part 3
Originally posted by Rosie
I don’t agree, I think after a settling in period when games were slower as teams adjusted, games have gradually speeded up. It’s not that common that games time out on fire-fights, it singles out the very best teams which can move under this fire.
Dynasty for example rarely time out their games in fire-fights- they bust moves which break open the game.
Time out? As in 7-man? Is it really fair to use Dynasty playing against European teams as an example of a typical game scenario? You could have a freight train run through their half of the field and they'd still bust moves.
Lesser teams cannot cope with the firepower, study the path of the game, or move quickly enough and this allows us to compare the two teams’ aggressiveness and speed. Dynasty bust the moves because they are more aggressive. The teams are now equal in terms of how much paint they can lay down but it is obvious now that some of their opposition simply cannot match their aggressiveness.
What does Dynasty being aggressive have to do with ramping? They were aggressive before ramping and they are still aggressive. All you've said here is that many teams can't move with all the paint in the air, which just goes back to agreeing that ramping slows down games.
By controlling one variable (firepower) we can study the other variables (aggressiveness, speed, ability to read the field, technical ability etc etc) more easily.
Hrm, so if we give each player auto-aiming markers, the same plays, and tell them when they can move, we'll have controlled for all the variables except speed and we can have ourselves a track meet.
It's paintball. Why is letting technology replace skill a positive change? What if I don't care about speed and want to know which team can shoot semi-auto faster? You're again manufacturing reasons to support your opinion; controlling rate of fire to measure speed isn't any better than controlling speed to measure rate of fire. We shouldn't control either and expect teams to be good at both.
Ramping therefore has helped the sport, because people are now able to more easily compare the teams- short of making them use all the same kit which is not possible.
Nor, necessarily, even desirable.
That’s what sport is about isn’t it, seeing if one human is better than another human- the wins can now be less attributed to the markers and more to the people playing and their skills.
Semi-auto doesn't put the win on the markers, it puts the win on the player's ability to use the marker well.
National level:
after the first round of the ramping PA, on the forum at least the general consensus was that being able to fire 15bps without bursting a blood vessel to do so was a good thing, and helped game play.
-Players had to concentrate less on firing and were able to make more ambitious moves. Players had to worry less about shooting lanes and creating suppressing fire.
Translation: Players are lazy and are happy that they can buy a chip to make playing easier.
Winning the 400 meter dash is also easier when you use roller skates.
You have said that new players will be disadvantaged, or may be pushed away from the game by ramping, because of the pain and the possibility of getting pinned into a barricade.
However the argument stands that there is a mixture of ramping and non-ramping tournaments in the UK- you can choose to play the format you wish.
An *INFORMED* player can choose which one they wish. New players are, by definition, not informed.
And I agree with this non-regulation across the country *at the moment*.
To be honest the PA is not a series designed for very new players anyway!
Ramping capped at 15bps has been implemented in the PA and in the millennium because the standard of play is higher than most domestic tourneys, and the rewards are higher.
Which doesn't change that you've still made a supply of equipment availble virtually guaranteeing that your punters get shot up.
I do not want to see little kids running around in King of the Hill ramping, simply because there is no need to regulate their markers as much- cheating is not as widespread, and the rewards for cheating are not so great.
For example why test kids running in a school sports day for nandrilone or steroids?
It is unlikely they will be using it, & you could spot one which was using steroids or growth enhancers anyway…
I'm glad you don't want to see that, which is why ramping is so damaging. You can't allow it in leagues and not have it show up at fields. And your steroids analogy is a poor one - many kids DO use steroids, especially in the US, and it's not obvious, and they have started testing for it for that reason.
It's a choice.
-either use uncapped semi (but face the risk of possibly facing a marker firing at an uncapped speed), or play ramping, however you are assured that you will face speeds no higher than 15bps, and also *your marker will be doing the same*.
Personally I don't believe that ramping needs to be used in local domestic tourneys as the need to control cheats is not so great, and cheating
But that's not the choice. The choice is, accept uncapped (or even capped) semi and enforce it, or allow ramping and have ramping markers everywhere getting your new players shot to pieces and never becoming repeat customers.
The other angle is that whereas before, maybe some newer players who were naturally fast or aggressive or had a natural ability to play were disadvantaged by the time it took them to learn to shoot quickly.
It comes back to levelling the playing field. Having each side having the same ROF will place the focus onto -as above- aggressiveness & speed of movement, placing of players and angles. Tactical and technical ability in the game.
God forbid new players have a disadvantage because they can't shoot a paintball marker well.
It's a sport, the playing field isn't supposed to be level. When you level the playing field, all you are left with is a game. Like Candy Land.
It is OK for some players to be disadvantaged, as long as they are having fun. It is not OK for everyone to be on a level playing field if half of them are having a miserable time. The first gets you more players and the second gets you less.
