24hrs. INVASION NORMANDY! PA

[Tassel Mask]

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[Tassel Mask]

I've been an AOr for some time. I really like playing with you guys very much. I got started with AO during the first SPPLAT ATTACK. You guys are the best. After the fallout of SPPLAT I have been looking for events to join up with my AO brothers and sisters. I think this is the next best thing in my area: VA. east coast players. For the first time I am bringing my own team: STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASST. I am the student body pres at my college in NOVA.

This will be a great game and I encourage all the good players to join the Germans now! I also encourage all the best players to request the rolls of medic and paratrooper...runners only.

I finaly want to say a BIG thanx to everyone on AO for being so cool...even the noobs are pretty nice. I hope all my old buds on this forum drop in to say whats up. It has been too long sice UI've been here, but its good to be back.

"I HATE MYSPACE!" T.M.

[Sumthinwicked]

hopefully the tank will be semi done and there LOL been to skirmish 4 times and loved it every time!

[Tassel Mask]

I remember when i was at Castle Keep. This guy had a jeep wrangler decked out for tank scenario. Best looking jeep I've ever seen. Hope to see team Ragnarock and Extreme Measures there. Any VA AOrs around going from DC area?

[Sumthinwicked]

em should be there they are our local team LOL

[Tassel Mask]

I want as many AOrs on German side as possible. I know we AOrs have reps of joining the odd teams. Hit us Germans up so we can start planning our parties. Yes, even if you are Allies... just give em hell!

Plus if we have any VA DC area players going I would like to convoy again. Last year I had like 10 packed cars and trucks with paintball hoppers N masks in the back windows. You can imagine the CB chatter we picked up on the way.

Anyone one know what team "MEDIC LANCE" is playing on? I'm guessing Allies due to the fact at Castle Keep he was in Ally attire. Dude won the most active player award!



A paintball VET once told me "My favorite players? hit squads and rushers during open window!"
T.M.

[Sumthinwicked]

screw the germans they have notplayed persay to thte rules the last few games and a good chunk of the allies are ao already LOL the 13th warriors are a bunch of allies and the extreame meaures are allie or french i will never play german

[Tassel Mask]

What game did you play in where that happened? There is cheating in every game dude on all sides. You cant stop it but you can hold it to a minimum!

I would really need more info about how you say they haven't "played to the rules." I know the BIG GAME rulebook (adobe) front to back. I haven't seen outrageous game winning cheating... and yes I played USSR many times.

By the way...LOL on th AOr Allies comment indeed!

T.M.

[Sumthinwicked]

the flares the chainsaw the fires started i mean come on man u guys had the whole day lost for hours when bam at the last second u gaind 20000 pts think hard on this ....

[Tassel Mask]

Well, did you ever communicate with the opposition to find out what missions they completed?

A game this big just sitting on flags give huge points! Also later in the day with most BIG GAMES the points go up drastically so losing opposition feels they still have a chance to win.

Obviously I dont know what happend so I'm just speculating. I'm sure if you called the park they could give better rep. on situation.

When teams win too much everyone hates em man; THAT'S PAINTBALL! I would just hate to have AOrs bangin on Germs czz of an upset. Upsets arn't cheating.

Then again it does seem very fishy how 20K points were obtained like that.

Any idea what would be worth 20000 pts? I should know for the comming game o be sure and get it!

[Tassel Mask]

Anyone know about what special abilities a paratrooper has during the Normandy game?

[Sumthinwicked]

if your assigned as one you can be DROPPED (walked to a point on the field by a ref) on special missions if its on your id i think it is just a for fun classifacation i was black ops last time meant nothing

[Bassaro]

Sure Invasion of normandy sounds fun BUT IT'S BEING HELD AT SKIRMISH!!! The field looks awsome but the staff and paint are the worst around. There are never enough refs so nobody ever calls out. I don't know how they can even tell who wins these scenerio based games when there are no refs to judge points (it's almost like the outcomes are predecided so the germans always win). If anyone went to the battle of stallingrad you know just how bad the paint is. I mean seriously why would they use a paint like evil for winter play, I bought a case of paint and maybe had 300 balls come out the end of the barrel without breaking, I understand it was winter but I was using a SL-68 pump that never chops paint. Long story short, it's a beatiful field that is very poorly run, they are only interested in profit!!!

[Tassel Mask]

I understand the stigma about Skirmish. Its not a bad park. I love their woods ball. I am going to do more investigating on this points issue. I already found a few problems with point feuds, refs ect, but I have also played the park. I haven't heard the paint issue yet, except price gouging.; every park does.

Let's remember the positive side. Its still one of the best played scenario games in paintball realm. Not many places can you find oceans of people to spplat it up with.

Most players are honorable player when they get hit they leave...or I've seen worse if they don't. Refs don't need to paint-check every player hit; it would be hopeless.

We all know some players just can't stop cheating. REPORT EM Till they through em out iz what I do. Complaining wins he day. Play fair, play strong.

T.M.

[Al_Steel]

Sure Invasion of normandy sounds fun BUT IT'S BEING HELD AT SKIRMISH!!! The field looks awsome but the staff and paint are the worst around. There are never enough refs so nobody ever calls out. I don't know how they can even tell who wins these scenerio based games when there are no refs to judge points (it's almost like the outcomes are predecided so the germans always win). If anyone went to the battle of stallingrad you know just how bad the paint is. I mean seriously why would they use a paint like evil for winter play, I bought a case of paint and maybe had 300 balls come out the end of the barrel without breaking, I understand it was winter but I was using a SL-68 pump that never chops paint. Long story short, it's a beatiful field that is very poorly run, they are only interested in profit!!!

I've been to every ION and the last 2 D-Days. It's a fantastic event and the largest paintball game in the world. OK D-Day claims it's bigger, but it's not. It's an event worth attending and if you make one scenario game a year then this is the one to make IMO.

If you are planning on going here are some observations from someone who has been there and got all the t-shirts to prove it.

I agree that they don't always make the best choices on paint AND that paint prices are high. You can get group rates on paint and you can always find a bunch of single groups that are willing to pull together to get the group discount. When you arrive and camp, talk to your neighbors and see if they are willing to go in on a few cases so your cost comes down.

Good
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-LOTS of field play and very large field with structures, terrain features, etc.
-Large forces gives ample opportunity to get into huge engagements and firefights
-Smoke and pyro-technic effects that give it that realistic battlefield feeling
-HP Air fill lines are kept pretty short for an event this size
-Lots of prizes and awards at the end of the event
-Refs and event organizers have really done a great job of improving this game year after year. They have listened to the players and have greatly improved chronographing and ref presence.
-LOTS of camping area
-LOTS of very good vendors and great deals can be had
-Everyone brings all their toys and creations that they have been working on to show off. Tanks, rocket launchers, quad barrelled machine gun markers, booby traps, mines, etc.

Bad
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-Some cheating occurs. This happens in every event so Skirmish is not unique. It's tough to have a ref everywhere on a field with 5000 players and as big as Skirmish. I wouldn't say nobody ever calls themselves out though. The vast majority of the players are honest and will call themselves out. There will be the ones that don't. If you see someone cheating then see if you can get their team name and let a ref know.

Note: On the initial beach assault, IIRC Germans had the option to "auto re-insert" which means they can simply tag back in by touching the boundary tape for the first 2 hours of the game. Most people didn't realize this and claimed the Germans were cheating.

-Some overshooting/hot guns occur - You do get the occasional butthole that will crank up the velocity or bonus ball the crap out of you. When this happens you can do 2 things... whine like a sissy girl or get the player's name, get a ref, and get the player ejected. If you do nothing you lose your right to complain. More often than not though a hot gun can be attributed to a n00b with a CO2 tank that started the game shooting at the speed limit, but then the tank warmed up from the heat of the day.. it happens.
-Comfort facilities are lacking. Skirmish is 10-15mins away from civilization so bring Ice and cold drinks. They have food vendors but the lines can be long and they run out. I'd at least have some powerbars, sports drinks, and LOTS of water. If you are counting on food from the locals plan on being away from the field for at least 30mins per meal.
-LONG WALKS to camping. If you get there late your campsite can be almost 1/2 mile+ away from the playing field.
-CO2 fills are still at the old pavilion. Unless they changed it for 07 the CO2 fill station is a long walk. They MIGHT have shuttle busses running, but don't count on it b/c they didn't last year.
-Paint costs: Skirmish charges a lot for paint. $100+/case. You can get a volume discount so try to go in with other players/teams and I think you can get it down to $85.00.

Ugly
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-Bathroom Facilities. Bring your own toilet paper, nose plugs, lysol, sani-wipes, and water for clean-up. 5000 people, 50 porta-potties.. you figure it out.
-Night time. Maybe I'm just an old fart, but I like to get at least 4-6 hours of sleep before donning 20lbs of gear and slogging through the woods for 18-20 hours in 85+ deg heat. Unfortunately that's nearly impossible b/c of all the people setting off fireworks and partying all night. Bring earplugs if you want to sleep.
-Weather - Jim Thorpe is up in the Pocono Mountains. In July the weather can range from damn near perfect (cool and sunny), to unbearable (90+ deg and humid), to downright miserable (monsoon like conditions) and everything in between. You are in the mountains so weather conditions can change drastically in a very short time. Come prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

Scoring
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I really can't comment too much on the scoring. The details of how past ION's have been scored are above my paygrade. One thing I can say is that it's a HUGE scenario game with multiple objectives, story-lines, high value props, etc. all running simultaneously. If you run all day with a team that kicks butt all day long but then see that your side is losing you may come away with the idea that the other team is cheating. Unfortunately your experience is only limited to what you have seen on a small part of a very large game.

There are always spoilers that are held back until the last few hours (or even minutes) of the game. It's a scenario game, not woodsball and only a foolish general would play his/her cards for everyone to see until the time was right. The "Intel" points are never really tallied until the end of the game. Sometimes those points will turn the tide of a game. NEVER discount role-play or the value of game props. Sometimes a particular prop can be the object of a mission or an objective that one side is attempting to achieve that will win them a lot of points. Once that objective or prop has been obtained the General can decide to turn that in immediately and post the points or hold onto it (like an Ace up his sleeve) until the end of the game.

I do know this about ION though:
The French and Tyrell are the swing vote. The Props/Intel/Cash/Artifacts they control are worth real points. The points that they do control are not worth as much as the mission points BUT the side that wins the most favor with them can turn a close game into a victory.