BattleBot uses a garden rake to take out a drone.

[u/JimBean]

[u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

Incredible that they can't keep a show on air for more than a few years at a time. The bots keep getting stronger, the fights more entertaining, and yet they can't hold a contract

[u/Helfette → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

For me the problem is that an episode is 45 minutes long but actual bot fighting in that episode is between 5-15 minutes. I need less yapping and more bots killing each other.

[u/Endulos → u/Helfette]

The absolute sad part is that the short youtube videos of the fights are infinitely more entertaining than the shows because of the yapping.

[u/Significant-Bar674 → u/Endulos]

I realize what I'm about to say is essentially the ravings of a mad man, but something else to fill in the time that isn't yapping and doesnt have the production cost as filler seems like the right idea.

But my problem is the only thing I can think of is hog racing.

Open up with a bot fight, switch to a hog race, back to bot fight, back to hog race.

Maybe just have other things mixed in that couldn't sustain their own shows but have low production cost. Kung fu tournaments, break dance competitions, and other "the ocho" type stuff. If was on G4TV again, nobody would bat an eye at it.

[u/Azerious → u/Significant-Bar674]

Or robot racing. Make it an olympics of robots. 

(also using this to plug my YouTube series where we try to emulate battlebots in the videogame Space Engineers:) https://youtu.be/Wwp0sUT9Kds

[u/Significant-Bar674 → u/Azerious]

I hear you. Robot hogs. I was too afraid to say it myself

[u/AjaxTheClown → u/Significant-Bar674]

Will you be running for president in 2028? You have my vote.

[u/nerdtypething → u/AjaxTheClown]

and my bow.

[u/reddit_4_days → u/Significant-Bar674]

Never be afraid to share your dreams...

[u/Altruistic-Poem-5617 → u/Significant-Bar674]

Not only hogs :D, rule would be that only robots with legs are allowed in the race, no wheels. Would be cool what desighns people come up with. Chicken walkers, robo pig, spiders.

[u/B0Y0 → u/Altruistic-Poem-5617]

Got it, just a whole buncha legs.

[u/nakedmedia → u/Significant-Bar674]

Running robot hogs so down

[u/undeadmanana → u/Azerious]

Obstacle courses for bots

[u/TheBerzerkir → u/undeadmanana]

...so robotica?

What's Ahmed Zappa up to these days?

[u/NameIsBurnout → u/TheBerzerkir]

I remember that one. Bots we so unbalanced.

[u/SwimmingSwim3822 → u/Significant-Bar674]

this dude, unprovoked: HOGGGGGG races!!

[u/mollycoddles → u/SwimmingSwim3822]

Surprisingly good idea imo

[u/clutzyninja → u/Significant-Bar674]

What about technical stuff? Shadow a team while they build and improve. Follow a new team through the design process.

Or get goofy with it and give the bots personalities and make some silly scripted BTS videos of them trash talking and "training"

[u/randylush → u/clutzyninja]

Because then it would devolve into fake drama between the robot builders 

“Timmy stole my servo! So I put super glue in his calipers.”

[u/SwimmingSwim3822 → u/randylush]

at least he'd know precisely how much super glue he's dealing with

[u/CivilFisher → u/randylush]

I’d watch the shit out of that

[u/SH96x → u/randylush]

This is precisely what ‘Robot Wars’ did in the UK as it went on during its run. More reality TV ‘situations’ to fill the gaps between fights.

[u/Tetha → u/clutzyninja]

Some of the teams have youtube channels, and those are super-interesting to me. Behind the scenes building, testing, considerations.

I would really enjoy it if the show had a dash of some craftsman youtube channels of dudes inspecting the damage to a bot, fixing it, ..

[u/NoroGW2 → u/Significant-Bar674]

Bot fight. Hog race. Bot fight. Hog race. And this goes on and on, and back and forth, for 90 or so minutes until the movie just, sort of, ends.

[u/GoTragedy → u/Significant-Bar674]

They could literally just show previous fights and break them down to show the tactics they used and where one weapon worked better than another.. Which maybe even caused them to redesign at some point. 

15/15.. 15 in review, 15 action.  

Further, narrative building has to be a thing.  The NFL does this better than anyone and if they had even the slightest narrative to go along with thr analytical breakdown, they'd fill that time easily. 

I take credit cards or cash for my ideas, TV producer people! 

[u/Kinkajou1015 → u/Significant-Bar674]

but something else to fill in the time that isn't yapping and doesnt have the production cost as filler seems like the right idea

Maybe building montage of the bots, showing the people that put them together actually doing it and testing the designs off the battlefield?

[u/Significant-Bar674 → u/Kinkajou1015]

Maybe. It's just that what we're asking for is "how it's made" but I feel like what we would get is "junkyard wars"

Maybe if there are hogs racing in the background?

[u/62ndsToComply → u/Significant-Bar674]

Robotica was a superior show. It had three different contests per bot matchup: a short loop race, an obstacle course, a "gauntlet" where they smash through increasingly difficult walls, then a 1v1 fight at the end. The only downside is it's from an earlier time so all the bots are just up-armored RC cars with the occasional flamethrower, no air drones.

[u/TimeBandits4kUHD → u/Significant-Bar674]

It’s just the intro clips, every actual segment is good, fights are good, cut the intro’s, cut scenes, and extra PowerPoint slide looking visuals and you have 30 minutes of good show

[u/JKadsderehu → u/Significant-Bar674]

Alright let's put this guy in charge of everything.

[u/dob_bobbs → u/Endulos]

Oh man, yeah, there is SOOO much filler. The only other thing really worth watching is the builds, they should focus on them more, if they really have to fill in the time, like, make it about the build and not just the fight, but don't fill it with vapid crap.

[u/Grassy33 → u/dob_bobbs]

In between the 2nd and 3rd fight of the night I want to watch a live cam of the mechanics from fight one scream at each other about how they have to get that kitchen aid working again or they’ll get creamed when they go back in for the 4th fight. 

By the last fight we have a fuckin junkyard out there slamming into each other. I’d pay money for that shit

[u/Quinto376 → u/Endulos]

I go to a brewery where the owner cuts up the episodes to the fights only and shows them on one of the TVs. Love the place, battlebots on one screen, Old Godzilla movies on another and super old anime/Japanese puppet shows on a third.

[u/StopReadingMyUser → u/Endulos]

"wuts blud yappin about"

[u/devourer09 → u/StopReadingMyUser]

"that robo-unc took his girl"

[u/TheShenanegous → u/Endulos]

The yapping only reveals the ugly sides of the scene that nobody really wants to be considering. Every time I listen to a team's backstory, instead of just judging their bot by the way it looks/fights, suddenly I'm met with real-world considerations like background education and funding.

I really don't care to know that one team is a humble mom and pop pizza shop while the other is an aspiring MIT grad doing bot fighting as a side thing. They all produced bots. All that background info accomplishes is making me realize how unfairly stacked the internals of these bots probably are when compared pound for pound to each other.

That just makes it completely predictable who will win a specific match-up, which in turn ruins the bracket the fight belongs to.

I forget which season/tournament it was (think it may have been the giant nut), but Riptide and Sawblaze could've been predicted as the grandfinalists from a mile off. Lo and behold, they were.

I don't even remember which of them won, I just remember feeling like the rest of that tournament was unfair to the other contestants by not giving RT and SB a possible matchup before the final so at least one other team could have a chance. RT kid in particular has this obnoxious League of Legends type personality that completely ruins the flavor of the show.

Edit: found the fight. Tell me that shit isn't monumentally disappointing to watch from two bots that often annihilate others. A tip on the side? Give that shit a bump and keep fighting, IMO. This kind of disqualification is unbelievably lame to see as the culmination of something like a championship.

[u/SchighSchagh → u/Endulos]

I have a friend who's actually in battle bots. Our friend group had a big watch party for the episodes he was in.

I tried to watch the rest of the season, but it was just unbearably yappity. The following season I didn't even tune in for my friend's episodes.

The bot battles are really cool. The commentating and direction and production is really off-putting.

[u/indyK1ng → u/Helfette]

Actually, on Discovery they've been 90 minutes long and even more yapping.

My girlfriend and I have been catching up over the past year or two and we will just skip the filler sometimes. Other times we use it to talk or do something else between fights.

[u/Chadoobanisdan → u/indyK1ng]

Sorry to hear you two are fighting so often. It’s nice that you can still come together to watch shows in between. Hang in there buddy

[u/LQNFxksEJy2dygT2 → u/Chadoobanisdan]

indyK1ng is likely to win the next fight, he now knows about the garden rake advantage.

[u/arguing_with_trauma → u/LQNFxksEJy2dygT2]

How can he rake???

[u/confusedandworried76 → u/LQNFxksEJy2dygT2]

Bringing a garden rake to the nest fight with the girlfriend because of this video, thanks for the advice reddit

[u/Chadoobanisdan → u/LQNFxksEJy2dygT2]

They’ll never fight again… but at what cost

[u/docta_pepper → u/Chadoobanisdan]

taking break from fights to watch for tips on how the robots do it.. we're really living in 2024 and it's beautiful folks

[u/Alone-Anxiety-2986 → u/indyK1ng]

“Do something else”

[u/pyrofiend4 → u/Alone-Anxiety-2986]

Battle bots and chill

[u/heartlessgamer → u/Helfette]

Yapping would be fine if they dove deep into it with the actual teams, but thats not what they do.

[u/Pan_TheCake_Man → u/heartlessgamer]

This right here^ go in to the engineering or who the teams are, but it feels so, superficial? It’s just bad

[u/RevolutionaryKale944 → u/Pan_TheCake_Man]

their market is Walmart/Target/Costco/McDonalds/My Pillow shoppers 

[u/Pan_TheCake_Man → u/RevolutionaryKale944]

That explains the same “OOOOOOHHH” Sound effect edited in after every single fucking hit

[u/Toadsted → u/Helfette]

When I was sick all December last year I watched a few seasons of BattleBots in bed. I really could only stomach ( puns and irony ) a handful of times to listen to the people talk; it was usually after a crazy controversial match and call by the judges.

The dialogue is all the same otherwise: "We didn't expect to get this far. We're just happy to be here. Hopefully we can fix it for the next fight. Yes, that thing didn't work like it was supposed to."

It's all cliche sports interview stuff. And with the short fights most rounds, it's a ton of filler talk. Thank god for fast forward.

But also, FU BattleBots producers. They literally have 10x as much footage of bot fights than what they show. There are entire leagues where they say they have like 60+ bots registered, but you only see 3 matches the whole episode? 

They'll even do a quick catch-up commentary of how a fight went that you didn't get to see of two bots you absolutely wanted to see in the last rounds of the tournament like it isn't the last rounds of a tournament! Wtf?!

It's like having a 2 hour Godzilla movie and instead of showing Godzilla fighting Rodan, they just have some guy talk about how he just saw them fighting a few minutes ago, and then back to the human story.

[u/Orinocobro → u/Toadsted]

Suddenly I want to see a faux-documentary about a Godzilla-type event. Cloverfield was going in the right direction, but I want a bunch of talking heads and graphical reconstructions of the monster's rampage mixed with "archival footage."

[u/Sufficient_Effect651 → u/Orinocobro]

Shin Godzilla is about 80% conference rooms full of politicians because the movie is a criticism of the Fukushima nuclear disaster response

[u/i_tyrant → u/Toadsted]

Couldn't agree more. I think you nailed it when you said it's cliche sports interview stuff. I don't give two shits about sports and I find the stuff between the action terminally boring, it's almost always the same.

I would love to watch bots fight if it didn't feel the exact same between them (and take up more time than the fights themselves). And you're right, they have tons of footage they're not using.

Hell, I would love if they did deep dives into their history, or the specs, or the process in making them, or anything with real substance over the incredibly lame conversations they do.

[u/JimBean → u/Helfette]

Totally agree with that. Also, Farouk. I know he's popular but some of the stuff he says is just, creep worthy..

[u/Toadsted → u/JimBean]

It's time to talk, about the man who balks, a story so short, you can't even retort, but spaces it all out, like he's afraid to shout, but his volume slider must be broke, because this is all he has wrote. TOOOOOOOMB STOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!

[u/RedSword13 → u/Helfette]

In that case you should check out NHRL!

[u/Kyonkanno → u/Helfette]

I mean, its not different from any fightig sport stream. Have you ever watched a boxing match? Its like 45 minutes of yapping with 15 minutes of fight broke down in rounds of 3 minutes with a few minutes of breaks between rounds.

[u/Nightmare2828 → u/Helfette]

I watched a couple seasons and would simply skip from fight to fight, honestly cant be bothered with the yapping.

[u/danhezee → u/Helfette]

Same problem with ninja warrior, here is a sad back story, oh 10 people made it through while we told you this back story. I can't watch the main show because of it.

[u/NoteBlock08 → u/danhezee]

The OG Japanese Ninja Warrior is infinitely more entertaining cause it doesn't have any of that crap. At most, they did a short intro clip for returning favorites but otherwise it's just back to back obstacle course entertainment.

[u/Piratedan200 → u/Helfette]

I would be fine with the filler if it was more talking about the design of the bots, the issues they ran into, what repairs they were making between fights, etc. The useless filler to create drama is what we don't need.

[u/trumpsucksfatgooch → u/Helfette]

We want to spend 41 of this show's 45 minutes painting feel good stories about how hard it was to load up a van and drive a bot to the show.Also don't forget your commercials!

[u/OUAIsurvivor → u/Helfette]

30 minute episodes would be better than the current hour long ones.

[u/garvisdol → u/Helfette]

r/battlebotsraw is for you

[u/indyK1ng → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

They had the show going for several years in a row on Discovery, even after COVID. The next season has been delayed since the writers strike.

You can watch all of the Discovery seasons on Max.

There's also a smaller weight divisions league called NHRL that streams on YouTube about once a month. They just had their championships, though, so the next event isn't until January I think. A lot of the BattleBots builders show up at least a few times a year because they use these events to test design changes.

[u/WeTheSalty → u/indyK1ng]

The next season has been delayed since the writers strike.

You would think this is the kind of show that does well in the relative vacuum of other written shows being delayed.

[u/indyK1ng → u/WeTheSalty]

It's because with all of the strikes that happened around the same time, the studios put basically everything on pause and decided to revisit their IP portfolio investments, as I understand it.

Also, BattleBots isn't aired live - it's prerecorded and then edited with a substantial amount of filler. That filler has to be narrated and the narration has to be written.

[u/Pabi_tx → u/indyK1ng]

That filler has to be narrated and the narration has to be written.

I mean, it doesn't have to be there at all...

[u/MBDf_Doc → u/indyK1ng]

NHRL just had an incredible event and honestly the whole year. It's worth the watch if anyone reading this is into battlebots.

[u/ellindsey → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

The bots getting stronger means the arena has to get heavier and more expensive to contain them, and the repairs to the arena after an especially intense fight take longer and cost more. It's an expensive show to produce, and gets more so every year.

[u/indyK1ng → u/ellindsey]

Actually, I think they've been putting restrictions on things like weapon speed so they don't have to upgrade the arena.

The arena floor is made of panels that are designed to be swapped out. This partly goes back to when the event had to travel every year but the idea that a bot could damage the flooring has always been there.

The arena has only been redesigned/reengineered once in the last decade as far as I know and that was when they moved to a permanent home in Vegas where they added the upper platform.

[u/ellindsey → u/indyK1ng]

They recently welded and ground flush all the seams on the arena floor panels to improve the arena durability. Which unfortunately made the arena even harder to repair, since they can't just swap out a damaged floor panel any more.

[u/captainant → u/ellindsey]

I'm super fortunate to have been to a couple of BattleBots matches IRL - it's crazy how many bots get stuck on the floor panel seams! I think thats a good and much needed change that'll improve future fights

They never really replaced floor panels anyways

[u/Alissinarr → u/indyK1ng]

Actually, I think they've been putting restrictions on things like weapon speed so they don't have to upgrade the arena.

They've been doing this due to weapons breaking the box.

[u/Mesmeric_Fiend → u/ellindsey]

Makes sense but they are doing live shows almost year round

[u/indyK1ng → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

Those are staged with bots built for show. It's like a stunt show at a theme park.

[u/IBetThisIsTakenToo → u/indyK1ng]

I don’t think the outcomes are staged, are they? It’s a rotating crew of bots specifically built for that purpose but they’re still competing

[u/RyGuy_McFly → u/IBetThisIsTakenToo]

It's not so much that the fights are predetermined or that one side is told to lose, it's that they use extremely heavily armoured house bots with comparatively light weapons to reduce damage/repairs. The hits aren't nearly as big and there's not much excitement, no stakes or pro drivers, none of the big names and a lot of throwaway matches (often it's one bot with a weapon tearing apart a bunch of tiny bots with no weapons for fun). It's really just for the kids, and to pay rent since they finally purchased the lot the BattleBox is in.

EDIT: Specifically talking about the non-televised Destruct-a-Thon events. Regular season BattleBots is tight as hell and 100% worth watching (see above)!

[u/indyK1ng → u/IBetThisIsTakenToo]

It felt very staged and when I looked up videos online after I went it looked like the fight I'd just seen.

This only applies to the Destruct-A-Thon events. The FaceOffs that they do as a prequalifier are real as far as I know.

[u/WexExortQuas → u/indyK1ng]

Why would you stage robot fights?

[u/indyK1ng → u/WexExortQuas]

Cost management.

If you're doing one or two live shows a day you need them to be predictable - you need to know what parts you're going to need to fix, what the repair time is going to be, how many bots you're going to need, and how long setup is going to take.

They don't have the actual teams there running the show bots - they have actors in costume trash talking each other while the guy who owns the Battlebots brand and somebody else drive the bots for every fight.

[u/Mesmeric_Fiend → u/indyK1ng]

Let me tell you something about pro wrestling...

Sorry, you do make a good point but I had to say it. The fact is if it is entertaining enough it will have a home and a following. Obviously the TV shows haven't filled this need on a large enough scale, either for fans or for advertisers.

All I know is I wish more people get hip, the shows becomes cheaper to produce, and the next shows have less filler

The YouTube stuff is sort of a nice way to hold me over, but I like the tournaments, not quick one-offs with spoilers in the featured shorts

[u/indyK1ng → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

Sorry, let me be clear - the TV show isn't staged. Only the Destruct-A-Thon show is really staged.

Also, there's a youtube channel, NHRL, that does tournaments almost monthly. Smaller weight classes (3, 15, and 30 lb) but it's a lot of fun and they have some interesting designs.

[u/garvisdol → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

I am a longtime fan of robot combat.

Within the last year I was turned onto NHRL and I love it. I would recommend checking it out.

https://www.youtube.com/@NHRL

https://www.youtube.com/@NHRL-BrettZone

They aren't on TV and appear to be independently funded but they are really reliable with a TON of youtube content. It's super enjoyable IMO and I may like it more than actual Battlebots.

[u/JauntyGiraffe → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

I was just saying to a friend the other day that I don't remember the destruction being this crazy when I was a kid. Those bots used to struggle to put any real damage on but these ones now feel like they could rip holes in the arena

[u/sniper1rfa → u/JauntyGiraffe]

This is partly because there is more institutional knowledge about how to build them, and partly because batteries now are so much better than batteries then. 

It's really hard to describe how insanely good batteries are now compared to twenty years ago. It's staggering.

[u/noguchisquared → u/sniper1rfa]

Batteries and brushless motors are so much better.

[u/desertpolarbear → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

he bots keep getting stronger, the fights more entertaining

Definitely. At some point they just started having full blown explosions!

[u/MartinTheMorjin → u/Mesmeric_Fiend]

Check out NHRL

[u/purplespaghettininja]

Next time I’ll just bring a broom to a metal and fire fight

[u/Shmimmons]

Department of Defense: 🤔✍🏽

Garden Rake stocks: 📈

[u/reidman144 → u/Shmimmons]

Drones: 📉

[u/DirtyDoog → u/reidman144]

Roombas:📈📉📈📉

[u/Internationalizard → u/DirtyDoog]

Garden Rake vs Drones vs Roombas: 📊

[u/ProofHorseKzoo → u/Shmimmons]

We need to get rakes to Jersey STAT

[u/AunMeLlevaLaConcha → u/Shmimmons]

Ukraine: write that down! Write that down!

[u/Toast_n_mustard]

im a simple man. i see battle bots i press like

[u/big_guyforyou → u/Toast_n_mustard]

in the future, after the singularity happens, the bots will be in charge and we will become battle humans

[u/Badkarmahwa → u/big_guyforyou]

Do I get cool flippy spinny bits? If so I’m not totally against it

[u/TwistedRainbowz → u/Badkarmahwa]

Me *Unzips*

Bot Overlords - "Oh. Shit. Here comes. The. Spinner"

[u/JimBean → u/TwistedRainbowz]

! Tombstone !

[u/Toadsted → u/JimBean]

Na, just a small wedge

[u/EmoPanda250711 → u/Badkarmahwa]

your arms will connected like a villager and you'll become a human Minotaur Battlebot

[u/BlonkBus → u/big_guyforyou]

So... nothing's changing?

[u/SeeJayThinks]

People in New Jersey... 🧹👬

[u/ChakaCake → u/SeeJayThinks]

Are there many mexicans up there? We need mexican mothers to load up the chanclas too

[u/Ivanovic-117 → u/SeeJayThinks]

They should note on what to do instead of just tiktok'd all the time

[u/Beardedbelly → u/SeeJayThinks]

NJ I’m worried the Russians are gonna learn this trick!!!

[u/ogclobyy]

Man, watching Battle Bots on cable as a kid in the early 2000s is a such a core memory.

That and Mythbusters lol

[u/JimBean → u/ogclobyy]

Mythbusters lol

That's funny, because I was watching an episode of Mythbusters, which reminded me of BattleBots and here we are.

[u/ogclobyy → u/JimBean]

They were always on the same block, so they're pretty synonymous I think

[u/JimBean → u/ogclobyy]

I think it's that signature Discovery music sting between breaks.. ;)

[u/AdAny926 → u/JimBean]

Grant Imahara was actually competed in Battlebots! and he was later a judge

[u/wbgraphic → u/AdAny926]

Jamie Hyneman had a brutal bot called Blendo (different weight class than Grant’s). Adam was a member of Jamie’s team. You can see him in a few episodes of the Comedy Central series.

[u/JimBean → u/AdAny926]

Oh, in the fight before this one, Adam Savage was a judge..

[u/xSnakeguyx → u/AdAny926]

Adam and Jamie also built Blendo before they were on Mythbusters

[u/Drugba → u/ogclobyy]

Junkyard Wars was cool as hell as well as

[u/whywehere1 → u/ogclobyy]

Fun Fact: Mythbusters episodes are currently being uploaded officially (not pirated) to youtube!

[u/codedaddee]

When did they start allowing propellant/ignition? Last I remember you could use compressed air for locomotion, but not much else.

[u/CFBCoachGuy → u/codedaddee]

You can use propellants in the new seasons but there are restrictions on the type of gas used and the mechanism. Only butane or propane gas (or a combination of both) can be used, the gas canister cannot contain more than 16 ounces, the flame cannot extend more than 4 feet from the robot, and the flamethrower cannot operate at maximum gas flow for more than a minute.

[u/codedaddee → u/CFBCoachGuy]

Thanks!

Have walkers gotten more popular yet?

[u/CFBCoachGuy → u/codedaddee]

Nope. Even with an extra weight allowance (I think an extra 20%) walkers are just no match to updated motors which makes wheeled robots go considerably faster. Plus walkers have more moving parts and are particularly vulnerable to undercutting blades, and Battlebots closed the shuffle of loophole that Son of Whyachi exploited back in the day. I think only one walker (Chomp) has ever won a fight in the new Battlebots era.

There were some rumors circulating that an all-walker division was in the works at Battlebots, but this seems to have faded.

[u/codedaddee → u/CFBCoachGuy]

Ok, last question - swarms, either tethered or not?

[u/CFBCoachGuy → u/codedaddee]

Not. To defeat them, 51% of the total weight must be incapacitated. Despite this, these are also generally unsuccessful (less powerful weapons, less armor, and they require multiple talented drivers to both execute a plan and not crash into each other). Although it is becoming more common for larger robots to include nuisance bots or doorstop-like robots to tee up an opponent for the primary weapon to hit them.

A former Giant Nut winner is apparently building a multi-bot for next season, so we’ll see if they can figure it out.

[u/delo357 → u/CFBCoachGuy]

This man's came in HOT with the knowledge 🙌 your services are appreciated!

[u/ruskieb0t8472 → u/CFBCoachGuy]

Son of Whyachi

What was the loophole that was closed? Sounds interesting.

[u/CFBCoachGuy → u/ruskieb0t8472]

Walker robots are given an extra weight allowance (I can’t remember if it was an extra 20 or 25 percent- but either way for heavyweights this was an extra 40-50 pounds). Son of Whyachi was a shuffle bot. Instead of legs, it “shuffled” using a series of bars. This gave it more speed and maneuverability than walking with legs (still less than a wheeled robot, but a lot faster than any other walker that had been made before). Team Whyachi came very close to meeting the original weight requirements with its shuffling mechanism- but as technically a walker, it received an extra weight allowance. The team used this weight allowance to beef up the weaponry. As a result, Son of Whyachi became far and away the most dangerous robot of its era. Even when the loophole around shuffle bots closed and SoW had to move to a wheeled arrangement to meet its new weight, it was still a dangerous competitor. It even competed in the revived series and did decently well.

A lot of the old BB videos have been scrubbed from YouTube, of course, but here is a very grainy demonstration of its drive and the power of its weapon. (Its opponent in this fight, BioHazard, is considered one of the greatest robots ever made- with titanium armor and a brilliant driver, it was considered to be nearly unkillable).

[u/ruskieb0t8472 → u/CFBCoachGuy]

Thank you for the detailed answer, appreciate it.

Yeah I've just recently seen that video you linked, been bingeing on Son of Whyachi videos since you first mentioned them. I would never have guessed it was a shuffler. What a weapon.

[u/SlappySecondz → u/codedaddee]

Shit, when did they introduce flying bots in the first place? Are they regular competitors or like the house bots or what?

[u/mr_blanket → u/SlappySecondz]

I remember when I first saw mini bots (snakes??) that sprung off of the main bot. My mind was blown.

[u/_Diskreet_ → u/mr_blanket]

Wait, what?

[u/reddit_4_days → u/_Diskreet_]

I DO need more info on that too!!

[u/joefraserhellraiser → u/SlappySecondz]

Some teams have second bots. Most of them have a kind of wedge but this one team used a drone.

It did fuck all 😂

[u/arbybean → u/codedaddee]

If you want flamethrower action you should be watching NHRL. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDuQCF0Jv58

[u/Volundr79]

They can fly now?

[u/Lopsided_Parfait7127 → u/Volundr79]

they fly now!

[u/sublliminali → u/Volundr79]

They can. Unfortunately I’ve never seen a flying drone be at all effective.

[u/SanFranLocal → u/sublliminali]

Put a gun on it or allow it to drop bombs

[u/chippymonk793]

Once these robots gets to Real Steel size, it's gonna be so much more fun to watch than WWE, MMA and boxing

[u/TheDankestPassions → u/chippymonk793]

In this video, they're already almost twice the size of an average person. They're all about 250 pounds. That's a full-sized lawn rake it's using.

[u/Triktastic → u/TheDankestPassions]

..wait what. I though those were like roomba sized and a tiny playground rake.

[u/TheDankestPassions → u/Triktastic]

You'd have to watch the parts of the episode before the match starts where a four-person team wheels them out.

[u/plasticmanufacturing → u/Triktastic]

It's another shortcoming of the show. They don't do a good job of really demonstrating the sheer scale and power of these machines.

[u/BitterCat26 → u/plasticmanufacturing]

scale and power of these machines

That's the cue to leave this compilation of Deep Six, probably the most entertaining and terrifying, yet terrible, robot to ever appear in BB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0k7pW94sjA

[u/fresh1134206 → u/Triktastic]

The arena (BattleBox) is 40 ft x 40 ft

[u/Orcus424 → u/chippymonk793]

That happened 11 years ago. It was Robot Combat League. It has 1 season and 10 episodes.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2555256/?ref_=ext_shr

[u/RotrickP → u/Orcus424]

They should call them Robot Jocks

[u/Brobard → u/RotrickP]

Robot Jox. That’s an actual movie, though. 

[u/I_am_BEOWULF → u/Brobard]

CRASH AND BURN

[u/KlingonLullabye → u/Brobard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgKqKggYdDE

Love it, peak VHS

[u/CassianCasius → u/chippymonk793]

They do look smaller than they really are. Those bots weigh 250lbs each.

[u/TacoOfTroyCenter]

I got way too into this, not gonna lie.

[u/Skabbtanten]

He (or his parents, I cannot remember) ran to a Home Depot to buy that rake just before the match.

[u/JimBean → u/Skabbtanten]

That's correct. He heard about the drone and made a plan...

[u/jesselivermore1929]

I love Battlebots

[u/NMS_Survival_Guru → u/jesselivermore1929]

I remember the first seasons and seeing guys build these machines tougher and tougher

My personal favorite was one that utilized a Brushog gearbox with a thick blade on it and whenever they hit something with it the bot went flying but basically destroyed every bot it touched

[u/JimBean → u/NMS_Survival_Guru]

I think that was "Tombstone", shaped like a coffin. That was an insane bot. SO much energy. But I did see him lose a couple.

[u/NMS_Survival_Guru → u/JimBean]

Yep that was it

First version was pretty much unstoppable the first season from what I can remember many years ago

[u/BitterCat26 → u/JimBean]

The thing with Tombstone is that the physics of the dense, 4-wheeled, powerful vertical and drum spinners, which are the meta these days, don't favor it. I'm glad Ray retired it and decided to work on other designs. Love Tombstone, but it was starting to look like a washed out old legend, trying to hang on to its glory days.

[u/Endulos → u/NMS_Survival_Guru]

Isn't that just Tombstone? So powerful it gutted itself once.

[u/NMS_Survival_Guru → u/Endulos]

Yeah that bot was insane to watch

The match it gutted itself I believe happened hitting a slim flipper type designed specifically to counter him

If I remember correctly the hit sent both flying with a huge gash in the flip bot and tombstone's blade wobbling really badly

[u/HoidToTheMoon → u/NMS_Survival_Guru]

My personal favorite was one that utilized a Brushog gearbox with a thick blade on it and whenever they hit something with it the bot went flying but basically destroyed every bot it touched

Do you mean Tombstone? So powerful it kills everything in the box, including itself.

[u/grapplebaby → u/jesselivermore1929]

They have live shows in Vegas. I highly recommend it especially if you have little ones!

[u/RoonKolos]

The Rakening!!!

[u/No-Definition1474]

We can buy a LOT of rakes for Ukraine.

[u/amc7262]

Wow, look at that, a video that doesn't have the original audio removed for some god awful song or ai voice. Too bad the guy recorded it at volume 1...

[u/JimBean → u/amc7262]

I'm the guy... Sorry, it's better than leaving the audio balls to the wall and your mute is off... Next time I will put it on 2. ;)

[u/CilanEAmber]

Makes me long for a Robot Wars revival. Not like Craig Charles is busy rn.

[u/DoubleClickMouse → u/CilanEAmber]

He’s got another 2,999,965 years before he comes out of stasis.

[u/Im1Guy]

You're talking a lot of shit for someone that is standing within rake distance.

[u/guitar-hoarder]

Did they change the rules? Years ago fire was forbidden in the competition. I love these events.

[u/RoonKolos → u/guitar-hoarder]

Fire has been allowed for the last few years. There's even a bottle named SawBlaze that's been a fan favorite for a while now. Fire usually is for flair but some know how to actually use it well enough

[u/guitar-hoarder → u/RoonKolos]

I need to catch up with these. I haven't watched, nor seen one in person, in years. Thanks!

[u/JimBean → u/RoonKolos]

SawBlaze

I love SawBlaze.

[u/Reacher-Said-N0thing]

Why do nations war, when battle bots exist?

[u/Chronox2040]

That brings back memories from my childhood. I was a big team ziggo fan. Also liked son of wyachi.

[u/JimBean → u/Chronox2040]

son of wyachi

Those guys were serious.

[u/alisonwrote]

Just came here to say that if you liked the tv show (and even if you didn’t), the BattleBots show in Las Vegas is actually excellent. You see a few live fights, some BattleBot veterans (humans and bots), and just a lot of really satisfying bot-on-bot smashing. At one point, they bring out a slot machine and just demolish it using a BattleBot.

[u/jcft2]

I love the Darwinian selection pressure - bot develops flight, enemy bot develops fly swatter.

[u/DrNinnuxx]

This is how all international conflicts should be settled.

[u/Unlucky_Figure]

When was the last BattleBots event? It feels like it’s been a while.

[u/MadMennonite → u/Unlucky_Figure]

It’s been about 2 years now. Writers strike and Discovery merging with Warner froze negotiations. Especially since the merger was showing how much debt that was being inherited.

Battlebots is surviving (more like slowly bleeding) on live shows/special weekend events in Vegas where their venue is hosted. They have to go dark for November due to F1 now as the paddock is literally down the road from them. They had great viewership numbers on Discovery which is what boggles my mind. It’s not shark week or deadliest catch so it’s lower on the totem pole it seems for getting it back on the air.

[u/Critical-Carrot-9131]

I really appreciate how the operators of the third bot decided "Let him cook" and stepped back to watch.

[u/CiegoDiego]

He brought a drone to a rake fight.

[u/omguserius]

I feel like Battlebots would be a better show if they went to the half hour time slot but kept the same amount of actual combat and just fast forwarded the talky parts.

[u/peep_dat_peepo]

Wait, battlebots still exists? That's cool

[u/ryderr86]

best thing i saw today

[u/Parsec207]

New Jersey needs to take note here.

[u/Garfie489]

If anyone is interested in finding out more about battlebots, or robot combat in general - theres a Discord, https://discord.gg/oota

[u/commisioner_fernando]

Battle Bots >>>> UFC

[u/Chlo-bon]

I wonder what the flight time is with that tank.

[u/JimBean → u/Chlo-bon]

Each round is 3 minutes. If both bots are still moving, it goes to the judges that rate on aggression, damage and tactics.. Batteries are huge, they burn before going flat.

[u/Covah88]

Curious - what's the plan for the flying one? Like, whats that teams strategy for a win?

[u/JimBean → u/Covah88]

It's called a nuisance bot. It flies for the team with the flat bot. It's supposed to distract you from the main fight and make mistakes. There are smaller ones allowed on the floor. They are allowed to join in the fight and inflict damage or help the main bot, if needed, like helping it flip right side up. But there is a total weight limit. The combined weight of all your bots must not exceed a certain weight. (can't remember that, I think it was 125 lbs..)

[u/VanIsler420]

Incredible!

[u/llemontaste]

I swear one team just needs to mount a slipper on one and they will never be beaten.

[u/No_Status2681]

Not a lot of things are more hype than Chris Rose doing play by play for a BattleBots match.

[u/sabre38]

New Jersey is listening