Within a few days after I get the discYour other 2 togs? any ideas when they'll be added? i was marshalling and i had a bright orange paintball shot on my mask when the pic was taken. Looking to see if its there! looking to buy if it came out ok!
Big game 2009
- Thread starter topchef
- Start date
Big Game Aftermath - Warped report
Thanks for all the messages of congratulations and support for the Festival and for the game itself. Sorry this is such a long post but Ive responded to many comments made on a number of forums.
First of all a couple of updates.
The person who broke his leg is big game regular Rob Gillam. His ankle was dislocated and he broke two bones, he has been pinned and plated and is now home and in plaster for 6 weeks. I have spoken to him today and he praised the way the situation was handled and hopes to see everyone at next years game, for which we have already reserved him ticket number 1 ! We have given him our best regards from everyone involved with the game and sent a get well card.
The “stolen” EGO turned into a “bruised” EGO when a 16 yo got into a bit of a panic when his gun wasn’t where he left it. His parents turned up none too pleased at the event registration and the police were called. After apologizing all round and assuring them that paintballers aren’t like that, we started to round up some kit for him to at least get back out and play. He had an air system from Warped, and Big James at JCS kindly donated a hopper, we also decided to ambush Ledz to see what could be done by way of a replacement Ego deal. Next thing a guy comes strolling up “anyone seen XXX – I have his gun here – he left it out and I moved it out of sight” I wont name and shame, its enough that his parents thought he had learnt a lesson They went home smiling and very pleased with the way they were treated and the eventual outcome – with faith in us all duly restored!
Next some thanks…
To all staff involved – Mike, Steve, Matt, Parksey, Dave have all worked hard on this event for months alongside Tim and myself – I think they did us proud !
To Steve and Kim Eddowes for once again co-ordinating the marshalling staff so professionally, and to all of the game staff they recruited who overall did a sterling job on the day – I know, I was in the middle with them much of the time.
To Al Murray and Ian Cambo Richardson for taking on this most difficult of leadership roles – its hard to gather, inform, move, and control so many players, especially when many have not pre-prepared. I take my hat off to you both for a job well done.
To the many Warped marshals club members and friends who took on a role or helped out on the weekend. Burgerman Jim, Jason Round, TommyT, Josh, Big Scott, Weird Joe, Dave Smith, Big Joe, JimBob, DJ MatTheMix to name a few (sorry if I forgot anyone)
To everyone involved with the MOD – specifically the Defence Estates staff, and the Landmarc staff, THANK YOU for trusting in us to do everything we agreed, and for doing even more for us than expected. I wont name anyone specifically as, well, Im not supposed to!
To the trade, who this time pulled out all the stops to attend the event and embrace the festival vibe. For those of you who don’t know, we had Ben Tippmann at the event on the KEE stand, who along with DYE attended their first big game.
The event caterers and the bar staff are due specific thanks, I personally thought the prices, quality of food, and friendly service, were a million miles better than the **** we had to put up with before. This is the first year for many that we have been able to decide who would be catering the event and we would certainly be happy to use any of them again.
Many other companies and suppliers were involved, security fencing, air & CO2, portaloos, vehicle suppliers, builders merchants etc - all of whom had to endure induction courses, vehicle inspections, and bring risk assessments for there time on site BEFORE they could even get in the main gate.
And to you, the players, without whom of course there would be no event! Those who have been trusting us for many years and have lived through the growth of the event with us receive our biggest thanks. To those who attended there first Big Game we hope that the fruits of many years of hard work, and learning from mistakes, will encourage you to tell your friends about your Big Game experience.
Now some numbers
A total of 1322 players registered for the game. By far the biggest we, or anyone in the UK, has ever ran. I believe the germans claim 1500 players for the 2008 Marwinkel game as the biggest ever in Europe… for now !
Scores..
North
Fire Mission 300 points
Extraction Mission 400 points
Security Mission 300 points
Combat Mission 3364 points (kills)
Total 4364
South
Fire Mission 300 points
Extraction Mission 400 points
Security Mission 0 points
Combat Mission 3827 points (kills)
Total 4527
For the first time in many years a well deserved victory for the South.
The game.
A brief section here on our take on the game from a mainly logistical point of view.
Over the past few months Ive spent days and days wandering around the training area trying to envisage the game being played. Weeks of constantly chucking ideas at Big Steve, Tim, and anyone else who would listen we eventually zeroed in on the sections we played. Along the way the mobile respawn and game shuttle ideas were thrashed out and a game began to fall into place. The CONSCRIPT theme allowed us to develop along the lines of real world mission situations.
Was there a better end we wondered? Was the area chosen big enough? Was it too big? We walked the route between the chrono area and game FOBs many times, and timed the walks from those to the various spots we thought would be crucial for both teams. We did feel one end was slightly more defensive and the other would allow slightly more rapid deployment to key areas. The ends played were in fact chosen by Al and Cambo on Saturday, and BOTH got the end they wanted. We really felt this was significant as we felt the FOB1 side would make use of Birchfield Road to dash to the top end of the game area and would get a fair way along Horsley Road at the start, whilst the FOB2 side would be more likely to fan out across Central Avenue and get a good grip on the middle ground. Seems Al and Cambo seen the same thing and chose their ends to suit there own leadership style?
To those who have complained that the area was too big, I have to say that there was a HUGE amount of aimless wandering going on in the morning. The number of players who didn’t even know where to exit the game was incredulous considering the fact that maps were published online well in advance, and every player received a map with their ticket, or at registration. In addition I couldn’t believe the amount of KIT some people think they need for 1 days play! I seen lots of guys with 2 or 3 kitbags and armfuls of stuff being carted into the staging area. Perhaps, as Ive read suggested, some people need to take a look at how much they actually need to carry and wear on the game itself?
The roads are marked on the map, with roadsigns on every junction, we advised to bring a compass, and used a simple grid ref system. The shuttle service ran around the perimeter, again as advised, and they were along frequently (and will be added to next time if required). But those who chose to ignore all of this and ended up with blisters should think a little harder about preparation next time. It WAS a big area, but did you notice how most did MUCH less walking in the afternoon when everyone was orientated? – I suspect that if we played the game all over again tomorrow most would cover much less distance but still get to objectives.
The missions which we set out were designed to be HARD. The targets which were given for the Fire Missions were well behind what we considered would be the game centre, and yet both teams organized special units who painted all targets given in pretty sharp time. The Special Forces squads were placed at the farthest extremities of the playing area behind enemy lines, that all returned home safely was surely a testament to their skill and the decisions made by Al and Cambo. And I guess we need to make them even harder next time!
I see that are a few gripes on forums from people saying they didn’t know where to go, or what was going on, or what the objectives were, or what times etc etc. Well I can assure you ALL the info was there. Those who didn’t properly read the game booklet or listen to what they were told didn’t know when targets would be provided or how to find out what they were. Asking random staff who are tasked with keeping armbands flowing, marshalling, etc what your mission is or where you should go shows little understanding of how a game like this must be managed. But again I suspect that if we played it again many people would manage their time differently. However to be honest unless we play a game where everyone is herded to the same areas and told “shoot there and capture that” constantly, we wont be able to eliminate the “I don’t need to know anything” attitude so blatanty displayed by many before the game!
Everyone has different ideas on why the South won, from a game control point of view I can tell you that a LOT of bands were pulled from trapped North players at a couple of hotspots for prolonged periods. With mobile respawn, FOB respawn, and staging area respawn staff all screaming for more North bands at one point – no-one ran out but we had to do some emergency deliveries. As far as I could see that was the only difference all day, the 500 or so extra kills swung the day despite the North winning the Security Mission at Conscript Hill.
I understand there were some issues with air dropping to below 3.5k for short periods during the day, we have not yet had a chance to have a de-brief with the H-Pac guys to see how this can be prevented in the future.
The Campsite
Next time we must do better with getting everyone into place, again problems occur when people don’t follow the obvious common sense approach to setting up their camp area. But on investigation we found that our instructions to staff were woolly so that didn’t help and we must tighten up on that next time.
General nuisance, noise, and disturbance were less than in previous years, but still some idiots chucking pyros and smoke around the place, even landing on tents I believe. Again next time we will tighten this up with more security staff on the campsite throughout the weekend.
Toilets were ample by all accounts and having them cleaned on Saturday should hopefully help to set a standard for other events to follow, if we can get loo hire company to clean them on an army camp on a bank holiday weekend then its surely possible anywhere.
Valley Road
A great spot to base the event, we obviously had many behind the scenes issues not least of which getting all the vendors in, on a timetable, and in the spaces allocated. Everyone was very co-operative and accepted instruction without complaint.
Players Party
Hope you like our little surprise… well we hope you liked all 3 !
It’s a difficult thing to entertain so many, predominantly male, paintballers! We thought the program of a few comedians, the DJ, the paintball eating, and the strippers would do the trick – but I think we “shot our bolt” a little early with the strippers and didn’t really give the comedians any chance, and they got SLAUGHTERED
All ideas/suggestion of acts etc for next years party are welcome.
Bit of a downer when some plank let off a smoke bomb (yes, INSIDE the party venue!) but otherwise a good night seemed to be had by all who attended.
Staging
Again an area for concern in advance for us as we thought there might be bottlenecks at the access points, but it all seemed to go well, everyone had enough room and seemed to get in and out pretty well. Those of you who have complained about the walk to the toilets, again I will say Look at the map! There were (real) toilets available INSIDE bunker 6 at all times - as shown on the map!
Overall
With regards future events at Swynnerton.. our cleanup crew are still on site. The campsite has been handed back to the army. Valley Road has been handed back to the army. The game area is still being cleaned by road blowers and jetwashes. But we expect it to be acceptable for handover sometime tomorrow. On Monday we will have a de-brief and soon after will be able to make a statement about the future. There are some issues we know of that they wish to address with us. These include several wanderers impeaching on areas being used by army units, some COMPLETE IDIOTS throwing smoke and pyros around on the campsite and on Valley Road– all of which we will assure the army WILL be dealt with next time by added security! So to those of you who think you are the main man because you got away with it, remember your actions may stop us getting on site again or will at the very least have some impact on everyone elses freedom of movement and actions next time! Best part is, it will probably be the same tw@ts complaining when they gotta queue to see the strippers next year because everyone has to be searched before getting into the party area for example!
Thank you once again to all of you who attended and gave the event such a buzz, we will have a further update next week and hope to see you all next year!
Thanks for all the messages of congratulations and support for the Festival and for the game itself. Sorry this is such a long post but Ive responded to many comments made on a number of forums.
First of all a couple of updates.
The person who broke his leg is big game regular Rob Gillam. His ankle was dislocated and he broke two bones, he has been pinned and plated and is now home and in plaster for 6 weeks. I have spoken to him today and he praised the way the situation was handled and hopes to see everyone at next years game, for which we have already reserved him ticket number 1 ! We have given him our best regards from everyone involved with the game and sent a get well card.
The “stolen” EGO turned into a “bruised” EGO when a 16 yo got into a bit of a panic when his gun wasn’t where he left it. His parents turned up none too pleased at the event registration and the police were called. After apologizing all round and assuring them that paintballers aren’t like that, we started to round up some kit for him to at least get back out and play. He had an air system from Warped, and Big James at JCS kindly donated a hopper, we also decided to ambush Ledz to see what could be done by way of a replacement Ego deal. Next thing a guy comes strolling up “anyone seen XXX – I have his gun here – he left it out and I moved it out of sight” I wont name and shame, its enough that his parents thought he had learnt a lesson They went home smiling and very pleased with the way they were treated and the eventual outcome – with faith in us all duly restored!
Next some thanks…
To all staff involved – Mike, Steve, Matt, Parksey, Dave have all worked hard on this event for months alongside Tim and myself – I think they did us proud !
To Steve and Kim Eddowes for once again co-ordinating the marshalling staff so professionally, and to all of the game staff they recruited who overall did a sterling job on the day – I know, I was in the middle with them much of the time.
To Al Murray and Ian Cambo Richardson for taking on this most difficult of leadership roles – its hard to gather, inform, move, and control so many players, especially when many have not pre-prepared. I take my hat off to you both for a job well done.
To the many Warped marshals club members and friends who took on a role or helped out on the weekend. Burgerman Jim, Jason Round, TommyT, Josh, Big Scott, Weird Joe, Dave Smith, Big Joe, JimBob, DJ MatTheMix to name a few (sorry if I forgot anyone)
To everyone involved with the MOD – specifically the Defence Estates staff, and the Landmarc staff, THANK YOU for trusting in us to do everything we agreed, and for doing even more for us than expected. I wont name anyone specifically as, well, Im not supposed to!
To the trade, who this time pulled out all the stops to attend the event and embrace the festival vibe. For those of you who don’t know, we had Ben Tippmann at the event on the KEE stand, who along with DYE attended their first big game.
The event caterers and the bar staff are due specific thanks, I personally thought the prices, quality of food, and friendly service, were a million miles better than the **** we had to put up with before. This is the first year for many that we have been able to decide who would be catering the event and we would certainly be happy to use any of them again.
Many other companies and suppliers were involved, security fencing, air & CO2, portaloos, vehicle suppliers, builders merchants etc - all of whom had to endure induction courses, vehicle inspections, and bring risk assessments for there time on site BEFORE they could even get in the main gate.
And to you, the players, without whom of course there would be no event! Those who have been trusting us for many years and have lived through the growth of the event with us receive our biggest thanks. To those who attended there first Big Game we hope that the fruits of many years of hard work, and learning from mistakes, will encourage you to tell your friends about your Big Game experience.
Now some numbers
A total of 1322 players registered for the game. By far the biggest we, or anyone in the UK, has ever ran. I believe the germans claim 1500 players for the 2008 Marwinkel game as the biggest ever in Europe… for now !
Scores..
North
Fire Mission 300 points
Extraction Mission 400 points
Security Mission 300 points
Combat Mission 3364 points (kills)
Total 4364
South
Fire Mission 300 points
Extraction Mission 400 points
Security Mission 0 points
Combat Mission 3827 points (kills)
Total 4527
For the first time in many years a well deserved victory for the South.
The game.
A brief section here on our take on the game from a mainly logistical point of view.
Over the past few months Ive spent days and days wandering around the training area trying to envisage the game being played. Weeks of constantly chucking ideas at Big Steve, Tim, and anyone else who would listen we eventually zeroed in on the sections we played. Along the way the mobile respawn and game shuttle ideas were thrashed out and a game began to fall into place. The CONSCRIPT theme allowed us to develop along the lines of real world mission situations.
Was there a better end we wondered? Was the area chosen big enough? Was it too big? We walked the route between the chrono area and game FOBs many times, and timed the walks from those to the various spots we thought would be crucial for both teams. We did feel one end was slightly more defensive and the other would allow slightly more rapid deployment to key areas. The ends played were in fact chosen by Al and Cambo on Saturday, and BOTH got the end they wanted. We really felt this was significant as we felt the FOB1 side would make use of Birchfield Road to dash to the top end of the game area and would get a fair way along Horsley Road at the start, whilst the FOB2 side would be more likely to fan out across Central Avenue and get a good grip on the middle ground. Seems Al and Cambo seen the same thing and chose their ends to suit there own leadership style?
To those who have complained that the area was too big, I have to say that there was a HUGE amount of aimless wandering going on in the morning. The number of players who didn’t even know where to exit the game was incredulous considering the fact that maps were published online well in advance, and every player received a map with their ticket, or at registration. In addition I couldn’t believe the amount of KIT some people think they need for 1 days play! I seen lots of guys with 2 or 3 kitbags and armfuls of stuff being carted into the staging area. Perhaps, as Ive read suggested, some people need to take a look at how much they actually need to carry and wear on the game itself?
The roads are marked on the map, with roadsigns on every junction, we advised to bring a compass, and used a simple grid ref system. The shuttle service ran around the perimeter, again as advised, and they were along frequently (and will be added to next time if required). But those who chose to ignore all of this and ended up with blisters should think a little harder about preparation next time. It WAS a big area, but did you notice how most did MUCH less walking in the afternoon when everyone was orientated? – I suspect that if we played the game all over again tomorrow most would cover much less distance but still get to objectives.
The missions which we set out were designed to be HARD. The targets which were given for the Fire Missions were well behind what we considered would be the game centre, and yet both teams organized special units who painted all targets given in pretty sharp time. The Special Forces squads were placed at the farthest extremities of the playing area behind enemy lines, that all returned home safely was surely a testament to their skill and the decisions made by Al and Cambo. And I guess we need to make them even harder next time!
I see that are a few gripes on forums from people saying they didn’t know where to go, or what was going on, or what the objectives were, or what times etc etc. Well I can assure you ALL the info was there. Those who didn’t properly read the game booklet or listen to what they were told didn’t know when targets would be provided or how to find out what they were. Asking random staff who are tasked with keeping armbands flowing, marshalling, etc what your mission is or where you should go shows little understanding of how a game like this must be managed. But again I suspect that if we played it again many people would manage their time differently. However to be honest unless we play a game where everyone is herded to the same areas and told “shoot there and capture that” constantly, we wont be able to eliminate the “I don’t need to know anything” attitude so blatanty displayed by many before the game!
Everyone has different ideas on why the South won, from a game control point of view I can tell you that a LOT of bands were pulled from trapped North players at a couple of hotspots for prolonged periods. With mobile respawn, FOB respawn, and staging area respawn staff all screaming for more North bands at one point – no-one ran out but we had to do some emergency deliveries. As far as I could see that was the only difference all day, the 500 or so extra kills swung the day despite the North winning the Security Mission at Conscript Hill.
I understand there were some issues with air dropping to below 3.5k for short periods during the day, we have not yet had a chance to have a de-brief with the H-Pac guys to see how this can be prevented in the future.
The Campsite
Next time we must do better with getting everyone into place, again problems occur when people don’t follow the obvious common sense approach to setting up their camp area. But on investigation we found that our instructions to staff were woolly so that didn’t help and we must tighten up on that next time.
General nuisance, noise, and disturbance were less than in previous years, but still some idiots chucking pyros and smoke around the place, even landing on tents I believe. Again next time we will tighten this up with more security staff on the campsite throughout the weekend.
Toilets were ample by all accounts and having them cleaned on Saturday should hopefully help to set a standard for other events to follow, if we can get loo hire company to clean them on an army camp on a bank holiday weekend then its surely possible anywhere.
Valley Road
A great spot to base the event, we obviously had many behind the scenes issues not least of which getting all the vendors in, on a timetable, and in the spaces allocated. Everyone was very co-operative and accepted instruction without complaint.
Players Party
Hope you like our little surprise… well we hope you liked all 3 !
It’s a difficult thing to entertain so many, predominantly male, paintballers! We thought the program of a few comedians, the DJ, the paintball eating, and the strippers would do the trick – but I think we “shot our bolt” a little early with the strippers and didn’t really give the comedians any chance, and they got SLAUGHTERED
All ideas/suggestion of acts etc for next years party are welcome.
Bit of a downer when some plank let off a smoke bomb (yes, INSIDE the party venue!) but otherwise a good night seemed to be had by all who attended.
Staging
Again an area for concern in advance for us as we thought there might be bottlenecks at the access points, but it all seemed to go well, everyone had enough room and seemed to get in and out pretty well. Those of you who have complained about the walk to the toilets, again I will say Look at the map! There were (real) toilets available INSIDE bunker 6 at all times - as shown on the map!
Overall
With regards future events at Swynnerton.. our cleanup crew are still on site. The campsite has been handed back to the army. Valley Road has been handed back to the army. The game area is still being cleaned by road blowers and jetwashes. But we expect it to be acceptable for handover sometime tomorrow. On Monday we will have a de-brief and soon after will be able to make a statement about the future. There are some issues we know of that they wish to address with us. These include several wanderers impeaching on areas being used by army units, some COMPLETE IDIOTS throwing smoke and pyros around on the campsite and on Valley Road– all of which we will assure the army WILL be dealt with next time by added security! So to those of you who think you are the main man because you got away with it, remember your actions may stop us getting on site again or will at the very least have some impact on everyone elses freedom of movement and actions next time! Best part is, it will probably be the same tw@ts complaining when they gotta queue to see the strippers next year because everyone has to be searched before getting into the party area for example!
Thank you once again to all of you who attended and gave the event such a buzz, we will have a further update next week and hope to see you all next year!
It was an awesome event, and considering it was a new venue, the fact that it ran so smoothly is a testament to all of the hard work and forethought that went into it. I hope we get the venue again next year (and I hope the strippers are there again)! Thanks Warped!
)! Thanks Warped!
paintball eating
we need to prepare a claim submission and will make an application for the record to be official - will keep you updated
we need to prepare a claim submission and will make an application for the record to be official - will keep you updated