How could I Improve pt 2

[playzooki]

Hi, im new here. This is my first vapour bot:
Bombard IV

Shape: Wedge with sloped sides and angled back (so it leans back when it flips.)
Dimensions:100x70x30 cm
Weight: 100kg
Colour: See Pic
Wheels:2x custom wheels 150mm in diameter
Ground clearence:0 at front, 7mm at back.
Motors:2x A28-400 magmotors at 24v
Batteries:4 x 5000mAh Li-Pos
Speed:18 mph
Turning: 0
Armor:4mm hardox
Weapon:650psi CO2 flipper powered by a 250mm ram and a 3kg CO2 bottle.

Notes:Can self right

What do you think?

[leorcc]

I'm assuming 4x 5000mAh instead of 500mAh? Apart from that, sounds nice.

[playzooki]

Oh yeah. Oops.
thanks!

Where can i host my vapours?

[andrewj]

Welcome to the forum, playzooki

Bombard IV looks fine to me, very good for a first vapourbot.

Most of us host our stats on the Vapourbot Resource forum. I see that you've already registered there, so I've set you up a board to post your stats in.

I hope that helps.

[playzooki]

Thanks!

[playzooki]

New vapour!



Mr Death II
Shape:see pic
Dimensions: 800 x 800 x 200 mm (including skirts)
Weight: 100kg
Colour: See Pic
Wheels:4x custom wheels 210mm in diameter
Clearance: 5mm, at main body, 0mm at skirts
Motors: 2 x LEM 130s
Batteries:4 x 5000mah Li-Pos
Speed: 24 mph
Turning circle:0
Armor: 4mm hardox, 2mm at outerm most cm of each skirt
Weapon: Hinged wedges
Srimech: Is invertible

What do you think?

[leorcc]

The motors are bigger than the robot or the wheels.

[playzooki]

Thanks, Ill fix it.

[kodster]

Okay I finally threw some FRA stats together for a lightweight I've been planning to use...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img819/3787/hwib.png
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img200/7192/mz40.png

BlackRose


Shape: Similar to Gamma Raptor. A wide rounded box with a flat front, and a great ruddy lifting arm in front of that.
Colour: Plum-ish, with gold exo-cage stuff.
Weight: 27kg
Drive: 2 Yamaha 550cc motorbike starter motors, overvolted at 24v. Each motor weighs 2kg and draws 5.3hp (theoretically, but it's not peak value so :P), so that's 10.6hp in such a small package! Geared 4:1 for maximum torque-y goodness.
Power: 6 24v 2.5ah NiCad Battlepacks (seeing as overvolted series wound motors draw huge amounts of current). That's around 7.2kg, but it's needed.
Motivation: 6WD, the usual aluminium CNC hubs with go-kart tires slapped on them.
Top Speed: 15mph
Average Speed: 10mph
Armour: 3mm Ti10V alloy all over except the sides, where it's 5mm 6063 aluminium alloy. Ti10V is as strong as Hardox and is nearly half the weight! Total armouring weighs around 8kg in total.
Dimensions: 65cm x 75cm x 15cm (with claw, 30cm high)
Weaponry: A basic lifting arm shaped like the one on Gamma Raptor, except bigger. It's made of mild steel and weighs around 3kg. Powered by a small linear actuator system weighing at around 2kg. It can comfortably lift about 75kg. The whole system can be taken out, and the lifter replaced with a 5kg scoop made of 3.2mm Hardox 450.
Srimech: Lifter, if equipped.

I used Joey's Motor Table extensively for this, and I realized starter motors like those draw absolutely huge amounts of current, so that's the reason for the absurd amounts of batteries. 4kg was left alone for amenities like speed controllers, receivers, failsafes, etc., which I am not good at describing. :P

Thoughts? Forgive me if they do feel unrealistic, it's been a while. :P

[kodster]

Oops, just realized I went completely in the wrong direction for gearing. It should be around 15:1.

[steven_mcg]

How could I improve my...tournament?

The EXP League was one of my favourite tournament to write in recent years and I've been wanting to do a larger-scale successor to it for a long time now. After many tweaks and refinements to the original contest rules, I think I may finally be ready to launch it - after the Real Robot Rumble, of course. I may be mad, but I'm not crazy.

Before I do kick this new tournament into gear, however, I'd like to make sure that what I've set up actually makes the slightest bit of sense to everyone else. As such, I've prepared a draft of the rules regarding the entry form for your perusal.

First, provide the following information about each robot.

NAME: Your name (duh). Your online username will do just dandy.
TEAM: Your team name (double-duh)
HOMETOWN: Your hometown (triple-duh), or whichever place you and the robot wish to represent.

ROBOT: The robot's name (quadruple-duh), as well as its chosen weight class (LW / MW / HW / SHW).
SHAPE: What the robot physically looks like. Any additional skirting or body features should be included here.
APPEARANCE: Any paint jobs or decorative features the robot has.
LOCOMOTION: How the robot gets about - wheels, tracks, legs, shuffle pads etc. Please include how many of them it has and whether they are mounted inside, outside, partially covered etc.
WEAPONRY: Any and all weapons the robot is armed with. Interchangeable weapons are limited to a maximum of three, all of which must be declared at the start of the tournament. Standard RW rules apply otherwise.
SRIMECH: Also known as the self-righting mechanism. How the robot is able to survive getting turned upside-down - if it can!

If possible, please feel free to include a picture of your bot with the entry form.

You will then have a set number of points to spend in the following areas:

WEAPONS: How powerful and/or damaging your weaponry is. High points will increase your robot's offensive capabilities and let them inflict more damage on opponents, especially if their Armour points are lower.
This section also includes non-powered weaponry, ala ramming spikes or pendulum axes.
Robots with multiple, independently-driven weapons (i.e. one with a separate flipper and spinning disc) or interchangeable weaponry (i.e. a spike, a disc and a drill) will need to split their Weapons points between them.
ARMOUR: How strong your robot's shell is against the weaponry of other robots. High points make it less likely to be damaged.
This section also covers the strength of weapon armour and additional body features such as skirting; the higher your Armour and the lower your opponent's Speed, the harder they'll find it to get past them.
SPEED: How quickly your robot can move in a straight line across the arena floor. The more points spent here, the faster it goes! Robots with high Speed may also find it easier getting underneath their opponents.
This section additionally covers the robot's acceleration to its maximum velocity.
TRACTION: How much grip and pushing power your robot has. High points will allow you to shove opponents around with ease and make you less likely to be shoved about yourself.
HANDLING: How quickly your robot can turn on the spot and manoeuvre around the arena floor. A high score means you'll be able to turn faster and be better able to dodge enemy attacks.

The number of points allotted for spending in each weight division are as follows:

LIGHTWEIGHT: 15
MIDDLEWEIGHT: 20
HEAVYWEIGHT: 25
SUPERHEAVYWEIGHT: 30

You must allocate at least 1 point to each category. While robots with purely passive weaponry are OK (spikes, blades, spiky blades etc), I don't want to see everyone only entering blank boxes and weaponless wedges. This is war, people, not a playground push-off.

Robots with equal Traction and/or Handling points will have the tie decided in combat by their locomotion (i.e. 2 wheels are more manoeuvrable than 6, but 6 have more grip than 2). If both bots have the same locomotion set-up too, well, it's gonna be interesting. =P

Clusterbots - i.e. entries composed of two or more smaller robots - are permitted and will be granted a 5 point bonus to make things ever so slightly balanced. All points must be split between each bot, though they may use half-points if necessary (e.g. 3.5 Weapons and 2.5 Traction.).
Clusterbots will only be considered defeated when each individual robot has been immobilized, though losing segments in battle will count against the overall team in the event of a judge's decision.

Walking robots (those using legs, shuffling pads etc) will also be granted a 5 point bonus to allow for the extra weight their designs require. However, they will only be able to spend a limited amount of points on their Handling. The Handling points caps for each weight division can be found below:

LIGHTWEIGHT: 1
MIDDLEWEIGHT: 2
HEAVYWEIGHT: 3
SUPERHEAVYWEIGHT: 4

Robots with more unconventional methods of locomotion will be granted bonuses on a case-by-case basis.

Think carefully about how you divide your points up. Sinking 21 points into a devastating weapon and leaving only 1 for everything else will leave you sluggish and defenceless, and may even cause you to self-destruct! Likewise, robots with high Speed and Handling may prove more slippery on the arena floor if their Traction is low.

While this tourny is primarily about simplicity and fun, let's keep things slightly realistic here. 10 monster truck wheels with 10 Handling points? That's just silly.

Key questions I wouldn't mind answers to:

~ Are the rules on multiple and interchangeable weapons fair? People seemed OK with the multi-weapon rule last time and most of us tend to stick with one big weapon anyway, but I'm genuinely not sure if doing the same for interchangeable weapons is reasonable. Will it be too little and discourage people from entering them at all, or would, say a Weapons-only points bonus leave it open to abuse?
~ Does the stuff regarding Speed, Armour and skirting make sense? I figured something like this would help make it clearer which robots can best get under each other and better judge the effectiveness of defensive skirts. Or should something also be linked to Weapons to better aid flippers and lifters? Thoughts?
~ Is a 5 points bonus for clusterbots too low, or would 10 perhaps be more reasonable? I know Martijn entered a clusterbot in the original EXP League to test out the rules. What do you think, old chum?
~ Is the Handling cap for walkers reasonable, or should I up the limits by 1 point (2 for LW, 3 for MW etc)? I'd considered putting a cap on Speed too, but bots like Drillzilla do prove that walkers can be fairly nippy. Is it worth capping both or just do it for Handling?

The big word I had in mind when creating these rules was "simplicity". ARC has a very good system going, but I must admit I do sometimes get lost amongst the various weapons sub-clauses and armour bonuses and calculus equations to determine how many wheel turns a second or by how many more millimetres a flywheel can knock someone away. It gets intricate is what I's saying. =P

I wanted to make a system that anyone could understand and use on the first readthrough, so they could dive straight into the fun. I dunno if I'm there yet but with you guys, I'm certain I'll get closer.

I'll leave you now with some very random examples of the points system in action:

ZIGGO (LW)
WEAPONS: 6
ARMOUR: 3
SPEED: 3
TRACTION: 1
HANDLING: 2

DR INFERNO JR (LW)
WEAPONS: 3 (2 saw, 1 spike arm)
ARMOUR: 2
SPEED: 3
TRACTION: 4
HANDLING: 3

BLADE RUNNER (MW)
WEAPONS: 3
ARMOUR: 4
SPEED: 6
TRACTION: 1
HANDLING: 6

COMPLETE CONTROL (MW)
WEAPONS: 6 (2 axe, 4 forks)
ARMOUR: 4
SPEED: 3
TRACTION: 4
HANDLING: 3

CHAOS 2 (HW)
WEAPONS: 7
ARMOUR: 4
SPEED: 6
TRACTION: 3
HANDLING: 5

RAZER (HW)
WEAPONS: 8
ARMOUR: 5
SPEED: 4
TRACTION: 4
HANDLING: 4

PANIC ATTACK (HW)
WEAPONS: 3
ARMOUR: 6
SPEED: 4
TRACTION: 6
HANDLING: 6

GEMINI (HW)
PT 1 / PT 2:
WEAPONS: 3 / 3
ARMOUR: 3 / 3
SPEED: 4 / 4
TRACTION: 2 / 2
HANDLING: 3 / 3

ANARCHY (HW)
WEAPONS: 12 (6 axe, 6 flipper)
ARMOUR: 7
SPEED: 3
TRACTION: 4
HANDLING: 4

DIESECTOR (SHW)
WEAPONS: 11 (3 jaws, 4 left axe, 4 right axe)
ARMOUR: 5
SPEED: 4
TRACTION: 6
HANDLING: 4

SGT. BASH (SHW)
WEAPONS: 11 (6 jaws, 5 flamethrower)
ARMOUR: 5
SPEED: 5
TRACTION: 4
HANDLING: 5

Ha-thank yao.

[Mystic2000]

Sorry for the huge bump, but i got 2 vapours done and i'm not sure if i'm doing it right

Here's the first one:

Name : Zenith


Shape : Low Box, Tornado Style,with a plow at back, and a Last Rites style cage holding the weaponat the front


Dimensions : Length : 90 cm,Large : 80 cm Height : 35cm


Color : Blood Red


Weight : 100kg


Movement : 2 Caterpillar Tracks


Motors : 2 NPC-T74 at 24V


Speed : 15 Mph


Armor : 6mm Hardox


Turning circle : 0mm


Ground Clearance : 1,5cm


Power : 6 Ni-Cad battlepacks at36V


Weapon : A Matilda Style 27kgFlywheel with 2 S7 Tool Steel HMN-like teeth, powered by an E-tek Rat 36V, allowing it to reach 3000RPM


Srimech : Invertible

And the other one:


Name : Trance


Shape : Plowed Box, like Punjar,but with sides and back sloped at 45° angle


Dimensions : Length : 60 cm,Large : 80 cm Height : 35cm


Color : Dark Blue


Weight : 99kg


Movement : 2 Go-Kart wheels


Motors : 2 NPC-T74 at 36V


Speed : 20 Mph


Armor : 5mm Hardox for everythingexcept the front plow which is 2mm thicker


Turning circle : 0mm


Ground Clearance : 1,5cm


Power : 6 Ni-Cad battlepacks at36V


Weapon :The front plow is actuallya rear hinged flipper, powered by a CO2 Ram at 750 PSI, capable offlipping around any standard heavweight pretty easily.


Srimech : Invertible

[playzooki]

i dont know much about vapours, but 6mm hardox is a too thick for something with 27kg weapon. Zenith looks overweight to me, but you'd have to ask some of the more experienced vapourboteers. 15mm GC isa bit too much as well, you could drop it to 5-10mm. Trance im not sure about, lower the ground clearance and maybe up the CO2 pressure to 1000PSI?

[leorcc]

Hi Bastien,

A couple of observations:

For Zenith: The top and bottom plate alone would weigh about 65 kg. Add 27kg for disk and you are already on 92kg, without motors, batteries, tracks, and side/front/rear armour.

Trance: All armour including the 7mm front scoop adds up to 80kg. that is without motors, batteries, co2 mechanism, just metal alone.

If you are not sure about weights, go to http://www.micas.co.uk/calculator.htm and experiment with some shapes and sizes.

[playzooki]

use 3.2 or 4mm hardox, personally i use Ti/V, ask kody on skype he knows more lol