Editor: QtPie
Introduction
HI! A lot of things seemed to have happened in the last few weeks on paintball. <Thinks: I wish I was as good at this writing stuff as Polly was…> But I will not dwell on that. Let me just say this: “Be NICE!” Ok, that is done.. Let’s get on to the newsletter.
We have a lot of newbies joining our “happy” little home of paintball. This issue of the PBNN focuses on the area of newbies. It hopefully will refresh your memory on being a newbie, help you deal with the newbies, and help the newbie (yes there are newbies that subscribe to the PBNN) relate to you. Do read it please!
Table of Contents
Articles
Newbies, who needs ’em? by Eric Gray
Do’s and DON’Ts by Eric Gray and QtPie
Results of the Simple(or not so simple as some people told me) little survey
Happenings
Player Profiles
Closing Notes
Articles
Newbies, who needs ’em?
Written by Eric Gray
“Quit begging NewbieX!” “Quit spamming NewbieX!” “Read the help files NewbieX!” Remember when you had $1,000 PB cash, a beginner paintgun and a beginner vest? Being a newbie isn’t easy. I am constantly amazed by the number of people who manage to stick it out and become veterans without going nuts trying to learn how to play. Now I understand that many veterans consider newbies annoying and generally ignore whatever they say, but lets take a little closer look at what newbies are and what they do for the game.
I have heard hundreds of definitions of a newbie over the two years I have been playing, someone with under 100 splats was the first, now it has become someone with under 5,000 splats, an ID number over 50,000, or under 200 games played, pick your poison. In my book a newbie is anyone who doesn’t know everything about the game, and yes, that does mean that I am still a newbie.
True newbies, the ones who have just started to play and have no clue as to what to do, are easy to spot and don’t need to be defined. Many veterans ridicule these starting players because they don’t know much about the game, but they are the future of PBN. Newbies provide the pool from which the next generation of great players will be drawn. The bulk of players online at any given moment are people who have started playing within the past three months. This group of aspiring level 2’s are also the ones who send in money for level ups and keep your favorite online game going strong. Don’t forget that its their money which is in large part responsible for the servers you play on, and the software on your computer.
If some of these players are from time to time a little annoying, remember to take a look at it from their point of view. Staring at the 35 or 45k price tag on a refracto or jetpack kit and wondering how anyone manages to get that much money it is no wonder that some of them get frustrated from time to time and do things to get some attention drawn to themselves. They don’t have the equipment or ability (yet) to get attention with their splats, and most of them just want to be noticed. While this doesn’t make their behavior any more appropriate, it does provide some insight as to why they act the way they do.
I try to make a point of saying hello and goodbye to newbies when they log onand off. Some veterans give money away to newbies to help them out, but for the most part new people want friends more than they want help. This is an online game, and that means that it is as much about communicating with people as it is about splatting them. While it is true that I have given away a lot of money during my PB career, I like to think that my popularity is affected more by my personality than it is by my donations. Taking the time to explain why certain equipment is good, or how to use a can is far more beneficial to a newbie than just giving them some cash to make them be quiet.
To you new players out there reading this, I would just like to say have fun. Remember that everyone here was once a newbie, and that one day if you keep playing you will be as good as that veteran who splatted you the last three games in a row. Try to avoid doing things that will disrupt the game like spamming, begging, stealing or scamming. The damage it will do to your reputation and potential friendships far outweigh the little gain it might get you in money. If you get really frustrated, just take a deep breath and remember that it is only a game, then say hello to someone you haven’t talked to before. If you can’t splat them, maybe they will tell you what their secret is.
So the next time you see a frustrated player with 57 splats spamming and swearing about the veterans lobbing high velocity grenades all over the field, don’t just hit your ignore button to show off your nifty new alias. Instead think back to those times when YOU were new. Let the player know that their behavior is wrong, but do it in a nice way, and try to help them understand a little more about the game. I have accomplished most of the objectives that people want to achieve in the game, I have become an admin, I have a lot of splats, I can use almost any weapon very effectively, and I think I am a match for almost any player in the game when I am playing at my best. But when I look back at it all, the things that I remember the most and the best are watching the newbies I have helped grow and have fun in the game. Give it a try some time, you may be suprised at how much you like the feeling yourself.
Do’s and DON’Ts
Written by Eric Gray and QtPie
Newbie Don’ts -DON’T USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. -Don’t spam. -Don’t beg. -Don’t make annoying banners that disrupt the game. -Don’t whine. -Don’t get mad. Newbie Do’s -Read the help files. -Thank people who help you. -If you have a question ask it. -Say hello and goodbye when you come on and when you leave. -Be friendly, if it weren’t for the chatting and friends, this might as well be an offline game. -Above all, have fun =)
NonNewbie Don’ts -DON’T cuss newbies our for asking a question. -DON’T cuss newbies out for spamming. -DON’T cuss newbies out for begging. -DON’T cuss newbies out <all the other annoying things that newbies do inserted here>
NonNewbie Do’s -Take the time to help a newbie. It’s a great feeling. -Understand that it’s hard being a newbie, put yourself in their shoes. -Say hello and goodbye to the newbies. -Be friendly, not only to the newbies but to everyone. Let’s show the newbies an air of friendliness around paintball. -Remember that cussing someone out just gets everyone frustrated, tell them nicely what they are doing that is annoying you and most will quit doing it. -Above all, have fun =)
Results of the Survey.
[Note Mr. Snow Plow is not a real person, he is totally made up by me. I hope you enjoy what I did here, if not, do not tell me you don’t like it. At least not for a couple week. I have taken too much criticism this week. Thanks!]
Mr. Snow Plow downloaded paintball. He had been wondering around the net and came across PBTerm at <old link> [People have downloaded PBTERM fromlots of different places]. He had played paintball in real life a few times and he thought it was fun so he decided to give this game a try. After downloading it he logged on. Wow, not very good graphics here, but the people seem nice enough[Most people disliked the graphics at first, but liked the people/and or being able to play against other people]. He wonders over the stores, unable to chat as of yet, and types list. He is amazed at all the equipment to buy and bewildered as to what he should buy.[Most people liked the people and/or the choices of equipment at first but were confused about the commands]
Mr. Snow Plow manages to hit the ready button and gets thrown into an invaders game. Tons of bots come rushing at him and he is dead in 3 seconds. Upon hearing the “ow” sound he is thrown back into holding with barely a clue as to what just happened.[Alot of people dislike the toughness of the game at first and invaders itself.] He then notices Eric Gray[Many votes for most helpful all around] say something about using c to chat. He gives a try and sure enough it works. Great, now he can chat so he asks the famous question “How do I play this?” Qtpie[Quite a few votes for most helpful all around as well] spams the chat with her “newbie how to play alias” and then goes back to renaming.
Beowulf[Many votes for most helpful all around] happens to see Mr. Snow Plow struggling. Quickly he goes into “helper” mode and gets him registered, sets him up with some equipment, and teaches him a bit about aliases. Grateful that he now has some idea what he is doing, he hits the Ready button again enters into his second game. This time its survival. He runs around and spots a red dude flying past him. He follows as quick as he can, shooting every now and then and finally gets his first splat. Then he gets another, and then another. By the end of the game he had gotten 7 splats but then pentiumman[voted best nader (many comments about his grenades being special though)] comes along with his super-duper fast grenades and splats him.
Good game all around though. He is all psyched up for the next game which happens to be coop. Within seconds of the game starting, Mr. Snow Plow is out of the game because Random[voted for best coop player along with Wulf and Kun] captured his flag. What a bummer. That game is over quickly but no admin has started the game to start yet so he sits and waits. Seeing QtPie[Alot of votes for most well liked, also Eric received many votes] is done renaming and chatting away with all the guys, he decides to say hello. She answers and they chat for a bit. She is cool, he thinks.
The next game begins. He manages to get away from the crowd a bit, but ends up running right into Brockman[Many votes for best gunner]. Brock whips out his gun and flings some paint. Brockman, being the excellent gunner that he is ends up splatting Mr. Snow Plow in the eye. He lasted for a few more seconds then the previous game, he pats himself on the back and sits in holding and waits.
He notices alot of attention being given to DavidRM[Many votes for most well liked]. He soon finds out the RM is one of the creators of the game. He manages to chat “Hi DavidRM” and Rm replies with his typical Yo.
Another game begins. This time its that bot game again. He does what Wulf had told him to do and splats a few bots. There he sees QtPie’s name again.. seems she is everywhere. He waits the game out and then sees everyone congratulate Kun, Beowulf, and Lutra [All three got many votes for best vaders player].
Throughout the course of his first day, Mr. Snow Plow learns what an admin does. He realizes that Wulf[Many votes for favorite admin] is an admin, he meets a few others [Tarquin also recieved many votes for favorite admin] and figures one day he would like to become one as well [A main goal of alot of people.] A fun time all in all for Mr. Snow Plow. He had made a few friends, learned a few things, gotten a few splats. He dreams about reaching 10k splats[Getting a certain number of splats is a main goal of alot of people] but mainly looks forward to the fun[Main Goal of alot of people] that he will have tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next next next next…[Addiction of the game was mentioned alot in the survey.]
Happy Splatting Mr. Snow Plow!
[Many others recieved votes for something or another. I tried to pick the ones whose names came up the most for this article. Congrats to you all! You can see the rest of the results at <old link>]
Happenings
New Admins
-Mickey D is the newest 90.
-FlyinEmu,Dark Angel and Cowbot are the newest 80s.
New Items
-Free paintball rifle
-Lighter pockets and expansion kits
Changes
-Free paint can now only be used in free guns and free rifles.
-Addwin command added to the commands for tourney masters.
-Ignore now ignores people’s whisper <—personal favorite change of mine 🙂
Player Profiles
PBN Name: Vice Admiral Acker
Real Name: Brad Acker
Age: 13
Job: None
Hobbies: Paintball-net, golf
Homepage: <old link>
Team: RavensFlock
Stats: Ever: GAMES:907 BONUS:357500 SPLATS:328 ACCURACY:22%
Time Played: A few weeks now.
Most Crowning PBN Achievements[what have you done that you are proud of?] : Got 5 splats in a survival game and won.
PB Pet Peeves: SPAM
Fav. PB Weapon: Cans!
Fav. Bot: Really dumb one
Fav. PBN Player: Me.
PBN Name:Jon Toppins
Real Name:Jon Toppins
Age: 15
Job: Work at my uncles carryout
Hobbies: Baseball, PBN, real paintball, swimming, and N64
Homepage: The Simpsons Multimedia Vault…<old link>
Team: Chorus and Chorus only 😛
Time Played: Early March or late Feb not real sure
Most Crowning PBN Achievements[what have you done that you are proud of?] broke 20k splats {will have 30k but the time u read this :P}
Stats:Stats for ‘Jon Toppins'(47981): (EVER) GAMES:9855 BONUS:18265000 SPLATS:27264 ACCURACY:52% GAMES SURVIVED:2404 BOT SPLATS:17704 PLAYER SPLATS:5671 (CURRENT) BONUS:71000 SPLATS:81 ACCURACY:62%
PB Pet Peeves:
Fav. PB Weapon: a can of spray paint[rapidfire][expansion]or a Mini rocket launcher [rapid][huge]
Fav. Bot: hate bots 😛 Fav. PBN Player(s):Qt, Mickey D, Beo, Otimus Prime, epU, stanky, MFD, Flubstien, TBC,Compeler, Kunu, and more 😛
Famous Quotes [quotes you are well known for] : Chorus Sweep, cleaning up the mess u left behind and of course the chorus cheer 😛
Other/ Comments: I would just like to thank Qt for helping me as a newbie….i would of quit because i just got scammed for most of my money. Qt was there and got me back on my feet and made me the player I am today 😛
Closing Notes
Aww there ya have it, there ya go! I will be sending out some more profiles forms in a few days, you can get those into me sometime in the next two weeks. Thanks:) Sorry there were only two profiles to show you this week, that is all I recieved. <shrug>
There will soon be a new newbie help file written by Eric Gray posted on the paintball homepage. The article is a bit lengthy to include in this issue of the paintball newsletter and I figure most of you know what you are doing already. But it would be helpful for newbies to read it over so you might want to suggest they take a look at it.
Thanks to all who filled out the survey. It was very fun to do and look over everyone’s answers. If you all want me too, I will send out surveys every now and again. Give me feedback. 🙂
Thanks Mickey D for helping me proofread this newsletter!
Have fun everyone! Happy Splatting QT