With only three weeks left until the PSP Phoenix Open at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the PSP has released its first new redesigned layout that will cater to the new rate of fires that were implemented earlier in the year.

Directly from the PSP:

This layout will be used on all divisional fields as well as on the showcase field at the Phoenix Open.

Click the picture to enlarge to the full resolution for printing:

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In order to keep up with the latest web 2.0 trends, I’ve done a little bit of work and implemented Gravatars into the site’s comment section.

For those who are out of the loop, Gravatars are global user avatars. Just like an avatar on a webforum or instant messaging, a Gravatar is a user’s picture icon for a website. The neat thing about Gravatars however, is wherever you go…the Gravatar follows. For websites that implement this technology, you don’t have to worry about uploading your favorite icon to every site you use. Just use the email address registered at Gravatar and BAM, your avatar will appear.

Currently, I’m smoothing out the CSS in order to make the Gravatar appearence correctly positioned in all major browsers. Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 work perfectly…whereas Safari is somewhat broken (surprise surprise).

Firefox and Internet Explorer 7:

Safari:

To get started using Gravatars:

1. Head to the Gravatar website.
2. Register for an account
3. Upload and crop an avatar
4. …
5. Profit

After you get finished, when you comment on maxrof (and other sites using said technology), use the eMail address you registered and your new avatar will show up.

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Media coverage of tournament paintball is currently a market that is wide open for competition. Even with the drastic increase in popularity over the last decade, paintball media is still a limited choice field. Fans are literally begging for companies to step in and provide them with high definition coverage of national events.

one4one is a media group out of Europe that has made its name in the industry by pioneering delivery of paintball media online. Their efforts to bring fans onto the fields have been extremely popular worldwide, and notable enough for the Millennium series to dub them as “official media partner” for the European league.

Their newest DVD release is two hours of nonstop NXL action from both the 2006 and 2007 PSP World Cup at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.

The trailer:

As with my previous DVD review, of One With The Gun, I feel it’s good to start off with all of the negatives of the DVD.

Negative number one:  Bad menus and navigation (or lack of navigation there of).

After first un-packaging my DVD, and admiring the case design, I inserted it into my DVD player…ready in anticipation for what would certainly be an amazing piece of cinematic paintball masterpiece. At this point I was greeted by the DVD’s main navigation menu.

No…seriously…that’s it.

I understand the process of making a full length feature DVD, and I realize that said process is very involving and requires a great deal of effort. However what I do not understand is how in 2008, media companies find it acceptable to publish DVDs with such low production quality in the area of navigation and user interface. Sure the menu is simple enough with only two selections, but that is it. There are no sub menus that allow you access to different segments or chapters, which leaves you stranded if you want to watch a certain segment only, without navigating the entire film.

Negative number two: Great filming and video work, yet a large lack of player depth.

In my opinion, one of the greatest moves that has placed derder where it’s at today is the involvement that they have dedicated to players. If anyone can remember, earlier derder films were nothing more than game videos set to music. However, in later films, they began shifting style to encorporate not only the game aspect, but the player’s emotional involvement. Having commentary and interviews of teams and players brought into perspective exactly how and why things happened in a certain matter. It pains me to say that this DVD lacks player and team involvement.

The small amount of player interaction that does happen usually doesn’t satisfy one’s interest in players. Usually the interviews are broken down into a similiar overused format such as:

[one4one]: So…how are things going?

[Rich Telford]: Good…guns are shooting good. We feel good about the upcoming games.

[one4one]: So…how do you think the teams will place?

[Rich Telford]: I think it will be XSV…XSV…and XSV.

[one4one]: So…alright then good luck.

Now onto the things that one4one gets right.

First, the camera work and clarity are excellent. The shots that one4one provides gives the viewers the feel and intensity of the player/s on the field.

Despite being limited to the sidelines, one4one makes best use of all available shots and certainly mixes things up. Things are hardly ever boring when watching matches play out.

While the DVD does not cover every match from start to finish, it provides viewers with the best highlights from some of the best matches.

Which brings me to my next positive about the DVD…the editing. The DVD’s editing is nothing short of fantastic, and one4one’s style is blatantly obvious. Use of transitions, matching mood to appropriate music, color editing, etc are all fabulous. There was never a point in the DVD where I said to myself “Hmmm….that was a little sketchy.” One of the more noticeable tricks throughout the movie is the use of color contrast. In certain scenes, one4one drops all colors except certain ones in order to highlight the subjects better. This trick is severely emphasized in the match between Dynasty and Russian Legion.

Dynasty:

Russian Legion:

As said previously, the coverage provided by one4one is just the right amount to give viewers a grand overview of how the 2007 World Cup played out, without going overboard and  covering pointless matches that were not worth watching in the first place.

All in all, one4one’s newest DVD places very highly and hits dead on the mark in the form of stylish event coverage. The shots are tasteful and enticing, while the editing turns the whole package into one big sexy night of fun. However, one4one misses the mark severely when it comes to the players. Despite the small attempts here and there, I felt like more effort should have been placed into getting into the pits, and inside the players minds. I applaud their first major release, and recognize their effort in providing a quality film. However, World Cup is a large swarming pile of emotion, and to show that in greater detail would have been a much larger addition to the DVD, in my opinion, than coverage from the 2006 World Cup.

Orlando World Cup 2006 / 2007 Coverage DVD is available from one4one’s online store for €24.00 (+/- $35.00).

Pros

• Excellent film quality
• Stylish editing
• Thorough game coverage and overview for each event
• 2006 and 2007 World Cup included

Cons

• Bad menus and user interface for DVD
• DVD is void of any serious in depth player content
• Price

Final Rating
3.5 out of 5

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Planet Eclipse has absolutely no understanding of “hype” marketing whatsoever. No sooner did they start releasing teaser photographs of the new SL8R, and getting the “ballers” on PbNation blowing their loads and wallets over photographical speculation, they have now released full information, pictures, prices, and specs on the new marker…one day after viral marketing started.

It doesn’t make sense to play coy and mysterious about a new product, and then release all information of it in such a short period of time. It’s honestly like in grade school when someone arbitrarily declares:

“I’m not gonna tell you my secret…you can ask and beg all you want. It’s a HUGE SECRET”

To which ten minutes of pleading from classmates results in:

“OMG Okay…you win…the secret is that…”

However, despite these flaws, Planet Eclipse has once again stunned the market with its latest Ferrari of a paintball marker: the limited edition SL8R.

The Promotional Video:

From their website:

Eclipse SL8R Technical Specification

SL8R

Exclusivity. Style. Performance. Passion. The key ingredients to the most highly desirable and sought-after production marker in the sport.

Very limited numbers, combined with bespoke items that are never for re-sale or made available as upgrades mean that you are guaranteed to stand out from the crowd.
Exciting, cutting-edge styling, combined with unique performance and style-driven features give the SL8R its individuality to set it apart from and above the other models in the Ego range. Sweeping curves moulded to the interior layout ensure that whilst designed to appear as an object of desire, its form follows function in considering every fraction of an ounce in its construction.

But style is nothing without performance. Optimized to perform at the very highest levels of the modern game, the SL8R is capable of speeds in excess of 55 cycles per second, and has been tested firing paintballs with the BBSS system enabled at rates of over 35 balls per second. Combine this kind of firepower with efficiency that in real-world conditions allows the user to empty over 11 pods from an average sized tank, a weight that makes it the lightest marker in its class, and you have a product that any Pro, in and league, would die for.

But ultimately the SL8R is designed with passion, by players with passion, for players with heart, who desire only the very best that Eclipse can produce.

Feature List

• Unique SL8r Features:
• Bespoke SL SL8r Body
• Bespoke SL Adjustable and Fixed LPR Caps
• Bespoke SL Magnetic and Spring Trigger Return
• Bespoke SL Cure2 Bolt
• Bespoke SL In-Line Regulator
• Bespoke SL OOPS Assembly
• Bespoke SL Clamping Feed Assembly
• Bespoke SL Low and High Pressure Valve Guides
• Bespoke SL Trigger Frame
• Bespoke SL Zick Kit and Rammer Cap
• Bespoke SL LPR Torpedo
• Bespoke SL LPR Piston
• Bespoke SL Contour Eye Covers
• Bespoke SL Circuit Board
• 5-Piece SL Shaft Barrel Kit
• Viz-Eyes Red BBSS System (these are called Lazer on website)
• Audible Expansion Board on Circuit Board

Ego8 Features:

• Ultra-Lightweight Monoform Body
• Deftek Offset Feed Tube
• Integrated Rammer Housing
• Integrated FRM
• Larger Valve Chamber
• Lower Operating Pressure
• Dual Trigger Sensors - Microswitch and Opto
• Dual Instrument Grade Ball-Raced Trigger
• Skinny-Fit Co-Moulded Rubber E-Star Grips
• T-Slot Rail Mounting System
• Capped and Uncapped Semi and Ramping Modes
• Compatible with 2008 Rules for all Major Leagues
• 9 Debounce Levels
• Direct-Acting Solenoid
• Black on White Backlit Transflective LCD

Technical Specifications:

• All Measurements include Barrel (14Ó), OOPS, Battery, Ready-to-go:
• Length: 536 mm
• Height: 218 mm
• Width: 26.5 mm
• Weight: 839g/1.89lb
• Operating Pressure: Approx. 285 FPS @ 180 PSI With LP Valve Guide.

According to Planet Eclipse’s website, the 2008 Ego SL8R is available from Planet Eclipse’s online store today, in limited quantities for £1,110.00. It’s available in the colours of Cold Steel, Ocean, and Pure.

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Earlier this morning Planet Eclipse sent out a teaser press release regarding their newest marker, the SL8R Ego. Following previous releases, the single picture and video show only a silhouette of Planet Eclipse’s latest creation, and allow one’s mind to wander and speculate as to what Planet Eclipse has cooked up next.

With the 2008 Season close to starting, it seems that Planet Eclipse wants to be in full swing with its 2008 lineup by Huntington Beach, and have sponsored teams slinging paint with its newest face mower.

However, I have to express my speculation at Planet Eclipse’s motives. With my disappointment in the 2008 Ego,  I must wonder how much of a difference is Planet Eclipse putting into its newest SL. These doubts are cast due to it being clear, to anyone with any sort of logic, that the 2008 Ego was nothing more than a repackaged SL74.

Video:

Pictures:

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