Runway footie is a new idea for a team game for Wireplay's Air Attack which is curently undergoing a certain amount of 'beta testing' by both myself and AA23. We would like to get as many people as possible who may be interested in the idea to get involved in the testing process as we value everybody's support/comments/suggestions for improvements etc. And besides, the game is also a lot of fun! Our ultimate aim is to start up a 5-a-side Footie League at some point in the future. Who knows, if the idea takes off (no pun intended) and we manage to get the ball rolling (groan..) we could soon be hosting Air Attack equivalents of the Premiership, and the 1st and 2nd Divisions, with all the fun of promotion and relegation that this would bring... Play well and your team could be basking in glory at the top the the Premiership, play badly and you could end up in the Vauxhall Conference..

TRIAL DATES

Informal trial sessions are being held on Tuesday nights from 9.00pm onwards. Go to Private Arena and enter the password 'footie' (lower case). These are on a turn-up-and-play basis, so anyone is free to come along, and we will try to allocate players fairly to sides as they arrive. Do try and make it as the sessions we have had have been a lot of fun and the games are not taken too seriously.They are also an ideal place to try out the game and see if you enjoy it . However please do make sure you have read and understand the rules of the game! (see below) .

We will also be running proper trials (strict reffing/standardised team sizes) on Saturdays nights (times tbc). These will probably in the form of full-length 5-a-side (2 attackers/2 defenders/1 Goalie) team games. Rather than have squad teams we would like to include a mix of people in the teams, if you would like to take part do send us an e-mail and let us know.

If you are interested in getting involved or have any comments or suggestions contact me or AA23 :

Waxwing: Wax@bevhome.globalnet.co.uk/AA23 aa23@savage72.freeserve.co.uk

RULES

1. Teams : There are two teams of equal numbers divided into attackers, defenders and the goalie. In a five-a-side match there would be 2 attackers, 2 defenders and 1 goalie per side. The game seems to work best when the teams are further apart ie. Germany vs Soviets or Great Britain vs USA (both of which would make interesting real life matches hehe..)

2. Arena : The arena is rookie (so nothing will afect your stats ;)) with the Anti-Aircraft guns turned on.

3. Game Length : The games are divided into two halves of 30 mins. At half time the two teams switch sides.

4. Kickoff! : The teams stay on the runway until the refs give the word to go.

5. Scoring : 1 point is scored for a goal. Only the attackers are allowed to score (Update: see NOTE below). Goals are scored by flying the length of the opposition's runway under the AA fire. You must cross both the start and finish lines of the runway completely (no exiting or entering from the sides of the runway or the goal will not stand). You must also make sure you enter at the inboard end of the runway, which is the end facing the centre of the arena with no buildings around it. Do not try and enter the wrong end of the runway! This will make it easier for the goalies to defend, as it is actually quite tough being in goal. For instance in a Soviet vs Germany game the goals would be in the positions shown below:

See the following film in which I score an imaginary goal: goal!.flm

NOTE: We are currently considering whether to allow anyone (except for the goalies, who can't be killed!) to score, subject to further playtesting. This would probably give more enjoyment to defending players (who have sometimes scored in matches only to be told that the goal would not count) , and would obviously mean that team tactics and organisation become a major factor to sucessful play.

6. Goalies : Goalies can go where they like but CAN ONLY SHOOT INSIDE OF THEIR OWN AREA. The area is the higher texture region within the Anti Aircraft envelope around their own airfield. Attackers are not allowed to deliberately shoot at the opposition's goalie.

Goalies must use a [GOALIE] tag to help recognition during the match.

7. Penalties: Awarded if (a) the goalie shoots an attacking member of the opposite team outside of his area or (b) An attacker deliberately shoots at the opposing goalie. When a penalty is awarded everyone must crash/land, and one attacker must then take off at the same time as the goalie and try to score with no intervention from the other players. Erm.. easier to do than describe, but this SHOULD give the attacker an advantage and a fair chance to score. (It's easier to score as an attacker than defend as a goalie in a 1 on 1 situation!).

NOTE: Penalties are now probably going to be shelved in favour of deducting a goal from the offending team if one of their players (deliberately) shoots at or kills the oppostions' goalie. This will prevent disrupting the flow of the match.

8. Height Restrictions: To make things interesting a height restriction is imposed of 500ft (about 1600 ft). The absolute max you are allowed to go is 700m (about 2350 ft). Anyone going above this will be in trouble ! :)

9. Ramming: Again, not sure about allowing this as a legitimate tactic.. The goalies are allowed to ram at the mo as a last ditch defensive tactic or if caught outside their area, as for deliberately ramming the opposition's goalie..hmm.. more testing needed..

10. Referees: At the moment the role of ref/scorekeepers go to AA23 and I, as we are usually to be found in goal. So we have to be honest as we are logging goals scored against us! However, reffing could be a problem in a proper league situation as it ideally calls for two non-playing individuals to be observing at each goal-end. Any comments/suggestions on this problem would be welcome.

NOTE: Playtesting has revealed that the presence of two non-playing referees is going to be necessary in future. This will allow the goalies (obviously being key players) to concentrate on the task at hand.

OK, That's the basics as we have them. Come along, join in , have fun. We will keep you posted here and on AA23's site as and when things happen..

AA23's Footie Page : http://www.aa23.freeserve.co.uk/footie/

AA23's HomePage AA23s Home page