[unfated33]

EDIT: UPDATE - See latest entry below regarding my return trip. Looks like it might've just been a bad apple or two.

Hey Everyone,

I finally ventured down to Rock Hill to check out the local Paintball Central field as part of a Groupon, and I have to say it was not one of my better experiences. I'll say out front that I've heard really great things about this field, and they have a pretty good website and photos. I also like that they have a pro shop in Charlotte on Independence, as that's out closer towards me and the fields I normally play on. I guess I'll make this something of a review mixed in with my story.

For the day, PBC had one airball field closed and one had some kind of pro school going on that was off-limits to walk ons. This left the large woods field, medium sized mounds field, and smaller hyperball field open for play. I'll say right off the bat that every single game I played at the hyperball field was great and I have no complaints with a single game played there. There were a couple players that were obviously regulars and knew the refs well - their skill was above average from what I'm used to seeing in the Monroe area, but even better they were all nice guys that were fun to talk to and play with. We started out the day with one ref for 20+ players, Warren, and he was attentive and friendly. Later he was replaced by another ref that I did not catch the name of who also seemed on top of it and friendly. Further, nearly all of the rental players that were there that day were also fun to play with and friendly. I had problems with one group of four older teenage renters that kept wiping paint or not acknowledging marker tags, but they only stayed for about 3-4 rounds.

Okay, so hyperball was great every time, I'll just set that aside. I also didn't have any problems at the mounds field with the gameplay, though I did get bitten by some ants while hugging the hills. It was notable that one of the regulars refused to play at this field and instead would serve as a backup/assistant ref when we played there. That leaves the large woods field with the castle. In pictures and first walking up to it, this seems like a REALLY fun field to play on, and at first it seemed like it had lots of potential. Then we got the younger, 12-18 yr old milsim players on the field with us. First problem I had with them was that a couple of their guys walked to the exit calling themselves out, got past our line of defenses and turned around to shoot everyone in the back at close range. Second problem I had with them was when one guy that was tagged out in the open with his buddy intentionally screened me for his buddy to run to cover (I shot through him, hit him a couple of times to get his buddy - thankfully he didn't complain about being overshot). Third problem was the bonus balling. A couple of rounds I got an extra shot or two late, but only once was it obviously very late. On the other hand one of the guys I came with got tagged six or seven times after he'd loudly called out and was walking out with his arms in the air. Everyone that came with me got bonus-balled by these kids. Fourth problem is that I'm pretty sure they were shooting hot. Most of us had welts that were 2-4 inches in diameter for every shot we took from milsim kids - in comparison the rental markers were leaving nickel or quarter sized welts. As of today, I still have a 3 inch welt on my side from where I got a bonus ball.

I don't want to lay this on the feet of the field and refs, but to some extent I have to. It's clear that there was no requirement to chrono markers brought from home, and there was a group of 6-8 guys that were not playing on the honor system. The second problem was that, though the refs were really good, on the larger woods field there was just too much space and too few refs to observe the shenanigans going on. Some of my friends complained about these same kids wiping their shots when they were deep in the field away from the ref. One to two refs for 20-30 players just wasn't enough to keep track of everything going on, especially toward the edges of the field. I don't blame the ref for trying to stand in the middle of everything - under the circumstances I'd try to do the same, but with a bunch of problem players running around it seemed chaotic.

In the end, things got better the more we policed ourselves (verbally yelling at the kids to clean it up, bonus balling the wipers and those pretending to call out, etc.), but I'm not used to being on a field that is this much like the wild west. I'd rather go somewhere that the game is more in control. For those of you that have been to PBC-Rock Hill, did I just catch it on a bad day or with a shortage of refs? I don't think I'd call the bad apple milsim kids regulars in the same way some of the others were, but it appeared they'd been to this field a good bit and knew the layout well. I'm not sure today if I'd go back to PBC-Rock Hill after this experience, or if I did, I think I'd probably decide to take off all the games that were at the Woods Field. Which is a shame, it has the look and feel of a fun place to play, all of the employees were very helpful and friendly, and 95% of the renters were a fun group. What are your thoughts?

This post has been edited by Unfated33: 31 July 2012 - 09:55 PM

[unfated33]

Okay, I spent a lot of time sitting and thinking on this one for the weeks between when I last played there and now. First, I should've engaged the refs and owner more regarding the issue - there's no reason to believe they wouldn't have asked kids to chrono if we'd made an issue of it. Similarly, we should have made an issue of overshooting right as it happened and that might have spared the day. I'm not sure there's anything the limited number of refs could have done about the wipers or the kids pretending to be out, but I think I stand by social discouragement as the best bet there.

So, I'm going to try the Rock Hill field one more time and see if I don't have a better second experience. If things do start to turn sour, I need to remember to get the staff informed and involved early and consistently. Worst case scenario, I'm pretty sure I could still enjoy my time there without playing the woods field and just sticking to the pipes and mounds courses. I'll come back and update in a few weeks after I've had a chance to work it in.

[MedevilMIke]

You'll always have a couple of bad apples on any field you play at. Just make sure that when you have a chance you point them out to the referees. As far as some guns shooting hot, that could be an honest mistake. They could have chrono thier guns to 280 in the morning and by noon shooting 300 because of the weather, I have a friend who lives in Charlotte that has told me it has been very warm for the last few weeks. I plan on going on vacation in Charlotte and will be looking for a place to play while on down there, so I'm hoping your next experience down there is a good one.

[unfated33]

MedevilMIke, on 12 June 2012 - 09:28 PM, said:

You'll always have a couple of bad apples on any field you play at. Just make sure that when you have a chance you point them out to the referees. As far as some guns shooting hot, that could be an honest mistake. They could have chrono thier guns to 280 in the morning and by noon shooting 300 because of the weather, I have a friend who lives in Charlotte that has told me it has been very warm for the last few weeks. I plan on going on vacation in Charlotte and will be looking for a place to play while on down there, so I'm hoping your next experience down there is a good one.

Well, not to derail my own thread too much, but there are a lot of field choices in the Charlotte area (though none in the city itself). To the South you have Paintball Central Rock Hill and Palmetto Hills. I haven't been to palmetto hills but it's because their website talks about problems with visitors getting their equipment stolen and, for me, some way over the top christian evangelism. Palmetto Hills is one of the cheapest fields, but local reviews also say it's run down.

To the west you have Behind Enemy Lines in Gastonia. This field seems to have good local support and is high on my list of fields to check out (though I haven't done it yet). There is no speedball at B.E.L, though. I've heard they are going to add it at some point, but that's all second hand.

To the east you have BOSS (Gold Diggers), Glory Road, and Paintball Kingdom. I play at Paintball Kingdom the most, but I think BOSS is my favorite. BOSS has probably the nicest speedball field in the City (perhaps rivaled by PBC-Rock Hill when it is open to public) and a number of neat woodsball fort battles. Prices are relatively high for BOSS compared to other fields in Charlotte, but you are paying for a better experience. Glory Road is a smaller field (just three courses - speedball, hyperball, woodsball) owned by Glory Road Ministries, so they have a few rules you wouldn't expect to see at many paintball fields (e.g. no cursing). Prices at Glory Road are cheaper than Palmetto Hills and the lowest I've noticed. I like the fields there fine, but my friends have complained of heading to the field to find fewer than 10 others playing for that day (not a problem I've experienced). Paintball Kingdom has 6 fields, but often 2-3 of them are closed at any given time (both indoor courses and I guess one other that I've never seen). That's okay, because their hyperball-like "Town" field is my favorite course in all of Charlotte. Entry is a bit pricey at PK (a bit pricey is $32 currently) but field paint is very cheap. I can't remember what they have there, though - it's certainly not as good as the Draxxus that PBC-Rock Hill has. I believe that PK lets you bring your own paint to the field which is atypical for the area. PK also doesn't count shots to your marker, which I kind of like. For those wanting to visit/watch, I'd recommend a mask at PK - there's no netting between the nearest field and the reload area (though it's quite some distance) and both the woods course and assault courses cannot be seen from the reload area.

It'll be probably in July before I hit PBC-Rock Hill again, but I'll come back and update this post after I'm able to give the field a second chance. Have fun on your trip to Charlotte!

[bropez]

I liked when I went to PBC rockhill. But I also feel I got real lucky. There was a large group of rental players that came from a groupon or something I heard their whiney bitch moms talking about. They all stayed together for the most part which was good. I dont like playing with the rental guys cause quite frankly its just not fair for them. There was about 8 speedball players out there and we got our own ref to just play speed ball games while the renters hopped from field to field trying new things.

[unfated33]

bropez, on 16 June 2012 - 05:48 AM, said:

I liked when I went to PBC rockhill. But I also feel I got real lucky. There was a large group of rental players that came from a groupon or something I heard their whiney bitch moms talking about. They all stayed together for the most part which was good. I dont like playing with the rental guys cause quite frankly its just not fair for them. There was about 8 speedball players out there and we got our own ref to just play speed ball games while the renters hopped from field to field trying new things.

That's some awfully lazy trolling.

[MedevilMIke]

I plan on playing there on the 27th. My friend has never played before and he wants to try it out.

[elo160]

Yeh that was a bad day. Im a regular at PBC Greensboro but all the parks are similar. The pro schools are for speedball players and they arnt very frequent. As far as kids shooting hot, Go talk to the refs. The kids that shoot hot give pbc a bad name. Id go back and tryit again or go to one of the other PBC fields.

[unfated33]

elo160, on 11 July 2012 - 11:23 AM, said:

Yeh that was a bad day. Im a regular at PBC Greensboro but all the parks are similar. The pro schools are for speedball players and they arnt very frequent. As far as kids shooting hot, Go talk to the refs. The kids that shoot hot give pbc a bad name. Id go back and tryit again or go to one of the other PBC fields.

Yeah, I've scheduled to give it another day twice and both times have gotten cancelled for the heat. There's just no way I can get out to a field when it's around 105 F. I hate to keep leaving this re-review plan hanging out here pending - I have a good feeling that the return trip will be better. July's already out, so hopefully I'll be able to update it the first weekend of August.

[elo160]

Its been extreamly hot at all the fields. Pbc greensboros turf on the xball field was near 120 degrees and te field closed early last saturday because of the heat. Its been crazy.

[unfated33]

Alright, finally! I got around to going back this weekend. This was an interesting trip but all in all I'm going to rate it as a much better experience. This definitely was a good enough trip to make me want to come back in the future.

Details? Well, I went back for a Sunday visit, and when I first got there I discovered that there were only two people playing in the pipes while Breakout was using the only pumped up airball field. Just a few games in, the couple there with me left (the girl took two headshots back to back and was done) and gave me their paint. One of the refs had traded out for his marker to come play with us, so he and I were going to play some 1 v 1's to see if anyone else would come out. Unfortunately, my reliable Azodin Kaos started crapping out on me - my techt bolt blew the front o-ring, the paint swelled up so much that my eigenbarrel was busting balls in the barrel, and I started to get a leak down the reg/macro. Since no one was there anyway, the ref/player and the true ref that were out there just sat around to chat while I field-stripped and tested my kaos. After taking it completely apart, putting on the stock barrel, and sticking the stock bolt back in, I was back up to 280 fps with no leaks and no problems. One ref had a proto rail and the other both a KP and a Mini, so we spent a good bit of time just talking shop while I got myself back up to speed.

Once I was back up ready to go the field had picked up another 15 or 16 players on the field - mostly rentals but a couple of low-end personal markers (a gryphon, JT USA Dynasty, other mechs I can't remember). The field rents BT-4s so everyone was fairly close in class. Early on we played two rounds of airball after Breakout had left, and it was the best two games of airball I've ever played: other than the ref, most of the players weren't any more experienced than I was, and I got into the snake safely (or so I thought - discovered a hopper shot halfway through) and nailed a great gog shot on my opponent in the snake. The field ref decided to keep us off Mounds because of the ants and so after airball we just alternated between pipes and woods. This was fine with me.

Honestly, I thought my play through the day was pretty crappy, but I had fun with the group and these refs. I let a guy walk around behind me to shoot me in the back at woods, but he one-balled me so I could only laugh about it. I got to watch a pair of girls run down to bunker the player/ref and then run completely cross-field along the fifty to bunker tag someone on the far side in pipes. I couldn't help but laugh half the time about all the crazy moves attempted and/or pulled off. I guess that's how I'd sum up the visit - people were out there to have fun first, and didn't take the game too seriously. That let me relax and just have a lot of fun as well. I'd only planned on staying for a couple of hours for the heat, but between the extra paint and the fun I found myself still in the pro shack after the fields were closed and everyone else was in their cars.

Now, to be fair, I need to mention a couple of things. 1. The more I play it, the more I think the Woods field is flawed. They need to get in there and put some more obstacles in around the field. Many of the trees are not big enough to provide cover, and there is a definite lack of trees near the center of the field where most of the action centers anyway. It seems to easy to either route the opponent or force a long stalemate depending on if the other team knows what they were doing. 2. Many of the fields are having problems with their netting. The refs said that one of their airball fields has a support pole knocked down which is taking out two fields. Another portion of the netting is down between Mounds and Woods. It is slightly concerning that they're having so many problems and haven't been able to get them fixed very quickly. I hope that's all resolved before the next visit. 3. The 4500 psi air station was down, so everyone was stuck with 3000 psi air. This made the fill line back up a few times, and again would be a concerning problem if it's not fixed quickly. It gives the impression that the field is running down and/or isn't making enough money to stay in top shape. 4. Normally I really like the Draxxus paint they use, but on this day I seemed to find a lot of balls in the bag that were melted together or were out of round. The temp for the day was about 93 F, so it's certainly not been the hottest day of the year. Since I got so much free paint on the day it didn't really bother me, but if I'd only bought a small amount I'd probably not have been happy about the paint quality.

I think the allure for me of PBC has always been that you're paying more for a better experience than many of the other fields. Losing so many of the airball fields and the 4500 psi HPA station is not a death blow, but it's certainly a knock when comparing it to Boss. That said, any time I can go out to a field and have as much fun as I did this past weekend, I'll always make plans to play again and recommend to others. This was a good day at PBC-Rock Hill, and their problems can be fixed with a bit of investment and maintenance - I'll be coming back.

This post has been edited by Unfated33: 31 July 2012 - 09:59 PM

[bropez]

Unfated33, on 16 June 2012 - 06:07 AM, said:

That's some awfully lazy trolling.

how was that trolling?

[TheMason]

unfated33, on 12 June 2012 - 01:31 PM, said:

Okay, I spent a lot of time sitting and thinking on this one for the weeks between when I last played there and now. First, I should've engaged the refs and owner more regarding the issue - there's no reason to believe they wouldn't have asked kids to chrono if we'd made an issue of it. Similarly, we should have made an issue of overshooting right as it happened and that might have spared the day. I'm not sure there's anything the limited number of refs could have done about the wipers or the kids pretending to be out, but I think I stand by social discouragement as the best bet there.

So, I'm going to try the Rock Hill field one more time and see if I don't have a better second experience. If things do start to turn sour, I need to remember to get the staff informed and involved early and consistently. Worst case scenario, I'm pretty sure I could still enjoy my time there without playing the woods field and just sticking to the pipes and mounds courses. I'll come back and update in a few weeks after I've had a chance to work it in.

I play there often and when I do get popped when I get tagged, I simply take it up with the individual player, and make it real clear that it won't be tolerated (rather forcefully usually because it drives me mad when it happens), and let the refs know. Honestly, it has only happened to me about 6-7 times in 5 years of playing there.