- "A clusterbot is a machine that's made of two or more parts, which gives our opponent not just one problem to deal with, but multiple issues about how you fight something that's in two places at once."
- — Alex Botwright explains the logic behind Crackers 'n' Smash
Clusterbots (alternatively Cluster bots), are a type of Robot Wars competitor robot which consist of two or more smaller robots rather than one. They would be entered together as one machine, before separating and fighting as individual robots as soon as the battle began.
In the TV show, clusterbots were first introduced in The Fourth Wars by Heat Finalist and Pinball Warrior champion Gemini. The novelty of Gemini's design was immediately recognised, with the Team Mace entry receiving both the 'Best Design' and 'Most Original Entry' awards for that series. Prior to this, a small number of clusterbots fought in the 1996 and 1997 US competitions, the most successful being 1997 Lightweight Face-Off Semi-Finalist X7. Series 1 stock robot Grunt also originated as a two-part clusterbot design, appearing in this form in the 1995 UK Open Competition.
Clusterbots were rather uncommon in Robot Wars, with only eight entries of the conventional variety having competed across all televised series. Besides Gemini, the most successful of these are Dutch Series 2 Heat-Finalist √3² and Extreme 2 Middleweight Finalist Typhoon Twins. Another clusterbot, Share + Destroy, was also planned to enter Series 4, but failed to qualify.
Rules[]
Weight, Team Members and Tethering[]
The rules governed for clusterbots state that while there are no limits for the number of robots they can be made out of, the combined weight of each robot must be within the given weight limit for each category (for example, 79.4kg, 100kg or 110kg for heavyweights).
Although not mentioned in the build rules themselves, the number of clusterbot segments allowed in the arena at once is also limited by the number of team members available to drive them. As of Series 10, the maximum was four parts for a team consisting of four members, with the option to use any extra segments interchangeably.
In the original series and US events, clusterbots were also required to be attached to each other before the battle started, although this rule was not applied in the reboot.
Immobilisation[]
Perhaps the most notable rules affecting clusterbots concerned their requirements for immobilisation. These would vary in between events and weight categories.
The original rule for the 1996 US competition stated that if 50% or more of the clusterbot segments were immobilised, the clusterbot as whole would be deemed immobile and therefore eliminated.[1] This was amended for the 1997 event, which stated that immobilising one segment would be enough to eliminate the whole machine.[2]
Earlier UK series adopted the same immobilisation rule as the 1997 event, though no clusterbot with more than two segments competed during this era.[3] Regardless, immobilising one segment was seen as crucial for opponents to succeed against them, with many opting to concentrate on defeating only one half of the robot. A key example is Tornado during its Series 4 Heat Final against Gemini, which focused on impaling one half on an arena spike in order to eliminate it.
- "... and I think half [of Gemini] is impaled on the arena wall. Can they get away there? If they're immobilised for longer than 30 seconds, that's it..."
- — Jonathan Pearce, stressing the original clusterbot immobilisation rule as Tornado impales one of the Gemini twins on a wall spike
After Series 4, the rules were revised so that 50% of the robot in terms of weight had to be immobilised in order for the clusterbot to be eliminated.
While the 50% rule did not affect the majority of clusterbots during the original UK run, as they generally consisted of two robots of equal weight, it did affect the Dutch three-part clusterbot √3². During its Dutch Series 2 run, √3² was still able to win its Heat Semi-Final against Pika 3 on a Judges' decision, even after Matilda threw one of its segments (S.O.Xbot) out of the arena. Had the House Robot's attack occurred in Series 4 or earlier, it would have counted as an immobilisation.
Although consistently applied in the main heavyweight competitions, the above rule did not appear to be strictly enforced in lower weight class events shown on television. This was evident in each series of Robot Wars Extreme, in which the antweight Legion and middleweight Typhoon Twins both continued to fight even after one half had become immobilised or pitted.
For Series 9-10, the rule was changed so that 60% of a clusterbot had to be defeated in order for the whole machine to be rendered immobile. Series 9-10 entry Crackers 'n' Smash capitalised on this by having each half of the robot weigh 50kg and 60kg respectively. As neither half weighed more than 66kg, both would have needed to become immobilised before Crackers 'n' Smash as a whole could be deemed as such.[4] In the case of the four-part clusterbot The Swarm, three parts were required to be immobilised in order to achieve the same outcome.
Melees[]
Rules issued between the 1996 US competition and The Third Wars suggest that, due to risks of 'radio conflict', clusterbots were not allowed to fight in melees.[1][2][3][5] However, the two such competitors from the 1996 and 1997 events - Triple Redundancy and X7 - were able to participate in Melee tournaments without any apparent interference issues.[6]
Minibots[]
A similar concept to the clusterbot exists in the form of minibots. These involve small robots that competed alongside the main competitor, which were significantly lighter, and were neither required to be attached to the main competitor at the start of the battle nor to feature an active weapon.
Minibots were typically used to distract and disrupt an opponent's movements, interfering with their attacks, but were considerably more fragile than standard clusterbots due to their smaller size. As a result, minibots were largely considered to be sacrificial, and would not usually fight again if they became severely damaged in battle.
The first robot to use a minibot, although the concept was not named as such at the time, was Psycho Chicken in Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors, with its egg-shaped minibot, 'Scramble'. However, the concept would not be explored again until the eighth UK series, with two minibots appearing as part of Nuts, and one ('The Hatchling') accompanying Terror Turtle. By far the most successful robot with minibots is Nuts 2, which finished joint-third overall in Series 10 - the best performance of any clusterbot in Robot Wars history.
Advantages and Disadvantages[]
Advantages[]
- Through comprising two or more robots, clusterbots are more difficult for opponents to defeat quickly, since they require one or all parts to become immobilised before they can be eliminated.
- A clusterbot can allow for an effective attack synergy between individual segments; it was not uncommon for all parts of a clusterbot to block and surround opponents when fighting simultaneously, overwhelming or otherwise preventing them from attacking effectively. This tactic was demonstrated by Gemini, √3², Crackers 'n' Smash and The Swarm during their respective appearances.
- An alternative tactic can allow clusterbots to separate and attack two or more opponents at once in Group Battles; both Crackers 'n' Smash and The Swarm demonstrated this in their respective series debuts.
- Additionally, if one part of a clusterbot is attacking or preparing to attack an opponent, the others can be used to activate arena hazards very quickly. Notably, one of Nuts 2's minibots succeeded in eliminating Behemoth from their Series 10 Grand Final Group Battle by pressing the Arena Tyre and activating the pit, just as the latter was sent recoiling towards it by Carbide. The same tactic also allowed Nuts 2 itself to avoid its opponents while they attacked each other, giving it enough time to spin its flails up and break Carbide's weapon chain.
- In some cases, individual clusterbot segments can use certain arena hazards or their own weapons to help other segments in battle. A notable example occurred during The Swarm's Series 10 fight against Sabretooth, where the invertible Skye pushed the inverted Rubber Duck onto the Floor Flipper, re-righting the latter in the process.
- If one part of a clusterbot is attacked, the other parts can assist it by targeting opponents which initiated the attack. This is best demonstrated in Gemini's All-Stars battle against Razer in Extreme 1, where one half of Gemini lifted and flipped Razer over in a successful attempt to free its twin from the latter's grasp.
- Depending on their design, smaller-sized clusterbots - especially minibots - can prove highly effective in disrupting an opponent's movements, as their size can enable them to block or even get underneath them. Nuts' wedge-shaped minibots, for example, succeeded in getting themselves underneath Behemoth, Terrorhurtz, Androne 4000, Concussion and Carbide on various occasions. In most cases, these attacks prevented their aforementioned opponents from driving properly and attacking the main robot. Meanwhile, Crackers got underneath and affected the movements of Carbide, Apollo and even Sir Killalot at various moments in Series 9-10.
- For clusterbots consisting of more than four parts, it is possible to exchange different segments to suit different opponents and tactics, adding to their versatility. The Swarm was conceived as such that it could use four out of its five segments at once; for its battle against Sabretooth, the team were able to exchange Pinza for one version of Skye featuring anti-spinner defences.
Disadvantages[]
- In order to keep within the given weight limits, each segment of a typical clusterbot was required to be significantly smaller and lighter than normal competitors in their respective weight classes. As a result, they were usually more susceptible to getting pushed around, flipped, or seriously damaged by opponents, as the various defeats of Gemini, Black and Blue, √3², Crackers 'n' Smash and The Swarm demonstrated.
- Minibots were especially susceptible to these issues due to their significantly smaller size and usually lower build quality. Nuts' minibots in particular were thrown by Behemoth and damaged by both Razer and Carbide at various points throughout the reboot. Prior to this, Scramble (Psycho Chicken) was so severely damaged by Propeller-Head in US Season 2 that it entered its next battle without any form of mobility.
- Due to them consisting of two or more robots, clusterbots require significantly more time and effort to maintain in between battles than regular competitors, since the team has to repair all parts of the robot at once within the allotted timeframe. Additionally, they require at least two or more drivers, adding to the complexity of operating them in the arena.
- "If both robots take a lot of damage, we don't have just one robot to repair, but two, which could potentially be twice the work."
- — Alex Botwright
List of Clusterbots/Minibots[]
Robots are listed alphabetically.
DESKTOP MODE ONLY: Clusterbots which are not heavyweight entries are listed with a green background. Minibots are listed with a blue background. Robots which fought in the 1995 UK Open and/or 1994-1997 US competitions are highlighted in purple.
Robot | Sub-Type | Series Appearances | Notes | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black and Blue | Traditional | Series 7 | A clusterbot built by Team MouseTrap. Both halves were equipped with 20kg, 6,000rpm spinning drums. | |
Coyote | Minibot | Series 10 | Featured a weaponless minibot named Roadrunner in Series 10 only. | |
Crackers 'n' Smash | Traditional | Series 9-10 | Two similarly-sized box-shaped robots with completely different weapons. Crackers weighs 50kg and is equipped with interchangeable lifters (originally a front-hinged lifting arm), while Smash weighs 60kg and features a drum-like vertical spinner. | |
Expulsion | Minibot | Series 10 | Featured a two-wheeled minibot, Detention, which competes alongside the Series 10 version of the main robot. | |
Gemini | Traditional | Series 4-5, Extreme 1 | The first UK series clusterbot, and the most successful traditional heavyweight clusterbot. Only clusterbot to throw an opponent out of the arena. Won Best Design and Most Original Entry awards in Series 4, as well as the Series 4 Pinball Warrior Tournament. Each half equipped with a pneumatic flipping arm. | |
Grunt | Traditional | 1995 UK Open Competition | Originally a clusterbot when it competed in the 1995 UK Open Competition. Later competed in Series 1 as a singular robot. | |
Legion | Traditional | Extreme 1 | Only antweight clusterbot. Each half equipped with a flipping arm. | |
Meggamouse | Minibot | Series 9 | Included the main Meggamouse robot with a minibot Charles, shaped like a wedge of cheese. | |
Nuts | Minibot | Series 8-10 | First clusterbot in the UK series to be made up of more than two robots, comprising one heavyweight robot (Nuts) plus two small wedge-shaped minibots. Returned for Series 9 as Nuts 2 with three redesigned minibots. In Series 10, one of the four minibots featured a 6hp drive system; only two of the four minibots were able to be used at once in the latter series due to Team Nuts consisting of three members. Finished joint-third in Series 10, the best-performing clusterbot of any kind in the main UK Championship. | |
Psycho Chicken | Minibot | US Season 2 | The first competitor in any series to use a minibot, competing alongside an egg-shaped robot called Scramble. | |
Terror Turtle | Minibot | Series 8 | Comprised the primary heavyweight Terror Turtle, plus a 21.5kg minibot called The Hatchling which only appeared alongside Terror Turtle in Series 8. | |
The Kegs | Traditional | Series 10 | A pair of two similarly-designed middleweight robots made out of two halves of a beer keg. Each half is invertible and armed with a horizontal bar spinner. | |
The Swarm | Traditional | Series 10 | Five parts, each with unique weapons - Rubber Duck (flipper), Blenda (invertible bar spinner), Pinza (horizontal pincers), Skye ('windmill' with tyre sections and Sit-and-spin capabilities) and an invertible fifth robot also named Skye with a ramming wedge and optional static scoop. Four of the five parts can be paired together at once, with the robots used depending on which opponents The Swarm faces. | |
Triple Redundancy | Traditional | 1996 US Championship | Featherweight. Three RC cars with rolls of tape as weapons, effectively an "upgraded" version of Fuzzy Yum Yum. The first clusterbot to be officially identified as such and the first known three-part clusterbot. | |
Typhoon Twins | Traditional | Extreme 2 | Consisted of Extreme 2 Lightweight Champion Typhoon Thunder and a second identical robot Typhoon Lightning, both with 700rpm full-body spinners. Extreme 2 Middleweight Championship finalist. | |
X7 | Traditional | 1997 US Championship | Lightweight. Consisted of X3 - an upgraded version of 1996 Featherweight Melee champion The X-2[7] - equipped with a pneumatic lifter; and the invertible X4, armed with ramming blades.[8][9] 1997 Lightweight Face-Off Semi-Finalist.[10] | |
√3² | Traditional | Dutch Series 2 | First three-part clusterbot to appear in any televised series; first televised clusterbot to feature non-identical designs for each robot. The wedge-shaped S.O.Xbot and box-shaped Elevation both featured flipping arms, while ODT-0.33 featured a simple wedge. |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 'THIRD ANNUAL ROBOT WARS 1996 CURRENT RULES AND GUIDELINES', reproduced on the Team Run Amok website
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'General Rules 1997', Robot Wars US website (archived 3 July 1997)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Robot Wars UK 1998 RULES AND GUIDELINES', reproduced on the Team Run Amok website
- ↑ Talk page correspondence from User:TeamShakey, 1 March 2017
- ↑ 'Robot Wars UK SERIES 3 Rules', Team Run Amok website
- ↑ 'Robot Wars 1996: Featherweight Melee 4', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded January 13 2019
- ↑ 'X2', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 'X7', Team Spike website (archived)
- ↑ 'Robot Wars 1997 Interview: Mike Winter and team with The X7 and Doughboy', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 1 2021
- ↑ 'Robot Wars 1997 Lightweight match: The Defiant versus X7', Andrew Lindsey (YouTube), uploaded May 8 2021
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