Laserforce Explained, Part 2d: Space Marines

Laserforce Explained, Part 2d: Space Marines

With this post, we come to the end of our detailed description of the 20 game modes currently offered in Laserforce. This last post takes a look at a game type so often used in tournaments and official league play that it serves as the ultimate test of a player's skill: Space Marines. This is actually a pair of official league game modes; however, it is exclusively available as a team game for at least two teams. In the more advanced Space Marines 5 game type, an extra player class (Medic) is selectable in addition to the four classes used in Space Marines 4, since players have a finite amount of lives and will be eliminated from the current mission if these are depleted. However, the simpler Space Marines 4 does not use the Medic or the lives system, and as such, players cannot be eliminated in this particular mode.

Space Marines 4 (the basic version) can be played by 2 to 4 teams, and uses four player classes: Commander, Heavy Weapons, Scout, and Ammo Carrier. In this variation, the latter two have only 1 hit point each, but like the other two classes, both have unique perks that can prove valuable in combat. Scouts can carry a moderate amount of regular shots, but can carry up to 10 missiles, more than any other class, and can switch to stealth mode by holding down their trigger when they are up; while cloaked, they will switch to missiles, and in addition to being able to lock on to opponents faster in this state, cannot be locked onto by normal means (although opponents can still lock onto them with their missiles). Ammo Carriers always have infinite shots and missiles, and can zap teammates while they are up to restock their ammo reserves; specifically, they can use regular shots to give their teammates more shots, and fire missiles at them (except for Commanders) to resupply their missiles.

Commanders can use a nuke to deactivate every other player at the cost of 20 special points (the maximum amount that any player can accumulate), again by holding down their trigger while they are up (unless they are deactivated before the nuke takes effect, which is four seconds after activation), but cannot carry or fire missiles at all, and have the smallest ammo capacities of the four regular classes. However, they have a maximum of 2 hit points, which is more than a Scout or Ammo Carrier but less than a "Heavy" (which is what most players affectionately call the Heavy Weapons class). Speaking of which, Heavies can carry more shots (plus 5 missiles) than Commanders and Scouts, and can immediately reactivate themselves (at the cost of 10 special points - half that of a nuke) by holding down their trigger while they are down; however, they cannot receive a lock-on tone, although unlike the other four classes, they have permanent rapid-fire throughout the duration of the game.

Warbots in Space Marines 4 will always assume the same class as whoever controls it, i.e. the most recent player to successfully zap it once. They will not revert to being inactive until they have been deactivated 10 times. In addition, all players can deactivate opponents with a single shot. Finally, every player in a Space Marines game (even in SM5) plays at the same skill level.

Space Marines 5 is the most challenging and complex Laserforce game type, and as such is recommended for expert players. Unlike in SM4, players are always split up into two teams; each player has a limited amount of lives, and he/she will be eliminated if all of these are expended, while missiles cannot be resupplied. All four player classes shared with SM4 have been significantly changed in several ways, but with limited lives available for all players, the creators of this game type saw fit to add a fifth player class - the Medic. This category has the lowest ammo capacity of any type of player in Space Marines 5, but has the most lives to balance out its inability to obtain more, and can resupply its allies in the same manner as an Ammo Carrier would, as described below.

As for the other four player classes, Commanders and Scouts have the same ammo capacities and life counts, except that the latter cannot carry missiles and, like Ammo Carriers and Medics, have the fewest hit points and lowest shot power of all five classes. Moreover, Commanders receive four lives when "healed" by Medics; Scouts will only receive three lives when healed. To counteract this, Commanders receive half as many shots when resupplied by Ammo Carriers (5 vs. 10). In addition, although Heavies and Ammo Carriers have the fewest starting lives (initially 10, although they can have up to 20 each at any one time), they always receive 3 lives when healed, and the latter can carry an infinite number of shots to make up for their fragility. Finally, to compensate for having the lowest ammo capacities of all player types in SM5 (20 shots initially with a maximum of 40), Heavies start out with 5 missiles, just like Commanders, and their regular shots have a power value of 3, higher than any other class. Heavies and Commanders also have 3 hit points, whereas in SM4 the latter only had two. However, Commanders can carry more shots in SM5 than they did in SM4; the opposite is true for Heavies.

For the most part, the special abilities in SM5 are unchanged from those in SM4, except that Medics can heal teammates by zapping them while they are up, just like Ammo Carriers (although being zapped by an allied Medic will cause you to receive lives instead of normal shots). Also, in SM5, both of these classes can activate a Power Boost (which resupplies all allied players at once, for 10 and 15 special points respectively, as long as said players are not currently deactivated) by holding down their trigger while they are up. Moreover, Scouts no longer have the stealth mode from SM4, and instead have the Rapid Fire special ability that was exclusive to Heavies in SM4, although this time it only lasts until they are resupplied. Finally, unlike in SM4, Heavies in SM5 do not have any special abilities.

Warbot behavior in SM5 is identical to what it is in SM4. However, since SM5 only supports exactly two teams, each team is given a target to protect while all other targets are neutral, as it would be in a normal team game. On the other hand, in a 4-team SM4 game, all targets are neutral, while in a 3-team SM4 game, only one target is neutral, with the rest being divided evenly between each team. Finally, unlike SM4, which only allows players to accumulate 20 special points, SM5 lets players earn up to 99 special points.

That brings our discussion of Laserforce game types to a satisfactory conclusion, but our exploration of Laserforce is not finished by any means - far from it, in fact. In the next post we will take a look at some of the Laserforce arenas I have visited over the years.

Laserforce Explained, Part 2c: DM and CTF

Laserforce Explained, Part 2c: DM and CTF

Most of the game types available at Laserforce are either too simple or unusual for tournament or league play under normal circumstances. To that end, they offer a few special game modes that cater to the needs of tournament organizers and players who want something more rewarding and challenging than the usual game modes. As such, due to their greater difficulty, they are seldom used outside of official tournaments. So, to begin this discussion of game types commonly used in league play, here are two more Laserforce game modes I will describe in this informal guide.

DM (short for Death Match) can be played as an individual or team game. Each player starts a DM game with 100 hit points and a shotgun which serves as the mode's default weapon. Being hit by enemy fire will not only make the lights on your battle suit grow dimmer, but also cause damage, and will lead to you being deactivated (i.e. unable to fire) for 10 seconds (as well as losing any items you had in your inventory) if you run out of hit points, although your health will gradually regenerate when you are not shooting. All players will receive one frag for every opponent deactivated. However, zapping an ally will cause you to receive damage (or even be deactivated if you're particularly careless), and zapping a deactivated player (which can be done up to a few times) will not earn a frag, but will merely cause them to remain deactivated for the next few seconds. In addition, items can be obtained by hitting a stationary target twice; once this occurs, items cannot be collected from that target for the next 20 seconds. Moreover, players cannot have more than 250 health, 100 armor and 1 rune at a time, the last of which I shall describe shortly.

Items in DM fall into four categories: weapon upgrades, defensive items, power-ups and runes. Weapon upgrades activate an alternate fire mode for your blaster, but only provide a limited amount of shots. There are two such items available: the Nailgun and Rocket Launcher. The former allows you to fire up to 30 fully automatic shots by holding down the trigger, and in addition to this, it will increase the fire rate and damage per shot. The latter gives you 10 rockets, each of which has a large blast radius; anyone caught in the "explosion" will receive half as much damage as they would from a direct rocket hit. In the right hands, these upgrades can turn the tide of a battle.

DM also includes a pair of defensive items, both of which are intended to help a player resist incoming fire more easily. Armor absorbs opponents' shots, and its strength decreases with each successful hit; once the armor is depleted, only then will you actually take damage. Super Health gives 100 health points to whoever collected it, although if they end up with >100 health as a result of this, it will gradually decrease back to their starting level. Use them wisely and you should be able to survive for longer than you would otherwise.

From DM Level 2 onwards, power-ups become available for use. The Ring of Invisibility turns off the lights on your battle suit for one minute, making you more difficult for your prospective attackers or victims to detect. Quad Damage quadruples the amount of damage you can deliver for  30 seconds; it stacks with the Strength rune, thereby octupling a player's damage output if he/she has both of these active at once. Invulnerability prevents you from receiving any damage at all for 20 seconds. Utilize the benefits they confer and you will, more often than not, become virtually unstoppable.

Runes are only available in DM3 or above and affect you indefinitely until you are fragged. There are four distinct runes, but only one of each exists in the arena, and you can only carry one rune at a time. As an incentive to use runes, fragging an opponent who currently has a rune will cause you to collect the rune he/she had. So here they are, in no particular order.

Regeneration is a potential lifesaver in tight situations, since whoever collects it will recover their health (and armor, if they have any) more quickly than usual. Haste greatly increases the fire rate of your current weapon, regardless of what it is. Strength doubles your damage output, but can be stacked with Quad Damage for an eightfold increase. Finally, Resistance halves the damage you would receive from enemy fire.

Capture the Flag (often abbreviated to CTF) is a variant of Team DM in which each team has a flag which other teams aim to capture, while simultaneously defending their own flag. The flag is assigned to a randomly selected stationary target; hence, the more targets there are in the arena, the more teams this mode can support. Capturing a flag owned by an opposing team involves zapping it three times, then avoiding being fragged en route to your team's flag before zapping it three times. Fragging an opponent who is carrying your team's flag will cause it to immediately return to your base. Please note that you can only capture an opposing flag if your team's flag is in your base. Finally, you can only use your flag to collect items if it is not currently being carried by an opponent.

DM and Capture The Flag are available in four distinct skill levels. The higher the level, the more items will be offered. As stated previously, power-ups are introduced at level 2 and runes added in level 3. Level 4 is identical to level 3 except for all players starting at the same skill level, equivalent to standard level 6.

In short, these modes are more challenging than most other game types, and as such are recommended for highly experienced veterans like myself. In the next post I will describe a staple game mode of Laserforce leagues worldwide: Space Marines.

Laserforce Explained, Part 2b: More Game Modes

Laserforce Explained, Part 2b: More Game Modes

In the previous post I described some of the game types currently on offer at any Laserforce site in the world. This time, I will explain a few more game modes, including a few that I haven't tried as of now. Unlike last time, though, I will focus on the more challenging modes offered, whereas the game types previously mentioned were generally straightforward. So here is the rest of the list of available game modes, complete with a few tips to help you survive them.

Fugitive mode splits the players into two teams: fugitives (yellow) and marshals (blue). The former tend to consist of a small number of more experienced players and always enter the playing field before the game commences, allowing them to take up a strategic position. Marshals, on the other hand, do not enter the field until the game has actually started and are never allowed to actively chase fugitives; instead they tend to hide in some secluded corner of the map, hoping to ambush them. Players' initial allocation of lives are determined using a complex algorithm that takes all of their skill levels into account. As such, if there are many more marshals than fugitives, the former will start out with far fewer lives. At any rate, taking too long to find an opponent will cause a player to be warned, and they will even lose a life if enough time passes without a successful hit on an opponent. If a player runs out of lives, he/she will be eliminated from the current game, although to discourage this, they will be warned if they only have a few lives left.

Photon Emulation evokes the feel of Photon, the world's first laser tag system, and as such is the slowest-paced game mode of all. Players can only fire once per second and cannot use missiles. However, regardless of skill level, only one direct hit is required to stun an opponent, although this can only happen if the victim was not already stunned. In addition, players cannot zap the same opponent more than three times in a row, and must hit another opponent or a fixed target to reset this counter. Also, a player who is hit by enemy fire will not be registered as stunned for a half-second after impact, and will be reactivated within five seconds. Finally, due to the lack of Warbots (or equivalents thereof) in Photon, these props are not used in Photon Emulation.

Wedlock requires an even number of players, and for good reason: all players are split into pairs and initially act as a single entity. Thus, whatever happens to either player in the pair, be it receiving a special ability or being deactivated, affects both, until the pair holds down their triggers at the exact same time while active after accumulating at least 25 special points in total. Once the players are decoupled, none of the negative effects of the wedlock will affect them, although the positive effects will be retained.

Dead Aim (which can be played as an individual or team-based mode) emphasizes accuracy above all, since each player is initially allocated a limited number of shots and cannot carry more shots than a predetermined value - both of which depend on the player's skill level, with higher-ranked players having smaller initial and maximum ammo loads. Obviously, it is impossible for a player to open fire if all of their shots are expended; however, any direct hit on an opponent will replenish their ammo reserves, with high-level players needing more hits to do so than low-level players. Also, the higher a player's skill level, the more direct hits they will need to destroy a fixed target. Finally, activating a payback (which immediately reactivates a player who is deactivated) requires two shots; in addition to this, firing a missile requires four shots, and if it hits an opponent, the attacker will gain additional shots (enough to recoup the initial four-shot investment multiple times) plus lots of points.

Tag is an individual game type in which some of the players will be "it", and aim to tag a player who is not "it" using a missile. Those players can score points by zapping tagged players without being tagged themselves (although they cannot zap any player who is not tagged), Players who are tagged cannot score and can only fire missiles instead of normal shots; however, they can tag an opponent by firing a missile at them, and will revert to normal whenever this occurs. As an incentive to be "it" for as little time as possible, a tagged player will not only be unable to destroy static targets, but also lose points whenever they are hit, and will always revert to normal if they stay "it" for too long, losing even more points in the process while an untagged player is tagged automatically at random. Anyone who tags an opponent cannot be tagged until the attacker zaps a tagged player or stationary target, or the victim tags any other untagged player. Finally, warbots and skill levels are not used in this mode.

That brings an end to my discussion of normal Laserforce game types, but there are a few modes that are primarily reserved for tournaments and official league play. These will be described in detail in the next post.

Laserforce Explained, Part 2a: Game Modes

Laserforce Explained, Part 2a: Game Modes

At its core, Laserforce is a live-action game in which players compete for the highest score in each session, either for themselves or for their team. A multitude of game modes are offered, and each one has its own unique set of objectives. Shooting at an opponent with your blaster between one and three times (the exact number being dependent on your skill level) will earn you points. In some of these modes, players will be eliminated if they are either hit enough times or receive a direct hit from a special weapon. However, they all have one thing in common: the first player (or team) to fulfill the victory condition(s) will always win. To be honest, though, most of the modes apart from the standard individual and team-based deathmatches are seldom used outside of Party Nights and other special offers, but it's nice to know that they are still on offer as of now.

Individual and Team games are the simplest of all. In the former, whoever scores the most points before the timer runs out will win. Also, in a team game, the winning team is the one which scores the most points, but it may not necessarily have the highest-scoring individual player. The latter mode supports up to seven teams, and goes by the name of Partners if more than two teams are present. Additional points can be scored by hitting a glowing target three consecutive times, although this can happen only once per player (and in team games, only on targets not of the same color as that player's team). Moreover, once per game, players can control a mechanical prop called a Warbot by shooting at it several times with their blaster; whenever this occurs, the Warbot will score points on their behalf for the next minute. Finally, at higher skill levels, players can hit their own teammates, and in addition to being stunned (i.e. unable to fire) will lose some points in the process. There is even a Masters version of the Individual game type, intended mainly for tournaments, in which all players are at the same skill level (standard level 6), but Warbots and Invulnerability (details of which will be shown in an upcoming post) are not used.

Uber (referred to as "Supercharge" on the official site) versions of both individual and team game modes are available. The main difference is that the pace of the game is much faster than it normally is - for example, players are stunned for half as long as they normally would when they are hit -  while an Uber Team game is limited to exactly two teams (red and blue instead of the usual red and green). Moreover, each special ability costs the same number of points regardless of how often it was previously used, whereas in other modes, it usually becomes more difficult to obtain after each use (and even then, they can only be used against players whose level is at least equal to that of whoever activated them).

Shadows mode (again, available as an individual or team-based game type) is different from the other modes on offer in that it emphasizes stealth and strategy. In this mode, players' equipment will only be fully lit if they are being targeted using a missile or whenever they are attacking a fixed target. All players can switch from "shot mode" (in which they can fire normal shots or high-powered missiles, and their equipment is dimly lit) to "missile mode" (which only allows for the use of faster-firing missiles, and causes a player's equipment to go dark) or vice versa at will during the game. In addition, it always takes a single direct hit for a player to be stunned, and a missile will stun the victim for longer than a normal shot would. There is even an Extreme version of this mode, in which all players are in missile mode for the whole game; as such, it's even more challenging than the regular Shadows mode. In fact, every Shadows game I have played so far was of the Extreme variation, which is unsurprising considering its greater popularity.

Gladiator and Highlander are even more challenging in that, unlike most other modes, it is possible for a player (or a team) to be eliminated from the game while it is still in progress, and as such, the game will end immediately if all but one player or team is eliminated before the time limit is reached. This occurs when all lives have been expended through being hit by enemy fire (in Gladiator) or when they are hit by a missile (in Highlander). The main difference between these modes is in the rule set: although Warbots are not used in either of these modes, Gladiator forgoes special abilities altogether, and in that mode, players start with between 15 and 30 lives depending on their current skill level (the higher the level, the fewer lives they will start with) and gain lives by zapping opponents and static targets. On the other hand, Highlander starts out slowly, but becomes faster-paced over time, making it feel even more intense in the last few minutes; moreover, eliminating another player with a missile will cause the attacking player to collect the full score and special points that their victim had accumulated prior to elimination. Finally, activating a shield in a Highlander game will provide protection from incoming missiles until either 10 seconds have elapsed or the player using it is reactivated, although the cost for triggering this ability increases from 5 special points to 30 special points over the course of a mission. While I have never played any Gladiator matches yet, I have been quite successful in Highlander, scoring lots of points before either being eliminated or running out of time.

Timewarp mostly follows normal rules (minus the Warbots) with the exception that each player has a fuse attached to them, and higher-level players not only start out with shorter fuses, but can't extend them as much as lower-level players. However, regardless of rank, any player whose fuse runs out completely will be eliminated. To delay (or even avoid) this untimely end, players can rewind their fuse at the rate of 1 second per special point by holding down the trigger while they are active; however, if a player does this while they are deactivated, they will pause their timer (using up 1 special point every 2 seconds) until they either expend all their special points or are reactivated. In addition, a player can fast-forward an opponent's timer by obtaining the equivalent of a missile lock on them, subtracting 4 seconds from the victim for every second the missile lock lasts until it is broken or the victim runs out of time. Finally, if a player has more than 15 special points, holding down the trigger while up will cause a time-warp, for each second of which their timer is rewound by 2 seconds, whereas their opponents' timers are fast-forwarded by 1 second, until the player who activated it either uses up all their special points or is deactivated.

In addition to these game modes, many others are offered, but I have already described enough of them to realize that this post should be split into two parts. The remaining modes will be described in the next post.

Laserforce Explained: A Guide to the World's Most Successful Laser Tag Chain, Part 1

Laserforce Explained: A Guide to the World's Most Successful Laser Tag Chain, Part 1

During my two-year tenure as a student at the University of Queensland, I discovered a new way to have fun on weekends and holidays, when academic progress was the least of my worries. Having mastered a lot of arcade games in the space of just a few months, I set out to find something even more challenging. Fortunately, I didn't have to look far for the answer - and it turned out to be right under my nose. Laserforce, the world's most successful laser tag chain, was headquartered in Brisbane, so naturally, I decided to take the plunge and play a few games - first at Strike Wintergarden (which was closest to the apartment I had rented), and later at their headquarters in Woolloongabba, as well as in Sky Zone MacGregor (there are even more sites scattered throughout the city, such as the one in the AMF Bowling arena across the street from Sky Zone, but I did not visit them due to lack of awareness). And to be honest, it was like nothing else I had tried before.

So what exactly is Laserforce? Well, at first glance it appears to be just another laser tag chain. However, it's actually much more than that. It was established in 1988, not long after the debut of the very first laser tag chain, which was called Photon. However, thanks to the perseverance of its founders, Alan and Len Kelly, Laserforce has survived and thrived for nearly three decades, and developed seven distinct generations of proprietary equipment, each one incorporating more advanced technologies and features than the last.

Most, if not all, of the hundreds of Laserforce sites around the world are well-appointed, with a full set of amenities for guests (up to 60 or more in some sites and very friendly (not to mention helpful) staff. In fact, they are not really stand-alone facilities. You will find a video game arcade, bowling alley, or trampoline park (or any combination of the three), but that's for another post. As for the Laserforce arena itself, pricing and special offers tend to vary from site to site.

Taking the Woolloongabba site as an example, permanent memberships cost A$7.00 (or A$6.00 for under-16s), while the price of individual entry for sessions ranges from A$12.00 for a single game to A$67.00 for 10 games - although considering the fast-paced nature of Laserforce causes players to burn plenty of calories in each game, it seems like money well spent. However, the best deal I have found so far was actually at Strike Wintergarden, where every Thursday (although it used to be a Wednesday deal), anyone can just walk in and play as many laser tag games as they want (or need) for just A$10. Some sites, such as Sky Zone Macgregor, also allow players to enter for 10 minutes at a time in a continuous session lasting for several hours.

And having briefly described the history, locations and pricing for the world's greatest laser tag company, I shall move on to the various game types offered and how to play them... but that will require a post of its own to explain fully.