Many games were played on this all-nighter between Saturday 11:00pm to 7:00am Sunday, overall it was an interesting event which was most enjoyable, it seems many would agree with me on that one, including the staff running the event, who I would like to thank for holding such a well managed event, with some excellent trophies.

There were still many players unsure how to go about capture the hill, I can understand perfectly why that was, since Pinball was scoping for targets in the red base floor area, most did not see the face of the contender shooting all who attempted to storm the red base location "Heh Heh" but I did.

The Top Gun Championship was a real burner, Myerz with he nice baggy jumper "LOL", Hunter doing side angle tilts to avoid being shot "why has no one added side sensors, Ah, its because it against the rules along with crouching, sitting & laying on the floor LOL" It was all a load of fun, so the above is me just joking.

There was a game in one of the football pitches, quite funny with Nemesis chasing Myers around the centre of the pitch, firing in the small seconds of activation time, as Pinball on the left side of the pitch, was shooting all who were in the deactivation distance. There were some spoilers though, Morpheus sitting in one of the goals with two other people firing away across the arena at any thing, even when they were out of reach, Good job Toby kept constant fire on those three. It was like some thing out of star wars episode 1, except I left my light saber behind at home "DAM". Pinball took first in that game, even though it looked unsure who would win, since it was like a game of frustration on the T1 system.

Well-known contender Hunter was there on the scene showing his skill of the sport. Along time team & staff member at Derby Megazone, also known for his many pages of information on Laser Tag sport, Game techniques, System descriptions & other helpful information on Laserarena.co.uk & other locations across the Internet.
In the Pairs Tournament, Hunter was paired up with Captain Howdy, who was a visiting member of the Acocks Green Megazone team. They both went on to win the Pairs Tournament with strength and take away a really worthwhile trophy each.
Hunter also was on the same team as myself in the Team Tournament at the very end of the evening, but the odds were highly stacked against our team with only Hunter & my self with much chance against the raging hoards of oppositional contenders we faced. We were team 3 and came second in are battle against team 1 & team 2. We then came third place in the final battle for the trophy prices for each team player.
Hunter is respectable player, hope to see him involved for many years to come, and was glad of his team support.

Pinball the top five clinging contender, who always seems to be the one shooting you across, from one end of the arena & ducking afterwards, was there on this referable event. Indeed the oldest contender I know & a truly wise contender at that, if you ever get to speak to him. He has played at many arenas, gone against many players, home & away. Showing he can still dish the special firepower, he won the other Top Gun trophy from some heavy contenders in group 2.

Ah, Morpheus another long time contender who I had the pleasure of being shot to shreds by, who I first meet with the Derby visiting team in a Leicester all-nighter, back in 2000. I managed to get a few minutes to catch up on a long time no see, then into the first frantic battle of many of that night, showing that he could still dish heavy heat, I decided to stay out of his way or shoot first ask questions later for the remainder of the night.

Myerz, like most of the Derby All-nighters in the last few years, Myerz will be there to make you fight for you right for first place. So it was no surprise when he took one of the Top Gun trophy awards for coming first in battle one, may be it would have ended another way if they had done the first six from each battle making the best twelve fight for the trophy, may be I'm just thinking like that because I was fifth place in group 1. The trophy, which Myerz won for the Top Gun award, was very nice looking & a good size too. It's no fun if you win to easily, so Myerz I will be back next time to take you down. "Wishful thinking, but no harm with that"

Captain Howdy a contender from Acocks Green Birmingham, on a visit with Sandman for there first Derby All-nighter. This guy can surly make you wish you had not thought he was a bunny, after he reduced your score by a few hundred points "heh Heh", Proved by the Pairs championship award he received after coming first with Hunter. With Captain Howdy leaving early "Ill get you next time Captain Howdy Heh Heh! next time", so we did not get see him in action in the Team Championship, we might have won if he was on our team.

Sandman the other contender from Acocks Green Birmingham. The best of Birmingham & someone who you can have a good chat with, & a good sense of humour at the same time, in the battle though, he is a predator contender of mighty skill, so much so he can send Pinball into a fits of rage after many deactivations "heh heh"

Phantom my teammate from Leicester is a fine contender with predator instincts when he feels suited to use them. A cross breed between a Rugby player & a Terminator, since he barges you out of the way when in a tight squeeze, or blasts you to dust while he walks down the corridors in terminator fashion, if he is so pleased.

Nemesis another team mate from Leicester, very capable of taking the throne for Leicester's best player. Nemesis Travelled to the Derby All-nighter to take on Myerz, who is the nemesis of Nemesis. A good idea to keep your eyes on this contender, or keep him deactivated when in close proximity.

It was good night all over, since I knew many people there from past all-nighters, and will probably return for the following one in the next few months.
Writen By R@IDER

Now, to be sneakier than anybody else you've got to have a contortionist's back and a lot of patience! To help I've compiled this must do tips list for you sneaky gits:

1:)
Look what's going on behind you as well as in front - you never know who else is trying to be sneakier than you!

2:)
Never fall asleep. Might seem obvious but all that waiting around can be tiring.

3:)
Use stealth mode to help yourself hide. Remember, you are not the predator and people can still see you!

4:)
Corners are a good place to start; most arenas have dark corners with cover,
especially Birmingham, so take advantage of them.

5:)
Turn your CAS talk off - that stupid voice is annoying (almost as annoying as Captain Janeway from Voyager) as well as a big give away to where you are.

6:)
Keep low. It's surprising how many people forget they have shoulder sensors.

7:)
And finally, Jurassic Park may have been a crap film but something good that came out of it is the Tyrannosaurus movement theory. In dark places it's harder to see still objects, so with your stealth mode on in a dark corner a still person is almost invisible while movement attracts peoples attention, and what are you doing dancing around in the corner on your own anyway!?

So I hope you go away dazed and a little bit more confused. Have fun!
Writen by Captain Howdy

All-nighter

The Derby Megazone all-night competition has once again come to play, as the sun rises above the location of the arena, know one knows who will be the first victorious winner or the first loser.

The midlands best have for one night collected in one arena, there motive to kill all with devastating skill and accuracy who stand in there way, of going home with there prize.
The predators with there phaser, converge in the top area of the Derby Megazone arena, in a no mercy mental state ready to take on all who face them in a bloody fight for the dominance of first place.

The sound of temporary death is in the air, a constant reminder of the unpredictable amount of time you have. You franticly attempt to converge on the largest group of possible victims, firing your phaser cool & callously at all who attempt to destroy you, along with your chances of slaying the unknown nemesis of the group predators, who are killing all in 360 degrees radius.

When the game begins, the predators are easily detectable from the wondering souls who enter the arena. The predators move calmly & swiftly to there killing ground, awaiting for the counter to finish counting down & the sirens to wail, signalling of the becoming chaos that will take place, pushing all who dare to believe there a contender to be feared. The wondering souls realise there fate, as there pack is sent in to deactivated state, state of nine seconds of frustrating wait as they run franticly to another place, only to find another predator battle taking place.

You wait the few seconds in you killing ground like silence before the storm, phaser at the ready to shoot first, at the wondering soul looking for safe haven, or the predator attempting to muscle you out of your gold points. You shoot, instantly deactivating the pack of the enemy who converging on your killing ground location, nine seconds breeze bye for the enemy waiting for a reprisal of fury. Your success is nothing to be celebrated, as your killing ground becomes frantic, being split by tens of hundreds of laser pulses as they bounce off mirrors & shinny objects, at which point a predator has noticed, the mass of points building in your reach, deactivating you in your moment of confusion you have lost the first battle for your killing ground.

In a moment of chaos, you are deactivated six times in a row, at which point make a dash to safe ground. Recovering from your deactivation, you activate one of two T1 weapon upgrades in your RPG features, giving you a burst fire of 60 rounds, you then follow by activating one of two shields also in your RPG features, giving you 30 seconds of pure adrenalin burst fire invisibility. Making use of the temporary burst power in grasp, you release great revenge as you deactivate all in your wake, then leaving the scene of your crime of revenge before your caught in the waves of laser pulses.

You then finish the battle, holding your head up high as you scan your results to the scoring system, taking pride from the enjoyment of the arena battle with other predator contenders.

Written by R@IDER

2)
Q: What made you decide to try Megazone in your local arena?
A: I really enjoyed playing when I was young, and when I heard news of the zone
re-opening in Swansea I could not wait to go back down.

3)
Q: What did you enjoy about Megazone, which helped you to return?
A: I don't know what I enjoy most about it, it's probably the same for all members of the game, there is just something special about it that makes you want to go back for more, and you might as we'll be a junkie because once you back the 3rd and 4th time your hooked.

4)
Q: Was there ever a top player, who inspired your like for the game, in your home arena?
A: There were a fair few top players in Swansea when I first started,
I remember when we first drew up our top ten list I was somewhere like 6th or 7th Place. The top players in the Swansea zone were either *SMOKIN DAVE*, HERBIE or Golden boy. The player who had the most influence on my style of play and my attitude towards the game was probably Dave.

5)
Q: When did you win your first prize or trophy?
A: My first trophy win, was in Swansea, sometime back in 1999 when I won the player of the night trophy. It really was a big thing to me, and at the time all the other players were all about 6 years older than myself, and had been playing a lot longer, so that was a really big thing for me also at the time.

6)
Q: In your many battles with other contenders, who was your best opponent & who was the weakest, you have played?
A: The person I most like playing against the most, has to be Cobra as he will always find something to wine about, or get wound up about in a game, and he has one hell of a temper. There have been a fair few great players I have played, like Matrix my old pairs partner, Hunter, Smoking Dave & people like that. On the other hand, the worst player I have ever played, is either KIRK from Swansea or Ian from Leicester.

7)
Q: Most of us have heard of your large trophy collection, or seen you win something from our grasp, how many trophies and prizes do you have?
A: Hmm, this is going to take a while. I have twenty-four trophies in my house and five trophies in the Swansea zone, thirteen are from Derby all-nighters, two come from Leicester, twelve from Swansea, one from Manchester and to top it off I have a fair few t-shirts.

8)
Q: In your many years of Megazone, have you ever decided to leave your home arena?
A: This is a VERY long story behind that question, but I am going to slim it down for you. For about 19 months, my self, Cobra and Gremlin left the Swansea laser zone, due to a dispute with the owner. We did not play in our zone for a year and half, instead we only played in Leicester and Derby. The dispute now been sorted with the Swansea zone, and we now play back in our home arena.

9)
Q: Since you have a large experience in Megazone, Which arena would you say was the best, or was the best before it closed or changed?
A: The best arena that I've played in, would have to be either the first Swansea arena or the Chelmsford arena. The Chelmsford was my first zone I visited other than Swansea. The layout was awesome and due to the design of the arena, there was nowhere to hide, so you were constantly moving around.

10)
Q: The USA Nationals held frequently in the last few years, bring many good players from many parts. There are older top players who contend in the nationals, who express they will not play a national on a T1 Pack System.
Do you feel the same way about the T1 system?
A: I F****NG HATE T-1, the system is the most poorly designed system ever, its almost on par with Quaser. There are no RPG features, which as you all know are one of my favorite enjoyments, the speaker system and the sound byte's are annoying, and all around disgrace to Megazone.

11)
Q: If there were a UK national, would you attend?
A: This is a tricky question, as it has some reference to the last question. All I can say is, that there would be a Swansea team attending it, if the event was to happened, but weather or not I'll be there is another question, only time will tell.

12)
Q: What do you think to the reducing numbers in mature players, and do you think its being helped by Megazone UK HQ?
A: From what I think, the cause of the decreasing numbers of zone players, Is due to that fact that the company makes more money off birthday parties, and stuff like that. The owners do not like members hanging round the building and cluttering up the reception.

13)
Q: What puts you off from playing Megazone?
A: Ian's smell LOL, no. Hmm, probably the fact that I've played, and beaten, from what I can see as the best. All I am doing now is playing for the hell of it, but the main thing that puts me off playing, is crapy packs that do not work!

14)
Q: There is a rumor of you retiring, is this true & in what way?
A: All I can say to this is that, I have realized that I am not going to be to be good as I am forever. I have seen things over the past week that has made me realize, I would rather leave and be remembered as a good player, than play for a few more years, and leave as being remembered as a guy who could not even come in the top 10 places.

This is to all the players that attended the latest Derby all-nighter. In years to come people will tell a story about a man, who came from a distant zone. Some will say it was a fairy tale, an urban legend of sort's, but those of you, will know the truth. You must remember that some birds are not meant to be caged, their feathers are to bright, but when they do leave, a part of you does feel rejoiced to see, that they have moved onto something better, but that place inside you is that much more drab and empty. Remember there is always hope, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever die's. Am I retiring, well the answer is the above passage. Maybe I will come back at some point, but at the moment I've got this little thing called life to sort out, and after that who knows.
I am going to end this interview with my favorite quote:
"second place is the first loser"
*MYERZ*
1998-2003
Live free, Die hard.
http://zip.to/hacktheplanet

Myerz, You were always a good player & you will be surely missed.
I thank you for offering an interview to Zone Contender Internet Magazine.
I wish you well, and hope you stay involved in the future.
Wrtien by R@IDER