OP: Trident 7/25/15 @TCP Paintball in Charlotte

[Snarf]

It felt like a long day. The sun was pretty brutal, and the bugs were definitely voracious. Overall, I'd say the event was pretty good and I don't feel like I totally wasted my $20 (although I spent more than that in gas to get there, so ). There were some good things going on, but there were definitely a lot of bad things too.

I'll start with the field itself: TCP Paintball in Charlotte. Upon arrival, I had to help Prophet with his hopup so we went to the chrono station to test his gun and so I could chrono mine. No refs or chronos were there, so we just test fired. About half an hour later, I was ready to go, but I never went to register. Then Abbot called everyone in for a briefing and things got moving. I like how we started right on time, but I'm still scratching my head as to when we were supposed to register. I did everything online before arriving, but still, I didn't even get an wristband or anything, so really I could've just walked onto the field for free if I had wanted to. Finally, right before we walked onto the field, a TCP ref came over holding a chrono and we lined up and chrono'd. He didn't have any BBs, so everyone just chrono'd with whatever BBs they had in their mags, which he didn't ask about. I personally chrono'd with .28s, which wasn't too helpful since I've never chrono'd it before. This is a little concerning, because I'm pretty sure the MEDs were given just by FPS, not energy output. Now more onto the field itself: it's very buggy. Yes, we were warned. No, nobody was prepared to be breathing in and eating mosquitoes for lunch. It's not really their fault, but that made the woods an awful place to go through. Any areas off the trail were also nearly impossible to traverse efficiently, especially the swamp/grassy field. On the flip side, the village and the mounds areas were pretty cool, and after the switch to recreational style gameplay, they were utilized quite well.

Now onto the gameplay. I was on green team, and it felt very unbalanced right from the beginning. We were outnumbered from the start, and I personally thing that the small "resistance" faction should've been moved to the green side. Tan team basically steamrolled us all day, which wasn't too fun. Spawn points were also somewhat confusing; however, the medic rules were clear and simple, and everyone appeared to understand and abide by them. Hit calling seemed ok to me, although my gun was shooting terribly so I didn't get too many hits anyways, but some other members of green team seemed to think otherwise. Overshooting was a bit annoying (SAW gunners mostly) but it wasn't too bad. The semi-only rule generally prevented massive amounts of overshooting, but I saw plenty of bad welts on both sides (I'm thinking of the 3rd nipple...).

I would like to thank Puma1 for stepping up and being our CO. Comms were a mess though, enough so that I didn't even bother to use my radio all day. It seemed like one group had their own special channel, the Russians were on another weird one, and GSAT tried to keep up communication but our team quickly splintered into disorganzed groups pretty quickly. It basically turned into the Russian team, GSAT, then everyone else. Regardless of that, I ended up having fun playing as the medic for Alpha team, which translated into being the medic for the whole team later on. Since I don't have an established team to run with, medic is probably going to be my role in future OPs.

I'm sure I missed some stuff, but I got most of it. Huge shoutout to everyone on green team who stuck through the whole event. It was pretty rough for our team. I'm fairly certain we started with barely 20 players, which dwindled down to about 6-8 right at the end. Sure, tan whooped our asses, but at least we stayed right down to the end!

[Praetor]

I have mixed feelings about this event. I was on green team Charlie squad so I was basically the Russian's +1. It took us about 15 minutes from the start of the game until we were actually got out on the field. Tan definitely outnumbered us by a significant amount and that was one factor that while annoying is something that green usually has to deal with. Over all I had a good time and met a lot of people that I only knew from the forums. The negative parts of the event are as follows; hit calling—when I shoot someone 3 times in the stomach and you flinch I would appreciate it if you called your hit. I understand however that with heavy gear on and with the secondary war against Mosquitos going on you could not notice it. Another negative was that for the first part of the day the rules were pretty unclear with people spawning behind enemy lines and stuff like that. Those are pretty much the only negatives that I can think of and none of those could have really been avoided too much. Onto the things I liked, I liked the comraderie that these sorts of games bring out. When abbot guided me and two Russians to a way around tan's right flank so that we could take the church is now my favorite airsoft engagement, the fact that us three were able to capture the church and push into tan'd flank like that still amazes me. Overall: good day with minor issues.

[Elvis]

I had much higher expectations for this event, but I still ended up having a good time.

I was on green team, and I have to say tan team pretty much had every advantage I can think of over us. A significantly larger team, a defensive role, MUCH less mosquitos in their main AO, multiple saw gunners, more structure and countless other advantages.  We pretty much got our butts whooped all day long. My main problems with the field are the wretched mosquitoes whom made it impossible to do much and made it very un enjoyable to play. Myself and many other teammates also observed a lot of hit calling issues, and there was no question about it if we hit them, because after the third time we see a bb contact them and they flinch it is a clear hit. There was also a lot of overkilling from the fully automatic guys, My friend and I were a victim of a severe overkill at one point from a player less than 20 feet in front of us, and after wards I consulted him about it and instead of the obvious sorry one expect he actually argued with me about it and was very, very rude. I was highly disappointed. The command and structure of the event also seemed to be very lacking, I think a scenario would have been a more appropriate name for it, not a millsim. But I think it may have been more of the players at fault here than TCP.

Now that I have got my rants out I will start on the positives.

I have to begin this part by saying that I think that AO at TCP is a very great place. That is a definite plus. I also got to meet MANY new forum members today and got to see many familiar faces as well. I was also thoroughly pleased that TCP allowed my friend and I to bring his gokart,which we did not get to use much at all but it was still fun when we did get to. The mini games we played after we were pretty much done with the milsim were a absolute blast, probably more fun than the actual "MilSim" it self. They were short, fast paced and fun. All in all I had a great time time, but I did have much higher expectations.


On a side note to TCP, I would highly recommend fixing the small hump to access there parking lot, as I observed many people cracking there front bumpers and one particular person actually breaking his driving into the parking area.


I will post my gameplay when I am done editing it, but I did not get much good footage at all.

[Shep]

gg

[Combat Junkies Airsoft]

To start I personally had an awesome time as the tan CO. Next I would like everyone to take a second and realize this was Abbots/ TFP first time ever hosting an event. With that said yes there was some issues but hosting events is a learning experience with what works and what doesn't. Expect the next one to run a little smoother. From my point of view there was a lot of confusion about spawns medic rule ect. It didn't help that we lost half of the AO in the middle of play. The biggest issue I heard about from both sides was hit calling and the only way to fix that is to remember this is a sport of honor NOT cheating. CALL YOUR DAMN HITS.

[Abbot]

First, thank you everyone who came and stuck it out, and thank you to TCPaintball for letting us play! Also, thank you Chris Cornell for helping us with props and setup.
Well guys, let me first apologize for anything that went wrong during the day. I felt like the refs could have been more present and more leader-like, but I’m not sure they were used to the airsoft crowd… I personally felt my leadership could have been better. However, I did have a good time.
Do I plan on continuing to host games at TCPaintball? Yes. I feel like the field has room for improvement and is a great field for REC days or SCEN events.
Do I plan on hosting MilSims at TCPaintball? No. The field is just too small for it.

Timing: At the start of the day, I tried to get things rolling on time and I feel like, though we were 15 minutes late, we kept to the schedule well at the start. Everyone seemed to go well time wise up until the Paintballers took half the field at 12:30… I feel like this threw off the rest of the day but there were other factors.
Leadership: I thank Scotty and all of CJA and Puma for their leadership roles. It’s players that are willing to take the bull by the horns that are truly appreciated by event hosts. As I’ve said, I feel my leadership and presence could have been better and I apologize for not making it so.
Cheating: I heard a few issues, as well as accidentally being part of one in which I didn’t understand the circumstances and made a call which didn’t make everyone happy, but I felt it had to be made, though I certainly could have handled it better.
Weather: This is, I believe, one of the chief factors which affected the game breakdown at approximately 1400. It was hot. It was really hot. I think this just wore people down little by little. Also, the mosquitoes were terrible. Though I warned people, it was almost impossible to remain out of the woods. Hence, the mosquitoes… They were terrible. I apologize for this.
Field: The field just didn’t provide a good MilSim field, but I believe it makes an excellent REC or SCEN field…
Teams: Actually, Green team outnumbered Tan, but once the game started, as usually happens, more Tan players showed up, and some Green players left… inevitable.
Other notes: Praetor, leading you guys around the sandbags to the rear of the Church was what I was attempting to tell you guys the entire day. When I finally got you there, you nailed ‘em! Well done. Taking that spawn turned the tables on Tan team, but was unfortunately a little too late to save the day…

As I said, I plan on co-hosting some SCEN and REC games in cooler weather (and maybe a winter SCEN game…) in the near future with the Combat Junkies. I really hope you all will come out and support the field. If we can grow this field and player base, Southwest MI can have some better airsoft. Once again, thank you everyone who came out! Gimme more feedback and stuff you’d like to see *cough*cooler weather*cough*

[Guts and Glory]

I won't go into a rant about most things I saw, and honestly it was a shite day for me besides meeting some good "cousins", but two things stand out.

1.  I observed the refs that were chronoing had at one point their goggles off for multiple people, which to me screams "I do not want to go near them with any replica."  I honestly don't know why chronoing could not be done at the station right next to the building, as it was were I first figured it would be by instinct.

2.  I used to go to this field back when Canto and others ran games there, mostly winter but some games in the spring and summer.  I've been to Hole in the Wall, SFOD's old field, Hell's survivors, No Limit's, etc.  I once spent 3+ hours wandering in Bangor by myself climbing and sliding down the ridges and lord knows what else.  My point is that I am used to various forms of terrain at these fields.  Whatever TCP has done to the property (or not done in some places) has by far made it the most unsafe and non-satisfying field I have been on in some years.  The area that used to be the trenches that is supposedly filled in now for those concrete pillars, I found several spots that are easy to lose an ankle to, even a half filled up-curve of a trench.  The growth in various areas is just immense compared to how it was years back, making some areas simply unapproachable (and of course adding to the misery of the woods).  Even had my day not been so sour, I honestly don't think I would come back despite how close TCP is to me because of what I witnessed of the terrain.

[Lloyd]

to start off I would like to say that TC has potential to the  primary airsoft spot in Lansing. I had no real expectations for today but I was disappointed by a few things. My biggest issue was team size and hit calling. Tan team at some point was double the size of green team. That made taking the city and completing the Attacking Force objective very difficult. Green team constantly got stuck in the woods, and looking at all my marks, I can't tell if I have more hit marks or mosquito bites. That got even worse when we lost are spawn to a paintball game, and had to spawn deep in the woods. If we did make it to the city, we were met by huge numbers, or you get some shots out, and most hit the mark. Unlike what you would expect, the enemy you just shot starts shooting you. Once you get through that tho, it got quite good.
Thankfully they let me bring my gokart. it didn't work out as planned because all of the people breaking the semi auto only rule (not that many people had belt fed weapons).
I really enjoyed the long game play, and without that heat I feel like the game could have kept going. The mini games we played were awesome, and sadly I had to leave during the hostage one.
I wanna thank Puma for stepping up as CO, and Chris, Abbot and TC For hosting and running the event. Hopefully next time the teams can be set up better and the objectives be more clear. I suggest bugging out the woods and making easier walking trails from the mounds to the village and make the woods a lot less dense then what they were. All in all it was a good day, and I hope to see the pics and footage of the day

Maybe next time TC hosts an event like this we can  go help clean up the woods and set up the trails how wed like it. I know it seems odd for the players to work on the field but I think it would actually be beneficial to us. we could map out the woods and trails how we like it, and set up the field to our standards

[Prophet]

Despite the heat, bugs, and issues that stemmed from this being a relatively new field open for airsoft, I had a great time. Thanks to Snarf for taking the time to help me with my gun, and to Abbot and the Combat Junkies for making the event happen and making it run as smoothly as a first time event can go.
 
That said, there were some hit-calling issues but none too rampant. There was some stretching of the rules, shooting burst with rifles and so on, and I think the spawns were a weak point. When you go back on the field and can just shoot the opposite team in the back, it makes you feel like a bit of an a-hole. Part of that has to do with the way the field is set-up, but it still was a bit of an issue.

Despite all of this, I had a blast playing and meeting some new people, as well as trolling Abbot over the radio with Puggy toward the end. What does the fox say? OVER!

[Ajax]

I had a good time overall. I thought it ran smoothly for being Abbots first event, and I'm sure that the next one will be better. I also agree that TcPaintball is not a mil-sim capable field; It's just simply not large enough. My main issue was the lack of overall communication and the breakdown that happened pretty early on in the game. I'm guessing this was mostly due to the fact that we lost the mounds portion of the field.

Props to everyone who stayed and played in the terrible heat. Between that and the mosquitoes I think you all deserve a cookie . I enjoyed meeting some more members of the MIA community, as well as playing against them. The quality of the game play easily increased when we started playing the scenario style games.

However, my personal favorite moment of the day was the last game, when tan team was tasked with rescuing our CO. It was very enjoyable to sneak around greens flank and stealthily take out 3-4 guys. Only problem, I was too far into enemy territory that I was mistakenly friendly fired, Oh well.


Finally, I personally think a lot more things could have gone wrong, and made this a terrible day. There was a lot stacked against it; with the heat, the bugs, and this being Abbots first event it turned out pretty good overall. 

[Abbot]

First I'd like to clarify that it wasn't my first event, just my first MilSim event.

Despite all of this, I had a blast playing and meeting some new people, as well as trolling Abbot over the radio with Puggy toward the end. What does the fox say? OVER!

I hated you guys so bad... Just kidding. That was a blast. I can show you the wooooorld!

[Zzan]

Overall had a decent time out here.  There were a couple glaring safety issues that I am greatly concerned about:
1. Chrono -- Refs running chrono did not have any .20 BB's to chrono with.  I only had .30's and when I told them this they said their chrono would only go up to .25 and had me shoot at that setting with my .30's.  Now i know my gun shoots ~385 with .20's consistently so I knew I had a 20ft engagement distance by MiA standards.  They just told me I was OK and let me go.  They did nothing to mark the guns to signify the MED's for the weapon.  In the future I would suggest the hosting team provide the chrono refs with a few speedloaders of .20 bb's and some color coded zip ties so that we can have a safe game for all. I didn't get hit with anything that felt too hard or out of spec, though I did see some people bleeding.  I don't know if this was from mosquitos, injury on the field or hot fire.

2. Safety netting was down or only waist high in several places.  At one point toward the end of the event there were a large group of us OUTSIDE the netting in the safe zone with goggles off and walking back to the staging area and some jackass inside the play area was shooting OUT at us on the outside.  We had no goggles, what the hell were you thinking???  If you don't know where your shot is going to go or don't know where you are and what you are shooting toward then DON'T shoot. This could have very easily turned into something serious.  Always be aware of your surroundings and be aware of your backdrop, if there is ANY danger at all do not take the shot.  If you thought it was funny to shoot your friend in the leg while he walked back to staging, you are wrong, it wasn't funny and you should have had your ass kicked. It wasn't your fault that the field was unsafe, but it was your fault for taking a shot/shots at people clearly not in the game and not wearing eye protection.

Other than that:
We were told during the briefing to stay out of the woods or to make our excursions in there short because of the mosquitos, however the green team was in the woods most of the day.  Genuinely felt bad for them.  I was only in the woods for a short time towards the end in the hostage rescue mission and it was brutal.  Kudos to those on Green that stuck it out in spite of it.

On hit calling, I personally did not have any problem.  However there were several people shooting towards the village who's shots were dropping 10 to 15 feet before they reached the group of us.  We of course turned and fired back and as it turns out had longer range and were actually able to hit the people shooting at us without ever being in danger ourselves. Just because someone is not calling a hit doesn't necessarily mean they are cheating.  It might well be you or your gun aren't as good as you think you are.

I think the joking and razzing of Abbott during the briefing got a little out of hand and took away from people being able to hear what he was saying or telling us about. There is plenty of time to do that, the briefing should be serious and conducted so that everyone can clearly hear without distraction or interruption.  Also I think Safety should be talked about more, there were a few people there that just didn't get it and maybe another reminder could have helped.

Overall, while I wouldn't classify this game as a mil-sim on any level it was a decent scenario/rec game and with some work and management could in the future turn into a real mil-sim or scenario type event.  Though I think the size of the field and limited variety of what you can do will likely restrict it to scenario or rec only.

Thanks to Abbott and crew for hosting.

[Spidey]

It was a good plan, planed on a bad date, fettered by to many variables! I think most had a good time despite all the cons, and Abbot did a good job for it being his first time ever. I think the next event will be far better, providing the attendance stays the same.

My favorite moment was the same as Ajax's. Scotty played the part so well, although a bit delirious. Everyone he sall from his team was either a prince, or one of the worst tramps that he  had ever seen. But he was our boss so we saved him with the hopes that the medics back at base could do something for the man.

Most of all I really enjoyed matching some faces to names on the forum. Glad you could all make it out, and hope you will come to the next event.

P.S. hope some people post some pics and footage of the day soon.

[Stinger]

Did anyone find a Mechanix glove, a brown-colored hat, or an Under Armour balaclava? It seems like I came home without them.

[Combat Junkies Airsoft]

As soon as I get the raw footage from our cameraman I will put together a video. I got some good shots with the drone that I can't wait to use.