FEATURE COMMANDING AIRSOFT TEAMS
COMMANDING AIRSOFT TEAMS
WE HAVE ALL TAKEN PART OF UNIQUE AIRSOFT GAMES, WITH DIFFERENT STORIES, MISSIONS, SCENARIOS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN BUT, IN MOST CASES, THERE IS ONE THING IN COMMON AND THAT IS THE FACTION COMMANDER; SOMEONE WILLING NOT TO PLAY SO THAT OTHERS CAN HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THEMSELVES! BUT WHAT’S LIKE TO COMMAND A FACTION? WHAT DOES ONE NEED - AND WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON OBSTACLES? AA LEGION MEMBER MIGUEL OLIVERA, FROM PORTUGAL, GIVES US AN IDEA…
W
ell, let’s talk about the obstacles first and let me tell you straight away, except a few extremely organized events where the teams sometimes are hand-picked, it’s impossible to prepare for everything. You will find teams that you will see at the start of the event, they will receive a mission or an objective and after that they will disappear! There will be teams with no way of communication amongst themselves, so when they start going back to respawns it will be hard to regroup with their own, so after that, they will probably join other groups or wander off aimlessly looking for their team. Sometimes the organization can make mistakes, like handing out wrong coordinates to objectives, placing mission items in the wrong place or just giving information that can have multiple interpretations and this may lead to
confusion. So, it’s important to keep in mind that nothing will go 100% as planned. Now let’s go over what one needs to command a faction, or even a large team. The first and most important resource that you will need is reliable a communication line with your faction, this will be the most important aspect of your “job”. Information needs to be spread out, missions need to be handed out and players need the feeling of an active chain of command, so they don’t feel “lost” or “abandoned” which could lead to demotivation. It doesn’t matter if it’s a radio, phone calls or chat apps, what’s important is to have a two-way system of comms the whole game. I would recommend the use of chat apps; everyone has a smartphone these days but not everyone has radios, sometimes they might not be within range and there’s always the
“IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT’S A RADIO, PHONE CALLS OR CHAT APPS, WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS TO HAVE A TWO-WAY SYSTEM OF COMMS THE WHOLE GAME. I WOULD RECOMMEND THE USE OF CHAT APPS; EVERYONE HAS A SMARTPHONE THESE DAYS BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS RADIOS…”
84
SEPTEMBER 2021
