By Mark Hahn



Paintball for The War Engine is best played at a screen resolution of 800 x 600.

  • HISTORY
The first "game" of paintball also know as "War Games" or "The Survival Game" was played in June, 1981 near Henniker, New Hampshire or so the story goes. I emphasize "game" because the Nelson Paint Company actually created the first paintball and pellet gun way before that for the forestry market to mark trees. The equipment was also a great way to mark cattle at roundup from atop your horse.

Since it's inception, paintball has come a long way. A multi-million dollar industry has emerged manufacturing everything from guns, safety equipment, paintballs camo's , parts... you name it. Local indoor and outdoor fields have popped up all over the country. Professional and Amateur Tournaments have also emerged with prizes and prize money for events exceeding $100,000.

I've played since 89'. I was a member of a 5 man team from Connecticut called the "Bulldogs". We played in countless tournaments in New England, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We also participated in the Amateur Nationals every year in Pittsburgh. Our best finish at the Nationals was 8th place out of 64 teams from across North America and in 91'. The team disbanded around early 93' but I've played recreationally ever since. I own Nightmares(Brass Eagle), 68 Special(Tippman), 68 AutoMag(AirGun Designs) and my pride and joy which i still maintain for recreational play an Air Power "Apex Elite". All old school weaponry but deadly just the same : )

Tournament paintball and paintball in general can be VERY expensive. Travel, food, weekly paint costs, equipment maintenance. You do it for the competition, and the adrenaline rush of the game itself. Tournament paintball is a blast! It was a great time and I miss everything about it except the expense ; )

I encourage everyone who has the opportunity to play paintball to do so, you won't regret it! But, I'm not responsible for the addiction that may follow however.


I hope you find my little adaptation of paintball for The War Engine FUN and find that I have captured the spirit of the game. From the unpredictability of the equipment and paintballs to the fun and sometimes cheesy(
I mean that in a good way ; ) atmosphere of your local paintball field.

JUST REMEMBER SAFETY AND GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP FIRST!

Feel free to email me your comments or paintball stories anytime!

  • WEAPONS
Paintball guns come in all shapes and sizes. Standard, by far is the semi-automatic but there are also pump guns. All guns whether they are made from an exotic alloy and machined to NASA specs or put together in your basement are limited by the fact they shoot these funky paintballs that sometimes have a mind of their own.

There are 3 types of weapons in this mod - Guns, Smoke and Grenades. The gun pictures show you the maximum shots fired and what color paint is will shoot. For example the first picture below shows that the pump gun will shoot a maximum of 3 yellow paintballs if everything goes right and no balls break in your chamber that turn. EVERY gun is vulnerable to "Ball Breaks" or "Jams".

Pump

Semi G1

Semi G3

?

Smoke

Grenade

launcher

Note: The "Y" and "R" in the weapon descriptions specifies the color paint they shoot.

Pump Guns - These have the least amount of both damage strength and range. Pumps come in a few different levels specified by the "G1" and "G2" these denote the "Generation" or tech level. As they go up both the range and damage strength go up as well.

Semi-Automatic Guns - Also come in a few different levels specified by the "G1", "G2", "G3" these denote the "Generation" or tech level. As they go up both the range and damage strength go up as well.

The "Basement Experiment" - You know what I'm talking about! ; ) . You've spent many a nights in your basement disobeying all the laws of chemistry and physics creating what you hope to be your "edge" for the weekend. There is only one of these and it shots red paintballs. This gun has a strong damage and stun stat. with medium to long range but is VERY prone to jams. Use at your own risk. This weapon is not available in the campaign.

Smoke - Your basic smoke bomb. Always helpful in low cover situations. Smoke does not do any damage.

Paint Grenades - A must have for "Big Games". There are 2 types. Ones you throw and ones you launch from a launcher(longer range). Always good for a laugh and getting out of sticky situations or at least making them even more so(ewww). Grenades have a high stun chance and damage strength. This weapon is not available in the campaign.

NOTE: There is a Practice Range where you can practice shooting your guns and throwing grenades located in your /pball folder. To play it select "New Game". Select Side "A"- Computer vs Side "B" - Human. Open your /pball folder and click the scenairo Practic_Range.wdk to play.

  • UNITS
All units are 2x2 (Standing: Stance #1) and 3x3 (Crawling: Stance #2)

Every unit has exactly the same "Hit Points" this is set at 1. Each unit expends 1 or 0.5 "Movement Point/s" to change stances. 1 to crawl. 0.5 from crawl to stand. When a unit changes to crawl, the units "Stealth" and "Weapon Skill" go up in most cases.

There are 3 basic differences in units. See manual for definitions.

  • Morale Modifiers
  • Weapon Skill
  • Stealth

The above were modified to simulate varying experience levels. Newbie, for example, will "Stun" or "Fall Back" more likely than a veteran. They also have less skill at aiming and stealth. Remember that unit stats are checked by the game first and may or may not have an influence on the "Weapon" phase of the game. Still, beware the newbie with the shiny new Generation 3 semi-automatic comp gun : )

The portraits also depict experience as far as equipment, accessories and team uniformity go. From left to right, the above portraits show Newbie, Semi-skilled and Elite.

Throughout the game, The War Engine enables your units to gain experience in a number of areas which adds even more to the realism when added to the base stats.

  • STRATEGIES
Strategies vary for paintball just like any other game. I will tell you what our philosophy/strategy was when we took the field.

First and foremost we NEVER took any opponent for granted. We always assumed they had the advantage and moved with caution first. However when we saw an opportunity we took it without hesitation.

Being a 5 man team we mostly used a point man with 2 right and left flankers. Constantly sweeping left and right giving cover fire and pinning down opponents with cross fire. Rushing or "In your FACE" paintball was also a key to our success. As soon as the opportunity came we would ram it right down your throat and rush you before you knew what was happening.

We have also won games by not firing a shot. Sneaking up on opponents forcing them to surrender in silence or suffer a point blank welt ; )

The campaign may be 15 man teams to enhance the game play but you can certainly use some of the same tactics we used as a 5 man team here. Rushing your opponent is a major part of tournament paintball. As you play the campaign you will have to choose the best strategy for the field and the situation.

Throughout the campaign which is a 15 man tournament with 10 teams(round #1: 8 games, round#2: 4 games, semi finals:2 games and final) you'll come across a number of types games and styles of play. From close point blank combat in the Speedball arena to longball games on large open fields like in Game#3 of Round 1. Snipers have a ball in the "Village" in Round 2 if you make it that far.

  • ON-LINE PLAY!

Paintball is a team sport, you don't play it by yourself. The campaign is fun but this mod was created to play against other people via email. After you hone your skillz take your team on-line and play against other people! Join the OFFICIAL Play By EMail league of Paintball at my web site

GlobalGamer.com

The War Engine has full Play By EMail game support. This means you can play games with other players all over the world via email. Turn based games are great for this kind of play. Come and participate! Make and distribute maps, weapons, rules..you name it! Sign up and play today. Consult The War Engine manual for setting up and playing email games.

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