Programming A Stage In A Short Amount Of Time.

[Shooter Grrl]

We've all seen the discussion about Area 6 not allowing previewing of stages, and it appears that we may be seeing a lot more of this. What I need now is to figure out how to program a stage in one walk through! The house stage that BDH ran was a tricky one as there was an area of targets placed outside the house through a port. I know at least three of us here on the forums didn't engage those suckers. I was up second on this stage and really wasn't given enough time to prepare for it.

What have ya'll found works best? (And don't start in on me about counting targets - I did count them and came up with the right count - you're brain is an amazing tool that can also work against you!)

[XRe]

With only one walk through, huh?? I'm not real great at that - I usually need two or three, right now. The more complex or freestyle the stage, the harder it gets, too, for me.

Stay extremely aware during your walk through - note number of targets, where they're available from and what those positions look and feel like, and any obstacles. Then visualize like a mofo - I usually start going through the stage in my head in as much detail as I've captured, stopping when I make a mistake and going back to the beginning. Given a couple of minutes of that, I can usually have a stage worked out in a fashion that'll work - but rarely is it as efficient a run as I can work out with a little more walk through time....

BTW - I have to practice visualization skills to be able to do that, just like practicing any other shooting skill. And, I've had to do that intense visualization on stages that involve a lot of memorization, too, even with a lot of time to play with the stage....

[ima45dv8]

Count the targets.

[shred]

Steve Anderson's stage-prep sheet might come in handy. I played with it for a bit, but eventually gave up on it as generally too much of a pain given the long walkthrus available.

[eric nielsen]

If the course book has a reasonably good picture of the layout and I'm up like 4th or later, I'll mark up the layout picture like I did for the shoot house on Stage 10. I'll scan mine and post it on here this evening. Helped me out to read it a couple times while waiting my turn.

Also I was blessed with a squad-mate tapping my shoulder and pointing out the two ported-view targets. That REALLY helped.

I tend to skip around the conga-line frequently if it's getting bogged down with a person practicing how to drop a broom handle or what-have-you. I usually walk the perimeter of the stage and see every target, which helped a lot on Stage 6 and Stage 12. Then I'll jump right into the shooting area wherever I'm most concerned, scope that part out, then look at everything else in descending order, High Disaster Factor first and Low Disaster Factor last or not until I'm on deck.

I have a tendency to forget the starting position and have the RO think I'm a real Space Cadet by telling me to put my hands under my chin or something like that. By then I'm so focussed it doesn't bother me, it's really minor.

[Sterling White]

Nutz! I have put much time and effort into studying pictures, drawings, and course descriptions and in all cases its never the same as being able to step out on a stage and giving it a good look. Here's an anology..... its like having 50 people blindfolded standing around an elephant trying to describe it. So I say nutz to the no peek effort and the folks pushing it! This sport works because of a friendly atmosphere and that is a major part of what keeps people coming back.

Allowances have to be made for the competitor. That's the secret to what works best!

[Jake Di Vita]

Visualization is a huge part of it. Ideally (for this type of shooting) we should be able to walk through a stage once or twice and be able to visually remember where all targets and things of importance are. The only way this improves is with practice. At local matches try wakling through a stage once or twice and making your plan from there.

Definetely not an easy thing but unfortunantly it is sometimes required.

[Luiz Francisco Ramos]

I usualy do this in that cases:

1) I do the walk thru once, but paying atention in both ways, going to the end and coming back to start line, if they where two.

2) Registering the targets in my brain!

3) I pay atention to others shootes while shooting, to check if the cadency they do is like mine. earing the shoots and tring to see in what targets they are hiting and so if I wasn´t forgeting one(s).

hope to help

Ramos

[EricW]

I'm with Sterling on this one. Time to boycott the "no peekie" matches. Most of us never see such complex stages at local matches. How the heck are we supposed to learn to shoot such stuff in five lousy minutes?

No, thank you.

I hope Area 1 isn't doing this.

[David Olhasso]

Work the plan with a partner or two. I tend to spend a couple of minutes working the plan myself, then I consult with my 'partners'. At the Area 6, I went over most every stage with two other production shooters. Sometimes my plan was the one we all used, sometimes it was one of the other shooters plan, and sometimes we all followed our own path.

Of course, all plans are subject to being changed once you get to see the first person shoot -- especially when movers are involved.

[Ron Ankeny]

Doping a stage is one of my weakest points. It's really hard for me to put things together. If they do the same at Area One I'll need to draw a sketch and use Steve's cheat sheet. If I am the first shooter...shudder.

[schoonie]

I find that it's becoming easier to generate a plan now that I'm experiencing more match time.

For me it's a combination of all the things Luiz, Jake and David mentioned.

Walk through and find all the targets.

Create a plan of attack to shoot them in as comfortable a fashion as possible, including mag changes. Don't do anything overly radical, just try to be as smooth as possible.

If I'm really rushed, as was the case for Area 6, I'll only look at a few of the possible options, decide on one that I think is best, and then lock it into memory. You've got to be able to close your eyes and shoot the stage by your plan in your head. This is heavy duty visualization and it works well with the audio input from the other shooters as they go through the stage. When you've got it down you will be able know what and how well that shooter did.

The input from your friends is invaluable when time is short because, as they say, two heads are better than one.

Accomplishing this you will be able to walk through the stage in your mind's eye as many times as you like.

[eric nielsen]

Okay, found my course book. I marked it up during the first shooter, my turn was like 5th or 6th.

Sometimes if the book is close but a target's been moved, I just cross out the wrong picture & draw in a new target where it's really located. If I have time.

[short_round]

... use the force.

[Nik Habicht]

Always walk the perimeter of a stage --- to make sure you find all the hidden or not easily seen targets. Some times it's faster for me to diagram a tough stage by doing it backwards --- as in how many rounds to I need at the end, and what else can I take with those. Will it help me to take a couple of long shots from an early position? Avoid a standing reload, maybe?

I think if I was first or second on that one --- I might have shot it in survival mode --- being willing to move to each position or port, sacrificing a little time to make sure I avoid any penalties. As a production shooter, I'd need to shoot virtually all A's in that case. I would have programmed "Two targets through RIGHT port in house" into my brain.....

All of the above is assuming that I'm alone --- i.e. not shooting with a crew of friends who's capabilities I know. If I'm travelling with my usual group of friends, I'd follow Dave O's advice --- form my own plan, and then discuss.....

[kevin c]

... use the force.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dark side or light?

[Shooter Grrl]

Excellent advice everyone - thanks Now all I have to do is remember all of it - doh!

[folsoml]

Walk through and find all the targets. Get a fair mental picture of what you are going to do. Visualize it in your mind. Unless you are first, watch the people ahead of you and picture all the targets they are shooting at--even if it doesn't fit your exact plan. That way at least you know you aren't missing a target somewhere.

[Little Bill]

To add another idea, I saw a bunch of shooters on squad working together on Stage 7, and they had one guy down range taking turns standing beside some of the tough-to-decide targets, making it easier for the others to figure out a good plan. Then the plan was shared among the group.

[folsoml]

Talking about people standing by targets to get an idea of where you could shoot them from, how many people shot through the barrels Sweating Bullets? My squad had people standing behind the barrels to give the others an idea of where they needed to shoot the barrels to go through them to the target. I didn't ahev the guts to try it, plus shooting limted 10 I had to run to the last barricade anyway.

[ima45dv8]

Talking about people standing by targets to get an idea of where you could shoot them from, how many people shot through the barrels Sweating Bullets?  My squad had people standing behind the barrels to give the others an idea of where they needed to shoot the barrels to go through them to the target.  I didn't ahev the guts to try it, plus shooting limted 10 I had to run to the last barricade anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Larry, most folks I know won't risk shooting through barrels. Exit point is way too unpredictable. An edge hit followed by the sound of a real pissed-off hornet (as the bullet makes countless laps around the inside of the barrel in a very short period of time) usually breaks folks of the habit.

But they were declared soft-cover in case any hearty souls wished to try, and (mostly) to reduce the scoring nightmares associated with having barrels declared hard-cover.

...Mark

(we met at the match)

[folsoml]

One of my shooting partners has the nads to try it and it worked. He still ran to the barricade to look, but he had two hits and didn't have to shoot. Some others in our squad tried it without as much success.

By the way, how do you do that quote box?

[ima45dv8]

One of my shooting partners has the nads to try it and it worked.  He still ran to the barricade to look, but he had two hits and didn't have to shoot.  Some others in our squad tried it without as much success.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good for him. I hope your buddy bought some lottery tickets on the way home.

By the way, how do you do that quote box?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At the lower right-hand corner of the post you wish to quote is a button labeled "Reply". Click that and add your text.

...Mark

[CRubio]

Larry, most folks I know won't risk shooting through barrels. Exit point is way too unpredictable. An edge hit followed by the sound of a real pissed-off hornet  (as the bullet makes countless laps around the inside of the barrel in a very short period of time) usually breaks folks of the habit.

I agree with Mark. It is not only risky but can also get you in trouble as barrels, like most vision barriers, are normally hard cover.

Carlos

[diehli]

Tear the stage description out and eat it. Learn by imbibition.