...for John Mladenik
Tell us about the robots that you're bringing to the ComBots Cup.
Megabyte - 2003 National Champ. 2004 National runner up. Won too many championships to name. Best HW Spinner to ever fight in the RFL. Ranked 3rd by www.botrank.com
Compressor - Steel Conflict III 3rd place. Modified to be a spinner on one side and a fork pushy bot on the other side.
Of the many types of robot weapons/designs, what made you decide to
build the types that you did?
We love destruction!!! A robot fighting without destruction is like a meal without food.
Which robot in the tournament would you most like to fight and which
robot do you not want to have to fight?
Most want to fight: Biohazard. Never fought the battlebot champion.
Least want to fight: Sewer Snake. Fought him many times before.
Are you concerned that fighting Megabyte in the RFL Nationals could
jeopardize your chances of winning the ComBots Cup?
Yes possibly, but Megabyte is built to fight many fights and endure. We can always pull out of one tournament in order to optimize the results of the other.
If Compressor and Megabyte have to face each other, will you go easy on
them?
We would probably forfeit one or the other depending on who is doing better in the tournament. We have actually fought our robots against each other before (Semi Finals of Motorama) but it was a costly $$ fight for our team. We did win the fight ;)
This $10,000 ComBots Cup was created to renew interest in robotic
combat, both among some of the builders who have drifted away and among the
potential audience. Do you think that a high-stakes tournament is a good way
to do this and how do you feel about the fact that all of the emphasis is
being placed on one weight class?
It is a side issue to us as a team. We will be fighting whether they give a big prize or not. I really hope it does renew or increase interest in the sport.
Do you think robotic combat will ever return to national TV? If so, what
will it take to get it there?
Yes but it may take a few years. The sport is growing from the ground up and will take time to build the audience it needs.
Ignoring the restrictions of budget, time, and possibly even the laws of
physics, what would your dream robot be?
A robot that can have multi powered attachments. We could install a drum spinner for one opponent and a shell spinner for another. We could have the following attachments:
Shell Spinner
Drum Spinner with Forks
Lifter
Powered Wedge
Bar Spinner with Wedge
We would use whatever attachment was the best for whoever we was fighting. Sort of be able to have rock scissors and paper in one robot.
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