Nocte wrote:Steve wrote:I'd like to see events where new players and existing teams are put together somehow. Basically, where ad hoc teams of new or unaffiliated players go up against and / or work with a series of teams that are recruiting new members.
Isn't that what happens at every skirmish? Does everything have to be an 'event' with a written-out purpose?
What you're suggesting sounds like OP: Let's Wear Boots.
Okay. For the sake of explanation, let's play pretend. Say I'm a new player who hasn't been involved in the community. There are a large number of teams. Most of them are pretty small, and they each have specialized requirements for gear, membership, etc.
As a new player, I'm likely to be overwhelmed at a skirmish. Tons of shit going on, people running a dozen different directions, and general chaos. Now, at any given skirmish, how many teams are likely to be there as a team, and to be actually giving a shit about how they perform as a team?
Now, joining a team is an undertaking. There is gear to buy, tactics to learn, and there needs to be a gelling between the various players. Granted, most new players (that are kids, anyway) are likely to learn a whole lot from ANY team they join. Showing up at a skirmish is a pretty inefficient way to blunder into a team, both for the new player and the team that is recruiting.
So, what I'd like to see is a weekend event. With camping. Have a couple of different "lanes" set up where new players get a chance to play with and against a couple of teams that are recruiting over the course of two days. And Saturday night, have a campfire. This lets players mingle off the field with each other, both team members and new guys. Everyone gets a chance to mingle, and see who is a good fit for different teams. It's much more efficient for everyone involved.
If an event promoter set something like this up, I'd show up to help out. And I'm pretty sure that a good number of other folks would too. Heck, I'd even be willing to hold a couple of courses for anybody that wanted to stand around in things like setting up effective training lanes, how to lay out glass houses on the cheap and the fast, and basic individual skills. And I'm pretty sure that there are a good number of other folks who would be interested in helping out as well as attending.
It would give the local teams a way to link up with unaffiliated players, and that is something that is currently pretty hit or miss.