Wandering spinners
If you know who Redalert is, you'll easily recall her one most Wacker doodle bot type: The Wandering Spinner.
The Wandering Spinner bares common ground with the traditional, ruthless Horizontal Spinner, yet the notable ground barrier lies directly on the drivetrain and among the devotive aspects. While a common Horizontal Spinner presents an active, horizontally aligned weapon and so does a Wandering Spinner, a Wandering Spinner boasts the envious (but not jealous-racking) drivetrain with no variable action: while a Horizontal Spinner will actually travel towards an opponent, regarding its controllable drivetrain configuration, a Wandering Spinner is as open-headed as an on/off switch: a Wandering Spinner activates and rolls off in a random potential until their spinner collides with a stout or firm object, in which the spinner's reaction redirects the Wandering Spinner in a new direction. Wandering Spinners also rely heavily off durability even more than a typical HS because Wandering Spinners have to bear enough durability to withstand countless wall collisions that a driven Horizontal Spinner can outright avoid. This common factor classifies the Wandering Spinner as clever, yet explanatorily unintelligent, thus granting them a one-way ticket to the Infamy Dumpster of Misfortune.
Redalert was a Wandering Spinner Specialist.
PROS
- weapon-dedicated
- Very defensive if built right
- Unpredictable and always mobile, can be difficult for bots that need precision for landing shots on them
- Avoids many factors that often confuse AI in RA2, like unnoticed obstructions
- Very simple to build
- Can be light on batteries because most only need one motor for drive and one for the weapon
CONS
- Can be completely avoided/ignored if your have more points in the damage category than they do for an easy win
- Nearly uncontrollable and can roam straight into arena hazards or pits
- IRL designs would demand a low-gear weapon and drivetrain design to avoid seizing up in corners and would lack any possible means of doing sufficient damage if they collide with an enemy. (hence why none are even attempted)
- Can self-destruct from hitting walls/ demand very high durability
- Not aggressive at all
- breaking the weapon completely stalls the bot once it hits something