Emergencychimps

You're so cringe...... Actually, that sounds like a really hard way to live - well done for still attending even with the struggles you have.

I find people who criticize others for blanking their faces in pictures cringe. Having spent a long time in in house recruitment for some pretty massive and well known companies, you'd be amazed at the things I've seen used for not hiring someone, so a picture of them holding a "gun" isn't something id want to be tracked back to me. I like the pics etc, I just don't want them tracking back to me. Likewise sometimes it's a great picture and I'm just pulling a derp face that ruins it. I mean, how ridiculous would it be to have my career derailed and earnings reduced just so that my face can be in pictures from when I'm playing toy soldiers. Also, people who are so "not competitive" that they actively do things to be not competitive, like bright gun/gear or talking down people who do put effort in, especially when they aren't effective players themselves. I'm there to have fun and my version of fun isn't being a moving target,

Unfortunately (as a former suffolk resident) you're in a bit of a black hole for that sort of stuff. My advice would be to send it away or don't bother, as any changes are unlikely to actually improve things.

As others have said, turn the belt around. Drop the height of the plate carrier a touch and Look into dangler style pouches, some of them are rather larger and/or groin protectors which hang down from the front of the plate carrier. As a "larger" man myself I've found 2 options. 1. Dangler pouches on the front. 2. Wearing field shirts rather than ubacs/combat shirts. They're a little less fitted/tight around the belly. Personally, I find those belts too big to be comfortable, so I prefer the inner belt with a small outer molle on. However clones of cryes mrb are a good compromise. If you are going to stick with that belt, I'd suggest a set of braces/shoulder harness for it that would go under your plate carrier. It doesn't look like you have anything attached to that belt.....so if be inclined to ditch it altogether. As it looks like you're a righty, I'd probably move the mag pouch from under your right arm to as far forward on your left side as I could. My experience is both looks based and I'm not a fan of those stinging belly shots.

Always had great customer service from them in the past.

I don't see speedy bois as a bad thing or that it's just the sliding around on the floor stuff, it's the general hpa pistols with suppressors tracers, high cap m4 mags stuck on, big bright masks etc all the stuff you'd not normally associate with people doing the typical camo and skirmishing from back in the day. My reference to tactics being hard to apply was along the lines of, "I have made contact with the enemy, so I am going to go this way to flank them" only for the maze to take me somewhere nowhere near the enemy. For the size of the site I can completely understand why they have added loads of bits as they have and have a complex layout. I can't imagine it would be that fun or interesting to play again and again as a regular if it was too standard. I won't be returning to blackstone, I'd like to say (again) that the site and staff were great, me not returning isn't a reflection of them or their service. My comments on changes were just me thinking aloud (is that a thing when typing online?!) , great to hear they're already doing stuff and have run trials etc. I am sure they're working hard to provide the best experience they can for their customers. I don't think you have rubbished my experience at all, everything seems very civil. I only added in my experience because it's a post from someone saying "this is amazing" yet they haven't actually played there and for anyone reading to at least consider why it might not be for them.

I don't think it was designed for speedy bois, to be honest I'd like a site or 2 that was, just so they have somewhere to go that's not a run of the mill skirmish site. Id like more variety in the sport so that people have what appeals to them. The trouble I think is that it was designed to have "cool features" and jam loads of stuff in a small space, but it's too much in too small a space and it actually doesn't work as a fun Airsoft site as its a similar experience with every firefight. The garage which is a respawn is almost entirely wasted as fighting around a spawn is dodgy, so all this cool stuff is ignored and never fought around. Kind of like they went, this 2 acre site has x number of points of interest, x number of routes, turns etc and we need the same number, but squished into 1/4 of an acre. I found that it led to similar experiences for the whole time I was there, peeking corners, snap shooting and getting lost. Any attempt to flank left me lost and away from the fight. Sites like the mall, the gaol, urban assault , Anzio etc all have cool features but you can sort of predict where routes go, how you can flank etc even if you don't know the site. They're natural buildings. I feel like I'm slagging the site off and that isn't deserved, if this level of closeness, tight and fast cqb is your thing then there isn't a site like it, it's just such a juxtaposition, great for speedy bois but rules say you can't, they want tactics but it's a maze where tactics can't be applied. They have spent a fortune, the shop is great, the professionalism of the staff is really up there, the look and feel of the site is amazing but it just doesn't have the magic ingredient it needs to be amazing and I think that can be achieved when purpose built. I'd suggest a few tweaks, simple things like arrows on the floor back to respawn for that level. Maybe ditch the firing range and have that extra space for game zone (do the chrono at the start of the game zone), maybe dedicate 1 set of stairs to each side for a game. Maybe some different respawn points, even if rarely used or only on the ground floor, both could start on the ground floor and fight over objectives upstairs etc.

No doubt added to my confusion levels! Was getting frustrated towards the end. It just wasn't my style, I feared it might not be before going but it looks so special I wanted to give it a go. Absolutely no fault of the organisation etc of the day, the site is just what it is, for the good and bad that entails.

I did a game here earlier this year (very early this year) and while it was well run, it just isn't the style I like. The site is impressive and almost designed for speedy bois, yet they say they don't want that. Unfortunately that style works at the site, so players running pistols with high capacity mags do rule. Also it's a maze, I couldn't get from one side to the other without getting lost, even at the end of the (1/2) day. This also means regulars (or anyone who has been 2/3 times) have a massive advantage as the race to the stairs at the start of every game is then quite unbalanced. The stairs are a massive choke point, regardless of the rules, the rules on their spiral staircase led to many almost comical moments of "oh I'm on the last step so you can't shoot me and I can't shoot you, so I'll just turn around and go back up etc". The longest shot possible is 8 metres, every shot hurts so anytime you're shot more than once, it's a mother trucker. (Thankfully this didn't happen much). There was great sportsmanship on site, the shop is great, the staff professional, other players seemed friendly and I honestly feel bad saying things which aren't positive as they have spent loads building what should be an Airsoft experience like no other (which it is), but it's just a bit too squashed in for me to find it fun. Too many painful shots and getting owned again and again by players who know the layout just isn't fun. I fear that this sort of day, recent promotions, extra marketing etc is because they aren't getting the numbers needed for it to be viable. It's a niche site and if that's your thing, it's a must visit. But honestly I suspect most players will visit, go oh that's novel and then not actually enjoy it enough to return again and again. Maybe if people stick the 2 or 3 day learning curve to learn the layout they will have loads of fun, being the people who know the routes and angles.

You're using the stock, 8.4 nimah batteries? If so, that , slightly discharged batteries and not enough of a trigger pull is the combo you're getting , it's pretty well known for stock tm recoils. I suspect if you switch it to full auto rather than smacking it then it'll start as well. Essentially what you have is exactly what you're describing, not enough juice is getting to the motor to turn the gears enough and it's stopping just before firing (used to be referred to as lock up). Normally, you're absolutely right to run it stock, a TM especially however this is one of those things that are just crap. The stock batteries are crap and there is no recouping your money for them. My advice would be to buy some 7.4 lipos and use those, You'll either need to convert the rif or buy a converter. IF you can solder 2 bits of wire together, convert it yourself, there are videos (probably from eagle6) on how to do this on youtube. It's easy if you can solder. If you can't solder or are too intimidated to, then some retailers (I think fire support do) that sell a converter. There are other methods to solve this. You can try really hard to give the trigger a good pull every time, however the batteries likely aren't up to the job, they were probably sitting in the retailers inventory for years, so while they might be new to you, they could be 5-10 years old. You can fit or have fitted a mosfet, the Gate Titan is the current one, this is somewhere in the region of £100-£170 (depending on model) plus labour (been a while since I looked), but it is pretty awesome. If you're doing this and paying someone to, then I'd consider a spring upgrade too, even if just an m95 or m100 as this is a gearbox open job. Where abouts are you based?

What batteries were you using? Have you installed a MOSFET? There is a known issue if people don't go "full" trigger pulls where it can lock up. Typically a low battery charge won't help etc. If also suggest double checking the motor connections, ensure they are really on, sometimes they can come off and sit over the bit in the motor, looks like it's connected but it's not.

Check which generation mags they are (assuming they're tm stanags). The ones I had (generation 3) were picky about which gas nozzle I could load from, plastic worked but certain metal ones didn't. Is the MWS stock? Is it brand new?

The issue is that genuine encrypted comms are so CM very expensive to get hold off and a real effort to set up and for airsoft, encrypted comms just isn't realistically an option, so I'm against eavesdropping on comms....unless this is an element that is written into the rules of the game.

Honestly?! Id just buy a basic specna arms type aeg. There has been a massive improvement in the quality of kit available in 10 years. Now, you could regrease everything, swap hop rubbers over and buy new batteries, and it'd cost less but the aim of the game is to have fun. If you dropped out previously it's because you didn't find it fun enough and I'd advise to do the thing that's most fun. Ruining a couple of games days as you do some maintenance and realize it needs more of this or that isn't worth the savings you'll make or the feeling you're being out performed. This route might cost you the love of the hobby. Personally if I was determined to fix up what I had, new hop rubbers, new 7.4 lipo batteries and a barrel clean. If opening the gearbox and greasing is needed.....well then id just buy a new one.