new/younger players

[G-Force]

Was just thinking about the CODsofters topic on the forum and recent experiances at my local site and it got me thinking about new and younger players. Despite being under 18 I like to think of myself as a mature experianced player (with about 5 years of experiance now) however I look at other people my age and cringe.

I get the feeling that we are breeding a generation of COD absessded airsofters with a lack of common sense. Don't get me wrong if you like COD, fair doos but it shouldn't interfere with gameplay. But more importantly I don't think many U18 players are improving because no one is helping them out. I always had the bennefit of my dad showing me the ropes with airsoft and so did my mates but a lot of these guys don't have that and not many players seem to help them out.

The ressualt of this on the long term seems to be U18s with a load of shiny kit with no idea how to play the game which also leads to cheating. Perfect example was last week: We were clearing out a dark room and couldn't see the enemy so I found a guy about my age with a torch, natuarly I told him to shine it in their direction. I kid you not he was too scared to go round the corner, I even offred to be a human shield just so our team could see what they were doing so we could move up a bit. I gave up eventually. Oh and every week we have a massive bundle of U18 stacked up at the same door who simply won't go through. Problem is they just stand there and block the door so others such as myself can't even get through.

Anyone else agree that U18's and new players in general just need a bit more guidance?

 

[TPI]

No! we need to give reactive armor like the tanks have...

Nah really in theory it`s just because Folk`s including my self still see U18`s as a majority as sqeaky thing`s that give me a headache and don`t take direction or advice from us older guy`s so Myself especially just go ah well Stuff ya if your gonna be like that and i don`t bother wasting time as i just wanna play and not have to deal with Kid`s being well Sqeaky High Pitched noise emitter`s

 

[G-Force]

Same here really despite being 15 myself :lol: One thing we talking about doing at Red 1 Skirmish was running a spperate warm up game for U18's and rentals to show em' a few things but because of the nature of the site we need a lot of marshals to run a single game.

Also don't know why this topic double posted so could a moderator please take down the the other one, cheers.

 

[TheFull9]

How about training days for all the old boys who think they're automatically in charge of all the 'squeaky kids' and spend their days at skirmishes shouting & swearing at everyone else to "f*****g move up lads!" while they stop for a fag and a coffee (making that their 10th smoke/brew break in the last hour)?

Not aiming that at anyone by the way, but I find there to be just as many annoying, non-hit-taking idiots amongst all the different age ranges.

 

[bigshep]

One of the best days gaming I have had is when two of us teamed up with two other "vets" with radios and ended up with a group of 3-5 new players each. We could do coordinated attacks, the guys had fun and so did we!

And no we did not shout at them, or coerce them in any way (wanna look at my puppies?), we just got chatting to them at the deadzones. Its amazing what communication can do

Another lad was having a crap days as his rental was shooting 20-30 foot. I had a look at the deadzone, adjusted his hop, showed him what I was doing and he had a great day and said thanks afterwards

 

[G-Force]

How about training days for all the old boys who think they're automatically in charge of all the 'squeaky kids' and spend their days at skirmishes shouting & swearing at everyone else to "f*****g move up lads!" while they stop for a fag and a coffee (making that their 10th smoke/brew break in the last hour)?
Not aiming that at anyone by the way, but I find there to be just as many annoying, non-hit-taking idiots amongst all the different age ranges.

True as well

 

[bigshep]

I bet they were a tad overweight as well, as in my experience the following is true

fat geardo=non hit taking gobshitte

 

[TPI]

yup true but think about it atleast in my neck of the woods the sqeaky kid's i think i would swap for fat old men that are older and willing to listen are better because they don't appear to be afraid to get hit at crucial moments but airsoft in my area is still young so i might not have experienced both sides fairly BUT i find it all amusing as im 18 lol

 

[magicaldr]

I bet they were a tad overweight as well, as in my experience the following is true
fat geardo=non hit taking gobshitte

Hmm I stuffed then (Do take my hits though)

My finding has been age is not as important as XP, but you can be too experienced...

So your best teams and play happen with the mid range 'newish' players who are out for a good day. They can work in disparate group they find themselves in, have some idea of tactics, but dont think of themselves as 'generals' to sit at the back until all the cannon fodder (who of course they send in first) has cleared the chaff so they can walk in and claim the flag, goal, or just play with their mates on the other team.

The worst thing a site can do is allow all the regulars, or a couple of teams to go on one side and leave the rentals and new players alone on the other. As I saw at a recent day, the rentals got creamed by the guys with radios, guns that outshot them by a good 50yrds, and of course experience. Moving a few of the team to the rentals mid day did nothing, they seemed to simply stay in touch with their mates on the radios and just hung around at the back looking bored while the rentals continued to get creamed.

No fun if you totally outclassed, not sure even the other team got much out of it, must eventually end up a turkey shoot...

So back to the original question, beginners games or days are a good idea if they leave everyone with a basic toolbox of tactics to start them off. However good Marshall's and team balance are just as important.

 

[TPI]

Completly agree far too offen have i almost managed to refrain from getting cheap kill`s of the rental`s we need what paintball has Walk-On`s and your Average Joe punter day`s

 

[TheFull9]

Age, income, gear loadout and and weight don't mean anything end of the day.

You get fat old geardos who cheat and have crap attitudes. You get annoying little kids with £20 loadouts who cheat and have crap attitudes; and everything inbetween.

I often see folks with less expensive gear complaining that the Systema-Multicam-Eagle dude was acting all snobbish in the safe zone. But then I equally see guys with ratty old webbing, cheap BDUs and low budget guns doing the exact same thing, except instead of being all "I am superior to you because my loadout cost £3000" they'll be all "well you suck because my loadout works better than yours and it cost £30, that makes you stupid". Both groups are precisely as bad as each other.

 

[magicaldr]

Both groups are precisely as bad as each other.

Weird thing that surprised me, I am normally a 'nice' guy. I have learned a lot about myself airsofting this last 1/2 year (how time flies) in that after a day getting shot at I can get bad tempered. I catch myself making comments on other team I would not have made at the start of the day. Now I am old enough to spot myself doing it, tick myself off and hopefully not get on anyones nerves, but its a sad fact that being tired can bring out not the nicest side of people.

So I try to be understanding in afternoons, not just on my comments outbound but take inbound with pinch of salt as well. That said some people walk onto the site at 9am with an attitude that sucks and I must admit to having limited time for them

 

[TheFull9]

People get short tempered and start having failures that's just human nature. I lost it once and shouted at a guy for chucking a pretty powerful BFG right at my feet after I'd already been hit and was walking; another time I got laced up close range full-auto in a semi-only zone and again, I shouted at the guy: "that's not bloody single shot is it??". I'm not a saint, I'm not perfect, nobody is. But there's a difference between getting annoyed that people are breaking safety related rules, and just generally being a d**k with regards other players choice of gear or gun when you're hanging around chilling in the SZ.

 

[Deva]

As has been said, you do get the older players trying to boss people about yet not taking any action themselves. Unless you're a regular at that site (and know they aren't going to move) you'll go along with it and then get absolutely pasted whilst the bossy boots hasn't moved an inch. This makes things difficult as the younger players don't then know who to listen to.

Maybe if you can do sessions before game days that might work. If you talk to them and persuade them to come and play with you all day that would allow you to show them the ropes. Certainly wouldn't work if you tried to do it with a massive group, they still won't do as you wish and you'll be on your own. Go for individuals or pairs imo.

 

[Ditch]

I'll be doing my first game soon, I'm 21, will have a bright green gun and be very ropey till I know the site. What I fear most is an older gentleman swearing and barking out orders. I know its a team game and I'm all for being a team game, but to have someone act like that to you on your first game dampens your fun a little and wonder where they warmth thier 'stripes' from. I can deal with younger players, theyre usually willing to learn in any sport if you approach them nicely instead of some gearhead barking orders.

 

[bigshep]

TBH the sites I have played at there has only been a couple of the "barking orders" types and they generally get ignored after a while. One site my little brother went to was full of them though, so much so they walked off at lunchtime as they had had enough, and bear in mind they had a 140 mile round trip to that site!

I also find myself getting short tempered after lunch, especially being rather unfit and very rotund myself. I took a break for a while last year as I found myself getting wound up a lot. Took a step back realised the is supposed to be "FUN" and started again with a different attitude. I also now play half days and evenings as I get my kick without nearly killing myself!

As to mismanaged sides, that's the job of the marshals at the start of the day. You are paying them money for a fair and fun day, its their responsibility to ensure that for all. Sometimes you can have a look at the sides at the start of the day and think, yup this is going to be a wipeout. Certain sites have reputations for supporting the local team to the detriment of others and the word gets out and those sites loose business as their rep suffers.

Basically it is about understanding this is a game, it has rules which all have to follow. TBH how much different is it from all the hacking/autoaim crap that goes on in online games?

 

[G-Force]

As mentioned above I agree that both group are as bad as eachother and I've experianced the worst from both.

I've already said about the new guys but the older lot who think they are airsoft gods are bloody annoying as well. I've been playing a long time now and it really irritates me when some older bloke is acting as if I'm some newbie who's just started the sport just because I'm U18. The worst is being patronised - hate it when people think that U18's like myself have no graps of tactics when I've acctualy been playing longer than half the adults at my local site. I and my team are quite well known now so we don't have that problem so much but it used to be quite bad.

I'll admit that sometimes I over react towards some players in an attempt to get them to move up and I may get a bit annoyed because most of the team is doing nothing but at least I'm no hypacrite and I'll move up with them.

 

[M_P]

I enjoy helping others or newer players, it make me feel good knowing that the person you help has a better day because of it. Im fairly relaxed with my kit, if someone wants a go, sometimes the best thing is to let them use for a while so they can come to terms with a wider range of rifles. (obviously I have to decide whether the person seems trustworthy or not) but its nice to see someone a year or two still playing, knowing that you helped them at some point

I'll agree about the types of people you're talking about though, nothing I hate more than being shouted at for no reason, I payed I'll play how I want (within reason )

 

[rjmcgough]

I'm 15 and only played one game of airsoft but during that game people (my age) weren't taking hits and talking as if they were experts but the majority of players were keen to learn and improve.Alot of players my age seem to think they know alot about anything involving guns because of COD, its annoying as hell.

Im interested in guns and hate it when COD players shout out " Thats an MG42" at every German WW2 machine gun that they see.I hate having to correct them, "No that is a MG15 from a Heinkel"

But some older players were barcking orders,swearing and being very condescending towards us instead of giving us advice or help.

I dont think its age related. I thinks its more to do with personality.

 

[An Artist With Out A Brush]

I have found that the best thing to do with young players/new players. Have them tag along with you for q scenario or two. Wont kill you. Might make a new friend christ you might even learn something from them. At the end of the day the younger inexperienced players are the sports future and as much as sqeeky voices can grate on your ears they are still people and should be treated as such. We were all there once and im guessing its the people who helped you understand the sport more are the ones that made it what it is for you today.

As for the shouty types and the snobby softer. Ignore them, remember there face and make a point of getting one over them. Some times its the little victories that are worth the most.