Hello, Through Q&As 1017 and 1054, the GDC has made it clear that contacting the opponent's platform's hinge in the last 30 seconds of the match is illegal, despite the fact that the hinge is not considered part of the platform. Because such action is illegal only because of a GDC ruling and not any rule in the game manual, it is unclear what the penalty is for touching the opponent's hinge in the last 30 seconds of the match. Can the GDC please clarify what the penalty is for such an action? Thank you.
In the interest of keeping the Q&A uncluttered, I have a second part to this question. The ruling in Q&A 1054 quoted supposed parts of SG3 as justification, however much of what was quoted cannot be found anywhere in the game manual. The following is the quote of "SG3" from the GDC along with parts marked that are not present in the game manual:
SG3 Platforms are “safe” during the endgame. During the last thirty (30) seconds, Robots may not contact the opposing Alliance’s Platform. a. For the purposes of this rule, contact is considered “transitive” through other Robots and Scoring Objects. For example, contacting an opposing Robot who is contacting their own Platform would be considered a violation of this rule.
The bolded portion is not found anywhere in the game manual.
b. For the purposes of this rule, G13 supersedes rule G14. Any Robot which is contacting its own Platform during the last thirty (30) seconds, provided that no other rules are being violated, will automatically receive the “benefit of the doubt”. Therefore, any contact with this Robot will be considered a violation, regardless of intent. c. Per SG10, using a Scoring Object to contact the opposing Alliance’s Platform during the last thirty (30) seconds would be considered a violation of this rule. Placing a Scoring Object underneath the opposing Alliance’s Platform, such that it inhibits the opposing Alliance’s ability to utilize the Platform during the last thirty (30) seconds, would also be considered a violation of this rule.
The bolded portion is not found anywhere in the game manual.
Violations of this rule which do not interfere with gameplay, such as bumping into the Platform and then driving away, will result in the opposing Alliance receiving credit for one additional Elevated Robot at the end of the Match. (Alliances may still only receive points for a maximum of two Elevated Robots). Violations of this rule which do interfere with gameplay, such as preventing a Platform from becoming Balanced, will result in a Disqualification, regardless of whether the interference was Match Affecting or not.
This entire paragraph is not present in the game manual.
The intent of SG3 is to prohibit Alliances from directly inhibiting their opponents’ ability to utilize the Platform at the end of a Match. Teams partaking in any gameplay near their opponent’s Platform, especially if manipulating Scoring Objects, should be cognizant of this risk and may receive verbal warnings for doing so. Conversely, Teams attempting to invoke an edge-case SG3 call on their opponents should also be cognizant that it is not feasible for a Head Referee to track the exact movement of every Scoring Object throughout an entire Match. If a single Ring has incidentally found its way underneath a Platform during standard Match gameplay, it will be at the Head Referee’s discretion to determine whether a violation of SG3 has occurred or not.
The italicised portion is found at the beginning of SG3 instead of where it is quoted, in the form "The intent of this rule is to prohibit Robots...". The rest of the paragraph (marked in bold) is not found anywhere in the game manual.
Is the GDC quoting versions of SG3 that are published outside the game manual? If so, could the GDC state where this version of SG3 is published, and clarify whether it or the version of SG3 that is in the game manual should take precedence? Thank you.