Several breeds of drone (GUIDE)

[jbox1]

And so I present the several breeds of Nimbatus sumo drones, including their counters, strengths and examples! Also check out my new guide for information about guidance systems for drones!

Contact:

Contact based drones rely on their ability to contact their opponent in some way, in order to push them out of the arena. All contact drones are designed to be heavy and powerful. Some contact drones will also employ magnets to help them grab onto a target.

• RAMMER
  Rammers simply ram the opponent, unguided, out of the arena. It's simply a button linked to every thruster on board and WOOSH it's outa there! Some rammers may attempt to use some simple guidance systems to help ensure a hit, but otherwise that's it. Because of it's blind attack method, dodger drones are often an effective counter, provided it's fast enough. Since rammers are unguided, they will usually fly out of the arena if they fail to meet they're target.
  Counters: Dodgers, Gliders, Surprise Bombs
  Strengths: Center Seekers
   
• SURPRISE BOMB
  Surprise bombs are similar to rammers, but also include a lot of explosive parts, such as fuel tanks. The theory is to ram and explode the enemy into it's parts - in the hope that it confuses, destroys or knocks out the opponent. It is rarely successful, because it's hard to maintain a usable "leftover" and the shrinking ring will most likely be their worst enemy.
  Counters: Shield/Coward, non-fragile drones
  Strengths: light drones
   
• PUSHER
  The pusher is a smarter version of the rammer. Pushers will instead ensure that it's enemy is in front of it before activating all it's thrusters, via the use of a distance or direction sensor. This means its less likely to miss it's target, but some carriers can confuse it's guidance systems to activate it's thrusters prematurely. Some pushers also use jump thrusters instead of regular thrusters, to give it a little more edge. Some pushers may also use magnets to help ensure it is able to push it's target out of the arena.
  Counter: Carriers
  Strengths: Dodgers, Center Seekers
  
  
  A pusher "Salt levels rising" versus a glider "The Corruption". Notice "Salt Levels Rising" will stop it's thrusters when it's target is not directly in front of it.
   
• PULLER
  Puller drones are only ever seen with mini-drones on carriers or cowards. A puller drone will seek out it's target, and once engaged, will then activate a magnet to pull the enemy out of the arena. Unfortunately, this is rarely more effective than pusher drones, and they will often be countered the same way pushers are.
  Counter: Carriers, Center Seekers, Gliders
  Strengths: Dodgers, Rammers, Pushers
   
• SPINNER
  Technically a sub-class of the center seeker (or glider, depending on it's guidance systems), a spinner drone utilizes a lot of thrusters to spin very rapidly, while maintaining it's position in the arena. It's especially lethal, as any drones that contacts it will be knocked off course by it's rapid rotation. Avoidance drones are often too light to handle a spinner, and will not survive once the arena closes. Multi-drones also are often not strong enough. As such, spinners are almost uncounterable (verification required). 
  Counters: Pushers, Pullers
  Strengths: Everything
  
  A pusher "Salt levels rising MK 3" versus "Blender". Notice how the spinner is able to knock away it's opponent out of the arena, thanks to it's angular momentum.

Avoidance:

Avoidance based drones will attempt to avoid the enemy, until the arena closes, or the enemy falls out of the arena.

• DODGER
  The dodger (not to be confused with a glider) will always attempt to move out of the way of enemies. It may be fast or slow, but whatever it's doing, it's trying to get out of there. Often this leads to it falling into the ring of death, as such, dodgers are only ever good versus rammers. Most other drones are able to compensate for dodgers.
  Counter: Pushers, Center Seekers
  Strengths: Rammers
   
• CENTER SEEKER
  Center seekers will use some form of guidance system to go to the center of the arena, and sit there. They will often also be very bulky, to survive the onslaught of whatever it is faced against. Since they are usually the more powerful drone, they are able to outlast it's opponents until the ring of death closes in. They are countered by rammers and pushers, able to kick them out of the arena before they are able to get a foot hold.
  Counter: Rammers, Pushers
  Strengths: Gliders, Dodgers, Carriers
  
  A center seeker spinner "Beyblades" versus a glider "The Corruption". Notice how the center seeker is much heavier than it's opponent, enabling it to maintain it's position in the center of the arena, forcing it's opponent out once the arena closes.
   
• GLIDER
  Gliders are often mistaken for dodgers, but there is a key difference. Gliders will "glide" along the ring of death, by staying as close as possible to it, while not going over the edge. This tactic will confuse most drones into falling out of the arena, when they are pursued. However, they can still be defeated by some pushers, but mostly center seekers, which will be able to knock out gliders when the arena closes.
  Counter: Center Seeker, Pushers
  Strengths: Rammers, Pullers

Multi-drone:
Multi-drone classes will use 1 or more "mini-drones" which act as fully functional drones, that are detatched when the round starts. Mini-drones are often reckless contact based drones, but since they don't contain the drone brain, are of no risk should they escape the arena. As such, they mostly do not use any form of arena edge avoidance. Meanwhile, the main drone containing the drone brain will act as an avoidance class drone, staying safe as their mini-drones do the dirty work.

• CARRIERS
  Carriers are among the smartest drones. Carriers will feature several, smaller mini-drones aboard it, which it will deploy when the round starts. This can range from 4 to dozen or more mini-drones. These smaller drones will act like distractions, triggering systems on the opponent, meant for the main drone itself, or the drones may take a contact based strategy. Meanwhile, the main drone (the drone containing the drone brain) may either take part as a contact or avoidance class, or even not do anything at all. Carriers are very versatile, but they are often countered by center seekers, which are much heavier and more powerful than the carrier.
  Counter: Center Seeker
  Strengths: Pushers, Surprise Bombs, Rammers, Dodgers
  
  
  A carrier "Necromancer 4" versus a pusher "Bettle". Notice the two different strategies of the mini-drones and the main drone, as the main drone hangs around as a glider, while the mini-drones do all the work.
   
• SHEILD/COWARD
  Cowards will put all it's equipment on one large mini-drone "sheild", which is detached when the round starts and acts as a contact drone. Meanwhile, the main drone "coward" is left to fend for itself or to act as an avoidance drone They are hard to counter, but a smart drone may be able to discern the coward from the shield, or a glider could work in some cases.
  Counter: Pushers, Rammers, Gliders
  Strengths: Carriers, Center Seekers, Surprise Bombs
  
  
  A coward drone "The Alien" versus a glider "The Corruption".
   

Think I missed anything? Want to contribute? Share your drone designs so I can make GIFs with them!

[Markus]

Awesome Guide! I can see how much time and effort you put into it. This would be an awesome entry into a Wiki, maybe someday enriched with GIFs. Reading your Guide made me very happy and is motivating to improve this game mode more and more ❤️ Thank you very much

 

There's another type of Drone, but since they are rarely useful, they maybe have no right to be on this list

• SURPRISE BOMB
  You stack a lot of heavy drone parts into each other and when you start, the drone explodes into many different parts - in the hope that it confuses, destroys or knocks out the opponent. It is rarely successful, because it's hard to maintain a usable "leftover" and the shrinking ring will most likely be your worst enemy.
  Counter: Shield/Coward, non-fragile Drones

[jbox1]

4 hours ago, Markus said:

someday enriched with GIFs

O_O

better get crack’n!

[jbox1]

Updated the guide! Added more depth to the classification and subclasses of drones. Also added the first example GIF!

[Markus]

OMG! This is so amazing 😍I really really appreciate your work here ❤️Very detailed and helpful. I hope we can improve the Sumo Tournament soon so more players are motivated to participate and even more strategies are created  

This thread sparks my imagination like crazy. I'm thinking of creating a drone which creates a field of repelling magnetic satellites, which arrange them self around the border and help you stay inside the circle. Trying to find ideas which are not yet mentioned here  

[Micha]

Very nice

[Century Orion]

As someone new to the game, this seems very confusing to make. 

[jbox1]

6 minutes ago, Century Orion said:

As someone new to the game, this seems very confusing to make. 

I should make a guide about constructing sumo drones too mabey.

[Markus]

@Century Orion I can totally understand. The Sumo Mode only works with fully autonomous Drones, which have a bit of a steep entrance hurdle currently. I would love to make it easier.

I think the first step to make an autonomous Sumo Drone is to make a pusher: Create a drone which simply flies forward. You place your thrusters that they are aligned in a way that when you activate them, you fly straight to the right. Then you use the "Button" Logic-Part, which simulates a keypress. Use a key as "Output" and then have all the thrusters use that key as "Input". Now you have a self-flying drone.

One of the next steps is, you use "Distance Sensor"-Parts to maneuver your drone. Each Distance-Sensor casts a ray, and if the ray hits something, it outputs a keypress. That keypress can you use, to trigger other thrusters. This is useful to detect either the enemy or the Sumo-Border.

More advanced is the Directional Sensor, which you can use to position your Drone relative to the Center of the Ring or towards the enemy drone.

If you have any questions, we are happy to help. Also consider joining the Nimbatus-Discord, as there are always active players which love the Sumo Mode  

 

[jbox1]

Yeah, I definitely need to make a guide.

[Century Orion]

15 hours ago, Markus said:

@Century Orion I can totally understand. The Sumo Mode only works with fully autonomous Drones, which have a bit of a steep entrance hurdle currently. I would love to make it easier.

I think the first step to make an autonomous Sumo Drone is to make a pusher: Create a drone which simply flies forward. You place your thrusters that they are aligned in a way that when you activate them, you fly straight to the right. Then you use the "Button" Logic-Part, which simulates a keypress. Use a key as "Output" and then have all the thrusters use that key as "Input". Now you have a self-flying drone.

One of the next steps is, you use "Distance Sensor"-Parts to maneuver your drone. Each Distance-Sensor casts a ray, and if the ray hits something, it outputs a keypress. That keypress can you use, to trigger other thrusters. This is useful to detect either the enemy or the Sumo-Border.

More advanced is the Directional Sensor, which you can use to position your Drone relative to the Center of the Ring or towards the enemy drone.

If you have any questions, we are happy to help. Also consider joining the Nimbatus-Discord, as there are always active players which love the Sumo Mode  

 

Could you tell me what tolerance is for the directional sensor?

[jbox1]

54 minutes ago, Century Orion said:

Could you tell me what tolerance is for the directional sensor?

Tolerance adds a sort of dead zone to a directional sensor, where neither key will be activated. It can help with shaking and stuff.

[jbox1]

Updated the guide with the spinner drone, because we all love spinners, right?

[ronron]

I'd watch out for Spinner pushers. These spinners take a particularly hostile approach towards enemy sumo drones, but its hits are rarely lethal until the arena closes in on the drones and gives a small enough area for the weak hits to effectively reflect an enemy out of the ring, but they also are far more effective against pushers, effectively negating the weakness passive, center-seeking spinners have by using the pusher's force to accelerate its own spin speed until the inevitable ring closing in and pushing the pusher out.

Not all hope is lost, however, as a new pusher sub-type has been built specifically to melt spinners through faster-than-rotation bursts of speed, crashing into the spinner and wiping out internals. These drones shall be amply named "Crashers". I need more research on Crashers before I can name any other strengths or any weaknesses, but the fact the spinner omnipresence has been challenged shall bring light to the sumo tourney world.

[Vernaron]

The thing about spinner pushers and one of the main reasons that they are so dangerous is because they can't be sent into a spinout. They are extremely effective against dodgers because they won's sail out of the ring, and incredibly effective against carriers because they can just brush off the mini drones to attack the main one.

An example of the spinner pusher "Aggressive Tornado" versus the carrier/avoider "The Hive". Notice that the drones do absolutely nothing to the spinner

[weberkx3]

Share my drone video, it has a good winning ratio.
 

 

[Markus]

Very nice drone design. Clever! Thank you very much for sharing!