23-24 June - Mugambi calls - Back to the Jungle

[Tank]

For being my first real big OP. It kicked so much a$$ and then some.
Pros:
An airsoft game with clear defined objectives, and backed with a ranked support structure.
Vehicles
Props
That "Sean Connery" looking old dude made us role play through the objectives.
Being a part of 1st Platoon 2nd Squad.

Cons:
Weather
Distance
My muffler broke off going on the gravel road on the last trip out.


Great job setting this up guys. I will be ready for the next one.

[Lil' Buddha]

Pros:

1) Ranger Warren. Most of you missed the 2nd Bat. challenge coin thing at the MNTF team leader meeting--now that was classic. Warren made this event in so many ways. Top notch Opord.

2) Vehicle use. We are planning to put together a team vehicle with mounted weapons for future stuff.

3) Detailed play. Being able to dialogue with the village elder and going SF by recruiting nationals was cool.

Cons:

1) Being cold and wet is what many people hate the most about the real military. To pay for it just increases the suck factor. When we discovered that the Mugambi guys had a fire and dry ground I thought, "Why are we leaving to fight somewhere else? THIS is the ground to be fighting over." Sure enough, we leave, Mugambi comes back and retakes it. You bastiges.

2) The field. If we had played at the field we used in KP48, that would have been cool. There was way too much field.

3) Not enough detailed game play for all sides. It sounds like PMC and Mugambi got the best side of this.

4) The PMC's who switched sides in the middle of a firefight. Kerr was giving an order to one of them and he says, "Close kill." We got our revenge when we waxed their whole team at the very end. Poetic justice.

5) The imbalance of numbers on the teams.

Helmutt puts on great events. I am confident that he will take all the feedback and come back even better. We look forward to the next event he plans.

[Lil' Buddha]

The teams were completely lop-sided. Since when does an invading force have a 3 to 1 ratio of soldiers in their favor over the native country?

Almost always, if they expect to win. Iraq 1 and 2, Falklands, Vietnam, D-Day landings, etc.

SOP is 3 to 1 (although Afghanistan was a precedent-setting exception) Personally, I would have liked the challenge, but we ended up with MNTF.

[Garrett]

Best part of the day was when Cobal first made the fire and we only had about 5 guys left in that little area and next thing we know we are in the fire fight of our lives. With 5 guys we held off more guys then I even new were at the game.

The second best part getting to the boarder with APST. Its a good thing we left Pat up in the bushes with a gun.

Overall I had a great time even though the weather sucked.

[McNair]

I was a bit disapointed for having to drop $70(which I originally assumed was $60)because I wasn't able to preregister.

The lack of confirmation for chrono. If anyone showed up after dark... they didn't chrono.

The porta potties were on the field. none were near the campsite, and therefore useless.

The long grass in the camp site. It would have been a lot nicer if we wouldn't have had to make our own campsite in the middle of 3ft tall grass.

More vehicles. Our(MIG) "dedicated" vehicle often delayed us as it was running errands for the admin(like in the first mission, it was picking up a motorcycle when it was supposed to be on the runway getting the cash). I never even saw the jeep after we took the terminal. After a couple hours, everyone just started getting their own vehicles. Had we known, we probably would have brought many of our own.



Otherwise, it had it's moments.

A lot of people complained about the size of the field, I for one enjoyed it.
I used to do ww2 reenacting, and this reminded me a lot of it... walking and not shooting anyone. hah.
The time the op started, I thought was awesome.
Rolling up on the terminal at daybreak was a memorable experience for me.
The role players. This had by far the most of any op I've been in, and I hope others take it as an example and expand on it.
The vehicles. I know the funnest part of the day for 1st commando was riding in the back of a black truck to go retrieve our diamonds. We kept running into small groups of the allied forces. We'd dismount and attack them, remount and continue on our way.
Scaring the allies w/ our dummy RPG that didn't do anything. There was nothing more enjoyible than watching two trucks throw it into reverse while troops piled out in response.

If I had a steady source of income, I wouldn't really mind dropping the $150 it cost me to attend this event. However, being unemployed and having not a single dollar left to my name... yeah.

Here's to next year.

[Schatten]

Here is my personal opinion,

Hellmutt is not holding events as a charity. He is in business and he needs to make money to continue offering his outstanding events. What he charges is quite reasonable.
I think he offers big discount for early registration because he needs certain number of firm committments to know that he is not going to lose money on the operation and not pay things out of his pocket. (samething with the dinner)
Not allowing open flame comment from previous page was totally uncalled for. Such decision is made by the facility not game organizer. You could have cooked foods using Coleman type burners. So to say that Hellmutt wanted to discourage people from cooking just don't hold water.
Sure there is room for improvement and I agree with most of what's been said before.

The lack of confirmation for chrono. If anyone showed up after dark... they didn't chrono.

Come on, we had a guy go out with his dinner to chrono people. Now that's a customer service. Do you expect people to stay out (and miss all the fun things like drinking and bullshitting ) so that the handful of late comers can get their guns chrono'ed? Chorono didn't work after dark anyways. Easy solution show up on time.

[Stash]

The lack of confirmation for chrono. If anyone showed up after dark... they didn't chrono.

Chronos need light in order for them to work, sorry that didn't work out for you.

The porta potties were on the field. none were near the campsite, and therefore useless.

The way this camp site is designed is that the area where everyone was camping, serves as parking. We designated that area for camping because we wanted to use the entire field. The porta potties were not ordered by the event organizers, therefore we didn't have anyway of choosing where they went.

[Matt]

Pros:
2) Vehicle use. We are planning to put together a team vehicle with mounted weapons for future stuff.

This is good. I think every team should have at least 1. It'll look better, and it'll also be more exciting. Not that being in a brand new VW hanging out the sunroof isn't "Cool" but you know what I mean.

[Cobol]

Hellmutt, I think was an excellent post about what comprised the game and how the costs break down. I know that alot of people (myself included) who have never planned a large (200 people) game on what amounts to a wooded wasteland with a single building useable for nothing other than shelter (no shooting in it), and have know idea how the funds break down. The particular discussion about how the funds break down comes up after every large OP, and I think that this helps to teach everyone how much a large OP actually costs.

I'm not going to complain about things like the weather or how other players acted as that's all part of the game. The admins can plan until they're blue in the face, and events can throw their whole plan back in their face at the drop of the first BB. I applaud their efforts to react to us and use what they had on hand to make it fun. If the MNTF had to react to the Mugambi forces, the admins had to do so even faster. I know that there were several points in the game where I or my followers did something to which their only reaction was to throw up their hands and try and hide their smiles. It's been said before. Airsoft is what you make of it, so make it fun. If you don't like the way it's going, change it. Play by the rules, but have fun doing it.

The biggest question I hear is was it worth the money? It's tempting to look at the weekend and say I was wet and covered in nettles before even going to bed on the first night (had to plant those cache points before it got dark), got wetter and colder the next day, saw my troops demoralized by certain events, and swung from high to low to high like a sine wave. I killed numerous people was killed by a few as well, and ended up being frustrated and having fun at various times. At one point I was cold and wet and tired and done, I looked at Hellmutt and my troops, and said I'm building a fire. He looked around and said go ahead, and while I gathered materials he produced a lighter. From the embers he made I summoned a blaze and after drying out a bit and warming up, spirits rose. The 1-1 took to the field in the typical APST manner and informed the Mugambi commander that they were going to get the guns, the diamonds, and the money and would be back. He told them he'd hold the HQ with the remainder until they got back, and both sides did exactly that and had fun doing it. The stories from this game will certainly become lore over the next year, and fall in line with all the other battle stories from past events. It was the first time I had enemies try to follow me through nettles (I ran with my arms and gun brushing them aside, they walked slowly searching for me in them getting stung the whole time, and then ducked for cover when I shot at them - I know, I'm a bastard), and the first time I was in an ad-hoc ambush (planned and executed on the fly under their eyes and guns with nothing but hand gestures and ey motion) with 4 on 10-13 with only a 3 pistols and an AEG vs. 10-13 AEG's, and won without them killing a single one of us.

[Nocte]

The lack of confirmation for chrono. If anyone showed up after dark... they didn't chrono.

Chronos need light in order for them to work, sorry that didn't work out for you.

More than half a dozen of us sat around after the Mugambi briefing (well before dark) waiting for someone to arrive at the chrono station. We all chronoed our own weapons, but there was no one around to affix a zip tie or otherwise verify that we were at or under the limit (we were). I think this is what McNair is referring to.

Come on, we had a guy go out with his dinner to chrono people. Now that's a customer service. Do you expect people to stay out (and miss all the fun things like drinking and bullshitting ) so that the handful of late comers can get their guns chrono'ed? Chorono didn't work after dark anyways. Easy solution show up on time.

I expected SOMEONE to be there. I don't care if they rotate the shift after each gun gets tested or whatever, but if you're going to tell people that chrono is open until dark, it should be. According to hellmutt's post detailing the costs of everything, the chrono staff was six people strong. If one was eating dinner, where were the other five? I think you answered that one already, though.

[Schatten]

First of all, let's all chill and keep this discussion friendly.

More than half a dozen of us sat around after the Mugambi briefing (well before dark) waiting for someone to arrive at the chrono station. We all chronoed our own weapons, but there was no one around to affix a zip tie or otherwise verify that we were at or under the limit (we were). I think this is what McNair is referring to.

Check in started at 15:00 and chrono was staffed during and briefly after the dinner time which was after 18:00. On top of that people were chronoed until it got too dark if they asked to be chronoed. There were plenty of BattleSim staff and other volunteers in the building you could have gotten hold of. Did you try to get help?

I expected SOMEONE to be there. I don't care if they rotate the shift after each gun gets tested or whatever, but if you're going to tell people that chrono is open until dark, it should be. According to hellmutt's post detailing the costs of everything, the chrono staff was six people strong. If one was eating dinner, where were the other five? I think you answered that one already, though.

There were 2 people for Chrono not six. Others were responsible for Check in at the gate, OC, etc.

Once again, Check-in began at 15:00 and we went to chrono guns when people came in and asked to be chronoed until it got too dark to chrono.

[Nightshade]

My hot dog is bigger than all of your's so stop bitching.

The game was awesome for the first hour, sucked for the next hour or so and then rocked my socks for the rest of it. The only have two things to gripe about.

1. No open flame kind of sucked. One of the reasons I go to these over-night events is to shoot the shit with my friends around a fire and crawl into my rack drunk. You know, all of that manly chest-thumping stuff.
2. The fence lines cutting the big field into three sections made it really shitty for vehicle movement. I know there is no way that could have been avoided since it isn't our field and removing all that barbed wire would have been a phony pony even if we had been allowed to do so, but it made walking better 80% of the time. Because the fence line was there, we had to constantly go into and out of the MNTF's TOC.

Overall 9.5/10.

[Beran]

First of all, let's all chill and keep this discussion friendly.

Check in started at 15:00 and chrono was staffed during and briefly after the dinner time which was after 18:00. On top of that people were chronoed until it got too dark if they asked to be chronoed. There were plenty of BattleSim staff and other volunteers in the building you could have gotten hold of. Did you try to get help?

im keeping it friendly, no hostility here so dont read any into it.

point is, you get an op this large and with this much thought and effort into it, and we shouldn't have to go find someone to chrono us. if you don't want to staff the chrono station from 1500 until dark, don't post that it will be open at those times. at all the AP ops ive been to, chrono runs for a couple of hours and there is ALWAYS someone there to chrono you and affix a ziptie. its unsettlingly easy to slip a hot gun onto the field and hurt somebody, and not having a strict chrono regimen doesn't help.

[Capt DOA]

Hellmutt, I think was an excellent post about what comprised the game and how the costs break down. I know that alot of people (myself included) who have never planned a large (200 people) game on what amounts to a wooded wasteland with a single building useable for nothing other than shelter (no shooting in it), and have know idea how the funds break down. The particular discussion about how the funds break down comes up after every large OP, and I think that this helps to teach everyone how much a large OP actually costs.

I'm not going to complain about things like the weather or how other players acted as that's all part of the game. The admins can plan until they're blue in the face, and events can throw their whole plan back in their face at the drop of the first BB. I applaud their efforts to react to us and use what they had on hand to make it fun. If the MNTF had to react to the Mugambi forces, the admins had to do so even faster. I know that there were several points in the game where I or my followers did something to which their only reaction was to throw up their hands and try and hide their smiles. It's been said before. Airsoft is what you make of it, so make it fun. If you don't like the way it's going, change it. Play by the rules, but have fun doing it.

The biggest question I hear is was it worth the money? It's tempting to look at the weekend and say I was wet and covered in nettles before even going to bed on the first night (had to plant those cache points before it got dark), got wetter and colder the next day, saw my troops demoralized by certain events, and swung from high to low to high like a sine wave. I killed numerous people was killed by a few as well, and ended up being frustrated and having fun at various times. At one point I was cold and wet and tired and done, I looked at Hellmutt and my troops, and said I'm building a fire. He looked around and said go ahead, and while I gathered materials he produced a lighter. From the embers he made I summoned a blaze and after drying out a bit and warming up, spirits rose. The 1-1 took to the field in the typical APST manner and informed the Mugambi commander that they were going to get the guns, the diamonds, and the money and would be back. He told them he'd hold the HQ with the remainder until they got back, and both sides did exactly that and had fun doing it. The stories from this game will certainly become lore over the next year, and fall in line with all the other battle stories from past events. It was the first time I had enemies try to follow me through nettles (I ran with my arms and gun brushing them aside, they walked slowly searching for me in them getting stung the whole time, and then ducked for cover when I shot at them - I know, I'm a bastard), and the first time I was in an ad-hoc ambush (planned and executed on the fly under their eyes and guns with nothing but hand gestures and ey motion) with 4 on 10-13 with only a 3 pistols and an AEG vs. 10-13 AEG's, and won without them killing a single one of us.

Excellent post above....

On another note, everyone on the MIG played top notch... Its amazing, everyone played there part and went beyond the call of duty without question. Even when i went off script to really mess-up MNTF plans.
I am very proud of you men and i am proud to attach my name to this event as a MIG/CO.

In life, "you are only remebered by your actions, not your intentions"

MNTF played there part well also, being in the mist of rain most of the day and staying focused, staying tactical, moving as a unit. It was nice to see them put up a good fight on the first and second wave to hit are HQ, even though, we still killed you guys off with a small squad of maybe 10 guys max. I went thru about 500rds on that assault I have read thru the post with the good & bad of this event. I like all the honesty, its good to hear, so everyone will learn from it to better any other future OP's

[McNair]

The porta potties were on the field. none were near the campsite, and therefore useless.

The way this camp site is designed is that the area where everyone was camping, serves as parking. We designated that area for camping because we wanted to use the entire field. The porta potties were not ordered by the event organizers, therefore we didn't have anyway of choosing where they went.

The reason I mentioned the porta potties was the point that they were listed as a cost for the game. I think it's pointless that the game people were charged for something that was useless.
I used the porta potties once, and that's because I couldn't hold number 2 any longer. I stopped in the middle of the game to use a near by set, which were both infested w/ wasps. so that was nice.



I realize that it requires light to use the chrono. However, what's the point of chronoing if no one is confirming that guns are chrono'd. I could have used a 450fps full auto aeg the whole game and no one would have known the difference.
Your response was pointless.
If you're going to chrono, confirm it. Make sure EVERYONE is chrono'd.