Training Day 3 review.....

[Anjin3515]

Today was my first wedding anniversary....so what better way to celebrate it then get out for a good 8 hour event!!!! Also gave us a chance to test out our anniversary gifts...for me a Tac-One, for the wife a PMR.

First my wife, brother and nephew want to give a great big THANKS to Spartan03, his wife and the whole Heretics team. If you ever get a chance to play with them... do! They were a great bunch of guys. Very friendly and also took time to help us with some markers issues my wife was having. Heretics you guys rock!

Also to event coordinator Pyro , we would also like to thank you for putting on a great event.

The game was only our second scenario event ( my brother and nephews first). We all had a very good time. The game was pretty well orginized and things ran rather smooth from my point of view. There could have been maybe a few more people taking care of registration, and a few more in the pro-shop....but really despite a little bit of waiting...this was not a big deal.

The field was in great shape. Last time I was there was Sept 1rst a week after some major flooding...and the whole place was pretty wrecked. For this event everything was in nice shape.

There were plenty of fill stations (4500 and 3000) and getting air was no problem at all.

There were a number of Ref's. In fact I saw Refs all day, everywhere....and from my experience today they were not messing around, they had their heads in the game and were Reffing! Something I hear complaints about all the time about scenario games....the Refs suck etc....but not today at Fox. Big thumbs up to the Reffing staff and the Refs that they had brought in.

I had heard some reports of the Army side cheating...wiping and such....but I never saw any...so I cant comment on that. We were on the Navy Seal team and pretty much got our butts kicked. But it was fun.

There were missions at the top of every hour.
Here I do have a small complaint. While the name of the mission was listed....like "The Armory"....a description of what the objectives were was not. Now there were maybe 400 to 500 people. So I cant blame the generals for not briefing everyone before each mission. However....if a small description would have been given, there would have been a clearer idea of what everyone should be doing. I know we walked in late on a few missions and didn't know what we were supposed to be doing...so we sort of just fell back to play defense....and there was plenty of action in that.

Here I would have 2 suggestions.
1) Give every player a packet with a description of the goal of each mission for each hour. I know there were side missions and special missions running too....but it would have been nice for every player to have a basic idea of what the goal of every mission was. A simple "mission" packet would have helped people who were coming in late for any given hour. In that way they could have moved to join where they should be, or decided a plan of action on their own based on that basic mission info. I will give the generals props for sticking back at base for the most part and trying to point people in the right direction. But they weren't really explaining what the goal of the mission was...more giving orders.
2) In stead of just starting a mission every hour. Make players go back to their base at the top of each hour for a 5-10 minute briefing on what the mission of the hour was. This would have re-gathered the teams and also given each player a better idea of what to be doing.

I may sound like I am complaining...but I am just pointing out something from a noobs perspective that made some of the day confusing.
In all we had a blast. Even if we were not involved in the main objective/goal of the mission there was PLENTY of action to be had.


A few things I feel I should mention also.
1) It was pretty cheap to get it...pre-reg was I think $35 for a non member and $20 for a member. Not bad at all.
2) It was BYOP or buy what they had there....this was over all a very nice option.Plus you could bring your own food and drinks.
3) Pyro went out of his way to make the game fun and exciting...and it showed. I didn't have a dull moment.
4) The staff, the players ( on both sides) were all very cool. We got to meet some great people that we would love to play with again. Again I had heard of some cheating....but I never came across any myself.
5) Again....the field was in great shape, and much fun to play on.
6) The gauntlet mission was INSANE! I opted out of it and just watched....but wow...talk about crazy. Take 2 x-ball fields and a few hundred people locked into them...and the amount of paint flying was just crazy. If you ever get a chance to play this...I suggest you do...just for the shear madness of it all!

For a second time scenario player...I would have to say over all it was a blast...and we all agreed we would go back for another in a heartbeat.
Thanks to Fox, Pyro, The Heretics and all the people we met for such a fun day. Hope to see you all soon again!

[PYROMAN315]

I have your wife and were running away together.! HAHAHA.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone that came out. I do try to talk to as many players as possible, but its always an insanly busy day during these events.
There are always things to improve on at any event. The pre reg line was our biggest concern at this one. REASON: This was the largest pre registration we have ever had for any of our events. The attendance of just under 400 players was also record breaking for a SPLATTERZONE event at Fox PB. This will definitely be improved for TD IV.
Cheating? Yup, im sure it happened. Yup, im sure players did it on both teams too. It happens. Theres really no reason to cheat. I have created so many ways for players to stay on the field longer when they do get hit; Medics, Hospitals, and reinsertion points. I do know that the Ranger team didnt have very many numbers written down on the Medic sheets or at the Hospitals. SHAME ON THOSE RANGERS.
Giving each player a mission card just wouldnt work. I keep almost everything a secret until game time. The reason for this is for the players that just wouldnt follow the rules. We both know that players would read the upcoming missions and jump ahead in order to win points. The Generals were there to delegate orders once they read the mission so players know where to go. They actually had paperwork given to them to keep track of whe went where during the mission. Certain roles, like Agents, Snipers, and SPY's do get info in their pre reg packages. I did see some Snipers in the Village before one of the missons started, which was perfect. And if you noticed on a few missions, like mission #2 (HAMBURGER HILL), the two base flags were not at the bases. I dont put props on the field for upcoming missions becasue I know players pick up anything that they think they can get points for.
The mission cards were actually in the base all day long. The Base Referee had them on him so they wouldnt get stolen by the other team. This is also for players that insert into the game in the middle of the mission. The General and XO may not be there, therefore the new players can ask the Base Ref to see the mission cards so they know whats going on.
If you remember, I stopped talking during the game orientation for a minute. We had a full crowd there, and I was on the PA for the players in line for pre reg so they didnt miss anything. I looked around and alot of people left the orientation. Not only have I hosted hundreds of events, I have also played in hundreds of events. Trust me when I say, ORIENTATIONS SUCK!! There boring as hell. But being on this side of it, I have to get all of the info out regardless if anyone is listening or not.
I did say to read and follow the missions as closely as you can. Some players show up late after orientation, some wereinside the Pro Shop, and some were SHNOOZIN. It did state on the orientation when to be back to your base. I ususlly make mission objedtives 45 minutes long. This gives players a 45 minute mission, 10 minutes to walk back, and 5 minutes to prepare for their next mission. It really is up to the General or XO to either read the mission out loud, or to delegate to players after he reads the mission.

All in all, I think it was great. And yes, I too would like to thank the HERETICS, Not only were they AWESOME on the field, but they did a ton of pre event work for us on this game. REDBEARD wasnt at the game. He knew he wouldnt make it but he still worked hard for several days to get the EPITAPH paintball tank up and running.

TD IV:
More tanks. I will be retiring the EPITAPH this year and will be replacing it in 2008. I told the HERETICS they can take the blue pickup and make it into whatever type of vehicle they come up with. That should be interesting.
GAUNTLET. Of course it will be there next year.
Registration: Done deal. We will be making changes on the pre registration too. Part of the problem was that the pre reg deadline was set to close to the game. Several teams and players also told us they were coming, which they did, but didnt fill out the forms. Nobody is registered until we get the forms and payments.

Im tired, time for another nap. BODY IN RECOVERY MODE.

Thanks again,
PYROMAN
WWW.SPLATTERZONEPAINTBALL PRODUCTIONS

(Sorry for the spelling errors, fingers are tired to)

[Anjin3515]

Great points....and from the noob player great info to know.
LOL....we were in the pro shop for the orientation....had we been there....like we were told
then we would have know about asking the Base Ref.....see kids...lesson learned....go to Orientation!!!!!!!


It was a very fun event. You should be pleased with the results.
We will be back next year for sure!

[PYROMAN315]

Oh, and by the way, SEALS WON IT!!!
Great game played by all. Thank you from all of us at SPLATTERZONE PRODUCTIONS that came out and played.

[BlueMagRT]

fun game will have to play agian next year.

just look for the:

[Anjin3515]

Cant miss that beauty! It was nice to meet you Blue!