Ground Zero Weekender 2012

[Kenworth W900]

Well, there hasn't been a thread about the NAE GZW 2012 yet, so here's one for you

 

Figured I might aswell kick off the discussion in the run upto the event which is now pretty much exactly 3 months away. Like last years thread, please feel free to discuss anything and everything about the event in here it saves spamming Arnies with GZW threads.

 

To start off the discussion:

 

1. I'm going with The Others again this year, had a load of fun with them last time (my first time)

2. I'll be dressing up for Saturday again (I hope at least a few of you will join me this time)

3. I'm taking my Rifle Shooting Gallery with down with me, everyone is free to take part, there'll be team points, a leaderboard and prizes - and all for a good cause too - the RBL's Poppy Appeal

4. I'll be skirmishing with my VSR and Thompson but as with many other guys last year I will be bringing down such goodies as my 15" Deagle, 9mm FAMAS SMG, STARS SPAS 12 along just to show them off

5. Will you guys be taking advantage of the oppurtunity to sell a bunch of stuff at the car boot sale? If so, what?

6. The price increase sucks

7. Let's hope the weather is nothing short of brilliant

8. My group will be having a fire again, come join in if you want to join a larger group for drinking in the evening

9. Can we arrange an Arnies signal this year, like was suggested last time?

10. I can't wait!

 

Discuss...

[FireKnife]

Can someone help raise a fund so a poor FireKnife can get down there on a plane and borrow a gun?

 

Though really all i need is a TM pistol and 2-3 mags, the rest of the time i will just be random, fun and strange all at the same time

 

'FireKnife'

[Kenworth W900]

I can't help you with the plane ticket FireKnife - you can borrow my TM MK23 or TM M1911A1 if you get there though

[FireKnife]

Ok, if i can get down would someone be able to get me from Bournemouth Airport? Saves me asking family, and if i could borrow a pistol (gas and ammo i will buy on the day and pay for any repairs if i break a gun by

accident, you will get my left over gas and ammo as well ) then i may look at this, i have time to take off work anyway.

 

Dam turns out i can only go to Bristol from up here, not Bournemouth. Stupid planes. Might have to find a closer weekender or go to Bristol and make my way across

 

'FireKnife'

[Kenworth W900]

Lifting you from Bristol would easy FireKnife, certainly easier than a detour to Bournemouth airport anyway.

[FireKnife]

That is true, well first i would have to get to Edinburgh, then fly to Bristol then sort out who i am meeting where, luckily the rest i can easily sort out.

 

 

'FireKnife'

[scorch]

I'm booked. Playing on Others again.

 

This one will be my 3rd. Will be bringing my VSR, M4, and possibly my AK too.

 

My lot will be wearing Team FEAR hoodies with our callsigns on, so I shouldn't be hard to spot. Even easier to spot if I decide to wear my jurassic park loadout again too.

[FireKnife]

Damn, keep looking at the flights and it keeps wanting me to add stuff, no i don't need anything but the clothes i will be wearing, a change and some underwear and some pouches damn it.

 

However i hope i will be there, would be good to actually spend my hard earned money and go to a proper game and event even if it is at GZ

 

'FireKnife'

[Kenworth W900]

Anybody needing lifts, support, advice or even just some guys to hang out with at the GZW (so that you're not on your Larry) please use this thread to request said assistance - the last thing I want is any Arnies guys not turning up simply because they feel intimidated by the event - as my group did in 2010. It seems silly, but when only two of you are committed and when there's a fair amount of stuff to organise the Weekender can be fairly daunting.

[scorch]

the last thing I want is any Arnies guys not turning up simply because they feel intimidated by the even

 

Definitely. Anyone from here is more than welcome to tag along with me and mine too.

 

We're a friendly bunch, and don't bite.

[FireKnife]

Well annoyingly if i want to fly from Aberdeen it would have to be to London, anyone near Heathrow or Gatwick going

 

'FireKnife'

[Shardik]

I'm going haven't been for a couple of years so I can't wait. It'd be great to put some faces to the names!

 

I'll be rocking my G36 and glock. But blending in with the Multicam crowd, so hard to spot. Maybe we should organise a spot to meet up at? At some point.

 

Booked with the others

[FireKnife]

I think we should designate the Others as the Arnies team to be on

 

Humm, well i have booked the week before and the weekend off, now to hatch a plan.

 

'FireKnife'

[scorch]

Maybe the bar would be a logical meet up point?

[heroshark]

It'll be my 2nd this year ,and this year I shall also be others

[TheFull9]

How did you folks who attended last year find it?

 

All the reports I read were talking about people firing guns in the safe zone, kit getting nicked and widespread cheating... which are basically the 3 worst things to possibly get at an airsoft game.

[Kenworth W900]

Well, mud sticks, as they say.

 

And to be fair, 1500 people for 3 days is the equivalent of 45 regular skirmishes (100 guys). Chances are, you'll get all 3 of the above in 45 skirmishes.

[Azubi]

How did you folks who attended last year find it?

 

All the reports I read were talking about people firing guns in the safe zone, kit getting nicked and widespread cheating... which are basically the 3 worst things to possibly get at an airsoft game.

 

I had been going for a few years to catch up with mates and for me last year was the final straw as I simply didn't find it enjoyable. The attitude of a noticeable selection from outright cheating to aggressive demeanour along with the elitism of various elements I believe we're the home crowd and some of the "command" teams led for me to feel I had been somewhat robbed of my money.

 

The blatant cheating, and by that I mean claiming to be dead then hosing me as I walked past, to name but one of the many incidents as well as marshals with an attitude of "Does it matter, it's Sunday?" when these incidents were reported left me feeling 'whats the point?'

 

We are a game that prides itself on hour able play. I'd like to think that such an event would display a unified attitude with regards to this but for the last 2 years I have come away with a disappointed view.

 

People still enjoy it though so take my bad experiences with those good ones of other people.

[heroshark]

I'm with kenworth on this . I didn't experience any of this first hand but I don't doubt it for a minute.

[FireKnife]

Considering how many people you are going to get you will get everything both good and bad, from proper players with good sportsmanship to idiots that steal stuff, have no regard for safety and try to flaunt the lack of chronoing.

 

I would just do my best to ignore the idiots and stick with the good players, even with 1500 that is still possible at GZ.

 

'FireKnife'

[Jon L]

The above are the main reasons that no one from my local intends to go to GZ anymore. The first time I went was in 2009 and the saturday was great, I would say to this day it was one of the best games of airsoft I have had. However sunday was just cheating and hot guns all day. I went again in 2010, and was really disappointed as I think we played what approximated to half a day of good, fair gaming and then it seemed as though the sunday mentality had crept in after lunchtime.

 

what really annoyed me was how the marshals seemed uninterested in stopping people being spawn killed as they walked out of the regen zones,. Compounded by the s****y attitude of players thinking they can threaten people when they are asked to stop.

 

Added to this the number of kids (aged 12-14) running around with powerful bolt rifles and shooting people from point blank.

 

I did love the social side of the weekend and the battletec guys are some of the funniest airsofters I have ever met.

 

All in all these previous experiences has endeared me to not want to play at a GZ weekend again. Instead this year I will be going to the Fireball weekender this year. Having played at the airsoft site before, I am looking forward to using the massive paintball site that is attached for the weekender.

 

I think the main issue for GZ is the numbers. Whilst 1500+ sounds like it would be serious fun, in reality three just seemed to be a lack of marshals to effectively control that many players. As a result you get lots of people having issues with players taking advantage of this, then all the stories that surface on various forums about people’s bad experiences. I actually felt quiet validated in not going last year after reading about the fiasco that was the assassin’s scenario.

[Cannonfodder80]

Admittedly I havn't been since 2008 but I gave up for the following reasons

1: the amount of cheating (to the point of ignoring a sub 10 yard hit from an 8mm M500 and then bitching about the follow up shot hitting the head)

2: firing guns in the safezone

3: people not clearing guns when leaving the gamezone and walking round with fingers on the trigger and the safety off

4: obviously u18 players not wearing full face protection and inappropriate eye protection (the type of safety glasses used in school science lessons)

5: staff with a "we don't give a *suitcase* we just want your money" attitude

 

All of the above left me feeling I would have more fun on a regular skirmish day at my normal site for 20% of the price and 2,3 and 4 are just accidents waiting to happen

[FireKnife]

Hmmm, after looking at this, i think i might give this a miss. Yeah it would be good to meet other members but more than 2-3 bad reviews is enough for me. A couple could just be the idiots that usually complain but this many is to many.

 

Now to see if i can find a decent weekender in the North / Scotland area, there must be one this year?

 

'FireKnife'

[Kenworth W900]

Fireknife, thats nothing, the after action report thread from last years event was about 8 pages long with about 3 dozen guys reporting all of the above. However, thats still only 36 out of 1500. And people love to moan, I should know, I was bitching the loudest in said thread.

 

For example, my group of 3 were advancing up a track towards the village, it has deep yew hedges either side. So, quite corridor-ish. Not a great tactical situation, but we were advancing nicely upon a group of Bravos. Anywho, 3 major gripes unfolded in the next 3 minutes:

 

1. A huge column of dead players were filing back down the centre of the track after being killed at the village (all 3 teams made a last dash for it on sunday afternoon, don't know why, tradition apparently). So, we're talking a pretty consistent column of dead players for as far as the eye can see. The issue being that we would not shoot between them in the breaks in the column to far side but the Bravos were. It was completely mindless - any idiot should have known not to fire amongst them.

2. Then the fourth member of my 'unit' who had joined my two friends and I started blatantly cheating - with him and the enemy Bravo's exchanging loads of fire but neither taking their hits. Baring in mind that I was 3 feet away from this team mate so I could see the BBs hitting him and him flinching.

3. The Bravos laid down loads of fire and got our heads down and whilst we weren't looking joined the column of dead players. You can see where this is going... They lowered their weapons and casually marched along with every other dead guy there until they were paralell with us and then simply surrendered us whilst we were still concentrating upon their last known position. Needless to say we were livid - I'm not sure it was technically against the rules of GZW but it was certainly not in the spirit of the game at all.

 

It all had a funny but rather bitter conclusion when some helpful dead Deltas who were strolling past pointed out that there is no surrender rule in place at the NAE - I had already surrendered and was walking off but my team mates immediately lit them up at barely the MED. Which, like I say, felt all rather bitter to me - but I'm sure it felt good to them.

 

So, if now, you are wondering why I would go back this year, its because I want the oppurtunity to pawn some of the *fruitcage* heads that congregate there. Don't worry, I don't intend to stoop to their level in the process.

 

And the other major point to make was that this was the only real 'dikish' moment over the whole weekend - the rest of the time we enjoyed ourselves quite thoroughly.

[Inari]

With things like this it is important to remember that it is a gathering, and not a skirmish.

 

I'll admit, I have had a passing interest - but I am not quite bothered enough to head over, if I'm completely honest. The reviews don't help, but at the same time that wouldn't stop me. You can't lose sight of what it is; 1500 people, with a bit of airsoft. And that's it. If you're looking for a good skirmish, you don't go to a site with 1500 people (I'm not talking MilSim here) - you go to a local site you know well, and play there.

 

However if you want to meet up with a load of people whom you have been acquainted with online for some time, or just wish to have a bit of banter involving airsoft guns, then this is the cuppa.

 

PS: When I have team-mates not taking hits, what I do is a little harsh (some say) - I ask them "Does friendly fire count?" they say yes, and I shoot them. It leaves them no option but to take the hit that they were denying up until then. Rules are there for a reason - enjoyment, as simple as.