THE GRAND FINALE - A Wayne Dollack Production

[Ragtop1968]

Yoda says, "Arse kicking time, it now be!"

Registration for the Grand Finale is NOW OPEN!

http://www.ragtopvideo.com/wwvideos/.../vengence.html

[SCBrian]

What's the expected compleation date for Karnage?

[Ragtop1968]

It should basically be ready by the Grand Finale. The heart of the city is the church and storefront. Once they get that they will make the row houses out of the existing buildings they have.

Now some of the more advanced buildings I made may be added at later dates. Like the Bank of Karnage with walk-in safe.


This is a close-up of one of the factories

[spyderman]

it looks great I will have to come to wayne's world sometime.I have been wanting to come out for a while but the present schedule and funds won't allow

[Ragtop1968]

I had a question about camping on Viper's Forum: http://www.viperscenarios.com/module...display&fid=74

I thought I would post my response here also.

The parking area is divided into small numbered lots for camping. The North base teams usually get the Northern part of the parking lot. If there is just a couple of you, you will be sharing that SMALL lot with another group. Did I mention they are small?

Now the Overflow area is for RVs and I believe anybody that wants to use it. It has a lot more elbow room but it is a hike back there and it is a pasture when not used for parking.

Knowing what I know now, I would probably set up a table and paintball supplies up at your designated parking lot campsite and maybe put your tents and vehiciles in the overflow area.

[Skeeter]

It is nice to see that Wayne is starting to invest in his field again. I have been there too many times (just look at my ref vest) and have many fond memories... Unfortunately, I have paid tons of money to deal with a very unappreciative Jackie (not to mention disrespectful) and shoot overpriced square paint with no ref in sight.

Every time I have played a "Waynes Game" in the past 6-7 years, I swear that I will never return... For some strange reason, I seem to organize a batch of players about every year and make the trek back, just to be disappointed again.

I know exactly how much it costs to put on a scenario. I know how much the paint costs and the profit margin. I can't continue to support Wayne (even though I appreciate and respect what he has done for the sport, especially the scenario world) when his events never seem to improve. His air system is just one example.

On the other hand, there are many fields that can offer unique and quality scenario games. This leads to competition between fields and with any good competition, the prices will be a factor. If you look around the south east, Wayne is just not competitive anymore. When Wayne is able to offer a competitive product (not having to deal with a belligerent Jackie, long registration lines, a fill station that works, refs on the field, adequate parking and camping, a playing field worthy of the price...), I may return. In the mean time, I will patronize fields that are generally respectful to their customers, especially when they bring 30 to 40 paying players.

[Ragtop1968]

Originally Posted by Skeeter

I know exactly how much it costs to put on a scenario. I know how much the paint costs and the profit margin. I can't continue to support Wayne (even though I appreciate and respect what he has done for the sport, especially the scenario world) when his events never seem to improve. His air system is just one example.

Do you? Remember Wayne is more then just a scenario producer, he is a paintball field owner. Now I know many of us have dreamed of owning a paintball field, but the truth is a two day a week business is a really really crappy business model. People easily add up the money made, but forget about the expenses that have to be paid.

I do not know the Dollack finances but I have been to their home .....and I was somewhat surprised. It wasn't a shack, but it was not what I expected for a owner of one of the most famous fields in paintball.

I don't believe Wayne's World or any paintball field is the Cash Cow that some would like to believe.

[Skeeter]

You would probably be amazed at the expenses involved in running a field... I also appreciate everything that Wayne has done for the sport and he really deserves the title of "Grandfather" of scenario paintball. In the early days of scenario games, his productions were top shelf. I have probably played about 15-20 of his games, including the early days at the Tampa field, and the 35th street field in Ocala (still one of my favorite fields of all time). I have known Wayne since ’92 and he has always been enjoyable to talk with.

Wayne still runs a good scenario, and I may end up venturing down to Ocala for the spring ’06 game, against my better judgment. I do have an issue with the price and the lack of infrastructure on his part. Wayne has made it very apparent that he has crossed over to the paintball business side, and is not just running these events for the love of the game (anymore). There is nothing wrong with that, and he has the grey hair to prove that running major scenarios is not an easy task. Unfortunately, he is not evolving with the business of scenario ball and is starting to suffer for it. He still draws in big numbers of players but that may be due to the overall popularity increase of the sport and not directly related to his productions. There are plenty of other fields in the south east that are very capable of hosting major productions, and they are doing so at a higher level right now. For the last several years, Wayne’s productions have been stale (IMHO), the field is showing lots of wear and tear, and the air system is a joke. Other fields are running games with a higher production values, with lower costs. I wish the best for Wayne, and I would like to see him continue to prosper. I would also like to see him make the necessary improvements that would bring his productions up to “average”.

Here are the things he needs to work on to become a top shelf producer (again)…

Air system: currently pathetic. We just purchased a system this summer. Our system was expensive (but still under $20k), but he will probably need to spend about 25-30k on an air system that would handle the “finale”. He would also need to purchase or rent bulk tanks that would give him a working reservoir during the high demand periods. Not a cheap issue, but the current situation is keeping customers away.

Registration process: This is one of my biggest complaints. Jackie will not trust anyone else to handle the cash. She needs to hire some help to streamline the process. She is not capable of effectively handling 1500 registrations by herself. This is also one of the biggest complaints from other attendees during his events. Even when you get through the line, you still have to deal with a very bitchy and unappreciative person who acts like you should kiss her ass for the privilege of registering 50 players at $50 each. If I have a single customer walking up to my window with $2500 in hand (actually, pre paid via internet), I would be as polite as humanly possible. That actually should not change, whether it is a single registration or several hundred. Jackie is just plain rude, and does not show any respect towards the players that support her. She should be as nice as possible to each and every player that walks in her front door.

Camping Deposit: Get rid of it. I personally know that cleaning up after a scenario is a large task, but this is excessive. Players will generally clean up after themselves. Just keep them happy with a good production at a good price, and they will take care of their areas. Unhappy players will probably leave a mess out of spite (subtle hint).

Game rules: Get rid of spies and medics. They don’t help the overall play of the game. You always need role players, but these two roles hurt the game. Medics get players overshot (I have been on both ends) and spies cause barriers between the players and the command structure. Tanks… Get rid of them. I don’t pay $50 to get chased around the field by a few drunk rednecks in a golf cart. I could have that at any old golf course here in Charleston.

Physical field (his best attribute): Get rid of the damn dogs. They stink and make too much noise. Keep them off property during the games. The field itself just needs to be maintained a bit. Lots of good props and structures. Not much room for improvement here, and the new city looks like it will be a blast. Put up some clear boundaries, as needed. The south tree line needs to be taped off if it remains out of play, just like the ambiguous north boundary. The best solution for the south boundary would be to put up poles and net the entire length as needed. This would keep one of the best locations in play, and would stop any southbound paint heading for the factory.

Prices: Just get competitive! The paint price is way high, and you are forced to shoot crap most of the time. Get a good type of paint and charge a reasonable price for it. His paint price is $10 more per case than our most expensive paint (Chronic, Evil & AllStar), and it is usually horrible 32 degrees crap. Sell a decent product for a decent price and nobody will complain. Force people to pay too much for too little and you loose the business. Not MBA logic there at all, just common sense. Selling more paint at a slightly lower profit margin will help in the long run. More happy players = more future paint sales…

Ref staff: Get some good refs on the field and you won’t have the issues of cheating and lack of ethics that he currently has. Players know that there are seldom refs around the hot spots, and will continue to cheat until that is changed. He does have several good refs, but they don’t cover much territory and they like to sit in a huddle on the field occasionally.

Safety: GET SOME! ALWAYS have at least one ref in the staging area watching for barrel plugs. The number of unsafe bumpkins wandering around the staging area with unplugged markers is ridiculous. I staffed 2 refs just to watch the staging area during our March scenario, and we didn’t even have 300 players.

That is about it… This turned into a very long rant, but these are legitimate issues that should be addressed. Hope this does not fall on deaf ears.

[thumper]

Ditto - with respects - but yall please respect the open nature of this forum.

[Ragtop1968]

Wayne's World is a crappy heck hole of a field.


BTW, Tippmann is already at this heck hole in anticipation of THE GRAND FINALE


The event paint has been Diablo from Draxxus for a very long time now.