The Beginning of an Adventure
March 13, 2020, the beginning of a long, mandatory, confinement took place as a pandemic struck the entire world including the Valley of Peace. Fighting against the pandemic, along with Invicta, the Valley of Peace desperately needed help. A team of twenty-six brilliant warriors was formed on the 10th of April, 2020.
While we were all struggling to find a way to train, on May 6, 2020, our mentor reunited us with a human technology called ZOOM. It was the only way we could see each other. Time passed and we trained in units based on our strongest assets: 3D design, programming, construction, website creation, video and kiosk. All these powers are necessary to build the perfect weapon to defeat Invicta.
Our Newest Foe: Invicta!
On August 31st, 2020, we learned some devastating news, Invicta destroyed all of the materials to build the kiosk. We did not surrender! The kiosk warriors trained even harder to learn new assets. Then September came and we were reunited at Marcy’s Palace, where each warrior gained new knowledge and powers.
Legends of Awesomeness
The construction and programming teams worked tirelessly during these long months. While the programming warriors acquired the demanding language of coding with Python, the construction team held meetings via ZOOM to plan the build of the robot.
When they were back at Marcy’s Palace, in September, they dismantled the last weapon to build a greater one. The programming team was searching for different types of sensors and gaining the latest knowledge on circuits.
Gaining New Skills
Before summer arrived, the video team worked on finding a story and context for their video. While everybody was enjoying the hot and sunny days, the video warriors made a plan and started the dialogues for their characters.
Back at Marcy’s Palace they continued their hard work by trying to animate the mouth of the characters and started recording the voices.
Skadoosh!
As soon as the team got together, we started planning out the website. During the summer break, we worked in two teams: one was learning how to code, and the other was planning the website’s configuration.
When we returned to Marcy’s Palace, we officially started building the website. We faced and swiftly overcame many difficulties during the website creation. Some of our challenges included integrating the 3D map in our main page with only codes and incorporating all of our codes in WordPress.
Unbeatable
In the summertime, the 3D design team practiced animating random objects with the help of a software called Inventor! They started officially working in October, animating robots for the tutorial.
The Battle has Commenced!
On November 2nd, a whistleblower revealed the long-awaited battle information and each warrior began to work extensively at their respective stations. It is to be noted, the team in charge of the weapon initiated conceptualizing the weapon and challenging their knowledge.
In the span of a few days, they each devised various plans all equally clever to their own merit. Demonstrating exceptional team spirit, they were able to produce their first weapon plan while combining their ideas.
However, nothing was ever set in stone, since the second of November, the weapon’s configuration progressively evolved. With new restrictions due to public health, unfortunate difficulties obstructed the weapon’s work in progress. However, nothing is impossible for our warriors!
Hard at Work
The warriors in charge of the video had already begun months prior to the game launch. Following the launch, they finalized the drawings for the animation and the script.
In mid-November, the filming of the principal scenes was shot, the final voices were recorded; finally, with the help of the After Effects Software, the video’s animation finally took place.
K.I.S.S.
In the month of December, the second prototype was put to the test. With it, the warriors managed to uncover the minor malfunctions in the composition of the weapon.
The programmers finalized writing the code for the robot and decided to test it out with the CRC Duino. Although the first attempts were unsuccessful, they were eager and persisted in enhancing the line of code. To gain as much knowledge as possible, they sought to solve their programming issues. Moreover, in that same month, they had to find a code that could solve any Sudoku puzzle.
Overcoming New Obstacles
The team responsible for the website has made great progress over this time. They finalized the website’s configuration and began creating the pages. The biggest challenge was the insertion of the 3D drawing for the homepage. The CRC came to our rescue.
The warriors in charge of the website relentlessly endeavoured to fix concerns such as the background image not appearing, or fixing the codes that did not work. Another challenge was to create two websites at the same time. We had to divide the tasks meticulously to ensure that we completed them on time.
The Clock is Ticking
Finally, the team dealing with 3D drawings and tutorials worked on them during the months of November and December. The commitment turned out to be longer than expected. In addition, they helped the other warriors by designing the battlefield as well as creating the 3D model of the Kung Fu Panda world map for the website.
The month of November and December were filled with challenges as well as successes. Only four months until the final battle!
Masters of Problem Solving
Since the month of January, the input has repeatedly changed. The very first time, it was placed horizontally against the ground. As of the month of March, it is replaced by a plexiglass inclined at an angle. To stabilize the arm, a pulley was attached to it. The design of the robot stayed somewhat the same to the original plan.
Furthermore, horizontal linear lifts were added to the pivot making reach up to 4 stages! The input’s rotation and extension were the major changes made to the weapon. The warriors decided to move the extension from the base to the input.
Warriors of Resilience
The warriors from the programming team had to work on the tutorial. To get the perfect shots, they had to build, dismantle and rebuild a circuit more than five times! The months were advancing, and the team was coding the weapon. However, they lost all of their hard work! The warriors did not give up whatsoever. They pulled it through and recorded the robot.
Always Come Prepared
Each team was interviewed between the month of January and February. In March, the design unit had to let go of the 3D map design with the continuous unsuccessful attempts. Consequently, they went with the plan B and drew a 2D map of the territory. The journalism warriors worked on putting together subtitles in the videos.
One Final Push
Having all the robot’s datas, the team 3D design team did the drawings and animation of the weapon and of the battlefield throughout the month of December and March. Two weeks before giving in the website, the team were expected to submit the animations, tutorial and drawings to the video and website teams in a limited time period. The pressure was on, warriors were counting on them.
