Fall 2012 Connecticut Water War

[marauder]

I don't feel comfortable having my 9 year old and 12 year old nephew wandering around a 100+ acre forest where they've never been looking for a spawnpoint. I would trust most 12 year olds with that... but Tony has a habit of wandering off. This summer his mom had to call the police to go find him. I am open to the idea of having spawnpoints for everyone else and making my nephews sit out on the action for 2 minutes, 5 minutes, whatever.

DX has decided on starting locations. I believe we are also playing that if you lay a gun down the enemy has the right to pick it up and use it against you. Also, we are having a mandatory safety form that everyone has to sign to be able to play in the abandoned area of long beach, basically just saying you accept responsibility for your own safety and that you won't sue the town. DX is going to sweep the area of broken glass and sharp objects before the war. I feel very confident that we are all going to have a lot of fun and no one is going to get hurt, but we are doing this just in case.

[Poseidon2000]

Sounds like this went from a regular get together-fight-mod-fight
But now it's a Premier Event! Kool.

[scottthewaterwarrior]

Bad news, I don't think I can make it to this war. My dad is willing to do it, but he would really be doing it for me since he really doesn't want to. I've already had him come 6+ hours to two wars this year, so I'd rather not make him come to another one. I hope every one else has a good time though, it does sound like it will be a lot of fun. I will also need to miss at least one day of school, which I'm barely keeping up with now, so I wouldn't be able to do it for that reason ether.
As it gets closer it is possible that for some reason things will change and I will be able to make it, but right now I am 90% sure I can't come.

[DX]

I can always just come pick you up on Friday. As far as school goes...you can miss days if you buckle down and master the missed work later. I know from personal experience that it's possible to miss a week's worth in one semester and come out with 7 As and a B+. As long as you learn the material, it doesn't matter how.

[SEAL]

This isn't good. Can we call off the rival round? Not that I mind the challenge, but if we're counting this in our official records, I'd rather not have the round without one of our best players. This isn't to suggest that we shouldn't have a long OHS round, and we could even keep the teams the same, but I don't want to count it as an official WWn team battle.

That's if Scott doesn't come. Dude, you could drive yourself, right? That's what I'm doing, and I'm like two years younger than you. Of course, you have a longer, and maybe tougher drive, but you drove all the way up here for Downpour, right?

Oh, and about spawn points, don't we need someplace to put a notepad where you'd write down who killed you? If we do a "stand away from the action for a minute"-type rule, then the stats that come out of the round might not be that accurate.

[marauder]

This is so contrary to everything that is team warfare. You are a team whether everyone makes it or not. In fact, I can never think of a battle where everyone was able to show up. That's just the nature of the game. No sports team has ever said, "our star player is out, can we postpone this playoff match until he's back from injury?" This is not about being fair, it's about fighting as a team... you know ... loyalty... comradery... rivalry... all for one and one for all and all that kinda stuff.

Regardless of all that, DX is willing to pick Scott up because we want the challenge, and yeah we are actually nice guys and we don't want our friend to miss out on the action. You should feel rather confident that you can put up a good fight, with or without Scott. Our team is basically DX and myself. I mean, are you really that scared of a 9 year old or a 12 year old with basically no prior experience? That's pretty insulting to John, Poseidon, Keith... plus we don't even know who Neptune or Wetmonkey are gonna fight for yet.

[Poseidon2000]

Nep's on the Liberation Front for this war. DX pointed it out


I don't care if a crucial player can't come, it's just more of a challenge . The one thing that bugs me is the 'whole day rivalry.' I think just that 3hour round would be the rivalry, the rest with a mixup. It seems weird. :p

[DX]

At this point, we are looking at:

SATURDAY FIGHTING: (Rivalry teams only)
Duxburian, Marauder, Tiffany, Danny, Tony (5 confirmed)
vs
SEAL, Poseidon2000, BoogieBoard2, Keith (4 confirmed)

Maybe: Neptune, Scott, Andrew, Bailey, Koree, Tim, Lucian

==================

SUNDAY FIGHTING: (teams will be switched up every round)
Duxburian, SEAL, BoogieBoard2, Keith (4 confirmed)

Maybe: Poseidon2000, Neptune, Scott, Andrew, Bailey, Koree, Tim, Lucian

Which all by itself is acceptable, but come on, we have 2 months to get more definites. The largest non-soakfest war in the north that we know of was the 8v7 RM Classic in 2006. I'm not sure if we can pull that down, but if we can get to 6v6 we'd have the 2nd largest northern war, which would be a huge accomplishment given the December date. If we can make this big, 2013 is going to have some spectacular wars in store.

As your host, I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this a fun, successful event. I am willing to drive a long distance to pick you up if you can't get to CT otherwise. My single day range covers the entirety of New England and the entirety of the coastal mid-atlantic extending out to western PA and northern Virginia. I can also pick you up at whatever train station you can reach. The closest Metro-North (commuter rail) station is Fairfield, CT. The closest Amtrak (regional rail) station is Bridgeport, CT. If you're on a terrible budget, you could choose Stamford, CT instead. If your budget is virtually non-existent, I can pick you up at any M-N/NJT/LIRR/SLE/T/MARC/Metro/Amtrak/whatever line station you can reach. I don't really care, I want you to attend if at all possible.

[SEAL]

I'll probably stick around for Sunday. Bailey said he wanted to come, but I don't know if his mom will let him. Obviously he would be on my team if he comes. Who are those other people? Nerfers?

I'm going to make a fun road trip out of this.

[Poseidon2000]

Might be Neptune's crew.

[Poseidon2000]

Slightest chance my cousin could come...

[Fishfan]

Man, I really, really, REALLY want to go to this. It's too bad I live in Florida. Our

budget is virtually non-existent, particularly because my dad doesn't have a

substantial job and we've traveled out of the country twice in the past few months, and

much of the appliances/furniture in our house is getting old and we will have to

replace soon (or have already replaced, like our dishwasher.). The only excuse I could

maybe mange to get to go there is to visit my aunt, but she is very busy with school

to. If I will go, My dad or mom would have to take me, probably my dad. My mom says

I'd have to do school for the days I missed, gather the money for the trip, and gather

the money for the days my dad misses at work.
I don't have many guns worth bringing (see my profile) but I would bring my CPH, (Not

necessarily to use it) my colossus, and maybe my hydrocannon.

[Poseidon2000]

The more, the merrier! How are you going to get all that $$$? Okay, do extra chores, mow lawns, and jump for $$ whenever the chance comes.
TRIP=GAS=$20-50
DAD?=PAY P FOR MISSED WORK?=$30-?
SCHOOL=2 DAYS OUT OF YOUR LIFE
SCHOOL+TRIP+DAD=$80+ work hard!! You can do it, dude!!! We'll also have ALOT of leftover blasters each round, but try to at least provide a source for your ammo.

[DX]

Just to be realistic, it costs me about $40 to fill up the tank and it would take 4 tanks of gas to reach northern Florida with my fuel economy. So, gas would cost about $320 round trip unless your car gets above mid 30s fuel economy. A meal for 2 on the way round trip would run about $36. I can provide Sat breakfast, Sat dinner, and Sun breakfast. Highway and bridge tolls would run you $5 on my shunpiking route and about $38 if you just take 95 all the way up. Missed work compensation really varies depending on the job so I can't estimate that cost. It's more than $30 though. It's illegal to employ someone full time for that little.

You're probably looking at a total cost of around $360 plus work compensation. Note that Amtrak costs half as much as driving, but also takes way longer (18+ hours) at that distance.

I am not saying this to discourage you, just to make sure you are aware of the full cost and how much effort you'll have to put in to raise money if you really want to come. I'd love to have you if you're able to and your Colossus would probably suffice for most of the battles.

Here are some suggestions to raise money:

- Lemonade stand. Low yield, but almost effortless.
- Mow lawns. High yield. Can take a lot of effort though.
- Babysit if you are old enough. Can be a headache, but is lucrative.
- Dogsit/walk if you are old enough. Also a headache, but also lucrative.
- Make a website and put ads on it. The original Douchenator WBL article alone made $80 from ads. Low yield unless something you wrote gets popular.
- Make youtube videos and put ads on them. Again, the videos have to attract lots of views.
- Thrift/yard sale search for dirt cheap water guns and resell them at high Ebay prices. Can be a huge yield if you score big. Finding a CPS 2000 would pay for the entire trip. Finding a Nerf Maximizer, SM 9000, Crossbow, or any large CPS would put a huge dent in the trip cost. Parents may not like this one because it would increase the size of your arsenal many times over. But, this is actually my most profitable activity because I do Nerf and water warfare, so I know the markets for both hobbies and have buyers in both. My average thrift trip brings in 5-15 guns and nets $20-80, which is not bad for about 3 hours of "work" each time. There is an added plus in that you can review the stuff you've found on a website and generate content to put ads on. You can also trade up if you find something rare that someone just has to have, netting more money. It's hard for parents to understand, but water guns are a better investment than the stock and bond markets. Why settle for measly yields of <25% when you could make 3,780% or more? There's actually many CPS where a sale of 200% more than you paid is disappointing! There is risk, like how my expensive CPS 2000 MK1 bust its bladder, but I've been doing this enough that I can just write that whole cost off, fix the MK1, and use it for wars. Profit from other guns paid for that 2000, so it was essentially free. If you want to raise a few hundred dollars in a couple months, flipping water and Nerf guns is one of the fastest ways if you can expend the effort and get the permission. I can help you as much as I can, too.

[marauder]

Fishfan, if I was simply going up for the weekend I'd offer to give you a ride. You should use this opportunity to talk to your parents about being able to attend next year's war. Some kids go to summer camps... others go to war ok that was really cheesy, but my point is that growing up I always had 1 or 2 big things like camp that my parents made sure I got to go to. Spin it like that. This is the big thing you want to attend/do next summer. We'll do whatever we can to help you make it.

Your Colossus would be a perfectly reasonable primary blaster for you to use if you are able to come to this one. Unless there's a freak Indian Summer (warm spell at the end of Fall) we won't be using anything above light CPS anyway.

[Fishfan]

Thanks for the replys. I forgot to say that if I do attend this war, I want to be on the super soaker liberation front team. I'm not particularly fit, so you won't be getting a very good member, and also I don't have much experience. What I do have is aggression though, so you could use me in that way.
Anyways, back on topic. Whenever I pass yard sales I always look for super soakers, but I never see them. I always never pass up the chance to go to goodwill, either. I frequently check craigslist for water guns too, but all I found around me is two helixes for I think $20. I would gladly receive help from you on this, DX. I think the best way I could earn money ir to walk my neighbors dog and mow lawns. I can't mow too many, because the lawnmower I have is old (I don't know when it will break down, in fact we just fixed it) and even though it is self drive, it still takes some time to do a lawn.
I'm wondering, is this water war worth this trouble to go to? I REALLY want to fire CPS water guns because I don't have any, beside my CPH and hydrocannon(Which doesn't really count.) I don't want to just go to it and be disappointed, because it is a small war, but I also don't want to miss a good one, and this looks like it is going to be good.

[DX]

Well, there are pros and cons like anything else. Starting with the cons, just to get them out of the way:

CONS:

1. Distance - Florida and Connecticut are far away from each other.

2. Weather - It could be cold…not Florida cold, but New England cold. Even if it is unusually warm, the morning walk out to Long Beach West is still going to be cold no matter what.

3. Output limit - if it is cold, big CPS guns won't be used.

4. Cost - Road trips are expensive and cost time, not just money.

5. Missed Work - Spending money instead of making money.


PROS:

1. Abandoned Buildings - How often do you get to have a water war in an abandoned theater and pavilion with labyrinth-like locker/changing rooms on both sides? The buildings will be demolished in the Spring.

2. Stats - Stats from the war will be tracked and count. You know you want to be #1.

3. New Gametypes - May be tested on Sunday if enough people stay.

4. Friendship - You get to meet many of the veterans on WWN.

5. Big Screen Vanity - You get to be in 2013 WWN promo videos, since there will be a lot of good footage taken.

6. Shoot Anything - Even if it is cold, 1000/1200/2100 are still fair game. And when we're not fighting, you can shoot fun stuff - CPS 2000 MK1, SS 300, water balloon launcher, water cannon, whatever you want. You get to see a lot of different water guns.

7. Exercise - A long water war hits every muscle group and energy system. Pumping water guns makes your biceps gigantic. If you're not totally sore the next day, it was your team that lost.

8. Learning Experience - A WWN war like this provides many opportunities to brainstorm strategy, work as a team, try new tactics, and engage the enemy in a battle of the wits. More strategy takes place in water warfare than any other shooting game.

9. Gain Experience - The only way to improve at water warfare is to do it. Look at Scott, he jumped from most deaths to most kills in 3 wars.

10. Sightseeing - The Conn countryside is beautiful. Less so in the late fall when all the leaves have gone, but still worth seeing. Quintessential New England countryside with colonial houses, stone walls, winding roads, barns, and open space. The Merritt is one of the best-looking highways in America.

11. Piling Effect - The more people come to the war, the better it gets. With about 10 people so far, it's becoming more of a mid-size war. More gametype, strategy, and tactic opportunities open up with more players.

12. Reputation - You get to be shot by me, it's an honor.

13. A Free Steak Dinner - Courtesy of Marauder if you are the first to hit Poseidon.

14. Uniqueness of Experience - In life, you can always make more money, learn whatever the schoolwork you miss is, etc. You can't always go to a Connecticut water war with abandoned buildings and cool players. That opportunity doesn't come along very often, as in never before. There is Downpour 2013, but it is practically the same distance from Florida as here and will have the same cons (including weather, as Mother Nature has complied with our choice of name). If you can't make this war, you should try for Downpour. Each war has its own distinct personality and feel, so this won't be as the same as Downpour, though.

[Poseidon2000]

What if i shoot myself?
Well, try your best ta come, fishfan! What's going to be the name of the war? Frosty Assault?

[DX]

It wouldn't count because you're not on our team :p

And I'm liking one of Seal's suggestions for the name, but I don't want to commit to that until like a week before the war so I can see an accurate forecast. I do not want to tempt nature like we have with Downpour.

[Poseidon2000]

*Hah* okay, then. Something w/ snow/hail/freezes over?