Page 1 of 1

The Doghouse

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:37 pm
by Madman
<big><big><big><big><big>Welcome to the Doghouse</big></big></big></big></big>

Let's keep this simple. On this page, you'll find brackets (thanks to The Monsterworks for letting me use his Challonge account), results, arena (thanks to V900 for the render), signups, and announcements about The Pound. Everything that you need will be here or linked (in red) from here, including:

1) Results

2) Brackets

3) Signups

4) Arena

5) Discussion

<hr />
<hr />

<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>First Round</big>

1. Skuntt (Team Ignition) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 8. Billie (Ironside Industries) - Blue Square

The match begins with a rattle as the chain flails of the hydrant start to spin up and a box rush

The Doghouse

Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 1:01 pm
by Madman
<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>Second Round: You're OUT&#33;</big>

1. Skuntt (Team Ignition) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 5. Cat (End of the Line LLC) - Blue Square

Ya, so this entire match is neither driver giving a fuck about strategy. Noa's not even there. He's just placed a dummy there wearing a Team Instinct Pokemon Go hat and let a program run his robot. Dylan is 'aggressive' and 'shit', just like his RP stated. Noah's bot's skids get scratched up as a result, but the faster bot wins because it scores more hits. The crowd goes wild.

Aggression: 8-7 Cat
Damage: 9-6 Skuntt
Strategy: 9-6 Cat

(5) Cat wins a 23-22 judges' decision and will continue int he winners' bracket. (1) Skuntt will drop into the losers' bracket.

<hr />

2. Mr. fluffy-kins (Team Cardboard Pony) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 3. Donut (Team Blood Gulch) - Blue Square

The match starts, the Fire Hydrant makes itself all dangerous, and two different Black Dogs head in two different directions. Pat goes for the patented 'Bot rush', Josh, being the wily veteran that he is senses this coming from the moment he had any concept that this fight could ever potentially happen. Donut makes for a safe corner and gets there just on time, its drum starting to let out a mean-sounding death hum. With zero thought to strategic angling in, Pat slams Mr. fluffy-kins into the powerful weapon head on and gets launched. Donut bounces into the corner that it's using as a back stop and skids partway up the angled surface before coming back down and regaining its drum's lost momentum.

Pat comes hurtling again. The same thing happens. It basically repeats for about a minute until Josh decides to follow up one of those big hits. He doesn't have the speed and leaves himself open to being flanked. Pat decides to go head on again. Immovable object, meet irresistible force. This time, Mr. Fluffy-kins eats a mace to face from the Fire Hydrant. Donut ends up back near its corner and tries to follow up again. It manages to just clip Pat's robot, on one of the wheel guards, and that guard is finished. There's more pointless head-to-head. Josh finds his way back to his safe corner. Pat keeps trying to break a fist with his (actually really tough) face, and then Donut's drum starts to have a bit of trouble spinning up, and the pink and black spinner spends most of the final thirty seconds being flicked around by Mr. Fluffy-kins. Pat seems confused and a bit peeved. "why ididnt yuo die?" he grumbles. Josh grumbles something similar but somewhat more articulate. The judges get busy pulling some numbers out of their asses.

Aggression: 9-6 Mr. fluffy-kins
Damage: 11-4 Donut
Strategy: 11-4 Donut

(3) Donut wins a 28-17 judges' decision and will continue in the winners' bracket. (2) Mr. fluffy-kins will drop into the losers' bracket.

<hr />

4. A Very Big Trotzdem (North-West Sheds) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 8. Billie (Ironside Industries) - Blue Square

So, it's new guy who RPs really well but can't stat for shit against the guy who would make even Mystic feel good about himself if Mystic was capable of that. Alas, he's not. So, using the same trick as last time, Billie is able to get up to speed, despite its dismal drive train. It purposely sends itself into a gyro spin once VBT gets close, but Avalanche finds that it's not so easy to precisely control how and when you come out of a gyro spin, especially with a weapon like that.

What follows is two minutes of VBT flanking Billie and flipping it again, and again, and again. When Billie's drum hits the ground, it leaves a gouge and flings Billie wherever it is wont to fling him. VBT has the speed to follow up and there's very little breathing room or chance for Billie to get its weapon to full power. The couple of times that it manages to settle to the ground and start to spin up, it just can't turn fast enough to keep from being flanked. It begins charging straight forward, but is dodged with ease.

VBT starts to get downright nasty, punting poor Billie into the Fire Hydrant (maybe since its drum can't seem to do anything resembling damage). In doing so, it places itself between Billie and the OOTA zone. Through nothing if not Riley's utter boredom at dominating the fight, he makes a minor error and Billie finally lands a nice, juicy hit. Houston, we have liftoff&#33; VBT nearly breaks free of Earth's gravity and lands right on top of the low wall. It teeters as Billie charges forwards to deliver the coup de grace, but ends up on the right side of the wall and jets away with inches to spare.

After a return to our regularly scheduled programming for another thirty seconds, the buzzer sounds and the judges get their <del>pencils</del> No, fuck that. TABLETS out. This is 20goddamned18, after all.

Aggression: 11-4 A Very Big Trotzdem
Damage: 10-5 Billie
Strategy: 9-6 A Very Big Trotzdem

(4) A Very Big Trotzdem wins a 25-20 judges' decision and will continue in the losers' bracket. (8) Billie is out of the competition.

<hr />

6. Pound Puppy (Team Trihunter) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 7. Strawberry Flavoured Blood (Arsonists Inc.) - Blue Square

As the two robots enter the arena, Pound Puppy looks a lot the worse for wear. While Team Trihunter has done an admirable job of cobbling it back together, it's still in rough shape. At the start of the fight, it attempts to spin up, but nothing happens. This could be really bad. Strawberry Flavoured Blood spins up and lurches forward. In no time, a menacing death hum reverberates through the arena. In his eagerness to obliterate his opponent, SFB's driver makes a beeline around the Fire Hydrant, accidentally getting clipped by one of the flails. At first, it seems to have no effect, but after a handful of seconds, it's clear that SFB has drifted to a stop. It sits there, drum wailing, completely unable to move, and is summarily counted out. Pound Puppy's driver thanks whatever deity he happens to believe in, and quickly takes his bot back to the pits to get that drum working for his next match.

(6) Pound Puppy wins by KO (FF) at 0:24 and will continue in the losers' bracket. (7) Strawberry Flavoured Blood is out of the competition.

The Doghouse

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:59 pm
by Madman
<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>Third Round: The Power of Participation&#33;</big>

3. Donut (Team Blood Gulch) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 5. Cat (End of the Line LLC) - Blue Square

Good news, everyone&#33; Both drivers decided to show up for this fight&#33; Ain

The Doghouse

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 2:58 pm
by Madman
<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>Fourth Round: Autopilot, Engage&#33;</big>

1. Skuntt (Team Ignition) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 2. mr fluffy-kins (Team Cardboard Pony) - Blue Square

Ladies and gentlemen, here's the fight we've all been waiting for: an epic clash between two of ARC's great tactical geniuses: the linguistically <del>gifted</del> Welsh Pat, and the deeply invested Dylan&#33; Whoooo-eee&#33; I don't know about you, folks, but I'm on the edge of my seat, here. Almost slipped off, I did&#33;

The buzzer buzzes three times, the Fire Hydrant gets to hydrating. It's gonna need its stamina for what's sure to be a long fight because both bots apparently forgot the purpose of a drum spinner and didn't add any damage to their drums. FFS, I can't even run a self-aggrandizing ego-trip of an event meant to make Black Dog look good because you fuckers won't play along&#33; Oh ya, there's a 'fight' happening.

Well, someone, somewhere, just lost a lot of money, because Pat didn't 'bot rush'. He didn't even 'box rush'. FFS, Pat, old buddy, you're slipping. Instead, mr fluffy-kins plays it defensive, while the algorithm representing Dylan has had its aggression setting dialed up to ten, and its difficulty rating set to 'Final Boss'. Meanwhile, Dylan sits down to draw some tracks on his iPad, but only ends up drawing Final Destiny.

Oh ya, there's a 'fight' happening&#33; So, Skuntt is able to angle in on mr fluffy-kins repeatedly due to its better speed and control, and this fight goes about 70-30 in the Team Ignition entry's favour, with Pat's bot being sent into the hazard more than once and nearly toppled out of the arena. Pat, however, with the calm, practiced patience of a Zen pony master, waits, coiled up like a...pony, ready to strike when the time is right.

Well, Pat, I've got some news for you. The time is never right. Three minutes of reasonably competitive but clear-cut action follows, and the buzzer sounds with the outcome in little doubt.

Aggression: 12-3 Skuntt
Damage: 9-6 Skuntt
Strategy: 9-6 Skuntt

(1) Skuntt wins a 30-15 judges' decision and will face (5) Cat for a place in the grand final. (2) mr fluffy-kins is out of the competition.

The Doghouse

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:19 am
by Madman
<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>Fifth Round: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Nonchalantly</big>

1. Skuntt (Team Ignition) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 5. Cat (End of the Line LLC) - Blue Square

Dylan walks in wearing a Flash costume and chugging Mountain Dew. Noah

The Doghouse

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:01 pm
by Madman
<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>"Grand" Final: Oh Hey, This Thing is Over</big>

1. Skuntt (Team Ignition) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 3. Donut (Team Blood Gulch) - Blue Square

It's Grand Final Time&#33; Who's excited?&#33; Are you, Brad? Oh no...you're excited about that home improvement magazine...a little too excited, if you ask me. How about you, Wolf51-50? Oh no, nevermind. You're busy making Coop de Grass a walker again. So much for principles when WINNING is on the line, amirite, amigo? How about you, Kody? Enjoying a different kind of grass. Maybe you can take that outside, homeboy? Gabe? Trying to keep up with 37.3 different RPGs. Riley? Busy losing at something. Pat? ...You don't even wanna know, fam. Seriously. Alex? Dude lives in China. He's probably asleep at this time&#33; Alex V? He has no tablet, so sadly he is not people anymore. Dylan? Not excited. Trihunter? <del>Fapping to</del> Reading weeb stuff on his cell. Nick? Gay. Other Nick? Scottish and by default excitable, so it doesn't count. Josh? Hey, a little bit. ARC's resident curmudgeon is always up for adding another runner-up trophy to his trophy case&#33;

Well, you know what? This guy's excited. Yeah, the guy writing this, and that's all that matters because I'm like the only one paying attention to this thing anymore. There's some introductory BS, the buzzer does its buzzing thing and that mighty hydrant chain flail rattles and starts a-whirring. The same goes for both drums, but only one manages something like a death hum.

Dylan immediately tries flanking Josh's bot, which is playing it defensive. His first try doesn't quite succeed, and a drum to drum ends with Skuntt being hurled into the path of the Hydrant, summarily flung in another direction, and Donut charging in on the attack. It doesn't quite have the drivetrain to follow up, though, and Skuntt zips away with time to spare, this time managing to flank its opponent. It's Donut's turn to take a trip to the Hydrant, and Skuntt has the speed to follow up. And again. And again. Closer and closer to the OOTA wall.

Finally, a bit of gyro action actually works in Josh's favour, and he manages to dodge Dylan's next charge. This unexpectedly gives him Skuntt's side, but that bot is so fast and Dylan's reflexes are so amazing that it avoids taking any crippling damage. That's not to say that it takes nothing. One of its wheelguards gets peeled back like the tin foil on a Hershey's Kiss and sent towards the ceiling. Skuntt skids just into the path of The Hydrant and takes another smack. Donut again isn't able to follow up, but now it has the advantageous OOTA positioning. Aaaaaaaannnd...

Skuntt is gone.

But not out of the arena. It avoids Donut's charge nimbly and gains the advantage. Donut meets with the Hydrant and gets flung. Skuntt is waiting. More chaining flips and we're heading back towards the OOTA wall. Oh Mah GAWD&#33; Donut's perched on the edge. It's tottering&#33; It's teetering. It's tittering (that's a real word, BTW, and it's not a dirty one). It's twittering or uh... tweeting: "OMG, close call. So scared rite now. #Skuntt #ThePound #GrandFinal #OOTA #Cliffhanger"

It falls back into the arena.

I've done this twice now. The joke is used up. Anyway, Skuntt is right back on it like a fly on a turd. There's more flanking and semi-flanking. Donut tries to hold its position by pivoting on the spot, and it succeeds about half of the time. The other half mostly features it getting booped repeatedly, much to Josh's annoyance. Dylan sips Mountain Dew through a crazy straw, wearing shades and a 'umadbro' expression on his face like it's 2015. Oh, look at that&#33; The fight just ended. The judges have gotten their scorecards out.

Aggression: 11-4 Skuntt
Damage: 11-4 Donut
Strategy: 9-6 Skuntt

(1) Skuntt wins a 24-21 judges' decision and will face (3) Donut in a rematch for the title next week&#33;

The Doghouse

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2018 12:23 am
by Madman
<big><big><big>2: Results</big></big></big>

<big>"Grand" Final Rematch: Oh Hey, This Thing is Actually Over</big>

1. Skuntt (Team Ignition) - Red Square &#092;&#092; vs // 3. Donut (Team Blood Gulch) - Blue Square

Okay, so after a nice long OMGIhavesomuchschoolworkIdon'tknowwhattodoWTFI'mgonnafailandflunkoutpanicpanicpanic break, we're back with the long and eagerly awaited grand final rematch of The Pound&#33; Anticipation among the ARC community has reached a fever pitch. I mean, Brad almost looked up from his computer. Gabe took the time to give a snarky look. Maybe next time we'll even get a snarky remark&#33; Kody is probably high, which means that he's in a celebratory mood, right?&#33; Nick is still gay. The other Nick is still Scottish. Alex M sent me a message all the way from China to the tune of "hey bro, whatever happened to that Black Dog thing?", and Alex V exists again. Yes sir, indeed. community investment is at a high-water mark. These are halcyon days&#33;

Okay, so Dylan comes in wearing his lucky, slightly Mountain Dew-stained Flash outfit. Josh comes out looking like one of those guys who's not quite 'cool' or douchey enough to be a UFC bro type, so he settled for being a WWE bro type instead. The two robots are carted into the arena, prep stuff happens, and then the box is locked, the lights are on, and it's robot fighting time&#33;

The Hydrant flail in the middle immediately gets to spinning, as do the combatants: Dylan's Skuntt and Josh's Donut. The more mobile Team Ignition bot dances around, with its slower opponent following and quite aggressively trying to bring its drum into play. It whiffs by the barest of margins and Skuntt quickly manages to score the first hit in retaliation. Donut tumbles backwards and takes a hit from the hydrant, which flings it towards a corner, but thankfully nowhere near the OOTA wall, in addition to righting it. Skuntt manages a couple of follow-up blows before Donut squirms free and gets its weapon back up to speed.

A near head-to-head meeting sees both bots flicked backwards, but neither decisively. Skuntt capitalizes with a nice chain of hits that takes Donut towards the OOTA wall, but its drum runs out of steam before it can do the deed, and Donut is back on the attack. Playing things straighter, with more charges and less attempting to keep up with Skuntt's rapid pivoting seems to be paying dividends for Josh. Donut's experiencing less gyroscopic wheel lift, and the result is that there are less quality openings for Dylan.

He decides to take advantage of a brief bit of lift, but it's fool's gold. Donut comes down and its powerful drum launches Skuntt end over end through the air. Josh guns his bot forward, and manages to clip and basically obliterate a side guard, flipping Skuntt again in the process, but the Team Ignition bot gets away without any further damage. Donut continues its aggression, however, and while it mostly ends up on the losing end of exchanges, there's the sense that what Skuntt does isn't really that decisive. Its attempts to chain at length don't seem to be working, as its drum runs out of steam or Donut almost always slips away before an OOTA can become a serious danger. Meanwhile, one gets the impression that Donut needs just one shot to anywhere but the drum. One shot to really change the complexion of this fight (which is, admittedly, in Skuntt's favour).

With about thirty seconds left, the Team Blood Gulch entry lands another drum-to-drum blow, and Skuntt flies. Donut tries, for the umpteenth time in the match history of these two, to follow up, and finally manages to get itself right into the path of the still-tumbling Skuntt.

SMACK&#33;&#33;&#33;

Skuntt comes apart in an explosion of metal, bolts, screws, and a wheel. when it comes down, it's clearly a spent force, the left side of its chassis torn wide open, a wheel missing, and batteries hanging out. The referees immediately begin their count and finish ten seconds later.

The winner, and your champion by KO at 2:47, is the number three seed, Team Blood Gulch's Donut&#33;&#33; Congratulations to Josh on adding another title to his enviably long list, and we look forward to seeing you next time, whenever that might be&#33;