Were already thinking about next years pump weekend, and i thought it would be good to know what you thought, especially of the big game...

were you able to follow the general objectives?
did you feel you were part of your team and not just left to fend for yourself (unless you wanted it that way)
what did we do right?
what did we do wrong?
what would you like to see done differently in the next one?
all comments are appreciated, ive a few of my own, but im curious to see if anyone else has similiar thoughts so im going to wait to post them, as not to influence anyones opinions...
(doesnt matter which which team you were on, everyones opinions are valued)
:D

let me start by saying that I liked the event. I am just writing about the key things that stuck out in my mind. and event though I am answering #4 in depth it should not overshadow #3 or anything else I've written about the event. I've just been waiting for a thread like this to pop up so I can get some thoughts off my chest.

brutal honesty - constructive criticism:
1. yes.

2. wait.. I thought we were left to fend for ourselves ;) - Since I was only on the recieving end of the marshals, I can only comment on SCP (mav's and Andy's performance) From what I saw, you held our side and team wonderfully. we knew what we had to do and did it. we didn't have to also worry about defense, you, or control on any other part of the field. If we had a question as to who controlled what parts of the field you always had an answer.

3. props were cool. the different roles being assigned through the simple player cards. punches by the general being all that was required for some actions. I liked the store were the general could buy added muscle if he wanted to - at a cost of his total points..

4.
a. I wish the rules were posted before hand instead of finding out about them on the fly.
b. I HATED the fact that generals could be eliminated in the staging area. If a general is in the staging area - he has already technically been "eliminated". I felt that removed the ability for a general to relax and take a bathroom break or rehydrate safely without fear of hurting his side. In game and out of game actions should be able to be separate.
c. As much of a good concept Player Refs are.. they should NOT be key players/characters nor should they be allowed to make important decisions. It really bothered me to have a "player ref" from the other team come and stand right behind me as I was shooting at his team mates.. it was a blatant "look - there is a bad guy right here - shoot here" move. Player refs are great for rec ball and are ok for mediating player (no game related) arguments on the field when a ref can't be found right away (ie, "yes, thats a hit, you're out." type stuff)
d. Generals should have to follow the same rules as everyone else. When they are eliminated they should have to leave the field and reinsert with the next insertion. they should not be able to "reinsert whenever they want when they feel it's safe" - yes. I inquired about this, this was the answer I received from Missy. Eliminating a general is supposed to cut the head off the other side and prevent missions from going out and any other forms of order, it should be more than a minor inconvience.
e. It would have been nice if preregistered players who were signed up to play on a side already had thier team assignments. I think it would have gotten us onto the field about 45 mins sooner instead of the team assignement/taping fiasco we had where no one knew what was going on.
f. Props.. if you (the producer) don't want a prop found and taken, don't put it on the field. I've run into this at other events and there is no way to handle it except to possibly have a ref stand there and guard it.. people will always take props no matter if they have the mission or not. Fields have even tried locking the props to trees and you need a mission card with the key on it to remove it (that failed too :P ). just save yourself a headache and don't have missions based like that. remember, you are dealing with loosely organized chaos.
g. Defined field boundries. way too many players found out the hard way that stepping on the dirt was out of bounds. having barrels with the yellow rope strung between them was all that would have been required. same with behind the Marshal's base.. we didn't know how far back into the woods we were allowed to go.
h. (this should go for all events) - if a general has personal items on the field, they should keep it in a lock box or a big bag clearly labeled "PERSONAL ITEMS - DO NOT TAKE - THESE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GAME!!!" or some variant. not in a pile on the ground intermixed with real game props, it would just help eliminate some confusion.
i. for the final battle, having to take the "flag" to the other side's recycle point was just asking for trouble.. if I were to do it, I would put the recycle point a good distance behind or atleast away from the goal. or maybe just a central object that either side had to get thier "flag" to or something. Generals being worth points in the final battle just stinks.. the general has been cooped up under guard for the entire game, At the least give him the last battle to go out and shoot at people and get some fustrations out without having to worry about hurting his side.

5. I'm a trivia fiend.. I would love to see a recap from the producer letting us know the official final #s were (people, score), who the people with the cameras were(besides Eyce Productions) and any other notes.

=P

OK, let me just start this by saying that the Big game was a blast. Last Rites is in total agreement that it was one of the best days of play that we have been to in a long time. The players were all top notch, the sportsmanship was outstanding, and it was a pleasure not to hear people yelling crude things back and forth all the while telling the other guy he was out.

On to the questions:

#1: There were general objectives? To be truthfull, it seemed to me that most of the day was just "go shoot the bad guys" or " get the bad guys out of our base". Mind you, that may have just been a lack of communication with our general on our part.

#2: This refers back to #1. I personally felt that we were cut loose to cause Chaos and Mayhem about the field in general. Mind you, from comments others have made, it seems like we did that well. Only twice did we actually participate in "missions". Those were the only two that we knew about.

#3: I agree with Equals P. I thought the props were cool. Good job to whoever made them. I particularly liked "Rosco". I thought the added touch of the screaming arm was great. The beepers on the explosives could have been better. Persoanlly I am working on coming up with something a touch more dramatic for the next game. I will see if I can get it approved by the prop department. I didn't realize that there were actual roles to be played. This may have put a different spin on things.

#4: The rules and team tapes should be handed out to all of the pre-regged players in a prepared players pack as well as a map of the field showing the boundaries. We had no idea how far down the hill we were actually allowed to go. This effectively limited us to playing from our base through the Stilt village and some of the hill. Clearer definition of the boundaries is a must.

Generals should have to sit out for two insertions and have their own area where they can be kept seperate from there troops, to avoid any "Dead Man Talking".

There should be clear rules defining the use of props once found. What they can and cannot do, when they can be used, etcetera. Last Rites found the Bangalore and were just told to drop it off. If we had known we could use it as soon as it was assembled, we would have done so.

Interrupting the game near the end to set up for the "Final Battle" was not a great idea. We were in the middle of what was already a good push when the ref stopped the action.

#5: I think the generals should both "have" to leave their respective strongholds a certain number of times. This would go for both generals. The SCP team general cowering in his bunker all day :P basically nullified any of our players that were assassins. I agree that they should not be worth points in the final battle, simply because that is nothing more than a battle royale.

I understand from Blue that he does not wish to give up an event weekend next year for this, as there was a low turnout. He said he would be willing to give us a private game day. The problem is, if it is a one day event, the turnout will be even lower.

Objectives by points: A scoring cycle on the half hour with the refs checking flag stations to see who controls it. If it is under heavy assault and control looks like it may change within a couple of minutes, then the refs would stay, imposing a silent two minute clock. If control changes, then the new controllers get the points. If not, the defenders get the points.

Mission/Counter-Mission: Missions for extra points where elements of both teams are directed to an area for "X" reason and conflict is assured. When the results of the missions are sorted out, each general will have a new mission order to give depending on the outcome of the previous mission. This will do two things. One, it will make it more fun and get people more into the spirit of the game overall. And two, it will increase paint sales for Blue, helping us to make sure this event gets its own weekend.

I will end this for now, but may post more later as I roll this around my head for a bit.

All in all though, "It was a good day, a good day."
Bonus points if you can name the movie that quote is from.

1- Scenario General Objectives: Since were the SCP Assassins, we had very simple and easy to understand objectives.

2- Played as part of a team?: See #1.

3- Did right:
-Scenario: Props were cool, I liked the idea of the "compel" card and some of the game mechanics. However see #4 for my further comments on this.
-Sunday: Mini-Castle was great. Defenitely should occur again...and Jim should lead the defense this time :evil:

4- Did Wrong:
-POST THE RULES IN ADVANCE!
I've had this complaint with a local field for a while and they finally posted their Scenario rules....those of us who love secenarios need to know what things to expect from the rules.

5- Next time....
-Scrap the idea for a night game and instead either allow for the quiet socializing or plan a rec-center/SCP Tent pot-luck. I believ more people were interested in socializing Saturday night than playing.....I know I was.

-I like the idea that next year's scenario/big game is to win back the Marshal's Hand....much better than the whole "tech-war" conflict.

-Rath

Hey Guys and Gals,

This was by far the largest, best run scenario I've ever played in. All of the players were great and we had some great shoot-outs where we tagged each other out, shook hands and walked together to the dead zone.

My only critique would be that this was the looooongest game I've ever played. Quite honestly I got board and went back to the bunkhouse to enjoy a meal and drinks with my friends.

I really enjoyed the variaty on Sunday. The refs were great and put together some fun games for us. Sportmanship was everywhere and it was quite refreshing. Just like the old days.

I really appriciate all of the efforts you put into this event and will travel again from Alaska to do it next year.

Jeff

OK I finaly got off my butt and responded to this thread.
I had one of the most fun times i've ever had playing paintball.
I would do it again in a heart beat.

1: Yes. I was able to follow the general objectives.

2: Hell yes. Of course we were a group that plays together often so that made it easier for us to feel part of a team. Though a few times I ended up with others and still felt a part of a team.

3: Props were cool, story line was cool, being able to purchase weapons using team points was a good idea( I hope everyone checked with their generals before spending team points :lol: )

4: As stated before it would have been nice if rules were posted before hand. ( I know since this was organized by different people from different parts of the country this was difficult but hopefuly will change for next year with more lead time). All players shot out should be required to exit the field. Better definition of bounderies( I know this had a lot to do with not knowing from Blue what part of the field we would be using). If having a break before last battle( which us old and out of shape folk apreciated) make all players aware before the game. Elimination of the generals in the dead zone should not have happened.

5: In the next one no night game planning. After a hard day of paint ball the last thing I want to do is suit up and play again at night. I prefer to socialise ( at least when I'm not in bed sick as a dog like I was Sat night) especialy when meeting players from the forums for the first time. Maybe have a planned awards/reconition time after the game that everyone is aware of and can attend. Announce and post game scores for all to see. As soon as we get a date for next years game we all need to start posting on all of the forums out there to garnish as much interest as possable and get a bigger turn out.


Thats all for now. Maybe more as I think of things.


Comovartia B)

Comovartia had a nice thought there. An awards ceremony and players party combo would be great. Prizes could be given for things like Sportsmanship, MVP and since there were so many smaller teams there, MVT.

I am pretty sure I could come up with some type of a donation for this. The prizes wouldn't have to be fantastic, but it would be nice for the recognition.

More as thoughts come to me...

I had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Objectives were easy for me, shoot the white tapes.

I felt part of a team, hooked up with a bunch of guys I didn't know (Last Rites) I had a black shirt=I'm on a team :D

Things done right, everyone had a pump.

Things done wrong, stopping play for the final battle. Keeping Generals holed up in castles. Jim realized that he was worth points but I told him what fun is that? Got to charge a bunker with him, that was a blast! Should have awarded points for missions lead from the field.

Too bad we didn't use the fact that we had EMR to ourselves to have the big game played on the multiple fields. Maybe break up the game into smaller "episodes" vice one huge melee with different scenarios for the field. Give time for half hour breaks to recharge and keep interest. I agree with an awards ceremony and player party although I think that was already happening anyways. A swap meet would be a good idea, I know jincay and weltman had one going on at the Damage Inc. camp. Had I thought about it I would have brought more cash and other stuff to trade/sell.

I really doubt we can repeat as an event weekend but I will still be there for next years Pump Pandemonium with bells on.

Overall the 2 biggest issues I had wasn't with the game itself, wasn't with the generals, or reinsertion stuff. Rather more of an out-of-game situation.

Rentals and Promotion. We really had neither of those. Not anybody's fault however, not like we have a bank to fund advertisements in APG and PB2X monthly. And don't have the same bank to call up Cassidy and order 100 Phantoms at a whim. So there really is no "point finger at" thing going on here. It's just 2 things going against us, which also happen to be probably the biggest things possible that COULD go against us! Even worse than poor weather.

As far as the game itself goes I'll try to make it organized as a list.

Yay
- Props. It's a scenario, gotta have props. Both for points and also ones to use against other team. Props are fun. Like cookies.
- Field size. It's nice to be at a field which has more than 2-4 acres to play on. Even though we're not 500 players strong, a good sized field is always fun. As long as it's not 'too big' which it wasn't. Had that nice little middle of the road.
- Poker chips (money) to buy stuff. It's nice to earn points, it's another to have some fun buying stuff to use. Like dynomite.
- To whoever invented the rule of barrel tags... I love that guy! Probably some guy back in 86 who's dead by now but no matter.


Boo
- I won't touch on previous subjects like insertion and posted rules, all already covered.
- Louder noise machines needed. I set off a booby-trap and didn't even know it. Oops.
- Final Battle in a land of twigs! Holy bajeebus nobody could hit anybody. Severe paint may not be Evil, but I can usually hit my target in at least 2 shots, usually just 1 though. But not when I have to go through 50 twigs! I don't have the luxury of semi to get 1 miracle shot through the twigs, pure rock-n-cock baby. Not even autotrigger luxury for me.
- No "most valuable player" or "best newbie move" award! C'mon this is the perfect event for a Norm the Newbie award! Or a "should ride the Short Bus" award!

But overall my biggest downer point about this was ... well maybe I got the idea of the game wrong. But it wasn't just a "lets have a pump day" but wasn't this more of a "lets introduce MORE / NEW people to the land of pump"? Sure the game was fun, saw a lot of old friends, and will damn sure attend next years' even if it's like over by Chicago way. But if our mission really was to bring in new pump blood then it sucks to say this but we failed. No matter how great or horrible the game itself was I was looking more at the "how far did we reach out" aspect.

meph I dunno what you are complaining about , you shot me in the nuts with one shot in the biggest pile of twigs and thorns I had ever been in . that was an impossible shot and still like to return the favor .

just kidding man , miracle shot though .

Chem X

I did have alot of fun beaning you in the head a few times during the same game .

so I guess we are even .

just a clarification, we did have TWO MVP awards, and a Rookie award, all won paintguns..though there was a bit of a mix up and our awards ceramony was a bit screwy..all in all we awarded 5 "new hammer" paintguns, TWO Splatmasters in original box's, half a dozen squeegies, half a dozen "new old stock" whiper snappers (not for use ofcourse, but good for S&G's or a display wall) and some other misc. stuff, including speed caps ..
the prizes were given out every hour or so, and the MVP and Rookie awards on sunday..

some great comments here , and they will be taken to heart for sure..

As for next year, yes, we will have a weekend event , however it will be based upon pre-registration. Blue will also consider making it an official EMR Event if we can guarentee 250 players, a very realistic number BTW, based upon our prior events and growing market share. If we cant guarentee that number of players, we will run it as a 2 day private game, and reserve the fields. But i cant stress enough the need to pre- register to ensure it will happen. over the next month or two I will be speaking with everyone involved in the organizational end of things and try and lock down more specifics for you.

We did lack on the promotional end, and started very late. this was mostly due to external issues and we wont make that mistake again. I would ask all of you who attended, or plan to attend the next event to write EMR and let Blue know how much you enjoyed this event, or how much your looking forward to attending the next one (or both) and thank him and his staff for his support of pump and stock class paintball. Dont forget to give him feedback on the fields and reff staff, which were all superb imho..they need to be properly thanked, and i think individual notes would be greatly appreciated.. I know i had a blast, despite the fact that you guys kept stuffing me back in the command post , but i still got off a few good shots here and there despite your noble intentions :P :D

Actually that was going to be a goggle shot, but you stood up too soon! That's what you get for diving/crawling in the brush.

Okay Mav I was wondering what happened to all that gear. I know you talked about having some hammers but I never saw them handed out. Was it all done before the on-stage antics? Maybe if you didn't like dressing in a skirt and dancing so much! You frilly-dilly you, Mav.
:D

I missed the whole dress thing .

yeah I know meph but still a lucky shot considering what I was hiding in .

CX

sorry about that - we had to make sure we knew where you were at all times! Next game, we'll get some untalented hack that can't shoot a pump to save his life to be General. Lemme go through my cardex and dig out LaSoya's #..........

Did you hold the awards ceremony after the game? If so, I didn't know. Maybe an announcement about it, or did I miss that too?

If not, maybe post that up with the rules next year.

And by the way, to whom do I send the missions suggestions that I am working on, you or Missy?

Hey everyone - bringing this back up to the top to get more feedback
thanks

let me first say that nothing short of WMD's will keep me from playing this game again...but this time I WILL NOT MISS the first few hours driving to CT to pick up a new Mill.


I am still on the fence about the Pnumatic Assist Pump-guns at the game.

I just feel like it doesn't go along with the spirit of the game,but like I said...I play no matter what.

don't read to much into this and PLEASE don't think it is a "He can't afford one" thing...I have never had a problem with any gun you wanted to use in this game we call paintball and do own both Top and Bottom end guns,I just feel that PAP-guns don't "fit" at the game.

I mean if I want to get REALLY out there on this issue dig this string of crazy logic:

Autococker=Pnumatic Assist Pump-Gun

the trigger first fires the gun then the remaining travel activates the Pump Assist.
I am "pumping" the gun with the same finger I am fireing the gun with.

Autococker=Pumpgun w/assist


see...I told you it was crazy talk :wacko: