Welcome all to another ScV battle report, only this time with a difference. Last week myself and a few friends played paintball. For those of you who don't know, Paintball is a game played by two sides, both armed with gas powered guns that shoot small marble sized balls of paint. The object of the game is to 'kill' your opponents by marking them with paint.

After waking up at 6:30 in the morning we began the long drive out to the fields. Adventure Quest Paintball, where we would be playing, covers 70 hectares of bushland, divided up into a number of smaller fields.

On arival we met with the other players for the day. Altogether there were 30 of us. We were then allocated our gear.

Each player recieved a set of camouflage coveralls, a neck protector, a headset and a paintball gun. The Headset and Neck protector are both vital pieces of gear, as being hit by a paintball can hurt, espescially at short range. To give an example, the pellets are fired with an exit velocity of 300 feet per second, and if frozen a paintball can punch a hole through the side of a car.

So, you can imagine what would happen if one hit you in the eye. The lesson we learned from this? Don't take off the mask.

Next to the headgear, the most important piece of equipment is the paintball gun. You're not going to be shooting many people without it, are you? All players were outfited with the same gun to keep things fair.

Due to the messed up gun laws in my state, the only guns that we are allowed to use are pump action guns, as semi automatic and automatic weapons are illegal. So, we were all issued our weapons for the day, the SL-68II.

Luckily for us, as far as pump actions go, the Tippmann SL-68II is one of the best in the range. It is a gravity fed pump-action gun. It can hold up to 200 paintballs in its overhead ammo hopper, and when fully gassed is good for around 500 shots. It is also one of the most accurate 'unmodified' guns you can get, so things weren't too bad.

After our saftey briefings we were divided into 2 teams of 15 a side. My team was the 'Bandits' and the opposition were the 'Snakes'. the only identifying marks to tell the two teams apart was a strip of white tape around the top each player on the Bandit team. Much like when Friendly Fire is on, it is important to check your target. If you shoot your team mate he is as dead as if an enemy shot him.

We headed out to the fields to begin the games. Each game lasts fo 10 minutes and then the teams change ends. we played through a number of different scenarios, until just before lunch we came to the focus of this report, the Speedball field.

Speedball fields are tournament fields, and are designed to facilitate a quick action filled game, giving both sides a fair chance of winning.

The objective of the Speedball games is simple. At each end of the field is a fort. on each fort is a flag. Go down field. Capture the flag. Return it to your fort. Game Over. Of course it wouldn't be any fun if it were that simple. For starters you need to avoid getting shot. To help with this there are obstacles placed around the field to use as cover as you advance. Then there is also the 10 minute time limit.

Above is a picture of part of the field, to give you a look at what it's like. Alltogether it was around 60 meters long and about 30 wide. The mini map is an approximation, I didn't really have time to check every piece of terrain, but it will give you an idea of the field layout.

The baricades were made from corrugated iron, and each is topped with a sheet of green mesh whcich is see through but stops paint balls, to give you a chance to check out the field. Most of the baricades also have small holes in them for players to shoot through.

The game would last for 10 minutes or until one team captured the other team's flag, or until there was no one left on one side, whichever came first. Much like CounterStrike, if you take one hit you're out for the rest of the round, so it pays to be a bit careful. Unlike CounterStrike you can't avoid being shot by running around and jumping.

And you can't Hack

One other rule to note; You can't shoot anyone who is closer than 5 meters to you. This is a saftey precaution as it can cause some nasty cuts, and as the story was related to us, if you get shot in the head under 5 meters it will knock you out.

My team, the 'Bandits' started on the left side of the field, with the 'Snakes' starting on the other side. Our team had a quick strategy discussion and we decided that the main bulk of our forces would try to take the center tower while another group pushed up the ridge to circle around from the top. A smaller force would advance around the bottom and two more would remain in our fort to secure our flag.

From the games that we had already played, we had determined that the Snakes liked to camp and we used that to our advantage. As soon as the whistle blew the bulk of the Bandits pushed forward into the first row of barricades firing off a few rounds each to provide cover. One of my team mates didn't quite make it to cover and a paintball hit him square in the face. One down.

I was part of the group that went to the bottom to hold it from an enemy push there. Me and my two team mates advanced to the firs barricade. They provided some covering fire and i made it to the group of trees, where I tool a look around to see how things were progressing. Two more of our team had gone down in the advance up the middle, but in return we had taken out two of the Snakes near thier fort and another one had foolishly tried to stop five of my team on his own.

By now, the bulk of our force had made it's way toward the center tower. The problem being that the Snakes had also advanced, and any move out of cover was risky. For the next minute or so the Game devolved into a static firefight as everyone sought a gap to hit thier opponents through with out expossing them selves too much.

Then in rapid succession, two more Snakes went down to a bold flanking maneuver by two of my team as they tried to advance on the tower. In return a Bandit was hit but it was the distraction we needed to continue our advance. My team had pushed forward mostly to the tower now, while the Snakes seemed content to wait for us to come to them.

We took a quick check to see how many of us were left and then tried to form a new strategy. This consisted mostly of us yelling at one another across the battlefield, trying to gain some covering fire. Then the Snakes decided that they were sick of sitting around and began to counter our advance. A group of three headed up the ridge and used some rocks and trees for cover and almost came level with the tower before we spotted them and drove them back with a hail of paint.

Things quietened for a second and we heard one of the Snakes shout for cover, and that he was going for the tower. As soon as he popped up to run our whole team opened fire and in the space of 2 seconds he had been hit by 19 paintballs. With 6 Snakes down and only 4 Bandits out we were starting to gain an advantage, and we decided to press the attack. With some covering fire I rushed up into the tower to join one of my teammates there.

From the tower we had an excellent view of the field, however, looking out made us sure fire targets. Our basic plan had worked fairly well, as we had now captured the tower, and were staging for an assault on the Snakes fort to capture the flag.

One of our team mates made a dash for cover behind a barricade whcich was sheltering two Snakes on the other side. Being within 5 meters of one another they could not fire. What the Bandits did not realise was that he was in line with a Snake on the other side of the field. They both saw on another at the same time but the Snake was faster and another of my team mates went down.

There was a flurry of activity as a group of three Bandits made a break along the bottom of the field to try and flank the Snakes there. However the Snakes had the advantage of cover and quickly our numerical advatage evaporated as all three Bandits went down, each one hit by 5 or 6 paintballs. Along th ridge another of our team mates went down as he tried to dislodge the Snakes situated there.

With six of our team left and 9 of the enemy, and with the time ticking down we decided it was time to make our move. With myself and my team mate provideing covering fire from the tower the other four Bandits began to advance to the cover as close to the Snakes as they could. A lucky shot took one of the Snakes in the tower in the mask and another took a hit as he tried to fall back to his team mates. Two more Snakes on the ridge also were taken out after a brief skirmish that also left a Bandits hit.

5 on 5. the odds were even once again, until I decided to have a look from the tower and found myself staring down the barrel of a paintball gun. As I ducked back around the corner I felt the paintball hit my shoulder, and a quick check showed a blob of paint there. Oh well, you can't win them all. After making my way to the saftey tent, i removed my headgear (finally. It can get pretty hot in those things) and sat down to watch the remainder of the game

The two Bandits closest to the enemy were attempting to dislodge the Snakes behind the barricade directly in front of thier fort. With support from the tower they executed a picer maneuver that got them both, but at the same time a Bandit left his back exposed and he too was taken out.

Down to 3 on 3, until the second Bandit in the pincer action was also taken down. The Snake in his fort decided to make a go of it and began to sprint across the field towards our fort. The Bandit in the tower saw him and gave chase. The Snake managed to grab the flag and evade the fire from the fort defender, but as he turned around he was nailed in the front and the back by the two remaining Bandits.

It was now down to 2 on 2 and about this time the referee called out the 1 minute warning. One of the remaining Bandits saw that the two remaining Snakes were on the opposite side of the field and that thier fort was now undefended. He began to advance cautiously across the field until he was almost to the fort. With a shout, one of the Snakes realised he was there gave chase. The Bandit snatched the flag from the fort and began to sprint towards his base.

Just before the Snakes could make good any shots they may have had, the flag carrier tossed the flag to the Bandit in the tower, and with the flag captured, the game was over with a victory to my team, the Bandits.

So, the game was over and it was time for lunch. We all headd back to the main building for a barbeque, before heading out to play a few more games. At the end of the day the Bandits won 11 of the 12 games played leaving us the clear victors of the outing.

Although this was the first time I have played paintball, it definately won't be the last. Myself and some friends are planing on entering a few of the local tournaments that are run around the state, and if all goes well, I might just report those as well. On a final note, I would also like to say that the day was heaps of fun. Anyone who hasn't tried it, do yourself a favour and give it a go. It really is fun.

As always, thankyou for reading, and feel free to leave questions and comments.

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