[geeks] [rescue] Video card request

[velociraptor]

On 12/1/05, Charles Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com> wrote:
> Thu, 01 Dec 2005 @ 14:07 -0500, Nadine said:
>
> > That's why I play paintball.  All the planning in the world doesn't
> > counter the fact that once the action's underway, chaos ensues.
> > Even GPS can't counter it.
>
> True.  However...
>
> I don't like paintball because around here at least, it has very few
> realistic combat elements. They are usually on rather open fields, with
> random "cover" scattered here and there, and tons of kids and immature
> adults playing. They arrange everything in short matches, and try to use
> scoring systems and things like that which just ruin it for me.

That is a conscious move on the part of field owners and
portions of the industry to disassociate themselves from
the "wargame" aspect.  Those types of fields are referred
to as "speedball" fields and are tied to the industry's dev-
elopment of tournaments and the like.

> If I ran a wargame, here is what I would do:
>
>     - a mix of weapons, if possible.  This one is probably not
>       practical, but ideally I'd like a mix of single shot weapons in
>       addition to semi and fully automatic
>     - no score
>     - no matches
>     - replace score and matches wtih scenarios and goals, examples below
>     - limited ammo.  Generous, but not the ridiculous amounts I
>       see being expended at most paintball matches.  This would also
>       lower the costs
>
> Of course, I have a hard time even getting people to play realistic
> computer combat games, so this probably wouldn't fly, but I can dream.

What you are interested in, then is generally referred to as
"scenario" and "big game" paintball.  Hit me off-line if you
are interested in some URL's or do a little googling on those
terms.  You might also talk to the staff at local pb stores
about any "outlaw" play going on in your area (e.g. games
on private land).  I'm a total geek about paintball, so if
anyone wants to engage me in conversation on the topic
privately--go for it. :-D

If it involves paintball, I'll play it (similar to "even bad pizza is
good").  However, I understand your feelings.  I do like the
elements of scenario play which allow strategy (as opposed
to tactics) to develop, but the majority of people don't even
understand the difference between the two.

However, from a business perspective, it's difficult to build a
business around the "wargame" approach.  To keep your
numbers up, you have to cater to new players, as the industry
stats show that the audience turns over every six to nine months.
New players get shot out.  If you want to keep them coming back,
you can't leave them sitting on the sidelines for 30+ minutes at
a time.  And the most money is made off the paintballs, not off
of the rest of the gear/supplies/field fees.

The best fields, however, that I've been at, take a multi-tiered
approach.  The group new players, and separate out the
advanced players.  Some go even further and split out those
in the middle.  This helps even out the play of the games, even
in speedball only situations.

The other limiting factor is that in some locations (for instance,
Silicon Valley), you can't find a spot which is economically
viable that has any "natural" cover.  In these case, artificial is all
you have.  What can assist here is arranging the fields in such
a way that they can be combined and made larger to help
tone down the pressure to engage, and draw out some strategy.

All in all, as with any business, it's a balancing act.

=Nadine=