**Figure FO-1:** Override field. The midfield (center) contains the tall center goal — the focus of the endgame contest. © 2026 VEX Robotics, Inc. Used for V5RC team training under fair use. Source: VEX V5RC Override Game Manual v0.1, page 19.

**Figures SC5-1 / SC5-2:** Toggle ownership states. The endgame winner claims yellow pin points on the center goal — toggle color affects whether those yellow pins score. © 2026 VEX Robotics, Inc. Used for V5RC team training under fair use. Source: VEX V5RC Override Game Manual v0.1, page 26.

// Section 01

Override Endgame — The Final 10 Seconds ⌛

Override's endgame is a 10-second positional fight in the midfield. There is no climbing, no parking, no elevation. Robots fight to stay inside the boundary while colliding with opponents trying to push them out.

🎯 Override 2026-27 specific ⚙ Strategic guide ⚙ High-contact zone

⚠️

This is not a climbing endgame. Past V5RC seasons (Push Back, High Stakes, In The Zone) had elevation/climb endgames. Override does not. The site's mechanism-climbing page is for past-season reference only.

What Actually Happens in the Last 10 Seconds

At 10 seconds remaining, robots fight to be inside the midfield boundary. Robots in the boundary at clock-zero score points. Robots also push opponents out. Per SG12.2, the manual explicitly authorizes "vigorous interactions" in this zone — this is the contact-heavy zone of the match.

The Two Things You're Fighting For

Reward	Value	How Earned
Per-robot endgame bonus	+8 points per robot in the boundary at clock-zero	Be inside the midfield boundary at the buzzer (SG12)
Center-goal yellow claim	All yellow-pin points scored on the tall center goal	Your alliance has the most robots inside the boundary at clock-zero (SG12)

// Maximum endgame point swing per match 2 robots inside boundary = +8 × 2 = +16 pts Center goal yellow claim = up to ~80 pts (depends on yellow loading) // Total potential swing if your alliance wins endgame ~96 points difference if endgame goes 2-0 vs 0-2

The center-goal yellow claim is the bigger lever. A center goal loaded with 4 yellow-yellow pins (8 visible yellow halves) and a red toggle active means 8 × 10 = 80 points. Whoever wins the endgame claims those.

Comparison to Past Seasons

Season	Endgame Type	Mechanism
Push Back 2025-26	Parking + elevation bonuses, last 30s	Climbing or parking
High Stakes 2024-25	Climbing/elevation	Hang, parking pole grab
In The Zone 2017-18	Mobile goal placement, no climbing	Lift + drive
Override 2026-27	Positional fight in midfield, last 10s	Drivetrain + height collapse

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// Section 02

Midfield Mechanics 🎯

Where the boundary is, what counts as "inside" it, when the rules kick in, and how the projection geometry works.

The Midfield Boundary

The midfield is a defined zone in the center of the field. SG12 uses the phrase "the infinite 3D vertical projection of the Midfield" — meaning the boundary extends straight up. If your robot's footprint overlaps the midfield zone, your robot is "in the midfield" for endgame purposes regardless of height.

📍

The boundary's exact dimensions are in the v0.1 manual Section 2 (Field) and the Glossary entry for "Midfield" (p B6). The midfield contains the tall center goal. Going to publish a precise diagram here once we've verified the setup at our practice field.

When Endgame Rules Kick In

Per the Glossary and SG12, the endgame phase is the last 10 seconds of the match. There's an internal manual contradiction (the GDC philosophy letter writes "Final 20 Seconds" — we believe this is an editorial holdover; Glossary + SG12 are authoritative). Plan for 10 seconds.

The 18″ Height Limit (SG12.1)

Any robot inside the midfield projection during the last 10 seconds is limited to 18″ vertical expansion. Outside the midfield, the normal 50″ pre-endgame limit (SG3) still applies during those same 10 seconds.

Practical effect: if your robot was working at 30″ tall (e.g., extended arm reaching the tall center goal) at 0:11, you have until 0:10 to either (a) collapse to 18″ before entering the midfield, or (b) stay outside the midfield boundary.

⚡

Strategy nuance: The 18″ limit is on robots inside the midfield boundary. A robot that stays outside the midfield can keep its full 50″ expansion during the last 10 seconds. So your alliance's split could be: one robot collapses and enters the midfield, the other stays outside scoring on quadrant goals. This is the recommended split, since you don't need both robots to win the "most robots inside" condition — you just need more than the opposing alliance.

What "Inside the Boundary" Counts As

Manual phrasing is "partially or entirely within the infinite 3D vertical projection of the Midfield" (SG12.1). So:

Robot State	Counts as Inside?
Fully within midfield boundary footprint	Yes
One bumper over the boundary line	Yes ("partially within")
Bumpers entirely outside, but a deployable arm is inside	Yes (3D vertical projection includes the arm)
Robot fully outside boundary, no parts overlap	No

⚠️

If even part of your arm is over the boundary, the 18″ cap applies. A robot with a 50″ arm reaching across the boundary line at clock-zero would violate SG12.1. Either retract fully outside, or fully within with arm at 18″ or below.

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// Section 03

Height Collapse 🤍

If your endgame plan involves entering the midfield, you need a way to collapse from working height (up to 50″) to ≤18″ in under 10 seconds. This isn't climbing — it's the opposite.

The Collapse Problem

During the match (0:00 to 1:50), the arm or lift can extend up to 50″ (SG3). A team scoring on the tall center goal (8.7″ tall) typically has the arm raised much higher to clear the goal opening — potentially 30″ or more.

At 1:50, the endgame phase begins. Within 10 seconds, any robot that wants to be inside the midfield boundary at clock-zero must have all of its 3D projection at or below 18″. If your arm is currently at 30″, you need to drop it 12″ in 10 seconds — which is plenty of time mechanically, but only if the mechanism actually collapses.

Three Collapse Mechanisms

A — Powered Lower

Use the arm motor to drive the arm down to ground

Simplest: just call arm.move_absolute(ARM_GROUND, 100) at 0:11.
Speed depends on arm gear ratio. With a red cartridge (100 RPM, high torque) and modest gear reduction, dropping a heavy arm 30″ takes 3-5 seconds — safely within the 10s window.
Pro: no extra hardware. Con: arm motor must not be doing anything else during those seconds.

B — Spring/Rubber-Band Assisted Drop

Mechanism collapses naturally when motor power is cut

Mechanism is set up so gravity + a release spring brings it down quickly when motor stops holding.
Cut motor power at 0:11, arm falls.
Pro: very fast collapse (under 1 second possible). Con: requires careful spring tuning so the arm can still raise normally during the match without overpowering the motor.

C — Pneumatic Disconnect

A solenoid releases the lift mid-stroke

A pneumatic latch holds the arm raised. Fire the solenoid at 0:11, the latch releases, the arm falls.
Pro: instant release. Con: more hardware (piston, solenoid, ADI port). Adds complexity to a mechanism that already works without it.

Programming the Collapse

For Pattern A (powered lower), the simplest collapse trigger is a time-based check in opcontrol:

// In opcontrol(), with match time tracked from start if (pros::millis() > 110000 && !endgame_started) { endgame_started = true; arm.move_absolute(ARM_GROUND, 100); // Optional: flash brain screen as driver alert pros::lcd::print(0, "ENDGAME — ARM COLLAPSING"); }

This auto-collapses at 1:50 (110,000ms after match start). Driver can also trigger manually with a button press if they want to commit earlier.

⚠️

Don't blindly auto-collapse. If your alliance's strategy is to have one robot stay outside the midfield (scoring on quadrants), don't auto-collapse that robot. Wire the time-based collapse to a per-robot "commit-to-midfield" flag that your driver toggles based on the match situation.

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// Section 04

Decision Matrix 🧐

Should your robot commit to the midfield endgame? Stay outside scoring? Defend by pushing? The answer depends on the score gap, your alliance partner's plan, and the center goal's yellow loading.

The Three Endgame Roles

Push (Aggressive Midfield)

Enter the midfield, drive into opponents, hold position

When: Your alliance is winning the center goal yellow loading and needs to defend it. Or you're tied/behind and the center yellow claim is the swing point.
How: Collapse arm to ≤18″, drive in, push opponents out (or refuse to be pushed out yourself).
Risk: If you get pushed out, you lose your +8 robot bonus AND the center claim if your partner doesn't cover. SG12.2 says you should expect contact damage; your robot needs to survive vigorous interactions.

Hold (Defensive Midfield)

Enter the midfield, brace, focus on staying inside

When: You're ahead on score, just need to deny the opposing alliance the +8 each and the center yellow claim. Don't need to score more, just need to occupy.
How: Collapse arm, drive in, set drive brake to HOLD, point your bumpers toward whoever's pushing.
Risk: If you collapsed too early, you lost potential scoring time. If you collapsed too late, you might not make it to the boundary.

Stay Outside (Quadrant Score)

Don't enter the midfield. Keep working at full height. Score quadrant goals.

When: Your alliance partner can win the midfield alone (or with help), AND there are remaining points to grab on alliance/quadrant goals.
How: Stay near alliance/quadrant goals. Keep arm extended. Place final pins / cups in the last 10 seconds.
Risk: Your partner may get pushed out, costing the +8 bonus AND the center claim. Coordinate this on the radio.

Decision Tree

Condition	Recommended Role
Center goal has 4+ yellow halves visible AND your toggle is active	Push — defending 40+ points
Center goal has 4+ yellow halves visible AND opponent toggle is active	Push hard — flipping who claims those 40+
Center goal yellow loading is light (< 4 halves)	One robot Hold, other Stay Outside
You're behind by 30+ points AND center has high yellow loading	Both robots Push — this is your only path to win
You're ahead by 30+ points	One robot Hold, other Stay Outside — protect the lead
Both alliance partners have incompatible mechanisms (e.g., neither can collapse)	Both Stay Outside — cede the +16 endgame and yellow claim, score quadrants instead

Communication Plan

The endgame role decision depends on live information your driver doesn't have time to compute under pressure. Practice this in advance:

Pre-match (during alliance huddle): Decide the default endgame split (e.g., "A1 holds midfield, A2 stays outside") and commit to it.
At 0:30 remaining: Driver assesses: are we ahead? Yellow loading on center? Do we need to change plans?
At 0:15 remaining: Final commit. Driver calls the role on the radio ("Pushing," "Holding," "Staying out").
At 0:11 remaining: Robots execute. Don't change plans after this point.

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// Section 05

Drive & Mechanism Implications ⚙

How endgame rules affect drivetrain selection, mechanism design, and code structure. The midfield contact zone makes pushing power matter more than pure speed.

Drivetrain Selection — Speed vs. Pushing Power

The Override Drivetrain Decision presents two main configurations:

Option A: 4×11W blue (44W) — faster top speed, simpler. Good for cycling many pins.
Option B: 4×11W green + 2×5.5W half motors (55W) — more torque, slightly slower. Better for pushing in the endgame.

⚙

If your team plans to push or hold in the midfield: Option B's extra torque shifts the matchup. A robot pushing into yours can be resisted more easily. The drivetrain is the difference between holding position and getting nudged out. Teams committing to a Push or Hold endgame role should strongly consider Option B.

Teams committing to the Stay Outside role (their partner handles midfield) can stick with Option A for cycling efficiency.

Mechanism Implications

Subsystem	Endgame Constraint	Design Response
Arm/Lift	Must collapse to ≤18″ in 10s if entering midfield	Pattern A (powered lower) is simplest. See Section 03.
Drivetrain	Must hold position against contact	HOLD brake mode for endgame. Wider wheelbase = more stability.
Manipulator	Possession may persist into endgame	Holding 1 pin + 1 cup at clock-zero is fine; placing them just before is better.
Bumpers	Take direct impact during contact	Bumper compliance matters. Standard VEX bumpers are sufficient if mounted firmly.

Code Structure

The advanced-robot Chapter 1 endgame note introduces the SG12 callout. The Chapter 6 integration shows the basic auton template. For the endgame transition during driver control, here's the recommended pattern:

// In your global state bool endgame_committed = false; bool match_started = false; uint32_t match_start_time = 0; // At competition start (e.g., in opcontrol() first iteration) if (!match_started) { match_started = true; match_start_time = pros::millis(); } // Endgame trigger: 1:50 into match (110000ms) AND driver committed uint32_t elapsed = pros::millis() - match_start_time; bool endgame_window = elapsed > 110000; bool driver_pressed_commit = master.get_digital_new_press(DIGITAL_X); if (endgame_window && driver_pressed_commit && !endgame_committed) { endgame_committed = true; arm.move_absolute(ARM_GROUND, 100); chassis.set_drive_brake(MOTOR_BRAKE_HOLD); pros::lcd::print(0, "ENDGAME COMMITTED"); }

The driver-commit gate keeps the robot from auto-collapsing if the alliance plan was "stay outside." Driver presses X when they want to commit to the midfield.

Practice Protocol

Time the collapse. Run 10 collapse sequences from full height. Target: under 5 seconds. If it takes 8+, your mechanism is too slow.
Drill the boundary commit. From 8 different starting positions on the field, drive to the midfield boundary. Time each path. Plan paths under 4 seconds.
Practice contact. Have a partner robot push yours from each direction at full speed. Verify your bumpers and frame don't shift, your arm doesn't flop, and your wheels don't skip.
Run full match sims. Every full match practice ends with the endgame transition. Don't separate it; integrate it.
Coordinate with your scouting partner. When you're scouting future opponents, note their endgame: do they push? hold? stay outside? Your alliance plan changes based on opponent's expected role.

📝

Notebook entry tip: Document your endgame decision in your engineering notebook's strategy section. Include the math: how many endgame points are at stake (typically 16-100 depending on yellow loading), your role assignment, and your fallback plan. Judges look for explicit endgame strategy — especially with such a different format from past seasons.

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