Subject:
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Re: GBC does nothing for me
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Sun, 27 Feb 2005 07:45:25 GMT
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Original-From:
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Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail^NoMoreSpam^.net>
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Viewed:
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990 times
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Mark Bellis wrote:
> > So what I thought I'd do is to construct a fantasy specification of an
> > alternative to GBC. Somthing diametrically opposed to gbc.
> >
> > ~ GBC is
> > ~ So the alternative is
> >
> > ~ Random (balls roll around)
> > ~ Linear
> >
> > ~ Repetative (same action over again)
> > ~ Random (note 1)
> >
> > ~ balls
> > ~ blocks (2x2)
> >
> > ~ Fast
> > ~ Slow
> >
> > ~ Imprecise
> > ~ Precise
> >
> > ~ Noisy
> > ~ Quiet
> >
> > ~ Cheap
> > ~ Expensive (Lots of RCX's)
But these are all things that makes GBC ideal for it's application
as a mass-appeal event.
* Random not linear...
Allowing laxity over ball arrival times allows for more
variety in the way mechanisms work - which gives a much
higher chance that 100 machines made by 50 people who never
met before will actually play together.
* Repetitive not random...
If you are running this at a show, people are not going to
stand around for hours waiting for something interesting to
happen. A basically repetitive machine won't get boring because
people aren't going to be standing there watching for hours on
end - at most, they'll watch each module for a few tens of seconds
and move on. If there is something a module does that isn't aparrent
in just a few seconds of viewing, it's wasted effort from a showmanship
perspective. Also, if it's repetitive, you'll find bugs in it more
easily. With a random machine, it could run OK during testing
then fail repeatedly and annoyingly throughout the actual show because
it's doing something random that you hadn't thought of.
* Balls not blocks...
Balls can be grasped and slid around - but they also roll. Blocks
can slide and be picked up - but they aren't very 'animate' by
themselves. Also, the rotational symmetry of balls make them
MUCH easier to deal with.
* Fast not slow...
Makes it more visually appealing.
* Imprecise not precise...
That's necessary in order that a bunch of machines made to simple
specifications will work together.
* Noisy not Quiet...
Again - it makes a better demonstration - and it allows for more
variety. I *can* make a machine that moves the balls around
noiselessly - but if I want to throw them around, I can. More
variety equals good.
* Cheap not Expensive...
Better because more people can participate - and because (again),
it gives you more variety. I can make a simple, but elegant machine
that runs off a battery box and one motor - or something fiendishly
complex with half a dozen cooperative RCX's and piles of motors and
sensors. This allows a technics neophyte with just a couple of
technics sets to participate.
All of the decisions the GBC enforces make for more participation and
more audience appreciation. That's important for a big show that the
general public can come to and anyone can contribute a module to.
Doing things the way you suggest makes for an elitist system that very
few people would contribute too - that would be hard to get running
reliably and which would be much less exciting to look at.
That doesn't mean that your idea is 'wrong' - it's just wrong for a
big public show.
---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
HomeEmail: <sjbaker1@airmail.net> WorkEmail: <sjbaker@link.com>
HomePage : http://www.sjbaker.org
Projects : http://plib.sf.net http://tuxaqfh.sf.net
http://tuxkart.sf.net http://prettypoly.sf.net
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: GBC does nothing for me
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| (...) Your reply, with quotes attributed to me, contained none of my words! These were Steve Lane's suggestions. Please take care when quoting others. I merely build something that fits a few of the contrary suggestions, simply because building (...) (20 years ago, 27-Feb-05, to lugnet.robotics)
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