Hydropocalypse Official Thread

[marauder]

Do to the overwhelmingly positive response I've received, I'm going to go through with this.

Date: May 18th - May 20th
Location: Umstead State Park, Raleigh, North Carolina
Confirmed Attendance List: 22 M4, DX, Scott, Bela, SEAL, Keith, John, Wetmonkey, Wetmonkey's friend, RamboGo, Will, Belisaurius, Tiffany, Kirk, Laura, Albert, Candice, Lindsey, Cristina, Chris, Paul, Megan (FRI only)

Google Page
Park Map
Facebook Event Page


http://hydrowar.com/umstead.jpg (links to larger file)


http://hydrowar.com/umstead2.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead3.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead4.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead5.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead6.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead7.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead8.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead9.jpg


http://hydrowar.com/umstead10.jpg


I will be inviting many more people, so the list will be updated as ppl RSVP. What I need from YOU, even if you can't come, is ideas and input. Unfortunately, the 2 story abandoned house is no longer available because it's under repair. There are some abandoned barns we could possibly use, depending on their location. However, we can still have a naval war on Big Lake. Canoe and row boat rentals are $5 an hour, and the lake is yea... it's big. The entire park is around 5,500 acres or 22 sq km so we will definitely have to narrow down specific locations to fight at. We can have a cook out when we're all said and done, and there are bath houses to get changed and dry.

How can we put together a good naval battle?

What game types would be fun to play/good to test out for the community?

Whatever else anyone wants to add...

Like, this would be an awesome defensive position:

http://hydrowar.com/umstead11.jpg

[SEAL]

Oh my God, I am going to pull teeth to get my parents to let me go. That location looks awesome!

I'll let you know if I can come.

[wetmonkey442]

I'm feelin' it!

[HBWW]

RSVP please! For the soaks of thee!

Will post back when I know more.

[atvan]

I… Need…

Between my brother's AP tests and my 2 school concerts that act as finals, it is not a good chance. However, If I can convince my parents that it is a birthday present, I should be able to pull together enough support between the two of them to get them to understand ho epic this will be. I have some mods nozzle mods in the works that could get me two new primaries, and some other things that could add some interesting aspects to the war. hehe- hint: RPG?

[DX]

By then, I will own the stationwagon that I usually drive around and will be able to go wherever I want. So, I will almost certainly be coming.

I have my own kayak, too. How warm is the lake water in mid May down there? Up here the inland water is still too frigid (below 60 degrees) in mid May to safely paddle in without extensive cold water gear. The park looks epic, even without the abandoned house.

[marauder]

Historically, lake temperature has been between 70 and 80 degrees in May; you won't need any cold weather gear. If we have at least 2 WBLs we could launch them back and forth in a naval war, or have a bombardment between navy and ground forces.

They have camping there, but it'd be best if we camped out at my house. My yard is incredible for night battles: acre of woods, half acre of grass, tree fort, storage shed, a giant pear tree that you can climb onto the roof with, a boat and other things you can hide behind, plus 2 spigots. We would also have more people for a night battle, because Tiffany and Laura won't camp at Umstead, but they will definitely join us at my house. I bought a Hydrocannon and a Pool Pumper Blaster for us to mod if we feel like it, and I want to do mod my Arctic Blast as well.

It'd be best if we scouted out the park the day before, or early the morning of the war. Park hours are 8 am to 9 pm. The park is huge, and I'm not at home to locate the areas that are ideal for battling. There is one area where Crabtree creek wraps around a peninsula that'd be perfect for one team to defend. On the other side of the creek there is a giant ridge that would be perfect for the opposition to defend - but you have to walk nearly 2 miles to get to that point. I don't have a problem with that, but I'm warning people in advance. It may also be worth going through the woods to try to locate old barns (I have seen a few before) to use.





(Possible Primary) Weapons available: CPS 2000, CPS 2500, CPS 1500 x2, CPS 1200, Vindicator, Monster XL, Splashzooka, Hydrocannon, Arctic Blast, Explorer, XP Pool Pumper Blaster, SC 600 x2, WWF Stone Cold, SS 100 mk2, XP 110, XP 75, XP 70, XP 65

DX, and anyone else that thinks they will be able to come, please list the weapons you are able to bring. I am certainly not going to tell you what to do with your guns, but having a list will help out a lot. I took too many guns to last year's Downpour. My car was incredibly cramped and they just got in the way of the guns and equipment I actually ended up using. There's no reason for you to bring every gun you have. We should be selective and try to figure out what combination of weapons would make for the best gaming experience. Our decision about what weapons to bring will certainly take into account what types of games/battles we want to do.

[atvan]

If I come, (definately not a sure thing), I will probably bring my IM2 with nozzle mod (yet to be preformed), leaky 2100, and shotgunned or nozzle modded (5x ish and 10x ish) 2700, along with the mysterious launcher.

[scottthewaterwarrior]

I might be able to come to this, my dad said maybe, will have to wait for spacific dates to say for sure. Google says it is a little less then 5 hours so it could work.

One question though, how hot will at be by that time, I am kind of a cold weather person and I have trouble running around when it gets above 75.

[marauder]

Average high for Raleigh in May is 79F. It is substantially cooler in the shade though, and this is a BIG forest. WBls should be priority #1 for anyone able to come. That is one thing that was missing from Downpour last year.

[HBWW]

If we have enough WBL's and players, we need to stage a Normandy-invasion style game. I usually would prefer games to happen around buildings though, but I'm not sure what I'll end up preferring yet. Will definitely need camo with all the sparse cover though.

There are three possibilities for me when it comes to water weaponry:
1. I can't make it at all and thus, don't bring anything.
2. I take a plane. Unlikely but if it happens, I probably can't bring any WBL's and only a primary.
3. I go by car and bring the best of HBWW. Two WBL's and as many blasters as will fit in the car. Here are the most likely blasters I'll choose from:
CPS: 2500, 2000, 4100, 2100, 2700, (2)12k, 10k, CPH, Flash Flood
(2) WBL, water bottles
Max-D: 2000, (2) Max-D 3000, 6000, XP 270
Pool Foam Noodles perhaps? (For zombie apocalypse and the magic hammer game.)

I wouldn't bring many air pressure blasters other than a few sidearms and small secondaries for runners. No piston pumpers either since they just take up space.

Of course, I'm just shooting ideas around here. Let me know once you figure out which weekends you can schedule the war.

[DX]

On the other side of the creek there is a giant ridge that would be perfect for the opposition to defend - but you have to walk nearly 2 miles to get to that point. I don't have a problem with that, but I'm warning people in advance

My walking range is 28 miles, so that won't be a problem. If I'm gonna drive solo to NC, I want to use the best parts of the park, regardless of how long it takes to get to them. I'll most likely have two functioning WBLs at that point. Neither will be designed for use at over 400ft, though - so CA99 will need to come if we want the big cannons.

I am flexible with what I can bring arsenal-wise. If we want to have an all-CPS 2000 round, I can bring up to 6 of them. What I'd probably bring additionally are a 12K, 10K, maybe stock 1200s and 2100 mk1s, XXP 275, maybe CPS 1500s and XP 150s (I have a ton of them), and a Colossus. Yes, I have a Colossus now, and an interesting post about it coming soon.

[HBWW]

I need to do more testing and have good sabots ready that won't pop the balloon. If those conditions are met, I should be able to hit over 400ft with high pressure levels on the 323. I don't want to put the 312 over 80-90 PSI though, since the blowgun is only rated for 90. In fact, the 3" fittings I have on the 323 aren't even pressure rated, so anything over 80 is probably a bad idea anyway. At 80, I should still be able to shoot it quite far.

I also have ideas for another cannon; a 3" breech using a female adapter and compression fitting/plug/whatever it's called. I would then drill in a hole and tap it to connect the air release. In any case, I can make the launcher pretty disassemble-able but I only have 2" of barrel to use with it.

DX, I await your post on the Colossus lol. I want to check it out but never managed to pick one up.

I'd also like to check out the SC Power Pak, CPS 1500/1700, and Monster X since I never handled any of those before.

[marauder]

^there's a 1700 on ebay for $20 right now. The pump is broken but that's an easy fix.

Brainstorming Game Types & Weapons Usage
If 2 members end up making the trip we could have at least a 4 v 2 base defense with WBLs at my house, on the day prior to the big war. I have a tree fort in the back yard, and a storage shed nearby. It's pretty defensible.

I want to have at least one big team 1hk game where any weapon goes. With DX coming there is no reason everyone shouldn't have a CPS or WBL (handled by designated personnel). We could go about teams 3 different ways. One, we try to make teams balanced by splitting the guns up evenly and trying to split the ppl up by talent. Two, we could be more chaotic, choose names from a hat for each side, and every time a person's name is drawn they get to pick a weapon up off the ground. Or three, we could have team captains who take turns picking people & weapons.

Outnumbered but never outgunned. We could have a team, vastly outnumbered, armed soley with the big guns, facing everyone else using mostly air pressure guns. 1hk

Zombies. At the beginning of the battle one of the most experienced players, using a 2000, is infected. If the player gets hit he has to pause for 10 seconds without fighting. If he hits anyone else (using smaller CPS or less), they pause for 10 seconds while turning into a zombie! Eventually everyone will be infected except one person and you'll be chasing them around the battlefield. Should be fun. We may need red engineering tape or some kinda flag for ppl to put around their wrists or heads to indicate they are infected.

[HBWW]

I decided earlier that I wouldn't pick up that 1700; I'm a bit cash strapped and would rather save the money on other projects, have a lot of stuff to repair already, and can always try out the 1500 at the war.

All my game ideas are over here: http://hbww.wordpress.com/briefing/

I don't think indicating that you're infected will be needed with only 8 players total. Plus we can always tell infected to act it out a bit to make it easier to tell. I like the outnumbered but never outgunned gametype.

[marauder]

I decided earlier that I wouldn't pick up that 1700; I'm a bit cash strapped and would rather save the money on other projects, have a lot of stuff to repair already, and can always try out the 1500 at the war.

All my game ideas are over here: http://hbww.wordpress.com/briefing/

I don't think indicating that you're infected will be needed with only 8 players total. Plus we can always tell infected to act it out a bit to make it easier to tell. I like the outnumbered but never outgunned gametype.

8 people? We already have 9 confirmed, I haven't invited half the ppl I want to yet, and I don't even have a set date. I'm pretty sure we'll have more than 8. If we have less than 12 I'll be disappointed.

[scottthewaterwarrior]

I assume this will be held on a week end some time so I can drive up Friday, battle Saturday and Sunday then go home after that?

Any way, my dad says we can make it, so I am almost certainly a yes. I doubt I can bring any one else though because it will almost certainly mean taking a Friday off from school.

As for guns I will be bringing my Vindicator for sure, and unless it is a round where you have to use a specific blaster/blaster type, I will probably use that as my primary the whole time.

I will also be bringing my CPS 2500, an Equalizer or two, some Vipers (if I get them by then) if not then some other pistols, and my broken Vindicator just in case we have time for me to take it apart so maybe one of the more knowledgeable gun fixers can help me with it.

Let me know if we are going to have a pistons only round like at Downpour, I will add one to the mix if we are. If any one wants me to bring a specific gun from my arsenal (check my profile) just ask.

[DX]

Any way, my dad says we can make it, so I am almost certainly a yes. I doubt I can bring any one else though because it will almost certainly mean taking a Friday off from school.

Awesome. You'll probably learn more from this war than you would at school on a Friday anyway :p

You should try the 2500 out for a few rounds, I think you'll like it. 2500s are one of the best soakers for a prolonged OHK or OHS game. They have range, output, field life, can field fill, are highly versatile, and provide excellent stopping power against almost anything. That was my primary of choice in many Ridgewood wars.

Assuming that we have a naval battle on the lake, you may want to bring some kind of syringe/river/piston pumper. I am planning a secret weapon if we have such a battle. I might also attach some smaller soaker to the middle of my kayak paddle, so I could shoot while moving.

[marauder]

I assume this will be held on a week end some time so I can drive up Friday, battle Saturday and Sunday then go home after that?

Glad you can make it! Most likely the big battling will just be on Sunday. My family is renting a beach house for a week, and that's usually Saturday to Saturday. I would come back a day early to get ready. There is a slight chance I could move it to Saturday instead. There will be 2 days of fighting, but the first day would just be whoever drives down + my family and anyone around at the time; but that should still be 6 people or more now. If you leave early Saturday morning there's no reason you need to take off school on Friday. If you leave at 7, you can be here a little before noon. We can scout it out and have some smaller battles with whoever is here.

I'm assuming your dad wants to stay in a hotel again? There are plenty by the park, it's right next to RDU international airport. I will have the details worked out in the upcoming weeks, like what day the big fighting is going to be on, what games we are going to play (could also change at the war), etc. but this thread has been good for brainstorming so far.

[atvan]

I'm really hoping all these wars work out, and that I can make it to at least several of them. This year is going to be big. This and the Brickfair War are ones I'm really hoping to go to, along with the com war, of course. I probably can't make more than that.