Crescendo, stylized as CRESCENDO and officially known as Crescendo presented by Haas for sponsorship reasons, was the FIRST Robotics Competition game for the 2024 season. The game is themed around music and concerts as part of the overall 2023-2024 FIRST in Show season. The game's kickoff event occurred on January 6, 2024, and was streamed live on Twitch.
The game is based on two game concepts that were submitted to the 2021 Game Design Challenge by Team 1678 (challenge winners) and Team 3061 (challenge finalists). Gameplay mainly consists of robots scoring foam rings, called Notes, into goals on their end of the field. At the end of the match, the robots move to truss structures called Stages and climb on metal chains to earn additional points.
Field and Scoring
Crescendo is played on a by field covered in grey carpet. The field is surrounded by low polycarbonate walls on the long sides and taller alliance station walls on the short sides. The two Amps on the long sides are connected to the alliance stations by a taller wall made of wire mesh panels.
The field is divided in half by a white line, with each half including an alliance's Wing, Stage Zone, and Amp Zone and the other alliance's Source Zone. Alliances work to score Notes at their Speaker, located on the left side of their opponent's alliance station. Robots can also score Notes at their Amp on their side of the field. At the end of the match, robots move to their Stage and climb chains to earn additional points.
Game Pieces The only game piece in Crescendo is the Note. Notes are orange foam tori (rings) with a inside diameter and outside diameter with a thickness of . High Notes are a variety of Note and are marked by three equidistant pieces of white tape wrapped around the torus.
Player Areas Alliance Stations There are two alliance stations on the short sides of the field, one for each alliance. Each station is divided into three smaller driver's stations where the teams that make up the alliance control their robots. In addition to the standard e-stop button, each driver's station now includes an autonomous stop (a-stop) that can be used to stop a robot during the autonomous period. Once the autonomous period ends, the a-stop expires and returns control of the robot to the team. The team number displays hung above the driver's stations have also been upgraded to support five-digit teams.
Human Player Stations The only type of human player station in Crescendo is the Source. The two Sources (one per alliance) are used by human players to introduce Notes into the field using a chute and are located on the other side of the field from an alliance's Alliance Station. Robots can navigate to the Source using two AprilTags mounted on the left and right sides of the chute. Even though the Amps are not fully classified as human player stations, a human player is usually present at each one for the duration of a match to earn the coopertition and amplification bonuses for their corresponding alliances.
Scoring Areas Amps The two Amps are located on the same side of the field as their alliance's station. Once two Notes are scored in an Amp, a human player can press a button to amplify their alliance's Speaker points for ten seconds or until 4 notes are scored. Once the amplification ends, another two Notes must be scored before it can be reactivated. If both alliances score a Note in their Amp in the first 45 seconds of the teleoperated period, they can press another button to earn coopertition bonus. A Note used to earn the bonus cannot be used to amplify the Speaker.
Speakers Each alliance has one Speaker located in between the left and center Alliance Stations of the opposing alliance. Each speaker includes an opening through which Notes can be scored, with the lowest edge of the opening above the carpet and the highest edge above the carpet. The opening is wide and extends into the field. Each Speaker also includes a Subwoofer that indicates whether the Speaker has been amplified and the amount of time left on the amplification. Alliances can earn the Melody Ranking Point (RP) by scoring at least 18 Notes (21 if the event is a district championship, 25 at the FIRST Championship) in the Amp and Speaker. This threshold is reduced to 15 Notes (18 if the event is a district championship, 21 at the FIRST Championship) if the coopertition bonus is earned.
Stages The two Stages are three-legged trusses located from its corresponding Alliance Station. Each Stage includes a six-sided Core suspended approximately above the carpet and three metal chains connected between the legs of the truss. The chains droop to a height of above the carpet and rest away from the Core. The three wider sides of the Core also include a Trap where a Note can be scored, with the bottom of the Trap located above the carpet.
During the endgame, robots can earn points by climbing on the chains. An alliance can also earn the Ensemble RP by scoring at least 10 Stage points while having at least two climbing robots. Harmony points can also be earned if two robots successfully climb on the same chain. If a human player successfully tosses a High Note onto one of three pegs (known as a Microphone) on top of the Stage, any robots directly below that Microphone are Spotlit and earn additional climb points.
Scoring Summary ActionAutonomousTeleoperatedRanking Points/Bonus (in Qualification)Robot exits Starting Zone2 pointsNote scored in Amp2 points1 pointNote scored in Speaker (Not amplified)5 points2 pointsNote scored in Speaker (Amplified)5 pointsNote scored in Trap5 pointsClimb (Not Spotlit)3 pointsClimb (Spotlit)4 pointsPark1 pointHarmony2 pointsMelody Bonus1 RPEnsemble Bonus1 RPCoopertition BonusMelody Bonus threshold reduced to 15 for both alliances (18 if the event is a district championship, 21 at the FIRST Championship)Win2 RPTie1 RPFoul2 points to opposing alliance 2 points to opposing allianceTech Foul5 points to opposing alliance5 points to opposing alliance
Events The 2024 regular season is divided into six weeks, with many events occurring simultaneously during each week. After the end of the regular season, teams that have qualified compete in the FIRST Championship in Houston.
Week 1 EventLocationDateChampionsFIRST Israel (ISR) District Event #1Hadera, Haifa District, IsraelFebruary 25 – 27 1690 Orbit, 3339 BumbleB, 5135 Black UnicornsISR District Event #2Hadera, Haifa District, IsraelFebruary 27 – 29 2231 OnyxTronix, 7039 XO, 9739 FireflyCanadian Pacific RegionalVictoria, British Columbia, CanadaFebruary 28 – March 2359 Hawaiian Kids, 4270 Crusaders, 8338 Boucherie Bears Robotics, 6902 STRIKELake Superior RegionalDuluth, MinnesotaFebruary 28 – March 21732 Hilltopper Robotics, 2052 KnightKrawler, 6217 Bomb-Botz, 7915 Ripon RoboticsNorthern Lights RegionalDuluth, MinnesotaFebruary 28 – March 24230 TopperBots, 6147 Tonkabots, 5232 TalonsUtah RegionalWest Valley City, UtahFebruary 28 – March 21410 The Kraken, 1339 AngelBotics, 5851 Striking Vikings, 5933 JudgeMent Call RoboticsBrazil RegionalBrasília, Distrito Federal, BrazilFebruary 28 – March 21156 Under Control, 7565 SESI SENAI ROBONÁTICOS, 8882 Infinity BRSouth Florida RegionalFort Lauderdale, FloridaFebruary 28 – March 2179 Children of the Swamp, 180 S.P.A.M., 744 Shark AttackGreater Pittsburgh RegionalPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaFebruary 28 – March 2325 Respawn Robotics, 4611 OZone, 3504 Girls of SteelFestival de Robotique RegionalQuébec, Quebec, CanadaFebruary 28 – March 27605 ASTRO, 3990 Tech for Kids, 4952 Les CarnicasRegional MonterreyMonterrey, Nuevo León, MexicoFebruary 28 – March 27421 PrepaTec - OVERTURE, 4403 PrepaTec - ROULT - Peñoles, 3472 PrepaTec - BulukNew England (NE) District Granite State EventSalem, New HampshireFebruary 29 – March 26329 The Bucks' Wrath, 5687 The Outliers, 238 CrusadersFIRST in Texas (FIT) District Katy EventKaty, TexasFebruary 29 – March 2118 Robonauts, 8576 Golden Warrior Robotics, 7616 CerberusFIT District Waco EventWaco, TexasFebruary 29 – March 22468 Team Appreciate, 3005 RoboChargers, 2158 the ausTIN CANsFIRST in Michigan (FIM) District Kettering University Event #1Flint, MichiganFebruary 29 – March 21 The Juggernauts, 245 Adambots, 2145 HAZMATSFIM District Milford EventHighland Township, MichiganFebruary 29 – March 267 The HOT Team, 503 Frog Force, 7660 The Byting IrishPacific Northwest (PNW) District Clackamas Academy EventOregon City, OregonFebruary 29 – March 22557 SOTAbots, 3674 CloverBots, 6696 Cardinal DynamicsHueneme Port RegionalPort Hueneme, CaliforniaFebruary 29 – March 3 4481 The Rembrandts, 3647 Millennium Falcons, 9452 LHS Steel StingersSilicon Valley RegionalSan Jose, CaliforniaFebruary 29 – March 3581 Blazing Bulldogs, 1678 Citrus Circuits, 8048 HH East Palo Alto ChurrobotsFIRST Mid-Atlantic (FMA) District Mount Olive EventFlanders, New JerseyMarch 1 – 31676 The Pascack PI-oneers, 222 Tigertrons, 5438 Technological TerrorsFMA District Hatboro-Horsham EventHorsham, PennsylvaniaMarch 1 – 32539 Krypton Cougars, 5895 Peddie Robotics, 9027 PATH to DominationNE District Hartford EventHartford, ConnecticutMarch 1 – 3175 Buzz Robotics, 177 Bobcat Robotics, 5112 The GongoliersFIRST Indiana (FIN) District Mishawaka EventMishawaka, IndianaMarch 1 – 3461 Westside Boiler Invasion, 3176 Purple Precision, 3865 Riley WildBotsFIM District Battle Creek EventAugusta, MichiganMarch 1 – 33357 COMETS, 6002 ZooBOTix, 9215 T-Town TechFIM District Berrien Springs EventBerrien Springs, MichiganMarch 1 – 34237 Team Lance-A-Bot, 302 The Dragons, 201 The FEDSFIM District Jackson at Columbia EventBrooklyn, MichiganMarch 1 – 36081 Digital Dislocators, 1076 Pi Hi Samurai, 8424 Tractor Technicians Next GenFIRST North Carolina (FNC) District Orange County EventChapel Hill, North CarolinaMarch 1 – 37763 Carrborobotics, 4795 Eastbots, 8757 GeodeBotsFIRST Chesapeake (CHS) District Ashland EventAshland, VirginiaMarch 1 – 31731 Fresta Valley Robotics Club, 8592 Newton², 2998 VikingBotsCHS District Blacksburg EventBlacksburg, VirginiaMarch 1 – 39496 LYNK, 449 The Blair Robot Project, 1885 Comet RoboticsPNW District Glacier Peak EventSnohomish, WashingtonMarch 1 – 32910 Jack in the Bot, 360 The Revolution, 3049 BremerTron
Week 2