Quick update:

Well before I get started on the big game I wanted to mention that the website took a major dump last week and had to be restored from backup. I lost some updates but I didn't lose it all luckily. I have tons of time and effort invested in this site and I also have a semi-private family website that I would be heart broken to loose. Anyway, no harm done and the paintball store inventory are quickly dwindling, though mostly through eBay sales....only 3-4 weeks before most of my inventory is gone.

My project plans seem to have been little more than an afterthought over the past few weeks. I'm pretty busy with my insurance education studies, enjoying the nice warm weather with my kids, and moving to a new position at work...I'll get there someday! I'll also be unable to attend OES this year due to a family commitment...darn.

LOST - Sudden Impact Spring 2008 Scenario

We had our annual spring scenario at Sudden Impact base on the TV series Lost. I was on the "Others" team against two teams of survivors...the front and tail section. Our team dominated the first two rounds due to team selection. We had a large scenario group and speedball team. The front section team (red team) has a large mixed group and the tale section (green team) had a smaller team but with a good sized team of experienced scenario players. We didn't even see the green team for the first 2 (30 min) matches and they provided enough of a distraction to the red team that we were able to meet our objectives and hold down a large section of the playing area. The day was broken into four 30 minute matches with reinsertion at the 15 minute whistle and a final match with hot reinsertion from the starting base.

I started the game on what I thought was a suicide mission to retrieve enemy arm bands from a cabin bordering a speedball field very near the red base. Luckily the red team was easily pinned inside the speedball field by a few players in the woods and we practically walked around to the cabin and completed the objective within the first 5 minutes. On games 2 and 3 one of our key players Darth Paul infiltrated the red team as a spy and managed to give us a much needed point boost. With the red team's primary access to our base reasonably secured I moved on to support a push towards the green base. A well positioned pump player sent me packing after I got a little too aggressive and I headed back for the next insertion with a few kills on my belt.

Back at our home base just in time to get back in the action the red team had finally penetrated our lines and was getting within visual range of our base. The rest of the round was spent retaking the 300-400 feet in front of our base. I got a sweet kill on a speedball player while he was reloading...hitting the inside of his marker 2-3 times. The first round ended with the Others in the lead and 5 confirmed kills...not a bad start.

Round two began much like the first with me sprinting to the cabin for another objective. The red team was better prepared and took more control of their territory including the cabin itself. I spent the first half dropping cover fire on the speedball field with my Apex barrel as another group moved to the cabin. I love the Apex for long range cover! I even got two players out in straight up dumb luck though I eventually fell to a wild ball myself. I didn't see the rest of the action go down but we eventually took the cabin. The rest of the match was pretty uneventful. I pushed my way to the green base only to find it nearly empty. I took out a few players on the way...let say another 5 players for round two.

At the lunch break we get the inevitable announcement that the green and red teams are joining up which makes sense if you're a fan of the show. Our grip on the lead was already slipping (we were out numbered 75 to 48). Both teams headed off to the red base where I foolishly assumed they were using as a starting base. Our only mission was to take and hold the green base which was quite a distance away. I was a part of a large group that attempted to beat the red team to the base. I neared the base as a large group of red players were coming within range on my right. I was about ten feet from the center of the base when a large group of green players sprung a trap on the base...they were hiding in the trees behind the base. We already had 5-10 players inside the base area. We were forced to make several staged retreats and a large group of red and green players repeatedly tried to rush our lines. Of course cheating was rampant on both sides at this point, which is common during heavy confrontations.

I managed to last a pretty good while and quickly lost count on kills...it's hard to know who hit what when so much paint is flying or when shooting into a large group. They made several changes which was fun to see and even funnier to shoot at. Quick tip: you can't shoot straight when you’re running and screaming like a crazy person. Anyway, I was finally convinced that I too was out...discounting hits from players who had clearly been eliminated. I reinserted just in time to defend our home base until just short of the end of the game. I held off a decent sized group for 5-10 minutes, taking several of them with me, before I took a hit in the back. My base had been cleared and I was the last man standing...or crouched behind cover in my case. Sometimes it's fun to be on the loosing side.

The last of the four primary matches was pretty uneventful though we held our own much better this time against a much larger team. I'm sure there was at least one good story by physical exhaustion seems to have taken over my memory. I did join a group of guys on a suicide run about 5 minutes before the end of the game only to get eliminated in a rather un-heroic dash for a bunker.

The final match was a 30 minute reincarnation game; the objective was to have fun, shoot lots of paint, and if you can touch the enemy base your team wins. Because of the easy visibility the enemy team was defending a satellite dish about 20 feet in front of their actual base that we had to touch to win. I stated out pretty good by taking out a pump player and forcing out three younger players who were low on paint. I was back tracking to pick off some players who had pushed past our lines when I took my first hit. Back in the game a few minutes later, I teamed up with a few players to make quick work of the previously mentioned players and swept the right side of the felid. We could see the bulk of the enemy team pushing up the middle of the felid but didn't engage them in order to try and get the goal. We worked really well, taking out a few stragglers along the way, until we came around the back of the enemy base. I was playing point and cleared the few remaining players who I suspect were out of paint. The satellite dish was no within range and defended by a group of 5-6 players. I overheard an older player calling out for them to conserve their remaining ammo and I though, "Nice!” just before getting shot in the back. One player from the larger enemy group we had passed came up behind us and dropped all four of my team one by one! It's all good though because I would have ended the game early if he didn't stop me.

After making the long trek to my home base I worked my way back of the same side of the field. Like a replay I took out a very similar group of players in some of the same bunkers as before. The game was coming to a close and I was on my last hopper of paint. I engaged two players behind heavy cover; one was clearly using a pump. I took out the pump players first. Based on his limited return fire I assumed the remaining player also had a pump. I decided to rush his position only to get lit up...the guy had a fast gun but was low on paint...every last round found a home on my chest a few seconds before the final call.

Overall it was a great day, nice weather, great turnout, lots of good friends to play with! I estimate I got about 40 kills for 10 eliminations....not paintball ninja numbers but nothing to cry about either. My team won on overall points though our lead was entirely based on the efforts of our spy, Darth Paul! Rumor has it we'll be heading back out on the 17th for some walk-on rec-ball out at Sudden Impact!!!