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Robot Wars returns!

I like the new twist too, with the Tyre now either selecting to lower the Pit or release all the House Robots to reak havoc. I really hope we see some new teams as well as returning teams this series.
 
I have been avoiding this thread until i was able to watch it. I agree with whats being said so i am not going to rehash the comnents.
It is going to be good to see how things are going to pan out.
 
10th season confirmed makes me happy, it is heading in the right direction as well. Now, remove that terribly dull intro and make something good there and I'll be happy
 
It was a good start to the series, I thought, though I agree that the format causes issues. Quite frankly I don't understand why people would build and enter an ineffective Nuts, Jellyfish or Gabriel when there's a good chance of a monster like Aftershock or Carbide shredding it, but if they're going to then let's do it properly and have the original format back; 1v1 battles where robots can go all out, and immobilised robots can be picked on by the house robots because they won't need to be patched up for another battle.
 
When you think about it, it's amazing how they've managed to make robots shredding eachother to bits so dull to watch.
 
My thoughts on both new series as a childhood fanboy:
  • In almost every way the new series is a vast improvement on the old, from the battles to the production values and the look and feel of the presentation. Watching the old one on YouTube, it now appears dull in comparison.
  • The camera quality is obviously way better than in the late nineties but sometimes it doesn't seem to be filmed particularly well. Important moments are sometimes missed, or only filmed from odd angles (like from the House Robot cam). Not enough cameras, or increased arena security making it more difficult?
  • It's often difficult to keep track of what's going on in the group battles with four robots slugging it out.
  • As in its old incarnation, Robot Wars' greatest downfall is that there's always too much talking. A lot of this could be cut and the programme be a tighter 45 - 50 minutes. I always fast-forward through the talking after the group battles.
  • Jonathan Pearce remains the programme's greatest strength - as before, his commentary makes the whole thing immensely likeable. Craig Charles isn't missed, but Dara Ó Briain doesn't exactly bring a lot to the table.
  • The judges just choosing an extra finalist feels so arbitrary. Would it not be possible to do seven episode series?
  • Although they've mixed up the presenting duties a bit it still feels like they've stuck to the slightly dated format of 'male presenter, female pit reporter'. Scanlon is good - she could have been the main presenter.
  • Getting rid of the balcony and just presenting links from the arena floor is a definite improvement.
  • For the reasons mentioned above (very destructive robots, more battles per episode), roboteers seem more hesitant than in the old series to really go for the other robot once it's been immobilised. Obviously this is nice, sportsmanlike attitude and all, but it does make it slightly dull when a robot is immobilised with the first hit and then it just ends. House Robots should step it up a bit when that happens and deal out a bit of gratuitous violence. :rage:
  • Carbide is awesome, by far and away the best competitor in either incarnation of the show. Aftershock and Ironside 3 are also excellent. Overall, vastly more exciting robots and I think the mix of weapons isn't too bad - it'll always be dominated by spinners and flippers.
  • The way all the pit lights go off in sequence just before a battle is a really nice touch.
  • Dead Metal was my favourite House Robot as a kid and remains so now - it's awesome. Like some abstract H. R. Giger sculpture come to life. Just a mesmerising physical object.
  • Matilda is a feminist ICON.
  • It'd be nice to have Bash back (love the kinda military-fetish vibe) but not essential. On no account do we need back Refbot, Growler, Mr. Psycho or that even crappier one they added right at the end. The Rogue House Robot thing is decent but they need to be careful not to make too many additions or the whole thing eventually becomes a bit cluttered and gimmicky like it did last time around.
  • I like the science skits with the judges. Gives it a gossamer thin veneer of being educational. Good to see a more diverse judging panel too.
  • They need to toughen up the arena a bit so they don't keep having to stop fights.
  • As Clive Martin said, Apollo are the 'Boiler Room Robot Wars team'. I don't think Robot Wars is something that #ArchbishopsOfBanterbury should be any good at so I enjoyed seeing them go out.
  • Highlight of the series: the Behemoth captain storming out of an interview because he got beat by some children.
 
My honest opinion is that the robot fight is good when the house robots actually do something. The talk sections are just boring so I always skip them. To be honest, I watched 1 episode and thought that 1 episode was more than enough to watch for the entire series
 
Second series has benefited from improvements to the safety switch, remember last year that every other fight seemingly would end due to the safety switch cutting out.
 
Scrap the league, scrap the talking bits even more, scrap the intro and make it a proper fight to the death. Style points awarded for having to remove the other bot with a broom
 
I'm still not a fan of the mini league format they've got now, OK it means we now get far more battles per episode then we used to, but it means that most of said battles are either horribly one sided (as one machine is still mostly broken from the previous bout) or just 3 minutes of both robots limping around in a state of near-death. A straight knockout format means broken stuff goes out straight away.

It doesn't help that there's far more spinners than there ever used to be, and they're so much more powerful too. In the 'classic' series it was mainly flippers/lifters and axes. Genuinely destructive machines were pretty rare. As a result, far more battles went the distance or ended with someone in the pit, as the bots weren't capable of delivering the knockout blow, so most defeated bots could be repaired relatively easily most of the time and be ready to go again if needed. Hypnodisc's arrival resulted in everyone panicking and adding loads more armour, resulting in even more stalemates as only the most powerful weapons were capable of doing damage.
 
I agree, it should be to the DEATH. None of this tactical "we don't want to be mean to the other team" codswallop. Goddamn special snowflakes invading our robogeddon...
 
I gave up watching it as it was to reliant of pit and flipper victories, like others have said it should be last robot standing, ban strong armour to so robots will get torn apart and ban flippers to.
 
There should be NO rules. I want to see quadcopter robots raining down a hail of lead from above! I want to see electronic jamming and even EMP weapons! I want to see a fracking thermite cannon cleave a 'bot in twain! I want to see a 'bot laying high explosive armour piercing shaped charge mines!

.... At the very least, get rid of the bloody arena hazards and time limit.
 
I think they should extend the battle time by 2 mins. And if you attacked a house robot before the extra 2 mins. It can come and attack you in the last 2 mins anywhere in the arena.

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I have seen magntar bits. I was at a local fastening (bolt, screws, etc) manufacturer when Ellis was there working the details of the bolts that hold the casing together.

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