In the 2018 rules found here (http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.php?15054-Robogames-2018-Mech-Warfare-Ruleset) it states that a medium robot carries 4 full size panels in one of the previous rulesets there was an option to split the front plate for 2 half-size plates. Is this still possible or does the new target panel system not support this design?
I was considering designing a robot that aimed by manipulating its body rather than by using a turret to reduce mechanical complexity, and could lower the center of gravity by running the gun and camera through a split front panel.
Yes… split front plate are allowed but for a matter of practicality we removed it from the 2019 rules set.
We had limited number of split target plates, so we were trying ensure that we had enough for any lite mechs in 2019
The target transponder is set up for 4 target plates. Having a dual split front means it needs to handle 5. We think we could run the dual plates off a single channel, but had never tested it, and time was running short prior to MFBA 2019 so we eliminated the rule.
No one at MFBA 2019 had requested dual front plates, so it was an easy decision to eliminate.
If you do intend to use dual front plates at an event RTeam is hosting, you just need to give us enough advance warning and we’ll add the rule back in.
As for designing a mech that aims with its body, that’s how I originally designed my mech '99. It does do a lot for keeping your c.g. low not having the big heavy turret up high on top. I was always intending to got to a split target plate design as well… but never got to it.
It works really great in AZ. I found that always walking the direction your shooting really helps on keeping a sense of direction and not getting lost. There’s also a cool down rule per target plate, so it tends to keep the front plate aligned with your enemy and not giving them multiple target plates to shoot at.
For EL it works OK. You’re limited in how much elevation you can achieve by the the length of your legs. Also for high elevations, it really shifts the c.g. and weight balance messing with the walk. I found if your fighting a tall mech, you couldn’t reliably aim/shoot at the same time. I would have to separate the two functions… aim at a high elevation, shoot, return to neutral, move, stop, return to high elevation, and so on. For mechs low to the ground, I had no issue.
In later incarnations of '99 and on my new mech GS Marauder, I still aim AZ with the body but have gone to a single axis turret for EL.
Malum IK aims with the body. It works fine! (This is why I added the “IK” moniker, FWIW.)
It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, though.
The gun has 5-10 mm clearance above the front target plate, and the front target plate has maybe 20 mm clearance from the ground while walking, and 5mm when sitting.