Dart Hire – The Fourth Generation

Overview

So we’ve come to that time again, guys, where SNW’s dart supplies have started to run low (or in this case, were not ideal to begin with) and enough capital has been raised for our darts to be replenished. This post will outline SNW’s Fourth Generation of Dart Hire, featuring thicker foam that GLOWS IN THE DARK. But first, a copied and pasted explanation of what Dart hire is.

Dart Hire, for those who are unaware, is a system where a large quantity of darts is purchased and owned by one (or more if they so choose) individual(s), which is then rented out to the community for a set rental fee at each war. It functions as a convenient way for community members to have enough ammunition for wars at all times without constantly having to replace their own darts that are spoilt or lost at events. It acts to bridge the gap between the newb and the veteran, allowing for all participants to compete respectably. For Sydneyâ€™s community, the Dart Hire system acted as an impetus for its growth into what we see today.

The Fourth Generation of Dart Hire is to come into effect at the next war – i.e. the 26th of October’s FF:S Training Day!

The Darts themselves

The biggest change in the Fourth Generation of Dart Hire are the darts themselves. The darts are much heavier on average. The 4th Gen Red tips weigh in at 1.15g, compared to the approximate 1g of the 3rd Gen Red tips. The 4th Gen Blue tips weigh 1.3g, while the 3rd Gen Blue tips weighed about 1.16g. This means you’ll theoretically get a big boost in straight line accuracy for your blasters, but suffer lower ranges than that you’re used to. So you’ll be wanting to mod your blasters for that little bit of extra kick.

The foam used is much fatter than last time – a much more ideal fit in stock breeches. Comparatively, the darts are now just slightly thicker than Nerf Elite darts.

As you can see, there is a reasonable difference between the Third Generation darts and the Fourth Generation darts.

One of the most frequently asked questions has been whether they fit into 16mm conduit. In short, they do… sort of. They’ll definitely work in RSCB’s, and with a little bit of negotiation you can hand feed them into barrels. But some types of breeches will struggle. Below are some comparison pictures of how 3rd Gens, Elites, and 4th Gens fit into Conduit. The test was pretty much when “twisting or extra pushing force was necessary to push the dart further into the slightly reamed conduit barrel”.

The 3rd Gen darts fit nicely into conduit. However they didn’t work in stock breeches too well.

Elite Darts almost fit completely into the barrel. It’s a shame they’re too light.

About 40% of the 4th Gen dart fit in without twisting or extra force.

The darts do fit very well into PETG though. I’ve got some videos to demonstrate this.

3rd Gen dart’s behaviour in PETG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaVBfZxpe9Q

Elite dart’s behaviour in PETG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SENcWa32iF0

4th Gen dart’s behaviour in PETG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7np0Wgskn0

These darts definitely work in flywheels and stock breeches, so if you’re using those you’ll be fine. But my advice to those who are using conduit set ups is to change your barrels to something like 9/16″ Brass or get some PETG (I have some of that stuff stored away, so you might want to talk to me). All this might be an excuse to do a little modding over the next couple of weeks.

Dart Hire Rules and Conditions

The rules and conditions of Dart Hire are to remain mostly identical to those outlined in this post. However, there have been some minor changes to the rewards for sweeping.

Dart Hire Coupons

In recent times, the Admin team has slacked off with awarding Dart Hire Coupons for good performances during dart sweeping. We’re going to get back onto the horse and start handing out at least THREE of these coupons away each war where the Dart Hire system is used.

However, to qualify for coupons, you are now required to bring your own bucket or other container for dart sweeping. A dump pouch or other piece of tactical gear does not qualify as a container. The idea is to not have you just loading up your pouches but instead dropping the darts off for others to load up with.

If you’re upset with having to buy a bucket or something, keep in mind that you’ll be investing a small amount for a chance to win many $5 Dart Hire coupons over time.

That’ll be all from me for now. I hope you all enjoy these new darts that won’t pop out of clips and fall out of stock barrels (I hated that so much). If you have any questions, contact me on FB or drop an email to sydneynerfwars@gmail.com

– Echoes, the guy who writes way too many words for these things.

The Foam Fortress Cup

The Foam Fortress Cup will be Sydney Nerf Wars’ first official competitive event. With pride and prizes up for grabs, the Admin Team would like to give the community a chance to prove their skill in an environment that will be both a rewarding and enriching experience for all participants. Keep a look out on the Facebook event page for more details as to when this event will take place (but as an indication, look toward late November/early December).

Tournament Rules and Guidelines

Below is an outline of how the Foam Fortress Cup will run, and what sorts of things participants will need to do to register and be competitive!

Tournament Rules

All games will be played under Tournament rules. Tournament rules include:

Highlander: Only one of each class per team.
Rule Breaking will be Penalised. Penalties will range from Referees ruling a dart/Melee hit on a player, to Referees ruling a Titan Rocket hit.
Time limits on games will be enforced (10 minutes, in general).
Players are required to wear proper gear. This includes, but is not limited to, Assaults wearing their PDU’s, Ghosts carrying their Rally Points, and team markers.
Spectators can cheer and enjoy the play, but they must not give away player positions, and must not yell instructions.
Players who have been Eliminated by Titan Rockets or Mega Howlers must wait at the main Base until the game is over.
All disputes are at the discretion of the Referees.

Teams

Players will be divided up into teams of five. Due to this stipulation, the OmniSoldier will NOT be playable.
Much to the delight of many of our regular attendees, the Admin Team has decided to allow players to create their own teams in advance. This will allow players to formulate strategies prior to the event, and execute them for some fancy, skillful play.
However, to help ensure balanced teams, the SNW Admin Team has constructed a Power Rating system. The Power Rating system will work by assigning each participant a score out of 5 that will loosely represent the skill and influence that they have displayed in previous Foam Fortress: Sydney events. We will provide more details on the Power Rating System in another post.
To be considered an eligible team, a team’s total Power Rating must not add up to more than 15.5/25. This is an average rating of 3.1 per team member, which is reasonable in our opinion.

Registration and Entry

Players are to register in their teams of five, with an elected Captain and a team name provided. An email must be sent to the SNW email (sydneynerfwars@gmail.com) for the registration to be valid. The Admin Team will check that the team is eligible and a confirmation email will be returned.
If no Captain has been named, the sender of the email will be considered the Captain. If no team name has been provided, the Admin team will name your team something silly. So name your team.
Players who register without a team will be considered “Looking for a Team” and will be allocated into a Team at the Admin Team’s discretion. (If required, the Admins are expected to sacrifice their place in a Team so that other participants might enjoy the event).
If a Team is short on the day, an Admin, or other player who does not have a team, can join the team regardless of their Power Rating.
Entry will be the full fee of Dart Hire ($15), which is payable on the day. For any Tournaments, Dart Hire Coupons, Kat Souls, or any other discounts will not be valid for use. There will be no concessions provided for first time attendees and no refunds will be given. The reason for this unusually hard-line stance will be outlined below.

Prizes

The Prizes for the inaugural Foam Fortress Cup is a cash prize, a photo with the Foam Fortress Cup (yes, we have a trophy), and bragging rights.
The Dart Hire takings for the day will be gathered into a winner takes all prize pool. So, if there are 6 teams, the prize pool will be $450, which is $90 per person in the winning team.

So there you have it. SNW’s first competitive event, slated for late November/early December. Might be time for you start developing some Synergie (lol Reece) with other players in the community. As said before, keep an eye on the SNW event page for more details. And be on the look out for a post better explaining SNW’s power rating system.

The Foam Fortress Cup is waiting…

Dart Hire – A New System

Dart Hire, for those who are unaware, is a system where a large quantity of darts is purchased and owned by one (or more if they so choose) individual(s), which is then rented out to the community for a set rental fee at each war. It functions as a convenient way for community members to have enough ammunition for wars at all times without constantly having to replace their own darts that are spoilt or lost at events. It acts to bridge the gap between the newb and the veteran, allowing for all participants to compete respectably. For Sydney’s community, the Dart Hire system acted as an impetus for its growth into what we see today.

As some of you may know, the Dart Hire system has been suffering from a severe shortage in one of the key constituents of a dart itself: Blue Foam. Finally, thanks to VelocityTag, the foam has arrived and the system can return to its prime. However, with this new foam comes an update to the Dart Hire system as detailed below.

Registration

Dart Hire will now be performed in a more formal manner. Now, before you are able to gain access to the box, you must register and prepay at the Admin Desk. Here is where your name will be marked off, allowing you access to the box. It is also here where you will be asked a question about the General Rules Set (and in the future, the FF:S rules sets). Answering this question correctly will grant you a discount.

Price

In the past, Dart Hire’s fee was $10 for unlimited hire for the day. As of the release of this document, the price has been increased by 50% to $15 with a capped limit as to how many darts can be taken from the box at a time (Explained below). However this will not always be the final price. As outlined above, if you are able to answer a question correctly about the General Rules Set (and in the future, the FF:S rules sets), you will receive a $5 discount. This means that if you are well informed about the rules, you will never have to pay any extra again.

Rules

Participants must register and pay before they are can use the Dart Box
The maximum amount of darts that a player can load up at the beginning of each game is 200. This means a player can load up to 11 18 mags (or equivalent).
Players are no longer able to access the Dart Box between rounds unless it has been opened by an Administrator.
As a part of playing in all wars, all participants must assist in the dart sweep.
All participants at wars must treat the hire darts with respect i.e. not shooting them directly at trees or other solid surfaces.
At the end of each event, please check whether you have unloaded all clips, pouches, and pockets of all darts.

Offers and Prizes

To encourage proper dart sweeping between rounds, the new Dart Hire system will involve a set of small prizes for those who put extra effort into their sweeping. We will be offering a $5 coupon to those that the Admin team deems to be the best dart sweepers on the day. At each event, there will be five coupons up for grabs.

These coupons are non-transferable, non-redeemable for cash, and valid for up to six months only at SNW events where Blue Foam Dart Hire is available.

Dart Hire Donation to SNW

The final change to the Dart Hire system is that from now on, 10% of Dart Hire revenue from each war will be donated to SNW for purchases of equipment and other necessary items. This means we could see more Mini vortexes, team markers, and other SNW memorabilia in the near future!

– Echoes, your man with lots of darts.