Tasks & Scoring

[penclspinner]

Was observing a regional competition and the state champion runner ups got ~1000 points. Know they had a penalty or two thrown in the mix.

[Flavorflav]

If the machine completes an action, you get points for the action. If you complete an action, or skip the action, you don't get any points. You incur one touch for all contact required to restart the forward progress of the machine.

Your judge was correct. Had you simply unclogged the sand timer, then the sand would have flowed and completed the next action. Since you skipped the sand timer, you lost all points associated with it.

So, if you just tap the container to get the sand moving, you still would get the points if the timer eventually completes the task, right? You just get the 15 point penalty?

[Alec]

Ahh last minute question(s)! We can only do 8 tasks from 4b-4m, correct? And do they have to run in alphabetical order? And one final question: is the maximum dimensions 50 cm length by 50 cm width by 80 cm height, where the structure is taller than it is wide? Seems a little odd to me I want to make sure I'm reading this right.

[JTMess]

Ahh last minute question(s)! We can only do 8 tasks from 4b-4m, correct? And do they have to run in alphabetical order? And one final question: is the maximum dimensions 50 cm length by 50 cm width by 80 cm height, where the structure is taller than it is wide? Seems a little odd to me I want to make sure I'm reading this right.

You absolutely don't have to run your tasks in alphabetical order and the box can Be 50x50x80 with the 80cm as the length or the height.

[hmcginny]

So, if you just tap the container to get the sand moving, you still would get the points if the timer eventually completes the task, right? You just get the 15 point penalty?

I believe that you're correct that you would only get the 15 point penalty. Though timing for the sand timer would be very hard for the judges if you stop and start. I would send in an FAQ with that question.

[Primate]

So, if you just tap the container to get the sand moving, you still would get the points if the timer eventually completes the task, right? You just get the 15 point penalty?

I believe that you're correct that you would only get the 15 point penalty. Though timing for the sand timer would be very hard for the judges if you stop and start. I would send in an FAQ with that question.

It shouldn't be too hard for a judge to watch the flow of sand and start/stop as necessary. Points are accumulated for each second of operation, which I assume means "sand is flowing."

And yep, only 15 points. Tapping the container only indirectly affects task completion; the sand itself still has to trigger the next action. Don't hesitate to touch if it stops, since you'll just be increasing your time and losing points. (By the way, I've noticed if you have more lots more sand than you need in your supply container, you're more likely to have consistent flow.)

[bwy]

I'm trying to calculate the maximum possible score people can get for this event: assuming someone gets points for 6a-6f and 6l, they get 500 points. If they do the top 7-scoring tasks besides the sand timer, they get 300. They can get 180 points for having their device operate 90 seconds, the maximum ideal time allowed at states. They get 100 points for the sand timer, and the two variables are the time the sand timer runs and the mass of the sign.
So the maximum is about 1080, plus about 100 for the sign if it weighs 10 g and 90 for the sand timer if it runs 45 seconds, which adds up to 1270?
Does anyone score higher than that at competitions? Sorry for the long post, but this is my first year for the event.

Basically, I just want to know what scores to expect to medal at the state competition.

[Paradox21]

I'm trying to calculate the maximum possible score people can get for this event: assuming someone gets points for 6a-6f and 6l, they get 500 points. If they do the top 7-scoring tasks besides the sand timer, they get 300. They can get 180 points for having their device operate 90 seconds, the maximum ideal time allowed at states. They get 100 points for the sand timer, and the two variables are the time the sand timer runs and the mass of the sign.
So the maximum is about 1080, plus about 100 for the sign if it weighs 10 g and 90 for the sand timer if it runs 45 seconds, which adds up to 1270?
Does anyone score higher than that at competitions? Sorry for the long post, but this is my first year for the event.

Basically, I just want to know what scores to expect to medal at the state competition.

The nice thing about Mission is that there is no perfect score this year (which is a very good thing). Nevertheless, there will probably be a pretty good cluster of teams at the top for nats this year.

In your scoring you only accounted for a 45 second sand timer, a competitive sand timer will run for 89 seconds or so. The determining factor to put you on top of other really competitive devices is going to be your sign mass, your sand timer time, and the time it takes your 9 non-sand-timer tasks. Naturally, you want to maximize the first 2, and minimize the latter. Additionally, a good score will depend on the ideal time. A 60 second ideal time means you have 60 fewer points to be scored than a 90 second ideal time.

At my State Tournament, with an ideal time somewhere in the 80's (I don't remember the exact time), I calculated our score to be approximately 1350 points (we were never told our official raw score).

[JTMess]

I'm trying to calculate the maximum possible score people can get for this event: assuming someone gets points for 6a-6f and 6l, they get 500 points. If they do the top 7-scoring tasks besides the sand timer, they get 300. They can get 180 points for having their device operate 90 seconds, the maximum ideal time allowed at states. They get 100 points for the sand timer, and the two variables are the time the sand timer runs and the mass of the sign.
So the maximum is about 1080, plus about 100 for the sign if it weighs 10 g and 90 for the sand timer if it runs 45 seconds, which adds up to 1270?
Does anyone score higher than that at competitions? Sorry for the long post, but this is my first year for the event.

Basically, I just want to know what scores to expect to medal at the state competition.

The nice thing about Mission is that there is no perfect score this year (which is a very good thing). Nevertheless, there will probably be a pretty good cluster of teams at the top for nats this year.

In your scoring you only accounted for a 45 second sand timer, a competitive sand timer will run for 89 seconds or so. The determining factor to put you on top of other really competitive devices is going to be your sign mass, your sand timer time, and the time it takes your 9 non-sand-timer tasks. Naturally, you want to maximize the first 2, and minimize the latter. Additionally, a good score will depend on the ideal time. A 60 second ideal time means you have 60 fewer points to be scored than a 90 second ideal time.

At my State Tournament, with an ideal time somewhere in the 80's (I don't remember the exact time), I calculated our score to be approximately 1350 points (we were never told our official raw score).

Um.. Can't the sand timer only score points for 15 seconds?

[Paradox21]

I'm trying to calculate the maximum possible score people can get for this event: assuming someone gets points for 6a-6f and 6l, they get 500 points. If they do the top 7-scoring tasks besides the sand timer, they get 300. They can get 180 points for having their device operate 90 seconds, the maximum ideal time allowed at states. They get 100 points for the sand timer, and the two variables are the time the sand timer runs and the mass of the sign.
So the maximum is about 1080, plus about 100 for the sign if it weighs 10 g and 90 for the sand timer if it runs 45 seconds, which adds up to 1270?
Does anyone score higher than that at competitions? Sorry for the long post, but this is my first year for the event.

Basically, I just want to know what scores to expect to medal at the state competition.

The nice thing about Mission is that there is no perfect score this year (which is a very good thing). Nevertheless, there will probably be a pretty good cluster of teams at the top for nats this year.

In your scoring you only accounted for a 45 second sand timer, a competitive sand timer will run for 89 seconds or so. The determining factor to put you on top of other really competitive devices is going to be your sign mass, your sand timer time, and the time it takes your 9 non-sand-timer tasks. Naturally, you want to maximize the first 2, and minimize the latter. Additionally, a good score will depend on the ideal time. A 60 second ideal time means you have 60 fewer points to be scored than a 90 second ideal time.

At my State Tournament, with an ideal time somewhere in the 80's (I don't remember the exact time), I calculated our score to be approximately 1350 points (we were never told our official raw score).

Um.. Can't the sand timer only score points for 15 seconds?

Nope. If your sand timer runs for less than 15 seconds, it isn't even considered a task. It can score points for as long as you want, before the device reaches the ideal time.