AAR STEELSTORM 4.10.10

[Komissar]

Thank you to the operators who attended Operation: STEELSTORM (Castle 2). The positive, mature attitudes; and the planning, team tactics, and Mil-sim immersion that was demonstrated by the operators was incredible!
It was a day that every event director, and Mil-sim operator is waiting to have.

I appreciate all the feedback I have received so far. Although I am overwhelmed at the compliments to the OP, I am also interested in anything you would like to have done differently. In addition, your personnal stories, views, and opinions about any portion of the day from the briefing to the fifth mission evolution would be great to hear!

The points of interest to me are:

How do you think the briefing went? Were the missions well described, and did they make sense?

Do you prefer having the limit on how many operators are allowed to register for an OP?

Any comments on semi-auto?

How did the medic and respawn rules work for you?

If you have time to answer these questions, and then add some of your own commentary it would be much appreciated. Than you again,

Komissar

PS: Please add any pictures to the "Album" I have created for STEELSTORM.
Thank you also to the combat photographers of the day!

[Edric]

I have to say, this was probably the best OP I have been to, or a part of, for a while. Everyone seemed to have a great time!

[Spidedd]

I really enjoyed how everything was set up, from the OPs in general, to the rules such as deaths, medics etc. I really liked the semi auto rule because it made people more tactical on what they did and less just unload and run. It even altered strategies from both a defensive and offensive stand point.

[Sarge]

1. the briefings went well, the information was clear and delivered in a timely manor. i really liked having fluff, it really added to the games.

2. i believe the player limit really helped balance teams. having more experienced players there instead of anyone who just showed up was of great benefit to the OP in my books.

3. love it. keep it.

4.i like how it added pressure and kept people from making stupid choices.

overall it was an extremely clean and well run OP and i will be attending all that are ran in this manor.

[Tank]

i agree with everything sarge said it was great the props were great only thing i would change is a few more players on da field. not just the normal people who come out but the invitationals only

Sarge said:

1. the briefings went well, the information was clear and delivered in a timely manor. i really liked having fluff, it really added to the games.

2. i believe the player limit really helped balance teams. having more experienced players there instead of anyone who just showed up was of great benefit to the OP in my books.

3. love it. keep it.

4.i like how it added pressure and kept people from making stupid choices.

overall it was an extremely clean and well run OP and i will be attending all that are ran in this manor.

[SCRAMBLE]

How do you think the briefing went? Were the missions well described, and did they make sense?
I really like the background which gives a purpose to the Op past a lot of shooting. I thought the element of the TAN operators was great and seriously wish there had been more TANs (even though I forgot about one) so they could have played a more central role. I fully feel that a MilSim atmosphere was achieved the only way it could have been improved was to have added just a few more players but being careful not to add so many that missions would have become impossible.

Do you prefer having the limit on how many operators are allowed to register for an OP?
I enjoy a large amount of targets but I have to admit that Saturday was clearly Quality over Quantity. I would like to have had a few more operators, but just a few. I enjoyed the option of skirting around hostels without tripping over somebody behind every tree.

Any comments on semi-auto?
Have always been a fan.

How did the medic and respawn rules work for you?
I thought that with the number of operators the medic and re-spawn rules were perfect. The 120 out gave enough value to a firefight to make it worth it to attempt to kill a foe and the additional 120 out made it unwise to stray to far from the medic or pull any Rambo's which lead to team cohesiveness.

I want to comment on the last mission in Victor Outpost. This mission was Great; having a new base that was so drastically different from all the other structures on the field in addition to the "machine" (Water Purifier for Bull) made this mission my favorite. Having this simple box tacked to the wall added a sense of urgency and mechanical difficulty that required an operator to be safe enough from NUC molestation to cut wire long enough, (strip them because you are Bull), read the schematics, and properly wire the thing, install the filters, and do all this in the dark with a flashlight clenched in ones teeth. Most missions prior to this did not really require an operator to stray from the run-n-gun mindset since running with a box and running with a rifle, aside from weight, is not very different. I feel that with such "machines" we have again graduated to a new level of scenarios that require understanding and skill past "throw bomb, get box, OMTTC".

[Edric]

Scramble, thanks for the detailed breakdown. Feedback helps Op-Com design more interesting and fun engagements. Sarge, its always nice to see you out and about among the woods. Spidedd, would you be willing to hop over to our discussion on Semi-Auto and share your thoughts in more detail?

From my perspective, everyone liked the more immersed mission briefings. They really seemed to have enjoyed the scenerio style rather than the normal "do this and do that"

The limit on operators, I think, made it easier to run the game, though I would have enjoyed more TAN forces to help harass the NUC and SOC.

Semi-Auto, I am always a big fan of.

Everyone seemed to act and react cautiously since they all knew they would be out of action a minimum of 2 minutes with a medic and a minimum of 4 without. It was great to see everyone acting as a unit rather than a group of loan wolfs. Maybe we can con Furgie or Worm into writting up some squad tactics lessons to post up.