Yes, there are some "technical" specs listed on the back of the electronic Survivor Shot box. And then there is the truth.
After playing for a few years, we have gained some knowledge into the actual workings of ESS guns and their little idiosyncrasies. Well, make that major idiosyncrasies.
Below are the techinical specs as quoted from the box and some notes concerning them.
Can fire invisible infrared beam over 160 feet! (Dependent upon weather and lighting conditions.)
Hmm... well, maybe about 90 feet might be a better estimate. Still quite a good distance. However, we have had some exceptions, wild flukes, and lucky shots that have defied all explanation.
When you're hit... you feel it!
It's not painful, but it's quite annoying.
Shoots an adjustable wide or narrow infrared beam.
We had the misconception that this little feature affected effective beam range. Actually, the main reason the beam adjustment comes in handy is so you won't hit your fellow team members when in close quarters. As far as distance goes, our experiments have concluded that the wide beam might have a slightly longer range.
Headgear 'vibrates' when hit by invisible infrared beam!
Yes, it does vibrate. We have included instructions on the modifications page on how to rid yourself of this nuisance.
Sensor takes hits from 360 degree angle of attack!
Yep, this one is true to a certain extent. All of us have been victims of sneak attacks where we can't seem to find our assaillants. But, through some unscientific research, we have discovered that the angle from which you are shooting will effect whether or not you hit your target. We first noticed this when we had a difficult time hitting people wearing their headsets over baseball caps. The cap causes the headset to sit further back on the head, thereby putting the sensor at a slight angle. This angle will effect the sensor's ability to pick up the infrared beams. If you have an advantage, though, put it to good use.
Gun automatically deactivates after player has been hit six times!
Unlike Lazer Tag, where you could go running around dead and still shoot people, when you're dead in ESS, you're dead. We like this feature.
Single shot or rapid-fire mode! (300 shot maximum.)
You mean you can get more than 300 shots? Yes, you can. It seems that the 300 shot maximum is only for rapid-fire (16 shot burst) mode. When the gun gets down to 30 remaining shots, it will beep, and when your gun stops shooting, switch it to single shot mode and you will have unlimited ammo.
Futuristic, electronic lights and battle sounds!
The light on the headset blinks. The faster it blinks, the more times you've been shot. When the light goes out, you have one hit left. We like to refer to this as "stealth mode," because when your light is off in the dark, you're pretty much invisible. It comes in handy for that last ditch effort to save your butt.
As far as the sounds... the gun beeps and buzzes. Well, it makes explosive sounds and beeps and buzzes.
High-tech combat target improves shooting accuracy and reaction time.
Don't get too discouraged when you find you cannot hit it from a certain distance. The target has about half the range of the headset sensors. If you can hit this target, you can hit anything. So if you want some practice, we'd recommend it.
Operates in broad daylight.
It does. But it's more fun at night, though, we'd advise having intimate knowledge of the play area before night-time play. You might want to check out Tales of the Infradead for examples of what can and will go wrong.
All material © 1997 Chaos Enterprises, Inc.