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It's Nerf or nothin' (for Khoo)
The Geek
Oh-Two Crew, OmeganautRegistered User, ClubPA regular
Oh-Two Crew, OmeganautRegistered User, ClubPA regular
This is half inspired by the recent comic, half my idea that I already had last year.
I still think it would be pretty sweet to have a dedicated Nerf battle room at PAX. It may be too late for 06, since I'm sure you guys may have most of the floorspace planned out.
It would probably require some kind of sponsorship from Nerf/Hasbro, though.
But talking about it over in another forum, we worked out a couple more details. Have one room that is set up for just Nerfapalooza. All the darts/arrows/balls stay in that room. That's where the Nerf sponsorship would be good, they could provide a ton of ammo for the room that anyone in there can pick up at any time and load into their weapon of choice. You don't keep it for yourself afterward, though.
You enter with an empty weapon and you leave with an empty weapon. And what you bring into the room could be what you already personally own and have brought with you, or Nerf could set up a little booth right outside the room to sell Nerf weaponry to anyone who wanted to join the battle.
There is some disagreement on how the actual battle would actually be going on in the room. Some people believe that you need to set up paintball style rules, if you get hit, you're out for a time. Personally, my experience with Nerf battles is that it's better when you only set a couple of basic ground rules and then it's just free form shootin' people. Mini-alliances will form and disband throughout the battle, but mostly it's a free for all. If you try to structure it too much, it becomes a lot less fun.
Oh, and perhaps you might be able to get a bunch of safety glasses for people to wear in there and a general waiver to sign when you go in. I don't how popular the room would be, but if it got really popular, the number of available safety glasses would be your limit of how many people can be in the room at a time.
Would this be feasible in the future at all or am I just nuts?
I still think it would be pretty sweet to have a dedicated Nerf battle room at PAX. It may be too late for 06, since I'm sure you guys may have most of the floorspace planned out.
It would probably require some kind of sponsorship from Nerf/Hasbro, though.
But talking about it over in another forum, we worked out a couple more details. Have one room that is set up for just Nerfapalooza. All the darts/arrows/balls stay in that room. That's where the Nerf sponsorship would be good, they could provide a ton of ammo for the room that anyone in there can pick up at any time and load into their weapon of choice. You don't keep it for yourself afterward, though.
You enter with an empty weapon and you leave with an empty weapon. And what you bring into the room could be what you already personally own and have brought with you, or Nerf could set up a little booth right outside the room to sell Nerf weaponry to anyone who wanted to join the battle.
There is some disagreement on how the actual battle would actually be going on in the room. Some people believe that you need to set up paintball style rules, if you get hit, you're out for a time. Personally, my experience with Nerf battles is that it's better when you only set a couple of basic ground rules and then it's just free form shootin' people. Mini-alliances will form and disband throughout the battle, but mostly it's a free for all. If you try to structure it too much, it becomes a lot less fun.
Oh, and perhaps you might be able to get a bunch of safety glasses for people to wear in there and a general waiver to sign when you go in. I don't how popular the room would be, but if it got really popular, the number of available safety glasses would be your limit of how many people can be in the room at a time.
Would this be feasible in the future at all or am I just nuts?
BLM - ACAB
The Geek on
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Awesome idea.
Gotta have some kind of obstacles in the room, though. Maybe keep it authentic to real Nerf battle locales and put in a couple couches and coffee tables?
A small price to pay.
Fixed for truthfulness
The entirety of PAX smelled like a highschool locker room, and I don't see how a Nerf room would be that much more nasally offensive.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
the same reason the area around the ddr machine was more stinky than the rest of the place
Then we just won't let RMD into the Nerf room.
Everyone should have a mandatory deodorant check before entering the premises
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
but rmd wasn't there last year
Hence the waiver.
If i could get my faux lawyer here i would but he's not online
but i don't think waivers mean all that much
plus then you also need someone onsite to certify the waivers
something like this is really better left in our hands running around the hotel wild than in the hands of pa where they can get the pants sued off them
I also say there should be commentators in luchadores masks.
Also, is this going to be a niche nerf war or will it build and grow as people join in with guns and ammo?
Because, hell, the more the merrier. ^_^
So here's my suggestions, and they can all be considered or just a portion of them.
-Setup the room with lots of obstacles similar to a paintball arena moreso than a laser tag arena, but instead of wood panels and the such, couches, tables, pillows, mattresses and other "couch fort" style defenses could be used to follow a fun old style theme.
-Speaking of "couch fort", that would be the style of play (again similar to paintball). 2 teams of any varying size (though a minimum WOULD be nice) would start on either side of the large room full of household barriers, and the objective would be to retrieve the "Flag" hanging in the center of the room and return it to one's base. Cap the Flag, a concept every gamer should be familiar with.
-Nerf weapons SHOULD be whatever the players want to bring (minus the hydro bazookas and other water using weapons), so that can be anywhere between the old school bow and foam arrow, up to the recently made popular mavericks, the classic sharpshooters, or the enjoyable eagle eye, razor chain, and raptors. There SHOULD (ideally) also be some mavericks or sharpshooters that can be bought by people at the door if they have not brought their own weapons. At the beginning of each match, there should also be a few higher grade weapons in each team's fort for higher action and strategy, such as a ballzooka and 2 (preferrably high powered) eagle eye's for artillery and snipers.
-Ammo is a large issue to deal with in these matches since bringing your own essentially means losing your own unless you label yours and manage to retrieve them at the end of the match, so here is an interesting and VERY fun solution that i've done before. Either PA or a group of people wanting to sponsor this would provide ammo (which can be bought in bulk from hasbro for a relatively decent price last I recalled). Since much of the ammo is interchangable and focused on the smaller sticky darts (especially given the maverick's newfound popularity with PAers), and since the maverick would be the gun available at the door, this type of ammo should be bought in the quantity of 1000-2000 darts (maybe more). Each person would get their "clip" of 50 to begin the round and the more obscure ammo would be with their weapons already (10 balls with the ballzooka for example). The remainder of the ammo (ideally 1000+ darts) would be split up into "clips" or "boxes" of 50 on the floor, very similar to how you would find ammo in a deathmatch shooter such as quake or doom, and upon finding said "clips" or "boxes" or ammo the player could use them to stock their own weapons, throw them back wards or forwards to another player or to the main fort, or even be strategic and use the ammo as a form of bait to lure out opponents. Same is true of all other forms of ammo found on the floor. If there's been a firefight going on and you find 20 darts at your feet or stuck to the table you're behind you may pick them up and stock your weapons with those darts (unlike "found ammo" in painball). Observe the shitty 1 minute chart:
While the white outlines the walls/barriers and green is the flag (very general), the orange dots would be the locations of ammo clips, though much more creatively spaced and placed. Lots of ammo = less stops in action.
-Rules of war...VERY important for the game obviously. I feel personally that there SHOULD be a "1 hit kill" rule for the game where anybody who is hit by a projectile is considered "killed". I also personally believe that all darts shots should only count as "kills" if they hit the person on the initial shot arc, as opposed to hitting a wall then falling on the person or something similar (ballzooka might be different, like a wrecking ball rule). Players who are "killed" would either have to lay down dead where they fall for some period of time (1 minute perhaps?) which allows for some interesting strategy where you could kill someone, get behind them but then they come back to life therefore quickening the pace and action of the game. However, with this style someone could be killed, and then killed off the second they come back to life, and also it slows the pace of the game since there would always be less than the max players in play. Instead of playing dead, the player could instead be forced back to their fort (think 2fort in TFC, or other similar team spawn point games). This forces a bit more of a defensive strategy on both team's parts to secure position, but also doesn't ever slow or dull the pace of the match because the players are constantly in the game with a small death window while they get back to base. The added strategy is that when someone dies and goes back to the fort, there will likely be teammates nearby at the fort, and therefore ammo if they need it.
Those are all the major ideas of play that I have, however to regulate and ADD to the play there are ideas to be suggested.
-Legacy's strobe light idea (and probably more special lights than that, such as an overhead spotlight on the center flag "podium". The strobe light adds the interesting simulation of "lag" so rather than maticulously sniping and conserving ammo, people will be more forced to unload copies amounts of foam heat to ensure that a target is hit.
-Colored vests (red and blue) to put overtop of whatever you're wearing. This ensures that people know who their teamates and enemies are, and adds a fun "red vs blue" feel that all FPS gamers seem to love and know quite well.
-"Special Items". These are similar to the chance cards in monopoly. Items that are a little more unique than just ammo packs and add a little bit of a wildcard to the match. Such classic items could include nerf dodgeballs, custom built nerf dartgrenades (similar to a nailbomb, but nerf style), blowup decoy dolls, whatever people can come up with really.
-If there's going to be special items, why not put them in a special box? Items could be in "?" blocks hanging overhead from the ceiling and opened by pulling a drawstring. Perhaps they'd be stuck on the ground and opened from the top. Either way it offers some more flavour to the match rather than just having them sitting around in the open.
-Each game would be 30 minutes long and the winner would be the team with the most points. Captures (10 points each) and Kills (1 point each) would be the considered factors to keep it simple.
-At the end of each match, all players would comb their half of the room and retrieve the ammo to quicken the pace of cleanup/turnover between games.
Now for some larger tougher suggestions:
-If the room is quite large (like an entire dining hall, which is what i'd hope for), there could be intercoms or megaphones in each fort to shout commands at players far out in the field who wouldn't hear otherwise (potentially), or to shout obscenities and bring fear to your opponents.
-In addition to this, there could be headsets or "walkie talkies" for each team where the players could communicate no matter where they are. This could be QUITE expensive, but there's a line of "spy" toys that are decently priced that carry such a product. Could break the Hasbro theme if it's not their product though, so the megaphone might still be best.
-Have you ever watched "American Gladiators"? Remember that tennis ball shooting machine? How about 1 of those in each corner of the room raised above floor level, directly to the right/left of the main forts, except shooting nerf balls. This could be the location of the ballzookas infact, but they would be chained to the floor/post.
These are a bunch of fun big ideas, but a VERY important point that will need some discussion is regulating the rules/enforcing:
-Personally, i'd LOVE for the honour system to be the chosen regulation method, but i'm not completely confident that someone wouldn't just lie about whether they've been hit or not (saying they're not hit to advance further, or saying they're hit when they're not to get a "free pass" back to the base). It would be great if there were refs of somekind to monitor all this, but it could be difficult with obstacles all around, so there needs to be ways to make it easier for the refs. I suggest that each player on each team be numbered so that the refs/enforcers could shout out direct commands and orders based on the game's progress ("RED6 YOU ARE HIT!!", or "BLUE4 YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME FOR PEEING ON THE AMMO!!"). Makes for a more efficient enforcing job.
-If this was REALLY big budget, i'd say that each vest for each team should be linked wireless to a panel where the color of the vest or a light on the vest could be changed to BRIGHT white so that people would know who was hit.
That's my general idea that could use some comments and revisions, but if planned correctly it would be a LOT of fun for anyone there, be quite dynamic playwise, and would also be easy to maintain for the mostpart and "setup" from game to game.
Comment away. i've probably missed something so you'll need to catch it for me.
[EDIT]Oh yeah, waiver forms are a MUST, as well as goggles.[/EDIT]
nerf bowhunters for life!
I wholeheartedly support this.
That's why there are goggles.
Work for me so that it's fun for you.
Nerf. Mercenaries.
I was thinking it would be neat to have a tournament with pre-created teams with their own team names, and have a prize at the end. Whether that be through an elimination round idea or through one LARGE all in one arena game, it would be a neat way to add to it.
On that note, with the idea of sponsorship it would be neat if the entry fee to get into the nerf arena war thing was $10, but you got a (limited edition obviously) PAX '06 Maverick painted in either the PAX or PA colors and with the logos on the side.
Just suggestions. I personally feel that with a free hall on one of the days (maybe second day?) and waiver forms that this could be done quite well and without too much issue. I've gotten a bit of flak for making it more structured than an all out free for all "ZOMG I SHOT YOU BOGEY!" *pistol whip* kinda thing, but what i'm suggesting would make it more of an event in coorelation with the show itself as the panels, concerts, and gaming tournaments are currently.
As for the strobe light thing, I think the Nite Finders'll come in handy. Steady red beams dancing amidst the violent fickle room lighting. Oh how it feels wonderful to even think about. Heh heh.
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
If you don't let him in the Nerf room how do you plan on shooting him with Nerf guns
Put a hit out on him.
Nerfcenaries?
That is what I was thinking actually. Use one of the rooms to setup a nerf arena of sorts (such as with paintball). The issue I have is that meeting rooms that i've seen in the past aren't big enough to hold such an event, and all of the rooms will probably be booked for something else PAX related at the time. This is something that would have to be answered by khoo or another of the bigwigs.
Using a hotel convention hall could work based on the size of certain ones, but it would be quite disruptive and alarming for the other guests as you've pointed out so kindly, and the rooms themselves are usually not suited for such an event.
I'll take a look at the building where it's being held (I wasn't there the previous 2 years) spec wise and see if any of the rooms could hold it, despite the fact that it'd probably be booked.
[EDIT]I've taken a quick gander at the floorplans for the center: http://www.meydenbauer.com/plan/floorplans.html
It seems that the meeting rooms could work well if they're used three at once, as shown with the 404-406 option and 407-409 option. 50' x 117' x 16' for 404-406, and 34' x 87' x 16' for the 407-409 option. I prefer the 404-406 option myself.
Again, this is completely limited by what the plans for each room are already and scheduling of the rooms, and given that people are saying there needs to be more room than last year it could be quite a difficult undertaking.[/EDIT]
You have made it one word. ::salutes::
And @PolaGo, I can see how this'll be hard to put into the center what with it taking 3 rooms that can be used for a bunch of stuff. It might hinder or kick out tabletop or BYOC or the like, which I wouldn't mind but I'm only one person. The ballrooms were perfect if still a bit short.
Well, you and The Geek have laid down an insane amount of plans so I guess we can all keep brainstorming until we get an official word. If only we could move the chairs in the main theatre. ^_~
The main theatre was my first thought actually, but upon realizing that the seats are probably bolted to the floor or something, that was scrapped.
Hey, if you want to be the one to try to stop everybody who walks in just to smell their underarms.....
As much as I personally would like to have a room used to shoot foam projectiles at soft crunchy humans I can't see this as a feasible idea. As to using the meeting rooms upstairs, who wants to tell Console Tourney and/or PC Freeplay/BYOC that their room needs to be packed up and moved because we need to stage a nerf war, it takes a while to set everything up and tear down is no easy thing too. Unfortunatley it's not likely to happen. That being said I'm all for some impromptu action in hotel hallways/ballrooms/rooms, I missed it all last year so I'm hoping for some action this year.
I totally have a stingray but i always find it hard to decide between launching 2 darts or 4.
plus this already sounds like christmas at my grandmas house every year.
In response to whether or not the expo would be held at the MBC again(from another thread)...
Obviously the MBC is in play, but by the sounds of it something else is as well. There is a LOT of time before the show happens and the rooms receive their finals designations for events that may be deemed "more popular" than others. I'm sure people would love to have an "extreme pong" room where there's nothing but high speed pong going on, but the popularity of other things such as having a full freeplay console room instead is more appealing to a larger crowd. This Nerf War concept is showing that it has a LOT of support (including from a lot of people who don't post in this forum who are planning on attending) and is even making some people re-think their stance on the expo and making them want to attend, so in the next month or two if there's enough support for the concept and legitimate planning it could very well find a place in the show.
Keep in mind with Khoo's quote, that while there wouldn't be enough space for the War if the MBC was the only venue, there is apparantly another venue in play here and until we know what space is available on a whole (all venues and rooms), we do not know whether there is "extra" space and what the priorities are on those spaces.
ie. Wait on Khoo's word.
On another quick note, given that there's a free Bawls counter (i've heard ) at PAX and that it's popularity is huge there, it would be kinda neat to have each person leaving the Nerf War receive a free bottle. The people would be kinda thirsty afterwards i'd assume so the placement would be fantastic.