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Laser Quest

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Laser Quest is an indoor lasertag game based around harmless infrared (IR) hand held units and packs with IR sensors on them. Laser Quest centers can be found in Canada, USA, the UK, France, Portugal, Singapore, Costa Rica, Thailand, South Africa and The Netherlands. It is sometimes seen as an alternative to paintballing, or may be favoured for indoor scenarios, whereas paintball is predominantly played in large outdoor spaces.

Overview

Commonly known as LaserDoom and Quasar.

The general aim of Laser Quest is to deactivate/tag as many other players as possible, while avoiding being tagged oneself. The player is equipped with harmless infrared/laser hand held units and packs with sensors on, and let into a large multi-level maze-like arena with plenty of ramps, catwalks and windows. The playing arenas are fog filled and black light lit.

The standard game is a solo score-based mission however many variants are available (team, elimination, bases,...) (See Game variants).

Laser Quest holds a corporate tournament called the North American Challenge aka NAC. To qualify for NAC a team of 9 players and an alterante must try-out at a Laser Quest center closest to where they live. Then a team must go to the regional tournament (there are four regionas: North, South, East and West) and depending on how many teams are present a region will send anywhere from 4 to 6 teams to NAC.

Past NAC winners and locations are as follows:

  • 2005.5: Location: My mum's house, under the big apple tree, in Bath, England
  • 2005: Location: Mesquite, TX Winner: Battery Ninjas, North Richland Hills
  • 2004: Location: Rochester, NY Winner: BBC (Brampton Brew Crew) Brampton, Ontario
  • 2003: Location: North Richland Hills, TX Winner: Paragon, Denver, Colorado
  • 2002: Location: Norridge, Winner: Paragon, Denver, Colorado
  • 2001: Location: Colorado Springs, CO Winner: Paragon, Denver, Colorado
  • 2000: Location: Toronto, CA Winner: Phoenix Pyros, Phoenix, Arizona
  • 1999: Location: North Richland Hills, TX Winner: Phoenix Pyros, Phoenix, Arizona
  • 1998: Location: Knoxville, TN Winner: Houston
  • 1997: Location: Downers Grove, IL Winner: Team MAD, Madison Heights, Michigan
  • 1996: Location: London, CA Winner: Oshawa, Ontario
  • 1995: Location: London, CA Winnter: Oshawa, Ontario

European Scene

In 2004 the World Laserquest Challenge was held in Swindon (UK) where 18 teams competed. It was won by TCQ, with Team Win coming in second. Third place went to LQ^Legends and forth to nWo. The surprise of the tournament was an under 16s team called RaW who finished fifth in their first tournament.

In Europe there is an annual ELC (European LaserQuest Championships) as well, as well as the LQA which is held in the United Kingdom, some of the more well known teams in the ELC being

  • "Team Win!" (UK)Swindon/Bristol
  • TCQ (UK)Guildford
  • nWo (UK)Woking
  • LQ Legends (NL) Mix
  • Sorry Team (FR)
  • Team Win France (FR)
  • The Badgers (UK)

In the last ELC (2005)

  • 1st) TCQ
  • 2nd) RaW - reformed as Team Win after the tournement.

In the last LQA round in Swindon, a Team Win 5 man team won the event with a certain Leigh 'VampDogHoe' Schvartz winning the Solo of the competetion. Well played to that man.

The next event is to be held in Stourbridge UK at the end of MAY

Results ELC 2006:

This tournament was held in Eindhoven.

After winning the ELC in 2004, LQ^Legends won their 2nd European-cup in a thrilling final against "Team Win!" UK.

Equipment

All the equipment needed to play Laser Quest is provided on-site. The main items are a vest-like pack, and an attached laser gun. Both have sensors attached, so the pack can tell when you have been shot by another player.

Guns

The guns used in Laser Quest are single-handed, and about a foot long. Most players will use a second hand on the front of the gun for support and to help aim, but this is not required. Inside the barrel of the gun are two lasers: a visible (red) targeting laser, and an invisible (IR) data laser. The data beam may not be exactly aligned with the visible beam, but this does not matter much when repeatedly trying to hit a moving target.

The data beam transmits your identity. When another player's sensor is hit by the beam, it registers who it was hit by. If the shooter is on an opposing team, the hit is recorded and that player 'dies'. Note that your pack does not know if you have shot anybody — only who has shot you.

Lights

Wherever on the pack there are sensors, there are also flashing lights. These are usually red and green LEDs. The lights can be used to help locate other players, to tell you what team (if any) they are on, and to tell you if they are alive. The three possible team 'colours' are Red, Green and Mixed (both).

Traps

There are only two Laser Quest centres in the UK with traps (one in Whitstable in Kent, and the other in The Trafford Centre near Manchester). These consist of a fixed sensor and a line of IR emmitters. The IR emitters constantly fire. The traps are marked with visible red lasers, but these are not the beams which shoot you. The traps can be temporarily deactivated by shooting a nearby sensor, which is mounted to the wall. Getting caught in a trap counts as a kill by the Marshal, and can cost you up to 50 points.

Bases

Not every arena has bases. When available, there are two (and, occasionally, three) bases in opposite corners of the arena. One belongs to each team. The base consists of two prominent flashing targets with sensors at the centre. If an opposing team shoots both targets within 10 seconds of each other, they get 50 points. Once a base has been shot like this, it will become inactive for 30 seconds, after which points can be scored again.

Replenishers

Not every arena has replenishers; generally they are not found in newer centers. When available, there are two replenishers in opposite corners of the arena. One belongs to each team. They are used in some specialty games, adding lives back to deactivated players.

Other equipment

At the end of a game, all players return to the starting point ('Airlock'). The packs then transmit information about who shot them back to the main computer, which calculates the final scores. This wireless link is also used to initialise the packs at the start of the game.

Problems

LaserQuest is mostly unique in that two of three inherant flaws in the equipment have become embraced by players as the defining feature of the system. These problems; "shot cancellation", "hit cancellation," and "pack variance" give LQ a very aggressive, athletic style.

Shot cancellation is an effect where the firing of the laser takes precedence over detecting hits in the sensors. Thus, a player firing the laser at its maximum rate will introduce momentary instants of invulnerability while firing. When this effect is combined with players moving their body quickly to dodge shots, the end result is extended periods of very close "dogfighting," or attempting to tag an opponent directly next to them. It can take as many as ten seconds for one player to successfully place a shot on the opponent's sensor during a gap in the invulnerability. Even at a distance against a non-moving opponent it will often take several shots to deactivate the opponent.

Hit cancellation, or the inability of the pack to handle two simultaneous hits, will result in a single player being shot by many opponents at the same time, but will not deactivate. Often a player with a quick dodge will jump into the middle of several opponents, and utilizing both shot cancellation and hit cancellation deactivate all opponents who are shooting at him one by one. This effect requires teammates to work together to avoid shooting the same target at the same time, akin to baseball players calling a pop-fly to avoid running into each other.

Pack variance, an undesired problem not exclusive to — but very prevalent in — LQ is simply the tendency for LQ packs to behave very differently from one another during competitive play. These can be major effects, and result in tournaments having very strict rules about pack assignments to make sure no team gets an advantage in packs. Packs that give the user a big advantage are oft known as "god packs" and the reverse are known as "shit packs". "Pack recon" to determine the performance of each pack in a tournament can be very detailed. This data is used to assign packs (assigned to teams in groups) to players on the team who can best maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of each pack.

Scoring

There are two ways to gain points, by tagging other players or by tagging the opposing team's base. You lose points when other people tag you, or when you get caught in a trap. The number of points lost depends on where you are hit:

  • Laser: 3 points
  • Front: 5 points
  • Shoulders: 3 points
  • Back: 4 points

Tagging another player gains you 10 points, no matter where you hit them. Being tagged by the Marshal or the trap costs 50 points. Tagging the opposing team's base gains you 50 points.

You will always gain more points for making a tag than you lose for being tagged. This encourages players to be more adventurous, and means that most people get positive scores. When playing against other players of the same standard it is unusual to get a negative score, unless you are repeatedly caught by the trap.

You may also be awarded bonus points, based on your accuracy — it's usual to get 10 points for every 1% hit rate, so if you gained a hit rate of 10% (you tagged one person for every ten times you fired) then you would be awarded 100 bonus points. This is usually limited to a maximum bonus, to prevent people tagging one person with their first attempt and then hiding for the rest of the game.

The team score is the sum of all the individual players' scores.

Playing styles

There are a number of effective playing styles. Players must make a compromise between dodging and aiming, although the best players can aim well while dodging heavily. Inexperienced players tend not to dodge much, but even a little movement can make the sensors much harder to hit.

Beyond this, there several distinct styles:

Profiling
This involves twisting your body such that the side is presented to the enemy. This makes the front and back sensors harder to hit, and completely hides one of the shoulders.

Crouching
This is self-explanatory. It has the advantage of protecting front and back sensors, and gives an element of surprise. The shoulder sensors are very exposed. (Illegal in tournament play)

The Tower, AKA Dalek
Involves holding the gun above your head. Aiming is more difficult, and this leaves the front and back sensors very exposed. It is effective because of the surprise, the better angle on shoulder sensors, and because many good players instinctivly aim for the gun sensor rather than the front, since the gun is usually easier to hit.

The gun sensor is usually the easiest target to hit, because it is difficult to move the gun around unpredictably and maintain good aim. (If shoulders remain covered, illegal in tournament play.)

Rowing The Boat
Involves holding the gun below your waist and ducking down while moving it side to side. Aiming is a bit more difficult, but your laser is very hard to hit. Your shoulders are also protected fairly well. (Illegal in tournament play.)

Game variants

The hardware and software used limits what can be done with Laser Quest, but subtle variations in settings can change the tactics required significantly. Up to four different groups of settings can be created; it is normal for everyone on a team to have the same settings, but this is not required. When giving packs within a team different settings, care must be taken because the packs will not be visibly different in-game. The settings which can be altered are:

  • Game type: All-on-all, 2-team, 3-team
  • Total game time (minutes)
  • Number of lives: 1+, or unlimited
  • Number of shots: 1+, or unlimited
  • Downtime (seconds)
  • Shoulder sensors on/off
  • Gun sensors on/off
  • Bases on/off (only applies to team games)
  • Replenishers on/off (recharge with extra lives and shots if you run out)
  • Replenisher values for lives and shots
  • Sentinel effect on/off (recharge your own teammates)
  • Sentinel values for lives and shots

The number of shots used can be quite large — a good player in a Standard Deathmatch can fire 3000+ shots without too much difficulty. This will give a hit rate of perhaps 5%, corresponding to almost constant firing while in uptime, with most targets dodging.

Downtime means how long players will remain de-activated after being tagged. After the downtime has expired, the de-activated player's pack will re-energise and they are able to play as before.

Normal games

These can be played at most Laser Quest centres without too much trouble. Every player has the same settings, and the games are easy to run with different numbers of people. They are also suitable for infrequent players, because the settings and tactics are not complicated. There is also an extended Ironman version for lock-ins.

Standard deathmatch

Suggested settings:

  • Game type: All-on-all
  • Total game time: 20 minutes
  • Lives: Unlimited
  • Shots: Unlimited
  • Downtime: 3 seconds
  • Shoulder sensors: On
  • Gun sensors: On

In this game, there are no formal teams. Everyone can shoot everyone else, although temporary alliances are often formed (Back stabbing is possible, easy, and usually frowned upon).

The game ends when the time limit runs out. Winning is based on final score — the player with the highest score wins. Everybody gets a place in the ranking, so this is a good game for comparisons.

This isn't a very stategic type of game, but there are a variety of playing styles which can work in this game. Which one works best depends on individual strengths/weaknesses, other players' tactics, the layout of the arena etc. Some potential tactics are:

  • Find a place to hide and snipe from — this is especially good if gun sensors are off. Useful if you are a good shot, but not so good at dodging. Also good for building up confidence, as you can get kills without dying. Doesn't work as well in sparsly populated games.
  • Move around the arena, constantly dodging and firing. If you are an average or better player, this is the best way of getting points because you spend more time firing at people.
  • In sparsly populated games, constantly chasing one person around the arena is a so-so way to gain points. In more populated games, this is harder to do as you could run into another player during the chase.

Last man standing

Suggesteds settings:

  • Game type: All-on-all
  • Total game time: 15 minutes
  • Lives: 10
  • Shots: Unlimited
  • Downtime: 3 seconds
  • Shoulder sensors: On
  • Gun sensors: On

The last man alive wins (hence the name). If there is more than one player left at the end, the game is declared a draw (although some rules state that in this case nobody wins — this is to encourage the last few players to hunt each other, rather than hide).

This game variant is similar to a standard deathmatch, but with limited lives. This makes for a slightly slower, more cautious game. Gun sensors are on, to discourage snipers.

With limited lives, players must be much more cautious. Sniping can be useful as long as there are stll players moving about, but gun sensors are turned on to discourage snipers.

Standard teams

Suggested settings:

  • Game type: Teams
  • Total game time: 20 minutes
  • Lives: Unlimited
  • Shots: Unlimited
  • Downtime: 3 seconds
  • Shoulder sensors: On
  • Gun sensors: On
  • Bases: Off

The game ends when the time limit runs out. Winning is based on final team score, which is the sum of the scores of every player in that team.

This is the second-most often played game, after Standard Deathmatch. The players are split into two or three teams, each of which has their own colour. Friendly fire will not have any effect. It is usual for teams to start the game in opposite sides of the arena.

Team tactics and communcation are useful in this game, but not required. Most players will get into groups of 3-4 and stay together. This allows them to concentrate fire on the opposing team, without the group becoming too unwieldy. Large groups of people are less effective, because those in the centre are not much use and co-ordination is difficult. A large group of players is also very easy to hit! A particularly good (or obstinate) player may want to move around alone. This only works if they are significantly better than most people in the game, or if the opposing team is disorganised.

Depending on the arena, it may be possible to find an easily defensible area of the arena and try to hold it. Likewise, it also may be possible to find an "opening" in an opposing team's defense.

Limited life team game

Suggested settings:

  • Game type: Teams
  • Total game time: 15 minutes
  • Lives: 10
  • Shots: Unlimited
  • Downtime: 3 seconds
  • Shoulder sensors: On
  • Gun sensors: On
  • Bases: Off

The team with the last man standing wins the game. Frequently, more than one person from the winning team will survive. If the time runs out, the game is declared a draw (however, see Last man standing).

This is a slightly slower, more cautious version of the standard team game.

Due to the limited lives, there is an increased incentive for players to stick with their team-mates. Teamwork and communication are more important in this game than the standard team game.

Bases

Suggested settings:

  • Game type: Two Teams
  • Total game time: 20 minutes
  • Lives: Unlimited
  • Shots: Unlimited
  • Downtime: 10 seconds
  • Shoulder sensors: On
  • Gun sensors: On
  • Bases: On

The winners are the team with the most points when the time runs out.

This is a standard team game with bases turned on. Because the bases score 50 points each time they are triggered, they play a central role in this game. This makes the game much more terratorial, as players try to defend their base and attack their opponents'. There can be problems with this game due to players camping at the opposing team's bases. The long down-time is an attempt to compensate for this.

The long down-time makes a successful attack on a base fairly hard, normally requiring an overpowering force (rather than a one-man rush). It also encourages organisation within the teams.

See also

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