Gearing up for TEAM DAMNATION

Ok proper paintball gear probably won't make us play like champions but Myaadraal's non PB pants came off second best when he dove knee first into the gravel so we are all keen to get suited up with proper PB clothing . I'm going to start posting up items for discussion by the crew. I think we have all agreed that custom jerseys are the go. A few sites we should look at:

http://www.animalpaintball.com/

http://www.diablodirect.com/jerseys-pro.asp

http://www.csgpromote.com/main/page_products_paintball.html

http://www.eye2eye.org/ProductsPaintball.htm

As for pants well there are lotof well established brands to choose from. Obviously the sweltering Singapore humidity is as much a consideration as comfort, padding and durability.

The Dye C7 (pictured) gets a lot of rave reviews online. I've struggled to find anything that matches the quality of these - especially in terms of venting.

Have checked out some goggles as well - the Proto Axis gets great reviews as does the Empire Events goggle

This site has a sale on Empire as well as other useful stuff

http://www.sakworldpaintball.com/veevpagopreo.html

If anyone has any other links or suggestions let us know?

In the meantime I'm getting to work on a new Team Damnation Paintball team logo. Bring the fear on!!

BTOed...well worth it!

AMOK living on the edge.... one hand steering and SMS

Three of us from TD - Amok, Houdini & Myaadraal - went for the BTO (Basic Tournament Orientation) session at Red Dynasty today and had a blast!

Red Dynasty Entrance to pwnage

For those not in the loop, due to regulations and restrictions by the Singapore Police Force, players who want to play without the centreline in a speedball field need to be certified by the Paintball Association of Singapore (PBAS). This is accomplished by taking the BTO for a nominal fee which include marker, mask rental and a hopper-full of paintballs.

Stay away ... my balls stray..


Calgar gave us a very detailed briefing on rules, safety and overall gameplay with a cameo appearance by King who assisted with a few theatrical poses to illustrate a few points.


Houdini... now you see me ..


After the briefing we went ahead with a couple of rounds but we were all put into random groups so that made a mess of TDs pre-BTO planning sessions and wasted all those diagrams and video reviews we've run through.

Well ok. We didn't do all that but we did watch a lot of youtube videos!

Anyway, it was fun getting back into paintballing and the two matches we had did get the adrenaline rushing a bit. Scary part in the second game was when this kid sprinted past me towards our deadbox and as I was laying into him, I saw Myaadraal running past me and I actually cringed expecting the sting of the shots on my back.

But all he did was run right past and grab the flag before one of us hit him in the crossfire. Found out later the muppet wasted all his rounds trying to suppress our back player and was out of ammo. HA HA.

Houdini was in his element as well capping a couple of players although he was called out twice when he wasnt actually hit. First time he called himself out after feeling a bounce but I reckon he just didn't wanna get hit by half a dozen balls cos he was the last man and was facing two charging opponents. Hehe. Second time he was called out cos the marshals just wanted see how he reacted to being called out. It was part of the test I guess.

Anyway we all passed and will be able to play and train for future tournaments without the centreline and we'll be getting into the act for sure. We've been bitten by the bug now and I must say the professional way Red Dynasty is being run is also a good factor. Great job guys, we'll be seeing you often for sure.

By the way, your's truly didnt even get one speck of paint on him :D


A lot of JT luvin..


The Myaa

Speedball Field Terms

Found this little nugget while trolling the net for paintball related articles and since I've never seen it anywhere else I'm gonna post it here with the appropriate credit and link given to the author at the end. It has been edited a little.

Speedball Field Terms

I looked around a bit and couldn't find any defining diagrams or terms to describe the field set up for a speedball field and thought it would be helpful if one was posted to help new players understand what is being called out on the field of play.

The triangles are Doritos, circles are pop-cans, the dumb-bell looking thing on the right is the snake and the rectangle on the left is another low lying bunker. Call it what you will.

The 50: The 50 is the center of the field. Any bunker on this line will be called out as left, center or right 50. Reasons for calling out a bunker would be to alert team members of an opponent behind said bunker or instructing a teammate to move up to that bunker.

Front players for both teams will try and scramble to this position if they can. If your team can control the 50, your chances for success are great. The 30 is between the 50 and the back bunkers. It's another reference point for calling out instructions/alerts. Mid players will set up here off the break and sometimes assist the back players in shooting lanes to give their fronts more time to get to their bunkers.

Keeping with the trend, this is also why the back bunkers are called out. These bunkers will be shielding the other team's back players who will be calling out to their teammates about your team's positions. The faster you can get these guys out, the better. If the opposing team loses their back players and doesn't realize it, they will be in trouble fast.

At the same time, you need to be aware of your back players. Should you lose one, someone is going to have to fall back and take their position/duties. This is usually a mid. Each bunker needs to be played differently.

The position of the bunkers will change the way the field is played, so if your regular field decides to take the pop-cans from the back corners and replace them with small doritos, your typical tactic of being able to stand back from the pop-can and watching the goings ons isn't going to work.

You're now going to need to be positioned closer to the bunker and crouching, if not laying down, which seriously affects your ability to move, change sides and snap shoot. Practice playing every bunker type, regardless of the position you play.

The bunker's position on the field is also going to dictate how you play it. You aren't going to play a tombstone at the center 30 the same way as the back right, so make sure you get exposure in all situations.

Pop-cans: These are tall bunkers which a player can stand up behind. The further away your opponent is, the further back you can stand from the bunker. This gives you an obvious advantage of being able to see more of the field. As your opponent approaches, get tighter into the bunker.

Be aware of any part of you or your marker that may be exposed. If you're up against someone that's using a marker they've had since 2000, and he fires a 3 shot burst at your exposed pod, 1 of 3 shots IS going to hit you.

Doritos: Pyramid shaped bunkers that are played crouching or laying flat depending on the situation. if you lay flat, you risk exposing your feet to someone sitting 30 feet away and to the side. Because of the Dorito's physical shape, it provides an opportunity to come up and over the top at any level.

Coming over the top however exposes more of your profile. The more profile you show, the greater the chance of your nickname becoming Christmas Tree before the day is out.

The Snake: 9 times out of 8 this will require you to crawl on your belly amongst the broken paint shells and who knows how many years worth of fill that has soaked into the field's astro turf (if you're so lucky to play on astro turf).

Movement in the snake is slow. Opportunities will arise where an opponent isn't paying attention and practically paints a bullseye on his back for you. At the same time, your prone position makes you easy pickings for the full court press.

Deadbox: perhaps i should have started with this one. This is where your team will start each game. Barrels typically are required to be touching the netting. This is also where you go when the paintball addressed to "Whom It May Concern" gets delivered to you. Once you are behind this net, the saying "Dead men tell no tales" applies.

Keep your mouth shut even if your best friend is about to get bunkered by two guys with electro paint hoses. That's all i've got. If anyone else feels i've missed something, posted misinformation or just plain disagrees, feel free to say so.

Article by ZfrkS62 lifted from http://www.paintballforum.com

Gonna be BTOed

A few of us are heading to Red Dynasty on Saturday nite to get certified to play without the sissyfied centreline in the speedball field. Below is a blurb from SPNS on the BTO.

The SPNS Basic Tournament Orientation (BTO) is designed to ensure that all participants at Red Dynasty Paintball Park are competent to play competitive paintball. The course will be conducted by the Paintball Association of Singapore (PBAS). In this course, participants will learn about paintball safety and how to handle the marker in order to ensure a safe playing environment for everyone. After the theory lesson, participants will be required to undergo a practical test. Only after passing this practical test would they be allowed to play in the SPNS and train w/o a centre line.

I think it's prolly a good idea especially for people new to the sport but I find it a little strange that it's not a requirement at any another paintball places TD used to play at. Just wondering whether foreigners who are used to playing paintball in their own respective country would bother going something like this if they wanted to take part in the SPNS.

Will this be a requirement for any tournament organised in Singapore? Will find out more on Saturday and update here.

Paintball: Lifestyle activity or sport?

I'm quite sure this must have been covered a gazillion times in various forums, publications and kopitiams everywhere but since it hasn't appeared here I'm gonna shoot from the hip anyway.

I've been sending out feelers to some media folks in Singapore about coverage of tournament/competition paintball and the response, or rather initial reaction, has been rather disappointing.

Here's an excerp from an MSN conversation I had today with an ex-colleague, a former sports journalist with a local newspaper (names have been changed to protect the identity of the people involved, their respective organisations and their pet shit zu):

Amok says:
if i need to get some coverage for a paintball tournament in singapore, you know of any reporters i can speak to?
Kermit says:
hahaha
Kermit says:
someone asked me two years ago when i was at *******
Kermit says:
i dared not even ask my editor
Amok says:
why not?
Kermit says:
coz its erm... i guess its for lifestyle
Amok says:
its not man
Amok says:
paintball is a proper sport
Kermit says:
haha
Amok says:
sigh
Kermit says:
i am not having this conversation
Amok says:
but now there's a Singapore paintball Association
Amok says:
recognised by the Singapore Sports Council somemore
Kermit says:
hey, stamp of approval from the SSC is... you know the score
Kermit says:
haha
Kermit says:
i think teh lifestyle guys may do it

Doh, there's the dreaded L word again. Based on my conversation with Kermit and a few other journos, it's quite clear what the perception of paintball is here in Singapore. The fact that it is being played competitively with national, regional and even world class events taking place all over the world does not seem to convince them of its viability to be published in the Sports section of a newspaper instead of the L-word-that-will-not-be-mentioned.

So what do we do to change this? Education should obviously be the main angle of attack. We need to first educate the media about the sport and maybe then paintball might have a fighting chance of getting some decent coverage as a SPORT.

To keep the momentum going, we then need to ensure that whatever paintball tournaments/competitions that are run in Singapore are well organised and continue generating public interest. We're bound to see more people getting involved even if they only see it as the L-word activity at the start.

The more people we can get onto paintball fields, the more potential converts we have for competitive paintball. With the number of teams signing up for the Singapore Professional Novice Series (SPNS) Leg 2 doubling compared to the first event three months ago, there is hope yet for the SPORT.

Geared Up?

Back from a 10 year hiatus we're here again to play the game, Ive been looking all over for my old paintball gear. I've found them but much to my dismay, Vision systems and field gear were not meant to last for a century. My JT Flex 7 had a crack right down the lens and onto the goggle clip. A result of my self made lens defogging fan i've put in a few years ago, Ive outgrown my jersey too it seems, and when i wore the pants it looked like leotards. I found a leg and an elbow of whats left of my protective gear.

I guess its time to get new gear. So ive made a list of things to buy for Team Damnation.

Vision systems.
The most important gear in my opinion, some of you might go, why isnt it the paintball markers? Well if you have 20 balls per sec double tricked out trigger action going, you wouldn't be hitting anything if you cant see crap. I've gone through some good vision gear and a lot of bad ones too. Things to look out for when your're out shopping for headgear are

Comfort.
Please please, please do not get something that looks cool, Get something that fits well to your own head. Sizes of heads vary , granted all the masks out there have foam linings to fit the contours of your face. But if you feel the mask pinching you in the face then that mask isnt the one for you . Ideal headgear conditions are the adjustable band around your head is snug, no pinching feeling on the bridge of your nose or the sides of your head.

Lens.
Thermals, Thermals, Thermals, might cost you a little more but its harder to fog up thermal lens than regular lens. Rule 1: You cant shoot shit when you cant see crap. When looking at the lens pay attention to the field of vision it offers. The human field of vision is about 180 degrees and staring straight ahead it is even less. Unless you are planning on looking out of the corner of your eye regularly rather than turn your head, a mask with a 120 degree field of vision should be more than enough. If you cant determine this by wearing the mask, a good gauge for this would be seeing how close the lens are to your face, the closer it is the wider your field of vision. Ive always used my peripheral vision to detect motion, having a good 120 degree field of view is essential.

Behold my soon to be new system.

THE JT REAPER

What can i say Its da bomb.

What made me choose this over all the rest.

• Good field of vision
• Quick release lens/Just in case the sun is out for my chrome lens swap.
• This mask reduces the blindspot area of your body/ It allows you to tilt your head forward to see from your chest below, cant do this with many systems. Conduct your own paintcheck. Time is wasted when youre getting paint checked by the referee.
  

Good hunting fellas...

A new beginning

Hello and welcome to Team Damnation's website/blog. Hopefully, this will be the first of many posts on TD in general and paintball specifically.

First off, just a bit of background about TD. We were first formed in 2004 during an Xbox tournament where a bunch of guys, who've been fooling around on Xbox Live in first person shooter games like Rainbow Six, set up a couple of teams.

We didn't win - not through any fault of our own thanks to a bunch of sorry campers - but we did announce the arrival of our style of play. TD is not about winning at all costs, it has always been and always will be about the attitude. We're here to have fun and that will always be our #1 priority.

We still play on the Xbox - the Xbox360 now - but have always been on the lookout for new things to do as a group. We've done paintball before but it was always a spur of the moment kinda thing. With paintball gaining popularity in Singapore and with the launch of the Singapore Painball Novice Series (SPNS), we're looking to set up a serious team to take part in the series and other tournaments locally and regionally.

We're still about having the right attitude and having fun but be warned, we play for keeps.