News Archive - 2003

26: Welcome to the early launch of iSoaker.com 2004 (5 days early). As I would not have been able to do a launch right on January 1st, 2004, I figured why not launch now?! Cosmetic changes aside, much of the underlying code behind iSoaker.com has also been overhauled. As always, I have many hopes and desires on what I want to develop in this coming year and, as always, we'll see how it all goes. One key thing to note is that the iSoaker.com Network is being put on hold until a better system can be implemented (under development). Meanwhile, I await more information on the Super Soaker 2004 line-up and will be bringing news as it becomes available. As always, Soak on!
01: iSoaker.com undergoing major overhaul offline. Except for news, no other updates will be made until overhaul is complete. Happy Holiday Season!

22: XP85: Triple Shot updated review posted.
21: Main page updated - cleaner look, cleaner feel. Soaker Network pages tweaked.
15: Main page and titlebar navigation tweaked.
14: New designs often have various bugs to work out. Little bug/quirk fixing site-wide.
09: The next phase begins. Site-wide changes including CSS-based page formatting (slowly phasing out tables used to format). New war story posted. New individuals added to the Soaker Network section. Various inner pages reformatted and updated.

23: The first full day of Fall (for the Northern Hemisphere, at least). The beginning of Fall marks the beginning of iSoaker.com going into pseudo-hibernation. Basically, I plan on making various site changes off-line, but due to the scope of some of the changes, I'll need time to test them locally before launching. Thus, while changes will be occuring, the live site will remain mostly unchanged (the odd update will still occur). However, once the changes are completed off-line, the entire site will just be upgraded. Simple. As always, SOAK ON!
15: The past little while has been spent mostly trying to reconfigure the WaterWar.net server. Thus, I haven't had much time to play with iSoaker.com. As well, unfortunately, the season here is coming to a close. While this doesn't mean that I'll stop updating, but it does mean I plan on soon making iSoaker.com go into pseudo-hibernation mode. What that means in that most submissions will still be posted where applicable, but that no major changes would be occuring online since I plan on doing on serious overhauls off-line to prepare for next year (yeah, I'm already thinking about things that I plan to do for the next revision). I'll keep people posted on various updates and give sneak peeks at what is going on behind the scenes as new thing develop. For now, SOAK ON!
07: New submitted war story posted (See the WarJournal).
03: What is iSoaker.com 'Into'? Check out story number #6 at http://www.macromedia.com/into. Get up-close and personal with the guy behind iSoaker.com. Soak on! (Sidenote: that page is still in beta format as of this posting so you guys are getting a sneak peek).
02: CPS1500 pump repair posted in the Repair Section.

31: SS40 review updated: picture of SS40 with a smaller tank included.
27: Felt like giving the main page a slight modification... nothing too huge, but a change nevertheless. I have some ideas on sections I plan to expand in the future... now all I need to do is find more time.
23: As much as I love Halo (produced by Bungie Studios), "WortWort" just wasn't doing it for me anymore (no, I didn't receive any emails from Bungie or anyone else asking me to remove the image). "WortWort" has been replaced by an upgraded version of the original splash movie on the main page, but for those who miss him, he's still around (also there for those who want to know/see what the heck I'm talking about). Special thanks to halo.bungie.org for posting up a link to iSoaker.com and giving this site a good traffic spike. Soak on!
22: Playing around with some design elements on iSoaker.com. New iSoaker.com Wallpaper uploaded.
17: Submitted reviews of Max-D6000, CPS2700, and Monster X posted. New war story added to the War Journal.
14: Submitted repair tips for Max-D trigger system added.
11: New members added to iSoaker Registry. New image added to Beware of Imitations page.
10: SS40 review posted.
07: Posted up some pics from the Macromedia visit. Also forgot to mention earlier that I received an original SS40 recently (thanks, Toothpickmatt) and picked up two twin-packs of XP220s (4 colour schemes in total).
06: Macromedia is IN DA HOUSE!!! (literally) Having a little chat, doing a little soakin'... keep an eye on Macromedia.com over the coming weeks. Soak on!
03: Submitted reviews of the CPS 1000, CPS 1500, and Monster X (2002 edition) posted. New submitted spraying form added.
02: Submitted reviews of the Max-D Secret Strike, CPS 2100, and Monster XL (2002 edition) posted.

29: Soaker Network Registry launches. The purpose of the registry is to provide an open forum for water warriors of the world a means to find each other. Also, a new wallpaper has been added to the Wallpaper section.
25: New war story uploaded. Minor things around the site tweaked. Lost concept diagrams added to Concepts page (See: The Armoury -> Tech Research).
23: New war story uploaded (post-dated at 20030717 when it was actually submitted).
18: Full site upgrade. Every page affected... some pages modified more than others. Key highlights include a completely redesigned default page, the Target Challenge Flash Game getting a operational overhaul, as well as the Tips & Tactics section getting reorganized.
07: The initial phase of conversion is complete, but now I wish to begin the next phase of development of iSoaker.com. As such, posting of submissions will be slowed. As well, I don't plan to put up any other site updates until the next phase is ready for launch. At present, I cannot give an accurate projection on how long the next phase of development will take. I'll post more as I get a better feel about how the upgrade is progressing. Soak on!
06: New war story posted (See the War Journal).
01: Happy Canada Day !!! Get out there and hose down a Hoser, eh !!! In soaker-related news, did range tests on the Max-D Secret Strike, EES Sonic, EES Tempest, and EES Turbine. Ranges have now been added to the database.

26: New war story posted (See the War Journal).
23: More images of imitation Super Soakers posted (See the War Journal).
21: Aquatica's doors close. Quoting M4 from where the Aquatica forums had once been:

"Thanks to all you guys that stayed around. This was pretty awesome. The fact of the matter is the soaker world is too divided. It seems not everyone was looking for a place with both information and interaction. My intentions of running this place after Isoaker left was not because of some rememberance of the "golden years" nor for power of running my own club or anything like that. It was merely cuz I had a vision of what this place could be. As I said before, not everybody had that vision. I'm not angry or saddened (well not much) because I know the SS community will thrive more with the departure of Aquatica. That's why Maf00 and I are closing it. Soaking and Waterwarfare are the reasons we kept up this place, and with that in mind I'm going to be reopening Hydrowar with the same design and whatnot as before, but all the info I've acumulated since it was shut down. It may be a month before it's back up, but I'm getting to it, also writing the V9 warstory. Anyways I shouldn't make this too long, I'll just go ahead and end it. I hope to see you guys at WWN. Cheers!
Looking Forward in Soaking...
Marauder4"

...and so another chapter in the online water warfare world is completed.

Submitted review of the EES Turbine posted. New game type (Siege) added to the water war Game Types section.
18: New Event posted. New war story entitled "Water War at the Parade" posted in the War Journal.
16: Article on imitation soakers posted in the War Journal. EES Tempest Review posted. Header Flash file further updated and cleaned up to include links to all the main sections as well as selected sub-sections of iSoaker.com. The news page layout redone as well.
14: New general header Flash file posted with selected deeper-links. Picked up a Super Soaker Water Balloon Flinger (very old Super Soaker-brand product). I don't plan to post much of a review on the SS:WBF since it is typically no available and is not actually a soaker (looks more like a plastic Lacrosse stick). Also just posted the EES Sonic Review and working on the EES Tempest Review. One of these days I also hope to get some distance measurements done, but still waiting to find the time and a nice day to do it.
12: Notice anything different about the site? The difference is there, subtle change in the layout perspective, but significant change overall. At any rate, a new War Story has been posted. Check out the War Journal section.
10: New pictures posted from the UK. Check out "Black Ties and Blasters" in the War Journal to see soaking with class.
09: New war story posted in the War Journal. Max-D6000 submitted review posted. Oh, and if you're in Vienna, Austria, SuperSoakerFanatic is looking for other enthusiasts. In other news, iSoaker.com now has the EES Sonic and EES Tempest in its arsenal. Full reviews to come soon.
08: New section added to iSoaker.com. The resource material available in the new section is rather different from what the rest of the site has to offer. Because of this, access to this section is more limited. The new section exists, but is not available through linking from the iSoaker.com header... can you find it? As well, many other pages have been updated.

28: Submitted reviews of the new XP270 and Max-D: Secret Strike posted. Also, a war story (Vermin War 8) has been posted in the War Journal (See: Information section).
24: Submitted review of the CPS2700 posted.
18: EES Turbine review posted.
17: Due to the popularity of the map above, I decided to enlargen it such that locations can be placed more accurately. As well, cities are now named when pointed at (if that information was available). Enjoy! Oh.. and new wallpapers have been added to the iSoaker.com Wallpaper section.
14: Today, MaXStaR (webmaster of Aqua-Nexus) brought to my attention that Yahoo no longer was hosting the site known as the Super Soaker Arsenal. Super Soaker Arsenal was the second site created by the first webmaster of online Super Soaker sites: Ian H. Just wanted to again thank Ian for pioneering the way which lead to the development of a plethora of new sites (iSoaker.com, included). Soak on!
12: Now introducing the iSoaker.com soaker database (and so begins iSoaker.com's growth into the dynamic page realm). Explore the updated Blaster Finder and check out the Soaker Listing page. All reviews now in 2003 format (thanks mostly to being dynamically loaded by active pages). Admittedly, there are a few server issues, but hopefully those bugs will be worked out soon. Also new: iSoaker.com Wallpapers!
04: Been busy experimenting with site updates offline. Hope to have some some tentative things launched in the coming weeks.

24: Submitted Tips & Tactics posted (See Hill Assaults, Groups, Defeating Shields, Water Transport, Bases, and Guerrilla Warfare). Kudos to Field General Turumbar for his submissions! Soak on!
22: Submitted water balloon usage ideas posted (See Water Balloon Use).
18: The Humour section has been updated!
07: Minor edits done on various pages sitewide. Still waiting to get hands on some of the EES blasters in order to be able to review them on the site.
02: Welcome to iSoaker.com - 2003 Soaker Season! (Sorry, guys, but yesterday's site was merely a teaser!!) Site-wide upgrade! All pages enhanced, streamlined, and navigation made more intuitive (hopefully). Will likely find a few more bugs to smooth out in the coming days, but the overall redesign is here. Soak on!
Actual iSoaker.com 2003 upgraded site launched. New review on the Waterball SL175 posted.
01: April Fools fake "I Soak-Her" site posted online for the day.

17: New Soaker Event posted (See: Soaker Events in the SoakerNet section). Max-D Secret Strike review updated.
16: Max-D Secret Strike review finally up (been swamped with work, but that's another story). As one will see when checking out the Max-D Secret Strike review, I'm currently experimenting with the layout of the new review pages. Not sure if that'll be the final form, but it's in the right direction. As well, the kind makers of the Waterball (by Wild Planet) have recently sent me one of their products for review: the Waterball SL175. I hope to have a review of this water launcher up soon as well, time permitting.
04: !Hola, Amigos! Sorry 'bout the lack of updates. Me: just got back from the wonderful, sunny world of Southern California into the low deep-freeze of Southern Ontario (ACK!). At any rate, during my little holiday down there, I managed to get some hands-on experiences with the 2003 Super Soaker line-up and even picked up a Max-D Secret Strike (blue colouring). Seems like all the Super Soakers this year come in at least two flavours. With some luck, I'll be posting up a full review (minus distance measurements) on the Secret Strike by the end of the week. Soak on!

12: Starting to begin the upgrade process for iSoaker.com 2003. When I can get my hands on some of the new blasters, I'll start putting up reviews. Meanwhile, the site upgrade has begun off-line, but no launch date planned quite yet.
1: MOMENT OF SILENCE: TO honour those lost upon the space shuttle Columbia upon re-entry. The crew consisted of: "Shuttle commander Rick D. Husband, pilot William C. McCool, payload commander Michael P. Anderson, mission specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, were on board. " (from CNN.com)
1: HAPPY NEW YEAR! (...for those who follow the lunar calendar) This is the Year of the Sheep. In more water-warfare related news, not much to go around at present. I'm still waiting to either get my hands on some 2003 blasters so I can review them and/or get some images of 2003 Super Soakers (still waiting for some images from my contacts at Hasbro). Apart from that, I've also been thinking about what I hope/plan to do with this site for 2003. I've begun toying a little with some ideas, but won't likely have the full upgrade done for a couple of months. Hopefully you guys will like what I've got planned. Soak on!

17: What is known so far. There are a few new blasters for the 2003 soaker season. One is known as the Secret Strike. At the push of a button, it is able to release all its pressurized water in a larger blast (riot-blast-like?). The other new blasters known form a new blaster series known as EES (Electronic Enhanced Soakage). These blasters (known as the Sonic, Tempest, and Turbine) are pump-based blasters that make noises when you pull the trigger. The performance, payload, etc of these blasters remains a mystery. Hopefully I'll be able to post up some pics soon. Until then, check out the info source on EES blasters (go to SSCL).
10: Fixed a few errors in reviews, etc. Still awaiting more accurate 2003 Super Soaker information. At present, all that's known is that there's a soaker for 2003 known as the Secret Strike. More to come soon!
1: HAPPY NEW YEARS! WELCOME, 2003! More 2003 Super Soaker information coming soon!