All right, I got the memos in from R & D, and have weighed in the opinion of the Arbitrators, so I'm ready to reveal some of the established background behind this tournament.
* This tourney takes a sharp departure from the last one, selecting a desert setting to contrast the previous swamp one. This means that the terrain won't be in play vertically quite as much as last year, but there are added concerns.
Storm chasing is going to prove difficult here as the dust devils can whip up enough grating force to rend flesh from bones, so we're providing you with skinsuits that are resistant to this kind of enviroment. The downside is that the suits generate some heat on their own, while absorbing the natural heat of the enviroment, so you'll have to be sharp in your use of them or face the possibility of exhaustion.
Additionally, there are bands of Desert Nomads wandering around the course. Officially, they aren't in play, and haven't even been notified of the tourney. Hell, they probably haven't even seen an aluminum light-gauge hammer, let alone the higher-end alloys you can find on the market. But, if you can convince them to aid you, they can be used, just note that you cannot use them to engage in any sort of socking. Whatever you promise them is up to you, but they can't all be trusted or easily convinced.
There are other, more interesting field factors, but they're being kept lock and key right now.
* The favored transport for the tourney is marsupial. Don't worry: dune buggies are still active and present, in part because we can't afford to lose our sponsorships and in part because, well, what's a dune without a buggy? Regardless, marsupial transport techniques should be first and foremost in your focus, as double jumps, reverse tail socks, backdoor maneuvers, and leap socks are necessary given the the length and strength of the poles. This really isn't something you should overlook because base socks and top socks might not cut it with standard issue mallets.
To level the playing field a bit, biological and mechanical transport will be reduced to a purely aesthetic preference. The genetics crew really outdid themselves in this one, but keep in mind that no matter what you choose, you'll be limited to one piece of weaponry on the dominant shoulder and can only confiscate or commandeer other parts. Transportation cannot be equipped with two weapons simultaneously and you'll have no means to carry the spare, assuming you can find one to begin with.
* Resonance bombs will be limited to Level Three. Anything beyond that and they start accoustically interfering with the monotremic harmonics. Speaking of which, all bombs and vehicles are tuned to the standard frequency here, so you're not allowed to alter the harmonics this time, biological or otherwise. Everything is tuned right to the threshold and any variance thereof would either result in catastrophe or a null reaction.
That's part of the reason why we're limiting the r-bombs this time. Last run at this, we failed to factor this in and ended up with a ward over at the Veteran's Society who could do nothing but scream until their throats and lungs gave out. We can't afford to maintain that kind of upkeep right now, and the technology has only gotten more powerful since that time. Fuck around with this, and you'll probably end up dead in additional to disqualified.
* As an added twist, teams will not be officially established until the second quarter, when time grenades will start appearing in the enviroment. You will know what team you're assigned to by the color your time fractures manifest as once you throw the grenades. The pain of this is, we've generated only limited quantities of these grenades and you'll want to use them sparingly, so there's no sense in throwing one off and scratching it just to see what side you're on. Instead, you'll have to figure out whose side you're on during real-time combat and adjust your plans from there. Prior to that, you collaborate and work against each other at your own peril, and its up to your own discretion the degree to which you choose to involve yourself.
Finally, and I have to stress this, but there will be no fusion-based explosives. Precision will take precedence over brute force with explosives here. It's not just because fusion reactors make for highly-visible targets at night, but it's also because we attempted this in the test labs and the results were less than satisfactory. Not only did they generate a large fracture in the earth's surface, but they sent it back in time and sped up the continental drift by 14%. I'm not allowed to reveal anything more until the families and governments are notified, but we already have a scrub team on it to cover the tracks. I just pity the poor bastards that have to come home from that kind of job...
Anyway, those are the releases as they concern the players. The rest, you'll find out on the field.
100% natural, no antibiotics, and
bloodgrass-fed
