what makes a good airsoft field?

[McNair]

Usually, the same areas of fields get overplayed.
Or so I've noticed over the years. Everyone tends to focus on any sort of "buildings" and neglects the remainder of the fields, which often is 10x better.

[Jewish Ninja]

Usually, the same areas of fields get overplayed.
Or so I've noticed over the years. Everyone tends to focus on any sort of "buildings" and neglects the remainder of the fields, which often is 10x better.

Make a field of buildings. Problem solved!

[Reaver]

I spent about an hour or so staring at the field. I think i have it figured out, my list of things to construct includes

Mock communications "facility"
Fuel dump
barracks
armory
main hq
heli pad (yes i do have enough room to land a single appache)
check point thingys (gaurd post, drop gate, etc.)

so with my list in hand I have a good idea as to there placement, all that is left is to figure out logistics and talk to the neighbors and family about utilizing the area for a 2 day op. Also hashing out mechanics of the game and where i would like to start it at. Night drop at the head of the field or......

From what I could see I believe that it would have a good mix of cqb and long range. something for everyone. I may consider a heavy weapons cache with a point value if you sabotage or thwart it. all in good time, as i have all winter to build plan and scheme. wouldnt mind getting a second oppinion from a seasoned player near me though.

[Reaver]

How about coloration of structures or buildings? I'm thinking a neutral grey but the area is wooded so maybe olive green? I'm starting to stockpile materials for the first building, using pallets for main frame work as they are free and I can haul them. Going to take roughly 48 pallets for the exterior walls, and 3 doors. I can get grey paint for free at the dump (recycled). I have to paint all lumber before assembly so it doesn't get destroyed by the elements so I kinda need to figure out what to go with lol.

[Darius137]

You're not going to make it look realistic on your budget, and the size is too small for legit milsim games where people live in the woods and get a feeling of truly being in the middle of a large hostile zone.

Your best bet with 2-3 acres is to build a village or use of man-made cover, to keep it fast paced and interesting. You can also increase the amount of fun per acre that way, as people love buildings, and if done right, can be something people would travel to play at.


My suggestion would be to get as much free wood and pallets as you can, and model the area after an Afghan village. Large walls surrounding compounds with 2-3 buildings, with central open areas. Narrow streets between compounds, and then good spacing between some of the compounds so that you have to transition between wooded and open play, and urban MOUT play.

Look into the compound mixture necessary to make a mud/concrete wall/house keep its shape, then use the shit wood as a skeleton. Around the wood skeleton, stack up mud/concrete mixture and make hard packed Earth, adobe style.

Make the walls taller than humans to block movement, and keep the roofs of the internal structures open, with all of the thatch/hay/pallet roofs separate to keep it fire marshall safe, as well as so that during rainy seasons, you can opt to keep them under a tarp or building to keep them in better shape (long term).

If possible, try to get a few main roads of packed earth or gravel through the villages, that connect them, so that you can use vehicles in the future, or get vehicles to the site to help transport goods and personnel in the construction/repair/gameplay.


With 2-3 acres, you can probably get two decently sized Afghan villages, and then a checkpoint with a few barracks/buildings near it. Each of the two villages could have a central road with 3-4 compounds, and a couple simple main-road-facing buildings for things such as the Pharmacy/school/governmental building/embassy.


Ask for work parties and plan out your layout before you begin, so you aren't bleeding up the whole time you're building it. Some trial and error will probably happen, but it will go smoother with a plan. Give locals and airsofters a timeline so they can plan their volunteer time around it, and try to reward volunteer time with free play. This gives people incentive as well as free marketing for your site. You can also start charging entry fees and hosting your own games. Be wary of letting others host games on your field, as they usually don't bring anything new to the game that you can't. They just stick a few flags up and bring 5 admins and double the entry fee.

As soon as it's economically viable, look into insurance for the field. If you need help with that, you can talk to Stubby who runs camp R & R. He has real world experience with paying for it. As much as it annoys airsofters, you can also look into letting paintballers and others use the field to generate more income, to allow you more money to build up the field as well as afford insurance. With adobe buildings, you can whitewash them regularly to hide the clown camo that paintball adds, and also eventually you can move to selling your own field consumables such as air, BBs, paintballs and maybe little items such as eye pro / death rags / shemaghs, etc.

Also get quality pictures, a website with proper spelling and a name for the field so people can reference it when talking to others.

[Darius137]

As far as what makes a good field, would be (in my opinion):

Gameplay

This is usually the layout of the field. Did you design it with modular buildings or things, so that it can change and not get "old"? Are there only 2-3 central points where all of the fighting ends up? Are there natural choke points that force the battle into certain spots or limit too severely flanks or maneuvering of forces? Do you have a set of flags and sector points and items such as props to make games fun, fresh and innovative? Even if not innovative, are you putting flags in spots that area easy enough, not too easy to reach and move to the other side? How many different types of games will you run, from Capture the flag, to VIPs, to foam sword larp battles (magic Missile!).

Amenities

Is it in cell phone reception? Is there good parking? Is there a clear path to playing AKA they know how to find it, they know where to park, there is a front desk or area that allows people to register, gather, load up and prepare their gear, chrono and test their weapons, and then hang out between games. Are there items in place to suit the basic needs of eating, drinking, shitting, fixing/maintaining their weapon systems, hiding from the elements and camping (if need be)?

Organization

Do you have a good plan set up for games and gamedays? Meaning a plan of how people will park. What to do if more people than parking show up, what to do in a medical emergency, a clear and concise set of rules that people can understand, a website that people can reference for game times/dates, rules, and upcoming events? Do you have a group of people willing to admin your events? Have you done the financial planning one year out so you don't run out of money or give up or have a shit field too long so people never gain interest in what may come? What happens with Ash shows up and blows out a knee and sues you? He's old.

[Reaver]

Thanks for all the input guys. So in light of what people want, my useable play area, and seasonal restrictions to access half the field, I guess that the ideas of making it profitable or hosting a large event are out of the question. The property, acreage wise is long and skinny, the terrain has a naturally challenging design to it, but it is almost to long to consider skirmish only and to short for a 2 day game. You really would have to come walk the area with me to get an idea of what it could be

[Lukens]

Thanks for all the input guys. So in light of what people want, my useable play area, and seasonal restrictions to access half the field, I guess that the ideas of making it profitable or hosting a large event are out of the question. The property, acreage wise is long and skinny, the terrain has a naturally challenging design to it, but it is almost to long to consider skirmish only and to short for a 2 day game. You really would have to come walk the area with me to get an idea of what it could be

How about this. Theres something called google maps...Capture a satalite image of your property, go into paint, and mark the boundaries for your property. It'll give people a good idea what they'll be working with, and they can help you design a layout overlay for the map.