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DooMore was a heavyweight robot built by Scott LaValley for the 1995 and 1996 US Robot Wars competitions. The direct successor to LaValley's 1994 heavyweight Doolittle, it initially reached the second round of the 1995 Heavyweight Face-Off, where it suffered a highly destructive loss against shell spinner Blendo. The match itself became infamous for Blendo flinging pieces of DooMore out of the arena boundaries, resulting in it being withdrawn immediately after.[4]

In 1996, DooMore enjoyed greatly improved results, reaching the Semi-Finals of the Heavyweight Face-Off and qualifying for the final of the concurrent Heavyweight Melee tournament. On each occasion, it would suffer defeats to La Machine, which won the Heavyweight Melee tournament outright.[3] Highlights of DooMore's run that year would be included in the American Robot Wars 1996 and American Robot Wars Final 1996 VHS releases. Clips from its preliminary Heavyweight Melee round - where it was thrown into a bumper mechanism by La Machine - were also televised in Heat D of Robot Wars: The First Wars, marking DooMore's only appearance in the UK show.

After the 1996 competition, DooMore was retired and succeeded by DooAll. It and Doolittle, however, still attended the 1997 competition as static displays, accompanying DooAll in the pits.

Design[]

Doomore 1997

DooMore in the pits during the 1997 US competition

DooMore was a two-wheel drive robot with an exposed dome-shaped chassis, designed in CAD and built around a 50-inch diameter machined aluminum ring. Much of the inner framework was also machined, including two central 'trusses' with a spacing of 10 inches. Both wheels were 'supported' by the 'trusses' and fitted with pneumatic 'go-cart' tires.[5] The Team Spike website states DooMore as being driven by servomotors, giving the robot a high top speed, at the expense of a high ground clearance provided by the tires and supporting castor wheels.[3]

Much of DooMore's internals - including the electronics and batteries - were contained in a narrow 'armored' bulkhead within the 'trusses'. The bulkhead was mostly concealed at the front by the robot's primary weapon: a pivoting pneumatic spike. DooMore's spike was capable of raising or lowering on this pivot, allowing it to pierce opponents from multiple angles. This also gave the robot the potential capability to lift opponents which had been speared, though this was rarely demonstrated.[3] The system for DooMore's spike would later be emulated by the 1997 incarnation of La Machine, which integrated a similar 'ram' weapon with a secondary 'chamber' to maximize CO2 pressure when retracted.[6]

Differences between the 1995 and 1996 incarnations included the positioning of the spike, which was set lower on the 1995 incarnation. The 1995 incarnation also featured a set of static spikes which could be attached to the outer ring. These spikes comprised of bolts, each half an inch long, which were 'machined to a sharp point' and screwed onto different parts of the ring's perimeter. As mentioned in Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, the spikes allowed DooMore to perform sit-and-spin attacks as well.[7] The back of the 'truss' bulkhead also lacked a top plate on the 1995 incarnation, leaving components - including the batteries - vulnerable against opponents' attacks.

Robot History[]

1995 US Championship[]

Making its debut at the 1995 US competition, DooMore fought exclusively in the Heavyweight Face-Off. In the first round, it faced fellow newcomer Creeping Death.

The start of the match was tentative for both competitors, with Creeping Death suffering severe mobility issues from the outset. DooMore slowly approached Creeping Death from the other side of the arena, demonstrating and attempting to line up a hit with its spike. The first attempt missed; the spike jolting upwards just before it fired. A count-out was initiated for the immobile Creeping Death, during which DooMore successfully landed two blows with the spike. Amidst booing from the crowd, DooMore was declared the winner. DooMore, not content with this, retreated back across the arena, before ramming Creeping Death again. An attempt to line up another spike attack came to naught, as the two competitors ended up getting stuck together.[8]

In the second round, DooMore faced Blendo - a full-body spinner from future MythBusters personalities Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage.

Again, the battle started tentatively, with DooMore staying in its side of the arena as Blendo, weapon spinning, approached. DooMore crept forward, taking a direct hit to its front castor. In the same moment, it fired its spike, but missed as the whole robot was spun to the left. Another few tentative moments ensued, during which the two competitors again came to blows. DooMore fired its spike directly against Blendo's shell, leaving a dent behind. The impact, however, damaged the tip of the spike itself, as did a second successive hit from the flywheel rim of Blendo's weapon. Retreating, DooMore followed Cambot towards the left perimeter, before firing its spike again and driving over the top of a spinning Blendo. Heading to the other side of the arena, it kept activating its spike, while backing up, then gingerly approaching Blendo once more.[9][10][11]

Doomore vs blendo

Blendo spins under DooMore

Extending its spike, DooMore waited until Blendo drew close, then backed away once more. After briefly colliding with a mousetrap, it drove forwards once again and began spinning on the spot, using its side spikes as defense. As it spun, it was driven into and buffetted around by Blendo, which began bending the spikes themselves. DooMore kept spinning for a few seconds, until it stopped and trundled towards the left-hand side of the arena again. Backing into Blendo, it shot forwards towards Cambot, though this only allowed Blendo to give chase and ultimately push DooMore into it. DooMore, straddled on top of Blendo's shell again, drove forwards to escape, though not without being clattered by the swinging Ball of Doom.[9][10][12]

Blendo vs doomore

Blendo tears into DooMore

DooMore turned around to confront Blendo yet again, forcing the Colossal Pictures-backed entry to retreat into the corner. Grazing its spikes against and again riding up on top of Blendo, its movements resulted in the latter striking a nearby arena flipper, sending sparks and a piece of metal flying into the six-foot Plexiglass wall. Another tentative moment passed, until DooMore charged into and over the top of Blendo once more. This proved costly, however, as Blendo landed a direct hit to the vulnerable internals above - including the duct-taped batteries at the back - and tore off the spikes from its front-right corner.[9][10][13]

Doomore smokes

DooMore's batteries start smoking after taking critical damage from Blendo

With its batteries now 'eviscerated', DooMore started smoking as it backed away and spun backwards in the center. The smoke intensified as DooMore kept driving around, losing more and more speed. Eventually, it stopped driving altogether, but was still able to demonstrate movement in its spike, and spin around one last time as Blendo emerged as the winner. While DooMore was eliminated from the Heavyweight Face-Off, Blendo's attacks on it posed major safety concerns which would impact its own Face-Off run as well. DooMore's spikes were among the debris ejected into the audience stands; a consequence resulting in Blendo being withdrawn from the 1995 competition entirely.[9][10][14]

1996 European Tour[]

In spring 1996, DooMore was chosen alongside La Machine to participate in an exhibition tour to promote the original Robot Wars concept across Germany. The tour combined a music rave show with 'performance art' elements, one of which involved head-to-head battles against the updated 1995 champion. Though it is claimed that the European Tour travelled to as many as eleven different German cities,[15] the official US Robot Wars website states that it visited seven throughout May of that year,[16] including Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Essen and Stuttgart.[17]

According to Gearheads, DooMore would not only appear in each show's 'climatic match' involving La Machine, but also a non-combat challenge. The challenge involved DooMore knocking as many 'small toy electronic robots' over as possible with its pneumatic spike, though further details on this part of the tour are unknown.[18]

Details of DooMore's matches with La Machine vary. As the European Tour stage did not incorporate a dedicated combat arena, both competitors were restricted to circling around and exchanging 'gentle theatrical jabs' with each other due to safety limitations.[19] In a section highlighting statistics for La Machine, BioHazard and Agamemnon, the first Robot Wars Club newsletter suggests that DooMore lost fourteen battles involving the pair.[20] A reference to the tour in American Robot Wars 1996 also suggests that DooMore went winless, during highlights of its clash against La Machine in the 1996 US Heavyweight Face-Off (see below). However, La Machine's Trey Roski would later claim that both robots fought around 30 battles in total, with DooMore earning one victory.[21]

1996 US Championship[]

DooMore returned for the 1996 US competition, minus the side spikes. It was among the competitors to benefit from a first-round bye in the Heavyweight Face-Off, allowing it to start its run in the second round.[22] There, DooMore faced the French entry Steel At Work, built by Jean-Denis LeFeuvre.

During a tentative start, both robots headed towards the center. DooMore spent this phase of the match chasing Steel At Work, but not without clipping the Ball of Doom once again. However, its contributions to the match turned out to be relatively limited, as Steel At Work ended up being immobilized following its own excursions into the lower-right flipper and lower mousetrap hazards. Capitalizing on this, DooMore closed in and punched its spike through Steel At Work's shell. It finished by ramming Steel At Work against the other side of the mousetrap, and was quickly deemed the winner by knockout.[3][23][24]

In the Quarter-Finals, DooMore faced Merrimac, another returning machine from the 1995 competition.

The opening moments saw both robots ramming each other, though DooMore's ground clearance was easily breached by Merrimac's lifting flaps. As such, it was scooped up and pushed into the wall, but managed to slip off and drive away towards the center of the arena. With the Industrial Light & Magic entry suffering major control issues, it attempted to spear through it after the former drove into the lower-right corner. Moments later, DooMore approached Merrimac again, but was briefly lifted. Another ram soon followed, as did another attempt to pierce through and beneath one of Merrimac's raised flaps. With Merrimac still unable to overcome its control issues, DooMore took a more tentative approach, until it became clear that its opponent could no longer free itself under its own power. DooMore backed out and performed a victory spin in the center of the arena, seconds before Michael Meehan confirmed it as the winner by knockout.[3][25]

Advancing to the Semi-Finals, DooMore fought La Machine once again for a place in the overall Face-Off Final. Prior to the start of this match, it fired and lowered its spike into position.

La machine vs doormore

DooMore is snared by the mousetrap

In the opening seconds, both robots violently rammed each other. DooMore was flicked upwards on impact, but headed across the arena. Spike raised, it spun and dodged another ram from La Machine, forcing the latter to hit the left wall bumper. A quick recovery by La Machine saw DooMore being pushed from the back, then pinned against the upper and lower-right walls. La Machine steered DooMore into the arena doors, where both competitors were swatted by the arena flipper nearby.[26]

"DooMore has met La Machine in battle many times, especially on the '96 Robot Wars European Tour. But up to now he's never won... and today is no exception."
Paul Vallis, American Robot Wars 1996

Upon being released, DooMore struggled to escape from the corner, its spike having been retracted by this point. Eventually, it pulled clear with assistance from La Machine, which spent this phase darting across the arena past the mousetraps. DooMore's reprieve was short-lived, as La Machine proceeded to pin it against the upper-left flipper. Once freed, it proceeded to chase Greg Munson and Trey Roski's machine across the arena. Another high-speed ram followed, which resulted in DooMore being scooped up and pushed into the upper mousetrap. DooMore toppled onto its side against the mousetrap net, where it became entangled and officially immobilized. As a result, it lost the battle by knockout, and was eliminated from the Heavyweight Face-Off at that stage.[26]

DooMore later returned for the Heavyweight Melee tournament. In its first-round battle - as highlighted in The First Wars - it would meet La Machine for the second time in this competition, alongside The Master, Vlad the Impaler and recently-crowned Face-Off champion BioHazard.

In the opening moments, DooMore was rammed by La Machine, and later lifted by BioHazard, while the latter was being pushed by Greg Munson and Trey Roski's machine. It and Vlad the Impaler were then subjected to attempted overhead attacks by The Master, which swung its saw violently against the concrete floor. Both competitors were deterred at first, though DooMore would briefly rejoin the mayhem after Vlad the Impaler lifted and hooked The Master with its lifting forks. With The Master losing its saw moments later, DooMore next chased La Machine past it. At that moment, it too was lifted and briefly pinned by Vlad the Impaler. DooMore recovered, exchanging rams with The Master and BioHazard. Carlo Bertocchini's machine briefly lifted DooMore in response, though DooMore escaped and avoided the four-robot pile-up that would ensue.[27][28]

DooMore and La Machine proceeded to ram BioHazard further, disrupting its attempts to flip Vlad the Impaler over. Scott LaValley's machine then pushed BioHazard further into the wall, before it was thrown upwards by another high-speed ram from La Machine. DooMore found itself being pushed backwards towards The Master, then pushed back simultaneously with BioHazard. The three machines - DooMore, BioHazard and La Machine - became entangled in an already-bent flipper paddle, with DooMore later getting rammed against the wall.[27][28]

Rumble corner pile up

DooMore (left) observes as BioHazard and Vlad the Impaler are eliminated separately by La Machine

DooMore, however, recovered quickly, ramming the back of La Machine while BioHazard pushed Vlad the Impaler into the latter. This allowed Vlad the Impaler to be pushed free, and BioHazard, which suddenly stopped moving, to be flipped over in the upper-left corner by La Machine. DooMore, following La Machine's progress, fired its spike into BioHazard's baseplate, only to be pushed away by the former. A similar intervention prevented DooMore from spearing Vlad the Impaler as well, after Gage Cauchois and Gregg Walker's machine was also flipped over and left unable to self-right.[27][28] Moments later, DooMore was pressured by The Master, which attempted to whack it with the remains of its weapon arm. The large gap in its frame, however, allowed it to catch The Master by one of its wheels. DooMore and The Master were next pushed around in circles together by La Machine; DooMore freed itself with a thrust from its spike. However, it could not escape a series of attacks by La Machine on its remaining opponents.[27][28]

La machine vs doomore oota

La Machine throws DooMore out of bounds

"DooMore, doomed...."
— Paul Vallis

After being steered into an arena flipper, DooMore was ultimately pushed towards and forcefully flipped over the wall bumper on the right-hand side. Unable to self-right, it became trapped within the bumper mechanism, and effectively rendered out of play.[27][28]

"The ultimate winner here, La Machine, dumping that one [DooMore] over the edge."
Jonathan Pearce, commenting on DooMore's ejection (Series 1, Heat D)

Despite being eliminated from the battle, DooMore was later chosen alongside The Master to join La Machine in the Heavyweight Melee Final. Alongside each other, the three competitors fought nine opponents for the overall 1996 title: South Bay Mauler, Nemesis, Tazz, Punjar, Killbborg, Red Scorpion, Merrimac, Gutrip and Marvin.

Hw rumble2 pileup

DooMore is rammed by La Machine as it is caught up in a pile-up

In a mirror of their earlier Face-Off clash, DooMore was wedged by Merrimac in the opening moments. DooMore was in turn rammed once again by La Machine, as the three robots became involved in a pile-up in the center of the arena, and would be one of multiple robots shovelled around by the defending Melee champion moments later. It later rejoined the fray once The Master and Punjar pinned La Machine over the upper-left flipper, again catching The Master by one of its wheels. This would prove costly, however, as DooMore remained pinned with The Master, and would otherwise display limited mobility for several moments. Eventually, The Master was able to break free from DooMore, with DooMore vulnerable to a decidedly feeble swing from the former's sword weapon. DooMore survived and drove away, with The Master suddenly losing mobility at that point.[29][30]

With La Machine also being freed from its perch, DooMore would end up getting pushed into the upper-right flipper, where Red Scorpion appeared to have very little movement. DooMore stayed out of the action for some time, until it slammed into one of The Master's wheels, and simultaneously blocking Merrimac's escape from La Machine and the upper mousetrap. As the Melee Final crossed the three-minute mark, it continued to be harried by La Machine, before engaging in a head-to-head ram with Nemesis. La Machine shoved DooMore away and into the lower mousetrap. Moments later, DooMore became snagged on Gutrip's twin milling cutters; Bob Schneeveis' machine had otherwise suffered mobility issues throughout. A forceful ram from La Machine separated both competitors, after which DooMore, Punjar (carrying The Master) and Nemesis all piled into the duo of Merrimac and South Bay Mauler. Again, DooMore was subjected to another pushing attempt by La Machine, though La Machine ended up ramming Punjar, The Master and South Bay Mauler instead. It then found itself in the upper-left corner again, pinned together with Killbborg and Nemesis within range of the nearby flipper. As a consequence, DooMore found itself being pushed back by Killbborg.[29][30]

Mauler 96 Battle 2

DooMore (center) lasts to the audience vote

For some time after, DooMore appeared to be completely stationary, even as Punjar pushed The Master sword-first underneath its frame. Eventually, it started moving again, proceeding to amble across the outer perimeter while other competitors engaged in further pile-ups. In trying to join one of these skirmishes, DooMore wedged itself on one of Merrimac's angled sides, where it was unable to back away. Regardless, it was able to separate and engage in a pushing match with Punjar. While another pile-up developed in front of the upper mousetrap, DooMore was pushed again by La Machine, this time into the lower-left corner. DooMore finished the battle by engaging in yet another pushing match, this time with Nemesis, with the Melee Final ultimately going to an audience vote. However, it would lose the vote - and the 1996 Heavyweight Melee championship - to La Machine.[29][30]

Results[]

DOOMORE - RESULTS
1995 US Championship
Heavyweight Face-Off
Round 2
Round 1 vs. Creeping Death Won
Round 2 vs. Blendo Lost
1996 US Championship
Heavyweight Face-Off
Semi-Finals
Round 1 vs. No opponent Bye
Round 2 vs. Steel At Work Won
Quarter-Final vs. Merrimac Won
Semi-Final vs. La Machine Lost
Heavyweight Melee
Final
Melee vs. La Machine, BioHazard, The Master, Vlad the Impaler Lost
NOTE: Despite being eliminated, DooMore was later selected for the Heavyweight Melee Final alongside The Master and the victorious La Machine.
Melee Final vs. La Machine, The Master, South Bay Mauler, Nemesis, Tazz, Punjar, Killbborg, Red Scorpion, Merrimac, Gutrip, Marvin Lost

Wins/Losses[]

  • Wins: 3
  • Losses: 4

NOTE: DooMore's records from the 1996 European Tour are not included. Its first-round bye in 1996 is also omitted from the Wins tally.

Series Record[]

Events DooMore Event Record
1994 Entered with Doolittle
1995 Heavyweight Face-Off, Round 2
1996 Heavyweight Face-Off, Semi-Final
Heavyweight Melee, Final
1997 Entered with DooAll

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 'Robot Wars III 1996 Event Report', Team Minus Zero website (archived)
  2. 'ROBOT WARS ® Photos', US Robot Wars website listing for DooMore (archived May 2 1997)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 'DOOMORE', Team Spike website (archived)
  4. Brad Stone (2003), Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, pp.56-60
  5. ibid, p.58
  6. 'LA MACHINE', Team Spike website (archived)
  7. Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, p.58
  8. 'Robot Wars 1995 - Creeping Death vs DoMore', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded August 9 2008
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 'Robot Wars 1995 San Francisco California (Part One)', Marc Thorpe (YouTube), uploaded March 26 2011
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 'Robot Wars 1995 - Blendo vs DoMore', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded August 9 2008
  11. Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, p.58
  12. ibid, p.58
  13. ibid, pp.58-59
  14. ibid, pp.59-60
  15. Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Greg Munson, December 2021
  16. 'ROBOT WARS ® -- Upcoming Events', US Robot Wars website (archived May 2 1997)
  17. Gearheads: The Turbulent Rise of Robotic Sports, pp.73-76
  18. ibid, p.73, pp.75-76
  19. ibid, p.73, pp.75-76
  20. 'Winning Warriors From The U.S.A', Robot Wars Club Newsletter, Issue 1 (1998), p.7
  21. Public correspondence between Trey Roski and BattleBots Wiki user Zassa2
  22. 'Tournament Tree - Robot Wars 1996 - Heavyweights', Team Run Amok website
  23. 'Robot Wars 1996: DooMore versus Steel at Work (Heavyweight)', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded December 25 2018
  24. 'STEEL AT WORK', Team Spike website (archived)
  25. 'Robot Wars 1996: DooMore versus Merrimac (Heavyweight)', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), January 9 2019
  26. 26.0 26.1 'Robot Wars 1996: DooMore versus La Machine (Heavyweight Semifinals)', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded January 8 2019
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 'Robot Wars 1996 - Heavyweight Melee 4', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded January 15 2019
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 'Robot Wars 1996 - Heavyweight Melee 4', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded October 28 2008
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 'Robot Wars 1996 - Heavyweight Melee 5', diabolicalmachine (YouTube), uploaded October 28 2008
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 'Robot Wars 1996: Heavyweight Melee 5', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded January 15 2019

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