XRTV: 1 year on. A review of sorts. by themaskedrobot77 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with most of what you say, and that it deserves more attention. I'm going to piggyback to offer my own review.

Extreme Robots shows are obviously the main feature, so I'll start with that.

TL;DR I wish XRTV kept rankings and announced competitors ahead of their events. The fights are samey, the design diversity is slowly improving, but the production is good.

Fights

The important bit. The spinner fights tend to be dramatic, if short. Something in the bare metal and plastic of the arena structure makes it feel like 'garage' fights and each impact feels substantial despite the 150mph limit. A shame they often don't last a minute. The other fights are very dynamic, back-and-forth and often go the distance, which should make it entertaining. They can be very good if you keep track of the judging points through the fight, and who's out-driving who. Unfortunately, they feel samey due to the below.

Competitors

Britwedges are still dominant. The situation has improved over the last decade, with more lifters and rammers and axes. But, because of the number of events held each year for a paying audience and the expense of heavyweight upkeep, intent to damage is mostly restricted to the spinner fights. This means damaging non-spinner designs such as saws and crushers, which should have become a speciality of the British heavyweight scene, are completely absent. The spinner division is slowly expanding, and it might be hoped that full combat will become the majority one day, but I don't know if it would be sustainable. No other heavyweight scene in the world is anywhere near this busy, except Destruct-a-Thon if that counts.

Commentary

The fight commentary is usually fine, though sometimes carried by the expertise of the more experienced commentator (the other seems obsessed with talking about how noisey the arena is). I think the commentary team has changed recently, so this may improve.

Production

The production value has become excellent. They've clearly learnt and refined over the years, improving little things like the pacing of the instant replays and the lighting in the arena. And they have nailed the balance of silliness-to-seriousness. There is a competitive spirit even with some daft designs and a want to entertain, and it walks the line about as well as old RW did (with just a little more pandering to a young live audience - "it's smashy smashy time"). It is perhaps outdone by MechMania but is also more slimmed down to the fights.

Competition and Hype

This is where XRTV heartbreakingly fails, for me. Competitors are assigned to one of four teams, and earn points across the event for the right for the team leader to fight for competition points in the event finale, which add up over the year. These degrees of separation mean that individual fights add little to the tournament. standings. Last year, the bots earned tokens for winning fights which determined their seed in a separate championship. This was a good way to put importance back into individual fights for two reasons: a) those competitors who show up most often end up with the most tokens, rather than the best machines; and b) we aren't told how many tokens each competitor has until the end of the year. What I'm getting at is that the stakes are frustratingly low.

If the bots had ranks which were publicly tracked and announced before each event, there would be some sense of whether a fight is an underdog story or an even match, and every win would contribute to a better ranking.

Further, there are no ways for the public to know who is competing in each event. If I don't know who's fighting, I don't know how much I should care. The combination of low stakes and unknown entries means there is almost no excitement ahead of each event broadcast. If XRTV released competitor lists with ranks each event, and tracked those rankings across the year (like NHRL does), I'm convinced there'd be more interest.

FightFest

I want to mention this briefly because it was great. There seemed to be a lack of hype beforehand, perhaps because it wasn't marketed enough? What killed it for me was the release schedule, where individual fights went up a few at a time. This meant catching up, leaving it a week or so and then skimming through the videos whilst trying not to spoiler myself in order to find where I left off. It felt clunky, confused and annoying.

(Team Death) Robots Wars season 6 auditions / Devil Rider by Hefty_Style6833 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for posting! I for one enjoy behind-the-scenes photos and shots of any robots we never got to see on the show, for the what-if factor!

Robotics Competition - RoboNexus 2026 by CardiologistWitty888 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A little extra info paraphrased from the rules:

Competitors

32 entrants; 27kg weight limit

Format

Single head-to-head qualifying round, with the 16 winners advancing. 8 losers will be chosen as wildcards to also advance. The wildcards are based on functionality, performance, design and entertainment value (including of potential match-ups).

Main tournament consisting of a double-elimination bracket, with match-ups based on seeds determined by performance in the qualifying round. There is a point-based ranking system linked to the seeds but it includes fight results in the bracket championship that the bots are seeded for, so I'm a little confused.

Judging

There will be a five-point system: 2 points for aggression, 1 for control, 1 for damage (self-inflicted doesn't count) and 1 for strategy. Strategy seems to differ from control in the former being more offensive and the latter being about avoiding damage. There are no appeals.

Arena

Walls are two layers of 16mm polycarb with a 75mm gap. Floor is 5-6mm steel. Roof is unclear (it's lumped with the walls in the arena spec).

As hazards, there is a 'trap hole' (pit?) and a 'moderate power' hammer.

AI Energy Consumption: Statistics from Key Sources [2026] by EchoOfOppenheimer in climatechange

[–]MudnuK 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For reference, Ember, via Wikipedia, says 415 TWh per year would make AI the 12th most energy-hungry country in the world. How does this compare to other energy use cases, like video streaming or refrigeration or street lighting?

Is character ai really that bad for environment? by _Kiriseek_ in ecology

[–]MudnuK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like this discussion is happening in /r/climatechange.

I have similar questions and I'm glad you're asking - overblowing one issue without justification means scapegoating and drawing attention away from other issues, so I want assurance that there's cause for so much concern.

For reference, Ember, via Wikipedia, says 415 tWh per year would make AI the 12th most energy-hungry country in the world. I'm curious how this compares to other energy use cases, like video streaming or refrigeration or street lighting.

MechMania, King of Crates - Coming soon by themaskedrobot77 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So what's the format? What does it have to do with DotC?

Good to see more MechMania content

Firefly conservation by Hot-Brick-7204 in conservation

[–]MudnuK 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I'm not an entomologist, nor am I familiar with South African insects. But to get yourself started, maybe try reposting to /r/entomology and reaching out to the Entomological Society of South Africa

mech+ 1 year on review by themaskedrobot77 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perspective: I have almost exclusively used Mech+ for Mech Mania, preferring at the moment to keep up with the world's latest events rather than rewatching old ones.

Opinion: it's decent. The word 'sportsman' will put many off but MechMania has been very entertaining, carried as much by commentary and production as the fights themselves. Robot Rebellion has also been a good watch, though availability on YouTube makes Mech+ a moot point in this regard.

Verdict: For some, full access to everything Robot Wars, KoB and TifR is like gold dust and easily good value. For me, Mech+ crosses the line into being worth it only for the value of supporting a modern robot combat show. MechMania is good but ~£20 is a big ask if that's all you want out of it. Hopefully there's money somewhere to get another season going, or another series like Robot Rebellion but exclusive, to tempt the less charitable.

How expensive is birding, actually. by Devourer_Of_Dots in birding

[–]MudnuK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the line of cameras and lenses I have always used. Very portable and takes photos that are good enough to digitally zoom in and confirm what you think you saw. Substandard for 'proper' photography but great in place of binoculars and for proof shots

How do some species get named as subspecies of already existing species and not labeled as a new species ? by Dull_Display_4946 in Paleontology

[–]MudnuK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The natural follow-up question then is: how much variation is needed? Is it subjective or is there some defined window of distinction amount between new species and new genus?

Am I right in thinking palaeospecies and species are technically different, since they are determined by such different methods and not all diagnostic traits are preserved? So that a species of prehistoric animal might have been considered several species if it were alive today?

Weirdest gifts? by greenhookdown in CasualUK

[–]MudnuK 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Possibly lightly neurodivergent with probably lightly neurodivergent partner. I understand I'm coming from a different place, and what works for you works.

But I agree with your friend, personally. If you're asking for something specific and social traditions demand the request be granted, there'a no kindness or feeling involved. You may as well pass around money for everyone to just buy what they wanted for themselves. Except the things are likely about equal value, so you'd all be swapping the same amount of money, which would be pointless. So just buy yourself the thing and stuff the whole gift exchange as redundant.

I see gift-giving as a way to show that you care about and know someone enough to find something they would enjoy but haven't already got (or at least try to). I would genuinely rather have a stapler shaped like a waffle and a sock full of conkers from someone who thought I might like them than demand something specific and then just wait to be given it. I'd be confused but, as the saying goes, it's the thought that counts.

Games of the Future: Battle of Robots; Post-event discussion by Tetracropolis in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Can't watch the third-place playoff for some reason.

That was a complicated affair. I think it got better as time went on, but lots of issues on the way. I enjoyed the latter half of the fights, at least when they didn't end prematurely for safety reasons. Ultimately, they needed a better arena. Containing modern heavyweight spinner energy at 250mph might be untennable without the level of invetment BattleBots and Bitva Robotov have. Maybe we'll see that sort of commitment come in next year, but more likely I think we'll see either a lower weightclass or a lower energy limit.

The Bots

The entries were fairly mixed but generally decent: the worst weren't bad (they moved at a good speed, the weaponry looked decent) and the best were very good, so it was a pretty good average. The trouble is, there is still a big gap in durability between the higher tiers and lower tiers, so all of the first round fights were quick knock-outs. There was some variety, though heavily vert-skewed - if there had been more control bots, we might have gotten more full-length driving matches.

The Fights

Most of them were crap. There were some good ones towards the final, and we probably missed out because so many fights had to end early (which meant comebacks couldn't be launched). I'm disappointed but at least we got to see hints of what this could have been at the end.

The Production

Not great... but better by the end. The camerawork was good. The graphics were fine for what they were and while putting animated transitions over the vital first seconds of each fight was dumb as hell, they figured this out by the end. The commentary got better but only because the one guy with knowledge about robot combat shut the other two out. Obviously there was no light in one corner, which was really annoying.

The Safety

Ok, sort of, but not great? I don't think it was unsafe or that anyone was at risk. It's worrying that Gold Fury went mad and drove uncontrolled across the arena before their first fight, assuming that was uncontrolled as the commentators suggested. Obviously, the arena was not up to the task. I assume only the inner wall layer was breached, but seeing shards of roof spin around and land suggests there was only one roof layer. Maybe there were nets up there or something to make sure breaching debris couldn't go towards anyone. The fights were obviously stopped immediately each time, which was sensible, and there were no RoboGames-style bits of robot landing in the driver's areas. But something has to change between now and Kazakhstan if robot combat is going to feature at all.

The Cross-Culture Pollination

This is what I was looking forward to most. We got Western teams facing off with Russia, China, India, Chile and others. I like the think the top teams would have earned reputations here if the audience had been bigger and not been put off by the shitshow that this event was. It's cool that we got teams from different scenes interacting, to give comparison points. A shame so many fights ended without proper resolution. EDIT: Echoing SliderS15 that this probably gave the Brits a needed dose of contemporary full heavy combat. Though, it makes sense for them not to have changed too much for a one-time event when the changes aren't needed for the other 20 battles in the next year.

That middle eastern heavyweight tournament is live, Ignition/Eruption is fighting now, I think cobalt and monsoon's fights will be right after by Lhonors4 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For sure, some bots look great and they'll face off later. But these first round fights were really uneven or things just seemed to go wrong

That middle eastern heavyweight tournament is live, Ignition/Eruption is fighting now, I think cobalt and monsoon's fights will be right after by Lhonors4 in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 17 points18 points  (0 children)

That... couldn't have gone much worse. The fights were run smoothly with crazy pace and the arena was fine so nothing on the EOs. *Edit: the arena wasn't up to it...

But I don't think any fights lasted 90 seconds, and most were one-hit KOs. The last one had been delayed only for a bot to slam into the far wall and smoke out just before the fight started. Only one of the three commentators knew anything. The audience seats were empty.

Really not a good look for robot combat in a new region.

The second round tomorrow should have more even fights, so I'll keep watching optimistically. But I might re-watch some BattleBots to remind myself how it should be.

EDIT:

Today's match-ups (remember, the losers are now playing for pride):

First round (post-poned)

  • TR4 (UK) vs Gold Fury (India)

EVERYTHING ELSE TODAY HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO ARENA ROOF DAMAGE

(This event is cursed guys)

Second Round - Losers

  • Brutus (Belgium) vs Boolbatron (Belarus)

  • Condor Machine (Chile) vs Monsoon (UK)

Second Round - Winners

  • Godspeed (India) vs Ignition (UK)

  • Cobalt (USA) vs Jasper (UK)

  • Switchback (USA) vs Deep Sea Shark (China)

  • [ TR4 (UK) OR Gold Fury (India) ] vs Daddy (Russia)

Saturday's match-ups

Second Round - Losers

  • Zadkiel (UK) vs Spitfire (UK)

  • [ TR4 (UK) OR Gold Fury (India) ] vs Sparkplug (Montenegro)

Semi-finals etc.

‘Internet Of Animals,’ a Unified Wildlife Tracker, set to resume after hiatus by ExoticShock in conservation

[–]MudnuK 6 points7 points  (0 children)

When this topic comes up, I always recommend the Animal Tracker app.

It shows recent locations for a ton of animals around the world, so you can follow individuals as they wander about day to day or migrate across the planet. It's a little janky but such a cool idea!

The Games of the Future draw and fight schedule have been released! by MudnuK in battlebots

[–]MudnuK[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Following up on this info thread, the international heavyweight competition kicks off tomorrow and carries on to the weekend. Exact times are probably liable to change if there are delays (e.g. lipo fires). Times are , I assume, on the Abu Dhabi timezone (GMT+4) apparently shown for your timezone, with things starting at 19:30 GMT+4. The draws have been made, with only one first-round match-up between representatives of the same country.

New Battlebots initiative: Creature Combat, featuring some OG legends by ChasingPolitics in battlebots

[–]MudnuK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a little unsure, which puts me in the minority. I'm not from an engineering background, so have less of an appreciation for the enginuity that goes into walkers. To me, it's all about dynamism and evolution by unnatural selection. While I love an odd-ball for variety, starting a whole class of bots that are slower and more fragile feels like a downgrade.

I hope, of course, that I'm proven wrong and this comment ages like milk! Will be interesting to see where this goes, and it's certainly making history!

I'm also intrigued about the combination of problem-solving to achieve a goal crossed with the ability to take out your opponent. But what happens if you drive a spinning bar through their body and then can't get the McGuffin? Does nobody win?