What makes a good 24 hour event?

[BC_K]

Originally Posted by Egria

Ya, the field has to be good, and if you're organizing a game make sure there is no chance of rain.

Whats the fun in that? Games in the rain are the best.

[attack-beaver]

Originally Posted by BC_K

Whats the fun in that? Games in the rain are the best.

i'm with him on that the rain makes it harder to hear your enemy cause a war dosen't take a break when it rains does it.

[BC_K]

Originally Posted by attack-beacer

i'm with him on that the rain makes it harder to hear your enemy cause a war dosen't take a break when it rains does it.

Not only that, you can slip on all sorts of stuff. If its raining good enough, you can mistake rain drops for bb's.

[zero delay]

IMO a MilSim event, (which is in essence what a 24hr event is, you dont run 40 consecutive skirmishes and call it a 24hr game) has two piviotal precepts that have to be adhered to through out the entire game. They are logic and continuity. With out those two factors you have shit hapening that either makes no sense in the overall context of the event, or severely hampers the flow of the game dynamics. What does that mean exactly? That means you dont have a few poorly thought out objectives that are completed within the first few opening hours, and then cramble on the other end to fill in the gaps with mundane tactically pointless Skirmishes that have no signifigance in the big picture.

For event organizers to pull off a succesful event they have to essentially do their utmost in the initial planning phase to ensure the objectives in the game are not one dimensional, for example don't give Blue force one option in terms of tasking, in military excersizes the participants aren't concerend with one single aspect of the situation developing in the field, they are continously looking at the grand scheme in terms of the sucess or failure of one task as it relates to other critical considerations. If the COs decide to re-direct troops from tasking A to assist another element thats under extreme pressure, make sure as game organizors that decision (and every decision made in the TOC) has a direct impact on the game. The diversion of forces from tasking results in Red force missing the window for a resupply, which leads to the game in all sorts of directions, everything from the Carl Gustav M3s that were Air dropped falling into enemey hands which obviously will have repercussions in terms of the security of Red held collateral structures and vehicle assets. There could be ancilary missions springing up from every eventuallity. Running the game like this is actually far less restricting that the conventional way of giving out one mision at a time, some thing that is not only unrealistic but is also limiting for everyone from the COs to the particpants in the foxholes and bunkers. This gives the maximum freedom to operate for the COs and also allows for allmost limitless and exciting evolution of the game.

There is an excess of linear thinking in terms of mission tasking IMO for larger events. Every outcome should be interlinked, success in one confrontation between oponents should have implications that carry through out the campaign. That means if Blue Forces loses it's Air defence network, it loses a portion of the ability to defend against Airstrikes, which in turn gives their opponents the ability to call in Tac Air (and in our case that means actual muntion simulators being detonated in everything from structures, to vehicles, using coded pulses transmitted from AN/PEG LAM packs which trigger blast simulation devices attached to strategiclly important targets). That failure to defend that link in one force's assets has far reaching implications through out the engagement, thats MilSim, not some unrelated string of breif exchanges of AEG fire, spread out throught the 24hr span, with a sprinkling here and there of breaks fllowed by interludes of old tired mission profiles. Using the AD network example a game planner can use that situation to create a series of cause and effect game develpments. again as an example the Blue force now has added pressure on it to find a way to neutralize the Red force's Air superiority, that can be done in a number of ways. when you look at it logically it becomes simple to almost flowchart the entire game this way, as long as you have contigency plans set up for each outcome, again the onus is on the planners and the organizers to facilitate that.

Presently many of the games have COs who command in name only , they are really not challenged to do any more than the kid who is playing his first real game, arguably they are responsible for making judgement calls, but with out continuum parreleling the tasking they are left with little means to actually shape the game using their sense of strategy.

Thats the type of planing and foresight that will cause a quantum leap in the way this game is played, not because some manufacture makes some new model of weapon, or super new digital camo. by now it should becoming clearer what I'm trying to convey here, the game will stay the same and eventually stagnate unless challenging (that means both tactically, and strategicallly), meticulously thought out game planning can be integrated into the larger games, Imagine what would happen to %90 of Olympic sports if there wasn't the Olmpiad games to aspire too, thats maybe a convaluted example but i think it has some crdibility as a annology. There is the posibility that it is more than enough for th majority of players to dress up in their "Army guy" gear and have a adult version of a Scouts campout complete with Automatic BB guns, but there is also the possibility that there are others who are willing to put in the effort and preparation to play their part in creating a more emersive experiance, one that can offer some thing for every level of player, from the Mod 1 Mark ZERO newb to the crusty Ex CF captain. Airsoft is not there yet, at least from my experiance, and to accomplish that (if there is even any desire with in this community for it to grow in that direction) it is going to take massive co-operation between provinces and organizations at a unprecidented level

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by FNG

For those who want the stealth and adrenaline of sneaking up on an enemy position in the dark. Well, now they will know where that position is. What with all the shadows, bright flares destroying yours, and their, night vision, you can still get right up to an enemy position before they know it.

It's a very neat experience to be doing a patrol, then have a flare come out of nowhere and light both you and your enemy up. Then you both realize you were 40m away from each other the whole time.

[lt_poncho]

The insight that Zero Delay has in his post is phenomenal. I had to copy and paste that post into a document for personal reference.

[Dirty Deeds]

Originally Posted by lt_poncho

The insight that Zero Delay has in his post is phenomenal. I had to copy and paste that post into a document for personal reference.

I say, Absolutly amazing.

I think Poncho is already planning his next road trip.

[Janus]

Originally Posted by attack-beacer

i'm with him on that the rain makes it harder to hear your enemy cause a war dosen't take a break when it rains does it.

According to my version of the Geneva Convention that I wrote out of boredom while on the 3-4am fire picket shift on my basic, it does. War will be fought monday through friday, 9-5, weather permitting. Weekends and holidays off, prisoners of war will be given candy instead of bread and water, and there is to be no combat during lunch.

In response to the rest of the thread...it can be safely said that the main thing that makes a good 24hr. milsim event is forethought by the organizers, followed by more forethought, followed by even MORE forethought.

You gotta look at so many factors for big games, it's almost absurd. And not to mention, contingencies. Here's a few:

Bunks / Sleep arrangements
Food and Water
Ammo
Power
Supplies
Quick Repairs
Safe zones
Objectives
Theme
Scenario

And some important things:

Location
Getting experienced organizers
Liability and insurance issues
Field fees .vs. costs
FIRST AID (very important)
What your event offers that no one else offers.

Yeah. And there is always more. Lots and lots of forethought.

[JOHNUSA]

Should the pace of the game be changed? How so?

Do you prefer insertion and staying 30 hours or insertion and having the ability to go back to your cars and or taco bell?

JOHNUSA HNIC

[Brian McIlmoyle]

Probably should read the whole thread... so as to not replicate sentiment.

but here is my opinion.

Milsim.. is about objectives.. outside of just shooting the other guy. There needs to be an aim or goal outside of the simple task of finding and shooting the other guy.
These goals must entail the manifestation of skills and abilities beyond the ability to tote 3 highcaps and a trigger finger immune to cramping.

Navigation, observation, notetaking, communication,movement, tactics,teamwork and the ability to stick to the task with a view to the larger picture is critical. Dicipline to remember the mission objectives when in contact with opposition is key.
And sadly more often observed in its absence. This is a function of leadership, keeping players on task. Command elements must lead.. and in the context of games.. players have to agree to follow.. or the simulation devolves to chaos.

And a good story to give context to the action is important to get engagment of the participants. Players .. like soldiers perform best when they know *why* they are doing something.

to give some examples of what I mean...

The first game at EOTEC is set up as an area recce. Both teams will be tasked to perform area recce. and to avoid contact in order to ensure task 1 is completed. Task 2 will be to observe the enemy to determine strengths and dispositions. task 3 will be to conduct a fighting patrol to contact and eliminate the enemy.. using the information gathered in task 1 and 2.

And the overall point of the whole exercise is to gather direct observation of the enviroment of this new field for the creation of detailed maps for future use.

I have created a "political" framework for the actions of both the teams. A framework that I will employ again and again to provide continuety over a series of games. I have a story arc outline planned roughly for the entire proposed season of games at EOTEC so that over time missions will have historical context and previous results will affect future game development to reflect the wider scale conflict between the insurgent PLAG forces and the Private Military Contractors hired to deal with them.

Now... what would be cool is to expand this political framework and storyline to incorporate games in other locations so that this "struggle" can be province wide.. Then we are talking about games that last months.. not just hours.
I am already inserting elements of the storyline into our indoor CQB games at TTAC3.. So that regular players will start to see the story play out over the longer term.

See the game thread about this Friday's game to see the opening action of the PLAG forces

Milsim games are best planned by people who play airsoft and have been doing so for long enough to know what works and what doesnt. No offence to anyone.

[walks]

you need plans so that if someone breaks there leg or gets blasted in the eye without protection.

you need to know who is in charge of first aid if it is needed, who the safty driver is to get your injured playerand the person giving firstaid to a hospital.


with piro you cant just start poping of red distress flares (if youve ever worked in ops/trg in meaford you'll know why) contact local police and fire depts to let them know that you will be useing pyro and flares.

safty is a big thing for me have all of your refs carry radios and flashlights when it gets dark. is there a atv that can be used help transport the injured to the safe zone?

[JOHNUSA]

yes there will be transport to safe areas and a grid to help locate injured.

JOHNUSA

[lt_poncho]

I think it's best to outline and clarify the baseline requirements for your operation/MilSim - and then plan with those in mind accordingly, that way you stay on track with the scale and vison of the game, and not try and do 'everything' to appease everyone.

[odp]

Also plan on losing players. You may think you've got a hardcore crew that will eat bugs and run 24 hours straight but the truth of the matter is: unless they do this every week-end, people will quit early and go home.