The lad and I went to Splatoon in Essex today; it was an interesting day.
Around 38 players were present, far fewer than usual, which was probably due to people being on holiday.
The first game was a simple domination in the container field; I did not take part as I was unjamming the lad's AK74M. However, he reported that it was good fun with fewer players, allowing greater manouverability. However, the other team won.
Once everyone had returned to the safe zone, there was an incident in which a player let off a round in the safe zone; Splatoon requires players to remove mags, clear chambers and fit barrel socks before entering the safe zone, so letting a round off requires some effort. After a discussion, he was asked to leave.
The next game was "Capture the Flag"; before this started, there was a somewhat unpleasant incident. One player came out of the safe zone with his eyepro on top of his head; we both pointed this out to him but he did not respond. The lad then grabbed his eyepro and pulled it down over his eyes. A few seconds later, the player stormed over to him, swearing at him and being somewhat aggressive, shouting that he should not have grabbed his eyepro. I told him to step back and calm down; he backed off and, with a "Fuck you!", went back into the safe zone, packed his gear and left.
With that out of the way, the game began. We were defending our flag at the bottom field, while the other team were defending theirs in the container field. The aim was to capture the enemy's flag and get it back to your own base. Initially, the lad and I attacked on the right flank; he got into the container field before being hit. I was hit and fell back to defend the flag, fighting off attackers coming from our right. Both sides successfully defended their flags, so the game ended up as a draw.
Lunch then followed, after which we set out for a somewhat revised version of "Capture the Flag", with the teams starting at the opposite ends from the first iteration. In this version, both flags were together in the middle zone. It was a very quick game; the other team grabbed our flag and got it back to their base.
The game was then rebooted in its initial version with the ends still reversed. This was a good game, with lots of fierce firefights in the middle field and some great play on both sides. The other team won it in slightly dubious circumstances; our flag was captured by a bushwookie, who appeared to be hit a number of times before grabbing it.
There was then a game in the kill house; our side started off defending, with one life each; once they were all killed, the game was turned around. Our time to clear the area was faster by about 4 minutes, so we won. I sat it out as I was sorting out an issue with my HK33.
The final game was Infection. I decided to conceal myself in some excellent cover; crawling into it, I noticed someone else doing the same from the other side. It was the lad! We often end up choosing the same positions on the field, even when we are playing independently of each other. We both lay in the cover, listening to the mayhem going on across the field until it went quiet, whereupon we crept out and went back to the safe zone having won the game!
Overall, it was a bit of an odd day; the afternoon was better than the morning, when there was too much downtime and not enough playtime. The games also seemed better organised and more suitable to the limited numbers in the afternoon.
Weapons used:
Me:
Classic Army HK33
Classic Army HK53
ASG XP18 Commander (CO2)
The lad:
Cyma AKS74U
E&L AK74M
ASG XP18 Commander (CO2)