What's the most important aspect of good mil-sim?

[Ollie Twist]

Well, here's my arguement on the SAW thing.

If I were in a live combat zone and 5 bullets went near my location, I'd freak the shit out and put my head down. It does not take as much real ammunition coming your way to make you hide, that's what SAWs are for.

But in airsoft, I don't mind fire coming my way unless it's a barrage. This means more bbs will be needed for them to do their job.

[SCROUNGE]

I would also have to go with all the above, but went with the story line, as that is what the whole OP would be wraped around and would be the reason for everything else on the list to follow to make it all work. My 2 cents.

[omega1]

Um, I said uniform requirements, but that's really my #2 choice, because #1 would be quality scenarios. It's the one thing that's missing that I see as being the most vital of all.

If you don't have a good scenario set up, you basically have a glorified skirmish on your hands. I don't care if you have a great command, everyone decked out in the propper gear for their side, using the right weapons with the real ammo capacities at the perfect location. Hell, you can even give a great story of why the two sides are fighting. If the teams don't have anything to do, then you are basically saying "you start here, and you start here, kill each other"
Having objectives that create intense firefights, as well as multiple approaches to the problem, so the command can actually use strategy and tactics is invaluable. Having a good back story helps, but I don't really need to know why my side is fighting the war, I just need to know why the hell I am going where I'm going, and what I'm supposed to do when I get there. And it just seems nicer to have an actual objective than "kill people".

[Pope_Alex_Kaeda_I]

How many of you are willing to do what it takes to have a "mil-sim" event"?

With all the talk of a Mil-Sim event, how many of you are really willing to do what it takes?

Are you willing to follow a chain of command, even if that means that you're going to spend 4 hours defending a bridge, rather than hunting the enemy? Are you willing to purchase and wear ACU, because thats what the scenario calls for? Are you willing to use an M4 or M16A2/A4, rather than whatever gun you presently have? Are you willing to buy the magazines that the event calls for?

Or, are you looking to attend more of the same run-and-gun, shooting-fests filled with people who couldnt follow an order if the order jumped up and down carrying a neon sign that said "I"M AN ORDER, FOLLOW ME"?

The reason why I ask - to me, a military simulation event has a chain of command, and orders that are followed. Loadouts that are enforced, magazine restrictions, and theres an overall mission that has to be achieved.

What do I mean by "loadouts that are enforced"
I mean - each side has one specific loadout. An example is - US Woodland, PASGT Kevlar Helmet (or replica) with US Woodland cover, ALICE gear with +2 canteens, the only acceptable armor is an RBA. M4 and M16A2/A4's/M249 are the accepted rifles (not shorty M4's, not DM rifles, not SCARs or HK 416's, or M14's or whatever), along with 6+ Real-capcity, or Standard capacity (68 round) magazines (not midcaps, not highcaps).

What do I mean by "orders that are followed"
I mean - if you're told to guard a bridge for 4 hours, you guard that bridge for 4 hours, even if you hear the shooting just around the bend in the road.

Look in the mirror and ask yourself "am I really ready to attend a Mil-Sim event that simulates being in the Military, or am I just into this for the thrill of running around and shooting at my friends?"

[Voodoo Man]

I say command structure but i mean not just in game. Without admins and people to get the ball rolling on an op there wouldnt be a whole lot of big game airsofting going down. But also, if your commander is a total cock bite and cant tell khe-san from his asshole there tend to be some issues.
A good backstory and uniform requirements make the game much easier to get into and set the mood for the style of play and the attitued in game of people i think. Props come next because as cool as they may be, we are larping for gods sake, we can use our imagination quite well. Realcaps dont work for outdoor play, bullets behave far more differently than 6mm plastic, and lastly location is just really tough to secure and again were just military larpers imagination is key.

[IrishAsasin]

i agree with valentine. command strcture is key to simulate a military environment. the props and uniforms make it look real. but the real caps are dumb in my opinion unless you are playing in a dome or indoors with no environment cuz wind will screw up the whole op if it hits and you will have to be shooting at each other from 30 feet away. for cqb milsim is cool like hostage situations, but the weather does put limitations on the ammo.

[Steve]

How many of you are willing to do what it takes to have a "mil-sim" event"?

Yep. This guy right here.

[Osmo]

I mean - each side has one specific loadout. An example is - US Woodland, PASGT Kevlar Helmet (or replica) with US Woodland cover, ALICE gear with +2 canteens, the only acceptable armor is an RBA. M4 and M16A2/A4's/M249 are the accepted rifles (not shorty M4's, not DM rifles, not SCARs or HK 416's, or M14's or whatever), along with 6+ Real-capcity, or Standard capacity (68 round) magazines (not midcaps, not highcaps).

This. This is NOT asking too much. A standard 1990s US Army loadout is inexpensive and easy to acquire. Similarly, an basic OPFOR loadout (AK, harness, camo pants and black top) is a pretty low bar to reach. The majority of serious players would be able to meet one of these requirements without much trouble.

[Nocte]

Alex, I'm big enough to admit that I'm not even remotely interested in what you posted.

[Pope_Alex_Kaeda_I]

Alex, I'm big enough to admit that I'm not even remotely interested in what you posted.

;) And I appreciate that. I have this sneaking suspicion that a significant percentage of the people who said they want to participate in a hardcore milsim event, would balk at the idea that they cant put on MultiCam, carry around whatever rifle they want, and generally do whatever they want while saying that theyre "milsimming"

[CommieHunter]

The thing is, Alex, you're placing time limitations on what milsim events to run.

If you run an '80s or '90s milsim event, then yes, you're gonna require that camo.


If someone runs a 2008 event, then it's perfectly reasonable to call it milsim and still wear multicam and plate carriers.

Tunnel vision gets bad quick.

[omega1]

I think what he's saying is that everyone wants to be their perfect version of GI Joe. That means wearing Multicam or whatever other 1337 camo, using the cool looking plate carrier, wearing a high-speed helmet, and using whatever gun gives you a hard on.

If you are doing a milsim event, at least of the sort that Alex is talking about, you are going to be portraying a real life US or other country's military unit. That means if you are US, you are wearing MARPAT/ACU, an IBA, and a standard issue Kevlar helmet, using an M16A2, M16A4, M4A1, or M249 SAW. You likely are NOT using a pistol, and do NOT have all the cool bells and whistles that people generally throw on their Uber 1337 guns, unless you are portraying some sort of SF unit.

Let's face it, 99% of airsofters (myself included) do not buy gear that makes them look like the average soldier patrolling Iraq. We buy the cool gear that lets us believe that we are somehow special and are like the guys we see in movies and TV shows like Tears of the Sun and The Unit. Everyone dresses to be high speed low drag, but most of the military is high drag low speed.

If you want a perfect example of this, look up at the top of the page with the 2 APST guys looking all 1337, and look at my sigbar picture. Neither of these are examples of the common soldier.

[Nocte]

99% of airsofters (myself included) do not buy gear that makes them look like the average soldier patrolling Iraq. We buy the cool gear that lets us believe that we are somehow special and are like the guys we see in movies and TV shows like Tears of the Sun and The Unit.

Perfect.

[Fluffy]

As I see it the people who want to do milsim, but don't want to do a US army load out just become the "bad guys". Provided they have weapons what an enemy would have it would work out pretty well. I do see that most people just want to look tacticool.

And yes Alex I would sit at a bridge for 4 hours if I was told to cover it. That's what MREs are for :P Would it be as fun as running around and shooting the enemy? I doubt it. However chances are I would see action at some point in the day. And if not I still had a fun day. Just not as fun as the team that got all the action. But in the end my time would come.

[Bad Karma]

SOTA would have no problem defending a bridge for four hours. That's what we did at CEIII (granted, our bridge was under attack all damn day, but the point still stands).