XML FeedsEmulate real life? Or just plain lazy?
By TB on Mar 31, 2010 | In TB's Soapbox | 14 feedbacks »
Yep, another rant from the mean ole TB. This time about the 'new' format that some promoters have decided to use. Normally I was against this when I was the 'thinktank' for a certain ratsnake promoter, and don't get me wrong I am happy he went to this. I mean, if there is one sure way to run off people(besides spreading lies and rumors about them behind their backs or getting their wives banned or well you get the picture) it is dumbing the game down. What am I talking about?
Seems the hallmark of scenario paintball, the grandest and bestest 'steak' product out (if you listen to him talk) Viper Scenario has gone the way of laziness and making it easier for people to 'get' the game. Now I am sure that some of you are saying, well things should be easier that is how you get more people. Really? I mean 20+ years of scenario with mission cards, and now people are too stupid to fill out mission cards or decode missions?
Well not according to him, I quote: The idea is to more closely emulate real life. In the real world the commander would simply direct his troops, they would complete their tasks, and the battle would continue. It's all about the tasks getting done, not about the little slip of paper, or the necessity to run it out there are keep track of it.
There are a few issues I have with that. First and foremost, real life? Like what you see on the movies? OPORDS are a part of everyday briefings at the field, FRAGORDS or even the 5 paragraph Order (that I am used to) are all the over place in the field. I mean there are waterproof version on US Cavalry for sale for the grunts in the field. If you are wanting to emulate real life, then the mission card is the best way to do it. Right?
Let's look at a statement from an army manual about it: An integral part of Officership is your ability to master your Profession of Arms. Plans and orders are the method the commander uses to synchronize military actions. Likewise, your combat effectiveness is determined prior to the start of the battle. As a Warfighter, your primary weapon system is the OPORD. Your combat power cannot be concentrated on the decisive point of the battlefield if you do not properly devise and brief such in your OPORD. A lieutenant does not fight with an M16 or M4. As a Warrior Officer, you fight with your mind, a map, and a marker.
Now while the commander of a side is not in the army, military strategies do work and this is a pretty good indicator of what is going on. There are no packets walking around with a 'ref' in the real world. And the missions have gone from 4 an hour to 2 an hour. I mean there may be secondary and tertairy missions, but having played this goofy ass format, they aren't any harder. Let's see... Take and Hold Bridge 1 for 20, for 30 for 45 minutes is not a real mission count. You want realism, break it down. Situation, Mission, Execution, Admin and Logistics and Command and Control.
What this is, plain and simple is a reduction in the amount of overhead for the promoter, reduction in work the refs have to do, reduction in work the commanders have to do, and a easier way for a commander with his shit together to punish a dumbass commander who doesn't. What you have effectively done is render that people who can't keep track of shit will get their asses kicked or quit playing the game. At least with a mission card, you could see it, you could hold it, you could write on it, you could do a lot of things with it. This is a fucking game, not fucking WAR. Even if it is based on WAR it is a fucking WAR GAME! The mission card is the center of so many stories and so many things to be done and now you have taken that away to the tune of not only do you have to do it, but know you have to have someone see it and that person has to track down everybody and their brother to tell them about it.
The days of the indepth mission are gone, the missions that make sense, the missions that brought about the legends of players. The ability to give things to people who don't have radios and don't play at my level to have fun. For me, if I was playing Ratsnake's games this would be a fucking boon. Both VIP games I played (which used this format) were fucking blowouts. Worse than most scenario games, and rolling this out to the masses isn't going to be any better. That was supposed to be the 'cream of the crop' and at both games one side just couldn't get their shit together while the other side had comm, interaction and accountability.
I am glad that some promoters out there truly respect the genre and what it means and will continue to either hand out mission cards or call them in to be decoded. I mean there is nothing like having your base under fire and you having to quickly decode a mission and getting it out the back door or having a radio guy working with you to get the missions in and out and back quickly. But those days are in the past. Oh Well!!!
The pussification of Viper players continues!
14 comments
If that preliminary draft didn't float your boat, well, go listen to Eminem - Under the Influence.
The only thing post addresses is you have a primary and secondary point of contact. Fancy names for general and their XO. Those 2 people are allowed to receive the mission.
The whole gripe about the mission cards... it's meaningless to me. You could have written 5, 10, 100 of them for every single mission. I've never seen a rule mandating you had to use a single card or anything like it. If you think your mission card may get stolen, send 5 of them out. Not a big deal.
Doing away with them though? Madness. You can't get rid of the only verifiable paper trail that effects the score.
The constantcy of the missions meant there was never a down or slack time, since there was always that next mission coming up. Now, since random groups of players can complete a mission with little planning, it'll turn into a territory grab. Take as many objectives as you can, so if there is a mission there, it's just a matter of making sure your have the right number of players and having a ref there.
Plus, like Indy said, without that physical mission card, it's hard to verify what missions got done and when they were completed, and which ones didn't. You can't track down a ref and ask them about a particular mission card if they don't sign it.
Oh well, I'll see how it turns out come April 10th...
While I may not have the years of experience, I have played a handful of scenarios, enough to develop an opinion. Whether he is doing it to duplicate real life, or not...it just makes thing easier.
I like the fact that success doesn't hinge on the person with the piece of paper not getting shot. If the guy with the mission card decides to be rambo and get himself shot...it blows the whole mission. Whether one guy gets out or not, the mission could/should still be completed without him.
Another reason I like this method better is because it doesn't require a runner to bring the mission card back to the base, thus allowing players to move smoothly from one mission to the next.
As for not having a paper trail...as long as the base ref does his job, all documentation will still be made on paper.
Is it foolproof...absolutely not. I am hesitant about this system because it hinges on the ref's being adamant, punctual, and focused at all times. I know we have all seen a ref or two at a game who weren't paying too close attention to whats going on.
To me it comes down to this, this way the mission hinges on the players getting the job done, not getting the job done and having to protect a 3x5 piece of paper.
Feel free to comment, criticize, and complain at your leisure.
And BTW, 1 person gets shot being Rambo, he drops the card and other people can pick itup and still run the mission without having to be there at the CP to hear what the mission was. In this example, the guy who knows what he thinks the commander said gets shot and guess what? No more mission!
I don't remember calling you a pussy (noun)but stating a state of something that is happening, pussification (in this case an adjective) however if the vagina fits......
The only key is for your general to not give it to an idiot or a spy. Because idiots and spies get shot and walk off with the card, blowing the mission...
and you can still send more cards. The only thing with a time limit is the goal of the mission itself. If nobody can find the card... send another.
Smart generals keep a separate log of every mission that comes in. Typically on a pre-printed spreadsheet labeled with mission numbers, so they can cross reference against the final score board. If you haven't verified it's finished, and there's still an hour to the deadline... send another card.
I don't know this is so much pussification, as it is a dumbing down.
Most of the refs weren't 100% sure on how to start, end, or call in missions without the mission card. I started a mission (take and hold for 20 minutes), and the ref asked me for the mission card!
Then, you had problems with refs not answering their radios, poor comms, and the usual problem of refs aren't where they are supposed to be, so you had to track them down.
Viper wants to go to missions every 30 minutes? Fine. I didn't particularly like it, but it still kept us busy. I just wish he would bring back the mission cards. There are far too many weak links in his new set up for it to be 100% reliable, other than 100% unreliable.
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