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Graham Ranson

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Posts posted by Graham Ranson

    Hello from Cheltenham

    in New Players & Arrivals

    Posted

    Hey! Been out of the game for quite a number of years due to life etc but hoping to get back into it this year now that I've moved out of the sticks and into the Big City of Cheltenham.

     

    I'm hoping to try Strikeforce and UCAP, both over in Gloucester, as I don't drive I'm limited to places I can reach via public transport which is naturally extra tricky when most game days are Sundays.

     

    I also need to actually buy gear as I've since sold all mine.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    Another possible revenue stream, space permitting, is a gun range.

    Not really sure of logistics, or even interest, so just throwing out an idea but basically you'd rent a lane for £x an hour and you can come along with your own stuff and practice ( to avoid the nosy neighbour issue in back gardens ) or you could rent whatever things we have on-site for £x an hour to try out other guns etc.

    Or joe public could come in for a few hours for the "shooting experience".

    If all goes to plan with the actual gamezone outfitting then could also have teams/people rent out the main site on offdays / weekdays for kill-house style training sessions with little popup "bad buy / civilian / hostage" type targets, but again not sure if this is something that people would actually want.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    1 hour ago, EvilMonkee said:

    Agree with comments on mandatory chrono.  Agreed with semi only rule and no blindfiring or prefiring.  Experience from games at the Mall and Urban Assault show these to be very sensible rules for CQB.  I would also copy the Malls rule about heavy metal reusable bangs.  

     

    Another rule I liked was the usage of numbered armbands for ID purposes.  Someone being a dick?  Take their number, report it.  Armbands being swapped from one arm to the other to signify being medic'd was another rule I always liked, can't remember what site it was from though.


    I like the numbered armband idea yea that's good and added. 

    I can't find a copy of the Mall's rules, naturally, and was thinking it might be one of the rules for the new Zed Adventures site but it's not listed, able to tell me what the rule was?


     

    1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

     

    The thing is though, mandating something isn't the same as enforcing it.

     

    I've only ever had a tag checked once, and that was when I chronoed my G36 bare and then dressed it up in its lasgun costume, and - credit to the marshals - one came over to see what that was all about.

     

    I've been chronoed in game twice, both at the defunct Depot, and one of those would been avoidable because they assumed the aforementioned G36 was one of their rental guns, and I was honest enough to say otherwise.  Both times they trusted me on BB weight, which was disappointing.

     

    I'll re-iterate that pre-game chronoing only deals with the players who aren't a problem.

     

    I wish it were otherwise, but there are some folk who deliberately or through wilful ignorance will take hot guns into the game. I don't mean accidental gas creep, but folk just not chronoing at all, or lying about BB weights, or modifying guns after chrono.  The long barrelled Mk23s and Dan Wessons (using high power shells) I mentioned above were both caught hot in game at the Depot and blanket banned because of it.  Although again, banning something is only the first step, and most chrono-dodging is invisible: you need to actually catch it in-game.

     

    It's more of an issue in CQB where you're more likely to get point blank shots, and you really don't want someone putting 2J of 0.4g into a mesh mask.


    Yea chrono will have to be absolutely enforced constantly, particularly for the guns that are known to be potential trouble. With enforced player bans if required.
     

    7 minutes ago, MiK said:

    A hit is anywhere on the person, gun included. 

    What about ricochets ? People will do wall bending if “bounce-offs” are allowed

    shooting through barrel sized holes allowed ? Like wise if a BB gets through what is/looks like hard cover ?


    Hmm, good point. Maybe no ricochets.

    For small gaps/ hard cover maybe just "if it looks like this was put here as an actual BB obstacle, or it looks like some of the walls just aren't joined properly and the gap isn't intentional, don't shoot through it" ?

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

     

    That sounds sensible.  Although unless the stocking situation improves, you might find yourself having to take whatever you can get.

     

     

     

     

    That's the typical rental mask. No fogging, and they stop 1.1J lightweight BBs OK, although they will get dented and let shards through.  If you go for polycarb based masks, you'll always get someone who can fog them up, even if you splash out on Dyes.  Granted, I'd have loved the option to try a Dye, with mesh masks available as a backup in the event of fog.

     

    On shattering BBs, I'd ban ASG Blasters right off, they've had too many chances already.  I'd also suggest limiting a CQB site to 0.2 or 0.25g, there's no need for slinging anything heavier at short range and it means you can use your own 0.2g BBs at chrono without too much concern about Joule creep - as long as folk stick to the weight limit.

     

    This is getting quite ranty, but something I'd emphasise is that fairness and safety can only be enforced with actions. Start from a friendly assumption of guilt, and apply that to your own marshals and work down - I was very happy to hear that the Depot sacked off one of their own marshals for being caught with a hot gun.  Walk around the safe zone, look at the guns and BBs that people are using.  Chrono players at respawn or while leaving the game zone using site BBs.  Know about the abusable guns, including the problem pistols: Mk23s with barrel extension silencers, Dan Wesson shell revolvers, CO2 pistols sneaked through as "just gas mate".

     

    I wish there wasn't a problem with the very small minority of toxic or wilfully ignorant players who can piss all over everyone else's day, but they do exist and I'm adamant that the best solution is to get them out of the hobby. Better to punt a prat and have them throw a tantrum or leave a snotty review than to have half a dozen decent regular players grumbling about said prat not being dealt with week after week.


    Haha yea, it'll be quite a while before I get to the purchasing stage so hopefully it'll all be sorted by then but if not I'll just get a smorgasbord of rentals and spin the variety as a feature.

    Any particular brands that you do rate, Elite Force seem popular? But will need to find a wholesale provider really.

    Vigilant, confident, fair, and consistent marshals will be a priority yea. And they are employees doing a job, if they're not good at it then yea they should be let go ( presuming they had all the required training beforehand that is )

    Rules I'm thinking so far are semi only, hard limit on fps, no blindfiring, no prefiring ( unless it's just a legitimate tactic to stop someone popping their head around a door before you make a move ), chrono everything at the beginning with no excuses, random spot checks throughout the day ( particularly on known trouble gun models )
     

    3 hours ago, Druid799 said:

    Most definitely this , CQB gets the adrenaline flowing like a busted tap , once you leave the safezone it’s basically full on until the marshal blows his whistle and shouts “game over !” You will 100% get accidental over kill it’s the nature of the beast but when you do get ‘Spammy McChav’ kicking the arse out of it it does goes from “oohh ya bastard !😖that stung !😂😂” when you get lit up just due to the nature of the game and you have a laugh with the other player who did it , it just as quickly can change to “you twat I’m gonna fecking do you !🤬” in the blink of an eye because someone’s being a cock .

    HI-caps ? they are the maracas of the devil BUT a necessary evil if your doing rentals , most ‘newbies’ just wouldn’t get there head around mag changes in the ‘heat of battle’ , most have a problem just winding the mags up ! simple answer is just keep it to single shot only , makes life a lot easier ?


    Will need to have marshals focus primarily on safety and from that hopefully a non-toxic and welcoming environment will able to be fostered and then yea from that if people are enjoying themselves and feel safe / listened to then hopefully that will remove a lot of the trouble.
     

    20 minutes ago, BigStew said:

    A second on the Blaster how ever the tracers are decent just the regular bbs are garbage


    Noted, avoiding that brand then.

    Although I guess can't really police brands that players use but at least I can limit what I'm handing out to rentals.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted · Edited by Graham Ranson

    37 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

    The difference being that adrenaline ouchies can result in some folk losing the rag.  Particularly so if it's a casual group who don't really know what to expect, or particularly want to get shot, then get lit up by Spammy McChav.


    I was thinking that the group would be all rentals but they would at least all know each other - rather than just a Rental only day where strangers turn up - so it might make it a bit better, but then yea it might make it worse if they all know each other and take things too far.
     

    37 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

    Can't see why. You'll be handing out hi-caps with the rentals anyway, unless you want to go for some sort of 'premium package' with a vest and a stack of mid-caps and a speedloader.  On that, you mentioned MP5s which are a solid enough choice but are typically limited in magazine capacity.  If you do want to go that way, these high caps work well (but add cost, and are of course out of stock).

     

    Limit the site to semi auto and mags won't be an issue.


    Just trying to limit the potential for anyone being tempted to overshoot even with a semi only rule but yea I guess limiting it to mid/lo caps is really just trying to take away the marshalling responsibility which isn't great. Far better to let people use the equipment they prefer and then just enforce proper rules.

    I'm thinking to keep things simpler I'd probably just for a 50/50 split of Firehawks / Raiders just so mags are interchangeable, both are pretty similar from a usability standpoint, but then there's still some "variety" just to give the rental players a bit of choice.

     

    10 minutes ago, Madhouse said:

    Going on from the Rate of Fire comments, quite a lot of sites have a 'no full auto' rule, also with it being CQB it'd be worth thinking about FPS limits and a chrono policy too.

     

    Liking the idea of easily moveable walls to keep it fresh as well as upping the realism with a few extra props etc.

     

    Also, go and have a chat with the competition, they may or may not be receptive but if you're all within a sensible distance of each other then you'll all be after the same players and their cash. It's all business at the end of the day and a bit of competition is healthy, but it's definitely worth making it 'friendly' as you never know who you'll need a favour from in the future. May be worth looking at when their midweek evening sessions are (if they have one) and doing yours on a different day?

     

    Having a shop selling incidentals and stuff that people have a tendency to forget to pack will provide a nice bit of additional income, you could come to an agreement with a local store or do your own thing. Selling snacks and drinks is always going to be popular and you'll get brownie points from the local business community if you can get local lunch van to pop by - just make sure you agree times and also that the session is over in good time for everyone to get their kit stowed and be ready when the van arrives.

    I've always wondered about the on-site store carrying a demo fleet and doing RIF rentals in a try-before-you-buy capacity (sort of), eg rent a RIF for £20 for the day and if you buy one you get the money back. No idea if that'd actually work.

     

    Carry enough spares to ensure you can keep your rentals happy, no-one wants a game day ending with a broken gun. Also rentals are future regulars, you need to make sure they have a good day as you've the least goodwill built up with them, flip-side of that is don't forget the regulars as they are a reliable income stream - it doesn't take much to keep people happy.

     

    If you've a local technician doing gun servicing on site for your rentals then why not re-sell that service on? or maybe set up as a range once in a while for people to come and test that new spring to ensure they're not running hot or set up their new sights or hop-up in advance of a game day.

     

    Final point, make sure the parking's covered. You'll lose customers and sour relationships with your neighbours in no time if parking's a hassle.

     

     


    Definitely getting friendly with the competition is a good shout yea. In my day job we make games in a small niche market and we run a discord and have devs from other games in there too who make similar games and are technically "competition" but we encourage people recommending other games than ours etc as it all helps everyone.

    Speaking of rental equipment, I'm obviously a long way off from this stage but just getting ideas of costs and trying to avoid doing the day job for a minute so I started looking around at face protection. All I want is something full face, to limit the potential of someone removing the bottom half, losing some teeth, and then blaming me, and probably not a helmet but maybe that'd be better, especially to accommodate glasses wearers.

    But the closest I can find is one that has mesh eye protection. BBs are plastic and can shatter. Doesn't really mix that well with mesh.

    https://www.defconairsoft.co.uk/product/big-foot-airsoft-mask-with-mesh-goggles/
     

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    19 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

     

    [Shudders]

     

    I guess that raises the issue of marshalling.  If you're intending to run days like that, you'll want a head marshal who is prepared to turn up at every game day and be the biggest voice on site. They should set a fun, friendly tone at the brief, but be uncompromising in the game zone, ready to punt anyone back to the safe zone or off-site, up to and including halting games or pulling the plug on the whole day if it turns into a aggro fuelled chavvy shit-show.

     

    Finding someone who's approachable and easy going and doesn't have an ego problem, but is also prepared to run towards an escalating tantrum or face down a toxic player and tell them to sling their hook, that's a tricky task.  Harder still to find someone who will actually do it all day without drifting off into chatting or checking their phone.

     

    I've seen very few marshals who can tick all those boxes


    Yea it would need to be marshalled properly, I guess I was thinking much like sten party might do go-karting, laser tag, a room escape, anything like that, they could also do a few hours of airsofting.

    Not easy to find someone no, but certainly can be done. Just need to make sure I pay them properly and get the right person.

    18 minutes ago, Tommikka said:

    Some random comments:

     

     

    As well as potential charity status, look into any local business intiatives such as those under BID schemes etc with partnerships between councils and local business organisations etc

    These may have subsidies or waivers on rent & rates for the first year etc

     

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_improvement_district

     

    Moveable ‘walls’ are always a good idea. A fairly basic is Heras fencing which can be moved with a covering, a better solution is a framework with either movable wall panels (quite a bit of work), fixed wall panels with a door in every room but hangable panels that block doors, or a framework with panels forming long wide corridors and a mix of wall panels that can be relocated with some effort and doors/panels that can be moved between games

     

    Ensure that game areas are not designed with either attack or defend but a combination of attack & defend -  it must be possible for one person to have a last stand, but also that one person doesn’t end up dominating a whole game

     

    Stags/companies/parties:

    For rental groups they mostly don’t care if they are sound paintball/.50” paintball/airsoft/laser/nerf.

    They are after a fun day out, but they might be looking for a particular one

     

    Utilities:

    Particularly when indoors AEG users will be interested in charging facilities - this is an extra cost to your bill but it’s a value added feature. 
     

    Neighbours:

    Keep everyone happy, ensure they are aware of the activities - banging and shooting noises, and lots of people driving around & parking. (Plus potential smokers/vapers stood around)

     

    Catering:

    Vending machines are beaten by having a caterer, but there is a balance between ensuring it’s worth their while to turn up.

    If you provide catering then you have to comply with all food prep & storage, if you have a caterer then you only provide a suitable area (clean etc)

     

     

     

    Experience training days:

    You dont need a true super special ex SAS instructor.  You need someone credible who can give an ‘experience’ suitable for the people.

    There are many ex forces businesses that will come down and run custom sessions.

    Once established or depending on who your staff are then this can be done in house.  
    Ive attended events with experience sessions by training companies, by trade staff, by teams and we have run them with our ex military’s members (one is a former instructor) …. and also without our ex military.  We’ve done some ‘real tactics’ but aimed at the context of ‘playing games’ - death is not a consequence, so you can change tactics when the worst case scenario is that you have to respawn 

     

     

    Rental equipment:

    You need a minimal number to cover the largest party you will have at one time plus spares for failures.


     

    Diversify:

    Your goal may be airsoft, but the more choices you have the better chance of customers:

    Airsoft - easy to sweep up

     

    Low impact .50” paintball  (springer pump action)

    Attracts kids birthday parties.  Fairly easy to sweep up, and low level of cleaning - power wash or gardening style backpack pump sprayer 

     

    Full .50” paintball 

    True paintball in the lower .50” calibre

    You will need a compressed air system (greater expense) but it’s available for HPA airsofters

    This will need more cleaning than the .50” springers

     

     

    Note that indoors you have the added risk of slips and falls on a hard surface.  Paintball residue can be easily washed away with pressure washers etc as long as you don’t have excessive firing going on. 
    But think about how slippery the floor may be.  We’ve gone for sawdust on some indoor games (after testing it for flammability with pyro)

    Sawdust adds some slipability by itself, but you should have rules against running to make people step properly 

     

    …. Which brings to another safety issue of CQB - oversight 

     

    Rooms are very hard to Marshall, both for rules & safety 
    If you have an overhead platform you can mix ground level and above level - someone to see what’s going on and someone to deal with the emergency 

     

     


    All VERY good points, thank you for all of this.

    BID is a good idea yea, will be fielding some questions to my accountants soon ( business advise as well ) and see what things they can think of in this direction.

    12 minutes ago, Druid799 said:

    Few things I can think of after way to many yrs playing ;

    Movable obstacles or easily changeable layout , stops games stagnating due to ‘local knowledge’ of the site .

    pro active marshals AND they must be above reproach themselves , nothing will destroy a sites reputation quicker than crooked marshals that favour the regulars , if the regulars are good honest players then yes the marshals should listen to them even ask there opinion/advice on what ever but do not favour them over others .

    Following on from this set rules that are stuck too , with no bending or flexing of them .

    I’ve always liked the idea if possible of above ground OP for the marshals went to a site once that was a big wharehouse space that had an ‘observation’ tower in the very centre that the head marshal would use to keep an eye on things .

    Heres one that’ll cause some discord , rates of fire . If you’ve got a ‘first time haven’t a clue what there doing’ rental with a bog standard G&G combat machine being stalked by an experienced speedsofter who has a gun set to a ridiculous rate of fire with a flappy trigger set so delicate the air from the wings of a bumblebee will set it off and it’s supposedly a single shot game but they pump half a dozen ’single’ shots in the blink of an eye in to them they rapidly give up , I’ve seen it happen . Now I known it’s a small majority that do it but it happens . No ones says you can’t be fast on the trigger but reasonable rates of fire shouldn’t be a problem for anyone to manage .

    Battery charging facilities .

    consumables for sale .

    Free tea/coffee or water .

    plenty of seating and table space .

    good time keeping , if you say game starts in 10min then it starts in 10mins not 12/13/14min/etc , your not ready ? Tuff your playing catch up NOT everyone else waiting for you .

    Good visible team markings .

    Keep the mood and atmosphere positive and fun as much as you can , when people are happy there less likely to break the rules .

    But the MOST important thing you can do is K.I.S.S. !😉

    Good lunch and I really hope it works out for you .👍


    Good marshalls and specific rules, that are adhered to, is a big one yea. 

    Any thoughts on the rule of "no hicaps"?
     

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted · Edited by Graham Ranson

    Yea it was more just for spares and just ballparking prices, figured it's best to err on the side of caution just when I'm in early stages now thinking about things, and then if after a little more time of thinking about it it looks like something I can actually do I'll get more specific with estimations.

    But also, I'm thinking for private events etc when everyone on the site at the same time will require a rental and there won't be any normal skirmishers. 

    - Edit -

     

    Maybe 25 rental aegs, with 30 mags/batteries/masks so there's spares to go around. More than enough for rentals on a regular skirmish day but also enough to host 20 person private events with a few spare.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Spartan09 said:

    you may need to check if you are allowed to use pyro, and let any neigbors on the industrial estate and the landlord know EXACTLY what you are planning to do on site, that any issues can be sorted beforehand.

     

    That's a very good point yea, will make sure it's all fully explained and agreed upon, in writing, what can and can't be done.

    Re: training days, still deciding on how that might work best and think two versions could work well, days targeted at Joe Public that want an adrenaline experience like a red letter day where all equipment would be provided and another that is aimed at airsofters who have their own equipment.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    Rental price yes, not sure about rates yet which as mentioned is the real killer ( and it's what eventually took down a non-airsoft thing my dad did so the charity option as mentioned by Rogerborg above could be a good shout. )

     

    This would be quite a few months out from now if I actually do it so hopefully we'll know by then if "normal" is ever something we can go back to. But yea, it's certainly something I need to think about but it may not be until next year before I can do this anyway.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    That's a good idea yea, hadn't thought of that.

     

    One thing I was thinking, to try to keep it interesting to regular players, is take a hint from theatre staging and game development by having small "rooms", essentially tiles, on moveable castors so that the layout can be rearranged between game days.

     

    These layouts could then also be saved so if a particular layout was especially popular it could then be selected much like a game level.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted

    18 minutes ago, MiK said:

    Competition & demand in the area - too many cooks spoil the broth.

    Parking availability - you may have a great site but if there’s no parking or it’s Uber expensive then people may think twice.

    Storefront - Will you be selling goods on site ?

    Food - will you be providing food ? Cooking on site or go down the vendor machine route ?

     

     

    Thanks!

     

     

     

    Competition - there's no other sites in the city itself, the closest other CQB sites is Strikeforce in Gloucester and then the courthouse in Bristol. I'm hoping that I can bring something different to them so all can still survive.

     

    Parking - The venue has a small private parking area plus a larger shared one on the industrial estate itself.

     

    Storefront - I'm thinking consumables like ammo, gas, pyros, batteries, that sort of thing rather than a full on shop.

     

    Food - I was thinking simple tuck shop + vending machine rather than cooking on site, and maybe trying to find a friendly food truck that wants to pop over at lunch.

     

    Just now, #blackadder said:

    Im hoping its near Swindon perhaps?  

     

    Relatively close, Cheltenham. About an hour by train, 45 minute drive.

     

    Still early early days at present though.

    Setting up a CQB Site, What Should I Be Thinking About?

    in Other Events and Meets

    Posted · Edited by Graham Ranson

    Long story short when I was in secondary school I, like most people, had a 5 minute meeting with a careers advisor to decide my entire future. The two things I said I wanted to do was "make video games" and "run an airsoft site", and as expected the advisor knew nothing of both topics and said I should maybe do a business or IT course in college.

    Fast forward a couple of decades and I've now been running a "successful" video game company for the past 10 years and thought, maybe it's time I take a stab at the other thing?
     

    So I've found a potential location for a city centre CQB site that has good transport links and thought I'd see if I could crowd source any potential issues/questions I hadn't thought of yet. So, if you've ever ran a site ( successfully or not ) or maybe gone through this same thought process before, what sort of things should I be thinking about?

     

    I've got a list of ideas that could be done to supplement the income of the occasional skirmish day and I'm not expecting to get rich off this. My games company used to have an office but for the past 5 years or so we've just worked from our homes, so I was thinking I could potentially set up a small office in the CQB site so I could work there rather than home and then get my spare room back finally.

     

    As for a list of costs, this is what I have so far - 


    Startup Costs

    • Rental Gear
    • First and Last Rent
    • Setting Up The Site
    • First Aid Training


    Monthly Expenses

    • Rent
    • Business Rates
    • Staff Salaries / Marshall Pay
    • Insurance
    • Utilities
    • Rental Maintenance
    • Ammo / Gas / Batteries etc for Rental Gear
    • General Upkeep / Changing Layouts etc
    • Marketing
    • Business Expenses ( Accountants / Legal )
       

    Wa Sv Infinity Pistols - Silver ( X2 ) With 2 Locking Cases and 6 Mags

    in Appraisals

    Posted

    Prepping for a house move and finally decided it's time to get back into airsoft however want to have a clean slate with gear.

    I have these two WA SV Infinities with 6 mags ( and two lockable cases ) and not sure what they are worth.

    They'd most likely need a proper once over as they haven't been touched in about a decade.

    The thumb safety catch is missing on the left hand gun.

    P.S. I will also be posting about a TM G3 SG/1 and a TM MC51 but need to get some photos first but in case anyone happens to have a ballpark figure for those now I'll ask here first.

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