OP: Tradewinds AARs/Reviews

[Matt]

I disagree. Event promoters hype the raffles. If anything it's their own damn fault the players expect them.

Is nobody going to post an AAR from the TFE side? I'd love to hear what happened, hear the story about rescuing Mullen, etc.

['Skyhawk']

Not going to get into a big AAR right now. Don't have the time. Just want to say I had a blast. Not everyday I get to assault a town with real steel firing blanks from rooftops, and humvees to crawl under for cover. For me it was worth the cost. As an event host I know that every event brings up things that could be improved or changed for next time. I'm sure that OTW2 will be even better. Count me in.

To my team: Excellent job guys! We did our best to handle every task handed to us and we didn't quit but stayed on mission with unwaivering determination.

All this bitching about the money. Lame. Granted this was my first LC event but I had a great time and I got some memories that I will never forget. What is money worth anyway? You can make more.

[CommieHunter]

Matt, all the AAR so far is from people in your squad. Pretty funny.

I'll post one shortly right here.

[Android]

To be fair we all did request to be on the same squad, and Nark seemed to really enjoy himself at the game.

I have no problem with people voicing displeasures in their AAR; the point of criticism is to show where there are weak points and hopefully find ways to fix them. A common complaint seems to be that people didn't feel that this event did not justify the price tag that accompanied it. It is a legitimate concern as that people don't like feeling like they wasted money on something that didn't live up to expectations. As long as the AAR includes suggestions on how to make the experience more enjoyable, the better it is for the event hosts to know what to do to reach that objective.

I won't really write an AAR since Matt hit everything I would have said, but I still found the experience enjoyable. If I was to give one improve point I'd suggest asking for volunteers that know the area early on in the event planning to help on things from registration to instructing player actors unfamiliar with how Airsoft works. Otherwise it was a fun place to play in and I look forward to seeing what OLCMSS does to make the next event up here better.

[Junto]

Lack of objectives. It was clear that we were moving faster than the game play could keep up with us, in fact some folks in leadership positions even said this. More secondary objectives should have been prepared, in these cases you need a contingency plan for when/if your objectives are achieved quickly and your game becomes stale. This is often the first lesson learned in game hosting, I would expect a top tier promoter with a game at this price point to have this figured out.

This seems to happen when AP people attend other people's games. If Gallant Saber 3 was any indication, at least.

[Catch22]

Matt, all the AAR so far is from people in your squad. Pretty funny....

Funny how those saying "it was a great game" *, or attacking others for pointing out deficiencies, were involved in some way with the event. AAR's are being posted by people giving their honest opinions. They're simply telling you how they felt about the event. Don't take it so personally. All event hosts should read AAR's and learn from them. I didn't attend, and have no dog in the fight, but I like to read event AAR's. Hopefully people feel they can post their opinions on games, without being attacked for it.



*(Nark had a very positive AAR and wasn't involved with hosting duties)

['Skyhawk']

I wasn't involved in any hosting duties personally, although my team did pitch in to help with a few things. I have no problem with critique. People that know me know that. If it is constructive, by all means say it.

My point is don't agree to pay the money and then phony pony about how it didn't live up to your expectations. That is not constructive critisism. That's whiney little phony pony behavior. Man up and take responsibility for your choices.

I am not defending anybody, not speaking for my team. just voicing my observations.

[Matt]

So any customer who's ever bought a product or a service from a business and voiced an opinion about it is a whiny little phony pony? I hope you don't run a business with that attitude. Airsoft games are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. They aren't exactly advertised with 100% accuracy. Feedback from players who actually attended these games is the number 1 most valuable thing anybody who might attend them in the future can read. If you feel differently about it, perhaps your time could be better spent writing a positive review about the game rather than trolling others opinions.

[McNair]

SO, since they don't agree with your opinion, their opinion is "trolling"?
This is amusing. It's like politics. "Your opinion is only valid when it agrees with my opinion."

Do people even know what trolling is anymore?

n Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Wikipedia even has an article about it.

[Matt]

The point of the thread is to post AARs and stories, not pick apart others people's replies. I'm not asking for your opinion about my opinion, I'm asking for stories about the game. So far the people who enjoyed the game can't really seem to do much but complain about the people who didn't enjoy the game. If you enjoyed it, post an AAR. Let's hear those opinions.

McNair, you were an admin. You saw most of the game from both angles. So far the only thing you have done here is phony pony about what other people have posted. What was your impression of the game? How about sticking to the topic at hand and giving us useful information.

[Darius137]

SO, since they don't agree with your opinion, their opinion is "trolling"?
This is amusing. It's like politics. "Your opinion is only valid when it agrees with my opinion."

Do people even know what trolling is anymore?

n Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Wikipedia even has an article about it.

You rang?

My AAR:

I had a great time. I couldn't make the event due to military training and last minute orders. I arrived back in Portland Saturday night and went to the hot springs, naked. I got a sunburn from nude sunbathing Sunday.

I couldn't make it to the event due to last minute military orders in Eastern Oregon. I spoke to Dos Santos, and later with John Lu about the last minute changes and they were both very positive about my situation. So from my end, even though I paid, I had military orders come up and will most likely get a refund. Despite the reviews, I would attend another Lion Claws event in the future.

Non AAR:

Also, to those listening: The Umatilla Chemical Depot is right now a giant sack of nothing in Eastern Oregon, but it has potential to be in between a Ft. Lewis and Camp Rilea sized base within five years. The Oregon National Guard is taking it over from active duty, and it is changing from a chemical depot storing WW2 chemicals (and disposal) to (Eastern) Oregon's #1 military base for training. They will have plenty of vehicles (41st Brigade is Western Oregon and uses Rilea, and 82nd Brigade is Armor/Mechanized and uses BIAK or Gowen Field, which both are horrible), and are planning on building a MOUT site much larger than the one at Rilea. On top of that, they have terrain similar to Afghanistan, and would make great convoy ops in a few years. Just a heads up.

[McNair]

The point of the thread is to post AARs and stories, not pick apart others people's replies. I'm not asking for your opinion about my opinion, I'm asking for stories about the game. So far the people who enjoyed the game can't really seem to do much but complain about the people who didn't enjoy the game. If you enjoyed it, post an AAR. Let's hear those opinions.

McNair, you were an admin. You saw most of the game from both angles. So far the only thing you have done here is phony pony about what other people have posted. What was your impression of the game? How about sticking to the topic at hand and giving us useful information.

I've responded to complaints that are just bullshit and have nothing to do with the actual game play.
I've not responded to other things I wanted to, like complaints about adherence to schedule and what not.
It doesn't really matter, anyway.
I've given my opinions to people who have approached me personally about it.

[Nodachi]

My impression:

Logistics were the primary focus of the planning phase, which now is more readily apparent and perhaps mission planning suffered as a result.

A very immersive, authentic experience was planned, but perhaps a bit too many things were taken for granted or not planned as thoroughly as they could have been, and now that the flow of the logistics is less of a surprise, I believe planning will be greatly improved if this event occurs again.

In general, even when the objectives were not based in the MOUT, the teams seemed to gravitate towards it. I believe this was because the missions included points where having the town in your possession would give an advantage, so teams wanted to try and hold the town.

TFE accomplished their main objective in phase 1 with just a squad or two of people out in the south part of the AO, while everyone else was thrown into the meat grinder. It became apparent that neither team had a lot in the way of actual MOUT experience, and the game bogged down. Even when TFS gained actionable intel from the elders in the town, they still did not pull out for fear of losing an advantage in phase 2. The locals were playing their part by causing problems for units who were letting their guard down or not respecting the population. Later as the fight bogged down and the teams began either shooting or ignoring the locals, they stepped out of their role as locals to try and force a resolution.

The second scenario was somewhat chaotic, as the local population, initially friendly to TFE, ended up being fired upon by a squad of TFE who believed they were being shot at, which caused the entire population to flip. The decision was made to base this scenario mostly in the town again because we felt that most of the community plays in the woods all the time, and that MOUT would be a rare experience. Again, the local population was mostly ignored until the waning minutes of the scenario, where the election took place while under fire from TFS just two buildings away.

Based on the increasing number of players choosing not to respawn in any sort of timely manner, it was felt that the night game probably would not occur. Indeed, most of TFS did not attend the night game, making the scenario impossible. (There was also a communication disconnect which caused players not to be informed of the adjusted start time.)

The third scenario again moved to the MOUT, but with both teams against the smaller local unit, it was felt that a resolution would be relatively quick, but regardless of this, a hard 1 hour limit was imposed on the scenario. Far too much drama happened in that hour, however, and even with an admin on every floor, rule violations were flying left and right. The last part of this scenario was probably the most successful of the entire event, but even after the fight moved out of the town, a number of players continued to fight from house to house.

I'm already compiling a list of improvements and ideas I'd like to apply towards next year or a future event based on the feedback from others, and what I noticed. Some things are impractical, like the use of vehicles. The AO isn't that big. It's not even two miles in circumference. Not to mention liability issues. I don't feel that the raffle should be particularly focused on either. If the event itself improves enough, a raffle should be thought of as a bonus, not a requirement.

Honestly? There were a lot of things planned but thrown out based on what we saw occurring. That being said, I think there is a lot of fair criticism, and I appreciate the feedback, especially constructive criticism.

Overall, the feeling I got from most people who stayed through the end was pretty positive, and I think that the staff made the best of what was available and possible. Can it be improved? Absolutely. Was it a failure? Not in the least.

[dos_Santos]

Matt, all the AAR so far is from people in your squad. Pretty funny....

Funny how those saying "it was a great game" *, or attacking others for pointing out deficiencies, were involved in some way with the event.

Who "were involved in someway" is saying "it was a great game"?

['Skyhawk']

So any customer who's ever bought a product or a service from a business and voiced an opinion about it is a whiny little phony pony? I hope you don't run a business with that attitude. Airsoft games are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. They aren't exactly advertised with 100% accuracy. Feedback from players who actually attended these games is the number 1 most valuable thing anybody who might attend them in the future can read. If you feel differently about it, perhaps your time could be better spent writing a positive review about the game rather than trolling others opinions.

Woah there tiger. I never been more misunderstood or mis-judged or whatever you want to call it. You just don't know my character at all. Anyway I'll pass on an AAR.