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I figured I would have to rearrange my priorities because there are several things in the works that are depending on a center location list for this years Armageddon, right NOW!.
I have been currently working on moving the armageddon site to a PHP based hosted environment so we are not subject to the flakiness that is my home internet connection AND my dinking around with my home network. Also, going through a nonstandard port (port :6080 after web.a20xx.com) blocks certain firewalls. I think it is more important that I have this up while I do center scouting however which is now my primary focus. So, hence we are sticking with what we have while I do my scouting.
My center searches have focus on the following areas:
1) Baltimore Armageddon - Many of the centers on this route have already had experience with this tournament. There is also the possiblity of increasing the amount of Armageddon participants in the LaserTron challange which would be held in this area
2) KY/PA Armageddon - There are several centers that are friendly to armageddon in this area. Also, the Pittsburgh folks have been supporting Armageddon for a number of years, it would be terrific for them to show their center to the Armageddon World.
3)? I am eager for a West Coast Armageddon and am looking at the feasibility of it. It would be interesting to have a an Armageddon where we take the bus from Point A to Vegas :) I am seriously considering this for either this years (A2010) or A2011.
The dates for this years armageddon will be 7/2 - 7/5. We will hammer out centers within the next few weeks.
Thanks for your patience everyone! :)
Dark Angel
Servant of Armageddon
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Ricky:
Choice 1 and 2 can be somewhat combined. I can get a bus to start out of Buffalo, drive to Pittsburgh then on to the Baltimore area and back again. It's one relatively long day. We would not play anything in Buffalo...I just know a lot of bus operators up here now because of my work with the CVB through LaserTron. Pittsburgh would be the Storm stop. Playing around Baltimore afford almost every system, including Force. And, as Ricky mentioned, we have already announced that we would like to play the LaserTron World Championships during the week in the evening following Armageddon. Take a week off, play both, and still have time for sight-seeing in Washington DC and Baltimore during the day.
While a west coast swing would be interesting, I'm afraid it wouldn't fill. A majority of current players have driven the last couple of years. Airfare to Vegas is nowhere near as cheap as it used to be. It's hard to find a fare for less than $300 from most east coast markets. Also, none of these centers have any experience with running Armageddon. We only have a single player in the area that has played regularly (Ziggy). I just don't see it working. I know personally, I won't likely play again if I have to fly with the exception of Texas because of family. Flying me and Alex is almost $1000 alone before I pay for the tournament.
Just my 2 cents.
Jason Bock
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I hope you guys end up deciding to use our store.. your storm experiences so far have been pretty weak. I believe George mentioned you guys went to Jester's Court once? If that is correct, then that is the only truly accurate representation of pro storm that you have ever witnessed. Everywhere else is just kinda...... stupid? I guess that's the right word. Open arena is NOT how it should be. Very soon there will be 4 Storms in this area, 30 minutes north, south, or east from our store, if Dan Baker ever gets off his ass and opens his.
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Pittsburgh to Baltimore is like a 4 hour drive in a car. How long of a bus ride would that be?? If we were going to use the Pitt storm center, wouldn't it make more sense to do a western PA/Ohio type route?
My vote is for the baltimore area. The centers available in that area would be great and there's a lot to choose from.
Speaking from a zone perspective, we'd have Bailey's Crossroads Ultrazone available which is an old school zone site that has a well set up/tuned Nexus system. We had US Nationals there the last two years. It's about an hour from the Balti area. It's also Nexus, so ZS would probably be willing to work with Ricky.
There's two great Tron sites in the area obviously.
Shadowlands in Columbia is an excellent Darklight site.
A force just opened in the Balti area I believe, didn't it?
Potomac Mills and Wyomissing LQ are both within reason driving-wise.
Not sure what the Storm/Outdoor situations would be though, and I don't think there's a Qzar in the area at all, although between Nathan and Greg you could set that up pretty much anywhere at this point.
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TheBaron wrote:Ricky:
Choice 1 and 2 can be somewhat combined. I can get a bus to start out of Buffalo, drive to Pittsburgh then on to the Baltimore area and back again. It's one relatively long day. We would not play anything in Buffalo...I just know a lot of bus operators up here now because of my work with the CVB through LaserTron. Pittsburgh would be the Storm stop. Playing around Baltimore afford almost every system, including Force. I would support this if this is affordable. That's an awfully long bus ride, and it would eat up an entire day of time just travelling to and from Pittsburgh. I really think we should try to make a Pittsburgh stop because their Laserstorm does kick ass. As far West Coast, i think it would be a bad idea right now because there aren't enough local players out here. I'd like to change that. I'd want to hold a regional NorCal Armageddon for northern CA that would be between 5-7 sites over 3 days. I'll be talking more about that soon. I'm in talks with several center owners and regulars out here about it. -Zigs
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I'm obviously going to Vote for a Pitt/Ohio area Armageddon.
My reasoning? Since the last time we were in the area we've been to texas, baltimore, and New york twice. Our area had 2 1/2 teams go to the last Armageddon and It's time to show up some love and bring it back.
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Assassin wrote:
Speaking from a zone perspective, we'd have Bailey's Crossroads Ultrazone available which is an old school zone site that has a well set up/tuned Nexus system. We had US Nationals there the last two years. It's about an hour from the Balti area. It's also Nexus, so ZS would probably be willing to work with Ricky.
Pete, wouldnt it be smarter to use Redzone being there is an owner who wants to generally help out the sport of laser tag in general, plus the fact it is just outside Baltimore and it is already been running Nexus with the competition format without fail. Only force site i see according the the company website in Maryland is in Eden, other than that from what i see the next closest 2 to Baltimore is New York and Richmond.
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Rave wrote:I'm obviously going to Vote for a Pitt/Ohio area Armageddon.
My reasoning? Since the last time we were in the area we've been to texas, baltimore, and New york twice. Our area had 2 1/2 teams go to the last Armageddon and It's time to show up some love and bring it back. I'm going to second that vote - KY/PA Armageddon. Laserstorm players are the only single-system Armageddon team to ever win Armageddon. They've been very loyal to Armageddon over the years. They deserve to have this competition at their local arena. I don't think we should play Baltimore Armageddon simply because they failed to field a team for the past 2 years when Armageddon was less then a 3 hour drive away. KY/PA Armageddon!!!!! -Zigs PS- There will be an outdoor system again at this year's Armageddon. I'll bring it myself if i have to!
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I'm a bit torn by deciding the location of 2010. On one hand my guys are here in the baltimore area and on the other hand we've never done a central US ARM. Yes we have been to Detroit and Ohio but we've missed a lot of sites in the central region which does have a growing number of players (Thanks in part to our regional Darklight play and Sapphire who has been building her own team). Of course we have LS Pitt and our beloved Ohio guys. I was thinking of the possiblity of getting a LF team from Detroit as well. Participation in the tournament does carry weight as it should. I have to give an ear to the players who have been playing over the years and regardless of where ARM was being held.
There are some choices here to be made and I would be solidly behind having ARM 2010 in the Baltimore area if my Baltimore family would join me in 2011. Even if the 2011 tournament were to be held out of the Baltimore region.
"Laser Sports Promoter"
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Pittsburgh can definitely be used. In addition to Storm, there is a Laser Tron (using old gear - 11.0 I think) with close proximity to Storm, and a new Laser Runner, but I doubt that there would be any interest in using those sites. All of the Balti/DC centers have relatively close proximity (but of course *major* traffic issues during the week around DC). The OH/IN/KY centers are a little more spread out, but once you're there, it's just 2-hour jumps from city to city. Pittsburgh is a 4-hour drive from EITHER locations. As for the OH/KY/IN - I know that they have Zone Pro in Louisville, which might stimulate some more participation form the Zone community, the Darklight in Florence was spectacular and I believe that there is a strong tournament scene from the Laser Quest players Dayton there. One of the Laser Webs (Darklight) will be moving to a new location and I think refreshing equipment (Time-X can speak more on that). For Phil/Balti/DC - There are several Quality Zone centers, definitely a quality Tron, and a large selection of Darklights. A.R. is actually plausible, though unlikely. One more thing that might make a difference... there is a *BRAND NEW* Darklight facility in Frederick, MD. http://www.shadowlandadventures.com/frederick_banquet_rooms_halls_maryland_virginia_md_va.phpThis center just opened 7 days ago and is part of the Shadowlands family. Frederick is only 3 hours out of Pittsburgh and about 40 mins away from both DC and Baltimore (with good traffic). Storm/Darklight could be combo'ed this way. Anyway that's all I really know about... Someone else will have to speak for Quest/Force/Qzar/Outdoor. Personally I really like the idea of trying out some fresh centers... It seems like TX/NY/Balti makes up the whole of Armageddon. So going to Cinci/Louisville/Indiana is really appealing. At the same time, we can run things much smoother in the Balti-region and it can segue right into the LTWC's (which is nice, assuming that Pre, Barron, Baby, and I aren't the only Armageddon players playing in LTWC's this year).
- Jabber
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And just to comment on Baron's Point. Cheap buses are nice, but I would be pissed to drive up to Buffalo just to jump on a bus to drive back down to pittsburgh.
Although I do want my Center to get some love. So eh. I still stand by my point that we should be able to showcase our area and try out some new centers.
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I think I'm leaning more towards OH/IN/KY for a few reasons... We've done MD before a few times, there are a lot of good sites out there, and prolly cheaper since they are away from the east coast, which also means that buses might be cheaper too. It would be good to pay homage to the Pitt people as well. I would only hope that they would be able to assist in scouting out all the places with Ricky...
My only fear is of course is the fear every year of landing in a site that is so terrible we have to drop a system. With MD we know the good from the bad after years of playing tournies out there.
I am personally a big fan of a Cali setting since.. well... theres a qzar out there that i haven't been to yet... but thats just me. :P
But no matter where we go, me and Nate have a fully operational Qzar system we can load up and take with us, we just need a local owner who will allow us to use their arena, or we could set up a "mobile arena" outside, but that isnt ideal for tourny play. One of the Laser Webs used to be a qzar...
Is there a Force out west? If there is I think that should be one of the bigger points to be made...
I do have to say Jab, if I can avoid playing on brand new Darklight gear I will :P That stuff hurts...
-Greg
-RedNecTec
Zombie Apocalypse
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Rave wrote:And just to comment on Baron's Point. Cheap buses are nice, but I would be pissed to drive up to Buffalo just to jump on a bus to drive back down to Pittsburgh. Well, you shouldn't have to come up here just to return on a bus. As with other years, if it's easier for you to fly or drive and stay closer to the starting center, then by all means, do so.. you just need to make sure that you are at the starting center when everyone else arrives or when the tournament starts. It makes no difference how you get there.. walk, drive, hitchhike, or ride a darn horse.. I really don't care because the only thing that matters to me is you're on time so we can get the ball rolling and the party started 
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You never know how routes are going to go Kelly. There might not be a time to wrap around an go back to Pitt just to drop us Pitt boys off before buffalo, but hey, im just thinking out loud really.
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Guys, the bus would go back through Pittsburgh, so only people from Buffalo would need to get on in Buffalo. It originates in Buffalo because I can get a better deal because I know the operators. July 4th is a very bad time to rent a bus. Rates are probably going to keep rising, so having an inexpensive bus is hardly a luxury.
It's going to be a 3-4 hour bus ride pretty much either way if we start in Pittsburgh. There aren't a lot of good laser tag centers nearby.
My hope was to find a place to play with the Q-Zar gear between Pittsburgh and Baltimore to break it up.
There is also a Laser Force near enough to Baltimore to play.
The problem/reality with playing new centers is that it's hit or miss. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it doesn't. I would rather play good laser tag at a place I know the equipment is going to be in top notch shape and the owners are on board than risk something lame.
Baltimore would afford a new LaserTron arena, a new Darklight, a different/new Zone arena, and a new Force arena for Armageddon. However, several of these locations are run by owners who have hosted Armageddon in the past.
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Baron, Please post a recommended center list on these forums and lets discuss. There is no denying the quality of centers in the Baltimore area... it is an almost guaranteed quality Armageddon! Thanks sir! TheBaron wrote:Guys, the bus would go back through Pittsburgh, so only people from Buffalo would need to get on in Buffalo. It originates in Buffalo because I can get a better deal because I know the operators. July 4th is a very bad time to rent a bus. Rates are probably going to keep rising, so having an inexpensive bus is hardly a luxury.
It's going to be a 3-4 hour bus ride pretty much either way if we start in Pittsburgh. There aren't a lot of good laser tag centers nearby.
My hope was to find a place to play with the Q-Zar gear between Pittsburgh and Baltimore to break it up.
There is also a Laser Force near enough to Baltimore to play.
The problem/reality with playing new centers is that it's hit or miss. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it doesn't. I would rather play good laser tag at a place I know the equipment is going to be in top notch shape and the owners are on board than risk something lame.
Baltimore would afford a new LaserTron arena, a new Darklight, a different/new Zone arena, and a new Force arena for Armageddon. However, several of these locations are run by owners who have hosted Armageddon in the past.
Dark Angel
Servant of Armageddon
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There is also an outdoor place around Baltimore.
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http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=109842351796990696961.00046f9bff30ebe49336eThis map doesn't include the new Darklight (it wasn't opened when I plotted) or the Bailey's Zone because way back when they didn't really want to work with Armageddon when Marc called on them. Sounds like that may have changed.
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If we can start in Pitt, Have Laser Force, and have a cheap bus, Im 100% behind this idea no matter where we go. I'd like more details on the route if it were to be possible.
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Unfortunately, it's impossible to plan a route until you talk to the site owners. But in general...
-Start with Pittsburgh Storm evening July 3 or morning July 4
-Next stop is to find some place to play Q-Zar relatively near Pittsburgh or halfway between. I have some ideas, but the downfall is having arena obstacles for q-zar.
-Drive to Baltimore and play LQ, Force, LaserTron, Zone, Darklight and outdoor in whatever order works out for the sites. Probably be able to stay in one hotel again for two nights (which I always prefer personally).
-Bus back to Pittsburgh/Buffalo
Finish up by Monday.
OR
Stay for LaserTron World Championships Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at both of Marc's fields.
Jason
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