Ok thanks. On re-reading I think I get both your points. I
guess I was looking for more of a challenge here - seems like this a pretty
wimpy mission– all you basically have to do is push down to release the
wheel which is just outside of base (and make sure you didn’t put
anything in the way of its travel beforehand).
From: First Lego League
Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael
Blanpied
Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 7:36 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] Question on the "Test Levees" mission
Glenn,
I don't agree with your points 1 and 2. The point of the
mission is to give the storm a chance to batter the levees. Actions are
precluded if they prevent the storm from doing so. If the storm is a wimpy one
that rolls through a gap, that's the storm's fault, not the team's.
1. Ruling 17 says that the storm wheel must be allowed
to hit or miss the levees. If it rolls through a gap, then it has missed. At
that point it no longer matters whether it later coasts to a stop, hits the
wall, veers off down the table, or hits a strategic object.
2. Pre-existing levees are not strategic objects. Thus, the
storm is not "strategically blocked" if it hits a pre-existing levee.
(In fact, part of the point is that the storm likely WILL hit one of those
levees, in the absence of clever action on the part of the team, and may cost
the team five points in so doing. In that case the team gains 15 points for the
storm and loses 5 points for the fallen levee, a net gain of 10 points.)
And remember, when it comes to counting levee points, the
only thing that matters is which ones are standing, and on what color of low-lying
shore, at the end of the match. How the levees ended up there is completely up
to the team; since there's nothing said about that, anything goes, anything at
all.
Cheers,
Mike Blanpied
I'm still a bit unclear on the "test levees" mission and thought I'd get the opinion of this group. The mission description and latest rule updates (from the Q&A) are as follows:
Mission: See how levees survive when a storm approaches (activate the wheel-roller). The wheel must be allowed to roll freely until it either hits or misses the levees. The activation is worth 15 points whether the levees are hit or missed, but worth no points if the wheel is strategically blocked by anything other than released levees near or past the green shore.
RULING 17 - Levee Blocking 1
Nothing new here; just re-stating based on questions: 1) The storm wheel must be allowed to "hit or miss" levies, so the robot can't tamper with the thrower's operation (If I throw a baseball at the moon, of course it won't hit the moon, but did I miss? No!---My arm was too wimpy to give me the chance to miss), and 2) The only levee blocks allowed to block the wheel are those far enough away from the thrower as to be considered "near" the shores by the referee. Make them obviously closer than half way if you want a favorable call from the ref.
RULING 19 - Levee Blocking 2
A strategic object in the pink grid area is not a problem if the wheel never hits it. So if you're reinforcing your delivered levies with a strategic object, make sure the levies themselves are still what the storm would hit, and you'll be all set.
The question is on the interpretation of the phrase "worth no points if the wheel is strategically blocked by anything other than released levees". Here's how I interpret the rule.
1. The wheel rolls through a gap in the levees and is eventually stopped by the wall of the competition table: 0 Points, the wheel was blocked by something other than a "released levee" (but was it "strategically blocked" ??).
2. The wheel is blocked by one of the three pre-existing levees that were in place at the start of the round: 0 Points, the rule says only "released" levees are allowed to block it (I presume that means ones that the robot has placed there?).
3. The wheel coasts to a stop without running into anything: 15 Points.
If I understand the gist of this challenge, it's to "release" the levees in such a manner that they stop the "storm" (wheel).
Does this sound right??:
______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list". If you want to join the VADCFLL-ADMIN-L mailing list - to which FLL administrative announcements will be distributed - visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html and select "Join or leave the list".
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE
or CHANGE YOUR SUBSCRIPTION, please visit
https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave
the list". If you want to join the VADCFLL-ADMIN-L mailing list - to which
FLL administrative announcements will be distributed - visit
https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-admin-l.html and select "Join or
leave the list".