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The Monsterworks
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The CBC Gazette

Post by The Monsterworks » Sat Nov 19, 2016 2:41 am

With the group stage of the tournament finally reaching its halfway point, now's a good time to stop and look back at what's happened so far and look forward to where things might be going. We'll take a look at the weight classes by group, at preliminary impressions of the arenas, at particularly memorable moments, and at the outlook for the twenty-four teams entered.

<big>Superheavyweight</big>

ARC's largest weight class has so proven to be a strong one and has played largely to per-tournament expectations. While it lacks a clear, dominant favourite, a number of robots have emerged as contenders, most from expected places and and a few from those less expected.

Early Favourites: Ceres, Atomic Doom Steelvor

Group A

Going in, the big story was the meeting of the two snake robots, Euphoberia Ferox and Red Snake of Death. The number one seed, Team Covenant's Ceres has largely flown under the radar, but has so far been utterly dominant, though it has yet to face either of the snakes. In general, this has proved to be a really strong group, with all machines still having a shot at qualification with the exception of North-West Sheds' hapless novelty machine TAT.

Prediction: Ceres, Elios, Euphoberia Ferox

Group B

Group B was tabbed to be dominated by a pair of bricks, Bonzi Buddy and Lifter 2. However, the unexpected stars have been Angry Goat Robotics' experimental clusterbot The 4 Elements and the unheralded XIII by relative newcomer Team Stealth Robotics. The somewhat underpowered hammer of Uridium has failed to make an impact, and a fatal design flaw has frustrated the efforts of Lifter 2. Aside from the first spot, which The 4 Elements seems to have a stranglehold on, this one's wide open.

Prediction: The 4 Elements, Bonzi Buddy, XIII

Group C

This was always going to be a tough one, what with four downright scary spinners, and the tough and versatile YOU DIED. However, the unexpected king of the group has been Team Mongoose's traditionally very average Viluy II, which has taken advantage of tactical stumbled by its more heralded opponents to secure itself a playoff spot. Oryx Robotics Group's Sleeper Stimulant, meanwhile has struggled with mechanical issues and some uninspired driving, but retains a chance of qualifying. Team V-Raptor's novel Stevomobile has unfortunately proven to be a non-factor.

Prediction: Viluy II, YOU DIED, Noise (Through the Apartment Wall)

Group D

If ever there was a group that went according to seeding, it would be this one. The two seed, Team Ignition's Atomic Doom has been utterly dominant, as has team TBR's sturdy British-style flipper Steelvor. The two are on a clear collision course for the top spot and the bye that it affords. Scrapping it out for the final playoff berth are Alpha Robotics' cumbersome but deadly walking shell spinner Endgame and the normally highly successful Team Blood Gulch's perennial underachiever It. FRR playoff qualifier Pegasus Device has struggled to bring its control-based design to bear in a group with so many powerful spinners and superior drive trains.

Prediction: Atomic Doom, Steelvor, Endgame

<big>Heavyweight</big>

In a nutshell, this weight class has proven to be extremely competitive so far and full of terrifying weapons. Yet, it might not be the big hitters who shine in the long run.

Early Favourites: Broken Ghost, Turbolulz, 36, Pallas

Group A

Going in, this group was highly anticipated because it featured a meeting between robots from three of ARC's top teams: Team Mongoose's vertical thwack Broken Ghost, Team Covenant's clamper Pallas, and Team Blood Gulch's experimental lifter Baron K. Roolenstien. Unsurprisingly, despite a spirited challenge from Team Stealth's tombclone Death Metal, they have dominated proceedings so far, with Pallas claiming the first scalp in a tense affair against the Baron. It will be an uphill battle for anybody else to escape this group.

Prediction: Pallas, Broken Ghost, Baron K. Roolenstien

Group B

Early on, this looked like Hellfire's group to lose. Unfortunately, the team Vertigo machine suffered from a foreboding mechanical failure in a crushing defeat to the awkward but dangerous walking spinner Kamikaze Crab Killer from the lightly regarded Team Crustacean. Playzooki's solid flipper, Morbid, has looked likely, but the real beneficiary has been Team Ignition's 80s themed spinner Starstruck, which currently sits atop this wide-open group. At the opposite end of the spectrum, perennial also-rans Catcher in the Rye and Reggie have failed to make an impact. Really, a lot depends on whether Hellfire can manage to rectify its recent, unexpected issues.

Prediction: Morbid, Starstruck, Kamikaze Crab Killer

Group C

Of all of the groups in all of CBC's weight classes, this may well be the most interesting and wide open one. Chaotic Robotics' terrifying melty-brain / horizontal spinner hybrid Turbolulz is an obvious pick to make it through, despite a loss to the high-powered flipper of IceCubed Robotics' Terminal Velocity Classic. Oryx Robotics Group's slipper counterpuncher Smilodon has struggled with mechanical issues as well as a shock upset loss to Alpha Robotics' lightly regarded clamper Book of Carnage. Team Instant Regret's novel gyroscopic precession spinner Funerary Precession has looked downright terrifying, despite a minor hiccup due to uncharged batteries in its last fight, and Team 57's Bass Drop II is looking to follow up its namesake's playoff run in this summer's Reckoning: Extinction tournament. With six quality robots, this really is anyone's game.

Prediction: Turbolulz, Funerary Precession, Terminal Velocity Classic

Group D

A group that features three walkers is never a good thing for ARC, but this one has nonetheless proven rather entertaining. While consistent mechanical failures and design oversights have scuttled the chances of Team V-Raptor's FN2, Angry Goat Robotics' murderous vertical spinner 36 and The Monsterworks' ridiculous and terrifying walking fortress Bastille have shot to the top with undefeated records, staving off strong challenges from Team yellow Alert's KE-transfer spinner/puncher Gamma Ray and Team Obscure's strafing flipper Sheol. The final two rounds will determine who will join the two walkers in the playoffs.

Prediction: Bastille, 36, Gamma Ray

<big>Middleweight</big>

This may be the strongest division in the tournament, and features a large number of control-based and hybrid designs. While some high seeds have been dominant so far, others have struggled with difficult draws and unconventional opponents.

Early Favourites: Ultraviolence, Harbinger, Seadevil, Crash Blossom, Visual Assault

Group A

It has reached the point in this group where any match involving the number one seed, Team Covenant's Ultraviolence, feels like a mere formality. The terrifying melty/hs hybrid has steamrolled all opposition with ease and looks virtually unstoppable, though Team Stealth's rugged Circuit Breaker at least made it break a figurative sweat. Fighting for the remaining playoff spots are the aforementioned Circuit Breaker, Team Vertigo's typically unreliable but dangerous Atom, and Oryx Robotics Group's nippy flipper Bunker Buster. Consistent mechanical issues have unfortunately taken Team Pesky Robotechnics' Brittitania out of contention, while a lacking wedge and poor drivetrain have scuttled the chances of North-West Sheds' KE transfer bot Galileo's Voyager.

Prediction: Ultraviolence, Circuit Breaker, Bunker Buster

Group B

Since day one, tag team partners Crash Blossom (Team Mongoose) and Seadevil (The Monsterworks) have been on a collision course for the bye in this group. With only occasional wobbles, both machines have looked very strong in dispatching capable opposition. Meanwhile, Team Obscure's drum spinner Thallium, Team Instant Regret's vertical spinner Sekhmet, and Alpha Robotics' dual flipper Flip City Remix are in a dogfight for the final playoff spot.

Prediction: Crash Blossom, Seadevil, Thallium

Group C

This is a good group with a good deal of variety, but it's ultimately Harbinger's (Team Blood Gulch) to lose. So far, opponents have proven summarily unable to deal with its blistering speed and a solution does not seem to be in the offing anytime soon. Beyond the prohibitive favourite, four solid machines - Team Yellow Alert's Rake Against the Machine, playzooki's Hugh Mungus, IceCubed Robotics' Rainbow in the Dark, and Team 57's Remi II are vying for the remaining two spots.

Prediction: Harbinger, Rake Against the Machine, Hugh Mungus

Group D

Going in this appeared to be a relative cakewalk for the number two seed, Angry Goat Robotics' fast, tough Visual Assault. However, a strong challenge from Team Ignition's clamper ThrashCoil and surprising performance from the fifteen seed, Chaotic Robotics' DJ Dus-T, has thrown the expected order into chaos. Meanwhile, Team TBR's walking axe-bot, Precise Saunter has struggled with its faster opponents, Team Toxic's DUDE has suffered persistent mechanical failures, and Team Crustacean's eight-part cluster Krill Swarm has proven game but generally outmatched.

Prediction: DJ Dus-T, Visual Assault, Thrashcoil

<big>Lightweight</big>

Coming soon&#33;

<big>Featherweight</big>

Coming soon&#33;
Mastodon... Extinction (HW)
Osiris... Armageddon! (MW)
Elrathia... ROBOTS (LW)
Magnolia Pico... Ruination 4 (MW)
RipTide... ROBOT2 (FW)
Black Diamond... Cherry Bomb Classic 3 (HW)
MADSCIENCE... ROBOTS 3 (LW)
Abyss... ROBOTS 3 (MW)


The Monsterworks: 214-57 (.790) ...Probably up to no good.
Cherry Bomb Classic IV: 25-4
Finishing Move: 6-2
Magnolia Pico: 6-1
Magnolia Grande: 6-1
Glacier III: 7-0
ROBOTS 3: 21-6
Sixpounder: 3-4
MADSCIENCE: 9-1 Champion!
Abyss: 9-1 Champion!

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The Monsterworks
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The CBC Gazette

Post by The Monsterworks » Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:40 pm

Going into the final round of the group stage, let's stop to take a look at where the twenty-four teams entered in CBC stand. For the hell of it, let's give them letter grades too.

Alpha Robotics: This team came in with low expectations, and there certainly were some lowlights and unforeseen design flaws. By and large, though, it has performed well above pre-tournament predictions, with four of its machines in contention for playoff spots and one (Endgame) with a shot at a bye.

Grade: A-

Angry_Goat_Robotics: Going in, Gabe caught a bit of flak for the aggressively wedgey nature of some of his designs, but there was never any doubt that his team was one of the absolute favourites. Four rounds in, and all of his designs (even the experimental 4 Elements) have lived up to expectations, booking playoff spots and contending for byes. If a couple of them have been unspectacular, they've at least been solid and consistent.

Grade: A-

Chaotic Robotics: Brad's team was always expected to contend, especially the deathspinners Turbolulz and Red Snake of Death. The roaring start that it got off to seemed to confirm that. However, the two terrifying spinners have actually stumbled, and both could still fail to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, his lighter and less heralded designs have gone undefeated, especially the much-overlooked DJ Dus-T.

Grade: B+

IceCubed Robotics: It's no secret that Alex V is a planner. He's meticulous, from his renders to his match strategies. Perhaps that was why he was a bit apprehensive at the start of the tournament. Most of his robots seemed at least somewhat outgunned. Yet, for all of his apprehension, they have performed decently, if not spectacularly, with the exception of the Featherweight one seed, Torque Dirty 2 Me. All five are in contention for playoff spots, with one fighting for a bye this week.

Grade: B-

North-West Sheds: This tournament was always going to be rough on the first-time entrant, and it has lived up to expectations. Unfortunately, the fast, plow-stacking Sleipnir hasn't, along with the awkwardly shaped Galileo's Voyager. If there's a bright spot, it's the melty-brain spinner Tyrian, which could yet find itself in the playoffs with a win in its final fight.

Grade: C-

Oryx Robotics Group: A few forfeits and uninspired strategies have cost this eleventh-hour entry, and a couple of seemingly strong designs have underwhelmed. However, by and large, ORC has performed solidly, with four of its five machines in the mix for playoff spots.

Grade: B

Team 57: Zach's tournament has been a story of opposites. While his larger robots have struggled to make headway in their groups due to tough draws and design flaws, his smaller ones - Neon Rainbow and Tidal Wave II - have been star performers. They fight, this week, for playoff byes. Go figure.

Grade: B

Team Blood Gulch: One of ARC's top teams going into the tournament, Josh's roster fell prey to the growing competitiveness of the field as people began to take CBC more seriously. As a result, his strong Featherweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight have been dragging a good deal of deadweight along with them and he currently has only three bots qualified for the playoffs. At least Harbinger will probably get a bye.

Grade: D+

Team Cardboard Pony: Generally a minnow, Pat's stable has performed about as expected, gaining a handful of wins (mainly by forfeit), but missing out on the playoffs. In particular, Pegasus Device, a former playoff machine, has stood out as a disappointment, as has the decently seeded Jaws.

Grade: C+

Team Covenant: Kody's reputation alone can carry robots to high seedings, whether they deserve them or not. Unsurprisingly, Covenant entered this tournament as an absolute favourite, despite a number of experimental designs. Four of them have performed magnificently, currently fighting for byes. The fifth? Well, we don't talk about that one. It was a noble attempt.

Grade: B

Team Crustacean: Did anyone expect Steven's team to do much of anything? The obvious answer, going in, was 'no', and this wasn't helped by a series of early forfeit losses. However, the team's Heavyweight deathspinner, Kamikaze Crab Killer, has surprised and somewhat impressed. It's fighting for a playoff spot this week&#33;

Grade: B+

Team Ignition: One of the more heralded teams entering CBC, Ignition was expected to do well, and mostly hasn't disappointed. Aside from an unexpected hiccup in the form of a few forfeits, Dylan's roster has performed admirably, all five machines currently sitting in playoff position.

Grade: A-

Team Instant Regret: A great number of experimental designs and a failure to take the nature of the arenas into account pre-tournament has led to mixed results for this generally solid team. While Superheavyweight YOU DIED and Heavyweight Funerary Precession (despite two forfeits) have soared, results have been mixed among the lighter weights, though all five machines from this team could still technically qualify.

Grade: B

Team Mongoose: Nick was one of the top-tier favourites going in. That said, he has outperformed even those lofty expectations. With nineteen wins and only one loss, not only have all of his bots booked their playoff spots, they're all fighting for byes. Yep. Team Mongoose has been that dominant.

Grade: A+

Team Obscure: Bastien's run both leading up to and during the tournament has been the usual emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows, with big upset wins and disappointing losses alike. While not a single one of his machines has locked up a playoff spot, four of them have a chance this week.

Grade: B

Team Pesky Robotechnics: Coming out nowhere, with a series of novel (if questionable) designs, this team came in with low expectations and looked, early on, like it might exceed them. Superheavyweight Lawnmower, in particular, looked dangerous, as did Lightweight Aerial Annihilation. Then came the forfeits, and Team Pesky disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as it had appeared.

Grade: F

Team Playzooki: You can recognize a playzooki bot almost instantly. It's low, has side skirts, and a very (maybe too?) succinct strategy. Four of the five have performed reasonably well and are currently either fighting for a playoff spot or already in. Bolt Thrower, however, ended up falling pretty low on the Killchain. I guess you can't win 'em all.

Grade: B+

Team Stealth: Another newcomer, Stealth struggled to get its entries in on time, and that shows in the inconsistent quality of its machines and their inconsistent performances. Nonetheless, as a comparatively green outfit, it still has 3/5 robots in contention for the playoffs, which is quite a solid start.

Grade: B

Team TBR: TBR has always been tough to pin down. Some of its machines are absolute stars, making deep runs and winning titles. Others fall miserably flat. The current team has gone about half-half, with Steelvor and Chewer performing like stars, Mecha-mouse and Laceration falling flat, and Precise Saunter being mildly disappointing.

Grade: B

Team Toxic: There were a few designs that this long-time also-ran had that were set to do quite well. Then Adam moved away to the woods and that was that.

Grade: F

Team Vertigo: The other Scottish team looked set for a solid run at this tournament, despite some difficult draws. Its machines were consistently quality. Then, as Team Vertigo is wont to do, it packed up and left.

Grade: F

Team V-Raptor: A first-time entrant, V-Raptor's designs were always likely to struggle due to their highly experimental, borderline novelty nature. However, quitting the tournament sealed their fate.

Grade: F

Team Yellow Alert: Nick is always a contender, largely since he cares little for convention. It's shown in his audacious and very successful designs, and while he hasn't been dominant this time around, he has five machines in playoff position with three of them fighting for byes. There's no knocking that.

Grade: A-

The Monsterworks: The final newcomer, this 'ridiculous and terrifying' roster has largely lived up to its name, with even its more absurd designs performing strongly. Five playoff spots booked, and three byes on the line. This has been a very strong opening tournament at ARC.

Grade: A
Last edited by The Monsterworks on Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mastodon... Extinction (HW)
Osiris... Armageddon! (MW)
Elrathia... ROBOTS (LW)
Magnolia Pico... Ruination 4 (MW)
RipTide... ROBOT2 (FW)
Black Diamond... Cherry Bomb Classic 3 (HW)
MADSCIENCE... ROBOTS 3 (LW)
Abyss... ROBOTS 3 (MW)


The Monsterworks: 214-57 (.790) ...Probably up to no good.
Cherry Bomb Classic IV: 25-4
Finishing Move: 6-2
Magnolia Pico: 6-1
Magnolia Grande: 6-1
Glacier III: 7-0
ROBOTS 3: 21-6
Sixpounder: 3-4
MADSCIENCE: 9-1 Champion!
Abyss: 9-1 Champion!

Mystic2000
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Location: France
Team: Myst Inc

The CBC Gazette

Post by Mystic2000 » Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:26 pm

"Team Obscure: Out of the Darkness?"
While looking at the different teams and their performances so far, one could take a look at Bastien's team: Team Obscure, the only current french team is having a pretty decent run all things considered, which suprises even Bastien himself, with 4 bots in capacity of reaching the playoffs and a rather low rate of forfeits and mechanical issues, Team Obscure seems to finally reach a decent level of consistency, which may be able to finally take it to proper sucess, before we proceed further, let's take a look at this team's entrants:

FW - Gaster:
That bot was already noted as a pretty solid contender by a few people, and altought it hasn't been a extremely dominating force, this bot still proves to be no slouch for anyone wanting to face it, the "man who speaks in hands" is probably one of the 5 designs here with the most chances of making it to the playoff stages.

LW - Pathos R:
While this may not win a prize of originality, this design is still pretty decent, with good speed, decent armor, and a full body lifter, this bot still is a decent force to be reckoned with, and can prove to be a non-negligable threat in the arena.

MW - Thallium:
Now this one is one of the least good designs according to Bastien, this circular drumbot hasn't got a very good record, but it still isn't a horrible design, and maybe with a couple tweaks, he can become a real threat.

HW - Sheol:
More of an experiment than a real entry, this bot's performance was pretty satisfying for it's creator, with a decent flipper, pretty good armor, decent speed and a strafing ability, this machine is not to be underestimated if you don't wanna be send to the demon filled realm that is that robot's namesake.

SHW - Elios:
Vastly underestimated by it's creator because of it's low speed, that bot got a pretty lucky draw by ending with all the slowest bots in the tournament, and it proved to be able to win things, having defeated the jokebot-that-horrified-Bastien-to-an-almost-comical-level TAT and the terrifying looking EF from Monsterworks.

So, it seems that despite it's ARC career being rather wacky and overall pretty lackluster from a performance standpoint, it seems this lineup and this run, proves that Team Obscure is still capable of entering threating machines and put up some fight against even some of the big dogs, this tournament could perhaps be the beginning of a new age of success for the french roboteer Bastien, he also has shared his future plans for the designs he entered in CBC:

Gaster will stay mostly the same, maybe some form of side skirts may be attempted to be added on the machine

Pathos R will probably stay untouched.

Thallium will require a heavy refinement and many tweaks before it's next entrant.

Sheol will recieve a tweaked flipper setup so it can self-right more effectively.

Elios will probably be redesigned as a pure flipper rather than the spinner/flipper hybrid it is now, judged by it's creator as too difficult to design effectively.

This concludes this article about the french Team Obscure, stay tuned for more soon.

patrickrowberry
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Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm
Location: uk worcester
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The CBC Gazette

Post by patrickrowberry » Mon Dec 12, 2016 5:17 pm

what went wrong .... i did the opposite of what i and many predicted

Pegasus device and jaws what happened to them especial jaws both uk champs both couldn't get a win without a ff
both a great designs but both got 0 success and i have no idea what wrong i guess jaws did have a hard heat but i expected to at least get 3rd
pd was agents many spinners and needs more speed or something

rc why did i enter this lets never ever talk about this thing ever again

cinr something very creative but it never properly worked may need less armour and a bit more speed

to fry or to fly uhm the drone never worked but the robot surprisingly did and i may still be in this dam tournament

new robots are here and should be the next bench line of robots to look at

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