[red]How's everybody doing, well im just getting into this hobbie and i wanted to know how to get started what's good what's bad what's the deal with everything well let me know im ready to get started????
Where are you located? Best thing is to come and look at a ship before you start building if that is feasible.
I agree with Greg, you are in Cali right? So probably the WWCC, Cal-Neva, Queen's Own, or Washington Cascade Column.. Depending on where in the state you are. (I'm from Michigan, so I have no idea where anything is in Cali, but Carl would know.) You can use the find a local club system to access their sites directly. However, until you visit your first battle, you can start looking at wikipedia & doing some homework on ship classes & types. That way when you arrive at the battle the ships & terms you encounter will make more sense. Something else you should probably do is read the "Club Types" section to get a better understanding of what rulesets are available. Also, I recommend you become active on this forum & on the Big Gun forum (unless you decide fast gun is the only way for you).
Beast, are you located in Los Angeles? Your profile says you're from L-A, but that could refer to any of several cities in California including my hometown of Los Altos. Anyway, if you ARE located in Los Angeles, then you should try and contact the South Coast Battle Group. Send an email to the club officers, ask some questions, and find out when their next battle is. Stay in contact and keep asking questions until you attend your first battle. Hopefully someone will have a merchant ship or shore battery for you to operate. The most important step to joining the club is getting your first ship. You could try building your own, but the best option is to buy a used ship from one of the other members. Several years ago the SCBG was one of the largest Big Gun clubs in North America, but their population has imploded to about 10 or so regularly attending members. That's still a decent-sized club, so its nothing to worry about. In fact, it's good for you because it means there are a lot of ex-members with ships they want to sell, so you should be able to get a ship on the water and fighting fairly quickly. Even if there aren't ships for sale from the SCBG, there are probably a few for sale up north in the Western Warship Combat Club, in the San Francisco/San Jose area. Once you have a ship, you can fight in battles, learn how the ship works, and then build your own. I guarantee this method works because that's how I joined the WWCC several years ago. I sent emails to the club officers, attended a battle, then borrowed a transport to run in combat. Shortly thereafter I purchased a Scharnhorst class battleship and brought it to operational status. Several years have passed and I am now officially the most feared captain of the WWCC. You should also definitely join the Yahoo Big Gun discussion group, as it is currently the single largest gathering place for Big Gunners around the world. That's also a good place to ask for contact info on the SCBG, because due to the implosion a few years back, their website is down and I don't have contact info for the officers down there. If you would prefer Fast Gun combat, there is the Southern California Rapid Attack Patrol, or SCRAP, but their website hasn't been updated since 2003 and their event calendar only lists building sessions. Lastly, if you are planning on attending college then be sure to take that into account before buying a ship. There isn't much room to repair a damaged ship in the average college dormitory, so something small like a cruiser or pocket battleship would be a good idea. I can vouch for this, because I physically could not fit my first battleship inside my dorm at UC Davis and had to trade for a cruiser instead.
Actually, they are active, the site has been undergoing renovation. They have held more than a few battles and meet regularly about 30 minutes from downtown, according to Ty Supanic (discussed it on our mailing list)
OK, good to hear. I think California has the most active clubs in the US. Now we just need to get organized enough for an inter-club competition
