Post by 2nd Bat on Dec 4, 2007 23:00:35 GMT -5
One of the greatest frustrations about regen is folks who have been eliminated wind up wandering about on the battlefield. in the very least they are distracting and in the extreme they become "intelligence gatherers" as they return to the regen location. Even with the "dead men tell no lies" rules they often talk and are often confused with live players even when they wear a flagrant red rag on their head and don't talk. (Rules that have become something of a mainstay and a very worthwhile in my opinion)
At a big game I recently attended the game designers decided they would no longer have dead players and would no longer allow regens. When I heard that, I couldn't see how that might work and yet it did.
When hit a player was "wounded" That meant that he/she had to lay down within three steps of where they were hit and remain motionless (once they covered their head/face with a red rag. ) They could call for "medic" or "San ei" and even direct their comrades as to when might be a good time to come and get them. They could not however point out enemy positions.
If a team mate could get to them and drag them out of enemy fire the team mate could escort them to one of two casualty collection points. One casualty collection post was tactical and one was completely secure. The tactical collection point could be moved but was also vulnerable to enemy attack. It was denoted with a small tent and flag. The other was further away typically but was not in play being located on the extreme South west or in the case of the opposition the South East edge of the field. It was denoted with a large tent and a large flag. No fighting was allowed within sight of it so if you could see the tent or flag neither team could fire in that area. It was referred to as the FOB (Forward Operating Base) It served as a resupply point, casualty collection point and POW compound.
While being escorted the wounded man had to have an arm around their rescuer. The rescuer could engage enemy forces but the wounded man could not. Once touched by a team mate the wounded man was free to communicate freely.
If the wounded man was not rescued by a team mate he could be "captured" by an opponent. The rules for this were very similar. The capturing opponent simply had to tag the wounded man and with one hand on him at all times could lead the player back to their FOB which was the same location as the permanent casualty collection point.
Once at the permanent collection point the captured man turned over his intelligence which consisted of various items printed on sheets of paper. (Maps, unit IDs, orders, plans, supply dispositions etc.) Each had a designated value from 1 to 10 ) Squad leaders and platoon leaders intelligence was worth three to five where that of general players was typically worth a single "intelligence value". Some general players had intelligence with a random value as high as 10. None of the general players knew the value of the intelligence they were carrying but squad leaders and platoon leaders knew their intelligence values were higher. The intelligence was not turned over until the wounded/ captured player reached the permanent casualty collection point. Immediately after turning over the intelligence the player walked directly to their own FOB.
The access was direct and outside the field of play along a neutral road. "dead man highway" Once the player reached his own FOB he was free to rest reload await a group of teamates to join or await deployment orders from their team leader. Before renetring the field they put a intel sheet in their pocket. Each intel sheet is enclosed in an envelope so the player has no idea about the value.
If the player is hit and neither a team mate or opponent is likely to recover them they must remain still and quiet (other then calling for help) for 15 minutes. At 15 minutes they become a walking wounded. They may evacuate themselves to either their casulty collection point or FOB. During this time they are tactical. That is to say they are vulnerable to attack and capture by the enemy. The catch is they cannot fire their weapon until or unless they are able to Escape and evade to their casualty collection point or FOB. If hit they once again fall wounded within three steps and are subject to either rescue or capture. In this way all players are being stealthy and wounded players are doing everything they can to avoid contact with enemy forces. They are free to observe enemy actions and can report what they see. Remember however that they can't fire. If enegaged and not hit typically they do everything they can to run away.
Everyone on some level is actively in play at all times and their actions effect the outcome of the game throughout the event. They are no regens and there are never any "dead players" The dynamic of the intelligence value each player carries become a sub game within the big game. Squads must decide if they should be aggressive and try to capture downed opponents or if they should focus on evacuating their own players. Is that downed player a set up for an ambush? Is the downed player a sqaud leader or platoon leader? This effects decisions by both teams. Naturally there were typical objectives going on within the big game such as the movement of supplies or raids on certain positions but the capture rescue actions became a key element of the event.
The team that was most aggressive and used sound tactics typically accrued more intel values and in essence "won the game" but this was really very much secondary to the good time had by all.
One of the factors that made this design work was limited ammo carried by each player on the field. No player could use a speed loader on the field and each player was limited to five low cap magazines unless a designated SAW gunner or MG. Once low or out of ammo the player had to return to their FOB to relaod. This prevented long term stalemates and required a great deal more strategy and decision making. Sometimes you had to leave a few players to cover your own wounded until reinforcements could return to prevent them from being captured by the enemy.
The game gymnastics made for a very entertaining game and got rid of the often annoying regen mentality that pervades most airsoft games. Their was built in incentives to follow the spirit of most regen rules (avoid contact, be quite while regening, don;'t distract other players who are still in the game etc.) Though it took a while to expalin the rules were fundamental and very simple to adhere to. Everyone seemed to like them alot. There were roughly 100 players at the event but I could see the rules working at both smaller events and much larger ones. At much larger ones you'd probably have to use neutral vehicles in place of the dead man highway.
At a big game I recently attended the game designers decided they would no longer have dead players and would no longer allow regens. When I heard that, I couldn't see how that might work and yet it did.
When hit a player was "wounded" That meant that he/she had to lay down within three steps of where they were hit and remain motionless (once they covered their head/face with a red rag. ) They could call for "medic" or "San ei" and even direct their comrades as to when might be a good time to come and get them. They could not however point out enemy positions.
If a team mate could get to them and drag them out of enemy fire the team mate could escort them to one of two casualty collection points. One casualty collection post was tactical and one was completely secure. The tactical collection point could be moved but was also vulnerable to enemy attack. It was denoted with a small tent and flag. The other was further away typically but was not in play being located on the extreme South west or in the case of the opposition the South East edge of the field. It was denoted with a large tent and a large flag. No fighting was allowed within sight of it so if you could see the tent or flag neither team could fire in that area. It was referred to as the FOB (Forward Operating Base) It served as a resupply point, casualty collection point and POW compound.
While being escorted the wounded man had to have an arm around their rescuer. The rescuer could engage enemy forces but the wounded man could not. Once touched by a team mate the wounded man was free to communicate freely.
If the wounded man was not rescued by a team mate he could be "captured" by an opponent. The rules for this were very similar. The capturing opponent simply had to tag the wounded man and with one hand on him at all times could lead the player back to their FOB which was the same location as the permanent casualty collection point.
Once at the permanent collection point the captured man turned over his intelligence which consisted of various items printed on sheets of paper. (Maps, unit IDs, orders, plans, supply dispositions etc.) Each had a designated value from 1 to 10 ) Squad leaders and platoon leaders intelligence was worth three to five where that of general players was typically worth a single "intelligence value". Some general players had intelligence with a random value as high as 10. None of the general players knew the value of the intelligence they were carrying but squad leaders and platoon leaders knew their intelligence values were higher. The intelligence was not turned over until the wounded/ captured player reached the permanent casualty collection point. Immediately after turning over the intelligence the player walked directly to their own FOB.
The access was direct and outside the field of play along a neutral road. "dead man highway" Once the player reached his own FOB he was free to rest reload await a group of teamates to join or await deployment orders from their team leader. Before renetring the field they put a intel sheet in their pocket. Each intel sheet is enclosed in an envelope so the player has no idea about the value.
If the player is hit and neither a team mate or opponent is likely to recover them they must remain still and quiet (other then calling for help) for 15 minutes. At 15 minutes they become a walking wounded. They may evacuate themselves to either their casulty collection point or FOB. During this time they are tactical. That is to say they are vulnerable to attack and capture by the enemy. The catch is they cannot fire their weapon until or unless they are able to Escape and evade to their casualty collection point or FOB. If hit they once again fall wounded within three steps and are subject to either rescue or capture. In this way all players are being stealthy and wounded players are doing everything they can to avoid contact with enemy forces. They are free to observe enemy actions and can report what they see. Remember however that they can't fire. If enegaged and not hit typically they do everything they can to run away.
Everyone on some level is actively in play at all times and their actions effect the outcome of the game throughout the event. They are no regens and there are never any "dead players" The dynamic of the intelligence value each player carries become a sub game within the big game. Squads must decide if they should be aggressive and try to capture downed opponents or if they should focus on evacuating their own players. Is that downed player a set up for an ambush? Is the downed player a sqaud leader or platoon leader? This effects decisions by both teams. Naturally there were typical objectives going on within the big game such as the movement of supplies or raids on certain positions but the capture rescue actions became a key element of the event.
The team that was most aggressive and used sound tactics typically accrued more intel values and in essence "won the game" but this was really very much secondary to the good time had by all.
One of the factors that made this design work was limited ammo carried by each player on the field. No player could use a speed loader on the field and each player was limited to five low cap magazines unless a designated SAW gunner or MG. Once low or out of ammo the player had to return to their FOB to relaod. This prevented long term stalemates and required a great deal more strategy and decision making. Sometimes you had to leave a few players to cover your own wounded until reinforcements could return to prevent them from being captured by the enemy.
The game gymnastics made for a very entertaining game and got rid of the often annoying regen mentality that pervades most airsoft games. Their was built in incentives to follow the spirit of most regen rules (avoid contact, be quite while regening, don;'t distract other players who are still in the game etc.) Though it took a while to expalin the rules were fundamental and very simple to adhere to. Everyone seemed to like them alot. There were roughly 100 players at the event but I could see the rules working at both smaller events and much larger ones. At much larger ones you'd probably have to use neutral vehicles in place of the dead man highway.