#import "/packages.typ": *
#import components: *

// The show rule passes all content in this file into the `create-body-entry` function.
// This just means that we don't need an extra level of indentation when writing this entry.
#show: create-body-entry.with(
  title: "Post Reveal Thoughts",
  type: "brainstorm",
  date: datetime(year: 2024, month: 5, day: 2),
)

After the game reveal, each member of the team independently wrote down their thoughts on what the coming seaosn will look lke, the ideas for our robot. 

#admonition(
  type: "note", 
  [
    These were recorded before the rules were released, so they are made without key information and official restrictions, including expansion restrictions, or autonomous win point scoring rules. 
  ],

)

= Alan
My first thought after seeing the reveal was “I don’t like this,” however upon further analysis of the game, I realized how well suited we were to meet this challenge, as it seems as a combination of previous engineering challenges / games that we have faced in the past. I initially realized how similar this season was to the 2021 - 2022 season, Tipping Point. This was my first season in VEX Robotics, and was similar as it includes the same goal of intaking rings onto a mobile goal. Early in the brainstorming process, we later also realized that we could incorporate an aspect from the 2022 - 2023 season, Spin Up. During Spin Up season, one goal was to cover as many tiles as possible in the game, and to face this challenge we used string launchers. We realized that we could re-utilize our string launcher mechanism, to shoot a grappling hook to the top tier of the ladder, and use a PTO [Page -] to pull our robot up. I also realized a further connection to Spin Up, particularly from a driving aspect, as the positive and negative corners are similar to the rollers, in the way that they may be guarded at the end of the match to secure points. I was also annoyed at seeing the climbing aspect again, especially since we spent a whole season working on climbing already, however we later realized it is not worth it to try to climb when you could be securing your goal in a mutator corner instead. 


= John
Last year the team was able to produce quality workmanship while rebuilding the robot for the World Championship. The team learned from past mistakes, such as poor planning and minimal peer review, to produce a more efficient work flow in which all designs were CADed on Onshape and built after confirmation from the rest of the team. However, peer review was still at a minimum and team members would often “take over” the robot, preventing others from working, thus wasting valuable time. To mitigate this, it was thought that more collaboration on design and building could be used, allowing multiple members to build more complex systems rather than just one or two and subsystems could be built and partially tuned before being attached to the robot. Also, a more rigorous peer review system in which more than one team member would review each design before construction would be very useful in preventing major design flaws.
	After watching the reveal, it was thought that allowing a robot to climb to the top of the elevation tower would be vital to success. As the field elements seemed similar to Tipping Point, a robot very similar to those of tipping point—though with a subsystem dedicated to climbing—was considered ideal. It was thought that a limiting vertical expansion limit might be put in place as a challenge, thus making climbing higher than the first or second bar unprofitable. Notable important subsystems are as follows:

- Wings to allow each robot to guard zones modifying points could be beneficial to prevent other robots from pushing past a smaller robot.
- Wedges would be necessary as controlling the location of elements would be vital to success and require an advantage in defensive driving.
- A fast drive train could also gain success since moving and collecting elements quickly could offset the dangers of being “bullied,” but a slower RPM would likely be more beneficial due to its use in defense. Note that the “fast” drive train of this season would likely be significantly slower than that of last season due to an increase in the required acceleratory power (caused by the weight of mobile goals).
- “Kaboomers” (elastic batteries using rubber bands to store energy which were used extensively in tipping point) could be incorporated to the drivetrain to reliably attain a mobile goal using their aid to acceleration.
- An intake identical or almost identical to that of Tipping Point was considered to be the most viable solution to scoring rings on a mobile or stationary goal.

Approximately an hour after the reveal, when sketching possible solutions, a mechanism using a grappling hook was considered a viable climbing mechanism. It could be launched in a similar manner to how “Spin Up” string launchers expanded and geared to the drivetrain much like the winch of our robot for the World Competition. Also, it was realized that using slanted plastic sheeting as a wedging surface and a mechanism to funnel “donuts” into an intake could reduce weight and complexity.
After the rule book was released, it was realized that a grappling hook or other climbing mechanism designed to elevate the robot above the first climbing tier was infeasible. This was due to a very limiting vertical expansion limit that would prevent any robot from expanding to the second tier or higher from the ground.


= Meghana
After watching the new game reveal in the VEX Worlds Dome during Worlds High Stakes, the first things I took into account were task priorities on the field and what things our bot for this season would need to focus on accomplishing/prioritizing above others in order to play the best possible match. Unlike last year, the points this year are on a smaller scale, where descoring and moving goals can score more points than hanging in higher zones. This and other factors like this could significantly impact the bot our team decides to build this season. I also noticed that this year's game was very similar to two previous VEX season games: Tipping Point and Round Up. The donuts and movable goals were very similar, and will require similar subsystems to those of previous seasons in order to get the tasks accomplished. Strategy, timing of actions, and action play on the field will be a crucial part of the game this year! After last season, our team learned so much about time management, efficient build, and overall skill, which got me thinking far ahead into how the elements would carry out later in the season, where new ideas and strategies could be played. Thinking about the decisions we make for the bot now- long term wise, is a crucial part of building a strong bot for this season, and would also allow us more time to practice the actual execution and skill of our bot. 


= Joy
After watching the game reveal, I noticed how there were many components from previous games similar to components in High Stakes. For example, the theme of having mobile goals that must be scored with rings on them is also seen in Tipping Point and Round up. During the game reveal and after reading the manual, I also noticed the difference in rules for climbing. In order to climb in high stakes, the robot must climb in the way that it is climbing a ladder. This was particularly interesting to find out because having to climb each rung on a ladder was not a rule for a few seasons, so I feel that it will be interesting figuring out solutions to work around that obstacle. 

= Violet
This was my first time being with the team for the game reveal because I joined a little later last year. My first thoughts were something along the lines of “the gameplay for this is going to be crazy” because the negative and positive corners are going to introduce a lot of interesting strategies. The hang is going to be interesting as well, and I’m really excited to start thinking of potential designs. We’ll probably want a light robot for that. Though we also will probably want to push other people around, so that will be something to consider later. 