Viper Paintball

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Viper Paintball believes that true "scenario" may have run it's course in the fifteen years it's been around, and the eight years they've been producing them. Many "scenario teams" have disappeared. It's not that they are playing someone else's events...they're just not playing.

Gone are the days when scenario was new, edgy, and different. Now everyone says their events are better or different. But there are only so many different things you can try or add. Yes, there are differences...but they are subtle. If you're not there for the hype or politics then things are pretty similar between "Brand A" and "Brand B." Even if "Brand A" is a national act and "Brand B" is a smaller local producer.

Viper Paintball was the second professional, large-scale scenario company in the world. When "Viper Enterprises" was born they brought scenario ball to the western half of the nation and it was fresh and exciting. Players came from all over the world because there was nothing else like it.

Scenario as a concept was young, and it was easy for Wayne Dollack (often referred to as the father of scenario paintball) and Viper Paintball to be different and unique. A decade ago there were less than 20 scenario events a year nationwide. The waiting was agonizing, but the anticipation made every event something special. Now there are numerous companies crisscrossing the country, and a number of events each and every weekend of the year. "Scenario paintball" was once a new, radical "out on the edge" sort of thing. Now it's everywhere, and there's a lot of it.

So Viper Paintball developed "Viper RTS," an entirely new and unique concept that combines the strategy and command aspects of RTS
(Real Time Strategy) computer games like "StarCraft" and "Command & Conquer" with the live-action thrill of paintball. The format is far more
involved, far more strategic, and the players are much more in control. The commanders are actually commanders, developing their own strategy and course of action. The missions have a purpose, and the whole event has more continuity. There are no mysteries or whispers concerning the scores...the commanders formulate a plan, the players carry it out, and the results of their efforts are tracked by a custom-designed computer program on a minute-by-minute basis. Commanders know how many points an objective is worth, and get real-time updates on their score and resource. It is more than a big game, more than a scenario, with aspects of both, but totally different from either of them, or anything else for that matter.

During July Viper, and some of the developers, played the virtual "home version" to "alpha test" the scoring system and such. But they needed players to test it in a live environment. So they held the first "beta test" in August in Dallas, Texas. The players that participated now share a paintball legacy as the first to experience it. Kerry "Viper" Rosenberry is part of a legacy with scenario paintball due to the fact that he was part of the first paintball scenarios ever produced. The "beta test" players can say the same thing about this new concept, and be a part of its legacy when it becomes popular. They're a part of it's history...it's development.

Here's the concept in a nutshell:
There are a number of objectives on the field that represent nuclear missile silos, airbases, and other facilities that, when captured, provide a score reward every minute, which is tracked by our computerized tracking and scoring program. One of the unique objectives is a "field hospital" that, when captured, provides a secondary hospital in the field, where eliminated players can reinsert nearer to the objectives. There are also objectives such as refineries that produce resources, and comm centers where one side can "hack" the resources of the other. Resources do not count toward your score, but they can be used to buy timed bonuses, such as a nuclear missile in the case of the missile silo, or helicopters in the case of the heliport.

Now, here's the catch; you only have enough flags to capture about two thirds of the objectives, so the commander must decide which ones will be the most beneficial to his strategy. There are also specialists such as pilots, engineers, medics, and others who can be "trained" at the objectives. These specialists can help reduce the time that you are required to hold an objective in order to "capture" it. For instance, it
takes 15 minutes of control of the missile silo, beginning the second you place your flag on it, for it to be officially designated as belonging to
you. This is when you begin receiving score or resources, and when the bonus timers begin counting down. If you show up and have an engineer or a nuclear tech on station it will only take ten minutes. If you show up with both and it will only take five minutes to capture.

The result? Just as the developers had hoped. The commanders generated their own missions. The players went out on the types of missions they were familiar with from scenario paintball, but now there was a reason for them to perform that mission. They were no longer "jumping through hoops for points" as with scenario paintball. Because of the nature of the action players can insert onto the field directly from the hospitals, getting direction from their commander via FRS radios (a necessity for Viper RTS play), so the action is more constant. No more waiting around the base for a mission card. An additional bonus is that the line between "mission teams" and "run and gun teams" is almost non-existent, as everyone knows where the action is, and goes to participate. We can also slash the price of paintballs due to the fact that the constant action means more paint use. More paint is sold so "volume pricing" is possible. The field and promoter still make the same money they need to in order to survive, but the player gets more action, more paintballs, and more value for nearly the same amount when compared to traditional scenario paintball.

Gone are the days when there was something new and different. When Viper and Wayne Dollack both produced something unique, and players were thrilled when they discovered it. Players traveled from nations around the globe to experience it. Everyone anticipated the next, long-awaited chance to play at one of these exciting events. No matter how much you love great Black Angus steak it somehow loses some of its appeal if you eat it every night. It doesn't matter how many places you eat it, how many different cuts you try, or how well it's prepared. So we're going to see if we can't bag you something a little more exotic.

The Viper Paintball 2005 calendar will be released soon at www.viperpaintball.com, so take a look and make plans to attend this exciting new development in paintball play. There are currently contract negotiations underway with fields in New Jersey, Indiana, Louisiana, and other states, as well as their home, the great state of Texas.