Robot Rumble: Robot Wars vs Battlebots vs Robotica

In My Humble Opinion
1

These three shows are all about robot competition, but they are slightly different from each other. Here’s my take on them:

Robot Wars
Competitors duke it out in a rather lethal arena, complete with lots of traps and House Robots that are several times larger and more powerful than most of the competing bots. I think the House Robots detract too much from the show, since they tend to dominate the arena. Robot Wars is hosted by the guy who plays Lister on Red Dwarf.

Battlebots
On this show the arena is more reasonable, but can still damage competitors’ robots. There are four weight classes, but walking bots are allowed a little extra weight in each class. The two hosts are moderately annoying though. They look like ex high school football players, and talk like WWF rejects. And of course, brainless bimbos (attempt to) interview the teams about their robots, and are often met with incredulous looks at their pathetic imitations of neural activity. Even so, this is my favorite show of the three, because it has the best action.

Robotica
This is the newest of the three shows. The idea is interesting, but it falls a little flat. The show is dividedd into 4 rounds. In the first round, two robots race around a figure 8 track, earning bonus points for knocking each other around. Round 2 is an obstacle course where one robot at a time tries to negotiate bumps, ramps, blockades, waterfalls(!), and other hazards. In round 3 the object is to smash through a series of increasingly massive walls. Finally, in round 4 two robots face off on a raised platform and try to push each other off into a bed of spikes. This show would be a little boring, except that the host is Ahmet Zappa, formerly of MTV’s WebRiot. With him on the show, it becomes a dull and rusty cheese grater on which your ear is slowly and painfully ground by his incessant blathering.

So what do you think?

2

I got turned off prettu quickly since it’s nice a robot by my definition. They need to be programmed to kill and let them go by themselves. sigh… someday

Anyway I tend to agree with you. Ahmet’s a pretty interesting guy. I even managed to watch him a few times on that something-or-other Party show on USA. Very energetic but it was a little too like American Gladiators. I’ve never seen Robot Wars although from your discription I’m not excited too.

Although I wouldn’t mind an all Backlash episode, that’s one wicked little hunk of metal.

3

Whoa!! How the hell did I end up with a typo like that?
it should be
I got turned off pretty quickly since it’s not a robot by my definition.

4

Well, I’ve gotta go with Battlebots as my favourite.

I like the idea of everyone coming in somewhat equal without having house-built robots (like in Robot Wars). I agree that BB has better action, too.

I haven’t seen Robotica, only promos for it. It seems a little too much…like an obstacle course (not just that round, but the whole show). I like the robots just duking it out much more.

5

ummm…yessss…robots…

IMO, the perfect robot series hasn’t been done yet, but here’s my best attempt at ranking the 'bot shows:

  1. “Robot Wars”: this UK import was first in the genre, IMO is the best-produced, has an interesting variety of competitions and has more competent hosts than either of the American shows. I particularly like the fact that the robot entrants must be optimized to work over a variety of courses, although I agree with other posters that the house robots tend to overshadow some of the entrants. The show might be improved if the house 'bots were simplified to make them a bit more like the peripheral weapons of “Battlebots”, increasing the emphasis on the contestants.

  2. “Battlebots”: nothing but head-to-head 3-minute competitions; sometimes fast and furious, but tends to favor mass and armor over agility and design originality. The on-field obstacles are rather cheesy and contribute little to the action; increasing the number of traps and obstacles, making the perimeter weapons more effective, and perhaps varying the terrain of the arena would improve the action. As for the hosts, I would prefer to see more of Bill Nye the Science Guy and a lot less of the jock-snapping yahoos in the broadcast studio. The babes can stay.:smiley:

  3. “Robotica”: while potentially an improvement on the “Robot Wars” formula, the first series ended up a complete snore, mainly because the competitions favored heavy, tanklike vehicles without active weapons. And Ahmet Zappa may be the most comprehensively annoying commentator to ever step in front of a camera. Producers, please please please lose him if you do another series.

Concerning the “robots” themselves: Just as steam locomotives are inherently more interesting to watch in operation than diesels, walking robots tend to be much more intriguing than most of the wheeled versions. Wheeled 'bots apparently are much easier to build, however, and their relatively higher operating speeds allow the wheeled vehicles to outclass the walkers when the designs are pitted against each other. Perhaps it would be best to have a completely separate class for walkers, with additional (i.e. monetary) incentives to promote the construction of these machines.

Also, while I suppose the radio-controlled vehicles that dominate these shows are not true autonomous robots, the cost and design complexities inherent in making these machines operate independently would likely put them out of the reach of most current 'bot builders. I have no problems with operator-controlled 'bots, as long as the competition is interesting.

Thanks for the chance to pontificate on this issue.

6

Comparing them to human shows:

Robot Wars: robot wrestling
BattleBots: robot boxing
Robotica: robot American Gladiators

7

I’ve always like Robot Wars the best. The robots on this show need to be able to do more than just smash their opponent, so they tend to be more interesting. And while the housee robots do sometimes dominate, sometimes the competitor will rip the shreds out of the house robots, and that’s like watching all the stupid muscle headed jerks who ever pissed you off get what’s coming to them, so I like it. Having the actor who plays Dave Lister as the host is also a big plus.

Robotica is my next favorite. Again, because the robots have to do something besides just running into each other, they tend to be more interesting. That being said, they could jazz up the weapons a bit more–the final competition isn’t that exciting, usually turning into a pushing match (robots as sumo wrestlers?). I also get bored with all the technical talk, but heck, the shows on The Learning Channel so I guess it has to try to justify itself as educational.

In my opinion, Battlebots is lame. The fights are rarely exciting–just one robot ramming another until one of them breaks down, or gets stuck under the spikes on the wall. Or they chase each other around the arena for two minutes until one of them stupidly decides to establish residence on top of the kill saws (which aren’t random, but human controlled) and then gets sawed in half. The most interesting, creative robots get creamed in their first outing, so as the season goes along, you get more and more bouts between two wedges, or a wedge (there’s always a wedge) and a box with a spike. There’s limited driving skill needed, no strategy required, creativity is sacrificed to a “sure-win” (i.e. some sort of wedge) design and the announcers suck big time. the only thing it has going for it is it’s timeslot.

8

The next season of “Battlebots” looks interesting, what with Jay Leno having an entry at all. Also some interesting-looking robots.

But the best competitions came from the earlier version of “Robot Wars”. Did anyone see those matches from 1996 or so? How could you not enjoy the sight of ‘Blendo’, hitting robots so hard that he had to be disqualified for endangering the audience? Chunks of dead robot were actually being embedded in the Lexan walls protecting the audience…

For me so far, it’s been a toss-up between Robot Wars and Battlebots, although our lovely PBS affiliate has pulled Robot Wars off the air. Robotica so far has been lame. The robots have no weapons to speak of, and sorry, but it’s just not interesting watching them go around a figure-8 course for five minutes. If I want to see R/C car racing, there are lots of better examples out there. I want weapons and death and destruction.

9

I haven’t seen the other two, only the comercials and talked to those who have seen them. The biggest reason I like battle bots is because I enjoy seeing two battle bots beating each other into pieces. The only problem with this show, IMHO, is that they need to have robots on there that can really do some damage, like the show on sat with the bot that would spin around, and flipped onto his back (that was awesome!) they need to have more bots like that. One of these days I’m going to build a bot :wink:

10

I haven’t seen Robotica,but it sounds kind of lame. My favorite is Robot Wars, the early seasons are the best.
British TV seems to be the only place creating new ideas in television. Robot Wars, Millionaire, and a favorite of mine from a few years ago Absolutely Fabulous. I wish I could get BBC here, I’d watch that more than any of the major networks we have. (Sorry for the slight hi-jack there Sturmhauke)

11

So how about this: What would your ideal arena be? And if you were to build a robot, what would it be like?

My arena: Variable terrain sounds cool, so I would have some open space, some blocks or drums that could be knocked around or fall on top of the robots, and some bumpy parts to get hitched up on. I would also have multiple levels, with ramps and bridges for access, and maybe some platforms that moved up and down.

My robot: I would build it low and wide to make it difficult to flip over. It might have some mechanism to right itself, if I could make it fit. The wheels would be metal with rubber pads for traction, to resist damage better. The bot would have decent ground clearance and some suspension to deal with bumps. My weapons would be a pair of hooks that could grapple the opponent and drag it close, and a drill to penetrate its armor.

12

Season 2 is currently in reruns… I saw it the first time around. Jay Leno paid for the bot, and it has his big ugly face on it, but he didn’t build it and he doesn’t drive it. Instead he holds a microphone and makes pathetic cheesy attempts at humorous commentary during the match. Gag.

I like Robot Wars… Matilda is my favorite of the house robots, but I think the house robots tip the scales in favor of one or the other robot far too strongly. They’re too aggressive.

Robotica can be fun, but not enough fighting.

Not about robots, but enjoyable to the same part of my brain, Junkyard Wars beats all of them :slight_smile:

13

Just to clarify the hijack:

Neither ‘Robot Wars’ or ‘Millionaire’ are BBC shows – the former is a Channel Four production, WWTBAM an ITV show (incidentally, ‘The Prisoner’ – quite possibly the best show in teevee history – was also the product of a commercial station). ‘Junkyard Wars’ is also Channel Four while ‘The Weakest Link’ is BBC - as was Python, Fawlty Towers, AbFab, Young Ones, etc. The BBC traditionally does comedy pretty well.

Of course, if you can invest in a big enough dish you can watch the BBC - I know people that live in several overseas countries and, if on very different time zones, tape what they want after printing off the online schedules. Kind of expensive on first mulling but its worth remembering there are no adverts and you won’t have to pay the annual license fee (as do UK residents). You might need to be a little broader minded about gratuitous foul language and sex but it is free !

Apologies for continuing the hijack!

14

Hmmm…

1. BattleBots.
It’s intensly Darwinian, and if you lurk the the BattleBots forum on Delphi, you’ll learn a large amount about electronics, motor theory, energy transfer, welding, machining, radio control, and a host of other geek-like subjects. Warning: You have to pass a test to get access (How’s that for keeping the riff-raff out?). There are hundreds and hundreds of builders (the Treasure Island 2001 event has 650+ registered 'bots), most of whom have started with little or no knowledge, and have quickly become at least very heavy on the subject of robots, some of them have become subject matter experts.

As for the complaints about boring combat, well, BattleBots is designed to test the quality of competing 'bots and their drivers, not the pocket of the producers. The hazards are there to add an element of tactics and strategy in design, otherwise all you’d see would be beefy wedge-bots. Too much creativity in BattleBox design would mean that the builders were competing with the show’s producers, not each other. The only combats that make video are the final series, when all the weak designs and shoddy construction has been beaten into scrap. That leaves the best designs, which are mostly similar, and then it gets pretty dry. Some designs, such as Vlad the Impaler, Mauler, Backlash and Ziggo are classics, and return essentially unchanged event after event, but every now and again, a new threat emerges, and all bets are off. Backlash was one of those, and everyone has had to scramble to meet it’s threat, and the threat of copy-cats. Toro, the super heavyweight flippy 'bot, is another (There’s nothing boring about a ‘bot that can flip 300+ pounds of robot 4’ in the air). Since Toro happened on the scene, everyone’s scrambling to put self-righting mechanisms on their SHW 'bots now. Vlad had one all along, and everybody scoffed. Now they’re all looking at Vlad’s design, and wondering how to go one better.

As for financial incentives, well, in building a 'bot, costs range from $3500 to $75000+ (Snake, built by Mark Setrakian). The measly $5000 purse offered by Comedy Central is in no way an incentive. It’s a nice pat on the back, at best.

2. Robotica
Different emphasis, less Darwinian, but still interesting. Most Robotica competitors are BattleBot builders testing new ideas in a less distructive enviroment. The Zappa kid has got to go, though.

3. Robot Wars
This is thinly veiled mass entertainment, with the competitor 'bots having no chance whatsoever against the house 'bots. The house 'bot have essentially no limits to weapons or mass, and they run rough-shod over the competitors. Too bad, too, as many of the competitor’s 'bots are quite worthy, and would do fine against anything resembling fair competition. Instead, you get somthing like a cross between Robotica and BattleBots, with head-to-head competion for a bit, followed by a paniced scramble for survival as the big boys come out to play. If you like watching bullies at play, then Robot wars is for you.

15

Mark Setrakian is an artist… his bots are beautiful and cool… but they suck in the ring. :stuck_out_tongue: Snake was exactly useless. Mechadon was amazingly cool… I’d have liked to see him just out in the ring by himself, moving around… however he fought like crap. :frowning:

16

I’m back again, and resurrecting another dead thread…

Actually, Mechadon and both versions of snake won some preliminary matches, IIRC. They are works of art, and genius too. It’s not just his 'bots, either. Did you see the controller for first version of Snake? It was a mini-snake, and anything Mark did to his controller, Snake duplicated in the Box. Amazing!

None-the-less, Mark’s beautiful 'bots are no match for the top competitors (whom are mostly butt-ugly by comparison).

17

I’ve never seen Robotica (no cable), but if Ahmet Zappa is anything on there like he was on his Comedy World show, I think I’d love it.

18

Hmph. Never seen the Comedy World Show, but every time I’ve seen Ahmet on the tube, he’s been an annoying dork. His Robotica presence is more annoying than usual. I really wish that the various producers would take these events a bit more seriously: This is real brain-power and skill being put on display, but the producers have decided that the only way to sell it is to go ‘WWF[sub]tm[/sub]’, ‘Wide World of Sports[sub]tm[/sub]’, ‘MTV[sub]tm[/sub]’, or some obnoxious combination of all the above. Ditch the annoying ‘hosts’ and bimbos, get a couple of real comentators (perhaps some of the more charismatic builders), and go ‘Bill Nye’ with the rest. Also: There are a lot of matches that go unseen in the preliminary rounds. Some of those are worthy of airtime.

19

Didn’t someone tell you that it’s not cool to be a geek? You’re probably some skinny little pocket protector wearing nerd with a stutter, aren’t you? I bet you’d cry if someone stole your slide rule. Wimp.*

[sub]*This statement not to be taken seriously, as sturmhauke is, in fact, a geek. He does not wear a pocket protector or a slide rule, however. Bill Nye rules. [/sub]

20

Actually, the Ahmet Zappa Show was on the Comedy World Radio Network, which is unfortunately out of business now.

I agree about the WWF aspect… but if that’s what they have to do to get mass-market viewers (and I suspect it is), it’s better than not having it televised at all.