What Makes A BATTLEBOTS WORLD CHAMPION? Feat: Vlad The Impaler [Builder Blog Ep 78]

[@Koda89]

Something I learned from a classic bot that still helps me today actually involves Vlad’s superheavyweight brother Vladiator, from his finals match with Minion, which is to never give up on a match. When Vladiator got(ironically) impaled on the spike strip, everyone but Gage thought the fight was over, until Vladiator pried itself off the wall with literally one second left in the knockout count, and went on to dominate Minion in the back half of the fight and win the Giant Nut.

[@ellindsey000]

I'm glad to see that the original Vlad is still intact and preserved and not cut up for scrap. I remember seeing this robot compete for the first time way back in 1996. It's amazing to think that most of the frame and internals were kept the same for the robot's entire career, with only minor upgrades and structural reinforcement made. Not like modern robots where most teams throw the whole thing out and start from scratch after each year. I also remember that those old Vantec speed controllers were pretty fragile, you needed to have that much shock isolation if you wanted them to survive severe impacts.

[@ChaosBlitzBeta]

That or rusting away somewhere outside in the backyard.

[@thisisdvd8094]

I wonder where the original Mauler is... It was replaced by the 5150 version in season 2.0, but the original was modified to be a superheavyweight. Is it still sitting around somewhere?

[@akillerferret5537]

Never thought we'd be looking at old battlebots in the same way as we do classic cars

[@Leatherface123.]

What I’ve learned from old robots is, you don’t need to win to be fun to watch For example , nightmare never making it past the quarter finals but at the same time having 2 of the greatest fights in combat robot history Another thing I’ve learned is that simplicity is most effective Biohazard being effective while being simple winning 6 championships And you don’t have to have a boat load of money to make a robot Some robots can be made from things around the house It’s not always about winning It’s about having fun, helping other builders, it’s about teaching future generations the science and the joy of combat robotics It’s about the experience of building a robot As Christian Carlberg has implied “It’s about building the robots rather than winning the fights” Thank you to all of the old builders for doing things the way they did

[@robot8613]

I love the old "found parts" engineering, bots like this made me believe I could do it too as a kid.

[@AHYL88]

Thank you for the look around this classic Battlebot. I did not expect it to have so much empty space under the shell, and despite looking relatively barebones is still really advanced today. The batteries taking up around a quarter of the robot's weight limit is insane. It goes to show how much battery technology has progressed, especially when they're much lighter now thanks to different alternative materials to make them. Agreed with that statement, it's well ahead of the curve and its time.

[@Jalor218]

What I've learned from old Battlebots is that a robot's drive train is almost a secondary weapon system. Sometimes it even does more to win a championship than the primary weapon does - just ask Diesector.

[@lucasskotiniotis1360]

Honestly the drive system is probably still more important than the primary weapon when it comes to winning championships

[@BlueJeanBaby]

New sub. OG BB fan. Huge Vlad fan. "The box is locked. The lights are on. It's robot fighting time." Glad Vlad is safe.

[@Vivitribal_lame]

The Holes in Vlad’s motors are so smart with ventilating overheating of motors, which would really help considering how much that happens so much now

[@wyrmh0le]

Bots are so compact now, this is probably a hard thing to implement.

[@Living_Murphys_Law]

What I learned most from Vlad is just how far we've come since the Comedy Central days, but also how much old technology is overlooked nowadays. Not many modern bots use air armor, or cooling systems, or any of that, but they're genius ideas.

[@stonefish98]

I've been building computers for >30 years. Every time I hear about a ESC overheating, I wonder why the hell there's no active cooling on it.

[@derektran9404]

The main reason people don’t use active cooling in Battlebots is fan blades usually snap off under the huge shock loads. The fans themselves not only need room but they need shock mounting as a result. The matches are so short anyways passive cooling is fine for most.

[@stonefish98]

@@derektran9404 yeah, I'd only consider it for bots with thermal problems. But battlebots is the home of spinny things that don't break under combat conditions :) I wouldn't use a traditional fan. I'd just add some kind of air-moving attachment to an existing motor shaft or something. Hard to visualise without seeing the bot's geometry.

[@derektran9404]

@@stonefish98 The rear end of people's motor shafts are usually occupied sensors and the output is occupied by sprockets or wheels. Also trying to compare spinning vertical or horizontal spinner running massive shafts and bearings compared to a commercial fan with very thin plastic fan blades is not a valid comparison at all.

[@razer259]

That is just an incredible machine. So many different innovations lurking throughout. Magnetic forks, fan-cooled motors, multi-layered armour, it's easy to see why this was a champion back in the old days. Gage Cauchois, you legend, thank you for building this thing and giving us great entertainment. 👍

[@Wddh4410]

Old Battlebots taught me that you can have exposed wheels and win a bunch of fights with them, as long as you secure them well enough. Thanks Overkill ❤️

[@d.aardent9382]

very awesome to see Vlad and a overview of its engineering. would be so cool to see em back in the box smashing stuff up.

[@TazzNet]

Instant like. This robot caught my eye way back then and i have loved it ever since. Love the update on this guy thank you

[@beny6810]

So much childhood! Thanks for bringing us all into these wonderful places ❤

[@porynog]

Old BattleBots taught me how important driving is in the game overall since kinetic weapons were fairly few and far between

[@TheTrooperMB]

This machine is extraordinary , just perfect DIY!

[@idolizerkb]

It would be nice if your team can meet up with some former champs or just retired roboteers and their robots. There's still a lot we can learn from classic technologies.

[@tarasaurus98]

I learned that it's more important to me for Battlebots to be fun than for them to win. Vlad (and Vladiator) were some of the most fun robots for me to watch because they were so brutal and fast.

[@HarbingerOfBattle]

The wisdom of Jim Smentowski and Nightmare lives on.

[@so_qp]

Really cool video, i can't believe in how great condition Vlad the Impaler is after 20 years of retirement. ❤

[@c7viper]

This was my favorite robot of the CC era.

[@calebmoak186]

Man, back when armor wasen't good (or not there at all), I can imagine few things would be scarier than a robot literally designed to scoop you up and impale you on the wall before you could do anything.

[@Leatherface123.]

Man id like to see some videos on Christian Carlbergs robots like dreadnought, minion, toe crusher, overkill, and knee breaker

[@Rosta720]

This is so unbelievably cool, you've made my day!

[@NYC-Gardener]

The biggest thing that I learned from the old school battlebots was that ANYONE can do it if they want to. I remember seeing Lisa Winter's bot and thinking "Holy @#&*" someone made a robot out of a sandbox! And then there were teams like (I hope I remember this correctly) The Texas Scrap Daddies, who showed that they could build something competitive with just steel and no crazy expensive titanium. I love that this concept is still alive and thriving in Battlebots now with bots like Rusty and Jackpot, they show that you can get in and do it without having to spend 100,000$ on parts.

[@randomsnow6510]

You can get into the sport by builing a beetleweight for 50 dollars

[@linuxgeex]

Awesome! I really miss Vlad. What a driver! He really proved that weapon number one is the person with their hands on the controls.

[@jackenmipho8141]

Please show more internals of classic bots! WE WANT MORE VICTOR 883'S, 6061, HARBOR FREIGHT, VANTEC AND SLA'S

[@LiveLaughLuke]

Something I learned from an old bot is that every design is a good design in its own way.

[@jon4589]

No. Royale with Cheese. Not good in any way.

[@JohnsonBuck]

Cheers for posting this. Makes me want to watch old Robot Wars US videos of La Machine, Blendo and The Master.

[@BVK_LastPlace]

I learned that maybe my air-armor strategy is maybe not stupid after all. It's super reassuring to see how hand-fabricated this machine is, while actually being very clever internally. Those wubs look just like the ones that are still being used! It's all a testament to what can be done without modern fabrication.

[@SkorpiosBattlebot]

Congratulations! You've won our give away! Please email us at [e-mail] with your shipping information and we'll get your sticker sheet out to you!

[@PyroBear1776]

Gotta love the OG's of the sport.

[@val1antheart]

Honestly, it really taught me that it wasn’t all about doing damage, it is also about driving, and really knowing the strategy of the opponent. I haven’t really watched old battlebots though lol

[@HarbingerOfBattle]

The internet archive should have the full classic series. Watch it, it’s great.

[@nicholaspeterson61]

Bots like Biohazard taught me that you don't need brute force to win. You can win with graceful driving alone. Son of Whyachi taught me that you don't need graceful driving to win. You can win on brute force alone.

[@RegulusKotesu]

What old school battlebots taught me is how surface area available to be damaged is a key factor. Overkill only have you a small bit of the bot between the tires and blade and biohazard needed something like son of whyachi to be able to hit them. Glitch did real well with a limited surface area to strike and would love to see optimized designs in terms of mitigating areas that can take substantial damage.

[@azhikingwithms2491]

OMG! This gives me so many ideas. Now to find the money, and crew

[@adamleah5223]

old battlebots taught me that simplicity is key and the simplest toughest solution is often the most effective

[@eishiba3916]

i always loved vlad. watching it ram bots into the wall over and over and by the end of the match they werent moving as well. while it did lose to mechavore the score was 24-21. thats one point off from a split. the timing that i came across this video is quite crazy because i have been working on a vlad the impaler bot in brick rigs and wasnt entirely sure how to do the forks. i was looking at pics of vlad but now i have this video. im also subscribing because skorpios is one of my favorite bots! it never gets old watching it bash the top of other bots. It never knowing when its beat.

[@nobeanieroboticsco.3383]

I learned from the CC era is that making a good spinner gets you removed from the event, Jaime and Adam's Blendo

[@combatroboticstuff1262]

cool video, Glad to see Vlad after 20 years

[@cornmaized]

Old battlebots taught me reliability is everything! You can have a box with wheels on it and it can do very well if it just won’t die!!

[@BellyLover06]

I've learned a lot here. I didn't know the tiny details about having so many shock mounts that basically impacts didn't hurt it much at all. It was only ever KO'd once, against Killerhurtz at Long Beach 1999.

[@Soinetwa]

just wow i didnt think so much details was in vlad many people love vlad.. but now i understand why.. double skock mounted electronics.. liek what?!?^^ always thought just a box with spikes that charges at enemies im impressed

[@MrGeanfilms]

Iconic !!!

[@Leatherface123.]

YES ZACH I KNEW YOU WOULDNT GO WITHOUT NOTICING VLAD

[@The_Curious_Cat]

Something that I've learned from old Battlebots is if the full body spinner is Ziggo, get out of the way.

[@vagabondrobotics]

Crazy to see how much the top designs have changed in all that time!

[@nodsib]

Old Battlebots teaches that even in the beginning, the ground game was key

[@ibeaman]

I learned that the most common cause of a fire in battlebots is your flame thrower malfunctioning

[@mrbk5916]

not sure if this would count as learning from a old robot but from an veterian roboteer and that is from ian lewis from razer and that's one of the best type of armor to have when fighting a over head attack like razer can crush down but if there is nothing but a massive air gap between the top plate and the internals there's not that much that can really be hit and that technique I ended up doing on my heavy weight which payed off after thor landed a nasty hit on the top armor going through but didn't hit anything due to the air gap. Now this begs the question would this way of seting up your robot actually make it harder for hammer saws to hit anything vital for internal wise like motors, ESC, switch, links etc

[@TeamWhackjob-Official]

What i learned from old battlebots as kid is that i love robot fighting and also wanted to build a heavyweight and be on battlebots one day

[@sumyschick]

Ala Das Bot, what greater fun could you have driving around the neighborhood than in your favorite piece of furniture!

[@ravenspe]

What a legend. I loved watching this bot fight. I wish there was a division that limited parts/materials to 90s era 😆

[@chdreturns]

That'd be impossible as said parts are long out of production.

[@AdamConus]

It would be so fun to get a few or maybe just a couple of these old machines running and do some matches with them, just no spinners. Lots of good pushy lifty OG Battlebots which could put on a show without too much risk to the classic (and now precious) machines themselves. I mean who wouldn't want to see Overkill, Voltronic, Biohazard, Vlad, ect. fight each other again, just for fun.

[@arlingtontrains7]

Very gosh darn cool! I remember this bot! I’d of loved to of seen it fully operational

[@alexanderthegreat3444]

I respect anyone who was able to compete back in the comedy central era. Cnc machining was not what it is today, so alot of these bots even the ones who didnt make it on tv were assembled out of scrap metal and spare motors. Measured by hand assembled by hand. And some of these desighns are STILL used today just look at S.O.B a bot which very much looked like sawblazes and skorpios's first appearances. (Moreso sawblaze) a big dustpan and a saw. Little drummerboy and el diablo are very close to the drum desighn riobots are famous for. All they needed as a bit more bite and a better drive system. hell vlad the impaler and biohazard can both be linked to two innovations in the groundgame. Forks for vlad and biohazard skirts. Which hydra makes great use of. So to make a long awnser short we have been learning from comedy central era battlebots already, even in areas we might not realise. But the main way we should learn from it is the sheer ingenuity and determination that the builders in that era had to compete in this at the time neiche hobby.

[@Coboxite]

What I learned is what my featherweight project is going to be now👀

[@TheDistur]

Good stuff

[@bizarreconcoctions8986]

If you wanna put on a show, add a giant spinning death bar to the bot! Whether it be cutting up the competition, of the floor, something spectacular is bound to happen😂

[@derincattelane43]

Something that I've learned from old Battlebots is to not get stuck on your butt, courtesy of Surgeon General vs Hexadecimator

[@anirecorder2555]

It's nice to see some old dogs from the classic era I hope we get to see the king himself which is Biohazard😁

[@mattiatorX]

Stewbot taught me that sometimes toy radios don't go through lexan. I do a lot of absolutely-minimal-cost builds so that's something I need to check a lot.

[@stephent7819]

From dead blow and diesector i learned never stop firing the hammer! It doesn't have to do damage to look good enough to win!

[@jamesdyer5905]

1st like bois, I really love battlebots as a whole.

[@PyroBear1776]

Same here my dude. Cheers!

[@ConstantlyDamaged]

🌟

[@IXIBobOhIXI]

I was 12 when I saw Vlad get cut up by Mechavore. I cried that match lol.

[@riderpride8740]

Old battlebots taught me that speed and power are the solution to every problem 🙃

[@professionalidiot2767]

OMG ITS THE RETURN OF VLAD

[@ChrisCreates11]

Do u use iMovie to edit ur videos by chance I recognise the music and the titles lol

[@ZachariahMaokai]

Old battlebots has shown me that it’s ok to break the mold and try something new and different.

[@starry53]

Vlad the Impaler's body structure and the way it was created is quite extraordinary, yet no armor in the underbelly. Cool.

[@inthegreensquare]

Cc era Battlebots taught me that it was mostly about driving and control with the low number of spinners while it's now mostly about driving and doing damage. It also taught me that it is possible to incorporate a bush into a robot without entangling the robot or anything like that

[@williamgreer4087]

It's amazing to see what can be done with a robot when the armour is so much lighter. That cooling system is really cool and would never happen today because there's no room in the weight limit!

[@lordsludge5678]

It totally can be done Just nobody wants to deal with an extra thing

[@alexpick518]

I haven’t seen much of old battlebots. Only episode zero. Mecha tentamushi shows me that no matter how weird an idea is, making it work perfectly will win fights.

[@RoboticAppleXL101]

Holy crap, i thought that Vlad got scraped after it got cut up by Mechavore, and defenetly thought so after Vlad The Impaler II came in S5.0, good to see the legend still alive

[@overvieweffect9034]

What I've learned from classic battlebots is the importance of a great driver and a bot with great drivability. with today's incredibly powerful weapons, some might think that weapon power is everything to win matches, but the classic battlebots shows how some great driving can beat anything, as we still see today

[@forceofwillgaming8475]

Final destiny showed the world that your hinged panels need to have a max hight to keep them from going to high and prevent what happened against disector

[@2097Pyros]

And eventually to Hazard. I actually predicted that a few years prior when I saw footage of one of the Middleweight Rumbles and noticed it flipped over with one of its hinged feeder ramps near its blade. And then T-Minus happened.

[@gigahertz123]

Something I learned from classic robots is to not immediately lose if you get flipped over because you will get flipped over.

[@colemitchell6728]

old era battle bots taught me its not how big or small your robit is that matters, its how good of a driver you are.

[@ClayBenTreeceJr.]

It's hard to imagine that the king and the legend and the champion vlad the impaler still exist in 2022 after 26 years and still around hopefully we can see the the former heavyweight champion roar back to life again I would love to see Vlad back in the box again fighting fully restored and ready to fight to its original condition

[@chdreturns]

Not gonna happen, its missing parts that aren't made anymore, it's wiring and electronics don't past modern safety so it can't even pass sportsman plus its severely underweight. At the time Vlad retired the weight limit was 220lbs for Heavies, its now 250lbs in even sportsman. The bottom armor is missing as well as Gage being retired from the sport.

[@chdreturns]

Let the ol champ enjoy it's retirement, the bot deserves it.

[@Sillyzombie666]

i still have al my vlad toys even one of the chrome mini bots of vlad

[@Chris-Horii_Korium9]

Even back then, it was clear drive and driving skill accounts for a lot.

[@kimberlythegamer308]

I have learned that you have to keep changing with the times and becoming a better version of yourself or life will come up and kick you in the butt

[@BVK_LastPlace]

A good life lesson that following BattleBots can give us

[@huntsmang5666]

Does it still work and how much did you buy it for?

[@SkorpiosBattlebot]

yes and $200 dollars

[@seanpeterson830]

I would love to see a exhibition of vald and biohazard in the new box

[@PyroBear1776]

Not really sure captain shredrator counts as a old robot, but Bryan mentioned that the new ESC's that a handful of teams use today are not always that reliable. He mentioned when he fought axe backwards in season 5 he switched back to the old school tech in contactors and won, but kept spinning and spinning, pretty cool though. Go skorpious!

[@jees3474]

Interesting

[@54raceman]

Of course chewy has the original vlad the impaler. Why wouldn’t he that’s the most him thing ever lol

[@miguelachucarro8565]

My favorite robot!!!❤️ 2002/3 flashback🥲

[@MADMAN_2415]

Today, I’ve learned to never put my horizontal spinner on when I face a vertical spinner.

[@wristofkings]

The classic era of Battlebots (along with aeronautics and a few other fields) taught me that older solutions can still survive alongside new tech. Battlebots may not like the classic ram/wedge bot designs that were more or less perfected in the days of CC and RFL, but they still win tournaments. I have little doubt that if the Vlads and other CC legends like Biohazard survived into the modern era, they would be fierce competitors as long as they continued to reiterate.

[@RetroRed101]

I hate to hear this monster of a robot was just sold on eBay Vlad deserves more respect than that. However it is so good to see him in a safe place he will be preserved. He really was the best of the best.

[@Buzzsawsports]

I learned that wrote spent majority of his fight running away from frisbee ultimate in the first ever drum spinner in BattleBots with el Diablo

[@no65mph]

What happened to my original comment? I was on Gage’s team with the “Vladmeisters” as our team was called. So I have a lot of knowledge in this robot. It was sold after season five I was going to purchase it but Gage sold it before I let him know of my interest in it. So if the current owner is interested in selling it, I would like to purchase it from him but if you guys have any questions on it feel free to ask. By the way it has two championships not one. If you guys need to get in touch with Gage for anything let me know he and I are still friends.

[@EdgarMarJara]

if you can, whach the battle between Biohazard and Vlad in LA 99, top fight

[@ruvimsemenyuk8224]

Possible vlad the impalpalor remake?

[@xiaoka]

Someone send this to “Ragnorok”. This is how you build a robot that doesn’t break after one hit.

[@sumyschick]

I’m sure at least two of the losses were to Biohazard. Was it all three?

[@ZacharyRD]

Learned: Simplicity is important-don’t over complicate your plans.

[@hatredy555]

Biohazard taught me to let your problem lay on your back and you can throw it off you. Ziggo taught me to hit life fast and hard. And finally, Mauler 5150 taught me to just go crazy and see what happens.

[@dustinlampston7618]

SO THATS WHY GAGE NEVER LOCKED UP A MOTOR

[@jonathanf2392]

huh, I didn't know vlad beat rhino before, but inertia labs got their revenge when toro beat vladiator

[@gtcreations7666]

I honestly genuinely think that this robot can withstand hits from today's battlebots

[@wristofkings]

Mechavore was a lethal spinner in its day, yet its KE output would be dwarfed by most modern horizontals. I could see a fully modernized Vlad made of AR and ti tanking those hits but not so much for this 20+ year old version.