MovieChat Forums > BattleBots (2015) Discussion > August 25 Fights

August 25 Fights

posted 8 years ago by joen0411
14 replies | jump to latest

Finally they’re back. Not a real fan of the Olympics so I’m glad it’s over and Battlebots is back.

Tombstone vs Brutus: They decided to go with the shorter, thicker and heavier blade for Tombstone worried that if they went with a thinner blade it could break like it did against Witch Doctor. Witch Doctor broke Tombstone’s blade because of its thick shield not from its vertical spinner but better safe than sorry. They removed a battery from Brutus to add more armor which is smart but I don’t think it has the ability to self-right. At this point no bot should be without the ability to self-right or run if flipped. They also put the gun back on but it never fired so not sure what the point was. Brutus’s strategy was to out maneuver Tombstone and attack its wheels which were lighter so Tombstone would meet weight limit with the heavier blade. Brutus almost got behind Tombstone by drifting but you’re up against a driver with over a decade of experience, you’re not going to out maneuver him. One hit from Tombstone and Brutus loses its protection, knocked clear off like it wasn’t even screwed on. After the second hit Brutus has some problems and can barely move and Tombstone goes under Brutus to do some damage then knocks off its front right wheel. Tombstone gets in a few more hits and Brutus flips on its back and is out. I guess it’s a good thing it can’t self-right. Brutus is counted out in a short and sweet fight. It was a great first fight after the long break.

Nightmare vs Beta: Nightmare had some significant damage from its fight with Icewave. They explained that it actually did more damage to itself and because of it would no longer have the ability to self-right. With my new big TV I got to see just how big the head of Beta’s weapon is and I’m more impressed. But this type of weapon needs an opponent with a large flat surface area which Nightmare does not have. You can clearly see that Nightmare’s blade is not straight at the start of the fight. Nightmare and Beta drive into each other but Nightmare’s blade does not appear to be turning at full speed so it does little damage. Beta doesn’t swing its hammer; I’m assuming it’s afraid that Nightmare’s blade can break the arm. Nightmare starts to have a hard time keeping its balance, it’s tilting to the right and almost ready to flip over. This is from the damage it had going into the fight and nothing Beta did. Beta goes in behind Nightmare but again does not use its hammer. Nightmare added a cover to its motor to protect against Beta’s hammer but it was thin and not on very secure. After Nightmare hits Beta with its blade and jumped up, the kinetic energy knocked off the cover. Nightmare has done more damage to Beta at this point which has not swung its hammer once. Beta tries to get behind Nightmare but despite tilting over every time it moves; Nightmare doesn’t let Beta get behind it. Nightmare gets in another hit and it looks like it did some damage to the Beta’s motor for its hammer. Nightmare gets its right wheel stuck on top of Beta giving Beta the perfect shot. But Beta’s swing is extremely slow and weak. You can hear them say that they lost the hammer. Beta starts to drive around Nightmare inching closer hoping to get under it and flip it. It finally gets under Nightmare and luckily for it at just the right spot so that it doesn’t make contact with the blade. After pushing Nightmare around it finally tilts over. Nightmare gets counted out with two seconds left. Despite Nightmare’s problems going into the fight it did more damage than Beta and used its weapon. Beta’s hammer never did any damage and was disabled before its first swing. Beta got really lucky in this fight. It’s going against Tombstone next so it better get that hammer fixed. It will be interesting to find out exactly what happened to it.

Yeti vs Mega Tento: They keep saying Mega Tento is a fan favorite. Who are these fans, I’ve never seen one. Yeti is clearly the better bot because almost every bot is clearly better than Mega Tento. The fight starts and Yeti just goes on the attack damaging MT’s right wheel within seconds. Yeti pushes MT to the end of the arena getting it stuck and then rips off the right wheel. MT is stuck and counted out. Sorry this recap sucks. I just don’t understand how MT is even in this. Unfortunately the ladybug will be back next year and even if it loses the first fight it will get a wildcard spot.

Bite Force vs Chomp: They added some extra armor to the top of Bite Force but leave the middle open. Zoe Stephenson says her plan is to hit this opening and disable Bite Force’s weapon drive. Considering how many times she has swung and missed in all her previous fights this seems like a flawed strategy. The fight starts and Bite Force gets the first hit with a light nick. Chomp swings, gets right in Bite Force’s drive train breaking the chain and you see it fly off. I was obviously wrong about that being a flowed strategy. I don’t know if they’ve finally got the hang of using the weapon against a moving target or just got really lucky. But damn that was a good hit. With the new rules it’s impossible for Bite Force to win without Chomp getting counted out or pushed out of the arena and get stuck. At this point all Bite Force can do is push Chomp around which it manages to do for a long time. Chomp has a hard time righting itself with Bite Force pushing it around. Then Bite Force drives over the chain Chomp broke off and gets stuck. Chomp is taking a long time to right itself and Bite Force is stuck and an easy target. When Chomp finally does right itself it hesitates in attacking Bite Force, maybe they thought it was going to get counted out. When it finally does it makes two swings with no precision (that first hit was lucky). I thought it was going to use its flame to set Bite Force on fire but then backs off. Bite Force eventually gets loose from the chain and Chomp loses the perfect opportunity to destroy it. Chomp swings again and hits the drive train again. Apparently it can only hit that spot. Bite Force pushes Chomp around and knocks it out of the arena but Chomp gets back in. Then in the final 10 seconds Chomp gets hit from the saws getting knocked over and is unable to right itself until the last second. It was too late to get counted out but that was close. The fight goes to the judges and it was a unanimous decision for Chomp. Bite Force lost its weapon there is no way they could pick it. Chomp deserved the win with that lucky hit. I would have liked to have seen a Tombstone vs Bite Force rematch but it was a good fight so I’m not too upset.

I’m glad Battlebots is back and the ladybug is gone. They spent more time in the back so we can see them work on the bots. I’m glad they did this and hope they do a lot more of it next season.

[–] LAV25USMC 8 years ago

Finally they’re back. Not a real fan of the Olympics so I’m glad it’s over and Battlebots is back.

DITTO!!

Thanks again for the great play by play. There was not much more to say on the Yeti/MT fight. I cheered out loud when Yeti shoved MT into the screws and then laughed manically when he shredded the right side wheel. That was pretty much the fight. That slow monstrous bot was no match for any of the good drivers. She got lucky with Stinger (who IMHO was seeded too high at #5).

Sigh, Chump, what can I say but Zoe has had all the luck so far. I concur that according to the new rules she won as she did damage and he did not. I knew as soon as it went to the judges, she's get it. Bite Force truly dominated the fight and came so close to immobilizing her. While I didn't like the "nothing but shoving" matches from last year but this new rule goes too far in the other direction.

Chump is slow, has too high a center of gravity, spends half or more of a fight on side, and despite them getting lucky this time with a good hit on BF has a main weapon that is way too "precise". I.E., with that spiked tip on the end of those long arms they have to be perfectly positioned to hit the opponent. A good driver with a quick bot should not get hit. I hope Yeti goes in and rips it to pieces. If not, Tombstone will definitely turn it into little shards.

[–] joen0411 8 years ago

Everyone seems to be complaining a lot about the new rules. I didn't like it at first but then I re-watched the Bite Force vs Tombstone fight and remembered why they did it. I don't want them to go back to having bots that just push around and don't have a real offensive weapon. But if your weapon fails and you still control the fight then you should win. They need to tweak the rules a bit just as long as it doesn't open the door to bots that just push other bots around. Just my opinion :)

[–] jurus1 8 years ago

Tombstone vs Brutus: I like that Tombstone is continuing its tactical approach. No unnecessary risks with additional hits when its already clear it has won and the choice of weapon and its placement proved to be successful.

Nightmare vs Beta: For most of the fight I was hoping they would both lose. Very uneventful. Then Beta made a good move and won.

Yeti vs Mega Tento: Thank the Rake that Mega Lameo is finally out! I just wish it would've been in a million pieces.

Bite Force vs Chomp: Chomp spent more time on its back than a 5$ hooker but one lucky shot that disabled Bite Force's weapon was enough for the win.

[–] joen0411 8 years ago

I realized today that one of the benefits of Tombstone going easy at the end of the fight is that we might get a lot of bots in the battle royal. Assuming they all make some repairs and want in on the carnage. The rake did answer our prayers, if only we had asked it sooner.

[–] mr_greylon 8 years ago

Tombstone v Brutus: He's holding back now (smart), but he couldn't help one last swipe at the toy gun. :) I respect Brutus for trying to bulk up armor and go for an aggressive win, but it wasn't meant to be.

Nightmare v Beta: I called for a Nightmare upset, and was 2 seconds short of getting it. If Nightmare hadn't been so beat up going into the fight, I think it would've happened. Even just still having the self-righting device would've kept Nightmare in until the decision. Nightmare needs a massive redesign, and becomes less significant each season.

Yeti v Mega Tento: As expressed by the OP, what fan favorite? Maybe among those that like a cutesy bot. And I'll admit, I did chuckle at the eye patch. But once we reach the later rounds, this silly bot needs to go. I'll say it again, I am very curious to see if the Winter family can make a serious and effective bot.

Bite Force v Chomp: Will we see the old Bite Force next year? This design was just too flimsy. One lucky hit shouldn't be enough to turn you into a wedge bot.

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

[–] joen0411 8 years ago

Nightmare's and other vertical disks are dangerous weapons but there hasn't been a stable design for the bots yet. Nightmare is the closest. If someone can figure it out they would have a bot as dangerous as Tombstone

[–] mr_greylon 8 years ago

Nightmare's little brother Backlash was much more stable and had less problems maneuvering (and a champion of its weight class). I think Smemtowski should look more at adopting some of Backlash's design into Nightmare.

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

[–] joen0411 8 years ago

Backlash, that's going back to the days when they had a weight class :)

To be honest I had to go and watch a few fights since I forgot what it looked like. I think the two small legs/wheels in front would be a big problem for a bigger bot. But maybe it could work

[–] mr_greylon 8 years ago

Possible the wheels up front would be a problem. The larger point is that Nightmare hasn't really evolved that much over 15 years. Whether revisiting some of his other bot designs or just coming up with a completely new design, it is really time for the current Nightmare to retire.

I have complete respect for Smemtowski. He always struck as a cool laid back guy, and he is good and making bots. But I want to see him catch up with the times. I believe he could be a main competitor again if he really pushed for it.

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

[–] drunkbear 8 years ago

I wish they'd put YOU in the announcer's booth instead of that idiot, Chris Rose. I know they list him 'color commentator,' but the guy is a major dingdong.

My observations of the August 25th matches:

I think that Tombstone holding off after crippling an opponent is more an example of good sportsmanship than a strategy. The builders put a lot of time and money into those machines, and there's no reason to rip apart a bot that's already immobilized.

Nightmare needs to be retired. With all the active weapons out there, those spindly legs are not going to hold up, and no bot in the arena should be without a reliable self-righting mechanism, these days.

Megatento's only effective 'weapon' is the ladybug; if they put a good drum spinner under that shell, they could shred trapped 'bots. Did you notice how long it took for that tire to come back down after Yeti tore it off? It must've gone all the way to the ceiling.

Bite Force should have won the decision because, as mentioned, they controlled the fight. Chomp was out-of-control, half the time. The weapon on Chomp is too powerful for its design; when they go back to the drawing board, they need to build a bot with a lower center of gravity.

- What are you gonna do, when the world catches on?

[–] joen0411 8 years ago

I need Chris Rose to block any flying debris, that bulletproof glass is going to fail one day:)

Nightmare is the most stable of the bots with vertical spinning disk but still not stable enough to last.

I think Biteforce tried to copy Witch doctor but wasn't as well built, maybe it was rushed. Witch doctor has had years to design and rebuild. I think he just needs more time to perfect new weapon or even start from scratch

[–] LAV25USMC 8 years ago

The big thing BF needs to do is cover that chain drive running the weapon. I think he had fixed the problem from the previous fight but that one in a million lucky shot by Chump disabled it at the get go of the match.

[–] joen0411 8 years ago

I'm pretty sure he will make some significant changes for next season. But covering drive chain might just be enough. I just want to see it go against Tombstone again

[–] ruuuuudiii 8 years ago

I felt Beta vs. Nightmare should have gone to the judges, though. The ref started the countout and Beta was still being an aggressor, to me that means he felt he still had work to do. You don't see a boxer punching away at an opponent while the ref is giving a standing 8 count.

Joe Bless You!