DooAll was a heavyweight robot built by Scott LaValley for the 1997 US Robot Wars competition. The successor to LaValley's previous two entries - Doolittle and DooMore - it recovered from a quick first-round loss against Kill-O-Amp[3][4] to reach the Semi-Finals of that year's Heavyweight Face-Off. In the process, DooAll achieved an undefeated streak in the Loser's Bracket, but was ultimately eliminated by La Machine.[5][6] DooAll also qualified for the final rounds of the Heavyweight Melee tournament, but lost overall to BioHazard.[7][8]
Design[]
DooAll in the pits
DooAll was an invertible tracked robot with a pair of large machined aluminum drive pods. The tracks consisted of 'modified conveyor belts' running along the entire length of the pods, driven by electric motors rated at 2 horsepower each. This, along with a lack of a fixed wedge, made DooAll especially capable of climbing over opponents during battles.[2]
Upon its arrival at the event, DooAll was initially armed with an abrasive cutting disc powered by a 4hp internal combustion engine. The entire weapon mechanism would be 'suspended' at the front in between both drive pods; as it was not fixed in place, the saw was allowed to 'swing upwards' during impacts. The Team Spike website suggests that the ability for the saw to swing was a deliberate choice made to prevent it from stalling.[2]
DooAll with its replacement 'slowplow'
During DooAll's run, several issues would be encountered which resulted in multiple alterations to its weaponry. After being destroyed in its Round 1 loss, the original abrasive cutter was first exchanged for a 'diamond saw'. Further damage sustained in the Loser's Bracket resulted in the entire saw mechanism becoming unusable, and replaced by an unpowered 'snowplow assembly'. The plow was also hinged from the front, and proved very capable of controlling and even turning opponents over.[2]
Robot History[]
1997 US Championship[]
DooAll destroyed after a single slam by Kill-O-Amp
In the first round of the Heavyweight championship, DooAll faced Kill-O-Amp. With its circular saw already up to speed, DooAll shuffled back and forth before the initial countdown, and proceeded to stand off against Kill-O-Amp in the center. Following a brief pause, Kill-O-Amp slammed into Scott LaValley's tracked entry, flinging the saw arm upwards and breaking the entire weapon off its mountings. Both of DooAll's tracks also split in this exchange, leaving it completely immobilized as it tried to drive away. While victorious, Kill-O-Amp lost a chain as well, forcing it to shuffle and spin on its left drive wheel. Upon pushing the discarded right track back into DooAll, Curt Meyers' rammer celebrated its victory with a few quick spins.[3][4]
Now in the loser's bracket, DooAll faced Monster in the second round, having replaced its abrasive disc for a diamond saw. Monster, starting the faster of the two, charged into the front of DooAll while careering into the wall. Kevin Knoedler's machine missed its next ram, before taking a direct hit to its front-left wheel from DooAll's saw. Both robots exchanged several rams, shoves and weapon attacks, including two head-to-head collisions. The second collision immobilized Monster completely; DooAll shoved it into the wall while grinding and cutting into its front armor. A final attack from DooAll saw Scott LaValley's entry drive over the top of Monster, before grinding into it again and retreating as Michael Meehan declared it to have won.[9] After this match the diamond saw was destroyed resulting in DooAll replacing its weapon with a snowplough from this point onwards.
In the third round of the loser's bracket, DooAll faced Prometheus. Scott LaValley's modification instantly proved effective, as his machine effortlessly scooped Prometheus II up during the opening encounter. DooAll steered the helpless Prometheus II around into the upper-left corner, then the lower wall, while surviving hits from the nearby arena flipper. Prometheus II was released seconds later, though DooAll pressed it against the same wall almost immediately. DooAll dragged Richard Brull's machine back across the arena, turning and pushing it under the upper spike trap.[10][11]
As in its battle against Vlad the Impaler, the spike repeatedly hit Prometheus II's rollers and top armor. While continuing to control its opponent, DooAll veered too close and was also spiked in between its main track modules. No serious damage was inflicted on either competitor as they again separated. DooAll backed up, then rammed Prometheus II again and chased it across the arena, while also shoving it into the upper-right flipper.[10][11]
The final minute saw DooAll again nudging Prometheus II from behind, before Prometheus II briefly pushed DooAll from the left-hand side. The nearby spike trap briefly made contact with DooAll's right track, though again DooAll escaped without taking any major damage. Another tentative chase and pushing match followed, with neither robot gaining an advantage over each other. DooAll finished the match by slowly pushing Prometheus II into the flipper once again, though its movements had become sluggish enough for Prometheus II to ram it in retaliation as the end bell rang. The subsequent Judges' decision ruled in favor of the more dominant DooAll.[10][11]
DooAll topples The Scorpion over from a ramming attack
In the fourth round of the loser's bracket, DooAll faced The Scorpion. Following a tentative few seconds, DooAll turned The Scorpion onto its side with its initial push. The Scorpion, trying to self-right, eventually lost all power as its four-stroke engine stopped functioning while in this position. DooAll then rammed its opponent multiple times against the lower-left wall getting it caught behind the flipper and taking down a sponsorship banner with it. A 'pool of oil' began spilling out onto the arena floor as The Scorpion lay in the corner, and DooAll spun around in celebration.[12][13]
DooAll rams Tazbot into the side wall
DooAll pushes Tazbot into the arena spike
In the fifth round of the loser's bracket, DooAll faced Tazbot. A tentative start for both machines resulted in DooAll shepherding Tazbot under the lower spike trap, then taking a swipe from the latter's arm. Tazbot briefly hooked Scott LaValley's machine from behind its snowplow, though this would nearly result in it being pulled over by DooAll as it reversed. Both robots separated, with Tazbot again attacking DooAll's plow and left track module while being pushed against the left-most wall. As in its previous fight, the arm of Tazbot got caught in the mechanism for the moving wall section as it swung about.[14][15]
Following another separation, DooAll collected and pressured Tazbot across the arena again, this time towards the lower-left flipper. Donald Hutson's machine was again forced up its opponent's plow, remaining there as it was dragged backwards towards the neighboring spike trap. There, Tazbot caught the 'curb' with its arm, which had the effect of leaving it suspended off the floor at an angle once DooAll pulled clear. DooAll rammed underneath Tazbot to free it, the two competitors continuing to bash each other as the fight entered its final minute.[14][15]
Again, Tazbot swung its arm and hooked DooAll's plow twice more. DooAll shoved and pinned it off the floor, but as before seemed to gradually lose power and speed by this point. The match ended with Tazbot getting stuck on DooAll's plow, while its arm was caught by the descending spike nearby. Based on points, the Judges' decision ruled in favor of DooAll, allowing it to return to the main Heavyweight Face-Off bracket.[14][15]
La Machine rams DooAll
In the Semi Finals, DooAll faced La Machine. La Machine immediately flipped DooAll over with its first charge, nullifying the snowplow of Scott LaValley's machine. From there, DooAll was chased, rammed and eventually pushed into the right-most walls, though it attempted to respond by ramming La Machine head-on at one point. La Machine continued to push DooAll around in circles and into the lower spike trap, after which it momentarily backed out. More collisions were enough to immobilize DooAll entirely, with La Machine's victory being met by a chorus of audience members chanting its name.[5][6]
DooAll makes a charge towards Snake and frenZy as the latter hammers away at Snake
DooAll wasn't finished yet as it fought in the Heavyweight melees, in its qualifier melee DooAll faced Tazbot and Monster again as well as frenZy and Snake. With Snake taking up most of the inner-left perimeter, frenZy - equipped with one of its bladed axe arms - drove around into the wall. Monster headed into the center, while DooAll and Tazbot engaged in their own separate duel. frenZy began attacking Snake, its axe managing to damage the armor and weapon wiring of Mark Setrakian's machine. Snake was left without a functioning set of jaws as a result, coiling inwards as DooAll proceeded to ram the pair. In the background, Monster sped into the wall, keeping out of the picture as Tazbot tried to force its lifting arm underneath DooAll's right track.[16][17]
DooAll rams Tazbot into frenZy's axe
Snake kept writhing and thrashing around its part of the arena, while lifting its head and tail up. An armor panel, which had been pulled open seconds earlier, exposed Snake's internals as it crashed onto its side under pressure from Tazbot. Meanwhile, DooAll bulldozed and turned frenZy onto its back, negating the 'anti-wedge skirts' that had been specially added to Team Minus Zero's machine. frenZy immediately levered back onto its wheels with its axe, becoming the first combat robot documented to self-right using an overhead weapon. Monster rammed Tazbot, just as frenZy began attempting to axe DooAll and was pushed into the back of Snake.[16][17]
DooAll attacks frenZy who returns fire with the axe swings
Again, frenZy was toppled over through a combination of DooAll's pushing and the force of its own axe. Monster smashed into the tail of Snake, which frenZy hooked as it self-righted a second time. DooAll turned its attention towards fighting Tazbot, surviving attacks from Donald Hutson's machine while pushing it around. frenZy, after hesitating for a few seconds, briefly considered attacking Snake again, but backed out before it could be wrapped within Snake's coiling body. Instead, Patrick Campbell's entry started attacking DooAll and Tazbot, landing axe blows on each of its opponents' weapons.[16][17]
Tazbot also succeeded in hooking and lifting DooAll by its plow, but started overbalancing as a consequence. Once both competitors separated, Tazbot exchanged swipes with frenZy; DooAll nudged frenZy once more as the Melee reached the two-minute mark. Monster shuttled back and forth between the left wall and upper-left flipper, again suffering from control and reliability-related issues. DooAll caught a charging Tazbot with its plow, holding it in place as frenZy landed another axe blow on the Donald Hutson entry. Tazbot became separated a few seconds later and engaged in a tussle with Snake, resulting in frenZy axing DooAll's front-right corner.[16][17]
Having been unable to trap Tazbot, Snake found itself being pressured by both the former and Monster. Tazbot was the more aggressive, whacking, lifting and ramming Snake through multiple attacks, as more of the latter's armor panels started to come loose. By this point, Monster was crawling alongside the upper wall, and was pinned and lifted by Tazbot as DooAll took its turn at attacking Snake. Tazbot whacked and engaged in further combat against an approaching frenZy, hooking it with the lifter while surviving more axe blows. Direct damage to the weapon actuator, however, prevented the arm from being raised at all.[16][17]
DooAll also began losing power at this point, sluggishly crawling away from its two sparring opponents. frenZy appeared to suddenly stop in the center of the arena, axe swinging, as a result of a malfunctioning speed controller. The latter issue prevented it from being able to drive in a straight line, as Snake tumbled into the fray and again tried to grab the ever-persistent Tazbot. With less than a minute remaining, Tazbot got itself speared by an arena spike trap, ramming frenZy again while being scooped up by DooAll. frenZy's axe hooked DooAll by the space between its track modules, causing it to be dragged by Scott LaValley's machine, which found itself stuck alongside the upper-left flipper.[16][17]
Capitalizing on its opponents' woes, Tazbot swiped both of them with its arm, after which DooAll began crawling away from the flipper bumper. Snake rolled itself into the center of the arena, prompting Tazbot to attack it once again. In a final counter-attack, Snake fully wrapped itself around Tazbot, to a standing ovation; Tazbot eventually pulled away, while digging into Snake's ripped sheetmetal immediately before the fight's conclusion.[16][17]
At the end of this Melee, Snake and Tazbot were the only remaining robots with full mobility. However, both were 'retired' by their teams, alongside frenZy, due to the damage they had sustained. DooAll, which had maintained limited mobility up to the closing moments, ultimately became the only robot chosen to qualify for the second round.[16][17]
In the Heavyweight melee final, DooAll faced La Machine again as well as BioHazard and Hercules. DooAll immediately plowed into and pushed Hercules into the lower-right flipper. BioHazard shot forwards across the center as La Machine sped over its side skirts and flat chassis. This gave Carlo Bertocchini's machine the chance to slip underneath, pin and turn La Machine over against the wall. However, an early knockout was denied when BioHazard reversed and dragged the Impact Media heavyweight back onto its wheels. As this occurred, DooAll rode over the top of BioHazard, which continued to spar with Scott LaValley and Trey Roski's machines for some time.[7][8]
Hercules, having lingered in the corner for several seconds, began driving towards BioHazard, only to be pushed aside by La Machine. BioHazard, DooAll and La Machine continued their tussle, with the former being shoved into the wall by DooAll. The lower ground clearance of BioHazard, however, allowed it to scoop up and carry DooAll backwards, before it drove into the side of Hercules. La Machine drove around the side of its three opponents, but could not find a suitable opportunity to attack before BioHazard pushed it close to both of the spike traps. BioHazard again lifted La Machine, as DooAll started pushing Hercules once more. DooAll interrupted a subsequent chase between La Machine and BioHazard, getting lifted up by the latter as a consequence.[7][8]
BioHazard next pushed Hercules into the upper-right flipper, with La Machine proceeding to shove the latter into the wall bumper. DooAll, meanwhile, had lost much of its mobility near the spike trap. As BioHazard approached, La Machine charged across the arena in pursuit, only to slam into the wall nearby. To this end, La Machine got behind BioHazard and attempted to push it into the upper-left flipper, but not without oversteering and again riding up over BioHazard's rear skirt. BioHazard backed La Machine towards the spike trap, which narrowly missed DooAll's left track. Hercules nudged DooAll, only to be rammed by La Machine as it backed across the arena center.[7][8]
In the background, BioHazard turned DooAll over the lower-left flipper, where Scott LaValley's machine remained immobile. The melee would eventually be won by BioHazard.
Results[]
| DOOALL - RESULTS | ||
| 1997 US Championship | ||
| Heavyweight Face-Off Semi-Finals | ||
| Round 1 | vs. Kill-O-Amp | Lost |
| Loser's Bracket, Round 2 | vs. Monster | Won |
| Loser's Bracket, Round 3 | vs. Prometheus | Won |
| Loser's Bracket, Round 4 | vs. The Scorpion | Won |
| Loser's Bracket, Round 5 | vs. Tazbot | Won |
| Semi-Final | vs. La Machine | Lost |
| Heavyweight Melee Final | ||
| Melee, Round 1 | vs. Tazbot, frenZy, Snake, Monster | Qualified |
| Melee, Final | vs. BioHazard, La Machine, Hercules | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 5
- Losses: 3
Series Record[]
| Events | DooAll Event Record |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Entered with Doolittle |
| 1995 | Entered with DooMore |
| 1996 | Entered with DooMore |
| 1997 | Heavyweight Face-Off, Semi-Final Heavyweight Melee, Final |
Outside Robot Wars[]
DooAll would go on to compete in BattleBots, fighting in the superheavyweight division, however its first appearance in the 1999 Las Vegas event was brought with bad luck as the robot suffered technical difficulties, forfeiting before its match against World Peace. However, by the time of the Comedy Central Series, DooAll had an extremely successful career, becoming a fan favourite and one of the more recognisable robots from the show's run. In Season 1.0 it got to the Superheavyweight final, losing to Minion after beating S.L.A.M., Super Rhino and Ronin beforehand.
Seasons 2.0 and 3.0 were less successful for DooAll, in Season 2.0 it won against Doom of Babylon before losing against War Machine while Season 3.0 saw it lose its first battle against Anubis, with DooAll retiring after Season 3.0. DooAll was popular enough to receive merchandise during the original run of BattleBots, receiving an RC toy and a minibot toy, and was even set to appear in the cancelled Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 BattleBots game as a competitor.
Trivia[]
- DooAll was featured in an episode of the police drama, Nash Bridges. In Episode 17 of Season 6, titled "Blood Bots", it was used in the disabling and robbery of an armored truck. In the episode, it had a top-mounted EMP device, and a lock-boring attachment.[18]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'Contestants: Heavyweight Class', 4th Annual Robot Wars (1997) souvenir programme, p.4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 'DOOALL', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight match: DoAll versus Kill-O-Amp', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded April 18 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'MATCH: KILL-O-AMP VS DOOALL', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight match: DoAll versus La Machine', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 10 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 'MATCH: LA MACHINE VS DOOALL', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 'Robot Wars 1997 Final Heavyweight Melee 1 of 2', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 11 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 'HEAVYWEIGHT MELEE ROUND 5', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight match: Monster versus DoAll', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 5 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight match: DoAll versus Prometheus 2', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), archived 7 May 2021
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 'MATCH: DOOALL VS PROMETHEUS II', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight match: The Scorpion versus DoAll', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 7 2021
- ↑ 'MATCH: DOOALL VS THE SCORPION', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight match: DoAll versus Tazbot', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 9 2021
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 'MATCH: DOOALL VS TAZBOT', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 'Robot Wars 1997 Heavyweight Melee 3', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 11 2021
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 'HEAVYWEIGHT MELEE ROUND 3', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7yvkej
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