FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):

How do I know when I've killed someone?
The lights on their pack will all blink slowly in unison until they reactivate.

How do I know when I've been hit?
Your pack will vibrate play a distinctive tune at you.

How do I find out how I did?
Each pack has a number, at the end of the game all the scores for all the packs will be shown on a score board. Look for the number of the pack you used, and the corresponding score adjacent to it.

How does the trap/bases work?

See the arena section for answers to these questions.

The Arena:

The arena has undergone some fairly major changes spring 2004, as such the nature of play has changed slightly and the general consensus is that it's for the best. Here is a quick synopsis on the major changes.

1: The central walkway has been mostly closed off to prevent excessive sniping, and is now armed with a an IR trap.

2: The passage leading onto the walkway half-way between Nokes and Lemming has been closed off.

3: Airlock area has been substantially changed and now represents more of a strategic point.

4: There is now a mini walkway from airlock across to lemming.

5: Most of the Cowards' area has been re-designed and is much more complicated and maze-like.

6: Lemming and Coward's both have bases.

There are five locations in the arena which we have named for convenience, below is some information about each. Ed Nokes is one of the legendary members of Laser Quest Society and he used to hide in the top left hand corner fairly frequently; therefore we named it after him. Cowards' corner contains a wall behind which you can hide and snipe with relative impunity provided your target doesn't join you. Lemming acquires its namesake from the fact a fluorescent picture of a lemming is drawn on the wall adjacent to the location.

Airlock: This is the entrance to the arena and has some nice hidey-holes to use during play. It overlooks most of Cowards' and Lemming but is situated reasonably far away from the action hot-spots. It is also difficult to escape from during a battle. For team based games it can be off some tactical importance in controlling the entrances into Lemming and Cowards, especially if it's undesirable to use the walkway.

Lemming: An isolated corner not overlooked by any sniping positions and with lots of useful hiding places. Only two ways in or out, towards Nokes's or Towards Airlock. Has a good open space for getting into duels and well as places to sneak.

Nokes's Corner: A strong defensive position in team games. The pill box overlooks the gauntlets from Cowards' and Lemming, and the defensive wall has a direct view of both as well. When being attacked the corner tends to encourage battles of attrition. The name arises from the legendary Ed Nokes who used to hide in the corner a lot; we named it after him.

Cowards': A nice place to hide, Coward's Corner has a cosy wall to snipe from and numerous other places to boot. It is overlooked by a pillbox making you vulnerable from snipers when you leave your position for any reason.

Walkway: The central gantry guarded by the IR trap.

In order to describe a location shout out its name.

The Trap: After some testing we figured out how the trap works. The central walkway is at all times armed with IR beams; they have about a 75% chance of getting you. There are two sections to the walkway, one pointing Nokeward the other Lemmingward. In order to deactivate the trap you must shoot the the little targets near the ceiling, a siren will sound deactivating it for a short period of time. Once the siren goes off you're once again in trouble. The trap is of good tactical importance because it makes the Cowards' pillbox a bit less accessible.

Bases: The introduction of Bases has provided an additional type of game: players can score 50 points for their team by shooting out the base sensors, in addition to the points scored by shooting opponents. It works like so: in Cowards' and Lemming there are two wall mounted targets that are initially solid in colour; shooting these causes them to go black and if you shoot both within 10 seconds a base siren will sound, scoring your 50 points. There follows a period of about 30 seconds during which the lights flash, this is the base down-time and you can score no-more points during this period.

TACTICS:

Stance and Technique:
It usually takes more than one or two shots to actually get a successful hit on a pack, so avoiding shots is very important. Your gun will display which location was hit each time you are successfully shot, use it to diagnose which sensor you are leaving the most vulnerable. You are not allowed to conceal your sensors (that's cheating) but you can reduce your profile, here are some general techniques.

Profiling:

Experienced players often approach opponents in a sidestepping manner that reduces their front and rear profile. You can twist your body to thwart attempts to target your various sensors, reacting dynamically to each move your foe(s) make(s).  This technique is even more effective if you change the location of the gun between shots and thereby make the front gun sensors difficult to target. You will see many of our more experienced players adopt variations of this tactic and its more elegant incarnations are used by the best pros.

Crouching:

This involves staying close to the ground and  firing upwards at opponent's back and rear sensors. Your shoulder sensors are exposed, but your front and rear sensors are much more difficult to hit. This can work quite well if you are on the small side of things, especially since you can bemuse and surprise people. However, using your gun to cover a sensor while crouched is cheating!!! Use speed with this tactic for maximum effect.

Aiming And Shooting:

The laser you see is not what transmits information, it's actually an infra-red beam. The lights on the packs are not actually the sensor locations either. The front and rear sensors are arranged in a small circle within the ring of flashing lights. Shoulder sensors are on the side of their mounting closest to the persons head. There are four sensors on the front of the gun  and it's by far the easiest place to hit, but the  two sensors either side of the gun are tough targets. The best tactic is to drag the beam in a tight circle around where you want to hit and persisting for a few tries.

It is worth noting that the actual laser beam may not be quite where the infra-red beam is landing and that guns have different optimal ranges. Usually this variation doesn't matter too much, but once you work out the optimum range and angle, stick to it, you'll get more hits.

Rapid fire mood is a relatively unknown feature whereby you can depress the trigger and the gun will fire a rapid number of bursts. Once used this features regenerates after a few seconds. You only have a limited number of these per game so use them wisely.

Squacky Packs:

The staff do not share our belief in the 'myth' of pack inconsistency. But let me assure you that there are variations in gun effectiveness and sensor sensitivty. Most  packs are reasonably matched, but there one or two that are either really good, or really bad. Help us trouble shoot these packs by considering the following so we can take them out of the game. If your score at the end is way above or way below the average we'll know.

General Tactics:

Avoid The Shooting Gallery Syndrome. This refers to the vicious cycle where a sniper repeatedly dies. You are shot once, you duck behind a wall, then pop back up and die again. The reason for this is that the person who shot you is anticipating your return to a firing position and can quickly pop off a few shots into your gun before you have a chance to aim and fire. It's best to  move position whilst under cover as you will very rarely come out on top in a situation like this.
Avoid Players Who Consistently Kill You. Their pack may be better, their technique might just happen to work well against yours, or they could just be superior players. Don't bother trying to prove yourself, pick opponents you can win against.
Expect Good Games And Bad Games. Alot of factors go into your performance, so you may have frustrating games. If you're doing badly, try a new position, or snipe for a bit until you get your confidence back.
Listen Carefully To The Rules Briefing. There are sometimes changes to the rules, such as gun sensors being turned on, limited shots, or extra lives. Pay attention so you know what's what.
Don't Keep Trying Something If It's Not Working. Change your tactics if something isn't working, such as trying to snipe too far and not hitting anything.
Watch Where You Are Going. We've had reports of packs getting damaged and we'll be in big trouble if it doesn't stop.

Game Break Down:

(Note that minor rules changes can occur.)

Death Match:

In this game it's every player for himself, and all players have the mixed colour.

Team:

You can shoot members of the other team but not your own team. There are three teams, mixed, red and green.