iCOMBAT The Industry Standard For Tactical Laser Tag Blew The Market Wide Open in 2015
iCOMBAT has been through many changes within the company during its transformation from the new kid on the block to the industry leader in tactical laser tag. The most significant change is that iCOMBAT has created a central corporate headquarters in Waukesha, WI from the original location in Whitewater, WI. This new headquarter has allowed the company to dig in and extend its reach globally by adding new clients from a variety of regions including Australia, South Africa, Holland, and the Nordic Region not to mention our new partnership with the LAPD’s Police Academy and the US Navy Seal Team 1!
On top of these incredible accomplishments, iCOMBAT has used its success to springboard into the future by live-streaming one of our tournaments. The tournament was an overall success with great reviews coming from spectators and players alike. With this success, iCOMBAT has decided to continue these tournaments and can’t wait to host yet another thrilling competition. Overall these advancements mean one thing, the best possible experience for the player.
Advancements in Equipment:
iCOMBAT has developed some truly incredible equipment this past year, all being noteworthy. The list of equipment includes the irGrenade, irPistol Gaming version, Business-in-a-box which will help support our Barracuda and Hero Blast systems, and finally a brand new multi-contact charging station for Hero Blast.
irGrenade:
The irGrenade is a first for us at iCOMBAT so we figured we’d better do it right the first time. Our product development team went to work and came up with something special. The irGrenade is designed to be safe to use while not sacrificing any of its durability or effectiveness. The irGrenade is weatherized, rugged, and has multiple special features such as its built-in siren and ICE integration, which will collect data on who threw it, when it was thrown and how many enemies it took out along with its dual setting ability which allows you to either “stun” or “eliminate” your enemies from the competition. The irGrenade will add an entirely different level to the game and is guaranteed to blow away the competition on and off the field.
irPistol Gaming version:
The irPistol Gaming version is adapted from our irPistol Pro and has a few modifications integrated into it which will make it perfect for competition and the repeated firing that is expected to take place on the field. The most important modification is the new lightweight plastic slide. The lighter the slide the less Co2 required to fire the irPistol Gaming version. With less Co2 being used the cost to operate and overall maintenance required for the irPistol Gaming version is minuscule. These modifications extend the life of the product and put more money in our client’s pockets.
Business-in-a-box:
This is iCOMBAT’s all-in-one low-cost solution for clients who want a mobile business that offers a plug-and-play style system with an immediate return on their investment. This Business-in-a-box is offered for two of iCOMBAT’s systems, the Barracuda and Hero Blast. The Barracuda version includes six of iCOMBAT’s ever-reliable Barracudas in a portable case which will allow you to transport and set-up with extreme ease and lightning quickness. The second Business-in-a-box that iCOMBAT offers is the Hero Blast system. This system will include eight Hero Blast units, a Dominator tube, and two of our brand new multi-contact charging stations. These multi-contact charging stations have our new contact charging technology incorporated inside them which allows for speedy charging of multiple units at once and an overall quick turnaround for your next appointment.
Advancements in Technology:
Along with the new advancements in the equipment, iCOMBAT has made leaps and bounds with our technology which has gone from better to the best. To be more specific iCOMBAT has made advancements on our Ethernet CCM, ICE system, Dashboard Modules, New Games, and a new Friends system in Barracks.
Ethernet CCM:
Our new Ethernet Command and Control Module have been designed to extend the signal range from our traditional USB module. The issue that our clients were running into was getting coverage in an area that experiences a lot of interference due to the infrastructure of the building. To combat this interference our clients traditionally would have to run an extremely long USB cable to those areas of high interference, the longer the cable the weaker the signal being pushed through it. With the introduction of the Ethernet Command and Control Module, our clients can now eliminate this interference by extending the range of their signal. This advancement will allow our clients to create fields in more challenging areas where our traditional USB was less effective which will be perfect for our clients who do Haunt sessions along with any other field operator. In summary, the Ethernet Command and Control Module will help extend your signal range to areas where you previously couldn’t due to prior technological limitations posed by the USB cable length and will give your players a better in-game experience.
ICE System:
The programmers at iCOMBAT have been working tirelessly to get our ICE system updated and running smoothly as ever. The new ICE system has multiple changes which will help our owners run their fields more efficiently with greater ease. You will notice right away from our New User Interface, New Easy to Use Navigation, the ability to group all match setup pages under one section for easy switching between Tactical, Apocalypse, HeroNation, Target matches, and the ease of online/offline play. We have also created Performance Improvements for faster match setup and equipment maintenance, Multiple Monitor supportability, and Match creation improvements, such as the ability to create a queue of matches and create/edit matches while a match is in progress. ICE’s equipment has also been updated with, improved Infrared Communication to transmit faster, the ability for all equipment to work together, and variable time for invulnerability after hit which will make our client’s games more balanced for new players.
Dashboard Modules:
iCOMBAT’s Dashboard which is available by purchasing our Tactical License will allow clients to get instant graphic representations of all the data that ICE catches which then becomes available instantly to view on Barracks. These Dashboards make it so our clients can get the edge on the competition by easily viewing all the different modules such as financial management, session management, online payment, membership and ranking, and finally marketing management. Overall this Dashboard allows for our clients to get a finger on the pulse of their business.
New Games:
iCOMBAT understands that to drive business you need to keep your players interested and excited. One of the best ways to do that is to introduce new game types to your fields. iCOMBAT has created six new game types all of which are designed to keep the players engaged. These game modes are as follows and the specific rules for each game mode are available on our website @ http://barracks.icombat.com/Tactical/Home/Missions:
- Whack-A-Mole
- Recon
- Sniper
- Infected
- Jail Break
- Terminator
- Friend System:
iCOMBAT is introducing the very first social media application on Barracks. The Friend System will allow our players to do multiple things such as alert your friends to when you or they are about to play, allow you to create groups of friends to brag about your scores, and much more! This part of Barracks isn’t just for the players though, our clients can benefit from this engagement by helping to drive their customers to return by promoting competition amongst friends. Overall the Barrack’s new Friend System will be incredibly beneficial to both players and clients and will only improve by adding new features.
Closing:
Throughout 2015 iCOMBAT has made multiple improvements to our equipment and technology to help create the best product on the market. We wouldn’t claim to be the industry standard on tactical laser tag equipment if we didn’t truly believe it. We aren’t the only ones that think so either, iCOMBAT supports 542 locations with 46 using our full Ranking software which allows access to all of iCOMBAT’s services. If you would like to check out any of our products in person come visit us in Orlando, Florida at this year’s IAAPA booth 638.