Author Topic: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023  (Read 2477 times)

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Offline Chino

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Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« on: January 03, 2023, 06:34:04 AM »
No fight card for episode 1 yet, what gives?! 

Any interest in guessing match outcomes week-to-week and declaring a winner at the end of the season? I already keep a book for other groups during the season. it would be no trouble.


Offline Grappler

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2023, 07:03:00 AM »
I'm looking forward to it - I watch the show with my 5 year old son.  Kraken is his favorite, so Santa got him this t-shirt for Christmas.   ;)


Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2023, 07:36:21 AM »
Has he seen the new Kraken? They've evolved into a hammer/crusher saw.

I'm a big fan of the team and can't wait to see how they perform this year!


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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2023, 08:14:47 AM »
No, we haven't seen that yet.  He always liked Kraken because of the big teeth, but maybe this new version will be more successful.  At least it's fun to share watching the show with him while he's so young. 

Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2023, 07:55:05 AM »
Episode 1 fight card has been released!



I'm going with: 

Witch Doctor v. Ribbot
This will be a great fight to start the season. I'm expecting Ribbot to run their undercutter since Witch Doctor doesn't use forks, and I'm guessing they'll go for about 2 to 2.5 minutes before WD eats their tires.

Capt Shred v. Quantum
Capt Shred has too many reliability issues and Quantum is a tank. Capt Shred is the perfect size for Quantum's jaws and I'm thinking it gets 3 or 4 good holes in it by the match's end. I'm not sure whether Quantum goes with their twin tooth or single tooth config. I'm think the twin setup for this one.

Gruff v. Ripperoni
Riperroni's first fight in the big show. I've been following this team a bit and cant wait to see what they bring to the table. Gruff is one of the most durable bots in the field and very hard to knock out. I think they'll beat Rip with experience and brute force. This one might go to the judges with Ripperoni hobbling along.

Shatter v. HUGE
This will be entertaining as all hell., Shatter! can't really damage HUGE, and HUGE is going to have a had time making contact with Shatter's main body, I think. I think this one will go the full three minutes with Shatter! losing an arm in the process.

Glitch v. Riptide
Glitch went 4-0 in their rookie season despite having drive issues. If the team has sorted that out, they're going to be a really tough opponent this year. Riptide is a great bot too, but that egg beater up front is going to have a hard time connecting with Glitch's shape.

Gigabyte v. Free Shipping
Two teams with decades of experience. Free Shipping is an all new design this year and finally went the way of a vert. This match will go to the judges, and I think it could go either way. I chose Gigabyte simply because their design is battle tested and proved. Free Shipping my have first-season growing pains.

Minotaur v. Tantrum
This fight is going to be awesome. Another potential judges' decision as well. I don't think Tantrum can knock out Minotaur, and I don't think its weapon will survive a head-to-head hit with Minotaur's drum.


I'm so happy the show is back!
« Last Edit: January 04, 2023, 08:17:06 AM by Chino »

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2023, 08:05:14 AM »
Damn... about time.  They've been re-airing the 2020 tourney for the past 2 months, so I'm glad the new season is here.
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I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2023, 09:48:43 AM »
Have you guys been watching the new season?

Can't believe Will Bales made such a dumb mistake in his match against Riptide. Although Riptide's captain is a certified douche-canoe, it's a killer machine, and it would have been nice to actually see it tested in that match.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2023, 09:54:51 AM »
Have you guys been watching the new season?

Can't believe Will Bales made such a dumb mistake in his match against Riptide. Although Riptide's captain is a certified douche-canoe, it's a killer machine, and it would have been nice to actually see it tested in that match.

Agreed on all comments.  Every week there's been some really good matches, and some veritable duds.  Was bummed to see End Game go down.  Malice put up a good start to the fight against Minotaur.  Ribbot/Black Dragon was a great fight.  Huge fought very strategically in turning its weapon off once Madcatter lost their weapon.  Very smart move.

jingle.son and I laughed our assess off when Fusion caught fire after 8 seconds in Round 1. 

That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2023, 10:14:28 AM »
I've watched every episode. 6 of us have a weekly viewing party where we've kept records in a ledger with our scores for the entirety of the season.

I've got HUGE winning my bracket and ultimately being the one to beat Riptide. I really didn't expect Hypershock to go down that easily. I didn't expect them to win, but they came apart like a paint can getting thrown into a chain saw. As much as I dislike Ethan, his dad, and that 250lb ripoff of Lynx, I have to give the machine credit. It's vicious and well driven. I haven't seen anything this untouchable since Paul retired Biteforce.

Also, in regards to the HUGE vs Mad Catter fight... MC did way more damage to the wheels than I was expecting them too. I think that might be the most damage we've seen on HUGE from a vert yet!
« Last Edit: May 23, 2023, 11:03:32 AM by Chino »

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #9 on: May 23, 2023, 12:45:52 PM »
Generally speaking, I just feel great for Huge this season. Great to see that design coming together and working correctly.

I think many of the duds this year were from the "we're testing them out for next season bracket", so I kinda look at those as bonus fights and don't get too made about them.

Also, I love everything about Ripperoni. I think they're the obvious rookie of the year, but beyond that, fun team, new design, working well, just a great start to things for them.

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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #10 on: May 23, 2023, 12:58:10 PM »
Generally speaking, I just feel great for Huge this season. Great to see that design coming together and working correctly.

I think many of the duds this year were from the "we're testing them out for next season bracket", so I kinda look at those as bonus fights and don't get too made about them.

Also, I love everything about Ripperoni. I think they're the obvious rookie of the year, but beyond that, fun team, new design, working well, just a great start to things for them.

Oh, those NXT fights were terrible (I seem to recall one that was marginally ok).  I fast forwarded through most of them.  There were still a lot of fights and (main card) bots that were duds as well - at least one a week on average.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #11 on: May 23, 2023, 01:40:06 PM »
Generally speaking, I just feel great for Huge this season. Great to see that design coming together and working correctly.

I think many of the duds this year were from the "we're testing them out for next season bracket", so I kinda look at those as bonus fights and don't get too made about them.

Also, I love everything about Ripperoni. I think they're the obvious rookie of the year, but beyond that, fun team, new design, working well, just a great start to things for them.

Same! What a hitter. Reminds me a bit of Upper Cut. Anna's got a 30lb version called Lil' Rip that she fought with at NHRL's event in May. I met her and a handful of other drivers, and she signed my ledger next to one of her wins from this season. I got their signatures as well. It's great fun.

Here's me with Duck! in the Bot Museum:


They've got a whole bunch of machines in there. Off the top of my head:
- Ribbot
- Overhaul
- Deep Six
- SMEEEEEEE
- Valkyrie
- Red Devil
- Tantrum
- Mammoth
-.... and a bunch more I can't remember at the moment.

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2023, 09:36:27 AM »
Very cool! Where is that?
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Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2023, 09:59:34 AM »
Very cool! Where is that?

Norwalk CT.   

Some guy named Austin McChord sold a data company he founded for millions and still sits on the board. He started the NHRL as a "fuck you money" project years ago, and it's done nothing but grow in popularity since. You'll see "NHRL" on a few of the Battlebots teams' jerseys (Shatter, Tantrum, etc) as an official sponsor. They're in their third building now and looking to expand yet again. They host 7 or 8 events per year that are open to the public for $15 all-day passes ($50 for VIP).   

They have six 3lb arenas and two larger arenas where the 12 and 30 pound bots fight, with enough room on the second floor for a few hundred teams to set up their pits. There's a cocktail bar, a brewery comes in, a bunch of food trucks show up, and every event is professionally broadcasted by some team that controls what's on air for F1 whenever there's a race. The guy pulled out all the stops, and from what I gather, his plan is to take the show on the road in the months when there isn't an event in Norwalk.

The June event is always a two-day event (normally they're just on Saturdays) and will be live on their Youtube channel all day, both days. It's an incredibly legit operation and I'm beyond spoiled to have such a facility within 45 minutes from me.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2023, 11:00:12 AM by Chino »

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #14 on: May 24, 2023, 10:56:47 AM »
Oh man, that's awesome, will definitely be including that on whenever I get up that way next.
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Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #15 on: May 24, 2023, 11:10:50 AM »
Oh man, that's awesome, will definitely be including that on whenever I get up that way next.

If the scheduling lines up, I'd highly recommend! We'd almost certainly cross paths down there. The August event is on the 12th, September's in on the 30th, and the world championships are on Nov 11.   

One really cool thing about this league is that the rules are way looser (not to be confused with less safe). Fire and accelerants are encouraged. In March, there was was a 30lb bot there that had a backwards facing jet engine (from an RC plane) as its primary weapon. It'd literally just pin their opponent in the corner and throttle up. It was awesome. 

They also have house bots (The Bricks) that will help get matches to the 3:00 mark. Each driver gets one "unstick" per match if they call for one. I didn't like the idea at first, but it's grown on me. The arenas have a lot more wood in them than steel, so it's easier to get lodged/stuck. This balances that a bit and doesn't dick over Teams that traveled hundreds of miles to compete.

You'll also see a bunch of the Battlebots teams there testing out 3, 12, and 30lb versions of potential future heavyweights. A lot of those teams (Malice, Tantrum, Overhaul, Blood Sport, Sawblaze) go to Norwalk to test out new ideas and designs before committing the $20K+ to build a 250lb version. It's weird how it works out sometimes though. Shreddit Bro absolutely demolished the 3lb category when it first hit the scene. Yet when it was scaled up to the 250lb version we saw on Battlebots, it didn't perform well at all.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2023, 11:41:08 AM by Chino »

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #16 on: May 24, 2023, 11:25:25 AM »
The Aug. 12 date is out, but I am going to try and talk Jennie into the June, September, or November events.
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Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #17 on: May 24, 2023, 11:45:08 AM »
The Aug. 12 date is out, but I am going to try and talk Jennie into the June, September, or November events.

Sweet! If you find yourself looking at tickets, I'd highly recommend splurging for the VIP upgrade. It's $35 more, but you get exclusive seating for the 12 and 30 pound arenas, free snacks and drinks all day, a tour of the pits upstairs, and a 25% off coupon to the on-site and online store.   

Tickets do go fast sometimes. It wouldn't hurt to order them ahead of time if you know you'll be heading there.

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #18 on: May 24, 2023, 01:41:03 PM »
The Aug. 12 date is out, but I am going to try and talk Jennie into the June, September, or November events.

Sweet! If you find yourself looking at tickets, I'd highly recommend splurging for the VIP upgrade. It's $35 more, but you get exclusive seating for the 12 and 30 pound arenas, free snacks and drinks all day, a tour of the pits upstairs, and a 25% off coupon to the on-site and online store.   

Tickets do go fast sometimes. It wouldn't hurt to order them ahead of time if you know you'll be heading there.

Yeah, will definitely do VIP if we do it. Assuming Jennie bites I'll order tickets this week.
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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #19 on: May 26, 2023, 08:30:52 AM »
What a finals night! The 1-2-3-4 seeds all going down in the same round was insane. Not only were they numerical upsets, but they all felt like David over Goliath. With Sawblaze v. Huge it's so difficult to root either way, wanted both to win.

And we're going to the June 24-25 event in Connecticut. :D
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #20 on: May 27, 2023, 05:01:01 AM »
Sawblaze/Minotaur was a great opener.  Most of the fights that went to the judges were easy to call, even though they were close.

With Sawblaze v. Huge it's so difficult to root either way, wanted both to win.

Agreed.  I was not going to be upset either way.

Before the Ribbot/Hydra fight, I said to jingle.son 'can you imagine if it's a Huge/Hydra final, and Jake pulls out that cow-catcher apparatus again'.  We just started laughing - what a terrible final fight that would have been (although, jingle.son was kinda hoping for it).
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
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Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #21 on: June 08, 2023, 08:44:03 AM »
Sawblaze/Minotaur was a great opener.  Most of the fights that went to the judges were easy to call, even though they were close.

With Sawblaze v. Huge it's so difficult to root either way, wanted both to win.

Agreed.  I was not going to be upset either way.

Before the Ribbot/Hydra fight, I said to jingle.son 'can you imagine if it's a Huge/Hydra final, and Jake pulls out that cow-catcher apparatus again'.  We just started laughing - what a terrible final fight that would have been (although, jingle.son was kinda hoping for it).

I would have gone ballistic  :lol I guessed the finals correct on this year's bracket, but I had HUGE beating Sawblaze :/

Speaking of Hydra and the Ewarts. I wonder if Fusion will be back next season. It's had a few tries now, and it just might not be a viable design. They are cramming the electronics for 2 full-sized weapons into a body that's smaller than your average machine. There's just way too much heat crammed into a tiny compartment. I think I've read that they use something like 12, 3C 5000mah RC batteries for their weapons. That's insanity.

I would like to see Reese enter a crusher alongside Jake's Hydra. Jake said on a podcast that the downstroke force of Hydra's flipper is something like 700lbs. It got me thinking about how nasty a crusher that used a reverse version of Hydra's flipping mechanism would be. Something along the lines of the power of quantum but with teeth that come down at the speed that Hydra flips.

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #22 on: June 08, 2023, 11:03:54 AM »
Honestly, it's super impressive that you even guessed that final.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #23 on: June 08, 2023, 11:53:49 AM »
Honestly, it's super impressive that you even guessed that final.

Very.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline Chino

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #24 on: June 08, 2023, 12:17:58 PM »
I originally had Cobalt and HUGE in the finals and changed it to have Sawblaze heading there instead.

Speaking of Cobalt, I think that bot needs a serious redesign. It's clearly showing its age and needs to adapt. Back in the day, before the ground/fork game became the highest priority for most teams, Cobalt would just sail under its opponents and tear open their bellies. It can't get under bots like that anymore because they're too low. They need to move the disc forward like Death Roll's to have any chance in future seasons. That's my $0.02 at least.


My Friday nights are so boring now. For the last 4-5 months we had friends over every weekend for viewing parties. Now we just sit around, drink, and eat meat like a bunch of degenerates. 

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Re: Battlebots Season VII - Begins 1/5/2023
« Reply #25 on: June 08, 2023, 02:35:17 PM »
If that's being a degenerate, I wouldn't want to be respectable.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion