Sorry for the late reply – Armageddon isn't happening this year (or at least not at the usual time in June) due to Covid-19.

I sent them a link to the History of Nerf Modding discord, where we have access to some backups of old nerf lists, but they are not publicly released yet. Didn't want to "advertise" in public. They have joined and we have been going through modern nerf with them and getting him up to speed. In turn, we have gotten some nice pictures of period correct mods and some pictures and info on original Stefans. 

The whole issue is that using a place like Discord (privately owned servers, closed off from public archive and search) will fundamentally run into the same issue that services like Facebook Groups, Ning (completely dead and with it a decade-plus of SoCal Nerf photos/history/archival stuff), and other walled-off ecosystems is that it fails the point of archiving anything. Keeping information out in public where it can be accessed and stored (e.g. by Internet Archive) makes it way less likely that you run into the issue that you are currently trying to fix, that is, that a bunch of the early parts of the history of this hobby got lost due to profit-searching machinations of private companies.

Welcome back to the fold. The horizons closed in and the monopolies and siloization of technologies and networks and that means you're looking at us on a dead expanse, hollowed shells of information and people that used to exist but no longer. If you're looking for Spoon, he's mostly reachable by way of the other old hands on Facebook. Last time I saw him was at, like, Armageddon 2018? 2019?

And, yeah, the "stefan" stuff being the common nomenclature for any stock dart is psycho wild. Language transfer across national borders and international waters.

PM'd you some pertinent info.

Why would you send it in a direct message instead of posting it in public.

Use a screw standoff spacer and embed it in epoxy putty or something. Or, failing the standoff, use a piece of wood or plastic and drill/tap it for the screw.

Armageddon XX: No Group Photo, No Mercy

Thanks to everyone who came out! See you next year.

See you tomorrow.

See you freaks on Saturday. Just to reiterate the important stuff:

• Bring plenty of water. Make sure you stay hydrated. Wear sunscreen and reapply at lunch. You are smol bean, plant emoji, etc.
• There are no available bathrooms at the school. If you need to use the bathroom, there are restaurants two blocks away with available facilities.
• If you need to reach someone the day of the war, for whatever reason, your best shots are posting here in this thread or using the Facebook event or reaching out to the NerfHaven page on Facebook. PMs probably will not work.
• To stop a round for safety reasons, yell out the word "HOLD". If you hear someone call "HOLD", STOP PLAYING IMMEDIATELY. At any time during a round, anyone can call "Hold", which will temporarily stop that round. Players should repeat the call of Hold so that all other players hear, until the round stops completely. If a pedestrian is walking through the field, if a player is injured or if there is some other threat to personal safety, you are obligated to call hold. You can call a hold to pause the game and sort out some issue that is not a matter of personal safety, but do not abuse it.
• No barrel taps allowed. Barrel taps are how you absolutely gouge someone with a brass barrel and take out a chunk of skin. Barrel taps are how you break the barrel and bushing off your blaster. You can shoot them from point-blank, or you can ask them to take the hit. Don't touch them with your blaster.

Old Timer Pervert Squad team round is going to get the cops called on the war but that's a risk I encourage us to take.

One month to go. Get those dart orders put in and those blasters tuned up.

This is awesome. Great job.

Is there a Facebook Event for Geddon yet? Been promoting the event; would be helpful to have one on FB from the host.

I didn't post the event last year on there last year because I don't use Facebook. I believe that Cannonball posted one for 2018, though; I will see if anyone in the SCUN group is willing to post one, if it's absolutely necessary to do so.

Just wondering if you guys would be willing to do anything on that Sunday as well?
I can't go to end War due to cost and wvz doesn't work with my work schedule.
Id be coming from Canada

Sorry, but as it stands, I don't have any plans to host an additional event on Sunday. However, Los Angeles is a world-class city with some of the best restaurants in the world (there is a banh mi place in Alhambra that is as good as any street food place in Vietnam, for $4 per sandwich), so I'm sure that you could find additional stuff to do to make the trip worthwhile.

ARMAGEDDON XX: 2019

Date:
Saturday, 29 June 2019
 
Time:
9:00 AM to 4:00+ PM
(Arrive around 9AM; people like to chat and prep beforehand. First round will start by 9:45AM.)
 
Location:
Stanton Elementary School
725 S Vencino Dr
Glendora, CA 91740
 
Remember, using these locations is a privilege, not a right. Use the golden rule: Don't Be A Dick.

 
FAQ

Where and when?
The war is 23 June 2018, from 9:00 to whenever (usually 4:00, but later is not impossible and is in fact a little likely). Location data is available above.

Darts?
Slugs and safer darts only. No metal is preferred but I understand that to maximize attendance while keeping it safe I need to keep this restriction more open. If you do make slugs, use #6 washers and not #8 washers. Use Ryan McNumbers' excellent guide available here if you plan on making slugs. If you use larger ammo, like megas or similar, keep them soft-tipped by the same guidelines as above.
If you are using silicone dome darts, they must be soft tips. Last year people were shooting rocks. Keep total dart weight under 1.3g, too, if you're shooting 1/2" darts.
You are also free to use stock-style darts, obviously. China Darts as reviewed by Cheerios are fine. No FVJ/FVN/whatever type of darts have a rock hard rubber/vinyl tip. The tip of the dart needs to be soft.

Who?
Everyone is welcome to come, veterans and newcomers alike. I'm not going to outright ban people younger than 13, but if you plan on bringing someone who is, you are responsible for them all day and you are especially responsible for them remaining safe (hydrated and wearing eye protection). I will be running this war with the assistance of others (including, but not limited to, Zorn and Apollo256).

What isn't allowed?
With dart restrictions, there isn't as much of a need for blaster regulations. Don't bring Titans shooting micro darts because that's just ridiculous. I and other war council advisors will spot-ban things if you are lasering dudes from a million miles away.

Blaster rules:
HOMEMADE AIRGUNS: Case-by-case basis. It is highly recommended that you talk to me beforehand (send me a PM or something). I'm very understanding.

TITANS: You may use them if they fire missiles (stock or Draconis or whatever) or balls. They must not be firing darts, of any size.

LBB/4B/UMB/SIMILAR: You may use them if they have the functional stock OPRV.

SUPER SOAKERS/SIMILAR: Do not bring them. If they shoot darts, they're too powerful. If they shoot water, people get mad.

SCEPTORS: If you want to use a Sceptor, make it colorful. Make it look as little like a paintball gun as possible. Wrap the tank in denim or something. If you replace the tank or pump, the OPRV must be kept at the same pressure and the tank volume may not be made any larger (stock is about 800cc).

SUPERMAXX 2000/5000/9000: Do whatever. It's fine. I hope you don't blow up your tank.

MELEE WEAPONS: Don't bring anything larger than these (Mashoongas).

SHIELDS: Hits on shields count as hits on you if you plan to use them. I'm nostalgic enough to say that Manta Rays count as actual shields against 1/2" darts, though.

Anything else?
1.) To stop a round for safety reasons, yell out the word "HOLD". If you hear someone call "HOLD", STOP PLAYING IMMEDIATELY. At any time during a round, anyone can call "Hold", which will temporarily stop that round. Players should repeat the call of Hold so that all other players hear, until the round stops completely. If a pedestrian is walking through the field, if a player is injured or if there is some other threat to personal safety, you are obligated to call hold. You can call a hold to pause the game and sort out some issue that is not a matter of personal safety, but do not abuse it.
2.) No barrel taps allowed. Barrel taps are how you absolutely gouge someone with a brass barrel and take out a chunk of skin. Barrel taps are how you break the barrel and bushing off your blaster. You can shoot them from point-blank, or you can ask them to take the hit. Don't touch them with your blaster.
 
 
 

A few important pieces of information:

• I don't anticipate there being a problem with the war site, but if there is, this is the address of the place we will be going as a back-up:
  Ole Hammer Park
  362 N Live Oak Ave
  Glendora, CA 91741
  There is also a school next door named Cullen Elementary we might try as well if we are over in the area.
• Be sure to check the weather forecast before the war. It looks like the heat wave in SoCal will break before the weekend happens, which is good; they estimate it'll have a high of ninety on Saturday, which is consistent with previous years. Be sure to bring (and re-apply) sunscreen and a lot of water. There are drinking fountains on-site.
• There are no available bathrooms at the school. If you need to use the bathroom, there are restaurants two blocks away with available facilities.
• If you need to reach someone the day of the war, for whatever reason, your best shots are posting here in this thread or using the Facebook event or reaching out to the NerfHaven page on Facebook. PMs probably will not work.

 
What gametypes?
Expect to play some carpe testiculum and related gametypes. There will probably be some quick-run deathmatch as well, to suit those people like Gears with a bloodlust that knows no bounds. Last year, speed rounds and freeze tag were big hits, so those will make another appearance. There will be minimal team captain team picking to keep downtime short.

Anything else?
Bring lots of water. I'll probably end up picking up a pallet of water bottles as backup but it does get hot and you will probably be running around so expect to need to drink something.
Bring lots of sunscreen, because no one wants a sunburn now or skin cancer later.
There are a lot of places to eat nearby. Traditionally, people eat at The Hat for lunch, which is conveniently about four blocks away from the war site.
Bring comfortable shoes. You will be running around.

If you have specific questions or concerns, PM me, or post them here, or whatever.
 
***
Attending:
Ice Nine
Zorn's Lemma
 
Maybe:

Armageddon is going to be on June 29, in the same place as it has been for the last several years. I started a new job recently and the time commitment has been immense so that's why the planning stuff hasn't gone public yet. Sorry.

It will be on June 29. I will have the thread up before the end of the week.

Personally, I am a fan of this one, although if the color doesn't suit you, they also make a black one. They are great for my needs.

Thanks to everyone who managed to make it out this year – we had extremely solid numbers all day (I think we topped out above fifty people), especially considering that the first five hours of the war included a dude standing in the staging area grinding concrete. My voice is still shot. It was wonderful to see everyone who returned and to see all the new faces this year. Looking forward to Armageddon XX more than ever.

Some notes:

• Great variety of rounds and blasters and ammo types throughout the day. People using BoomCo, people using melee, people using Caliburns, people using flywheels, and people using good-old-fashioned modified blasters made every engagement and activity different.
• Adding the spawn timer for carpe helped a lot, I think – it opened up buckets for theft. My favorite round of the day. The administrators are thrilled for next year's special game plan.
• Big thanks to everyone who helped clean up and sweep darts at the end of the day. I appreciated every person who helped us get out of there more quickly than it would have taken us otherwise.

I have a thirst. A thirst for photos.

Zorn is working on his batch and phreow, there are some gems. Hopefully everyone gets to see them soon but it doesn't have the same priority as his paid photo excursions so fair warning.

See you all on the battlefield tomorrow! Get pumped.

As a reminder, it's a privilege and not a right to be able to use this place. Keep it clean. I'm bringing trash bags, as per usual, so make sure you throw out any and all trash that you create. There have apparently been issues on campus with vandalism recently and we want to be able to use this site in the future. 

I will be attending. I am excited to see what everyone who isn't at EndWar is running in their loadout.  Is there any community ammo? rival specifically? asking for a friend...  thanks

People will probably be willing to share ammo, but you should be responsible for bringing your own stuff. Expect to lose some darts/balls, as well, but recovery is pretty good.

ARMAGEDDON XIX: 2018

Date:
Saturday, 23 June 2018
 
Time:
9:00 AM to 4:00+ PM
(Arrive around 9AM; people like to chat and prep beforehand. First round will start by 9:45AM.)
 
Location:
Stanton Elementary School
725 S Vencino Dr
Glendora, CA 91740
 
Remember, using these locations is a privilege, not a right. Use the golden rule: Don't Be A Dick.
 

 
FAQ

Where and when?
The war is 23 June 2018, from 9:00 to whenever (usually 4:00, but later is not impossible and is in fact a little likely). Location data is available above.

Darts?
Slugs and safer darts only. No metal is preferred but I understand that to maximize attendance while keeping it safe I need to keep this restriction more open. If you do make slugs, use #6 washers and not #8 washers. Use Ryan McNumbers' excellent guide available here if you plan on making slugs. If you use larger ammo, like megas or similar, keep them soft-tipped by the same guidelines as above.
If you are using silicone dome darts, they must be soft tips. Last year people were shooting rocks. Keep total dart weight under 1.3g, too, if you're shooting 1/2" darts.
You are also free to use stock-style darts, obviously. China Darts as reviewed by Cheerios are fine. No FVJ/FVN/whatever type of darts have a rock hard rubber/vinyl tip. The tip of the dart needs to be soft.

Who?
Everyone is welcome to come, veterans and newcomers alike. I'm not going to outright ban people younger than 13, but if you plan on bringing someone who is, you are responsible for them all day and you are especially responsible for them remaining safe (hydrated and wearing eye protection). I will be running this war with the assistance of others (including, but not limited to, Zorn and Apollo256).

What isn't allowed?
With dart restrictions, there isn't as much of a need for blaster regulations. Don't bring Titans shooting micro darts because that's just ridiculous. I and other war council advisors will spot-ban things if you are lasering dudes from a million miles away.

Blaster rules:
HOMEMADE AIRGUNS: Case-by-case basis. It is highly recommended that you talk to me beforehand (send me a PM or something). I'm very understanding.

TITANS: You may use them if they fire missiles (stock or Draconis or whatever) or balls. They must not be firing darts, of any size.

LBB/4B/UMB/SIMILAR: You may use them if they have the functional stock OPRV.

SUPER SOAKERS/SIMILAR: Do not bring them. If they shoot darts, they're too powerful. If they shoot water, people get mad.

SCEPTORS: If you want to use a Sceptor, make it colorful. Make it look as little like a paintball gun as possible. Wrap the tank in denim or something. If you replace the tank or pump, the OPRV must be kept at the same pressure and the tank volume may not be made any larger (stock is about 800cc).

SUPERMAXX 2000/5000/9000: Do whatever. It's fine. I hope you don't blow up your tank.

MELEE WEAPONS: Don't bring anything larger than these (Mashoongas).

SHIELDS: Hits on shields count as hits on you if you plan to use them. I'm nostalgic enough to say that Manta Rays count as actual shields against 1/2" darts, though.

Anything else?
1.) To stop a round for safety reasons, yell out the word "HOLD". If you hear someone call "HOLD", STOP PLAYING IMMEDIATELY. At any time during a round, anyone can call "Hold", which will temporarily stop that round. Players should repeat the call of Hold so that all other players hear, until the round stops completely. If a pedestrian is walking through the field, if a player is injured or if there is some other threat to personal safety, you are obligated to call hold. You can call a hold to pause the game and sort out some issue that is not a matter of personal safety, but do not abuse it.
2.) No barrel taps allowed. Barrel taps are how you absolutely gouge someone with a brass barrel and take out a chunk of skin. Barrel taps are how you break the barrel and bushing off your blaster. You can shoot them from point-blank, or you can ask them to take the hit. Don't touch them with your blaster.
 
 
 

A few important pieces of information:

• I don't anticipate there being a problem with the war site, but if there is, this is the address of the place we will be going as a back-up:
  Ole Hammer Park
  362 N Live Oak Ave
  Glendora, CA 91741
  There is also a school next door named Cullen Elementary we might try as well if we are over in the area.
• Be sure to check the weather forecast before the war. It looks like the heat wave in SoCal will break before the weekend happens, which is good; they estimate it'll have a high of ninety on Saturday, which is consistent with previous years. Be sure to bring (and re-apply) sunscreen and a lot of water. There are drinking fountains on-site.
• There are no available bathrooms at the school. If you need to use the bathroom, there are restaurants two blocks away with available facilities.
• If you need to reach someone the day of the war, for whatever reason, your best shots are posting here in this thread or using the Facebook event or reaching out to the NerfHaven page on Facebook. PMs probably will not work.

 
What gametypes?
Expect to play some carpe testiculum and related gametypes. There will probably be some quick-run deathmatch as well, to suit those people like Gears with a bloodlust that knows no bounds. Last year, speed rounds and freeze tag were big hits, so those will make another appearance. There will be minimal team captain team picking to keep downtime short.

Anything else?
Bring lots of water. I'll probably end up picking up a pallet of water bottles as backup but it does get hot and you will probably be running around so expect to need to drink something.
Bring lots of sunscreen, because no one wants a sunburn now or skin cancer later.
There are a lot of places to eat nearby. Traditionally, people eat at The Hat for lunch, which is conveniently about four blocks away from the war site.
Bring comfortable shoes. You will be running around.

If you have specific questions or concerns, PM me, or post them here, or whatever.
 
***
Attending:
Ice Nine
Zorn's Lemma
 
Maybe:
 

Thanks for the reminder. I've been meaning to start the list and retire the old one. As a note, though, the list is updated as people post new wars, so even if the schedule isn't up, you should be able to find threads that people have started to advertise their wars.

 

And because it wouldn't work. Look around at any piston; have you ever seen any square seals? Circular sections, having maximum area for their perimeter, distribute force evenly around that perimeter when sealed. Squares et.al. do not.

 

I think NERF has one square-plungered weirdo. It's basically a jolt, and it uses that shape to get a narrower profile than would be practical with a circular PT. IIRC.

Split and I wanted to maximize the plunger volume in a Crossbow shell without having the shell bow out and he ended up making a square setup for it (it was needlessly expensive and stupid but fun to discuss). It apparently sealed okay but the project was never finished and it never got posted, but here's the King Bow's internals.

This is the most beautiful thread posted to NerfHaven in several years. I'm locking it so no one can sully its beauty.

I am going to suspend the next person who uses carats, neon text, or mentions a [nationality] [obscure hobby] forum.

Here's a link to GearBest for 50 darts for $2.50 with free shipping. I've used them for the past six months and had better luck with them than most Chinadarts (e.g. cut down ACCs, older Artifacts). At the last two wars I've attended, I got constant questions about buying them. I'm pinning this thread so I can tell people to look on NerfHaven.

Do not buy the ones with red tips, they are rock mode. Sweet Orange are the soft-tipped darts.

Thanks for hosting this. Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of town this weekend, but I hope you have a good time. I recommend also posting it to the SCUN Facebook group if you haven't (I almost never check Facebook, but plenty of other people basically only check there and not here).

I've been drawing and thinking of ideas because I'd rather not spend money on something that won't work. 

But the QEV blaster and the Madghost seem like what i want to make, which is a compact but decently powerfull air blaster

If cost is really a major concern, then building a Mad Ghost-style design is probably the best choice. The biggest challenge is making the trigger mechanism seal, and in the worst case where it doesn't, all you'd need to do is buy another 1/2" PVC tee/elbow. The fittings for a QEV blaster, even if you do it as cheaply as possible via Amazon products, are way more in cost without even including the MJVO-3.

The MJVO-3 is a great valve, but it's really only useful for very specific builds of homemade airguns. You couldn't just "substitute" it into a build where you were going to use a ball valve as a trigger and have it work. It sounds like you had a specific design direction in mind; do you mind sharing details so we can better help you out?

I would second Blitz's suggestion of the Mad Ghost design using a PVC check valve, though, if you're not dead-set on something specific yet. There are also solenoid valves (like the one used in cxwq's BAMF design) that have manual bleeds that work like a ball valve but are much more ergonomic.

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone. I'm really glad to hear that everyone was having a good time, and I'm extra glad to hear that the card-team strategy was so well-received. I'll write up the way I did it in case anyone wants to copy it in the future. It worked really well last year, too, until I decided that collecting and redistributing after lunch was the right way to go (it was not).

*Only two welts - both from Zeke, both were gut shots straight to the belly button. The second was intended for the guy running up behind me to tag me back in but his blaster is cursed with a sadistic spirit that grows stronger as it feeds on pain so it opted to drop one welt right on top of the previous one instead targeting the guy behind me. It was  great moment, A great painful moment but a great moment none the less.

Oh man, I feel bad laughing about it, but this is a great description. I'm so sorry, I saw that second one start to curve in flight and my eyes got wide and there was nothing I could do because you were frozen and couldn't get out of the way. Every once in a while, an Artifact gets a mind of its own and decides to go on an adventure. I accidentally hit a teammate of mine in the back during one of the last rounds, I managed to hit Ryan's blaster at about two hundred feet purely by chance via a corkscrewing dart, and I hit Zorn in the shoulder while he was taking photos because a dart decided it would rather dive-bomb him instead of continue on the arc on which it was shot.

ARMAGEDDON XVIII: WHERE DA SCRT AT

Thank you to everyone who came out and made it a fun day. I can't say how much I appreciate the extremely thorough dart sweeping and cleaning job that happened at the end of the day; I don't think I've ever seen such a high percentage of the people at the war participating in that before this year. We got in a pretty good number of rounds, lunch didn't run too long, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits throughout the day. Biggest thanks to Langley, who serves as an excellent co-host, mostly by nature of him being loud (which I am not).

Assorted highlights:

• The face cards versus numbers freeze tag round. The faces surrendered after basically all of us ran out of darts. I fell face-first on the ground to avoid a burst from a flywheel blaster. Maybe next year we shouldn't do shoot-back-ins because there were at least three different situations where one of us was about to shoot someone to get someone back in and the person being shot closed their eyes and tensed up and waited for it to be over.
• JLego and I figured out how to break the two-team carpe round by taking balls out of the other team's bucket and not moving them to reduce their score to zero.
• All the people who traveled major distances to come to the war are treasures.
• Sweet orange Artifacts are the best. 60% of the time, they fly 100% straight.
• Sceptor.
• Unholy Three mosey trains.
• Clicker deathmatch ("clickbait," maybe, per someone's suggestion) works really well at a war of this size.
• Zorn and I are the Tender Boys now.
• I accidentally pegged Zorn with a dart while he was taking photos. An Artifact dive-bombed him and hit him squarely in the shoulder. Sorry, dogg.
• Big Shocks are the best.
• Total chairs broken over the weekend: two and a half.
• RESPECT NTON.
• Watching Cannonball peg one of the hanging signs with a Zingbow arrow.
• Lots of free blasters being given out, to the enjoyment of the people watching the mosh pit and the people getting the blasters.
• A+ D, A+ B.

Thanks again, everyone. Can't wait for next year.

FIVE DAYS TO GO.

A few important pieces of information:

• I don't anticipate there being a problem with the war site, but if there is, this is the address of the place we will be going as a back-up:
  Ole Hammer Park
  362 N Live Oak Ave
  Glendora, CA 91741
  There is also a school next door named Cullen Elementary we might try as well if we are over in the area.
• Be sure to check the weather forecast before the war. It looks like the heat wave in SoCal will break before the weekend happens, which is good; they estimate it'll have a high of ninety on Saturday, which is consistent with previous years. Be sure to bring (and re-apply) sunscreen and a lot of water. There are drinking fountains on-site.
• There are no available bathrooms at the school. If you need to use the bathroom, there are restaurants two blocks away with available facilities.
• If you need to reach someone the day of the war, for whatever reason, your best shots are posting here in this thread or using the Facebook event or reaching out to the NerfHaven page on Facebook. PMs probably will not work.

Screw it. I'm in! Jumping in a carpool as they pass through from Wyoming.

:thumbs_up: :ok_hand: :ok_hand: :ok_hand:

I will be attending ^^ 

Thankfully I'm out of school for the ~2 weeks before this so I have time to fix my +bow and 5k (allowed? You're a madman, but I'm not complaining...)

5000s are definitely not worse than 4Bs and UMBs and LBBs and XBZs (well, maybe they're on the same tier as the XBZ) and they're more likely to explode than any of those by several orders of magnitude. Trust me.

I did some tinkering in advance of Armageddon. Getting the whole family ready.

The Small Soldiers 5000 has a Panther airtank expanded to the size of a +bow plunger tube and shoots very well. The SuperMaxx 2000 has a stock tank. The SuperMaxx 500 has an AT2K pump but the stock tank, and the whole thing is a hellish nightmare inside.

We played an incredible VIP round at a Chicago war, where the VIP had on armor and had to do laps around the field, and it never, ever worked again.

Write the name of every attendee as they arrive on playing cards or 3x5 cards. Shuffle them based on the play mode for the next round, then announce the names of everyone on teams by tape color and get the round going.

It skips the process of having to corral everyone into a line for a 1-2-1-2 call, there's no team selection process, and you can keep the break period down to a minimum.

That's a good idea. For Armageddon last year, I bought two packs of plasticated playing cards, one with blue backing and one with red backing. Before the war, I organized them so as the stack progressed, there was a basically equal distribution of suits, backing colors, and numbers, so I could give everyone a card as they arrived and just call out teams by "evens to the left, odds to the right" or "blue to the left, red to the right" or do four team versions using the suits or numbers modulus four. I saved the face cards for experienced players who would serve as captains throughout the day. I like your solution for smaller wars, though.

I was also referring to the growing number of people who use magazines at Nerf wars. It's fun for the variety but at the last war I hosted, a few people reloading magazines was consistently holding up the rest of us as we were trying to play. I'll take Beaver's suggestion of "being pushier" in regard to that. It also makes me want to try running ammo-limited rounds; maybe two mags per person, so you're shooting one while reloading the other, while people with hoppers are allowed maybe twenty or thirty darts.

Discussion question(s):

What makes a gamemode work or not work at your wars? Have you had rounds that worked once and then never worked again quite as well? How do you get over excess downtime between rounds?

(photo courtesy Zorn's Lemma)

It's the 2017 war season, and boy, is it overdue for a news post. We finally have the Apocalypse 2017 thread up and running with all the information you need, and Armageddon 2017 (the 18th edition) is a week from today. Break out those blasters, those works-in-progress, order those darts from China, and get ready to fling some foam. Check out the useful information below and be sure to opine on the discussion topic.

Upcoming major war thread links:

2017 Nerf War Schedule (Get your wars posted and linked in here)

June 24th [CA] Armageddon XVIII: SoCal's Largest NIC War

August 5th [NJ] Apocalypse 2017: The East Coast's Largest NIC War

Cool recent threads:

JSPB B&B Mini-Hopper (the newest in the long line of 3DBBQ homemades)

Caliburn: Pump-Action Mag-Fed Springer (the newest in the long line of Captain Slug homemades)

3D-Printable Crossbow Thread (self-explanatory)

Muzzle-Loading 17th Century Pistol (rainbow catch meets leatherwork and realsteel looks)

Click here to read more...

I'm slowly getting everything together for the war. I've been asked before about this, but here are a handful (not all) of the gametypes you might expect to play:

• Spawn-in-counter deathmatch
• Two- and four-team carpe
• Freeze tag
• Small team speed rounds
• Some kind of one-flag CTF or attack/defend game I haven't properly formulated yet

Oh man, I'm thinking about coming out to this one, but I'll put myself down as a maybe for now. Just read the dart restrictions and all I have right now are the FVJ-tipped darts I've been using the last few YANOs. Is there still a community bucket that I can rummage through for leftovers? Don't think I have the time to make darts sadly.

PM me when you get a chance. I have several hundred leftover darts from the past few years and I could probably pull out enough of what you need.

We're three weeks away from Armageddon 2017. A couple of notes:

• I can't emphasize enough how lucky we are to be able to use this school. I'm going to bring trash bags so we can keep it clean, in order to continue to be able to use it in the future.
• The school is a public place. If people who aren't playing are walking through, be sure to call out HOLD as loudly as possible and stop. We'll pause so we don't endanger anyone or make them uncomfortable.
• Make sure you bring water/Gatorade/whatever to keep you hydrated. There's a drinking fountain but we all know that pales by comparison to the convenience of a water bottle. I'm going to be bringing a pallet of water bottles but probably not enough for everyone.
• Bring sunscreen, and use it liberally. Sunburns are bad and melanoma is worse.

Be sure to ask any final questions you have in here, and get pumped.

Are shotgunned titans allowed, like if they shoot many darts at once? If it is allowed, what is the minimum amount of darts it must shoot at once.

Yes, you need to have at least three barrels that fire all at once on the blaster. You can't put one barrel on it and say you're going to shotgun-load it. 

Would a basic rewired Stryfe with 2 IMRs have any chance in competing against whatever is usually brought to this war? Also, are there usually any decent amount of 13-16 year olds?

In the past few years, I've seen people be competitive with far less range and rate of fire than that. The center courtyard area has a decent amount of coverage, which means people can get closer, and there are enough people that range-appropriate skirmishes organically arise in different areas.

Last year, if I recall correctly, there were more than three people in that age group, but fewer than twelve or so.

Looking at my travel shit for summer break, i may actually be able to convince mah family to let me go, but we will see.

Edit: Is there restrictions on xbz or do those fall under the 4B/UMB/Similar section.

Yes, XBZs are in that category as well.

One and a half months to go before Armageddon XVIII. I'm excited. I've gotten a handful of questions over PMs, and I'm happy to answer them, but generally it's better to post them in the thread so people can see the response (in case they have the same question). A couple of private answers I might as well make public:

• People generally bring extra blasters, especially to a war this big. If you're worried about your blasters at the war, people are usually pretty nice about lending things out if you're respectful.
• You're better off bringing your own darts. There are, at this point, a few community bins of darts floating around, but quality varies as most of them have aged fairly poorly. In a pinch, though, there will be darts you can borrow.
• Last time I was at the war site, there was construction happening on the parking lot. There were still parking spaces available, off to the side, and there is street parking available, but PLEASE be respectful to the neighbors. Don't throw trash in the street, don't honk your horn, just be considerate of others. You're a guest and we're lucky to be able to use the war site.
• I'm going to bring trash bags, like I did last year. When we leave the war site, there will be less trash on the ground than when we got there in the morning.

we don't, but if you just wanna give stuff away nobody will stop you. by all means spread the joy.

Two years ago, two guys from Washington brought two big boxes of stuff and at the end of the day, gave it out to anyone who wanted anything. I remember some kid being thrilled with finally getting a Longshot, which was fun. There probably won't be any "sanctioned" giveaway events because running rounds is already challenging enough.

I think we're getting off-topic in this excellent thread about a specific build, so let's take this spiral-mag discussion to PM's.

Since I think only admins have access to group PMs, you might be better served starting a thread for it (since this would fall under the "acceptable ideas thread" umbrella). I could splice off these posts to do that, if you want.