Troops in Contact: The Rionegro Mandate

Damo 2k9

Cheers for a great weekend lads, really enjoyed it.

To the republicanos, it was a pleasure playing alongside you all. Almost everyone was up and raring to go this morning which was great The ones who werent, well you missed out :P but still everyone played great and fair yesterday Despite having the worst base camp, we defended it well and no one took it over so well done

Tbh i think the civilians and the guerillas played a great role, even if one of the civilians did betray me and 2 others after medicing him They never lost interest in the game, always added another kind of "what are they doing there?" or "where are these coming from, maybe the enemys camp ?" and they sure liked there money :P

The ESS, well the republicanos were with yous, and against yous so many times i lost count But it was great playing against you, very honest players and playing alongside you for a short while was great aswell, even if yous did let us down with the support attacking the enemy camp :P At least we got markomongo

And the patriotas, again yous were very honest players, played fair and never gave up Some out of the blue attacks on our base which kept us on our toes, and at one stage i was standing in camp and looked out onto one of the trails and just seen someone with a boonie looking straight at me not even 100ft away, obviously me and about 3 others start shooting but he was already gone by the time we raised the guns

This was my first milsim and i would definitely do it again. I really hope theres another one to follow but with some adjustments.

Maybe 1 medic to every squad of say 6 people would have been better than every 10 people as sometimes squads went out without a medic and the trek from the village or the other side of the hill back to the republicano base really took its toll on some people, myself included. A proper command structure is needed as sometimes people were just wandering around not having a clue what there supposed to be doing and then when there was 1 marshal to 2 or 3 republicano factions it got a bit messy. Fair play for everyone trying to pick it back up again, and it worked.

Again, cheers for a cracking weekend and seeing as this was the first one in, i cannot wait for the next installment (i hope there is!) and thanks to everyone who i played with and against for being honest players, and not giving up.

The_ChiefDUB

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

The ESS, well the republicanos were with yous, and against yous so many times i lost count But it was great playing against you, very honest players and playing alongside you for a short while was great aswell, even if yous did let us down with the support attacking the enemy camp :P At least we got markomongo

You have no idea of the hell we went through trying to get in to position for that attack. Our EM maintains he was misinformed about the route we were supposed to take (and considering how he went through the same hell we did, I'm inclined to believe him)and we ended up climbing through some of the thickest scrub I have ever seen. In the end it was impassable and we had to turn back. We were raging we couldn't get there in time.

Great weekend though. Great work by the organisers, EMs and all the players. I'm completely destroyed.

Damo 2k9

The_ChiefDUB wrote: »

You have no idea of the hell we went through trying to get in to position for that attack. Our EM maintains he was misinformed about the route we were supposed to take and we ended up climbing through some of the thickest scrub I have ever seen. In the end it was impassable and we had to turn back. We were raging we couldn't get there in time.

Great weekend though. I'm completely destroyed.

Ah right, I was thinking that yous done a runner with the money. :P
That heavy camp was probably the hardest camp to attack, the amount of cover they had compared to the republicano base and the ESS was unreal.

The_ChiefDUB

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

Ah right, I was thinking that yous done a runner with the money. :P
That heavy camp was probably the hardest camp to attack, the amount of cover they had compared to the republicano base and the ESS was unreal.

considering how our cover consisted of knee high grass at best, it wouldn't be hard. We had a crack at it on our way back with about 14 lads. Impossible to get in. Well done to the boys defending though.

MerryDespot

Fair play to everyone involved in getting this game off the ground and going - in particular Evilrobotshane.

Yesterday (had to leave last night due to fecking up my back) was a great day - despite the fact that I spent most of it as a 'recon' element climbing up the fecking hill (and everyone who was there knows that the gradient on that hill was less than pleasant!) and only got involved in a handful of scrap I still had a great day.

What I learned yesterday:
1. Comms are key - and hills do not make comms easy. Ideally we should have tried to have someone on the hilltop doing recon/comms and relaying messages back to base - once any republican forces were on the 'wrong' side of the hill it was goodnight to comms.
2. Hills. Going up may be tougher than going down - but going down on your ass on a part that was probably too steep to attempt a descent is never going to end well (see comment re: fecking back up above).
3. Camo - woodland and a bit of common sense leads to being able to hide within feet of patrols without being spotted. Who'd have thought there was a world beyond multicam.
4. Hydration - water is your friend - and even if it weighs your kit down while carrying it out and about, it's a necessity.

Once again, thanks/congrats to all involved for a great game - to the EMs, the lads at Bellurgan Park, and of course everyone who played.

MerryDespot

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

That heavy camp was probably the hardest camp to attack, the amount of cover they had compared to the republicano base and the ESS was unreal.

We had a go at attacking that too - group of three of us on a recon op got a bit too close and had to take out a sentry (who, instead of staying in place, walked back into the base thereby announcing our presence to all and sundry) - should have pulled back, but the blood was up so gave it a go. Didn't get far, but the looks of surprise on the faces of the heavies when they realised that a three man recon section forced them to pull forces back to defend the base (and divert them from whatever good they'd been doing) was worth it!!

Unsinnig

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

Tbh i think the civilians and the guerillas played a great role, even if one of the civilians did betray me and 2 others after medicing him They never lost interest in the game, always added another kind of "what are they doing there?" or "where are these coming from, maybe the enemys camp ?" and they sure liked there money :P

Could still have emptied a clip on you 3 lads, but though a Bang kill would suffice, pain-wise, and fair play to all 3 for taking the hit. I know you were feeling iffy about it, and I'm glad you didn't retaliate. It would have ended very painfully for all of us, especially at that range
Just so you're in on the truth, I was sent up to spread some creative "truth" in ESS camp, and wasn't actually in any need of a medic. I was still perfectly able of returning to the village to have the priest fix me up. It was rather decent of you 3 lads to escort me up to the medic tent and "fix" me up. Cheers for that.

I know you may have been a bit bleak at that, especially being so late in the game. Just be happy you weren't the group that came through the village just after you left, carrying a certain briefcase of money. They got shot, stabbed and robbed, and then laughed at, and the civillians and guerillas walked out with half a million of ESS money, as the game ended

Cheers to everyone for a great weekend, especially Bellurgan Park as a site, Paul, Shane, Mark, Eddie, the other on-site lads who I don't know. You all went above and beyond in what is hopefully the first of many milsim events of the same scale in Ireland (especially one's with the chance at a few LARP roles)

Bang up jobe, everyone. Cheers

Damo 2k9

Unsinnig wrote: »

Could still have emptied a clip on you 3 lads, but though a Bang kill would suffice, pain-wise, and fair play to all 3 for taking the hit. I know you were feeling iffy about it, and I'm glad you didn't retaliate. It would have ended very painfully for all of us, especially at that range
Just so you're in on the truth, I was sent up to spread some creative "truth" in ESS camp, and wasn't actually in any need of a medic. I was still perfectly able of returning to the village to have the priest fix me up. It was rather decent of you 3 lads to escort me up to the medic tent and "fix" me up. Cheers for that.

I know you may have been a bit bleak at that, especially being so late in the game. Just be happy you weren't the group that came through the village just after you left, carrying a certain briefcase of money. They got shot, stabbed and robbed, and then laughed at, and the civillians and guerillas walked out with half a million of ESS money, as the game ended

Cheers to everyone for a great weekend, especially Bellurgan Park as a site, Paul, Shane, Mark, Eddie, the other on-site lads who I don't know. You all went above and beyond in what is hopefully the first of many milsim events of the same scale in Ireland (especially one's with the chance at a few LARP roles)

Bang up jobe, everyone. Cheers

Just as well we took the hit, because the other 2 villagers came in wanting to kill us aswell. Last time I ever trust a villager, i thought i was grand sitting there at the fire and then u done that and i thought u were messing :P

Great game tho buddy, you played very well as a civvie. "You guys are penitent right ? Just dont shoot me in the arse please." I should have

TheDoc

That was pretty fantastic.

The site itself was extremely impressive and that is genuinely some of the most rugged unforgiving terrain I've ever come across. The site was immense for the style of game being played and fitted in nicely given you a picture of the country you were in.

I have to give my thanks to the ESS for having me along and it was a hell of a ride. Danin and his bro were fantastic as always in command and run a really tight ship with their Tiger boys and its always great to be alongside them brilliantly honest players and never give up. Was great playing with Jericho and his friends again aswell, havnt seen them since Berget, cracking squad!
Out manned, out gunned, never out fought, we showed some character through this weekend and gave in fariness more then we got imo

Whilst the treck into the hill was a disaster in terms of us not getting into the Heavies base, I've never felt like I've been put through so much of a challenge in airsoft. It wasnt even that long, but it was just gut wrenching and my arms are in tatters and I think it just set the marker for me in terms of the gaming that can be achieved and how the weekend went. Bad intel led to a bad decision which led to me wanting to cry. But it was a serious test for one and all, me especially being a fat ****, and I was pretty proud I didnt die, so

Massive thanks and congratulations to the organizers of the game itself and the site. Genuinely a brilliant weekend and for the first installment and attempt at a game this big, it was pretty fantastic.

I was 110% skeptical going in and had beforehand set that I just make sure I have a good time and try earblock any bollox. But to be fair, while there was some minor incidents outside of the control of marshalls since it was typical player bollox, I really really thought this was a fantastic game and there hasn't been much negative talk I've come across. I guess this is where claps come for Sliabh /Seamus who was our embedded marshall and our larp king and while he was a bain in the back nut in terms of his little walks he wanted to have he kept us appraised of developements and had us on missions all the time.

Many a year have I wished to stop going abroad to play good milsim games and perhaps we have a big step in the right direction to having something special right here at home.

Well done indeed, my baseball cap is tipped...

MerryDespot

TheDoc wrote: »

I've never felt like I've been put through so much of a challenge in airsoft. It wasnt even that long, but it was just gut wrenching and my arms are in tatters and I think it just set the marker for me in terms of the gaming that can be achieved and how the weekend went. Bad intel led to a bad decision which led to me wanting to cry. But it was a serious test for one and all, me especially being a fat ****, and I was pretty proud I didnt die, so

Fair play Doc - when we ran into you lads on the hill on day one ye were fairly hoofing it up the hill - and what a bastard of a hill it is!

As for Seamus - man I was laughing my ass off at his insistence that he had to get to the top of the hill to 'make a phonecall' - I thought Danin's brother (I think that's who was minding him) was going to nut him a couple of times.

Just one question - what the hell did happen on the top of the hill that time just before we got hit up by the heavies? We were all about 20m back down the hill wondering why it was taking so long - if I recall the only ones left alive on the hill at that stage were Guy, Brendan and Seamus (who pulled an MP7 out of the case and started giving it some!).

TheDoc

MerryDespot wrote: »

Fair play Doc - when we ran into you lads on the hill on day one ye were fairly hoofing it up the hill - and what a bastard of a hill it is!

As for Seamus - man I was laughing my ass off at his insistence that he had to get to the top of the hill to 'make a phonecall' - I thought Danin's brother (I think that's who was minding him) was going to nut him a couple of times.

Just one question - what the hell did happen on the top of the hill that time just before we got hit up by the heavies? We were all about 20m back down the hill wondering why it was taking so long - if I recall the only ones left alive on the hill at that stage were Guy, Brendan and Seamus (who pulled an MP7 out of the case and started giving it some!).

O man there was a second hill that was more steep and more filthy to get up, that one we met on was a breeze!

When we had a chat Seamus got onto the hill to make a call, then said he needed a higher ground, so we went up to a higher point, then he said he needed to get to the very top, so off we went.

He needed to drop a QR code at the top so I walked up to the Heavies and planted the code after a chat then got brought down the hill to have a chat with their commander.

Where I learned about the missile, that seemed to be integral to the whole shabang

Stonewolf

Braaaaiiiiinnnsss, or actually maybe that should be shooowwweeeeerrrrr ...

As one of the EMs I'd like to thank all the players who came, thanks for coming, thanks for having fun, thanks for playing well and thanks for putting up with us even when things were going less than well. Most of all I's like to thank you for proving that the Irish market has matured enough for a game of this scale, complexity and format to be plausible.

I've pushed myself further than I probably should and anyone who saw me today will probably agree I was in bad shape. If I didn't have work in the morning I'd sleep for a week.

I loved the fact that the game was large enough and spread out enough that most intel was very likely dodgy. There were technical issues with our IEDs that resulted in only one being deployed but it created such an atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia that the rest of the Republicano convoys had practically the entire faction as escort. Also, you can breathe easy, it wasn't actually a nuke, I have no idea where that one came from.

Best moment? The night time convoy to the village, for sure. Rolling back down the hill with no lights, no engine and no view out the back for the driver, then charging down the back road with only a flash of the lights every few seconds for guidance. The ambush at the gate where we nearly lost the driver and the confusion at the village when we showed up, it was 100% pure awesome from start to finish. The floor of the truck littered with still glowing tracers was a sight to behold. Night + Vehicles + Airsoft = awesome.

Snifferson

Hi Folks,

I would like to commend the team who organized the event for their effort, it's obvious that a lot of work and effort went into this. I was really looking forward to the event but had a bit of a ****e time.... Sorry and for the kids reading this who just want to flame... Chill, I'm just being honest not disrespectful...

What I thought was good:

• Initial organization and registration was great
• Story line was interesting and opened up for some great action
• The registration on the day was quick and easy
• The facilities were excellent
• The Park Land and Forest were spectacular, Excellent!!

What made my experience pretty bad (I was in the Republican Infantry):

• In game Marshall was pretty immature, the way he introduced the game and rules made me feel like a school kid and his macho swearing (in an attempt I think to be cool) made him lose credibility (IMHO)
• No structure or organization... Experienced groups such as the Leathernecks stuck together, others were scattered into groups with no defined leaders.
• The objecives were handed out to the "Chosen Few"...whoever they were god only knows as for the largest part I don't think they were follwed, they certainly werent shared well with all participants.
• Teams just scattered off with little or no direction...some poor divils who looked like they didn't know what to do were simply put on "Security Patrols"...and stayed there for about 5 hours...
• My M8 and I were tied to a group who went to the Village...then stayed wandering around Hill Walking like a packl of Back Packers on LSD (as some were clearly having visions and dillusions) for 5 hours!!!!! and never ran into any contact.
• Went on Objectives/Missions and aparently completed them (such as in the Village) without ever encountering any contact.. Guy's I like a bit of roll play but...I also like to shoot a little...seriously 6 hours before I shot a BB....
• Listening to some of my team members talk to some of the other folks (younger than me) like they were idiots and tutting/rolling their eyes...when they didn't understand their Combat Cliche TLA's..(One of the bunch we were with, proudly proclaimed that he was in the "Reserves" and that the new folks would have to just accept being shouted at (he was a twat to be honest...yeah that was a little disrespectful...but...yup an Echo Hotel as one guy put it).
• The scenarios and objectives (From my experience, obviously not all) were not coordinated to result in any real sense of achievement or outcome...I got old walking to and from the Village and seeing nothing but cow ****e and birds.
• The Mercs....Great guys, I was almost envious of them as it appeared that they could play whatever way they wanted and get into any action they wanted...but it was feckin hard to figure out how to deal with them...you had lads walking around saying "Don't shoot at them we have a deal with them...only to get shot after not responding because the one you ran into obviously didn't get the memo...the communication between the teams and command could have resulted in all teams knowing where we stood by the EM sharing current status but.....for us that didn't happen...
• Our imbedded guy (Infantry) stood in the camp with a group of 5-10 people standing around him doing nothing that I could see... It was kind of funny...The only thing I remember was him shouting at a group walking off because the "spacing" in their battle formation was not wide enough apart??
• The lads tried to organize and rally a bit of a mill towards darkness, it started off great to be fair to them...we all walked about a mile to meet 2 trucks and escort the "Convoy" up the hill to the village... We walked all the way back to the base by which time it was night time... Then as we got up the hill one of the trucks battery's died...There was a pretty good gun battle (I think)...I say I think because it was Pitch Black with the trees above and we were slipping around in the mud... I now know that I will not be playing Airsoft god forbid if I lose my eyesight...it's ****e in the dark... Fair play to the Heavies...someone on their team had tracer BB's which was cool... Other than that it was a comedy of Flashlights going on and other chaps yelling to turn them off, on..off....

Now...don't just pin me as a moaner....I stayed until 2:20...tried my best to makie the best of it...Couldn't quite get into the Billy Barry School mode of acting that some managed to get into, but all to their own and all of that... Got home around4:00am stinking of that wild garlic from the Infantry **** ho...sorry camp.

In the spirit of helping to make the next event an improvement:

• Don't let kids play Marshall...
• If you want to be a Marshall speak to people like Adults...save the "I don't want to be a ****" comments as the minute you said it yesterday (you know who you are) you became it...
• The objectives were great guys as was the story...try and overlap timing of events to creat some exciting action (even retreats etc....) like I said I went off with a group of laddies...one of which had the sheet and hillwalked for 5 hours whilst they ****ed lived in fantasy land (Balance the roll playing with some action).
• Work with the more experienced teams upfront and see if they can take more leadership roles (If ther is enough you could have opposing team actions organised) if not...for the more experienced guy's I know you want to have fun and not play "Daddy" for the day, but having 10's of less experienced players wandering around not understanding what to do could cause more frustration for you than a little...
• Have a little more coordination around Comms....in an area of that size Radios for some % of participants (2-3 per squad) should have been a mandate...
• Have some lit areas to infiltrate or follow for Night Ops...I nearly killed myself walking around in the dark...you couldnt turn your "shoot me" tourch on... When I finally did I got riddled and I had to threaten to burst someone.. to get them to stop shooting...(In the end it was my own team who shot me

Anyhow...not my cup of tea, embedded marshall really had me pissed off and the lack of structure in the Infantry camp so I was probably not as objective by the time things started to pick up..

For those of you who had a good time (I talked to a few who had a ball in other areas of the sim zone....) fair play. To the organisers thanks for the effort.

Cheers..

Leftyflip

You're talking about me - I've been marshalling for two years now - if you don't like the way I marshal that's fine - no need to make me out to be immature like you did. I stayed in the camp for the majority of the time I was present as I was an EM, a non-combatant.

As for the lack of structure and all that - that was down to your team leader - not me.

Snifferson

Lefty, sorry to hurt your feelings... I felt that the way you spoke to the group was immature, not saying you are a bad person. Perception is reality, and that was my perception, not saying my experience is the only one.

I didn't mean for it to sound too personal so I apologise for that, but it did piss me off.

Leftyflip

Snifferson wrote: »

Lefty, sorry to hurt your feelings... I felt that the way you spoke to the group was immature, not saying you are a bad person. Perception is reality, and that was my perception, not saying my experience is the only one.

I didn't mean for it to sound too personal so I apologise for that, but it did piss me off.

You didn't hurt my feelings mate, it takes an awful lot more than that to do so, I found the way you phrased it less than desirable, but hey that's just me.

Snifferson

Cheers, take the feedback and keep up the Marshelling..

-=AIR=-

Hi lads my is that guy wich hit by stones Good news mine leg is ok just big bruise !!!!
[IMG][/img]

Sad that cant enjoy all game
To Organisators : Learn, learn and learn!!!!

Was waiting Patriotas attack us like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0kpyKDz14w&playnext=1&list=PL075E20318A461D97
Or like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0kpyKDz14w&playnext=1&list=PL075E20318A461D97

Thanks all for good weekend !!!

TheDoc

Command structure and strong command makes or breaks these games, but thats purely down to the people picked to take the rolls.

And if people arnt up to it they need to be big enough not to accept.

I have to say from our perspective there did seem to be ALOT of disorganized squads and it was easy to see. From people we were supposed to be aligned with firing and just piss poor communication.

Many a time we had some treaties etc broken by lads on the ground just cause they were bored. That did piss me off because things like that been taken on by just squad leaders was a serious breach of command and put everyone on edge.

This games are made or broken imo by squad leaders, section leaders and overall CO's, a bad co makes bad decisions and a bad time comes from it from everyone.

However everyone starts somewhere and hopefully anyone new had a good time doing it and will take it up again.

Then again if there were lads jsut doing their own trick I wouldnt be suprised.

At one point we were to assist an assault on a base, and while we got in postion that same squad ransacked our base. I'm all for double crosses and well done.

But those sort of decisions arnt for squad leaders, they are for HQ.

One thing I'd change over the term is the way factions create and break alliances. It was all short term, no long term thinking and it was just random people breaking those treaties. We got assaulted three times by "allies" who simply got bored cause their ops didnt give them objectives so they attacked us of their own free will.

Whilst all fair in an open world game, as one of the smallest factions, with milsim rules, it was pretty annoying getting dominated by bollox like that.

Just a minor point thats ive expanded into detail

Hande hoche!

TheDoc wrote: »

Command structure and strong command makes or breaks these games, but thats purely down to the people picked to take the rolls.

And if people arnt up to it they need to be big enough not to accept.

I have to say from our perspective there did seem to be ALOT of disorganized squads and it was easy to see. From people we were supposed to be aligned with firing and just piss poor communication.

Many a time we had some treaties etc broken by lads on the ground just cause they were bored. That did piss me off because things like that been taken on by just squad leaders was a serious breach of command and put everyone on edge.

This games are made or broken imo by squad leaders, section leaders and overall CO's, a bad co makes bad decisions and a bad time comes from it from everyone.

However everyone starts somewhere and hopefully anyone new had a good time doing it and will take it up again.

Then again if there were lads jsut doing their own trick I wouldnt be suprised.

At one point we were to assist an assault on a base, and while we got in postion that same squad ransacked our base. I'm all for double crosses and well done.

But those sort of decisions arnt for squad leaders, they are for HQ.

One thing I'd change over the term is the way factions create and break alliances. It was all short term, no long term thinking and it was just random people breaking those treaties. We got assaulted three times by "allies" who simply got bored cause their ops didnt give them objectives so they attacked us of their own free will.

Whilst all fair in an open world game, as one of the smallest factions, with milsim rules, it was pretty annoying getting dominated by bollox like that.

Just a minor point thats ive expanded into detail

Hmm that's fair enough. I thought it was exactly in character with the Penitent Brigade's modus operandi.

TheDoc

Might have been, that was just one incident of many

The information we were getting is that treaties were been broken at squad lead level, by squad leaders who werent happy about not doing something for 10 minutes and racking our base cause we were closest and numerically the weakest faction.

Hande hoche!

Honestly Doc I was just a regular ignorant grunt so didn't really have a clue what was going on a lot of the time. That being said fair play to you and the others at ESS. Had fun fighting alongside you clearing out the area around your base. Also had a quick chat with one of your guys (Rex I think?) when hill climbing.

Leftyflip

Thing was - lads weren't used to the idea of "down time", they wanted to be shooting at each other all the time, so they got annoyed when they had to spend 10-20 mintues doing nothing.

Also, Snifferson - if my marshalling really bothered you - why didn't you say anything to my face instead of waiting until you got on to boards where you're safe and sound in front of your screen?

Keggers2

Laaads, give the whole passive aggressive thing a rest, it may be related but it can't exactly be considered on topic!

Personally I think the mixed experiences are a good thing because it means we're one step closer to having a properly excellent big game!

evilrobotshane

Snifferson wrote: »

What made my experience pretty bad (I was in the Republican Infantry):

Thanks a million for the feedback, and I'm truly sorry you had a bad time. I know it's too little too late, especially since you didn't stay around, but for what it's worth we took the complaints (of which there were at least several) from the Presidential Light Infantry players extremely seriously, and from what I hear Thermo (the Penitent Brigade's embedded marshal) stepped in to take up a lot of the slack when Lefty took off, and Paul, Eddie and company in the safe zone worked themselves to the bone providing interesting and fun stuff on the spur of the moment for the Light Infantry to do. Anyone from the unit that I talked to or heard about after the game said that they had a good time on the second day.

Without wanting to sound like I'm deflecting blame, many of the criticisms you raised sound like the result of the embedded marshal's actions or inactions. Command structure should have been established weeks before the game, and obviously not only should objectives have been communicated around to all players, but you should have been kept up-to-date on what the situation is in the game, as regards your unit's big goals, changing rules of engagement, rumours and intelligence, so you know what your role in the story is. Amongst the many hats I wore in the organisation of the game was that of embedded marshal wrangler, and I apologise that I didn't chase this up better and make sure stuff got done.

The concept of the embedded marshal is one we created for this game, and we generally agreed that it worked extremely well in most cases (although the post-game beers during the conversation may have helped reaching that conclusion). It has many strengths, but unfortunately putting the responsibility of writing all of a unit's goals and objectives, defining their personality, and playing the combined role of rulebook, marshal, and ensurer of peoples' fun-having means that if a person isn't up to the job, the entire unit suffers and it's hard to mitigate that. This being the first time the concept was used, naturally it's not easy to find volunteers for the position, and in fairness if Lefty hadn't agreed to do it it would have been difficult to put on the game at all - certainly the Republicano side would have had one unit fewer. Hopefully now it's established, if the idea is used again, it'll be easier to find quality volunteers who have the right stuff.

Ultimately what I'm getting at is that while we're very sorry you had a bad experience, I don't think you should consider it a typical one. Obviously what you read about the game interested you, and you shouldn't think that what you imagined it to be doesn't exist. You'll be missing out on some great airsoft if you don't give big games another shot due to your bad time at this one.

This sort of game isn't everybody's cup of tea, of course. For example, I see you dislike night operations, which are an integral part of an overnight game. There are certainly elements that don't appeal to some, but the existence of those elements is intentional, and part of the appeal for many.

Thanks again, and I hope you haven't got such a sour taste in your mouth that you won't give big games another shot.

Snifferson

Keggers I made the same point, mixed experiences can be good, just sharing mine...

Lefty, I don't need to hide behind a screen, I will be sure to introduce myself when I meet you next. I did say something to your face, obviously I was not direct enough, or perhaps you were not listening. I also saw you recieve similar feedback from some other folks there and thought better of repeating them. I had a word with some of the Marshalls at HQ vs. making you feel directly uncomfortable out of respect of your position and situation in the field. Getting into a debate with you in front of a group of people many whom I did not know, did not seem wise and I didn't want to distract other people from the game.

Keggers on the passive agressive front....I'm actually pretty pissed off...just not trying to be insulting which would be easier than avoiding it.... wasn't looking to stir anything up... My comment on Lefty being immature was pretty specific. His response highlights my point.

Lads...Sorry to those who think I am just whining, trying to keep it constructive. I went for a good time, didn't have one but tried and I have some opinions (some more specific than others) on why.. If this thread is just for positive stuff, fair play....my feedback was balanced.

Snifferson

evilrobotshane wrote: »

Thermo (the Penitent Brigade's embedded marshal) stepped in to take up a lot of the slack when Lefty took off, and Paul, Eddie and company in the safe zone worked themselves to the bone providing interesting and fun stuff on the spur of the moment for the Light Infantry to do.

Cheers....It has great potential, and again, this is one man's tale from one unit.... Thermo, Paul and Eddie did lift the spirits and made a great effort when they took over, I can only imagine what it would have been like if they did what they did when it was light

Unfortunately I missed the 2nd day...brought the tent but we decided to head at 2:30..

If I didn't appreciate the effort, I would have given the feedback, paid 45 euro and spent until 2:30am personally trying to make it work for me...

Cheers

The_ChiefDUB

Since we're talking about embedded marshals I want to commend Sliabh for doing a great job as ESS EM. We were given information constantly and I don't think there was ever a moment when we didn't have something to do. He was also quick to don his high vis vest and step in to settle disputes when necessary. I also really appreciated the role playing effort that he put in. I was skeptical about that part of the game at first but it really did add to the experience once I opened up to it.
To be honest, there were a few things that I think didn't work 100%. Our ammo limit (real cap ammo) coupled with our low numbers made fire fights very difficult when against players who didn't have the same restrictions and were operating with larger numbers. A small size force in a milsim game needs to be able to lay down suppressive fire and disengage when they come up against a much larger force. That simply wasn't an option for us. And with missions that brought us in to regular contact with larger groups, evasion wasn't an option either. But honestly, it was more an annoyance than a massive problem.
I did think that the placement of our camp was pretty bad though. We essentially became the target of opportunity for every bored squad in the game. We had zero cover and everyone knew where we were. We also didn't have the numbers to mount any kind of defence when we had an operation going on. Our camp was raided several times as Doc has already mentioned. Although when we had our full team there we were able to defend effectively and even mount ambushes on passing squads. It would have been more realistic though for a wealthy PMC organisation to have a well fortified position or compound which could be defended by a small garrison. It would also have made bored squads think twice before attacking our base just because it was a easy option.

That said, I did have an excellent time. Our faction benefited from a well defined command structure and team members who follow orders but also know how to take the initiative and step up to take command of their group when a team lead isn't present. As I already said, we had a great em who kept the game running at a pretty hectic pace for us. We also benefited from the organisation of some other groups which allowed us the opportunity to talk our way out of tight situations. The flip side of this as Doc mentioned was the regular breaches of terms of agreements. The good of this outweighed the bad I think though as we had free movement around most of the site for much of the game.
For the next game (and I hope there is one soon) I think the rules could do with some simplification (there were a few moments of disagreement regarding prisoners and medics that I recall seeing) but I will definitely be signing up again.

davidd24

Have to say well done for taking on such a big site and a big story.

I was the leader of the 25th for the first part of the day.This was my first Milsim event and my First time leading such a big group.
I noticed a comment by Lefty saying basically dont blame me blame your team leader, a comment I dont accept.
When we arrived on site initally a lad took charge and got everyone together (nice hair by the way). By the way he got them together i assumed he wanted the leadership role and was happy and excited to get going.The lad and lefty spoke and he didnt want to be the leader and lefty asked me.I accepted and was given the missions.I didnt expect our embedded marshall to step back once a leader was found and if I'd of know that i would of turned down the role immediatley.
I did my best to get all the teams going on missions but everytime I returned to base or tryed to raise our EM on the comms (i know comms was crap) i hit a brick wall. From shoulder shrugging to standing in a corner talking to other people whilst 8 to 10 of stand in the base not knowing how the story is progressing.
I totally agree with Lefty about if someone has a problem dont leave it until afetr the game to come onto Boards and give out and that is why I made contact with Paul.
Originally I went to Speak to Lefty himself but again he could not be found.
I spoke to Thermo and went to the majority of the 25th that was sitting around the base and asked their opinion on what i sshould do.
Another member and myself walked to the Safezone and voiced our opinions.
We returned and was given missions we went out on the missions we were given and when we returned found out Lefty had left and Lar had to take up the Slack (Fair play).Unfortunatly i hurt my knee and had to sit out for the rest of the evening if i had any chance of playing the next day.
I spoke to some of the 25th guys during the evening and they said that another command structure was put inn place after i left and the 25th did well.
Myself and my team returned to the game at 8am and played all the way thru.When we returned I was asked by Thermo to assume a command role again and was given objectives and everytime we returned to base we were met by our new EM and he updated us and gave new orders.
I want to say thanks to Thermo for keeping the head together, i think he did a great job and the rest of the lads on the 25th i had a great time doing missions with all of you.
If my leadership was bad i apologise.I would stand up and volunteer for it again at another event. I like Milsim, I understand hpw some poeple would get frustrated by the down time but i liked the realism of it.

evilrobotshane

davidd24 wrote: »

I noticed a comment by Lefty saying basically dont blame me blame your team leader, a comment I dont accept.

Nor should you. Thanks for stepping up to the job of leading, it can be a tough one and a lot of people aren't willing to do it.

I don't yet know the full story of what happened with the Presidential 25th, I was in the field so only got some snippets until after the game, when those who'd jumped in to give a dig out were too angry about the situation for me to want to drag the topic back up again, but we'll be discussing it to try to get the facts and hopefully we can avoid a similar situation occurring in any game.

For people who didn't attend and are reading all this, by the way, don't let the problems experienced in one area fool you - we're pretty sure it was a great event. Of the embedded marshals and game administrators who were able to hang around for eats and banter afterward, all of us (Patriota Special Forces [or maybe I can start using their real name now the game's over], Executive Security Solutions, Republicano 43rd Regiment of Engineers, and Trompeta Guerrilla Movement) were all certain that our players had had a blast, we were getting sheds of thanks and enthusiasm and desire to do it again from them.

We'll be sorting out everything that happened and writing up the epilogue story over the next while, which is as close as it gets to determining who 'won'. It'll take a bit of time because everywhere I turn there's a new bit of information that changes what I think the outcome is. For example, the Republicanos were heavy-handed in the village and drove the locals to support the Patriota movement, so I was thinking right, that means from now on the region's a Patriota and guerrilla haven. But then it transpires that the villagers got their hands on a vast amount of ESS money and are probably all off to new lives in the States, instead meaning the area might be left almost deserted!

jeawan

Well what can i say I'm stiff sore and generally wrecked , baring that i have a brilliant weekend and really enjoyed my self . my unit the Patriota Special Forces never stopped and also great bunch of guys in the unit as well ,Too the ESS lads good gaming and dam you and you stress positions .

All in all i had a good weekend even the rock climbing cheers Shane for doing a great job of being our embedded marshal.

Hande hoche!

Well thanks to the organisers for the best airsoft game I ever had. The entire weekend was fantastic craic. The players on all teams were brillant and to a man sound. In particular there were some stand out moments:

Cheers to the Patriotas and Guerillas for been such sporting opponents. Half the time I didn't who was attacking us at our base, in testament to your abilities.

Well done to the first Patriota we captured. Your ability to maintain a stress position while the rain was pissing down and surrounded by armed enemy was very impressive.

Haven't a clue who it was that attacked the Republicano base at two o'clock in the morning with those strange flashy lights but kudos to them. We fired an incredible amount of rounds without hitting one of you and you disappeared into the night.

Thanks to the lads at Hobby Airsoft for that seemingly magical anti fog solution. Would have fallen down the hill without it.

Also while on retailers, was great to meet one of the guys from Airsoft Eire. Had my photo taken and had a nice chat with him.

To the guys at ESS sorry if you felt hard done by how things tuned out. Had a blast fighting alongside ye and your team really had things down to a tee. One of my friends in the 25th wanted to defect he was so impressed. One of your PMC's has a dangerously fast pistol draw as some of out unit found out.

The three lads from Donegal was amazing to play in the same squad with you. Was gutted you had to leave early. That being said Chicken squad/ Charlie one will rise again!

The Heavies lived up to the reputation of having an imprenetrable defence. Much obliged to one of you who had an aims Kalashnikov, for putting me out of my misery.

In terms of civilians, didn't have that much interaction with you sadly. Although both Keith and that South African guy were complete legends. Special mention to the Lithuanian ( I think?) lad who was injured and went on to play as a villager.

Was great to put faces to names on boards. Thermo was a good laugh and had a very impressive DSA FAL complete with snazzy paint job. Cheers for explaining about the reloads.

Finally absolutely loved playing on the Republicano side. Was great craic and had a blast. Great time playing alongside the Marines/BB magnets. Slowly escorting a truck containing a missile along, fairly sure we had become the bad guys. Those tracers are something else. Hard luck to one of our guys who got right near the machine gun nest with grenades only to get shot.

Our medics did an outstanding job. Was lying in the grass during my last minute of bleed out time, when one just appears with a bandage. We could have done with more medics, but those we had pulled above their weight.

To those few in the penitent brigade that decided to make themselves wealthy men I salute you. That was a brillant twist. Fair play to Don from L.A.C. for going after them. Sorry we couldn't back you up. On that note brillant play by those two/three Boonies that seemed to magically turn up on the road from Cocoma, we had nearly forgotten about you in the confusion. You taught us a lesson.

Sorry for the very long post just had a really,really great time so thanks to all involved. Looking forward to seeing the after action reports/epilogue. Really hope there is a part two.

Inari

Rionegro - what to say? I really did not expect to see so many Airsofters, from all over. Definitely a step forward in the national event ideal - it was all sorted in a short space of time, and got off the ground to a flying start. That said, I do have some constructive criticisms about the event as a whole, but before I launch into them I want to commend Paul, Alan, Eddie and all of the other dedicated marshals for their outstanding job. I also want to say congratulations to the organisers for doing a fantastic job on the story etc.

Whilst I was at the event, I spent quite a bit of time manning the Hobby Airsoft stand, and as such I was talking with the marshals, and getting a feel for the event from a birds-eye view. Combined with playing in the event, I think this gives me a little more scope for commenting, and as such I felt it's better to contribute, rather than hold back.

There seemed to be a lot of bulk/group booking, and virtually all of those who booked in unison were on the Heavies, SF, and Guerillas. The Republicanos were a mish-mash of those who booked a few days earlier (*cough* Ricka & I *cough*), people who were new to Airsoft/MilSim, and some experienced players. This added to the disorganised nature of the Republicano camp, which detracted from the game.

There was literally no command structure in place, at all. I was never going to step up, as I was there under other obligations/commitments, but it was all too tempting as it sorely required someone to rally everyone up and TELL them what to do. Orders felt like suggestions, and people were reluctant to take those 'suggestions' under advisement.

Where the real problems came in on the Republicanos were the scenarios - up the hill, down the hill, up the hill, down the hill. This tired them out physically, and wore them out mentally due to the monotony involved. People started to get really fed up at this point, and it was here where the likes of Paul etc really stepped up to the plate. Everyone at Safe Zone was trying to get stuff reorganised to deal with the complaints and situation. Vastly different scenarios were drawn up, and finally there was some variety.

I do not think that people minded 'down time'. What they minded was that it felt more like a waiting room i.e. more down time than action, which people didn't like. The only real way of circumventing this is clear cut, achievable spider-web objectives. Each objective has two outcomes; completed or not. As a result you have two options for next objective. This keeps the ball rolling, keeps people occupied, and more importantly adds to the event.

On the whole, people enjoyed themselves. Patriotas far more than Republicanos. Fair play to all that helped out, and I hope the next one is bigger and better. Last night I started work on a proposed event, so when I finish it, I'll be sure to post it for people to criticise intensely.

PS: Good games everyone, and good meeting many of you

Unsinnig

Hande hoche! wrote: »

In terms of civilians, didn't have that much interaction with you sadly. Although both Keith and that South African guy were complete legends. Special mention to the Lithuanian ( I think?) lad who was injured and went on to play as a villager.

I don't know what I did to earn legend status with you, but it whatever it was, it's my pleasure. Was great craic having a bit of freedom to add another dimension to the game, especially for the lads new to milsim etc. I'll freely admit that I enjoyed giving out to folks, talking truckoads of sh*t, telling the truth for money, telling some "creative truth" for money, and, perhaps, once or twice telling some giant lies for cash ( and to aid my people )

A great weekend, and I'm happy that my involvement (tiny as it was) made for a better game for some.

Tomazas

Hi everyone, special thanks goes to organisers and venue owners for allowing it happen.

The game:

Our EM was Stonewolf or Hue(sorry have no clue how to spell this name), Thanks as well, as in my opinion you did a great job keeping us updated and on top of things all the time, even than you were in bed following morning, R43E knew what it is going on and continued on their mission to launch OBJECT76 (which was a main mission to R43E). Also would like to thank everyone who decided to play as R43E, as it was a non combat unit and our missions were not supose to have a lot of combat, carry all the gear just be ready to be ambushed could be annoying, but hey this is where milsim comes in. Thanks for following orders and not trying to make my life even more miserable.

In general I think an event of this scale went very well, and in my opinion players them selfs didn't help to work things out. Put it this way, than I was reading foro republicano forum couldnt believe of what kind of trash people are talking on the eve of an event - letting everyone know what kind of gun he is bringing in and talking in general about nothing but plan, your CO, structure and other much more important things. I do understand that in penitente lacked strong leadership but all the lads in that group were very young and every time i saw them hanging arround and do nothing would invite to give engineers a hand. (especially) 2nd day as a lot of feedback and rumors was flowing around. I dont know maybe it sounds a bit hardcore, but in my opinion if you play such a large scale game you do need to understand without a leader you are going nowhere and end up bored and if you have no leader try to form a squad and elect a leader (volunteer for), TAKE INITIATIVE!!!!

Didn't get a chance to explore a whole site, haven't been to cocoma village, or behind the hill further north, coz been too busy following orders and doing our missions, I guess Engineers squad was a bit too small and having only 9 guys +EM was really hard to split in half, even we did have 3 squads but almost all the time we did operate together to complete our missions, and we did.

My negative feedback would be:

1. Medic rule should be equal to everyone.
2. Players didnt read rules before game and made it worse for them selfs and others. (NOT ORGANISERS FAULT!!!)
3. Ammo rule should be the same to everyone (I only engaged SF so didnt really care, but in general I think it should be equal).
4. Respawn thing was strange (but it would be minor), and proper alternative dead zones must be.
5. Republicano base was a joke in terms of terrain. but if our HQ wants us to be in a swamp we will stay in a swamp.
cant think of anything else at the moment so I guess it is not bad.

Looking forward to a next one

Echo 3-1 out

Hande hoche!

Unsinnig wrote: »

I don't know what I did to earn legend status with you, but it whatever it was, it's my pleasure. Was great craic having a bit of freedom to add another dimension to the game, especially for the lads new to milsim etc. I'll freely admit that I enjoyed giving out to folks, talking truckoads of sh*t, telling the truth for money, telling some "creative truth" for money, and, perhaps, once or twice telling some giant lies for cash ( and to aid my people )

A great weekend, and I'm happy that my involvement (tiny as it was) made for a better game for some.

The civilians/guerillas brought a fantastic twist to the game. There were some real characters floating round the place. I'm not sure that lad we paid off fifty grand to even had a family :eek: Although by that stage of the game I had heard that the penitent brigade were gunning down priests and ESS were robbing pesos off civilians at gunpoint, so I am glad you got the cash in the end. Pleasure playing with you.

jeawan

Tomazas wrote: »

My negative feedback would be:

1. Medic rule should be equal to everyone.
2. Players didnt read rules before game and made it worse for them selfs and others. (NOT ORGANISERS FAULT!!!)
3. Ammo rule should be the same to everyone (I only engaged SF so didnt really care, but in general I think it should be equal).
4. Respawn thing was strange (but it would be minor), and proper alternative dead zones must be.
5. Republicano base was a joke in terms of terrain. but if our HQ wants us to be in a swamp we will stay in a swamp.
cant think of anything else at the moment so I guess it is not bad.

Looking forward to a next one

Echo 3-1 out

I would agree on the ammo Rule it was hard taking on High cap units with high number when you have 30 round mags and four SF guys .

Medic rules seemed to be different for all units which was weird in my book republicanios seemed to be taping each other on shoulder to get back in the game while some where bandaging each other , while some units used cards and so on .

Players not reading the rules well it is up to them if they want to not know what to do why bother coming to the event in the first place ? .

I would love to see a second one of these events being held but maybe a full milsim and all have to have the same ammo limits .

The_ChiefDUB

Hande hoche! wrote: »

ESS were robbing pesos off civilians at gunpoint

What???? Despicable lies!

We were delighted to hear the civilians robbed the cash after those traitorous bastards decided to raid the ESS camp while we were breaking our balls trying to help them out.

Unsinnig

evilrobotshane wrote: »

But then it transpires that the villagers got their hands on a vast amount of ESS money and are probably all off to new lives in the States, instead meaning the area might be left almost deserted!

Penitent: 10 minutes of game time left and we have the ESS briefcase. Hey civillians, is it safe to hide out in the village?

Civillians: Sure, it's grand here, all your enemies are gone!

Penitent: Cheers! What's the craic lads?

Civillian: Ah, not much, just chilling. Fair play to ya for robbing the briefcase from ESS!

Penitent: Hahaha, they had no idea we were gonna rob them blind, foolish mortals!!

Civillian: Hahaha, that's brilliant, knife kill, knife kill

Other civillian : brapping c*nts

Penitents: ?!?!?!?!?!

Civillians: Half a million richer, 10 families saved from the war. Game ends.



Was pure class

Hande hoche!

The_ChiefDUB wrote: »

What???? Despicable lies!

Interesting must have been a load of bull. Just like our side having a nuke.

The_ChiefDUB

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Interesting must have been a load of bull. Just like our side having a nuke.

We only ever gave money to the civilians as far as I am aware.

I didn't even hear about the nuke until the end of the game.

Hande hoche!

Unsinnig wrote: »

Penitent: 10 minutes of game time left and we have the ESS briefcase. Hey civillians, is it safe to hide out in the village?

Civillians: Sure, it's grand here, all your enemies are gone!

Penitent: Cheers! What's the craic lads?

Civillian: Ah, not much, just chilling. Fair play to ya for robbing the briefcase from ESS!

Penitent: Hahaha, they had no idea we were gonna rob them blind, foolish mortals!!

Civillian: Hahaha, that's brilliant, knife kill, knife kill

Other civillian : brapping c*nts

Penitents: ?!?!?!?!?!

Civillians: Half a million richer, 10 families saved from the war. Game ends.



Was pure class

That was definately one of the highlights for me. Basically making off with a cool half a million, one of the penitents asked one of the light infantry lads does he want a break from carrying the case. Just past the village the penitent lads leg it. Cue myself shouting ''the penitents just f**ked us over'' and maybe half of our squad pursue them. Low on ammo we leave them be and head back to camp. After the game I hear the civilians knifed them, ah sweet justice

Hande hoche!

The_ChiefDUB wrote: »

We only ever gave money to the civilians as far as I am aware.

I didn't even hear about the nuke until the end of the game.

Sorry man no disrespect intended towards your unit. Just shows you how rumours fly.

The_ChiefDUB

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Sorry man no disrespect intended towards your unit. Just shows you how rumours fly.

Ha, none taken. The stories and rumours flying around were a big part of what made things so interesting.

Unsinnig

Oh yes, and once again, congrats and thanks to Mark and his mate (I forget his name) from ESS for the near fist fight in the village. You lads got us good with that one. Pure class. Got ya back though
We'll call it even.

Hande hoche!

The_ChiefDUB wrote: »

Ha, none taken. The stories and rumours flying around were a big part of what made things so interesting.

Cheers bud. Was in awe of the way you dealed with Marko. Have a quick smoke, bang and voila a Kodak moment.

Tomazas

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Special mention to the Lithuanian ( I think?) lad who was injured and went on to play as a villager.

The rumor about a lithuanian guy is true, he was one of the engineers and got hit buy a rock while climbing the mountain almost at the very beginning of the game. He was lucky though coz at the moment it hit him I was only thinking only of our grid coordinates and how we are going to bring him down from this mountain, the path we chose was one of the toughest i would imagine as it was very steep and ground was loose. after being struck by the rock size like a medium luggage he managed to walk down hill, didnt continue to play for the rest of the day, but following day he managed to walk and rejoined engineers for their final mission. So in the end he only end up with a bruise , no fractions.

he didnt play a villager as it was another person.

Unsinnig

Tomazas wrote: »

The rumor about a lithuanian guy is true, he was one of the engineers and got hit buy a rock while climbing the mountain almost at the very beginning of the game. He was lucky though coz at the moment it hit him I was only thinking only of our grid coordinates and how we are going to bring him down from this mountain, the path we chose was one of the toughest i would imagine as it was very steep and ground was loose. after being struck by the rock size like a medium luggage he managed to walk down hill, didnt continue to play for the rest of the day, but following day he managed to walk and rejoined engineers for their final mission. So in the end he only end up with a bruise , no fractions.

he didnt play a villager as it was another person.

The lad that joined us was the 25th 2IC, if I'm not mistaken. Good lad, up for a walkabout through the forest and mud, even with a messed ankle

Hande hoche!

Thanks for the information lads. Made of stern stuff those two. Out of interest did he get hurt bringing up the radio antennae? Went down that route following the line, must have been hellish going up. Glad to hear they weren't badly hurt. The engineers did the Republicano side proud.

Unsinnig

Another special thanks, now that some of the memories are clarifying, goes to Doc for disguising himself as Stevie Wonder. Not only can he sing and play piano, but he braps c*nts pretty accurately for a blind lad
Stroke of genius!