The 'How Did Your Airsoft Day Go? Thread

[Anonymoose]

3 hours ago, El Zomba said:

Spent Sunday morning at RIFTs new Blackstone CQB site in Huntingdon. 

 

I saw that and was debating whether to go, but there were no pictures of the place that could find. I didn't want to drive ~90 mins to find it was a tiny place.

[Galvatron]

I played at RIFT's Blackstone CQB site on Saturday and I echo what El Zomba said about the intensity of playing. One part I'd add to the immersion was the sound and lighting effects as they did day & night time fading in certain games.

 

One thing I'd add about the setup area is that it actually has more space than the complement of players will need but that's because a hard limit of ~40 players in total can be booked per session so the game area doesn't become overcrowded.

 

 

 

On El Zomba's point about pyro, the safety briefing on Saturday (so I presume Sunday also) specified that that pyro is non-paper only so you can't use smoke, Mk5s, etc., due to both compromising visibility in an enclosed space and the increased risk of fire as the location has a lot of wallpaper in its decorations as the site is designed to resemble a village. BFGs and impact grenades are acceptable.

 

6 hours ago, El Zomba said:

The only other complaint was the use of pyro.  It's an indoor site and you need something to clear corners and rooms, but having a flashbang go off at your feet gets your bell rung.  My ears are still ringing 24 hours after.  Some poor sod had one go off near his face.  All an accident, the marshalls were on it, and no one was being a dickhead, but it if you're going to allow flashbangs and grenades at an indoor site, you should really make earpro mandatory, even if it's just foam earplugs.  Every little helps.  If I'd known, I would have sorted myself out.

 

Earpro would be a good recommendation when pyro is used there though I don't see how mandating the use of earpro can be enforced practically - unless the marshal sees the back of your head, they should always be able to tell if you're wearing eyepro but you can be wearing a head or ear covering of some sort that obscures your ears.

[hitmanNo2]

For ear pro, the best thing a site could do is say they recommend ear pro and it's up to the customer. They can't be expected to police that. 

[El Zomba]

10 hours ago, Galvatron said:

Earpro would be a good recommendation when pyro is used there though I don't see how mandating the use of earpro can be enforced practically - unless the marshal sees the back of your head, they should always be able to tell if you're wearing eyepro but you can be wearing a head or ear covering of some sort that obscures your ears.

 

Difficult to enforce, but not impossible.  Show your ears as you leave the safe zone.  I had a mask on, but would be able to whip it back a bit to show I had plugs in were I wearing them.  I do see your point though, as it would be extra faff.  I suppose the other way is to meet in the middle and recommend earpro in the terms & conditions and the brief.  That way it's the players' own responsibility.  Anyway, live and learn; I'll take earpro for the next game I attend there.

 

I did email Tony with a bit of feedback about the site and gameplay, including pyro.  In his reply he mentioned that they'd tested with 209s and 380s with no lasting effect, so maybe someone was being a bit cheeky after all.  He also mentioned that they'll be tweeking the rules about how grenades are used and how frequently, so I guess I wasn't the only squeeky wheel on that.

[hitmanNo2]

1 hour ago, El Zomba said:

 

Difficult to enforce, but not impossible.  Show your ears as you leave the safe zone.  I had a mask on, but would be able to whip it back a bit to show I had plugs in were I wearing them.  I do see your point though, as it would be extra faff.  I suppose the other way is to meet in the middle and recommend earpro in the terms & conditions and the brief.  That way it's the players' own responsibility.  Anyway, live and learn; I'll take earpro for the next game I attend there.

Is a typical marshal going to know the difference between a bog standard covert radio ear piece or in ear pro like an Invisio X5 headset? Nope. If a customer shows said radio ear piece or even a set of regular earphones and for whatever reason passes them off as ear pro (we know what airsofters are like) and a marshal gives the OK and there's an issue later that day...Is that negligence on the site's behalf? The marshal? Would insurance get involved? Whatever the outcome, it probably wouldn't be good for the site.

 

But yeah, ear pro should be thoroughly recommended, especially at indoor sites. I had a Tag round go off 1.2m from my head at the weekend. I was glad to have had ear pro on.

[Impulse]

I would never go to any sort of CQB site without earpro. Earmor m31s are cheap and do the job really well, but my proper CQB kit uses a helmet with Earmor m32s attached.

[Colin Allen]

On 24/11/2024 at 20:14, TheFull9 said:

 

Any idea what's actually wrong with it exactly?  Mine has died on me a couple of times over the years, first the wiring/electrics, then the piston totally sheared in half.  Been fully resurrected both times, still ticking along.  Currently in with Negative to get another check up and potentially improvements.  We chatted about about them for a bit and I'd have to say I think it'd have to be pretty nuclear-bad for it to be totally unsalvageable.  Feel free to DM me at any point if you like to discuss it.

Mine had the classic Ares piston failure years ago and is on its second micro switch.  Having opened it up, it seems that the threaded part of the cap that locks the spring guide into place had given up, allowing the spring guide to bounce around, which had jammed the piston.  Fortunately, it was a plastic toothed piston so the gears survived.

I have fabricated a replacement from a bolt and a piece of steel and moved everything into a replacement gearbox as one of the internal threads at the front of the old gearbox had stripped and the other was on the way out.  All seems good.

[The_Lord_Poncho]

Personally, I'd be more than happy if there was a no pyro rule in indoor CQB sites. A well aimed and timed bit of pyro outdoors takes skill; conversely, to lob a grenade through a doorway in a building and hope for the best does not. Kind of the definition of pay to win in my view. Even in well policed sites, there always seems to be someone who doesn't stick to the rules and uses oversized pyro too.

 

I always look forward to the pyro cut off time when I'm playing evening games at my preferred CQB site, the game play just becomes more even and fun after that.

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by The_Lord_Poncho

[Impulse]

23 minutes ago, The_Lord_Poncho said:

Personally, I'd be more than happy if there was a no pyro rule in indoor CQB sites. A well aimed and timed bit of pyro outdoors takes skill; conversely, to lob a grenade through a doorway in a building and hope for the best does not. Kind of the definition of pay to win in my view. Even in well policed sites, there always seems to be someone who doesn't stick to the rules and uses oversized pyro too.

 

I always look forward to the pyro cut off time when I'm playing evening games at my preferred CQB site, the game play just becomes more even and fun after that.

 

 

 

I think I agree with that. First AI500 I went to was at the citadel in Dover and all that was happening in the indoor segments was a barrage of pyro. The tan team got a massive box of pyro for free as there was one that was capturable provided by the sponsor that was in a building near their respawn, so naturally they got it all, which meant that it was a weekend full of being pelted by pyro. If there were greens in a room, that room got a pyro posted through the door.