Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

[steven_mcg]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

Ho crap, the Final! And I've missed two rounds already! :shock:

Right, seeing as everyone's dog-piling on me, I may as well go out in a blaze of glory. For this round, I'll largely ignore Nidhogg where I can and focus on both of Gehenna and PsycloniZer. On the off-chance I do survive to the next round, I don't want to risk AJ's duo survive as well and having to fight what is in essence a SHW clusterbot.

As such, hit Gehenna like a tonne of bricks, attempt to clamp it side-on and feed it to its teammate PsycloniZer for some delicious dramatic irony. Keep doing this until Gehenna either breaks free, breaks down or breaks into a freefall down the pit. If I see PsycloniZer has slowed down near by and my clamps are free, scoop it up and play the clamping game until it gets pitted.

As for Nidhogg, if it proves to be a pest, scoop it from the sides and dump it out the way ASAP to focus on the AJ machines.

This has been a great tourny thus far, Lewis. I'm almost certainly crashing and burning in this clash, but at least I know it'll be epic. :wink:

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

Only 4 robots of 36 remain... Who will be the next to die in the arena?

From Pontefract in West Yorkshire, representing Team Picus, the winner of Annihilator 1, Nidhogg Cubed!

From Lincolnshire in England, representing Team ???, the winner of Annihilator 2 Gehenna!

From Lincolnshire in England, representing Team ???, the winner of Annihilator 4, PsycloniZer!

From Glasgow in Scotland, representing Team Braveheart, ranked #8, the winner of Annihilator 5, Traffic Warden!

Roboteers, standby!

Booth Red: Team ???, Team Braveheart
Booth Blue: Team Picus, Team Zlayerz

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

The final draws nearer still! All four machines get off to a speedy start in the opening seconds of this bout, Gehenna and PsycloniZer getting their deadly weapons up to speed while Nidhogg Cubed makes a beeline for Traffic Warden! Steven turns away though and heads for the pit release button, almost getting there, but Nidhogg€™s hydrostatic drive allows it to reach very high speeds and Joey gets underneath the rear of Traffic Warden, lifting it up, but the as he pushes forward and brings the crusher into play the forks slip under the front, holding the ranked machine in place but putting it low enough so that the wheels are on the arena floor! The crusher misses Traffic Warden€™s body completely and instead clamps over the front of the U-shaped machine, not doing much damage but getting a severe grip on the ranked bot. The four wheels of Traffic Warden are desperate to break free though and the E-Tek drive puts up a good fight against Nidhogg€™s hydrostatic power, making it difficult for Team Picus to pull or push Traffic Warden, but not giving Team Braveheart much leeway either. Nidhogg is not without assistance however and PsycloniZer comes careering across the arena with the ring going at maximum speed! It collides with Traffic Warden, knocking it out of Nidhogg€™s grip in a shower of sparks, and Traffic Warden looks to have taken damage from that hit! The side panel has been dented and somewhat buckled by the hammer of PsycloniZer and the ranked machine needs to get out of there! Steven successfully does so, reversing against the pit release button and then taking off after the stationary PsycloniZer, but it€™s unable to catch it as Gehenna reverses in to protect its stablemate with its own blade spinning at full speed!

Another explosion of sparks as spinner hates titanium, and there€™s a huge gash in the bottom of the U that is Traffic Warden! However, the clamps are still active and quickly come into play, trapping Gehenna in place! Andy suddenly looks worried, as they€™re in such close proximity to the pit! Steven turns quickly and rams Gehenna across the arena, but getting caught right on the edge of the chasm by Nidhogg, who brings the crusher into play, not wasting any time on the forks. It digs its crusher into the back of Traffic Warden, but daren€™t try to lift it for fear of tipping Gehenna into the pit! Joey tries to pull Steven away from the pit but those E-Teks hold on in there and prevent it from being a landslide tug of war match! This is such a close tussle - Gehenna is almost over the pit and could go fall in at any moment, and Traffic Warden has suffered huge damage, who knows how long it has left! PsycloniZer has spun back up to speed while all this has gone on, and now decides that enough is enough. Andy rams in on the attack of Traffic Warden, battering against that damaged side panel and it comes flying off together with a lot of internals from within the ranked machine! It can€™t possibly be mobile after that, but the hit as loosened Steven€™s grip and Gehenna tumbles into the pit!

CEASE!

What a shock turn of events! And they may be just about to get more dramatic, as we€™re getting an urgent call from the pits as the robots have just been cleared from the arena...

As is often the case with annihilators, robots have to drop out due to the irrepairable damage done to them. Unfortunately that seems to be the case for Traffic Warden in this round - it€™s been repeatedly battered by Gehenna, PsycloniZer, Jinx, Still Hurting and Nidhogg throughout this annihilator and it seems that this last round as been the death knell for the Huggy Bear-style machine. Steven€™s all out of E-Teks and there€™s no way Traffic Warden can progress in the competition - two birds with one stone!

Battleboard
Traffic Warden [#8] vs. Nidhogg Cubed vs. Gehenna vs. Jinx vs. PsycloniZer vs. Still Hurting

And so in a shock turn of events, not one, but TWO robots fall out of the Annihilation finals and the final comes around sooner than expected!

Nidhogg Cubed and PsycloniZer are the battle-hardened competitors that will meet in the final battle and face off against each other in the contest to be crowned Annihilation champion, but who will win?

Tactics, predictions.... Let the wars begin!

[joey_picus]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

...I cannot repeat my choice of words upon reading that fight on a public forum, so I shall represent them thus: (ellipsis) (common Anglicisation of the Korean name ì˜, or alternatively an interjection) (in the 21st century colloquial lexicon, a term for an act of a sexular nature adapted for expression of strong feelings, usually negative) ;P
Well done on some great fights though Lewis, once again

Right...here goes...

The main way I can try and win this is to get PsycloniZer down the pit. To that end, I will go straight for the pit release button, and then in the same movement just after pressing it I shall use the hydrostatic control at high speed to hug the arena wall, and do so to get PsycloniZer to hit it rather than the robot (by, if necessary, accelerating really quickly to dart out of the way if it charges, although standard luring will be the normal order of the day) and, importantly, making sure that the front end of the robot is facing Psy when it hits the wall.

*Ideally* what happens then is that Psy then ricochets onto the wedge, but if it bounces off in the other direction then I should be able to chase it down and scoop it up regardless, and then crush down into it immediately, using the forks to stop it getting off the wedge at any stage - one advantage of having the ram for the claw at the top of the robot is that it can't be hit by Psy's weapons - and then go straight for the pit, no superfluous maneuvers, and without letting go hold it fully over the edge before releasing it.

If Andy's tactics involve staying away from the walls - which they might well do - then chase it down after hitting the pit release button and either a) try to get it to hit a wall by chasing it into one or b) just ram it with the thicker front end at high speed and try to lift/grab it before it spins up again.

Good luck Andy (not as if you'll need it though XD) and may the best robot win ^^

[andrewj]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

Hehe, I thought two robots in the last three would be too good to be true. But I'm not out just yet...

N³ vs. PsycloniZer

If I am going to win this battle, my driving will have to be perfect. I have got to find the balance between running away after attacks in order to spin up again, while also ensuring that I stay well away from the arena walls. The main difference between this final and the Robot Wars 7 final is that my spin-up time is far quicker than Typhoon 2's, which allows me to have a more direct approach, rather than spending the time running away. Another significant factor here, when compared to the Series 7 final, is that N³'s armour is much weaker than Storm II's was.

As much as I would like to, I can't go for an all-out onslaught here, as it is going to be a tactical battle - I have got to choose my moves carefully, while also ensuring that I stay aggressive and attack whenever the opportunity presents itself. The 3mm Ti/V alloy is an obvious weakness for N³ - PsycloniZer has been through much tougher armour than that over the past few years. But in this battle, I am just as, if not more interested in causing shock damage. The sort of kinetic energy that PsycloniZer is capable of dishing out can cause real problems for that hydrostatic system. Just the tiniest bit of damage to the hydraulics (e.g. damage to the engine or the hydrostatic motors, hydraulic pump failure, damaged pipes, the slightest of fluid leaks) and the whole robot - both drive and weapons - will shut down. Such a complex system has its clear advantages, but there is a lot that can go wrong at the same time.

So the plan will be to be cautiously aggressive - stay in the middle of the arena whenever possible, do what I have to do to spin up, and attack when I can. I hope that it will be N³ running away from PsycloniZer, rather than vise versa. My quick spin-up time should mean that I can stay on top and dominate the battle by getting in and out of attacks at full throttle. It shouldn't take many hits to really start to warp the armour and cause internal damage to N³. But remember to stay sensible and don't get lured into any attacks that might put myself in more danger than N³. If it wants to attack me, it's going to have a face full of sledgehammers to deal with first, and any impacts will likely knock both robots away enough to make sure that I am spinning again by the time N³ tries to come on the attack.

In the (hopefully unlikely) event that N³ manages to stall the hammers, PsycloniZer is designed specifically to ensure that it can do very little to me. The huge framework will stop N³ from getting any sort of attack in with the crusher, and the sheer size of it will mean that trying to clamp and lift the framework somehow will be extremely difficult. However, if everything goes to plan, N³ won't be able to get that far anyway. :P

I should probably stop stating the obvious and shut up now.

Good luck, Joey! It should be a great battle between what I believe are two of the best, perhaps the two best, vapourbots on the scene at the moment.

[Guest]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

Only 2 robots of 36 remain... Who will be the last to leave the arena, and who will finally triumph within it? It€™s been a ravaging road to armageddon, ladies and gentlemen, but after almost 2 years of competition ( :P ) we€™re here!

From Pontefract in West Yorkshire, representing Team Picus, the winner of Annihilator 1, Nidhogg Cubed!

From Lincolnshire in England, representing Team ???, the winner of Annihilator 4, PsycloniZer!

Roboteers, standby!

Booth Red: Team ???
Booth Blue: Team Picus

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

This is IT! The end of Annihilation. And with these two bots, it€™s sure as hell going to go out with a bang! The arena is immediately filled with a deathly whir as PsycloniZer€™s spinning ring gets up to speed, the three meaty hammers quickly becoming a blur! Nidhogg Cubed on the other hand heads straight for the pit release button and bumps against it, releasing the pit. It seems to be a clear tactic - Nidhogg obviously wants this match over ASAP, and who can blame Team Picus for that? They also look intent on hugging the arena wall, as they don€™t stray from it, but PsycloniZer isn€™t taking the bait and sits patiently in the middle of the arena with the hammers spinning menacingly. Joey realises that he€™s fighting a losing battle staying by the walls, as PsycloniZer looks far more impressive with the weapon spinning, and trys a new tactic.

Joey guns the hydrostatic drive of N^3 in the direction of PsycloniZer, who comes forward to meet the attack, and there€™s a huge impact as both machines are thrown away from each other! Nidhogg€™s forks bore the brunt of the hit, and they look a bit buckled. The bulk of them is concealed inside the wedge however so they should still be reasonably effective, and Joey looks to use them if he can, going straight back on the attack as soon as he regains control of his machine! PsycloniZer however has a very fast spin up time of 3 seconds, and that€™s just for full speed. Nidhogg does actually reach PsycloniZer in about 2 seconds, but the ring is spinning at well over 1500rpm by the time he gets there and another huge impact takes place! This time the attack has consequences for both machines, as the hammer of Psy catches the side of Nidhogg€™s wedge this time, buckling the side panel somewhat and spinning Nidhogg around. However, they were horribly close to the arena wall and Andy flies into it, dissipating some of the kinetic energy from the hit into PsycloniZer itself! It looks to be OK for now though, and quickly escapes across the arena with the magmotor drive, spinning up as it does so and U-turning around to face Nidhogg in the centre of the arena.

Joey is relentless with his aggression here and collides with PsycloniZer again, but still he€™s not lucky. As the hammer makes contact with the front of Nidhogg one of the damaged forks is ripped clean off the machine and the side panel is buckled even further, now hanging limply from the machine! It drags on the arena floor when Nidhogg moves now to chase down PsycloniZer, and this isn€™t good news for Team Picus as it slows Nidhogg down enough so that Team ???€™s ring spinner is back up to full speed before Nidhogg can get another attack in, and the hammers make contact again... SLAM! It€™s a huge impact in which PsycloniZer rammed in so hard it almost mounted the wedge of Nidhogg before impact, sending the damaged side panel flying off across the arena and actually flipping PsycloniZer over in the process! Joey€™s machine as to be hurting right now but as PsycloniZer is delayed in spinning up by being flipped Nidhogg takes its chance and rams in on the attack, managing to breach the ground clearance of PsycloniZer and slam Team ??? into the spike strip before it can get that deadly weaponry going again! The forks are ineffective now but the crusher swiftly comes into play, not managing to reach the 3.25mm hardox top armour of PsycloniZer, but hooking into the supporting cage of the weapon! Andy struggles against the attack, but Joey has a good hook here and now begins to drag PsycloniZer across the arena towards the pit! They€™re right on the opposite side of the arena and with PsycloniZer struggling against the pull of Nidhogg coupled with the damage already done to the machine this is no easy tug of war bout! However, even with the damage Nidhogg Cubed€™s hydrostatic power is too much for PsycloniZer and Team Picus€™ entry slowly but surely drags PsycloniZer across the arena towards the pit!

Andy€™s heart is in his mouth as this sudden turn of events looks to potentially eliminate PsycloniZer from the competition, but he struggles at the controls of both drive and weapon, trying to find anyway to break free of Nidhogg€™s deadly embrace! The clock on the time for pinning robots is ticking down though and Team Picus need to end this quickly! 10 seconds left... Nidhogg is dragging, dragging... but PsycloniZer is putting up a hell of a fight, spinning the cage so as to move left to right like a crazed fairground attraction, making things as difficult as possible for Team Picus! 5 seconds remain, and Nidhogg finds itself with its back to the pit, Joey turns, but the movement is slow and Andy spins the cage the right way so that PsycloniZer is side on to Nidhogg, and the wrong side to the pit! 3... 2... 1... Joey turns to try and dump Andy into the pit, and they€™re right on the edge now, but the alotted time is up! The judges instruct Joey, to release PsycloniZer... Can he end it quickly anyway? He lunges forward as the crusher goes up, getting underneath PsycloniZer again, but the hammers turn around and knock PsycloniZer off Nidhogg€™s wedge and away from the pit - the tension has passed! A lifeline thrown to Team ??? and Andy breathes a huge sigh of relief! Nidhogg isn€™t finished yet though and reverses into Psy now, anything possible to stop that ring getting up to speed. Team Picus push their cylindrical adversary onto the kilsaws, which spring up and flip PsycloniZer, who quickly dashes away and spins up to speed before coming careering back in and colliding with Nidhogg€™s exposed side! This could be it Annihilation fans, as the internal workings of N^3€™s hydrostatic drive are splayed out over the arena... Unfortunately it would seem the game is up! The power€™s gone, and Nidhogg sits immobile next to the arena wall. A real shame, as Joey and Team Picus put up an absolutely fantastic fight, nearly pitting PsycloniZer, and we hope to see both these machines back next season, but for now it€™s all over and the crowd count down Nidhogg Cubed, as well as the season!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

CEASE!

That is IT! Time is called on the match, and another brutal KO for PsycloniZer! Commiserations to Joey, Nidhogg Cubed and Team Picus - truly a magnificent fight was put up and Nidhogg should return to Pontefract proud of its achievements here today.
However, the grand champion of Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation is PsycloniZer! It€™s smashed its way through ten gruelling annihilator rounds to get here, and the trophy is well deserved... Andy is grinning as the championship trophy is awarded to him, with Joey standing proudly on the podium and receiving a silver medal while Steven is awarded the the impressive bronze for Traffic Warden€™s performance... And the battleboard flashes up onto the screen for one last time.

Battleboard
Traffic Warden [#8] vs. Nidhogg Cubed vs. Gehenna vs. Jinx vs. PsycloniZer vs. Still Hurting

Thanks to everyone who competed, commiserations to Joey and congratulations to Andy. I€™d like to invite you all to compete in Mechanical Maelstrom Season 3.0, which will be opening right now in order to capitilise on the sudden influx of activity around these parts

Until next time robot fans!

*curtain closes*

[andrewj]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

:shock:

First of all, commiserations to Joey, I honestly thought that you were going to win this one. The battle could have easily gone the other way... Secondly, congratulations to Lewis for finishing this excellent tournament. I know how difficult annihilators are to write, but you have pulled it off perfectly. To win something like this definitely ranks amongst my greatest achievements in vapourbot fanfic. To get two vapourbots into the final four was amazing, but to win such a testing tournament ahead of so many great competitors with a robot that would usually struggle in mªles is a real honour. To do it against a vapourbot like N³, that I have the utmost respect for, is just the icing on the cake. I should also thank Kody for agreeing to team up with me in Annihilator 4, as Corona basically carried me through that and gave PsycloniZer the place in the final.

Thankyou to everyone, and see you all in Mechanical Maelstrom 3.0!

[joey_picus]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

I can only second most of Andy's points (except the bit about him winning, natch ;P although many, many, many congratulations to you, unlike you that battle went exactly as I thought/feared it would, hehe...), this has been a brilliant tournament and I'm proud to have finished in the top two of it.

*wanders off to try and dredge up new Nidhogg blueprints*

[kodster]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

Well done, everyone, and am quite pleased I made it this far. Congrats to Andy for the win and Joey for getting runner-up, and wonderful writing as ever, Lewis. Sign me up for 3.0 baby!

[steven_mcg]

Re: Mechanical Maelstrom: Annihilation

Hooray for bronze! I went out clamps a'blazin' and I got to take Gehenna with me.

Kudos to AJ, Joey and, of course, Lewis. It's been a helluva contest and you keep proving yourself to be a helluva writer. Put me down for MM3 while I get a squad together!