-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- AQUATICA NEWSLETTER http://www.supersoaker.cjb.net -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Volume #2 Issue #1 June 1st, 2001 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- TABLE OF CONTENTS A: ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER 1 - About the Newsletter 2 - About Aquatica B: ARTICLES 1 - NI 100 Mk4 Discovered - Marauder 2 - The Blandness of Life - Tactician 3 - Long Live the Fighters! - ShadowStrike Prime C: OTHER 1 - Advertisements 2 - Reader Input 3 - Subscribe/Unsubscribe 4 - Sponsors 5 - Thank You's -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=A=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. About the Newsletter Designed to bring back to life the long passed spirit of the Soaked Newsletter, The Aquatica Newsletter delivers what the Soaked Newsletter in the Spring/Summer of 1998. The Aquatica Newsletter was created by fans, built by fans and done for fans, and will be released Between 1 to 4 weeks apart, depending upon the flow of information. If you would like to contribute or become a reporter to the Aquatica Newsletter, Send us an Email. Our Address is "aquaticanews@yahoo.ca" There is more information on Submitting below in Section C-2. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. About Aquatica Formed by the Webmasters of Aquatecnology(Now iSoaker.com) and The Aqua-Nexus in September of 1999, The Aquatica Organization is set to deliver the best of service possible to the Struggling Super Soaker Onilne Community. With a Webring and Photo-Database for young websites, a Yahoo Club for discussing items on your mind, and a Newsletter to give what every SuperSoaker-Phile wants, INFORMATION, Aquatica keeps up it promise to let the Super Soaker Online Community See Progress, See Service, and See Updates... SEE AQUATICA http://www.supersoaker.cjb.net --------------------------------------------------------------------- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=B=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. NI 100 Mk4 Discovered - Marauder I recently bought a new SS 100. It had the same paint job as the original version so I didn't think much of using it for battle. However, I decided to test it anyway. Here's what I found: Range: 33 feet - Not bad, especially for a classic. Capacity: 54 ounces - Same as NI 100 Nozzle Size: 1.6mm - XP size, but slightly smaller than NI 100's Shot Time: 10 seconds - Wow, very good; it stayed at high power for 2 sec. Pumps amount: 15 - Excelent, even better than the NI 100's 25 Battle Performance In battle the SS 100 took on a SC 600 in a close battle. Normally 100s are not known for the shoot and pump capability. Surprisingly it matched the 600 in power, shot time, and even could pump and shoot! This was amazing for a 100. I noticed the box was a little different than any other 100 box before. Overall the SS 100 M4 is awesome, and is as good as an XP 270! You can convert the ounces to metric, sorry! --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. THE BLANDNESS OF LIFE - Tactician DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in the following article do not necessarily reflect those of Aquatica. The Aqua-Nexus describes Super Soaker reviews as "what we have come to expect from all good Super Soaker sites." The word "good" is unnecessary. The average site in the Aquatica webring has over 25 reviews posted -- and that's if you include in the average sites like Hydrolysis and the Super Soaker RPG, which have zero reviews. The average site with at least one review has more than 33. I was actually surprised that only 75% of the sites in the webring have reviews posted, although all the ones that don't are pretty esoteric, and I am personally either directly or indirectly responsible for creating half of them. Other popular subjects on sites in the ring include "Tips/Tactics" (which is usually mostly tips, but I digress), a "technology" page, a survey, and a links page. Just about the only remaining unique feature is this newsletter, which seems to remain so mostly because the on-line Super Soaker community isn't generating much news. Also rare are on-line water fight-related games, of which there are two, and a water fight FAQ, of which I found one. I wonder what most webmasters spend time doing. Several of them sound like they feel guilty for not updating more when they post news, although most of them don't seem to have any updates to make. It's said that variety is the spice of life, and I wonder if maybe that's what's missing from Aquatica. Most sites have reviews as their primary feature, but it's the only section that I personally never read. Honestly, how many people visiting isoaker.com are going to take the time to read all 88 reviews? Any why should they? Does isoaker.com really know better than they do how good some of these soakers really are? I doubt it. I've been using Super Soakers in water fights for something like a decade, and I don't think I've even SEEN eighty-eight different models of water guns. I certainly haven't used that many. Maybe the webmaster of isoaker.com has, but I doubt it. So, where do these reviews come from? For one source, I've seen sites advertising that they copy reviews from other sites as if it were a feature. I'm sure a lot of people copy reviews without mentioning it. I wouldn't be surprised if some sites are using reviews for guns in the classic series that were originally posted on one of those really old sites that's been dead for three years, and probably doesn't even know it because it's been passed around so much. And how about links? The webring already gives a list of sites with a description of each one, what are you adding by putting up a links page? If you give detailed information about the sites, that might be worth it. Even ranking the sites, or starring "good" ones, although a bit opinionated, is adding SOMETHING. But if you're just listing sites, maybe you ought to restrict yourself to ones not already in the webring. GOOD ones not already in the webring, ones worth reading. And ones not in the webring for a good reason -- the requirements aren't that strict, why aren't they in it? Wouldn't it be great if every web site had a unique feature not found anywhere else on the net? I'm not suggesting that we should start shutting down sites, or even shunning them. In fact, I hope that the number of sites keeps growing. But I think that we, collectively, as the webmasters, can do better than this. I think we can aspire to a higher standard than having a review of every water gun ever made, even though we've never seen 90% of them. I think that everyone is fully capable of coming up with something new and interesting. Even if people don't feel so inspired, at least limit your information output to what you really know. If you have five reviews on your site, like one site in the webring, maybe people will actually read all of them. Review weapons not that you saw in the store, but that you've used a lot and understand intimately, and make the review worth reading. If you MUST use a review from another site, put a link to that site instead of copying the review. Another alternative to doing something original is to specialize. Make your site the very best at something, to the neglect of all else. Give people one good reason to come to your site and not someone else's. The very first person to put reviews on the web deserves a place of honor on our history pages. So does the person who started the first webring (Aquatica is at least the third). I'd put the first person to start talking about water fight tactics up there (which, BTW, wasn't me). How about the first person to set up a message board? How about the guy at Soaked who started the first newsletter? How about the guy who, in the spring or summer of 2001, revolutionized the Super Soaker on-line community by posting a unique, inspiring idea on their tired old web page and starting a trend towards incredible variety? We all want to cooperate with each other instead of competing, but the only way to do that is to make all of the sites unique, covering different topics, so that they compliment each other instead of just being redundant. ~ Tactician (of Hydrolysis) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Long Live The Fighters! - ShadowStrike Prime We've all been in this situation: Your main weapon is out of juice, your secondary is coughing out mist, and the rest of your team (for whatever reason) has been blasted 3 ways from Tuesday. The first thing you have to think about is "What do I have to work with?" Now, your main weapon is dead weight until you can get it refilled, and your sidearm bearly has enough for a short burst, so you have to figure out "How can I use that one shot to get to a refill station?" First, sneak as close to the enemy as you possibly can. Stealth is the key here, if you get caught now it's all over. Then, pump up your sidearm has much as you can, you have to make that shot count, even if it is just mist! Then, visualize the route you'll take to that refill station, It will do you no good to run out there and have no idea where you're going. (Stopping to ask for directions isn't a good idea either). As soon as you're ready, run out towards that refill station! as you're doing that, point your gun at the enemy, and yell something really frightening (or at the other end of the spectrum) something really heroic. This will be a surprise for the enemy, so make it even more surprising by firing your weapon! Now the fact that it's firing mist works to your advantage here, because the blast covers a wider area, therefore obscuring your position, thus confusing the enemy. By this time, you're probably half way to the refill point, so from here it's all up to you. That little manuver probably bought you a few seconds, but by now your enemy must be in hot pursuit. Now if your whole team hasn't been soaked down to their underwear, that probably means you've got renforcements. Now if you don't know where they are, but you know where there's a refill available, you've got to go for the refill. If it's the opposite, go for those renforcements, they'll protect you. If you know where both are, you have to make a choice, based on the distance to your desired location, how much enemy fire you have to punch through, how long it will take to get there, and which location is more likely to save your butt. I can't really say much more to help you, but remember, every day, is a good day to get soaked. --------------------------------------------------------------------- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=C=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. Advertisements Visit Aquatica Yahoo Club! - http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/aquatica Nexus Newswire on the Aqua-Nexus - Your Prime Source of Super Soaker Information --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Reader Input If you would like to make a submission to the Aquatica Newsletter, or join on as an Aquatica News Reporter, send us an Email at "aquaticanews@yahoo.ca". Include the information you want us to post, your name, your Email address, and anything else you think we should know. All Information is Very Welcome.. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Want to subscribe to the Aquatica Newsletter? Visit the Newsletter section of the Aquatica Website - "http://www.supersoaker.cjb.net". If you want to unsubscribe from this Newsletter, there should be information about it at the bottom. OR Send us an Email asking to unsubscribe at "aquaticanews@yahoo.ca". --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Sponsors Listbot - Thanks for the Mail List Server. Aqua-Nexus and iSoaker.com - Co-Founders of Aquatica --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Thank You's Larami - For the Awesome Line of Super Soakers.. Soaked Newsletter - For Pioneering the Super Soaker Newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Aquatica" Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001 Aqua-Nexus/iSoaker.com "iSoaker.com" Copyright 2000, 2001 iSoaker.com "Aqua-Nexus" Copyright 1999, 2000, 2001 Aqua-Nexus "Aquatechnology" Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000 iSoaker.com "Super Soaker" and all Super Soaker related tradmarks are copyrights of Larami LTD.