So random topic. I know we in QLD are having a bit of a break and TBH I am a bit disappointed to be not seeing progress on our various bots for the next event on the forum.

But this got me to thinking. How damn long have I been doing this & really why the hell do I keep doing it.

I think this brings up my decade of involvement in combat robots. And damn have things changed. I decided that I would check youtube for our earliest fights. Oh wait youtube is only 7yrs old.

So my first event was Metal Mayhem 2. I think in 2002. On ABBL. (Damn that takes me back.) I originally found ABBL when it was green. In 2000/1 and then had not time/money/knowledge so I let it go. But rediscovered it in its purple form in Grade 9 and started building.

Who else remembers the purple ABBL?

Anyway back on my original topic, why do I keep doing it. Well despite the pain of running events and the financial expenditure. Its still a lot of fun. Seriously I can't think of any other "hobby" which challenges people to actually build things in a serious manner. And although I haven't really competed competitively in a major event. (Due to me running them) I still panic a little when I hear robots tearing the arena apart and there is still the adrenaline when I fight (Maybe not as much as BB/v2 vs Annihilation back in the day Aaron) but its still a lot of fun.

Also in recent years ants have added a different dimension to things. Feathers are still more spectacular. But for enjoyment I do love my ants.

THINGS JUST SCALE SO NON-LINEARLY. Its awesome. Bounce off the roof a few times and keep going. And the pit.... And the ability to make something ridiculous without the financial ramifications of it getting destroyed. (BamBam)

So I ask, Why are you still here? And what do you want from the future? TV, fame, explosions, ect?

Steve
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

Well been here since a few of us Aussie congregated on the original Robot Wars UK forums, then we moved to the ARWO setup, then the ABBL, then eventually to RoboWars . Initially got into it all after Robot Wars aired on Channel 10 in 2000 and Andrew A and I started working on a heavyweight robot, Vertex. Alas, it was never finished and we moved onto the featherweights instead.

I'm still here because I love coming up with ideas, concepts, designs and building things. I like the challenge presented by the sport and being apart of a community of like minded people
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https://www.halfdonethings.com/

Last edited by Knightrous on Thu Dec 06, 2012 12:57 pm; edited 1 time in total

I like the unpredictability of what you might face in the arena, the mental exercise of imagining various attacks.

Ants came at just the right time for me. I couldn't afford to keep my feather running. Ants are just so cheap.

I have a few different ants drawn and one feather designed, but four ants at one event was a bit much and the feather would be expensive. I have thought of selling Abaddon to fund new building, but it is too reliable and hard to beat.

The fun of competing keeps me going. Whether it is in a back yard, public event or on TV, for three minutes, there is only you and the other robot. Nothing else matters.
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So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems

10 years? I think Andrew and I did start building Hellbringer in december 2002, so yeah, damn. Actually I started designing robots when I got my first copy of Solidworks in a CAD class at uni in 2000. My goal was always the design of robots. Even though I told myself to stop playing with robots for the rest of the year so I could pay for more important things (never imagined something more important then robots before) I've still designed 4 more bots in Inventor, including a new heavyweight. They might just end up in the back up file with every other design, but I doubt I can stop drawing. And my goal is heavyweights.

Hmm, it's hell corny but robots are the best thing ever to happen for me, as a hobby everything just comes together so nicely... the ability to design, fabricate and then destroy machines in your direct control is just so addictive and really encourages a cycle of improvement in all areas. I can't think of any other RC sport that supports anything similar.

Ahh nostalgia, came into it all pretty late (2004) as I never had pay TV so only saw very late reruns of robowars on channel 10 and missed battlebots entirely. Went searching online after playing a crappy flash game and found the tail end of ABBL, I think it was glen who forwarded me the robowars forum details and went from there.

Main thing I’ve always loved about the community has been the aspect of mentoring, seriously would not have got anywhere if it wasn’t for people helping me with battery pack construction, machining... driving >_> every single NSW member really.

I did my own bit of mentoring with Grassy who moved on to other things, but in recent years its been pretty damn quiet... which has been really depressing. The serial space events were run in the attempt to attract more local builders but with a grand total of 0 interested parties joining the public events really become more trouble than they're worth for me anyway (and everyone who pulled together to help!).

What do I want for the future? For more people in Australia to realise the actual tangible value of teaching kids real design, electronics and machining skills through a really enjoyable medium... I've tried school clubs, events... word of mouth, even letting an interested random drive my bot through an entire competition (who registered on the forum and never returned)... My uni runs a design subject which is heavy in electromechanical projects, so been thinking of pitching the idea of robot combat to them, after all I got INTO uni because of my robots and nothing to do with what I did at high school.
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YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Im not sure I can really quantify it. I started because of riding the wave of enthusiasm from Bort and Lindsay (prong) - but they're both gone now, and yet I remain.

I guess I can't quite let go of it - realistically I dont really have the time or the money - but I'd hate to think that Itd still go on and I would no longer be a part of it.

Plus the reward from building and competing successfully with a robot is pretty hard to beat, much like any sport.

I've got some interest generated with a guy at work. Hopefully if the Marayong event goes ahead, I'll be able to get him to come down
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<Patrician|Away> what does your robot do, sam
<bovril> it collects data about the surrounding environment, then discards it and drives into walls