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I started watching combat robots around 1998. At that time it was limited to bootleg VHS cassettes my friend had and hotel TV, if I was lucky, when my family went on vacation. Luckily when I went to college Comedy Central started airing Battlebots, and my love for the game took off.

I am stuck in the middle of nowhere though. I just can't justify spending thousands of dollars on a 300 pound robot that will likely come home in a scrap heap. However, it looks like several local leagues are springing up, with 1 and 3 pound weight classes. Now this is something that I could get into.

If something like that ever popped up in your area, would it be something you'd want to do?

I was a fan until everyone cracked the code...just make a spinning doorstop. That makes for super fething boring watching.

I believe they should have categories to force a much more interesting show. Why not have a category which requires you to have legs....I'd rather see something other than an wedge speeding around trying to flip the other robot on its back. It's just waaaaaay too boring. Early in Battlebots they hadn't really figured it out and you had much more interesting bots (and of course they sucked, but it was entertaining!).

Oh my gosh, there's a 2018 season! How did I miss this!? Going to catch up on the episodes tonight

Elbows,
Actually, in modern Battlebots they rate you on damage dealt by primary weapon. You really don't see many wedge-bots out there. In fact, I think only one made it to TV, and it's not a top contender.

The hard hitters and top ranked bots are vertical drum spinners, verticle disc spinners, and horizontal blade spinners. Bronco is doing REALLY well, and he just flips bots 15 feet into the air.

The thing is, some of this stuff that is effective at 250 pound weight classes is less effective at 3 pound classes, and vice versa. Circular saws are barely worth mentioning for heavier vehicles, but play havoc on tiny bots. The weight limit means your bot is likely plastic framed with thin aluminum armor in sensitive areas.

I'll wait until they let people put actual guns or missiles on their bots. Or other, more exotic ranged weapons (like acid sprays, etc.)

I like the flame throwers. They don't tend to inflict much actual damage but they look awesome.

I'm with Elbows. Far to many battles end up being really predictable.

There was another show... was it Robot Wars? Whatever it was I liked it more than Battle Bots because there were obstacle courses and challenges that the robots had to pass that made design choices more interesting than just straight battling (though as I remember "bricks with wheels" were generally the most effective bots).

I'm waiting for us to go Robot Jocks on this one. Lets get some real robot battles

Did that USA vs Japan robot thing ever happen?

Yeah, that happened. It was far less interesting than it was hyped to be. You can find it on youtube if so desired.

The weight class definitely makes a difference as to what is effective and what isn't. There also is a lot of Rock-Paper-Scissors going on.

Disk and Drum Spinners seem to be the best overall weapon in that they can take on all bots and still have the ability to do damage.

Flippers are best against bots with a distinct top/bottom as well as bots with more brittle construction that is vulnerable to the shock of hitting the floor, but they absolutely rely on being lower to the ground than their opponent and if they lose that they are in trouble.

Full body spinners have high damage output, possibly the best, but the design seems to have a major problem in that they almost always damage themselves on impact as well. And hitting the wall is almost a death sentence. A more durable bot can simply face smash into you and ram you into the wall.

Hammers is a cool idea, and in theory should do a lot of damage, but needing to wind up is a problem and its easy to design armor that can mitigate a hammer blow. A lot of the hammer bots should also redesign their weapons to be spikes so they have the smallest surface are for penetration too. Blacksmith should have a Pick and not a Hammer for example.

Crushers and Grippers are also strong, but this is more of a Control type robot than one that wins with a KO. So you need to be durable to last the full time, and hope you do enough "technical" damage to win on technicality.

 paulson games wrote:
I like the flame throwers. They don't tend to inflict much actual damage but they look awesome.

yeah, but thats because they are limited to propane fueled flamethrowers. if they allowed liquid fuel flamethrowers(IE: actual flamethrowers) they would be a legitimate, though probably OP, weapon. The liquid would stick to the target and actually have a good chance to reach vital components.





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 LordofHats wrote:
I
There was another show... was it Robot Wars? Whatever it was I liked it more than Battle Bots because there were obstacle courses and challenges that the robots had to pass that made design choices more interesting than just straight battling (though as I remember "bricks with wheels" were generally the most effective bots)

Its ok, but its got some problems with the setup.

First off, the announcer is sooooooooo annoying. He really distracts from the fight with the constant overdramatic narration.

Having 4 robots all go at each other is fun, but its a bit chaotic and hard to follow.

The arena hazards being more prominent is cool, though I think the Pit should be removed. Its too easy to just shove your opponent into it and win without really fighting. House Robots are cool. I actually wish they would have a "super heavy" weight class for bots that huge.

I had a little free time today (Wife at work, kids at grandma's, off work early). I decided to do a little parts sourcing, drafting, and brainstorming for a battlebot in the 1 or 3 pounds weight class.

I found out that many guys in these small classes are going to either 3D printing or CnC milling of aluminum for their main chassis. The 3D printed plastic seems a tad brittle for my tastes, and although the milled aluminum is tempting, it's too much money for what I want to invest, not to mention it almost seems like "cheating" with a pay to win button.

My idea is getting thick-walled 6-inch wide PVC pipe and precision cutting a 1.5 inch length. Effectively I want a hockey-puck shape that I can build my bot inside. It's cheap, easy to come buy, light, and relatively durable. Also, it's a continuous circle, so harder to grab and no weak-point corners.

For weapons, there will be the obligatory wedge/shovel on the back. On the front I had an idea, a drill. Smaller bots have things packed into them, very little dead space. Also very thin armor. If you can pierce the armor and have deep penetration you are almost guaranteed to hit something vital.
There is a "side cut" bit I'm interested in using. It looks like a normal drill bit, but once you drill down you can move laterally to make a cut. I figure this could work well enough.

 cuda1179 wrote:
Yeah, that happened. It was far less interesting than it was hyped to be. You can find it on youtube if so desired.

It was still pretty damn cool though, even if they obviously went easy on each other.
I used to have toy battlebots as a kid. Never really watched the show though.

I used to watch Battlebots back in the day, El Diablo was my bot of choice. I'll have to check out the new season if they actually made proper changes to classification.

I always wanted to build a bot, but the lack of space and money have always stopped me. Closes I came was we converted RC cars to have weapons when I was in my teens.

Yeah, I watch both.

And Duck totally got ripped off for the field of 16. Bombshell is out first round anyway… they facing Tombstone.

Made some progress on my 3 lbs design. I'm going to sacrifice a little effectiveness for a lot of awesomeness and ease of manufacture. I'm going to mount a medium sized RC helicopter motor to the front, and attach a 5-inch circular saw blade.

 helgrenze wrote:
Yeah, I watch both.

And Duck totally got ripped off for the field of 16. Bombshell is out first round anyway… they facing Tombstone.

I agree, Duck got screwed! I wanted to see Duck vs Tombstone.

 Crimson Devil wrote:

 helgrenze wrote:
Yeah, I watch both.

And Duck totally got ripped off for the field of 16. Bombshell is out first round anyway… they facing Tombstone.

I agree, Duck got screwed! I wanted to see Duck vs Tombstone.

Tombstone had some frame damage in an earlier fight. They welded it but I'm thinking that's a weak spot.
Duck has the highest durability so far this season, but a weak weapon. I think a ramplate special would give Tombstone trouble.

Bombshell doesn't stand a chance, though.

I'm excited to watch these. Had a lot of fun watching battle-bots in the past. Though it did seem like the drum robots were unstoppable - it was fun watching them destroy everything.

Being immune to being flipped on your back is the best attribute to have in these battles.

The first part of the battlebots 16 team single-elimination tourney is on right now! These fights are so good!!!

Slight spoiler comment so using brackets:

Just the semifinals and finals left - I think these last two episodes of Battlebots showing the "sweet 16" have been the best ever. Incredibly close fights, some awesome upsets, and just the highest level of competition I've ever seen.

Can't wait till the finals next week

My little not is making progress. I was happy to find out that all the parts I've been ordering have over stated their weight. That means more armor for my little bot.

Speaking of which, looks like I am changing things up. I'm switching to 3/16 thick Lexan laminated by Ultra high density polyurethane. Some areas will also have some aluminum.

You mentioned 1 or 3 pounds, what kind of weapon can something like that have

Although the tiny wedge bots several teams fielded in addition to their main robots this year were pretty darn effective!

He mentioned mounting a Circular saw blade. I imagine a tri or quad brush cutter blade would work too, but the motor needs to be able to handle the torque.

When I first looked this stuff up I was surprised that 1 or 3 pound robots could have effective destructive weapons. However, many do. There are even a handful of companies out there that are making ready-made bots and weapons packages.

Things like saw blades, spinner bars, beater bars, spinner drums, and vertical discs are all common. Hammers and picks, not so much. When you can get 25,000 RPM from a brushless motor onto an 8-ounce spinner, that's a LOT of kinetic energy.

Big fan of Battlebots here.

I enjoyed this season and the fact that my fav bot, the one I was cheering on the whole tournament cuz it looks so indestructible- Biteforce won it all.

 haiduk wrote:
Big fan of Battlebots here.

I enjoyed this season and the fact that my fav bot, the one I was cheering on the whole tournament cuz it looks so indestructible- Biteforce won it all.

Boo! I was rooting for Minotaur.

I like Minotaur a lot too. Great driver and relentless attack. Almost every bot that's faced him has ended up in flames by the end of the fight.

I'm trying to watch Battlebots as a long time Robot Wars fan, and I'm...finding it hard going. The American television format just doesn't do it so much for me. The two presenters wittering inanely on, the extended period of camera action between seeing the robots first in the ring to them actually starting the match, the guy jumping around in a ref outfit. You get the drift.

The robot fighting is decent (although I do miss the house bots and pit), and the team bios alright, but I find I'm actually skipping 2/3 of the episode runtime because I can't bear the attempts to try and make it seem like some sort of WWF series.

Yeah, I find the ring announcer to be more than a little bit over the top. The presenters are hit or miss for me. There is too much talking. With less of that we could have one more fight per episode. However, their commentary during the match is decent, and when something explodes, disintegrates, or gets major airtime their expressions are priceless. I kind of liked the 2016 season when they did a little more time in the pits showing how the teams fixed their bots between matches. I didn't even care if it was just a glorified commercial for some kind of giant shop equipment.

I like seeing a bit of banter in the pits. Far more than I do two blokes waving frenetically at a screen and talking like third rate baseball presenters. I'm there to see the bots and the people who drive them, after all.

Thing is, I get that there has to be some padding and filling. The robot fights just don't last long enough, and if you don't get to know the teams, you're far less invested. I always rooted for Thor, series in and out, because the operator was such a great sportsman. I liked the 'boy band' who built and drove Apollo, they had real charm. I could name a dozen robots and recognise their operators from the last four seasons of RW, and the same again from the old original series (love me some Razor/Hypnodisc/etc). You know? I like this stuff!

But I'm just finding it really hard to gel with Battlebots . There's just waaay too much hyperactive babbling from people trying to narrate it in an overly enthusiastic WWF fight way instead of actual content for my taste. I should note that I'm only a few episodes into 2015 right now. I'm hoping the format changes next series a bit; judging from what you said above.

I think that the 2015 season (or "series" for you on the other side of the pond) had some growing pains. Battlebots hadn't been on any kind of major network in 12 years, and now it was on a major network channel, ABC. They had to hype it.

I think the change from being on ABC to now being on the Discovery Channel has made the show better.