Airsoft Sites!

[Gigy Beast]

So guys!

Permission to rant......well I am gonna do it anyway hahaha

I have never posted anything like this before but I feel that now is a good time to start!

I have been Airsofting for 12 years, first game was on my 16th Birthday, I am 28 now....based in the midlands. Hope you enjoyed the life story.

I have been to a fair few sites across the Midlands and tbh...I am getting cheesed off with this silly effing "Zombie" type games and just general B.S game play, I played a new site today after reading nothing but great reviews and tbh, me and my guys (4 of us) thought it was pretty poor.

First Game was okay, but the other games basically ended up in people spawn camping and at one point both sides had the same spawn....I mean come on!

 

I am not going to name this site as I know many guys love it and I may give it another go but on face value it just wasn't for me, HOWEVER, I will name a site that is in my opinion by far the best for overall game play, site itself, Marshalls and pretty much everything and that is Fireball Airsoft in Sutton Coldfield, oh and the medic rule they run....why the hell aren't all sites doing what these guys do I do not know., if you have been there then you know.

So anyway, rant over, for you fairly serious Airsoft guys who enjoy something a bit more than "go walking round the woods for the next 2 hours looking for an ammo tin" or "we are gonna play this game on this boring road and completely forget about the awesome complex/helicopter/fort/tank we have over the side of the site" and enjoy sites that have cool facilities and know how to use them then let me know.

P.S sorry if this thread should be someplace else more specific and I am just a tad blunt so please don't take anything personally as I don't set out to offend anyone, I just want to find some new cool sites that have some great semi complex gameplay.

[EDcase]

Thanks for that but its not really much use unless you specify the site.

Its only your opinion so you don't have to be worried about offending anyone.

[Gigy Beast]

Its not a post to name and shame a site as I know guys put a lot of a time and effort in and sometimes games themselves or entire days just don't go to play and also it might just have been one of those days that they didn't use parts of the field for whatever reason, rain fall/fencing....any reason, its more a post to highlight exactly what I am not looking for and in peoples opinion in the midlands ish area where would we find the best sort of gameplay

[EDcase]

Fair enough

[Oneshotscott]

Great story. 

 

All you need to do is move it to the subsection of the forum for sites.  

 

[Tommikka]

What’s the medic rule that they run?

**** up front declaration - I occasionally run events and I collect rule sets so that I can see what I fancy trying or modifying 

Elimination, respawn and medic rules can make or break a game/mission format

 

By zombie type game are you referring to zombie experience full days, zombie missions or magic respawn trees?

 

 

 

 

[Cannonfodder]

Sorry but without any context this just looks like a whinning tantrum about a site not being run how you want

[Tackle]

@Gigy Beast did you not feel you could speak to the staff/boss about your "issues", some are approachable & may welcome constructive criticism/feedback if it helps to improve the gaming experience, & they in turn may have enlightened you regarding why some parts of the site are not in use ?.

Personally I've always found it to be proactive to do this, what's the worst they could say "feck off & don't come back", which would also be very informative as to their attitude & how hard you thrash the shit out of them on every online platform available 😏

[AlphaBear]

At My site, Finmere, they will change game tactics if something isn’t working. It’s all try it and see.  We will frequently give any critique to the organisers if something simply does not work and it helps to improve the games the following month.  

[Rogerborg]

20 hours ago, Gigy Beast said:

semi complex gameplay

 

It's a toss up whether the marshals will be able to cope with that, let alone the players.

[Shamal]

33 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

It's a toss up whether the marshals will be able to cope with that, let alone the players.

Yeah!

I get in a flap when they say defending team over there and attacking team over there. I'm always attacking even if I'm defending. That's what I go for.lol

Regards 

[Gigy Beast]

Okay thanks for the reply's.

I am just gonna say, I am not throwing a tantrum or anything like that, Its more of a question to see what you guys think to sites gameplay.

I have been to probably 8 different airsoft sites and really only come across 1 or 2 that really utilise all of the facilities they have and have really cool and intuitive gameplay, multi game objectives etc etc....

I think maybe my rant might have lost its context but I am sure we have all been through it when you come away from a days airsofting thinking, meh that could have been better and come away at the end of the day going, that was awesome....I wanna find more of those sites. 

10 hours ago, Tommikka said:

What’s the medic rule that they run?

**** up front declaration - I occasionally run events and I collect rule sets so that I can see what I fancy trying or modifying 

Elimination, respawn and medic rules can make or break a game/mission format

 

By zombie type game are you referring to zombie experience full days, zombie missions or magic respawn trees?

 

 

 

 

So they run a fairly simply medic rule, to every 5 or 10 players there will be a medic, which has different coloured tape on their arms along with the tape of their team.

So to get back into the game, you have a 60 second bleed out time before you can walk back to spawn or wait till a medic gets to you, they tend to give the medics out to guys who are familiar with the site and by doing this guys who are new to the site tend to stick with guys that know the site and it works really really well, breaks down barriers of getting the team to work well together and creates groups of guys who have comms who can communicate with other groups, I know its a simple rule and I am sure it has its downsides but the few times I have been to the site the rule just makes the day run amazingly well.

 

The site that adopts this game has a very large site and tends to attract a lot of players, they run a game on the first Saturday of each month and run multi objective games that last some time, tends to be first game is a couple of hours, the 2 long games in the afternoon.

[Jaylordofwaargh]

4 minutes ago, Gigy Beast said:

I think maybe my rant might have lost its context but I am sure we have all been through it when you come away from a days airsofting thinking, meh that could have been better

I kinda get where you are coming from. There are often reasons why set pieces are not used, some of these will be actual reasons. 

 

Ask yourself what kinda day you would have had if you had only defended/attacked the fort or rescued pilots. I had the frustrating day of seeing all these  cool areas but not being able to play in them due to other (paintball) games. Did i have fun, yes. Would i have had more fun had the games/terrain been different all day, also yes. 

 

Points raised by others, such as mentioning games you dont like/didnt enjoy on the day can lead marshal/owners teams to re-asses these games for future players. 

[Adolf Hamster]

there's always an aspect to a game folk don't like.

 

simple games (for a hobby where understanding the complex rules such as when you get hit your out, don't shoot people after they put their hand up, don't be an ass etc are often too complex for grown men to adhere to) can be handy for preventing undue conflict.

However, a fixed respawn team deathmatch wether there's macguffins thrown in or not will always descend into a boring stalemate defined by whichever team ran fastest out of spawn and got all the good spots.

 

complex games tend to descend into chaos the first time they're tried, folk forget rules. of course if its played often enough to the point where the marshall can go "it's the doodadamajig game" works fine for regulars, except where newcomers raise their hand at the start to ask the rules and had a 3-page rules list explained in 30 seconds. then regulars lose their shit because they missed the bit where they were only supposed to respawn 3 times after the first 2 flags had been captured but only once if the enemy team had crossed the bridge but back to unlimited if the defenders manage to get 4 whirligig's around the vip.

 

it's why i'm a fan of the simple fall-back, simple enough that *most* folk can get their head around the concept and keeps the game moving so a stalemate can be broken by effort rather than simply waiting 30 minutes.

 

but then plenty of people hate fall back games because the defending team always "loses", because apparently you can't have fun if you aren't winning.

[Rogerborg]

I do like designated medics, it really helps to keep groups together and adds a little roleplay.  My best woodland day was doing sniper/medic, and mostly the latter - lots of crawling through the undergrowth to sneak a medic tag onto folks' boots.

[Gigy Beast]

Yeah mate I get that.

I think I am okay with those sites that's just capture the flag or defend this complex and ya know if I want an easy simple day of bang bang and go home then cool.

But I think I am just looking for something a little more out of my day and where do I go for it.

There's are a couple of sites with this simple game play within 30 mins of me but I think i just want a bit more without going full mil sim lol

 

1 hour ago, Adolf Hamster said:

there's always an aspect to a game folk don't like.

 

simple games (for a hobby where understanding the complex rules such as when you get hit your out, don't shoot people after they put their hand up, don't be an ass etc are often too complex for grown men to adhere to) can be handy for preventing undue conflict.

However, a fixed respawn team deathmatch wether there's macguffins thrown in or not will always descend into a boring stalemate defined by whichever team ran fastest out of spawn and got all the good spots.

 

complex games tend to descend into chaos the first time they're tried, folk forget rules. of course if its played often enough to the point where the marshall can go "it's the doodadamajig game" works fine for regulars, except where newcomers raise their hand at the start to ask the rules and had a 3-page rules list explained in 30 seconds. then regulars lose their shit because they missed the bit where they were only supposed to respawn 3 times after the first 2 flags had been captured but only once if the enemy team had crossed the bridge but back to unlimited if the defenders manage to get 4 whirligig's around the vip.

 

it's why i'm a fan of the simple fall-back, simple enough that *most* folk can get their head around the concept and keeps the game moving so a stalemate can be broken by effort rather than simply waiting 30 minutes.

 

but then plenty of people hate fall back games because the defending team always "loses", because apparently you can't have fun if you aren't winning.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

30 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

I do like designated medics, it really helps to keep groups together and adds a little roleplay.  My best woodland day was doing sniper/medic, and mostly the latter - lots of crawling through the undergrowth to sneak a medic tag onto folks' boots.

 

maybe it's just the sites i've been to but i've hardly ever seen a medic role assigned/played properly.

 

eg they hand the medic tag out to the guy with the m60 on the logic that he can't possibly be hard to find, next thing you know you find him crouched behind a barricade beyond front line hosing away ignoring the cries of medic from a dozen players who are all 10m behind him because he's the only guy running .2's

 

or in my case, as a regular flanker you get tagged and there's no point even shouting for a medic as all 5 team medics are clustered together on the other side of the site.

 

26 minutes ago, Gigy Beast said:

There's are a couple of sites with this simple game play within 30 mins of me but I think i just want a bit more without going full mil sim lol

 

ahh yes i get you now. you want something with more meat than the 3 rules that ever get remembered in a regular skirmish but not the extremes at the other end of the scale.

 

i've heard folks mention the likes of filmsim being a thing that's a sort of middle ground, but i've never played anything like that so i'm afraid i can't offer any actual advice on the matter. i have on occasion felt it would be good to have a middle ground where you can have some theming and immersion but with more flexibility so you don't "have" to get XYZ loadout just to be able to participate.

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

I enjoy those filmsim games immensely, for exactly the reasons that you give.

 

I enjoy skirmishes but do like a bit more complexity.

 

I enjoy milsim but a lot of players move with all the grace of an elephant and the speed of a sloth with a broken leg.  They can end up a bit larpy tbh.  Signing up for a 24 hour game and the opposition all bed down for six hours is crap.  

 

Doing the full immersion bit during the day, a few beers round the campfire at night and then go again next morning is the perfect mix; for me at least.  

[BigStew]

15 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

It's a toss up whether the marshals will be able to cope with that, let alone the players.

Players never listen!

[Fatboy40]

19 hours ago, Adolf Hamster said:

it's why i'm a fan of the simple fall-back, simple enough that *most* folk can get their head around the concept and keeps the game moving so a stalemate can be broken by effort rather than simply waiting 30 minutes.

 

My favourite type of game as well, as long as the marshal's properly manage the falling back and the location you go to each time, and as you say pure skill / how expensive your gun is is not needed to keep things moving.

 

You get variety as well through the different classes of players, one game it's a hail of BB's on bursts of auto, then another time you take ages trying to find "Mr / Mrs Sneaky Pants" hiding in a bush that no one can find.

[MalHollywood]

I think you can get as much as possible or very little out of any game mode!

 

it’s largely down to the level of communication from Marshals and between players in my opinion.

 

if the communication drops then you’ve got no chance and it just becomes a field of people wandering around and getting in each others way!

 

if you get spawn trapped speak to your team about how to get out of it, if you manage it you’ll leave with a massive sense of achievement!

 

Feedback to the marshals as well so they can edit the rule set the next time they use that game mode if it wasn’t flowing well 👍👍

[shadowfacex]

I’m yet to experience a large scale battle similar to how Rush game mode worked in Battlefield 3. Back in the day I thought it was a perfect template for Airsoft skirmishes

 

It adds variety, adds dynamism and prevents from camping, because as long as there’s multiple respawn points you’re never sure where the attack will come from.

 

In addition, I always enjoyed game types such as VIP extraction, where speed and tactics are the key.

 

The trouble is, most airsoft event organisers don’t take cues from game designers who spent thousands of hours perfecting game modes for causal players. Instead, they invent bullshit like “three-way warfare” where you have no idea wtf is going on until the day ends and someone somehow calculates points and declares a winning team.

 

Apart from that, causal players and kids want just to shoot someone with BBs, which is not uncommon, and quite expectable. So how the heck do you reconcile the two worlds?

 

I don’t think organisers aren’t capable of designing cool games, but most of the time they are way too detached or cocksure to admit they failed or could improve. Ego is the enemy.

Edited August 25, 2021 by shadowfacex

[Adolf Hamster]

31 minutes ago, shadowfacex said:

The trouble is, most airsoft event organisers don’t take cues from game designers who spent thousands of hours perfecting game modes for causal players.

 

problem with using video games as inspiration is that mechanics that work well in games when enforced automatically such as being able to respawn at captured points don't work in airsoft where you can guarantee at least one person will either through ignorance or cuntishness respawn at an enemy held point and proceed to wipe everyone out.

 

at least every game i've played with capturable respawns that's what happened.

[shadowfacex]

16 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

problem with using video games as inspiration is that mechanics that work well in games when enforced automatically such as being able to respawn at captured points don't work in airsoft where you can guarantee at least one person will either through ignorance or cuntishness respawn at an enemy held point and proceed to wipe everyone out.

 

at least every game i've played with capturable respawns that's what happened.

 

That's precisely why I asked how do we reconcile players who are honourable with those who don’t give a shit or are malevolent by nature?

 

I do agree that porting rules from video games directly does not work, however there are ways to optimise gameplay for LARPing. You will always get idiots who want to spoil the fun for others but being a proper arse, and since this is a given, the simpler the games the better.

 

Having proper medics can be super fun though, especially when you’re a medic yourself, but I’d say that if players want to experience something more than shooting/being shot, then regular open-day skirmishes aren’t advisable. You get what you pay for, so to speak.

 

Are there any methods you guys know that work in engaging the players more in gameplay while keeping cunts at bay?

[Adolf Hamster]

19 minutes ago, shadowfacex said:

 

That's precisely why I asked how do we reconcile players who are honourable with those who don’t give a shit or are malevolent by nature?

 

 

sadly we can't, it's what's put me off the hobby tbh as over lockdown kinda reached the conclusion this state of affairs will never change as long as it's a game played by humans.

 

i mean even in the controlled and enforced ruleset of a video game people will creatively exploit/cheat various mechanics.

 

19 minutes ago, shadowfacex said:

I do agree that porting rules from video games directly does not work, however there are ways to optimise gameplay for LARPing. You will always get idiots who want to spoil the fun for others but being a proper arse, and since this is a given, the simpler the games the better.

 

does depend on the game.

 

I'd have loved a decent variant on trouble in terrorist town but literally every single time I've convinced a site to try it you get a minimum of one person treats it like a free for all deathmatch regardless of wether or not they're a traitor.

 

then sites implement rules like "if you shoot someone on your own team it's you that dies" which leads to a riot between people who understand that concept and people that dont.

 

19 minutes ago, shadowfacex said:

Having proper medics can be super fun though, especially when you’re a medic yourself, but I’d say that if players want to experience something more than shooting/being shot, then regular open-day skirmishes aren’t advisable. You get what you pay for, so to speak.

 

i do love the concept of medics, and i can see how it would be a great mechanic, but it's reliant on the medic playing to the role which isn't guaranteed.

 

19 minutes ago, shadowfacex said:

Are there any methods you guys know that work in engaging the players more in gameplay while keeping cunts at bay?

 

looping back to my first point i'm afraid not. reckon the best a site can hope for even if they actually put effort into enforcing their given rulesets and developing a reputation as such is to ensure the core regular player base is good. at least assuming they don't fall down the rabbit hole of favoritism that is.....

 

but it still just takes one group from a different site to show up and ruin everything, whether it's intentionally partaking in the popular creative game mechanics or blanket assuming the rules they're used to apply at the site they're playing at.

 

for example the number of times i've heard things like "where i play headshots dont count", "most sites i go to gun-hits are a kill", "friendly fire does/doesn't count" or "i don't do bang kills" when on the actual site they're playing on those rules are different/don't exist.

 

granted sites are as much to blame for this, given how some of the more fluid rules (enforced/voluntary/prohibited bang kills being a good example) are so rarely actually stated clearly or are changed on a game by game basis.