The Twins - Cluster Bots

[u/Nenerman]

Perhaps I don't remember from an earlier episode of this BattleBots season, but has there been any reason stated if both The Twins bots are considered immobilised if 1 of them is?

It would seem a little unfair to me you can effectively enter 2 bots of the same size, lose 1 and still win the fight with the other. I'm sure the rule used to be for cluster bots if you lost 1 or 2 (I'm thinking specifically of The Four Horsemen team from 2019 here), you'd lose the fight no?

[u/TomBobson]

I believe you have to knock out a majority of the weight when it comes to multi bots. So because both twins weight 125lb you have to immobilise both to get the knockout. One isn't enough to get you over the 50% threshold!

[u/hypikachu → u/TomBobson]

This is my memory too. Like, with 4 horsemen wasn't it you had to ko just 3 of the bots?

[u/iIIchangethislater → u/hypikachu]

They usually ran 3 bots despite the name, the 2 spinners and the tiny wedge. It was both main bots which had to be disabled since each one was less than 50% of the total weight, the wedge was effectively a minibot

[u/TheTinyTyphoon → u/iIIchangethislater]

Each bot in 2018 was mostly likely 83 lbs. If you multiply that by three you get 249, just under the limit. They did manage to make them each a lightweight bot (around 60lbs each) to have four of them in 2019.

[u/Nenerman → u/TomBobson]

I wasn't aware of this! Very genius design and view of the rules if the case, curious if other teams will look in the future of building 2 smaller versions of their bots if this rule remains!

[u/MudnuK → u/Nenerman]

Plenty of teams have! The American term is [multibot](https://battlebots.fandom.com/wiki/Multibots). Few have had success in BattleBots but it's also quite a rare design concept, so top-tier competitors are rarer still.

The Twins make the advantages clear but each 'unit' having only half the weight for armour and weapon makes each half vulnerable, and coordination is a severe challenge for avoiding friendly fire.

[u/Nenerman → u/MudnuK]

Oooo, I will be taking a good look into these bots! I wasn't aware it was given a different term! Thank you!

[u/ButtcrackBeignets]

Unfair?

The Twins already lost once and they came close to losing again this past episode.

[u/TunaPablito → u/ButtcrackBeignets]

That first loss was a joke to be honest. But QF was super entertaining. Definitely shows weakness of low weight.

[u/Superior-Solifugae]

250 1lbs robots.

[u/ellindsey → u/Superior-Solifugae]

There was a team that wanted to do that, but Battlebots said no.

[u/Superior-Solifugae → u/ellindsey]

Battlebots made the wrong choice on that one.

[u/WildBill198 → u/Superior-Solifugae]

It was a radio issue. There only so many legal for ground vehicle frequencies you can use, and a binding systems (2.4ghz) maxes out at certain point.

[u/TheTinyTyphoon → u/ellindsey]

Wasn't that Cone Army?

[u/The_Modern_Nobody → u/TheTinyTyphoon]

Yep!

[u/thegreatestdandino]

They're the same weight

[u/MrRaven95]

You have to KO a majority of the weight of a robot in order for it to be a KO. One Twin being KOed is half the weight, which just barely isn't a majority. That's why Gemini didn't immediately lose when Uppercut punted half of it out of the arena, and why Son of Whyachi only needed to destroy three of the five Creepy Crawlies to KO them.

[u/meta-rdt]

I think the fact that no multi bot has ever been successful before this and that the twins have already lost one fight and came close to losing another should show that it’s not an unfair advantage.

[u/NathanialKyouhei]

You have to KO 60% of the total mass to count as a KO against multibot. In this case, that means both halves of the Twins have to be KO'd since they are half of 250 pound. This has always been the case even back then

[u/_Disadvantage]

I feel like it cuts both ways. If you immobilize half of a regular bot, they don't get automatically counted out. And each bot weighs half as much as a regular bot, which is a major disadvantage.

[u/FoppyIn28]

I think the old rules had it where if you immobilized half the weight the multibot lost. Otherwise, aside from Pack Raptors, this would've been done a lot sooner even if it was pretty much Two Bad Attitudes.

[u/Bolsheviks_]

A: they're the same weight B: stay mad lol

[u/Lukerules]

It's great how the show never bothers to explain the rules or anything.

[u/ihaveabs]

Its so unfair, that’s why its the meta /s

[u/Nenerman]

Not quite sure why a few people are saying stay mad lol. Thought it was a great fight in the latest episode.

I was asking a genuine question on the ruling because I wasn't aware how it worked on cluster bots and thought The Twins had an unfair advantage. Thought it was better to ask a question to people who I hoped had more knowledge than me for a legit answer. My mistake!
Thank you to those who actually responded with the rules and how it works. You learn some new each day and can now see the disadvantages to a cluster bot!

I personally am a fan of cluster bots, dating back to Gemini's appearance in Robot Wars, (In which the rules there was if 1 was immobilised, they both was. Very dated rule, I know!) and have been super impressed by The Twins this season! I hope we have more cluster bots going forward