HOW TO PLAY THE SPNS FIELD

I have been asked how to play the SPNS field so just for fun - I wrote a few notes on the field. To be honest I don't like the layout for the WCA and for Mech markers its going to be worse. For SPNS I hope to see the field being more compressed to compensate for the lack of distance the mech markers will have.

And to make it more exciting to watch, I would move the snake corners inside so the snake players will have to look after themselves. I would put something in front of the dorito corner to obstruct his view and at the same time force him to move up.
EDIT- Move the corners in slightly so that in order to shoot down tape they have to come out a step or two. So no easy shots for the corner guy.

MECH FACTOR
The players at SPNS will be using Spyder mechanical markers. The shots aren't going to reach end to end. There wouldn't be much point trying to lane from home nor will there be much to shoot at from the back corners. Thus I would run the guns and get them up as far up the field as I can and push my back line up into the mid field.

RED ZONE
Its about knowing how to take advantage of the lack of range and BPS speed of the mech markers. Be fast up the field and get into the red zone and put up a lane before they get their guys up. Teams who can shoot accurately on the run will have a big advantage as I would tell my guys to shoot as they get into their bunkers up the field. By the time you're past the 20s-30s they would be looking to get into their bunkers - which is the time to put a lane in front of their destination.

SNAKE
Teams with good snake players would do well. With 1 or even 2 guys in the snake they should only pop up after the 50 and look for the cross. The second snake would better protect the front snake from getting mugged than the back corner. I would spend a lot of time walking the snake and coaching my guys on the snake.

SNAKE CORNERS
With the snake corner being further back it would be harder for him to totally lock the snake down. If you intend to have a snake corner that guy has to work really hard and smart to work shots into his mirror and at their snake. He'd have to be creative and wrap extremely out and low an disciplined enough to keep guard on the snake.

DORITOS
The Doritos are up in the 40s and is makeble if you know how to run the blind spots and avoid getting hit on the way. Thus again you'd have to spot their shooters and shoot at them on the run to put them in or they're going to set up for your entry.

The key to the next stage is knowing what to do once you're in snake 4 or in the 50 doritos. That boils down to experience, communication and patience. They are going to pound your positions and you cannot die cheap. I expect you to shoot out their forwards on the cross. Communicate with the back line to give them angles to shoot some space for you to make your next move.

BACK PLAYERS
The back guys gotta push up the middle. As soon as they spot your forwards in the doritos or snake - they will be shooting them. This opens windows for the backs to push and they have to push to keep the pressure on the other side.

Communication and reading the game counts.
Anyone can scream the bunkers, you have to think what to do and how to play your guys. The back guys need to think of how to play their forwards as the game progresses. How to work out the sweep and where to set up the cross or work the pinch on the last guys.

Good luck SPNSters.