Two recent visits to Camouflage Paintball in Hampshire (A32) for
separate 14th birthdays have put us off the sport. As first timers
both boys took their friends. I am the father of one of the boys. We
were being fired upon by guys with gas guns with more than treble the
power of the rental equipment. We suffered severe bruising all over
our bodies. It was clear from the first game that our paintballs were
not reaching the enemy although the artillery being fired at us was
over powered and painful.
When asked, a marshal confirmed that others had more powerful
equipment. These people were regulars to the site.
The manager lied through his teeth whilst almost laughing at me when I
complained. "All the guns are the same", he continued to say "You are
imagining things"
All of our team were at the mercy of weekend warriors who are basic
cowards. They were happy to hurt us knowing our balls would not even
reach them. As an experiment I aimed my weapon high, just to see if I
could drop one on their heads…..this did not work as the gun was still
far too weak.
When I got home I discussed the situation with the parents who led the
team the week before. They had the same opinion but were too
embarrassed to complain.
So here is a warning to others thinking of attending the A32
Camouflage in Hants UK. Go, pay £300 for a day to be picked off by
wannabee weekend cowardly heros.
If the skinhead Rambo's who shot at us read this…good you are bald
headed cowards with gas guns who love to take pot shots at people who
trusted your friend the manager. I will be complaining to the Cascades
Portsmouth shopping mall where the site was promoted and where we
discovered it. The site also advertises on local busses. The bus firms
will also be made aware of this situation.

First, let me say, very good troll post! I'm even going to respond!

"steve" <steve@decopinball.co.uk> wrote in message
news:2433eb44.0411290218.4559aca3@posting.google.c om...
> Two recent visits to Camouflage Paintball in Hampshire (A32) for
> separate 14th birthdays have put us off the sport. As first timers
> both boys took their friends. I am the father of one of the boys. We
> were being fired upon by guys with gas guns with more than treble the
> power of the rental equipment. We suffered severe bruising all over
> our bodies. It was clear from the first game that our paintballs were
> not reaching the enemy although the artillery being fired at us was
> over powered and painful.

It is *highly* unlikely that their guns were firing hot. More likely, you
were opposing some players who had actually spent time tuning their guns to
operate on the edge. Using rental gear, which was likely shooting at least
30fps under the speed limit, the perception might have been that you were
using gear that was underpowered. Not really, you were just using gear that
wasn't tuned to optimal performance, like most rental gear.

The guns used by "regulars" of paintball are often firing very rapidly, and
very close to the legal speed limit. Because their gear is more expensive,
they can tune it to sit nearer to the 300fps limit without going over. This
results in both longer range and harder hits, as would be expected.
Furthermore, since they are probably shooting SO much more paint, when you
DO get hit, it's going to be by more paintballs, further adding to the
damage you suffer.

It is not uncommon to get bruises and welts from paintball hits. Quite
frankly, it's part of the game. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of
the kitchen. Honestly, what did you expect would happen when you got hit by
a marble travelling at 200 miles per hour?

Just as an example:
http://www.goslin.info/CloseShot/index.htm
3 feet away, at 220 fps(about 2/3rds as fast as what you were probably shot
at)

> When asked, a marshal confirmed that others had more powerful
> equipment. These people were regulars to the site.

"More powerful" == more expensive. The guns you were provided are just as
capable of firing at the same speed, but probably were not set up to do so.
More powerful probably also meant "a higher rate of fire", they could shoot
more quickly than you guys could. The marshal was, in essence, dumbing it
down for you.

> The manager lied through his teeth whilst almost laughing at me when I
> complained. "All the guns are the same", he continued to say "You are
> imagining things"

He's quite right. The guns *ARE* all the same... technically. And you
probably were blowing it out of proportion. The reason the other guys
weren't complaining is simple: they play paintball all the time and are
used to the hits. Heck, I don't even feel hits any longer, except to note
that I've been eliminated.

> All of our team were at the mercy of weekend warriors who are basic
> cowards. They were happy to hurt us knowing our balls would not even
> reach them. As an experiment I aimed my weapon high, just to see if I
> could drop one on their heads...this did not work as the gun was still
> far too weak.

You stepped onto a field surrounded by rank amateurs and took on the big
boys and got smoked, that's what happened. What you *NEED* to do is find a
field that separates the novices from the regulars, and most fields do that
these days. I think that once you do that, you'll find the game MUCH more
enjoyable. Our field calls it "limited" vs "unlimited" division. If you've
got a fancy gun, you play unlimited.

> If the skinhead Rambo's who shot at us read this.good you are bald
> headed cowards with gas guns who love to take pot shots at people who
> trusted your friend the manager. I will be complaining to the Cascades
> Portsmouth shopping mall where the site was promoted and where we
> discovered it. The site also advertises on local busses. The bus firms
> will also be made aware of this situation.

Good call. Go ahead, complain til you're blue in the face. OR! You might
want to try actually FIXING the problem instead of making it worse. I don't
suppose it occurred to you to call the field owner and chat about the
situation? Nope, didn't think so. The "field manager" you aluded to
speaking to earlier was probably NOT the guy in charge, just the guy behind
the counter that day. Find the guy in charge, and remember, you can catch
more flies with honey than vinegar.

--
Jeff Goslin - MCSD - www.goslin.info
It's not a god complex when you're always right