MovieChat Forums > BattleBots (2015) Discussion > Battlebox needs new hazards

Battlebox needs new hazards


The old killsaws and the pulverizers just don't cut it anymore. We need flywheel-type spinners and super-pulverizers like Beta's hammer.

reply

I could definitely go with stronger pulverizers. I don't know if they should be on Beta's level, but they just don't really do much to 250 pound bots.

The pulverizer was was much more menacing when there was middle and lightweight classes. A pulverizer could do damage to a middleweight, and a lightweight was in serious trouble. More than one lightweight met their end under the hammers. :)

Make them more effective, but not lethal.


If you buy a ticket for a remake, you are the problem, not Hollywood.

reply

As I see it, the arena hazards shouldn't be much more than a nuisance. I much rather see a bot win by its own merit (both skill and design) than an "outside" force. I can't even count the number of times on Robot Wars when the weaker bot won because the better one accidentally drove into the pit.

reply

Or the better bot happens to "just" barely cross into a house bot's space and the house bot then goes after it. So the match ends up being determined by a house bot taking out the "violator" rather than the bots themselves.

I concur, hazards should stay as nuisances, but greylon is dead on about the pulverizer. I don't recall seeing it do much of anything this season except when an already damaged Ghost Raptor went underneath. Like he said, it shouldn't be lethal but should offer more than it does.

reply

I would also suggest rakes to swat for drones, but I'm biased on that one. ;)

Here's a thought for a hazard. How about a few floor plates that have pressure triggers? Call em "poppers." When a bot of X weight rolls over the plate, the whole plate pops upwards, enough to give a 200 pound bot a launch of several inches into the air. Not a lethal hazard, but it could loosen up a bot's internals, or a clever driver could use it to a possible defensive advantage. Just spit balling.

Also, the "Poppers" should be near the center of the arena, to avoid accidentally throwing a bot over a barrier and out of the fight. That'd be as bad as that lame pit on Robot Wars

If you buy a ticket for a remake, you are the problem, not Hollywood.

reply

They actually had these hazards in the earlier seasons but decided to get rid of them, since often times they got in the way of the fighting, and turned the arena into a giant obstacle course.

They had hellraisers (elevated plates), spike strips and ramrods (horizontal and vertical spikes), the spinner (circular discs on the floor), and the piston (which was a giant rod in the middle of the arena that launched the bots).

The pulverizers and killsaws used to KO the light and middleweights, but did little to nothing against the heavy and super heavyweights. Which is why they decided to tone down on how often the hazards were activated.

reply

screws are fine since they are more there as things to get stuck on/in than to actually do damage

the floor saws are fine because they can tip a bot off balance even if they dont do much damage

hammer is completely useless it needs a buff

reply

They should have drones for hazards. They are just as useless but add a rake and they become more entertaining. All hail the mighty rake.

reply

Well, I can see two good arguments being made. Either amp up the hazards, or get rid of them entirely.

In two seasons on ABC not once has a hazard defeated a bot. With the new scoring system favoring primary weapon damage, it would be rare if even possible to win a match by taking an opponent to a pulverizer. But do we want to see a bot win a fight this way? Would we prefer to have the bots deal 100% of the damage?

Running YouTube's Best Daily Vlog, Literally
https://www.youtube.com/user/VaughnJogVlog

reply

That is another thought, removal of some / all of the hazards. At the very least, I'd like the spike strips along the arena walls kept. They don't really do much, but I like the look. And keep the screws, but have them reshaped so a bot can't fall behind them and get stuck. It's a rare thing, but I've never really a fan been of that. Everything else is negotiable. :)



My signature is for sale. Reach out to dozens of people a year!

reply