// Section 01
Override v0.1 — What We Know 📚
Spartan's single-source-of-truth reference for Override 2026-27 rule interpretation. Built from the v0.1 game manual (released April 27, 2026, 163 pages) and reconciled against the team's pre-manual speculation.
📚 Reference page
⚙ v0.1 manual — updates expected
🔗 Cross-linked to mechanism / strategy guides
How to use this page: Each section has a narrative summary, a reference table marked with status pills (CONFIRMED NEW DETAIL CORRECTED WRONG PENDING), and rule citations like R11a that map back to the manual. Cross-refs at the bottom link to every site page that cites each rule.
Verifying Community Claims About Override
In the first month after a manual drops, the V5RC community generates a lot of strategy content — YouTube videos, Reddit threads, Discord messages, and other teams' notebooks. Some of it is excellent. Some of it cites rules that don't exist or paraphrases incorrectly under deadline pressure. The pattern that protects you is to verify rule numbers against the manual PDF before building around them.
If a source says "Rule R-something says X," open the manual and search for that rule number. If it isn't in the manual, the citation is wrong regardless of how confident the source sounded. If the rule exists, read what it actually says — the source may have paraphrased correctly, or may have overreached.
Spartan's Running List of Unverified Claims
Things we've heard from community sources that don't match v0.1, or that we haven't confirmed yet. This list grows during the season — when a student or coach encounters a claim that doesn't match the manual, add it here.
| Claim We've Heard | Source Type | Status vs v0.1 (verified against manual) |
|---|---|---|
| "R23 bans anodizing and dyeing" | YouTube influencer | Substantively correct — R23 exists. Headline is "Visual decorations are allowed," but R23a explicitly prohibits anodizing/painting/dyeing/changing the color of any legal VEX part. We initially missed this; verified against the manual after re-reading. |
| "AWP requires scoring 7 pins" | YouTube influencer | Correct (with caveats) — SC8 requires 7 Pins Placed and 3 Goals with 2+ Pins each and neither Robot touching the Field Perimeter and no Auton Violations. The 7-pin number is right; the rule has three other concurrent conditions worth knowing. Important nuance: Pins/Goals on the opposing side of the Autonomous Line don't count toward AWP — design your auton routes to keep scoring on your own side. |
| "PTO between intake and lift bypasses R11" | YouTube influencer | Wrong framing — the mechanism is legal (R11 only governs Subsystem 1; non-drive PTOs aren't restricted), but "bypassing" isn't the right word because R11 doesn't apply to Subsystem 3. Practical question for our team: complexity vs. payoff under the 1+1 possession limit. |
For the full pattern on how to read community claims, see Override Habit-Breaks → Verify, Don't Trust. The reliable sources are: (1) the manual PDF itself, (2) the official VEX Q&A (opens May 14, 2026), and (3) anything else — verify before believing.
The Five Things That Matter Most
If you only read one paragraph: most of what we speculated before the manual was right. Five things shifted enough to change site framing and team strategy.
- PTOs from drivetrain are explicitly prohibited (R11b). You cannot recover drivetrain motors mid-match for the lift via power-takeoff or differentials. The PTO trick that some teams have used in past seasons is dead in Override.
- Two power caps, not one. The drivetrain (Subsystem 1) caps at 55W (R11a). Total robot motor power caps at 88W (R10a). With a 4×11W blue drive (44W), you have 44W of headroom for arm + manipulator + accessories.
- Pins score per half, not per pin (SC3). Each pin has two halves. A half scores if it's either uncovered, or covered by the transparent half of a cup. A single pin can score both halves (10 pts) or just one (5 pts) depending on cup orientation.
- AprilTags are NOT in the v0.1 manual. The reveal video on April 24 said all 9 goals have AprilTags. The 163-page manual never uses the string "AprilTag." Treat AprilTag deployment as tentative until confirmed by VEX Q&A.
- Defensive descoring is heavily restricted (SG9, SG10). Opposing-alliance goals can't be touched at all. Neutral and opposing goals can't have objects removed from them. Defensive denial via descoring is much weaker than expected.
Status Legend
| CONFIRMED | Manual confirms the brief's pre-manual claim, often with new detail. |
| NEW DETAIL | Manual gives specifics (dimensions, exact wording, mechanics) the brief speculated about loosely. |
| CORRECTED | Brief had it directionally right but the manual's framing or mechanics differ. Adjust strategy. |
| WRONG | Brief speculation contradicted by manual. Plan changes. |
| PENDING | Manual leaves ambiguous, contradicts itself, or is silent. Watch the VEX Q&A. |
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// Section 02
Field & Match Structure 🎯
12′×12′ field, 9 goals across 4 quadrants and the midfield, two 2-team alliances. Match runs 15s autonomous + 1:45 driver controlled, with the last 10 seconds defining the endgame.
| Element | Count & Layout | Manual Cite | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field size | 12′×12′ square | Section 2 Primer | CONFIRMED |
| Alliances | 2 alliances (red, blue), 2 teams each | Section 2 Primer | CONFIRMED |
| Goals | 9 total. 4 alliance (3.25″/82.5mm) + 4 short neutral in quadrants (5.8″/146.5mm) + 1 tall center neutral (8.7″/222.7mm). All octagonal. | Glossary p B5 | CORRECTED |
| Toggles | 4 toggles, one per quadrant | Field Overview p9 | CONFIRMED |
| Match length | 15s autonomous + 1:45 driver controlled = 2:00 total | Section 2 Primer; Match table B7 | CONFIRMED |
| Endgame window | Last 10 seconds. Glossary defines "Endgame" this way; SG12 governs midfield rules. | Glossary; SG12 | PENDING |
Internal manual contradictions to know.
- Endgame timing (10s vs 20s). The Glossary defines Endgame as "the last 10 seconds" and SG12 consistently uses 10s. But the GDC philosophy letter at the start of the manual writes "Final 20 Seconds." Glossary + SG12 are authoritative; the GDC letter appears to be an editorial holdover. Until VEX issues a clarification, plan for 10 seconds.
- Toggle length (656.2mm vs 660.2mm). The Glossary toggle entry says 25.8″ / 656.2 mm long; Appendix A Figure A8 (engineering drawing) says 25.99″ / 660.2 mm. The Glossary appears to round 25.99 incorrectly. Use 660.2 mm — engineering drawings win for CAD work.
- Goal heights (5.8/8.7 vs 5.77/8.77). The Glossary rounds short-neutral to 5.8″ and tall-center to 8.7″; Figure A7 shows 5.77″ / 8.77″ (146.5 mm / 222.7 mm). Use the Figure A7 numbers for CAD; the rounded forms are fine for prose.
Goal Layout in Detail
The brief earlier lumped goals as "5 neutral + 2 red + 2 blue." Manual's actual layout (Glossary "Quadrant" p B9):
- Each of 4 quadrants contains: 1 alliance-colored goal (red OR blue, whichever is the alliance for that quadrant) + 1 short neutral goal + 1 toggle.
- Alliance-colored goals: 4 total (2 red, 2 blue), one per quadrant.
- Short neutral goals: 4 total, one per quadrant.
- Tall center goal: 1, in the midfield (not in any quadrant). This is the goal whose yellow-pin points are claimed by the endgame winner per SG12.
Match Loads (Per Alliance)
| Item | Per Alliance | Per Robot Preload |
|---|---|---|
| Cups | 10 (or 20 across both alliances) | 0 (introduced via loaders) |
| Pins | 11 total: 10 alliance-colored + 1 yellow/yellow | 1 alliance-colored pin (SG5) |
Note: Match loads are per alliance, shared between the 2 robots, not per individual robot.
2 of 8
// Section 03
Game Elements 🤛
119 scoring objects: 56 cups + 63 pins. Cups are hollow hourglass-shaped with one transparent and one opaque half. Pins are color-coded with two halves each. Robots can hold 1 cup + 1 pin maximum.
Cups (56 Total)
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Hollow hourglass | Glossary p B3 CONFIRMED |
| Diameter | ~3.15″ (80mm) | Glossary p B3 NEW DETAIL |
| Height | 6.5″ (164.5mm) | Glossary p B3 NEW DETAIL |
| Halves | 1 transparent + 1 opaque | Glossary p B3 CONFIRMED |
| Field starting setup | 36 on field (24 gray-side-up, 12 clear-side-up); 20 match loads (10 per alliance) | Field Overview NEW DETAIL |
Terminology note: The manual's glossary uses "transparent / opaque," while the field starting setup uses "clear-side-up / gray-side-up." Both refer to the same two halves. The site standardizes on transparent / opaque per the glossary's formal definition.
Pins (63 Total)
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | ~1.6″ (40mm) | Glossary p B7 NEW DETAIL |
| Height | 6.5″ (165mm) — same as cup | Glossary p B7 NEW DETAIL |
| Halves | 2 halves per pin (each scores independently) | Glossary p B7 NEW DETAIL |
| Color combos | 20 red/yellow + 20 blue/yellow + 19 yellow/yellow + 4 red/blue | Field Overview p9 CONFIRMED |
Geometry insight: Pin and cup are the same 6.5″ height. When a cup nests over a pin in a stack, the cup covers the upper half of the pin completely. The pin's lower half is uncovered. The cup's orientation (transparent or opaque facing down toward the pin) determines whether the upper pin half scores. See mechanism-claw § Cup Orientation for the strategic implications.
Possession Limit (SG6)
Each robot can hold a maximum of one cup AND one pin at any time during the match. Plowing (incidentally pushing without active possession) multiple objects is permitted (SG6.a).
| Possession Type | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| 1 pin in a gripper | Yes |
| 1 cup in a gripper | Yes |
| 1 pin + 1 cup simultaneously (separate grippers or one stacked on the other) | Yes |
| 2 pins held actively | No |
| 2 cups held actively | No |
| Plowing 5 pins along the field while not gripping any | Yes |
Mechanism implication: A magazine-feed accumulator design is impossible. The Override Manipulator Deep Dive presents three legal architectures: single-grip (one universal manipulator handling pins and cups sequentially), dual-grip (separate pin gripper + cup gripper, hold both simultaneously), and hybrid. Pick by team building skill and motor budget.
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// Section 04
Scoring 🏆
Pins score per half (5 pts each), with toggles converting yellow halves into +10s. The autonomous bonus is 12 points; AWP requires specific conditions; midfield endgame awards 8 points per robot inside the boundary plus all yellow points on the center goal.
The Per-Half Scoring Rule (SC3)
The brief originally said "visible pin = 5 pts." The manual is more precise: each pin has two halves, and each half scores independently.
A half scores if either condition is true:
- The half is not covered by a cup, OR
- The half is covered by the transparent portion of a cup (visibility shows through).
Pin Half Point Values
| Half Color | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Red half (visible) | 5 pts for red alliance | Direct alliance scoring |
| Blue half (visible) | 5 pts for blue alliance | Direct alliance scoring |
| Yellow half (visible) | 0 pts default; +10 pts if owned by toggle | 62% of all pin halves are yellow — toggles dominate the scoring math |
Single-Pin Scoring Examples
Take a single red/yellow pin (one red half, one yellow half) placed in a goal:
| Configuration | Red Half | Yellow Half | Total to Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bare pin, no cup | 5 pts | 0 pts (no toggle) | 5 pts |
| Cup on pin, transparent over yellow | 5 pts (uncovered) | 0 pts (no toggle, but visible) | 5 pts |
| Cup on pin, opaque over yellow | 5 pts (uncovered) | 0 pts (suppressed) | 5 pts |
| Bare pin, red toggle active in quadrant | 5 pts | +10 pts (red claims yellow) | 15 pts |
| Cup on pin, transparent over yellow, red toggle active | 5 pts (uncovered) | +10 pts (red claims, visible) | 15 pts |
| Cup on pin, opaque over yellow, red toggle active | 5 pts (uncovered) | 0 pts (suppressed despite toggle) | 5 pts |
The Toggle Mechanic
Each of the 4 quadrants has a Toggle. Toggles change which alliance owns the yellow halves of pins placed on goals in that quadrant.
| Toggle State | Effect on Yellow Halves in That Quadrant |
|---|---|
| Yellow (default / unclaimed) | 0 pts to either alliance |
| Red | +10 pts each to red alliance per visible yellow half |
| Blue | +10 pts each to blue alliance per visible yellow half |
Strategic deep dive: See Override Toggle Strategy Guide for how to plan around 4 toggles and 78 yellow halves (62% of all 126 pin halves on the field). Yellow-half theoretical maximum: 78×10 = 780 points if your alliance owns every toggle and wins midfield, with every yellow half visible on the transparent side. By comparison, all 48 red/blue halves combined cap at 48×5 = 240 points — yellow halves are the dominant scoring lever.
Bonuses
| Bonus | Value | How Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous Bonus | 12 pts | Awarded to alliance with higher auto score. Tied auto = 6 pts each. |
| AWP (Auto Win Point) | 1 ranking point | See AWP requirements below (SC8) |
| Midfield Endgame Bonus | +8 pts per robot inside midfield boundary at clock-zero | SG12 |
| Center Goal Yellow Claim | All yellow-pin points on center goal | Claimed by alliance with most robots inside midfield boundary at clock-zero (SG12) |
AWP Requirements (SC8)
The Auto Win Point requires all four conditions:
- Place 7 or more alliance-colored pins (combined across both robots).
- Have 3 or more goals with 2+ alliance pins each.
- Neither alliance robot is contacting the field perimeter at the end of autonomous.
- No autonomous violations.
The field-perimeter condition is the easy one to fail. Coordinate with your alliance partner: both robots must clear the field perimeter before clock-zero on auto. Build a 0.5-second margin into your auton paths. The advanced-robot Chapter 6 autonomous template demonstrates the back-off pattern.
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// Section 05
Robot Constraints ⚙
Two motor power caps, three expansion limits, and a starting envelope. The 55W drivetrain cap and 88W total cap together budget every motor on your robot.
Motor Power Caps
| Rule | Cap | Applies To | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| R10a | 88W total across all robot motors | Every motor on the robot, summed | NEW DETAIL |
| R11a | 55W on Subsystem 1 (drivetrain) | Motors that propel the chassis | CONFIRMED |
| R11b | No PTO from drivetrain to other subsystems | Power-takeoff and differential power explicitly prohibited | NEW DETAIL |
Practical motor budget: A 4×11W blue drive uses 44W of the 55W Subsystem 1 cap, leaving 11W of Subsystem 1 headroom (unused unless you upgrade to 5 motors). The remaining motor budget across all subsystems is 88W − 44W = 44W for the arm + manipulator + accessories. The Hero Bot baseline uses 11W (arm) + 11W (manipulator) = 22W, leaving 22W of total-budget headroom for V2 expansion. See Override Drivetrain Decision for the full configuration tradeoff.
R23a — No Anodizing, Painting, or Dyeing
This is a constraint that surprises some teams. R23 permits visual decorations, but R23a explicitly prohibits "anodizing, painting, dyeing or changing the color of any legal VEX part." If your design plan includes color-coded subsystems via dyed plastic or anodized aluminum, that's a rule violation at inspection — the parts must be returned to their original VEX color.
Spartan's "raw, functional, clean" aesthetic happens to be exactly what R23a requires. Use stickers, tape labels, or other non-color decorations for visual identity instead. A tasteful Spartan logo decal is fine; a fully painted chassis is not.
Expansion Limits
| Rule | Limit | When Active |
|---|---|---|
| R3 + SG1a | Starting envelope 18″×18″×18″ | Match start, before robot moves |
| SG2 | Horizontal expansion ≤24″×24″ | All match (always) |
| SG3 | Vertical expansion ≤50″ | Pre-endgame (first 1:50 of match) |
| SG12.1 | Vertical expansion ≤18″ | For any robot in the midfield projection during last 10 seconds (endgame) |
The endgame height transition matters mechanically. A robot working at full 50″ height during driver control must collapse to 18″ or less if it wants to enter the midfield in the final 10 seconds. This isn't climbing — it's a deployable structure that drops down. See Override Endgame Strategy for mechanism implications and the decision matrix on whether to commit to the midfield endgame.
Connector Rules
The brief speculated about "PTO carve-outs" and "half-motor counting rules." The manual is unambiguous on PTO: R11b states "Motors that are used in Subsystem 1 cannot provide power to any mechanism that is not a part of Subsystem 1," explicitly calling out "power-takeoff mechanisms and/or differential power." Half motors (5.5W) count toward both R10a (88W total) and R11a (55W drivetrain) at their full 5.5W rating.
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// Section 06
Interaction Limits 🚫
Defensive descoring and opposing-goal contact are heavily restricted. Contact in the midfield endgame is explicitly authorized. Knowing what you can and can't do to opposing scoring is critical.
What You Cannot Do
| Rule | Restriction | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| SG9 | No interaction at all with opposing-alliance goals | You cannot touch a red goal as a blue robot, even to reposition or block. Hands off entirely. |
| SG10 | No removal of objects from neutral or opposing goals | If a pin is on a neutral goal, you cannot pluck it off. Even if it's your alliance color, once it's placed on a neutral goal, it stays. |
This kills most of the descoring strategy the brief considered. You can't plan to deny opponents by yanking their pins off goals mid-match. The rule is more aggressive than past seasons. The only legitimate "denial" plays are: (a) place your own opaque-side cups over their pins on neutral goals (SG10 permits adding objects, just not removing), and (b) capture toggles in your favor.
What You Can Do
| Action | Allowed Where | Manual Cite |
|---|---|---|
| Place your alliance pins on alliance OR neutral goals | Your alliance goals; any neutral goal (in quadrants or midfield) | Default (SC1) |
| Place cups on goals (your alliance, neutral, or opposing) | Wait, no — opposing goals are still off-limits per SG9 | SG9, SG10 |
| Defensive cup placement on neutrals | Neutral goals (in your or opposing quadrants) | SG10 permits adding |
| Toggle a quadrant's color | Any quadrant's toggle | Default |
| Push/contact opposing robots in the midfield endgame | Midfield zone, last 10 seconds | SG12.2 explicitly authorizes "vigorous interactions" |
SG12.2 explicit endgame authorization: The manual says verbatim that "Robots that attempt to end the Match in the Midfield should expect vigorous interactions… incidental damage… would not be considered a Violation of GG14." This is the GDC explicitly green-lighting hard contact in the final 10 seconds. The brief speculated this; the manual confirms.
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// Section 07
Open Questions & Q&A Watchlist ❓
Questions the v0.1 manual leaves ambiguous, contradicts itself on, or doesn't address. Watch the VEX Q&A forum (opens May 14, 2026) for clarifications.
The Q&A system opens May 14, 2026 per the manual. Until then, these are the team's working interpretations — flagged so we can track what changes when official answers arrive.
High-Priority Open Items
1. Are there AprilTags on the goals? The reveal video transcript (April 24) said all 9 goals have AprilTags regardless of alliance. The 163-page v0.1 manual never uses the word "AprilTag." The GDC philosophy letter recommends "AI Vision Sensors and Optical Sensors" for object ID and navigation. Until confirmed, treat AprilTag deployment as tentative. Site page sensors-apriltags reflects this.
2. Endgame: 10 seconds or 20? Glossary defines Endgame as "last 10 seconds." SG12 consistently uses 10s. The GDC philosophy letter writes "Final 20 Seconds." This is an internal contradiction. Working assumption: 10 seconds (Glossary + SG12 are authoritative; the GDC letter is narrative). Errata expected.
3. Toggle activation mechanics. The manual confirms toggles exist and what they do. It does NOT specify how a toggle is activated — physical contact? sensor trigger? time-locked? re-toggleable? Until clarified, assume toggles are physically pushed (similar to past games' field elements) and re-toggleable freely throughout the match.
4. Cup-on-pin stacking geometry. Cup and pin are both 6.5″ tall. Cup diameter is 3.15″, pin diameter is 1.6″. The cup is hourglass-shaped. The exact geometry of how a cup nests over a pin (Where does the cup hourglass narrow? Does the cup's narrow point touch the pin's middle?) affects scoring detection — specifically which pin half is "covered" by which cup half. Manual implies but doesn't precisely diagram this.
5. Toggle physical position in the quadrant. Each quadrant contains 1 alliance goal + 1 short neutral goal + 1 toggle. Where exactly is the toggle relative to the goals? Manual's field diagram is approximate. Affects whether a manipulator-equipped robot can flip a toggle while still gripping a pin/cup, vs. needing to release to reach.
Lower-Priority Open Items
- Match-load loader mechanics. Manual confirms loaders exist and that elements can be introduced via loaders or together. The exact loader sequence (when can the second wave be introduced? Is there a delay?) is not fully specified.
- Skills format details. Section 3 describes Driving Skills + Autonomous Coding Skills (each 1 minute, two attempts each). GPS code strip required for Autonomous Coding Skills only. Specific scoring rules for skills matches not fully detailed.
- Penalty schedule for SG9/SG10/SG12 violations. Manual lists violations exist; specific point penalties or DQ thresholds not fully spelled out.
- Center-goal yellow claim adjudication. When both alliances have the same number of robots in the midfield boundary, who gets the yellow points on the center goal? Tie-breaker not specified.
Errata-Watch (Likely v0.2 Updates)
Things we expect to be corrected or clarified in subsequent manual versions:
- The 10s vs 20s endgame contradiction (item #2 above).
- AprilTag specifications (if confirmed) — tag IDs, mounting positions, FOV implications.
- Possible errata on field setup quantities (24 gray-up + 12 clear-up cups split needs sanity check).
7 of 8
// Section 08
Cross-Refs & Strategic Implications 🔗
Where each Override rule shows up in site guides, plus the strategic decisions each rule drives.
Rule → Site Page Cross-Reference
| Rule | Where It's Cited On the Site |
|---|---|
| R10a (88W total) | override-drivetrain-config, advanced-robot, mechanism-dr4b, onshape-drivetrain, tp-meta |
| R11a (55W drivetrain) | override-drivetrain-config, advanced-robot, mechanism-claw, all 5 meta pages, mechanism-chain-bar, onshape-drivetrain |
| R11b (PTO prohibition) | mechanism-pto, mechanism-dr4b, onshape-drivetrain, all 5 meta pages |
| SC3 (per-half pin scoring) | mechanism-claw § Per-Half Pin Scoring, advanced-robot § Pneumatics |
| SC8 (AWP) | advanced-robot § Auton Template |
| SG6 (1-pin + 1-cup possession) | mechanism-claw, advanced-robot § Manipulator |
| SG9, SG10 (interaction limits) | mechanism-claw § Defensive Cup Placement |
| SG12 (midfield endgame) | override-endgame, mechanism-climbing (callout), advanced-robot § Drive, endgame-mechanisms (callout) |
Strategic Implications — What This All Means
For Mechanism Design
- 1+1 possession kills accumulators. Pick single-grip or dual-grip per the Override Manipulator Deep Dive.
- Cup orientation affects scoring. The opaque half can suppress yellow halves — this is both a problem (when accidentally placed wrong) and a tool (when used defensively on neutral goals).
- No PTO recovery. Don't plan a mechanism that recovers drivetrain motors mid-match for the lift. Budget 88W − (drivetrain wattage) for everything else from the start.
For Drivetrain
- 4×11W blue (44W) is the canonical baseline. Leaves 11W of Subsystem 1 headroom and 44W of total-budget headroom for other subsystems. See Override Drivetrain Decision.
- Endgame pushing power matters. The midfield endgame is contact-heavy. A drivetrain with strong torque (Option B in the drivetrain guide) trades top speed for endgame survivability.
For Strategy
- Toggle control is enormously valuable. Yellow halves are 62% of pin-half count. See Override Toggle Strategy.
- Defensive plays via descoring are largely closed off. SG9/SG10 mean denial happens via toggle capture and opaque-side cup placement, not via plucking opponent pins.
- Endgame is positional, not climbing. See Override Endgame Strategy for the decision matrix.
Document Status
| Source manual | Override Game Manual v0.1, released April 27, 2026, 163 pages |
| Last reconciled | April 28, 2026 — Tier 1 + Tier 2 site sweep complete |
| Update trigger | Manual v0.2+ release; first VEX Q&A responses (after May 14, 2026) |
| Maintainer | Spartan Design Robotics, Team 2822 |
EN4 reminder: This page is a reference summary for navigating the Override manual. When citing rules in your engineering notebook, read the manual passage yourself and rewrite in your own words. Do not copy text from this page into a notebook entry — RECF EN4 prohibits AI-generated content in notebooks.
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