I am new to robotics, and need advice on how to build a robot that can throw a cube from far zone to far zone.
you should probably check out videos of robot reveals on the forum
As far as I see it, there are going to be 3 (dominant) types of robots:
- Dumper Bots. These bots will have large intakes, and will be able to put many stars or a cube into the Near Zone (or possibly the Far Zone, depending on your strength). Fast intake, but lower scoring per Object. See the 333X reveal for a good example.
- Catapult/Slinger Bots. These bots will intake one star or cube, and shoot it into the Far Zone, every time, all the time. Slower intake, but more consistent Far Zone. The only purely Catapult bot I can think of is maybe XLR8 or 929Y.
- Hybrid Bots. These are the compromise bots. They will be able to pick up 1 or 2 stars, and 1 cube, and put it in the Far Zone, most of the time. Medium speed intake, and medium scoring per Object. 8059D is a great example of a Hybrid Bot.
You may also see Wall Bots, but they will be too rare to design your robot around.
If you’re building a Dumper Bot (or a Hybrid Bot, but to a lesser extent) you need to think about the speed vs. size of your intake. Bigger intakes will obviously be slower than smaller intakes, but will be able to store more. If you’re going to build a dumper bot, make the intake big and fast, using as many motors as you reasonably could (4-6, or possible more, depending on Hang). If you’re building a Hybrid bot, I would advise you make a smaller intake, with something like a flipper at the end. If you’re building a catapult, make sure you can control the power of the catapult, because cubes are heavier than stars. Also, invest in Hanging, especially with catapult bots. If any of the competitions are any indication, being able to return objects and move quickly is vital. Catapult bots will be inherently slower at that, so being able to High Hang would be a big plus.
I would advise to pick one or two things, and do them extremely reliably and well. Something that will mesh well with other teams, like very fast return of Stars and Cubes. Maybe you could only put them in the Near Zone, but that’s OK; smart teams will be pushing objects into the Near Zone anyway, as they’re going towards the fence.
Speaking of picking one thing and doing it well, there will also be several things things you can do during the last 30 seconds of the match. Take these into account when designing your robot, and pick 1 or 2, and practice doing them well:
1. Hanging. If you’re doing this, I would advise that you only hang. A good hang will take 15-20 seconds to work fully, and missing out on Hanging when you could’ve will be bad for you. Only do High Hang! If you invest the motors, time, and programming to do Hang, going low is just a waste, because other teams will go High.
2. Driver Load Cube. This can only be entered in the last 30 seconds of the match. Make sure you can put this in the Far Zone, because other teams will have to pick between these options as well.
3. Push Objects to the Near Zone. This should probably be paired with 2, because of how they work together. This will halve the points of the game objects they have scored, and is a great way to have a last second lead shift.
Finally, some notes to remember when designing your Robot:
1. Score is only counted at the end of the match. A bot which can dump half of the objects in the last 10 seconds of the match will win against something that can only put something into the Far Zone at a rate of 1 per several seconds.
2. The only points set in stone are Autonomous Bonus and Hang. These points are worth more because of this
3. Remember APs. Autonomous scores are much more important to your ranking during Tournaments.
Good luck this season!
Is a high hang with a cube worth anything?
You get the 12 points for the high hang, and your opponent gets the 4 points for a cube in the far zone. Don’t try to hang with a cube or a star; you give your opponents points instead of scoring your own.
That’s what I thote.
Launching a cube while high hanging would give style points.
Yes, it wold.
What’s up with the tiebreakers?
Nothing, it was a joke referencing “Style Points” (which aren’t real!). The joke was specifically in tiebreaker level five of the picture I attached 
So if you get to tiebreaker 5 just launch a cube/star over the fence.
No, If you want style point launch a cube so fast it goes through the middle horizontal opening of the fence and get it in their far zone.
LOL:)