought Blip would fire it's flipper more but I guess it didn't for some reason.
 
Rockzo said:
Whoops, missed last week.
S08E07:
Bloodsport vs Gigabyte
That one massive hit that sent them across the box. Brilliant.
Claw Viper vs Overhaul
Claw Viper is powerful with that quick motor. Still just a push match unfortunately.
Horizon vs Monsoon
Monsoon gets an easy win. What even is Horizon.
Starchild vs Mammoth
A retard fight, to be honest. The swingset vs Ironsides. Entertaining at least if low energy.
Triton vs Copperhead
Triton's backside obliterated by Copperhead. They have such a heavy blade they didn't plate their ass. And the Copper gets caught on Triton's guts. Meaning a double KO.
Lucky vs Kraken
Hydra lost to Lucky. That's all that needs to be said.
Minotaur vs Cobalt
This right here. Championship level match. The energy both threw at each other, with Minotaur getting the KO. Best match of the season so far I think.

And this week:
S08E08:
Free Shipping vs Hydra
20 flips from Hydra. Not much Free Shipping could do. More flips than Bronco, going as high.
Huge vs Fusion
Two good hit from Huge. Not much Fusion could do.
Lock Jaw vs Glitch
LockJaw got a good hit in. Except it bursts into god damn flames somehow. Hudson needs to redesign the bot.
Beta vs Shatter
Kind of a conservative approach from John, I thought he would fire Beta's hammer more. It's also got that long sloping front, meaning the hammer can't quite reach where it should.
Quantum vs Black Dragon
Kind of an ehhh match. Black Dragon scraped it's weapon inside Quantum that means they couldn't get unstuck.
Terrortops vs Slammo
Terrortops was the only one with a weapon. That's it.
Tantrum vs Blip
Tantrum fails against former team mates. Thought Blip would fire it's flipper more but I guess it didn't for some reason.
Click to expand...
Horizon works okay at lower weights apparently. In theory its actually really meta since the spinner with spinners on it means the weapon is actually moving faster than rules intend to allow. Its just new bot kinks plus lack of scalability that is giving it the wooden spoon so far.
Triton is a fundamentally flawed design. It got accepted in to be the new Tombstone but Tombstone's blade is scary not for its size but for its lack of size (dense and thick but not stubby enough to be a joke) and excellent driver. Triton has none of that. Ray would never back his ass into Copperhead's drum like they did in this fight.
In regards to Shatter/Beta (and a few other fights this year) I think long-forks are a mis-step. They hurt more than they help, they are a constant risk of jamming in the floor, they make turning harder and they are easier to get ripped off which counts for damage points. The Brazilians were wrong.
 
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