The 'How Did Your Airsoft Day Go? Thread

[Wavey_Gravey]

6 hours ago, MAX DICKER said:

 

Can absolutely understand your frustration. Its basically the speedybois in their ridiculous painball gear and hpa pistols with high cap M4 mags that ruin the site.

Their play style basically boils down sprinting around following the stream of BB's that's constantly coming out of their guns.

 

Real pity because other than that, I really like Strikeforce.

That’s super disappointing as I was looking at booking on to strike force next month!

 

HMP Gloucester it is then…

[Rogerborg]

2 hours ago, SussexMatt said:

 one took the packaging off in front of me and then gobbed off about how experienced he was to his mates who were taking rentals.

 

Fully trained by watching every Kicking Mustang video out there, I'm sure.

 

 

2 hours ago, SussexMatt said:

Driver Wood is a great site, Gareth who runs it is a good guy and they have a really nice team there. 

 

Nice is a bonus, but the main attribute required is the confidence to take a decision to kick a player, or a group, back to the safe zone, or clean off site, and to back it up.

 

The majority of players don't need marshalling. If marshals can't deal with the exception, what's the point of them?

[MAX DICKER]

1 hour ago, Wavey_Gravey said:

That’s super disappointing as I was looking at booking on to strike force next month!

 

HMP Gloucester it is then…

Probably your best bet. I'm fairly zen when it comes to Strikeforce. I'm not expecting much other than to get a mad sweat on running around all day and burning through as much ammo as is feasible with gas mags. I pay the speedybois as little attention as possible. They do their thing, I do mine. Gloucester prison is better though.

Both sites are close to TGI for post-pew ribs though

[Skullchewer]

Well that's two sites I will not bother with.
The sites may be good, but if the marshals aren't going to sort problems then no point me going. Really can't be arsed with dickheads like that on the field, when there's other sites that do deal with the tossers.

[colinjallen]

4 hours ago, SussexMatt said:

Had another session at Driver Wood on Saturday. Had fun but the experience was marred a little by a few people. Chav lad and his mates rocking up with 2 tones that were brand new in the box, one took the packaging off in front of me and then gobbed off about how experienced he was to his mates who were taking rentals. They spent the entire game not taking hits, mag dumping on people and going into areas they weren't allowed to (coming right up to the spawn and camping and diving out of the roped area to avoid getting shot was their fave) at lunch they were bragging to each other about not taking hits. Marshall tried but had a lot on his plate due to the 2 snipers shooting people from about 5m away, someone with HPA running much heavier BBs than stated at Chrono (clearly), someone who defo had a DMR they were running on full auto as well as the dude hip firing his LMG randomly despite getting told he can only suppress from the bipod being mounted. Lots of people shot with the BBs penetrating skin and instances of kids getting badly overshot 

 

Lots of grumbles above I'll admit, the lack of hit taking and the amount of very heavy fire meant that one team was permanently crippled while the other controlled the map. At the end of the day I still very much enjoyed it and just took it for what it was, felt for a couple of dads whose kids were not having a great time, came across one guy with 2 kids waiting the game out in the spawn rather than go out and get shot again which is a bit sad. 

 

Driver Wood is a great site, Gareth who runs it is a good guy and they have a really nice team there. the amount of stuff from armoured cars through to helicopters, boats, cars etc on the site make it a really good immersive experience and worth a visit.  I think they know the issues with marshalls and speaking to people as they are currently hiring team members so I'd imagine it'll get sorted in the longer term. 

It sounds like it was a poorly marshalled shit show, with a few people who should have been told to leave and never come back.  I am not sure how that relates to it being a great site.  My eldest went there a while ago and would never go back.

[Skullchewer]

I'm guessing he means the physical site is great, which I have heard about Driver Wood. But not the first time I have heard bad things about the kind of players that frequent it, or the marshaling. 

 

[colinjallen]

1 hour ago, Skullchewer said:

I'm guessing he means the physical site is great, which I have heard about Driver Wood. But not the first time I have heard bad things about the kind of players that frequent it, or the marshaling. 

 

That is my guess as well; however, a great site has to have more than great terrain and props.  Driver Wood does seem to have a poor reputation for marshalling and players.

[Cannonfodder]

I've only been to Driverwood once for a night game and I don't think I'll ever be returning. Hit taking was questionable and got the impression that the staff didn't really care. For example when I asked about pyros rules was told  "I wouldn't bother as no one takes them". 

[Rogerborg]

You know what I'd like?  Some basic honesty.

 

I mean, if a site said "We don't care about chrono, we don't care about over-shooting, we don't care about hit-taking.  Go out there and mag dump on each other.  First guy to cry loses." I'd actually respect that.  At least you'd know what you were getting into.

[SussexMatt]

TBF I'm only just back into things with Airsoft so Driver Wood is my only current experience point. 

16 hours ago, Skullchewer said:

I'm guessing he means the physical site is great, which I have heard about Driver Wood. But not the first time I have heard bad things about the kind of players that frequent it, or the marshaling. 

 

Absolutely this, the physical site is brilliant, its the issues around marshalls and some of the attendees. Though there were a LOT of really nice, really decent players there every time I've been. 

46 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

You know what I'd like?  Some basic honesty.

 

I mean, if a site said "We don't care about chrono, we don't care about over-shooting, we don't care about hit-taking.  Go out there and mag dump on each other.  First guy to cry loses." I'd actually respect that.  At least you'd know what you were getting into.

its an odd thing, they talk a lot about it being a site where rules are stuck to and the briefing time they lay it on thick, have even equipped the marshalls with sidearms to shoot people who dont take hits now, that said I didnt see a marshall doing that. 

Now, there is another side to this, Gareth who runs has said on their Facebook page that if you're not marked up at the end of the day you've not played hard enough (I'm paraphrasing) and has suggested its a site where people play harder than other sites. As you said I'm kind of fine with that actually BUT it needs to be coupled with hit taking being the king thing that makes that sort of aggressive play work. 

[Badgerlicious]

1 hour ago, SussexMatt said:

TBF I'm only just back into things with Airsoft so Driver Wood is my only current experience point. 

Absolutely this, the physical site is brilliant, its the issues around marshalls and some of the attendees. Though there were a LOT of really nice, really decent players there every time I've been. 

its an odd thing, they talk a lot about it being a site where rules are stuck to and the briefing time they lay it on thick, have even equipped the marshalls with sidearms to shoot people who dont take hits now, that said I didnt see a marshall doing that. 

Now, there is another side to this, Gareth who runs has said on their Facebook page that if you're not marked up at the end of the day you've not played hard enough (I'm paraphrasing) and has suggested its a site where people play harder than other sites. As you said I'm kind of fine with that actually BUT it needs to be coupled with hit taking being the king thing that makes that sort of aggressive play work. 

It does only take a few bad apples though.

 

Driver also strikes me as a site that only cares about maxing player count. It means enough for walk-on only games so they go hard, but there's a much higher chance of some dipshits turning up. But the site has your money now, and since they're the "premium" site in the area so they don't care, they'll always get players next weekend. 

[Tackle]

8 minutes ago, Badgerlicious said:

It does only take a few bad apples though.

 

Driver also strikes me as a site that only cares about maxing player count. It means enough for walk-on only games so they go hard, but there's a much higher chance of some dipshits turning up. But the site has your money now, and since they're the "premium" site in the area so they don't care, they'll always get players next weekend. 

Yep, & it won't change unless players voice their opinions & then vote with their feet. 

What gets me though, if your not going to enforce pretty much any of the "core rules" of Airsoft, why bother with employing (?) a team of Marshalls. 

[Cannonfodder]

9 minutes ago, Badgerlicious said:

Driver also strikes me as a site that only cares about maxing player count.

That's the impression I got. I arrived late so missed the first game, and when kitting up the owner started whinning to me about how one of his staff had called in sick for a week after a positive covid test. He was more concerned about being short staffed than potentially infecting a few hundred people 

[Tackle]

7 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

That's the impression I got. I arrived late so missed the first game, and when kitting up the owner started whinning to me about how one of his staff had called in sick for a week after a positive covid test. He was more concerned about being short staffed than potentially infecting a few hundred people 

Sounds like a bit of a Dick👎

[Cannonfodder]

That's what I thought 

[Rogerborg]

32 minutes ago, Tackle said:

What gets me though, if your not going to enforce pretty much any of the "core rules" of Airsoft, why bother with employing (?) a team of Marshalls. 

 

I can see very little point to it at my local sites.  It seems to be more about having a few meekish, warmish bodies in day-glo vests standing around taking pictures for InstaFace, while the mandatory Angry Man yells "No full auto in buildings" over and over  again without taking any corrective action.  Fortunately, the players themselves are pretty decent, so it's rarely an issue.

 

A notable exception is (or was) the Depot where the marshalling was generally active and effective.  Players (self included on occasion) were taken aside and had things explained, rather than tiresome tirades of ineffectual generalised yelling.  Dickish behaviour got you punted off site, and a marshal got sacked off for cheating chrono.  I even saw the site owner being spot-check chronoed in game by his own lead marshal - the friendly-but-firm bouncer that I now view as the ideal template. I have no idea what the consequences would have been, but as an illustration that the rules apply to everyone, no favouritism or exceptions, it was hard to beat.

[Badgerlicious]

29 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

I can see very little point to it at my local sites.  It seems to be more about having a few meekish, warmish bodies in day-glo vests standing around taking pictures for InstaFace, while the mandatory Angry Man yells "No full auto in buildings" over and over  again without taking any corrective action.  Fortunately, the players themselves are pretty decent, so it's rarely an issue.

 

A notable exception is (or was) the Depot where the marshalling was generally active and effective.  Players (self included on occasion) were taken aside and had things explained, rather than tiresome tirades of ineffectual generalised yelling.  Dickish behaviour got you punted off site, and a marshal got sacked off for cheating chrono.  I even saw the site owner being spot-check chronoed in game by his own lead marshal - the friendly-but-firm bouncer that I now view as the ideal template. I have no idea what the consequences would have been, but as an illustration that the rules apply to everyone, no favouritism or exceptions, it was hard to beat.

 

They can be useful even if the regular player base is excellent. At mine they are enforcing the games rules for the most part, being a repsawn or watching over objectives to make sure they are played fairly. I haven't seen it but I have heard of people being removed from site for breaking site rules. Quietly and unseen is the best way to deal with it for sure. 

[Tackle]

95% of the time the problem is cheating cnut players, whether its chrono cheating, hit taking or general rule breaking, eradicate that & life would be much easier all round, for all involved. 

I can but dream....... 

[Cannonfodder]

16 minutes ago, Tackle said:

95% of the time the problem is cheating cnut players

This. At my old site we didn't have marshals and 99% of the time they weren't needed. I think this was down it being run as a club rather than a site to make money

[SussexMatt]

I'll stick with Driver as its super local, literally 10 mins away so its hard to beat for me, no time to get there, £15 for a morning running about in the woods = all good for now. If it gets too frustrating I'll look further afield. Really want to give Worthing a go. I hear good things. 

[Impulse]

4 minutes ago, SussexMatt said:

I'll stick with Driver as its super local, literally 10 mins away so its hard to beat for me, no time to get there, £15 for a morning running about in the woods = all good for now. If it gets too frustrating I'll look further afield. Really want to give Worthing a go. I hear good things. 

 

Do itttt >:D

 

Worthing is great. It's not a perfect site and I have my criticisms, but it's my favourite site in the south east. Brilliant community of regulars too.

[Cannonfodder]

I'd say do it as it's always good to get to different sites. As they say, variety is the spice of life 

[Jaylordofwaargh]

14 hours ago, Impulse said:

it's my favourite site in the south east.

This is a bold statement, what is the direct comparison to sites like Red1 cheselhurst? 

[Impulse]

12 hours ago, Jaylordofwaargh said:

This is a bold statement, what is the direct comparison to sites like Red1 cheselhurst? 

 

A bit far from me. I'm all the way down on the south coast in Brighton, so the ones within "can go on the regular" distance are Worthing, the Boneyard, Driver Wood and Dogtag (though the latter two I wouldn't go anywhere near...)

 

Worthing is old school, and since I started 17 years ago I like old school (we recently acquired a portaloo!). As I said, got my criticisms of the site like I hate their DMR rules and think we should play the whole site more often as there's a large area of the site that is neglected but is really fun to play in, but the general feel and the community are top notch and the staff are great. It's a totally different site for 6 months of the year too; Just be prepared to experience woodland CQB if you go in the late-spring through autumn as the foliage gets pretty thick

Edited May 11, 2022 by Impulse

[SussexMatt]

@Impulse Hadnt realised the Boneyard was also a Sussex site, might head over and have a look at some point.