ideas about field?

[rollingthunder]

Is what done?

The entire base? No.

We have other things going on, such as field upkeep....

[tigar19]

Just want to pass along some comments from some other people I met at The Swamp in Glouster. They all had camo on and Tippmanns and were there to compete in the woodsball tournament. Me being an X7 user decided to walk over to them and say hi. I asked if they knew about New Kent and their ??leader?? snorted and said they are never going back. He went on to say how they went to one of the larger events and that the Field Sgts were doing more playing and less reffing and that too many players were cheating. He said he never plans on returning unless New Kent goes back to using refs that aren't playing at the same time. He did insert a disclaimer and said that he thinks Avery is a good guy.

Although he brought up a good point because I have seen the same thing, I do plan on returning for more games. He just seemed really upset by it.

[Administrator]

Tigar19 thank you for passing that along to us. After yesterday's game we discussed your post at great length.

We are sure the players you talked to did not talk to Avery or the staff about their issues, which happens all the time, so we wind up find out things second hand.

We can understand what they are saying, NKPG is not like any other field in the area. Because of it's size, it would be quite difficult to use traditional style refs on the field. Also, we would have to have a consistent staff of 10-15 in order to cover the entire field, which we do not have at any one time. But, truth be told we tend to only have 4-6 Field Sgts playing, which is hardly enough to cover the field, which means we are always in or near the action.

As far as cheating going on, we do our best to keep it to a minimum and deal with those we catch. But, sometimes it requires the help of the players to point out people we need to watch. Show us a field were 100% of the cheating is caught and you would put all other fields out of business. Most fields are lucky to catch 50% on any given day. There are those fields where "regulars" are given the edge or things are overlooked, we do not, all players are equal. If someone believes a staff member is cheating, it needs to be brought to the owner's attention, so it can be dealt with. Avery has fired several staff for this over the years, it is not something taken lightly.

With regards to the Field Sgts playing too much and not reffing enough, this it a touchy subject for all.
The plain truth is the staff could do more officiating if all the players actually played. What we mean by that is, if all the players (both teams) did what was required of them based off the scenario in place to achieve the desired goal. The staff could hang back, watch the game and provide support as needed as well as advice. Unfortunately, this does not occur even on the best of days. The Field Sgts usually have to lead by example in order to keep the game(s) going, otherwise they tend to stagnate, so this causes the issue of what seems like us playing more a reffing less in some instances. Then you have the group(s) of players that will not take direction from the staff and do their own thing, which in the end causes the staff to pick up the slack, so again we have to play more.

Honestly, most of the staff would love to cut our paintball consumption, since we usually go through 2-3 times as much paint as average player. And, yes we do buy our paint, it isn't free.

So in 2009, we are going to alter how the staff interacts with the games and see if we can find a "happy medium".

Again, thank you for bringing this to our attention and we hope to see you out here again.

The Staff ;D



Hammer of God

[tigar19]

I played my first ever paintball game at NK so I guess I'm a little loyal and don't like it when some badmouth NK. I am glad to hear that you acknowledge the situation and plan to do something about it.

I just thought of an idea about players not advancing or leaving their safe place. Could a seasoned player instead of a Field Sgt be given the power to make their own teammate take the dead mans walk if they do not follow a direct order? I think the offense would have to be serious because no one wants to be down a player, but at the same time I've been there when everyone in the group nods in agreement that we're going to rush them only to find myself charging with just one other person. I dunno, just a thought to throw out.

[rollingthunder]

We thank you for sticking up for us.

With regards to you question, the answer would be no. We understand the thought behind it, but you can't make a paying customer do what they are either incapable or unwilling to do.

On the January 3rd, we ran a test taking up a more advisor role. The 3 Field Sgt's on Red team hung back and tried to direct others on what to do verses leading from the front. Red team did have their Field-Sgt-in training leading from the fron to insure one of the staff was "near" the action at all times.

Blue team ran the more traditional style Field Sgt. role in contrast.

It was noted the Blue team did dominate overall for the day, but whether or not this can be attributed to the change we are not sure. More testing will need to be done in order to find a "happy medium".

[snakeeyes]

I noticed the BIG BOYS were hanging back abit.

Personally, I chalked it up to red team playing " turtle " ,
or " safe " with more seasoned players guarding home base.
Without leaders, every wave that came at us was knocked out.
I see your point in trying the experiment you ran.
There definitley is a balancing act involved to acheive desired results for all persons playing.
Ultimately, all players need to remember it is a " team sport "
and as such they should all encourage each other ( teammates )to remain honest.
Hmm.... I wonder; what if there were a way to designate a paying player with an " honorary title " and offer up some sort of compensation for oversight ? Free pass for next walk-on day, perhaps.
This could also be a stepping stone for potential REF status. A sort of apprenticeship.
I could see a name such as " forward observer " used for that role. A big yellow armband that has " FO " printed on it.
Just a thought anyways....

[coroner]

As I understand the experiment - Red team’s Field Sgt’s acted as “Advisors” and Blue’s as players (trying to direct others) and Blue dominated. This may be coincidence, or it could be like a game of pickup basketball where the top 2-3 players only watched and shouted encouragement – they may not loose, but…

Field Sgt’s know the field well - A LOT better than the average guy, and better than most “regulars”. Plus they tend to have pretty good equipment. Firepower is not everything, but firepower added TO an intimate knowledge of the games played and the terrain (most importantly how to use that terrain for best advantage) is part of what makes the Field Sgt’s great players. This is not criticism, but statement of fact – a great player does not necessarily make even a good leader.

I would recommend an experiment where BOTH team’s Field Sgt’s act in a leadership/advisory role. If both teams play in this mode it should level out the playing field some. Ask everyone what they thought – not just the staff, but also the players/customers (especially regulars because they should notice the difference).

My guess -It will lead to a slower game which more heavily favors the defense for several reasons. First – The Sgt’s make a lot of the eliminations in the front, if they don’t other players will have to. Second - Slower games tend to favor the defense (if the defenders can sit still and shut up). Third - I figure Sgts will tend to act as a reserve - containing breakthrough’s and filling holes until regenerated players return and allow the Sgt’s. to extract themselves back to a command role/position.

[rollingthunder]

Checking for the phone tap when I get home......

Coroner your recommedation is almost the exact conversation that Avery and I had last week.

[coroner]

Twisted minds think alike.

[onelessdigit]

we have discussed a few times about the tables and roof idea for the field. as i have mentioned to the owner and others it would do well on rainy day as swamps area does.

just in case anyone was wondering its matt, i just joined

[Daimyo]

That is something we are looking into, which is a good idea. But right now, Base 3 is priority.