Those are not real words. consider them new terms, if you will. paintball strategy on a micro level, and paintball strategy on a macro level.
Microstrategy (paintball relative)- the individual skill of players; physical shape, field awareness, experience, game knowledge, teamwork skills (ability to communicate on field etc.), game skills (run 'n' gun, snap shot, and more!!).
Macrostrategy (paintball relative)- the meta-game; predetermined primaries and secondary bumps, predetermined team-movement requiring player-to-player cooperative execution (like telling someone when to go snake from a more dominant bunker behind him), predetermined moves, layout experience, team glue.
the point I would like to make is that, in my opinion, the microstrategy is more important than the macro, in the sense that the micro leads macro in paintball, and therefore should be learned primarily or is more important for paintball success. I'll relate this idea to another idea-"the best defense is a good offense." in the same vein, good microstrategy (i.e. individual skill) is more important than good macrostrategy (i.e. teamwork, pre-game and in-game). so instead, the real focus to success should be on making yourself a better player, not making your team a better team. don't hesitate to go out on the weekend without a team. it doesn't matter who you play with, paintball success is about the individual player at the forefront, which can then lead to a greatly cohesive team (good macrostrategy) in the future.
maybe I'm wrong, but this seems to make sense to me for now.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
the theory of Edge Control
the theory of Edge Control as proposed by View From The Deadbox goes "Edge control refers to the capacity of an opposing player, either a mirror or other line-of-sight position, to contest for dominance and thus, lane control." I believe he is on the ball with this, but I would like to offer
edge control-
basically, sitting at the edge (left or right) of your bunker, with dominance on your mirror bunker, and lanes/bunkers outside of your mirror, whichever side you're coming out of. you could also sit in a deadspot and gain lane and edge control. having edge control means you're "on offense" for having control of a lane in the layout. you are the guy containing the other guy into his spot from your "edge control" position. it's a good place to be because you can basically go when you want or contain for as long as you want. You can use this edge control power to move your teammates when to go and therefore facilitating movement up the field, and, in my book, offense is what wins games. Edge Control is a pre-movement phase that comes right before you're or one of your teammates aggressive move up into a key position on the layout.
This is kind of my version of the same thing, but I like the term "edge control" very much, and I think it's time to be this in-depth with how the game is played. I would love to break the game down into a Early Game, Mid Game, and Late game sometime in the future, and what offensive/defensive players are doing at those stages and when roughly pushes happen, the whole 9 yards. I'm going to try to break this down myself, so some of it might be incorrect. so, this is just my attempt at getting the ball rolling. I can't gurantee whether it will be my next post or not, it might take some time. pce it
edge control-
basically, sitting at the edge (left or right) of your bunker, with dominance on your mirror bunker, and lanes/bunkers outside of your mirror, whichever side you're coming out of. you could also sit in a deadspot and gain lane and edge control. having edge control means you're "on offense" for having control of a lane in the layout. you are the guy containing the other guy into his spot from your "edge control" position. it's a good place to be because you can basically go when you want or contain for as long as you want. You can use this edge control power to move your teammates when to go and therefore facilitating movement up the field, and, in my book, offense is what wins games. Edge Control is a pre-movement phase that comes right before you're or one of your teammates aggressive move up into a key position on the layout.
This is kind of my version of the same thing, but I like the term "edge control" very much, and I think it's time to be this in-depth with how the game is played. I would love to break the game down into a Early Game, Mid Game, and Late game sometime in the future, and what offensive/defensive players are doing at those stages and when roughly pushes happen, the whole 9 yards. I'm going to try to break this down myself, so some of it might be incorrect. so, this is just my attempt at getting the ball rolling. I can't gurantee whether it will be my next post or not, it might take some time. pce it
Friday, January 8, 2010
musings
NPPL: just put a cap on the guns. if anything, your insurance should be happier, and everyone will shoot the same speed. no unfair advantage should go unchecked and I shouldn't have to worry about a gun penalty based on which divisional field I'm on and how the refs feel about it. set it and forget it @15 and change it later if NPPL decides to care (and update itself... ever). Note: while keeping it semi-auto, of course.
Anyway, did anyone notice that paintball is now a "kids" sport? I think we owe it to the PSP and their tiny bunkers. This guy: http://www.gomtv.net/mumbojumbo/column/1 knows what I'm talking about. To quote, "Full grown men and women will not follow kiddie leagues." I think he's exactly right. If paintball is ever going to be mainstream, the pros can't be 18 and the fields can't fit that demo. They need to "fit" the man (woman) in his prime, who is playing to his maturity and strategy as well as his physical skills.
Update: PSP is taking the right steps, so go PSP! They have since my writing this announced the shortening of their events by a day. This is/was also a prime concern of mine. just how all those pro's (and everyone else) got off of work all those/these days for events baffles me. combine that with 12bps and it seems the PSP is feeling the player opinion, albeit forced somewhat. yes, the whack part here is that PSP actually considered keeping the divisional's @ 10bps. the reasoning was nonsense, too. It basically said "we don't have to change it so we aren't going to." now, this is where I just lose faith. who exactly is running this train? no one wants to play @ 8bps. no one. trust me. girls don't even play this sport (one in four hundred is not a decent figure).
I would like to put to mention the fragmented player base in paintball. I actually believe paintball is coming closer together. I really believe the "agglet hate" will die down as soon as the 40 year old's at your field realize agg essentially hasn't been around since 2007. the big deal (whatever it was) with HK has come and since died down. please feel free to support, but the kids at your field are no longer "agglets" and your autococker is no longer viable. yet, it will, and is, taking this clash in paintball perspectives so that we can all come to one single relative perspective of what should and shouldn't be at a paintball field near you.
Anyway, did anyone notice that paintball is now a "kids" sport? I think we owe it to the PSP and their tiny bunkers. This guy: http://www.gomtv.net/mumbojumbo/column/1 knows what I'm talking about. To quote, "Full grown men and women will not follow kiddie leagues." I think he's exactly right. If paintball is ever going to be mainstream, the pros can't be 18 and the fields can't fit that demo. They need to "fit" the man (woman) in his prime, who is playing to his maturity and strategy as well as his physical skills.
Update: PSP is taking the right steps, so go PSP! They have since my writing this announced the shortening of their events by a day. This is/was also a prime concern of mine. just how all those pro's (and everyone else) got off of work all those/these days for events baffles me. combine that with 12bps and it seems the PSP is feeling the player opinion, albeit forced somewhat. yes, the whack part here is that PSP actually considered keeping the divisional's @ 10bps. the reasoning was nonsense, too. It basically said "we don't have to change it so we aren't going to." now, this is where I just lose faith. who exactly is running this train? no one wants to play @ 8bps. no one. trust me. girls don't even play this sport (one in four hundred is not a decent figure).
I would like to put to mention the fragmented player base in paintball. I actually believe paintball is coming closer together. I really believe the "agglet hate" will die down as soon as the 40 year old's at your field realize agg essentially hasn't been around since 2007. the big deal (whatever it was) with HK has come and since died down. please feel free to support, but the kids at your field are no longer "agglets" and your autococker is no longer viable. yet, it will, and is, taking this clash in paintball perspectives so that we can all come to one single relative perspective of what should and shouldn't be at a paintball field near you.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
yellow balls
are always more visible to me. shooting them, and vice versa.
could a visible paintball (seen from your couch) make the sport TV-capable? all I've gathered from paintball on TV is that people need to see the balls, badly, if anyone is going to actually analyze the game in real time. the balls are the "ball" in paintball, and if the audience doesn't know where they are, coming or going, we are left with a couple commentators narrating the entire thing for us.
so, has anyone else noticed the magic of the yellow paintball? or, thought about what I think about? think highly visible paintballs.
(extra idea: what about indoor lighting+blacklighting+white balls, huh? maybe not so practical, but people would probably have a blast watching the battlefield. maybe something for an indoor owner to consider).
could a visible paintball (seen from your couch) make the sport TV-capable? all I've gathered from paintball on TV is that people need to see the balls, badly, if anyone is going to actually analyze the game in real time. the balls are the "ball" in paintball, and if the audience doesn't know where they are, coming or going, we are left with a couple commentators narrating the entire thing for us.
so, has anyone else noticed the magic of the yellow paintball? or, thought about what I think about? think highly visible paintballs.
(extra idea: what about indoor lighting+blacklighting+white balls, huh? maybe not so practical, but people would probably have a blast watching the battlefield. maybe something for an indoor owner to consider).
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
the 50 caliber salutation
Maybe all hope is lost. in GI milsim's attempt to "bridge the gap" between airsoft and paintball, perhaps all hope is lost for paintball to be seen as a serious sport one day. the minute we bridge that gap, the game is a hobby forever. no one will ever get paid (exaggeration...or not?). let me share some opinions.
-the 50 balls are too small. something I had always been fascinated with was the action of 68 paint flying through the air- from behind my gun, or the fact that I can see paint coming at me and can potentially dodge it. it's large enough to be tangible. it's large enough to bomb a lane like it's artillery. I can watch people get freaking barraged by paint. at 50, people will still get blasted, but it won't look as much like they've been murdered. don't feed me bullshit about how the mark will be just as large.
-second complaint about the small balls- you can carry way too much paint. not enough reloading going on, not enough little potential breaks when people are reloading.
and the weight issue. at fifty cal, am I going to carry far fewer pods, that weigh far less? I don't think anyone is sure how much they will weigh, but at the current paint consistency I hear they should weigh in around 1.5 grams. the strength you needed to carry those (fewer, now) pods will be reduced. and the tiny light guns and 45/45's all around. talk about mobility. that means less athleticism. are you an athlete when you dive around in a game with your three pound equipment? I'm definitely not considering airsoft players any sort of athlete. a move to less weight is a move twords "hobby."
and here's one more unrelated complaint. Xball fields are too small. it's like i'm playing starcraft (a strategy game) with no fog of war. and it sucks. i want a larger field. keep coaching, it's too much fun to take away. but it will be diminished somewhat by a longer field, which is exactly how i want it. It's the special things about paintball like communication that keep me coming back. the simple elasticity of the paintball player. the real-time strategy, the real-time planning. the ability to be sneaky. yeah...
one more. i fear now that big paintball has given up on paintball. maybe no more support. maybe that's why they don't call it paintball anymore. they call this new game GI milsim.
-the 50 balls are too small. something I had always been fascinated with was the action of 68 paint flying through the air- from behind my gun, or the fact that I can see paint coming at me and can potentially dodge it. it's large enough to be tangible. it's large enough to bomb a lane like it's artillery. I can watch people get freaking barraged by paint. at 50, people will still get blasted, but it won't look as much like they've been murdered. don't feed me bullshit about how the mark will be just as large.
-second complaint about the small balls- you can carry way too much paint. not enough reloading going on, not enough little potential breaks when people are reloading.
and the weight issue. at fifty cal, am I going to carry far fewer pods, that weigh far less? I don't think anyone is sure how much they will weigh, but at the current paint consistency I hear they should weigh in around 1.5 grams. the strength you needed to carry those (fewer, now) pods will be reduced. and the tiny light guns and 45/45's all around. talk about mobility. that means less athleticism. are you an athlete when you dive around in a game with your three pound equipment? I'm definitely not considering airsoft players any sort of athlete. a move to less weight is a move twords "hobby."
and here's one more unrelated complaint. Xball fields are too small. it's like i'm playing starcraft (a strategy game) with no fog of war. and it sucks. i want a larger field. keep coaching, it's too much fun to take away. but it will be diminished somewhat by a longer field, which is exactly how i want it. It's the special things about paintball like communication that keep me coming back. the simple elasticity of the paintball player. the real-time strategy, the real-time planning. the ability to be sneaky. yeah...
one more. i fear now that big paintball has given up on paintball. maybe no more support. maybe that's why they don't call it paintball anymore. they call this new game GI milsim.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
paintball as a "park."
I think the newly established Paintball Parks llc. could be on to something- a standard for fields. which, I guess, is what it's about.
going to a paintball field could and should be an "experience" for a casual player or someone who has never played before. PP LLC will probably do that- so that lil' baller (pardon my baca) will be like "wow, so this is a paintball field" instead of "wow, we're playing on that dirt flat?" With so many "backyard" fields and so few "professional-style" fields, people probably wonder if we ourselves are even taking the sport seriously.
A sort of standard to a paintball field could really help the public to respect what we do.
An example might be multiple fields. if our sport has two formats, offer both. also, offer some sort of scenario course. I'm thinking "full package," after all, it's a paintball "park."
now, the key to everything I'm saying is professionalism- your speedball arenas should be on leveled ground and seeded grass. take it a step further and use turf- everyone will be amazed by turf. turf is professional. turf takes out the fear of sliding, diving, rocks, bunker stakes, holes, what have you. plus, it's a blast to play on when it's done right (multiple layers). if a newbie is afraid of getting shot he/she is probably also afraid of diving on what could be rock hard dirt. hell, let's make turf an industry standard so that pro snake players can last more than five years before their bones grind away into dust. spend some time on the scenario field(s)- build bunkers, forts, trenches, hills, whatever. just make the place a "war zone," it shouldn't be just woods. people can play woods in their backyard, and do, instead of going to a field and paying and entry fee, despite it's accomidations. people can get paint at wal-mart and CO2 fills somewhere in their area.
so quite frankly, I'd much rather have fewer, better parks. let's make ourselves look professional. I know it's a lot of money, maybe it's "impossible," what have you, but if paintball is a great outing, let's act like it.
going to a paintball field could and should be an "experience" for a casual player or someone who has never played before. PP LLC will probably do that- so that lil' baller (pardon my baca) will be like "wow, so this is a paintball field" instead of "wow, we're playing on that dirt flat?" With so many "backyard" fields and so few "professional-style" fields, people probably wonder if we ourselves are even taking the sport seriously.
A sort of standard to a paintball field could really help the public to respect what we do.
An example might be multiple fields. if our sport has two formats, offer both. also, offer some sort of scenario course. I'm thinking "full package," after all, it's a paintball "park."
now, the key to everything I'm saying is professionalism- your speedball arenas should be on leveled ground and seeded grass. take it a step further and use turf- everyone will be amazed by turf. turf is professional. turf takes out the fear of sliding, diving, rocks, bunker stakes, holes, what have you. plus, it's a blast to play on when it's done right (multiple layers). if a newbie is afraid of getting shot he/she is probably also afraid of diving on what could be rock hard dirt. hell, let's make turf an industry standard so that pro snake players can last more than five years before their bones grind away into dust. spend some time on the scenario field(s)- build bunkers, forts, trenches, hills, whatever. just make the place a "war zone," it shouldn't be just woods. people can play woods in their backyard, and do, instead of going to a field and paying and entry fee, despite it's accomidations. people can get paint at wal-mart and CO2 fills somewhere in their area.
so quite frankly, I'd much rather have fewer, better parks. let's make ourselves look professional. I know it's a lot of money, maybe it's "impossible," what have you, but if paintball is a great outing, let's act like it.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
paintballs.
come to think of it, paintball players have been getting screwed for years, right? when you go to a field and pay $45 for the cheapest paint and $60 for something you can actually lane someone otb with, man, it's like, can't all paint at least be decent? such as medium quality? shooting rocks is in no way a reflection of an actual tournament experience. taking 10 bounces in a day of play isn't exactly making you the best player. the average cost of playing a day of paintball is sixty bucks- and that's for the cheap shit that's hard as a rock. maybe the big deal Richmond Italia is making is that medium quality will become the standard for "tournament" paintballs, or perhaps that producing slightly smaller paintballs makes "good" paint the same cost as the presiously "bad" paint.
Monday, May 18, 2009
2k4
2004 was a very, very special time in paintball. We could go as spesh as '02. We could get as wild as late '05. Obviously, some of these bits may have occurred somewhere inside and/or outside that timeline.
Two thousand four was probably the first time the angel was eclipsed in popularity (post when autocockers lost popularity with the autococker vs. angel debate. )
Real Quick:
The angel-autococker debate ran like this:
autococker nerds: "Our guns shoot farther. The Angel is poorly made and "lobs." We're so smart."
new school peeps with neon blue angels: "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa trick."
end result: autocockers were slow. and the balls could just roll out the barrel.
Basically, timmy's were light, bounced a lot, and had some very agg milling compared to the plain A4 angels... with horrible 90 degree frames. So timmy's took over.
Then there was the shooting from the hip. Oh, shooting from the hip. So much cool. When the paintball crowd got younger during this population boom era, the kids brought style with them. There's not much else to say except that shooting from the hip is awesome and... yeap.
Back to the style session. Proflex's were the mask to have. With a smoke or chrome lens. With a flipped strap. With a gun (shockers were especially cool) pressed right up against the nose. With a hat on. While leaning forward. Then, especially in the earlier days, you could basically shoot as fast as you wanted. Peoples guns would blaze but it was new to be shooting that fast. Frenzy boards ruled.
Halo B changed everything. I would mention eggs but those loaders were so terrible maybe we shouldn't remember them.
Then, HK made an empire basically entirely off their style (and good players).
Dynasty started the first pro team forum on pbnation, and for the first time pro players had some decent amnount of fame and players started having names.
Next the first real run at Dynasty and getting paid happened, which thankfully we have documented beautifally thanks to Monkey With A Gun in the documentary Heroes For A Day.
The "cheater" paintball player was hated on at local fields; "cheating" became somewhat a part of the game on a mainstream scale, as well as a skill.
300 FPS came out and people loved it.
Good times...
Two thousand four was probably the first time the angel was eclipsed in popularity (post when autocockers lost popularity with the autococker vs. angel debate. )
Real Quick:
The angel-autococker debate ran like this:
autococker nerds: "Our guns shoot farther. The Angel is poorly made and "lobs." We're so smart."
new school peeps with neon blue angels: "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa trick."
end result: autocockers were slow. and the balls could just roll out the barrel.
Basically, timmy's were light, bounced a lot, and had some very agg milling compared to the plain A4 angels... with horrible 90 degree frames. So timmy's took over.
Then there was the shooting from the hip. Oh, shooting from the hip. So much cool. When the paintball crowd got younger during this population boom era, the kids brought style with them. There's not much else to say except that shooting from the hip is awesome and... yeap.
Back to the style session. Proflex's were the mask to have. With a smoke or chrome lens. With a flipped strap. With a gun (shockers were especially cool) pressed right up against the nose. With a hat on. While leaning forward. Then, especially in the earlier days, you could basically shoot as fast as you wanted. Peoples guns would blaze but it was new to be shooting that fast. Frenzy boards ruled.
Halo B changed everything. I would mention eggs but those loaders were so terrible maybe we shouldn't remember them.
Then, HK made an empire basically entirely off their style (and good players).
Dynasty started the first pro team forum on pbnation, and for the first time pro players had some decent amnount of fame and players started having names.
Next the first real run at Dynasty and getting paid happened, which thankfully we have documented beautifally thanks to Monkey With A Gun in the documentary Heroes For A Day.
The "cheater" paintball player was hated on at local fields; "cheating" became somewhat a part of the game on a mainstream scale, as well as a skill.
300 FPS came out and people loved it.
Good times...
Friday, May 15, 2009
The [Pretty] Big Bullet
.50, eh?
Apparently, shipping paintballs is a huge expense and is what's one thing really hurting paint companies (check out baca's article). So if the expense is in the shipping weight, people are saying "let's ship smaller .50 balls and lose less/ make more money." I say:
How about no, scott.
In the article above, which you have read by this point, a persons states that to shoot the smaller balls (which would be ligher...right?) at the effective same rate, they had to be shot at around 400fps. So couldn't we just fill our p\balls with a lighter substance and pump up our velocity, neverminding equipment (gun/loader) change? Maybe we would need new solenoids to handle higher pressures, and maybe that would be all. Let's put thick "sticky" foam in 'em, I guess. Or "paint" mixed with a light filler. How much harder would they be to see coming tword you... I also don't see a .50 ball breaking on anyone anytime soon. I don't want to see old school guns lose their functionality, either.
Apparently, shipping paintballs is a huge expense and is what's one thing really hurting paint companies (check out baca's article). So if the expense is in the shipping weight, people are saying "let's ship smaller .50 balls and lose less/ make more money." I say:
How about no, scott.
In the article above, which you have read by this point, a persons states that to shoot the smaller balls (which would be ligher...right?) at the effective same rate, they had to be shot at around 400fps. So couldn't we just fill our p\balls with a lighter substance and pump up our velocity, neverminding equipment (gun/loader) change? Maybe we would need new solenoids to handle higher pressures, and maybe that would be all. Let's put thick "sticky" foam in 'em, I guess. Or "paint" mixed with a light filler. How much harder would they be to see coming tword you... I also don't see a .50 ball breaking on anyone anytime soon. I don't want to see old school guns lose their functionality, either.
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