u/dptech3

I'm guessing no, but can you knock the pin or cup off the opponent robot, with a piston punch or just a piece of your robot sticking out more? When ramming the other robot on normal defense, I'd assume you could have a piece that sticks out more for that purpose.

Other question can you cover the hole for the cup or put with a piece sticking out from your robot. I suppose that would leave the other goals open, although it would be another option besides hitting the other robot.

The Reality: If you’re in college and want to learn "real" robotics, VEX shouldn't be your primary focus. You should be spending lab time on advanced projects that actually land you jobs. VEX U should be a part-time competitive sport, not a full-time academic burden.

My proposal to fix the meta:

• Embrace Constraints: We should stick to V5 limits. In the real world, engineering is about designing around strict limitations. Keeping the rules tighter makes it easier for students to stay competitive while still having time for other resume-building projects.
• Ditch the 2-Team Rule: Opening the field to smaller groups or individual hobbyists would cause the sport to explode in popularity.
• The eSports Pivot: VEX is a for-profit business; they should lean into an eSports model. Introduce prize money and better spectator production to bring in hobbyists and up the stakes.

Right now, the VEX U isn't that interesting to watch. Even with the "advanced" allowances, I honestly feel like top-tier high school teams could take most of these college teams down.

I'm a parent / psudo coach, just second year, but I really got into pushback and I mostly sit with the parents and they're always asking me what's going on or what the rules are.

I'm writing here because I think it does matter if the crowd is involved, cheers and even have spectators enjoy easy to understand features of the robots. Vs FRC where it looks like everyone is silent and doesn't know what's going on. I've tried to watch some FRC, I really tried.

Some key points, It was very easy to say to people watching for the first time, "Whoever gets the most balls in the plastic goals wins". That was enough for the parents to cheer, watch and get entertainment value from it and to want to come again, vs dropping the kid off and coming back at the end of the day. Pushing balls the goal was very satisfying to watch, and de-scoring a whole long goal was very dramatic for the crowd.

I think Luke DR recent video with the high school winner is very interesting, mentioning how the game strategy changed as the season went on, and the game is really like a chess match at the end. So it has a shallow and deep value.

I would love for this game to an actual platform game not those simulators. It would be great if there was some way to extend pushback professionally, like pro-gamers, but I don't think it's possible.

That makes me question Override. I think the spectators will be quiet the whole match. There doesn't seem to be any defense until the end. When another parent asks me in the crowd what the rules are, I'm not sure what I'll say, maybe I need to ask AI to come up with a sentence. It probably will be fun to design the robot, turn the pins and use sensors, but I think it's missing the sporting aspect of it. That said, I didn't like pushback when it came out as I thought all the goals would break