UK POST - AI500, Operation Flashpoint, 1st & 2nd October 2022

[Dalerj94]

Snapshot trailer:

https://m.facebook.com/Ai500-148728415210679/videos/ai500-2022-is-here/405529788231650/

With the event just under a month away at The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre in Rochdale, UK, this is set to be one of the craziest AI events yet.

All 3 floors and most areas (bar 1 shop and some H&S restricted areas) will be in play over 2 days of absolute chaos between 1st & 2nd October.

As one player to another; you don't want to miss out on this one, tickets are almost gone, so if you can make it then get yourselves booked on - this is a one off event that's set to be the best airsoft event in 2022, without a shadow of a doubt!!

https://www.ai-mag.com/buy-tickets/

*Check the AI500 Facebook page for further details here:

https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Interest/Ai500-148728415210679/

[concretesnail]

Very tempted by the idea of this but not knowing the area or the place before it closing down, is this likely to be a few corridors and a lot of players?

I've not done any ai500 events either but I'd like to hear of any experiences which could.inform how this is likely  to go.

[Rogerborg]

42 minutes ago, concretesnail said:

is this likely to be a few corridors and a lot of players

 

Wasn't 2021 Ai500 at the Citadel more what you'd call "Operation Chokepoint"?

 

2021 Citadel review: shitshow with shitty weather.

 

2022 Citadel review: shitshow with better weather.

 

Paying them £97 again seems to be the triumph of hope over experience.

 

 

17 hours ago, Dalerj94 said:

tickets are almost gone

 

Experience suggests that the opposite is usually the case.

[Tackle]

Literally having burned their bridges in the south (twice), the team at AI turn their sights towards the North in search of naive fresh meat 😏

[concretesnail]

That's what I would be worried about, I've now read suh mixed reports from the prison game and it's not a cheap game to attend; all the usual travel costs etc but I'd also need to change to run lighter weight bbs etc. A great site doesn't always make a great game. 

Edited September 4, 2022 by concretesnail

[Rogerborg]

1 hour ago, concretesnail said:

I'd also need to change to run lighter weight bbs etc

 

You should, but I very much doubt that you'll need to, any more than I expect you'll need to chrono.

 

Or course, what goes out also comes in, and this is CQB. It's not an event that I'd attend without full face protection (and not mesh).

[Emergencychimps]

Every review I think I've ever seen of multiple ai500 games has been along the lines of "this was shit and there were way too many people for the size of the site". I think I've read 1 review about a game at lydd that was good, but that was best part of 6-8 years ago. 

 

I haven't attended, I could be wrong but before anyone signed up to it I'd really encourage people search for reviews. 

 

If you want to do a big event, try one of the companies that do more than 1 event a year. At least with something like the national airsoft festival you know what you're getting.  

 

They aren't used to running events, they aren't used to running even skirmishes at the sites they use and they've run multiple big number events that seem to flop every time. 

 

Good events come from an organiser having a good team, good rules, good sites and knowing how to make games flow, which it seems (based on previous reviews)that Ai can't do any of those things. Every time I hear about one of their events going to shit it just feels like common profittering and for a sport based on honour just seems wrong. 

[Tackle]

1 hour ago, Emergencychimps said:

Every review I think I've ever seen of multiple ai500 games has been along the lines of "this was shit and there were way too many people for the size of the site". I think I've read 1 review about a game at lydd that was good, but that was best part of 6-8 years ago. 

 

I haven't attended, I could be wrong but before anyone signed up to it I'd really encourage people search for reviews. 

 

If you want to do a big event, try one of the companies that do more than 1 event a year. At least with something like the national airsoft festival you know what you're getting.  

 

They aren't used to running events, they aren't used to running even skirmishes at the sites they use and they've run multiple big number events that seem to flop every time. 

 

Good events come from an organiser having a good team, good rules, good sites and knowing how to make games flow, which it seems (based on previous reviews)that Ai can't do any of those things. Every time I hear about one of their events going to shit it just feels like common profittering and for a sport based on honour just seems wrong. 

To be fair on the AI team, not only are they incapable of running events, they've got a longstanding reputation of being cheating feckers when they attend skirmishes themselves, which I've witnessed first hand, hardly inspires confidence in anything they get involved. 😏

 

& don't get me started on their inability to use a spellchecker 🤣

[Rogerborg]

52 minutes ago, Tackle said:

inability to use a spellchecker

 

[Cannonfodder]

Sorry, but I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than pay money to that bunch of cheating cunts who couldn't run a bath, let alone an airsoft game.

 

@Dalerj94do you have some connection to AI? It's just that you only post in relation to their events and you're the onlt one who has something positive to say about them

 

[concretesnail]

I'm glad I asked, I can't find much positivity for them outside of youtube content players and it's putting a pending disappointment feeling in my gut.

 

Despite the draw of getting to play a cool site I think it might be worth using the funds to get to a better run site. 

[Impulse]

I'll be heading up this time because the staff at Worthing go way back with the AI guys (some have been going to AI500 for well over a decade), so a large contingent from Worthing will be going as it's not on a game day this time. Like the NAF, it's mostly a social experience for me, but I also tend to be able to still enjoy games if they're poorly run by playing my own way. Going to be harder as this one's purely CQB, where the Citadel at least had the outside areas for me to terrorise, but I reckon I can still do it.

 

If I were into betting, I'd put money on them telling me my m4a1 is a "DMR", which are arbitrarily limited to the point where they're pointless (same power limit, same BB weight limit, half the ammo per life, can only be used outside the shops as well as the inherent disadvantages of being longer and heavier; all drawbacks, no benefits), at some point over the weekend because it has a LPVO and is fairly long with a suppressor. Part of me wanted to bring my m21 specifically because it's clear they hate me, but I can't be bothered to take all my HPA stuff that far purely just to be rebellious.

 

I've only been to one AI500 and it wasn't the best run game, but the running of the game wasn't the issue for me. The issue for me was that it was pay to win, with whoever had the most pyro winning because they could just use it like artillery. I didn't get hit by a single BB on the Saturday, every time it was a hail of grenades instead and I feel that ruins the game. This time there's no pyro at all because it's in the middle of Rochdale and they don't want the police called every 5 minutes because a random person on the street hears loud bangs coming from inside the shopping centre.

 

Failing everything it'll be a good workout since my CQB kit is heavy thanks to the weighted plates in the plate carrier. Weight loss takes time, but this'll be a nice kicker towards that goal. If I can't enjoy the games, I'll enjoy the gains! (sorrynotsorry 😂)

Edited September 5, 2022 by Impulse

[Dalerj94]

On 04/09/2022 at 14:20, concretesnail said:

Very tempted by the idea of this but not knowing the area or the place before it closing down, is this likely to be a few corridors and a lot of players?

I've not done any ai500 events either but I'd like to hear of any experiences which could.inform how this is likely  to go.

Whole place bar 1 shop & some H&S restricted areas in play, the last one in April was an absolute winner, our team has religiously gone to every one for years now and for good reason 👍

[concretesnail]

It's good to hear some words from the others idea but the idea of the whole place being in play is a little miss leading. I looked up the development listings and there are 5 floors, but I'd assume that it would the the old public spaces in play, the old retail landings.

 

@Dalerj94the event you mentioned in April, was that at the Rochdale retail centre?

 

[Dalerj94]

5 hours ago, Cannonfodder said:

Sorry, but I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than pay money to that bunch of cheating cunts who couldn't run a bath, let alone an airsoft game.

 

@Dalerj94do you have some connection to AI? It's just that you only post in relation to their events and you're the onlt one who has something positive to say about them

 

No - just a player mate who's had nothing but good experience, and based on the current sales of tickets (I'm keeping an eye because I want to know if there is any disparity in numbers between tans and greens, did the same for the last Citadel event in Apr) I'm not the only one as over 340 players are booked on. I had 0 issues with cheating at the last event, and the entire team as a whole, the players that we run alongside and a recurring portion of the YT airsofters have never had issues with their games either both on winning and losing sides, so we'll have to agree to disagree there - simplest way for people to find out is to turn up for themselves, they wouldn't have been running the scale of events they do for as long as they have if they were as notoriously bad as you're making out. 

 

Additionally I post team related content almost exlusively, this was a sheer community post to get some people fired up for the event in case they were unaware. If you're going to check my activity history, at least be transparent and not enforce a bias.

Just now, concretesnail said:

It's good to hear some words from the others idea but the idea of the whole place being in play is a little miss leading. I looked up the development listings and there are 5 floors, but I'd assume that it would the the old public spaces in play, the old retail landings.

 

@Dalerj94the event you mentioned in April, was that at the Rochdale retail centre?

 

No - the last one was at The Citadel in Dover, they hosted events there every year for years but The Citadel has now been sold off to be turned into a data centre. And yeah - most service passageways, empty shops, and 3 of the 5 floors are in play. As you said anywhere the public and store staff could go when it was open is playable, with exception to 1 shop (couldn't tell you why they've done that) and some select areas I've no idea what they are specifically that I'd imagine would pose a risk for insurance purposes. But per AI on their FB page near enough the entire thing is in play, so should be plenty enough space and some wicked areas for engagements, I'm really looking forward to it.

20 hours ago, Emergencychimps said:

Every review I think I've ever seen of multiple ai500 games has been along the lines of "this was shit and there were way too many people for the size of the site". I think I've read 1 review about a game at lydd that was good, but that was best part of 6-8 years ago. 

 

I haven't attended, I could be wrong but before anyone signed up to it I'd really encourage people search for reviews. 

 

If you want to do a big event, try one of the companies that do more than 1 event a year. At least with something like the national airsoft festival you know what you're getting.  

 

They aren't used to running events, they aren't used to running even skirmishes at the sites they use and they've run multiple big number events that seem to flop every time. 

 

Good events come from an organiser having a good team, good rules, good sites and knowing how to make games flow, which it seems (based on previous reviews)that Ai can't do any of those things. Every time I hear about one of their events going to shit it just feels like common profittering and for a sport based on honour just seems wrong. 

There's a bias of losing teams leaving shitty reviews every year - and yet the tickets for the losing team at April's event sold out first - the thing is, some games aren't for everyone naturally, I'm not a fan of woodlands as an example; I prefer urban and CQB. As I say, I myself and loads of others around me have had nothing but positive experiences both on winning and losing sides across multiple years of events they've run. Not every organiser gets its right every time - and example of this as of my recent experience is with Legion @ Longmoor. Years of great games, but recently all of their games have been handled appallingly (including the game we did a couple months back). Shit happens, it's airsoft. But it's always been a good calibre of players on average in my experience; you can go to your local every weekend and have new faces turn up that are cheating bastards, a bit green to the hobby and get a bit lost in the face of it, etc. Again, shit happens, it's just the way airsoft is. But overall I can't fault them, it beats your average skirmish every time imo and to me I want to have enjoyable experiences and memories; weekend socials with the team seal the deal, but the airsoft itself I find it to be of a good enough standard to be enjoyed by all as long as you're not just a moaner looking to pick faults - it's only ever going to be what you make of it I guess is what I'm trying to say.

[Rogerborg]

4 hours ago, Impulse said:

This time there's no pyro at all

 

That actually sounds like a smart idea, although I imagine the stacking at chokepoints will be over 9,000.

 

Rules are here.

 

Yes, their treatment of DMRs is utterly inexplicable.  It's just "we don't like long guns, cope with it".

 

Predictions:

 

You'll be told by a marshal that all DMRs are prohibited.

 

Bang-pyro will be flung for the first half of the day on Saturday, and nobody will be ejected over it.

 

Someone will argue the toss over BB shower grenades, because shower claymores are allowed because of reasons.

 

40-Mikes will be used and abused, because nobody said they couldn't.

 

All that said, if it really is mostly in play, it could be a great weekend.

[Impulse]

59 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

Predictions:

 

You'll be told by a marshal that all DMRs are prohibited.

 

Bang-pyro will be flung for the first half of the day on Saturday, and nobody will be ejected over it.

 

Someone will argue the toss over BB shower grenades, because shower claymores are allowed because of reasons.

 

40-Mikes will be used and abused, because nobody said they couldn't.

 

All that said, if it really is mostly in play, it could be a great weekend.

 

They've said on facebook that moscart shower shells are allowed, but no 40 mikes, but I feel like they should really update the rules on their website when they come out with this stuff, because as you said people will bring 40 mikes and say "but there was nothing in the rules saying I can't!" then they'll throw their toys out of the pram until the marshalls acquiesce and let them use it. Personally, I'm bringing my underbarrel and a few moscart shower shells because I've got 1600 .2s that I've accumulated over the years as free gifts that need to be used. Not sure about throwable shower grenades (I'd assume they'd be fine?) but I wouldn't take one anyway because you know for a fact it's getting stolen at a large event like that unless you go collect it straight away after throwing.

 

And yeah, last time at AI500 I had a marshall come up to me and say I wasn't allowed to use my m14 because it was a "sniper rifle". Yes, I've got it set up like an m21 sniper rifle, but in airsoft terms it's not even a DMR since I set it to 1.1J. It's a battle rifle with a telescopic optic. It's a real shame they hate long guns as the Citadel's outdoor areas would've been amazing for my VSR and very easy to observe a 30m MED without any issues; it's harder to play my VSR at my local site during the summer than it would've been at the Citadel. Last AI500 I went to snipers were banned and DMRs were limited to 1.48J, then the next one that I missed they allowed bolt actions at 1.48J too. Now for this event their rules on DMRs for this event are as you said, especially in the context of the last two AI500's rules on long guns:

 

1 hour ago, Rogerborg said:

It's just "we don't like long guns, cope with it".

 

[Rogerborg]

25 minutes ago, Impulse said:

DMRs were limited to 1.48J

 

But they don't chrono, and even if you do get caught in game, all that happens is you need to change guns.

 

What could possibly go wrong.

[Shamal]

17 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

But they don't chrono, and even if you do get caught in game, all that happens is you need to change guns.

 

What could possibly go wrong.

By that point it's already gone wrong!

☹️

[Nick G]

11 hours ago, Cannonfodder said:

Sorry, but I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than pay money to that bunch of cheating cunts who couldn't run a bath, let alone an airsoft game.

 

No, no, don't hold back, say what you really mean 🤣

[Dalerj94]

3 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

That actually sounds like a smart idea, although I imagine the stacking at chokepoints will be over 9,000.

 

Rules are here.

 

Yes, their treatment of DMRs is utterly inexplicable.  It's just "we don't like long guns, cope with it".

 

Predictions:

 

You'll be told by a marshal that all DMRs are prohibited.

 

Bang-pyro will be flung for the first half of the day on Saturday, and nobody will be ejected over it.

 

Someone will argue the toss over BB shower grenades, because shower claymores are allowed because of reasons.

 

40-Mikes will be used and abused, because nobody said they couldn't.

 

All that said, if it really is mostly in play, it could be a great weekend.

RE: Pyro - 40 Mikes weren't allowed from the get-go, and they've literally just posted on FB saying no moscarts whatsoever. If someone lets off a bang and the sprinklers go off (which is why pyro is banned), you're talking fortunes in damage and 400 royally pissed off players, I highly doubt anyone is malicious enough to destroy their own kit as well as everyone else's for the sake of a £3 cardboard whoosh stick.

 

RE: DMRs, it's 400 players in a shopping centre indoors, so it's essentially CQB. Why would you bring a DMR to a CQB site - you wouldn't turn up to ZMart and expect to be allowed to run 450fps 0.4s, and then get the hump when they tell you no. Moot point really.

 

RE: chokepoints, as said before basically all service access walkways are in play, so I'd like to think there will be ways to get around if you're struggling - just don't go stand in the big crowds in the centre atrium and expect to get up the escalators.

[Impulse]

59 minutes ago, Dalerj94 said:

RE: Pyro - 40 Mikes weren't allowed from the get-go, and they've literally just posted on FB saying no moscarts whatsoever. If someone lets off a bang and the sprinklers go off (which is why pyro is banned), you're talking fortunes in damage and 400 royally pissed off players, I highly doubt anyone is malicious enough to destroy their own kit as well as everyone else's for the sake of a £3 cardboard whoosh stick.

 

No moscarts? Well, my loadout just got a lot lighter, but far less amusing. I wanted to mine some salt! I don't get why people get so mad about moscarts since they hit you with all the force of a stiff breeze. Also, it's not malice that would have airsofters let off bangs, it's incompetence/stupidity/cheating dicks who want to win at all costs.

 

1 hour ago, Dalerj94 said:

RE: DMRs, it's 400 players in a shopping centre indoors, so it's essentially CQB. Why would you bring a DMR to a CQB site - you wouldn't turn up to ZMart and expect to be allowed to run 450fps 0.4s, and then get the hump when they tell you no. Moot point really.

 

Oh boy, my favourite thing to counter. As someone who mostly plays sniper / bush cosplaying looney, you can always find points where the range helps in all but the most close quarter sites (like UCAP bunker, which is underground tunnels. Would never want to bring an MED there!). I could run my 2.3J VSR, never shoot within my 30m MED and have massive impact on the game if the rules allowed it in this shopping mall going by the pics on Facebook and my general knowledge of how shopping malls tend to be built; it's all about finding the spots you'll be useful and abusing them. Plus I've upgraded my pistols a whole bunch because I'm used to having that MED, so with how much I use them I could easily move about with the VSR slung and the pistol out until I got to my next position and still be useful.

 

1 hour ago, Dalerj94 said:

RE: chokepoints, as said before basically all service access walkways are in play, so I'd like to think there will be ways to get around if you're struggling - just don't go stand in the big crowds in the centre atrium and expect to get up the escalators.

 

Time will tell on this one and it could go either way. I'm hopeful that the site will be big enough, but we won't know until we actually get there and play. Site could work wonderfully, but 400 players is a LOT. The Citadel fell into this trap where the game devolved into a big line battle and felt very WW1, just with modern gear. I'm going in sceptical, but I'll take the event however. If there's too many players, I'll probably just dedicate to locking down areas since my MWS reaches out pretty far and I'm good at going invisible in dark corners. It's all I did last time I played at the UCAP bunker, sitting in shadows with a mk23 and shooting people in the back when they zoomed past 

[Rogerborg]

4 hours ago, Impulse said:

They've said on facebook that moscart shower shells are allowed

 

2 hours ago, Dalerj94 said:

they've literally just posted on FB saying no moscarts whatsoever.

 

Exhibit A.  Which brings us to...

 

 

2 hours ago, Dalerj94 said:

I highly doubt anyone is malicious enough to destroy their own kit as well as everyone else's for the sake of a £3 cardboard whoosh stick

 

It's not malice that I'm thinking of, but miscommunication, or ignorance.  There's a lot of it going around.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Dalerj94 said:

Why would you bring a DMR to a CQB site - you wouldn't turn up to ZMart and expect to be allowed to run 450fps 0.4s, and then get the hump when they tell you no. Moot point really

 

Because if it's shooting 1.1J then it's not a DMR in any meaningful sense, it just looks like one.  That's the point we're making here: that they're punishing guns based purely on some (arbitrary, undefined) appearance, not their performance.

 

If everything is limited to 1.1J, when why on earth are some guns restricted in ammo and usage?  What possible rationale is behind that?  Especially as I guarantee that there will be folk running 1.5J Mk23s or CO2 pistols without an eyebrow being raised.

 

 

48 minutes ago, Impulse said:

400 players is a LOT

 

I wouldn't be surprised if there's far fewer on Sunday, one way or another.

[Cannonfodder]

12 hours ago, Dalerj94 said:

I highly doubt anyone is malicious enough to destroy their own kit as well as everyone else's for the sake of a £3 cardboard whoosh stick.

I disagree. Some people are just fucking stupid. It wouldn't surprise me if someone did it with the intention of setting the sprinklers off. Also if your kit is going to be destroyed by a bit of water then you should probably get better kit (not that it means such behaviour isnt twatish) 

 

13 hours ago, Dalerj94 said:

 

RE: DMRs, it's 400 players in a shopping centre indoors, so it's essentially CQB. Why would you bring a DMR to a CQB site - you wouldn't turn up to ZMart and expect to be allowed to run 450fps 0.4s, and then get the hump when they tell you no. Moot point really.

But the discussion is about using a rif with a muzzle energy within site limits. Saying a rif can't be used just because it's got a magnifying optic, regardless of the muzzle energy shows the organisers are either incompetent or just can't be arsed. This combined with the way the rules differ between what's on faceache and the website and the way they keep changing don't give me confidence that they won't fuck it up again

[Impulse]

11 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

Because if it's shooting 1.1J then it's not a DMR in any meaningful sense, it just looks like one.  That's the point we're making here: that they're punishing guns based purely on some (arbitrary, undefined) appearance, not their performance.

 

If everything is limited to 1.1J, when why on earth are some guns restricted in ammo and usage?  What possible rationale is behind that?  Especially as I guarantee that there will be folk running 1.5J Mk23s or CO2 pistols without an eyebrow being raised.

 

37 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

But the discussion is about using a rif with a muzzle energy within site limits. Saying a rif can't be used just because it's got a magnifying optic, regardless of the muzzle energy shows the organisers are either incompetent or just can't be arsed. This combined with the way the rules differ between what's on faceache and the website and the way they keep changing don't give me confidence that they won't fuck it up again

 

Pretty much. As much as I'd love to still try sniping with a 2.3J bolt action and a 30m MED in this shopping mall (and I do think it'd be very useful, but incredibly niche and different), the main gripe I have is this. What constitutes a "DMR" over a regular rifle, and why are they just pointlessly handicapped for no reason? As I said, I reckon my MWS will be called a DMR because it has a LPVO and with a suppressor it can look quite long. I'd probably not use it in close quarters too much anyway, just because it's long and my little spring breacher shotgun and/or pistol will be far more useful in that environment, but it's nice to have options just in case!

 

Also, why not allow bolt actions at 1.1J too? There are weirdos like me who have 1.1J bolt action builds, as well as WW2 airsofters who are used to using 1J bolt actions in close quarters environments. Yes, it's a lot less practical, but some of us prefer bolt actions because of how they feel.

 

Also, as @Rogerborgsaid, there will probably be pistols running hot. Fortunately, my mk23 is about 1.05J on .32s (and is part of the reason I don't run heavier because joule creep is whack in gas guns), so .28s will be fine, and my HK45 is easily below, but a lot of mk23 builds creep hot, as do CO2 pistols. The .28 BB weight limit should help gas guns keep fairly low power, but I reckon you'll still get some pistols running hot.