We had a successful Kickstart on Saturday and it was great to see the excited teams getting familiar with our kit.
Our game this year, Caldera, challenges teams to control scoring zones with tokens while navigating an arena with raised platforms. Twenty-five scoring zones are arranged in a grid, varying in value from two points for each of the outermost 16, a ring of eight on a raised “volcano” worth seven points apiece, to the the central “caldera” which is worth thirty points.
Teams can claim one of the scoring zones by placing more of their tokens in it than any opposing team. Additionally the value of any scoring zone can be multiplied by careful position of the robot at the end of the match. Full details, including the prizes available this year, are available in the rulebook.
We’ve already seen the teams come up with some innovative solutions and it’s going to be interesting to see how they develop.
All competitors should now have user accounts for our website. This includes our IDE for teams to write their code in. This also includes our forums which are a great place to brainstorm with other teams and discuss any problems which you run into.
(See our docs if you are not able to log in.)
If you weren’t able to attend Kickstart this year, or would like a recap, you can download:
- The presentation in which we explain this year’s game and how the competition is running this year.
- The microgames which are small activities designed to let you become familiar with the Student Robotics kit.