i am planning on watching the webcast of the kickoff and building my own robot to play this years game. although i dont have a FVC team to help or whatever, i still want to try on my own.
what site is the web cast on
i went directly to the FVC home at http://www.usfirst.org/vex/ 
This FVC challenge hopefully will be as much fun as last years challenge. Team 13…sorry 2013 (got to get used to that) will be more than happy to help any teams through email, questions, and forum posts. Also, you can PM me any question about FVC if you want.
BEST OF LUCK TO ALL FVC TEAMS FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON, and let the Vex be with you all. 
FYI…
There is no “webcast” of FVC kickoff. On Sept 13, there will be a web release of the game, its rules, and an animation at
http://www.usfirst.org/vex/resources/
thanks for the location url.
as for the game…
i think it is extremely similar to last years game 
this year you have to get larger and heavier balls (3.5" softballs) into upright goals. and the 30" diameter atlas (exercise) ball in the center needs to be taken onto your team’s side of the field. again, there is a bar that robots must reach up and lift themselves off the ground with. the only really cool thing this year is that the platform that the bar is attached to, it rotates, or at least that is what i got from the description. Overall, robot design are going to be almost exactly the same as last year just with bigger ball slots. i think FIRST could have tried a bit harder to make up a new game, instead of just making last year’s game a bit different.
I think the exact oppisite will occur; the robots that you see this year will be nothing like last year’s robots.
Raquetballs had a lot of friction, so using the tank treads was a great option. This year, softballs have a lot less friction (than a raquetball) in addition to a much greater mass, so they will be harder to move about with tank treads. I think we’ll be seeing much more claws, arms, and elevators this year.
I appluad the FVC GDC for such an awesome game. This game looks like it will be as diverse and fun as the 2004 FIRST Frenzy FRC game.
i guess you are right. i was thinking of trying to use the treads for this year, just to be able to pick up more balls. i am still not a very innovative engineer, so i dont think of new things easily.
Good luck on behalf of CircuitRunners and if you need any help please feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] and we will try our best to help you and respond promptly
here is the animation link:
http://www.vexrobotics.com/animation/index.shtml
everyone should watch it.
i give many bows to team 342 for their outstandinng work on this animation.
The KokoMandoes would like to wish all competing in the FVC game good luck, and if you need and assistance please let us know at [email protected] . We may construct a whole field for other teams in the county to use, if your in or around Kokomo, IN let us know and you can use the field once it’s built.3
-KL