What do You want in a Field?
 

I usually receive various comments from people who have played at my field about what they would like to see and so forth but I have never really put the question out there to see what the general consensus is to what players want on a field. So ... with that said I will ask the question.

What would you as players like to see on a field and why? Please remember to keep your answers realistic.

eg: I like a woods field with lots of trails and bases that have buildings. It allows for the woods aspect of the game and vehicles to be used in areas as well as some CQB mixed in with the buildings.

Cheers,

a multi level drug lab. :D

mines hard to explain and it might be "unrealistic" but

i want the whole feeling of the field to be as if i have just left canada and entered a battle i dont wanna feel like im playing a simple game i wanna feel like im in a fight

Are we talking about the Picton field or another one all together?

Just a field in general... I have another 50 acre area that I am developing.

I don't know if you've ever been to Flag Raiders back when it was in Cambridge, but I always highly enjoyed their Saigon map. It's about a dozen small plywood buildings simulating a built up area. No building permit required, unlike the double storied structure Drug Lab was. If you do enough planning, you can add a few building each year and end up with a full-sized town inside your 50 acres.

Urban Assault - (Expensive)
- 2 Floor Structures (Building to be assaulted or defended)
- Foxholes here and there to hide in
- A few trenches
- Wooded area (Where Team A starts)
Can also have CQB in which one team starts in Structure A and other team in Strucutre B. Great for CQB and Tactical Scenarios

Open Warfare - (Relatively cheap)
- Bunch of trees
- Sandbag bases with small huts
- Trenches here and there
Great for people who like to improvise and plan on the go for defensive positions in the open or in a wooded area and good for Ghillie men/women

Paintball Field Style - Super Cheap
- Sandbags
- Tall Grass
- Foxholes
Pretty much a skirmish field barely any tactical side to it other than I try to kill your team on the other side

or

What Saint said above me

Lots of available parking.
A nice big pregame area with tables and benchs for easy gear up.
A couple of big inground BBQ pits for aftergame cooking.

multilevel structures with corridors and hallways

I haven't played yet, but would enjoy some trenches and sand bag bunkers and a watch tower of some sort.

Wooded areas with thick undergrowth are an absolute must. A kick-ass trench system in the middle of a field would be a huge plus in my books (and a great way to test out the tornado grenades), although probably not realistic.

I agree with Saint about Saigon, but I wish it was more 'cluttered' (how many times has a group been trapped behind the school buses with nowhere to go?)

Perhaps creating a few fixed objects would be useful for more organized scenarios like: defending a pumping station, bombing an artillery placement, or recovering sensitive military documents within an enemy camp.

Personally, I wouldn't mind spending more to play on a field that has some of these items.

I haven't actually "played" either but would absolutly kill to be able to play in that kind of situation.

dark hallways, a good scare when some guy jumps around the corner at you!
lots of trenches. trenches are cool. :p

Actual sniper towers... where those players who have usable sniper rifles can make use of them.

So towers like what I had at my old field

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...20351_7570.jpg

This is a picture of a place we called the Dark Hollows at our old field.

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...65075_2134.jpg

So if I am understanding you gentlemen ... you would like to see some larger 1-2 story buildings for CQB action along with some wooded terrain to do some recon/surprise assault type tactics.

Seems no one aside from TTAC has a solid, indoor structure for CQB.

I'd love to play in a large, two story, indoor CQB arena and run drug lab scenerio's and hostage rescue and room clearing and such. Many people seem to agree.

With any building layout, I prefer having more entrances/exits. Multiple doorways and stairwells makes gameplay more interesting. Would be nice to have well lit buildings too (with artificial lighting if possible). Recreating MOUT would be pretty sweet.

In general cover, lots and lots of cover. Be it old cars, barrels, anything that can act as cover.

Lastly I think wouldn't mind a bit of (see below) on the field :o... please and thanks.
http://www.jaunted.com/files/admin/Oktobergurls.jpg

CQB with hallways and rooms etc is always the best. For an outdoor area, I really liked the Saigon idea. Building to Building combat would be amazing if there was a whole block of them.

If you do go for the 1-2 story buildings in an outdoor field, try to keep the foliage as close to the buildings as possible. the bush should go right up to some walls (maybe windows), and only maybe 6-10 feet clearings near the main entrances. Its no fun to try and make a stealthy assault, only to have a feild to cross in order to get there.

So basically, a good "outpost" type setup: hidden in the bush, 4+ buildings, where the perimeter buildings are close to the bush and form a circle around several key buildings. This should add a stealth factor to an assault, but also allows for quick CQB action. A good design should encorporate sniper lanes also, so they can have fun/cause mayhem

The Thing with
 

Buildings on a field.. though interesting... often every engagement ends up being about the building..

Clearly most people like that.

Personally when I am in the field .. I like varied terrain in a woodland setting.

No buildings..

That being said..

A woodland field next to a small village setting would be great.

Maybe a series of linked compounds.. Walled compounds with a few buildings in each compound.

Maybe a couple of 2 story buildings in a compound.

Everyone is talking about multi storied buildings... what about underground?

A buried "sewer" system that links several compounds would be great.

Oh thats a good structure and the Dark Hollow looks like quite a good Zombie and Airsoft game

And if you can achieve the buried "sewer" system like Brian had said that would add a new taste in games, thats a really good idea I like that one for sure.

Tired of always running out in the open when you can be a sneaky sewer rat

oh. and secret passages.

hate to mention it, but when Dark Zone (laser tag) was still open in winnipeg, coolest part was the secret doors.

maybe thats just the kid in me

Basically, something like what they have at Wasaga Beach but no paintballers.

Some nice but reasonable suggestions:

Scrap cars that can be used for cover

Large buildings (at least 1 big building that can have several people inside defending while the rest of the players attack it)

trenches? cool although may be a hazard if someone falls in accidently, or if theres a lot of rainfall

mini "town" (just a bunch of small buildings where small games can be played, usually pistol's only as you get up close and personal)

Sniper tower (the higher the better, even better if it had a lockable trapdoor from the inside)

"Safe zone" right in the middle of the field where players can go to clean out fogged goggles/use bathroom/grab some water

wow, I'm surprised at how many things there are on this list that we already have in penticton.

The best game I ever played was on a farm, we didn't have any building props, it was wooded with single and double track trails. Sadly it's not something you can replicate with props, it was the people I was playing with that made it kick ass and realistic. How ever props I do like at a field are mainly semi dense bush with winding paths. artifitially planted tree rows aren't so hot.

My experience with trenches weren't great.

Buildings are awesome.

Prop cars i want!

McKenna

http://www.ai.sri.com/~fua/rcvw/fig/Benning.gif.gz

Deliver and I will have your babies.

Anything that enhances the setting/mood.

At Border Wars 2, I could hear the loudspeakers of a nearby racetrack, and I thought: how cool would it be to use loudspeakers to establish certain settings and moods? For example, it would be cool to have a base that was blasting foreign language propaganda over its loudspeakers.

Another game at the LZ, there was a burning car. A burning car is ALWAYS cool, but it really set the mood / added to the realism to have billowing black smoke in my field of vision.

multi level building bunkers, CQB area, in ground field tunnels and bunkers, and vehicles lots and lots of old (clean) vehicles especially old choppers and planes.

Themed areas such as dessert town, Bashra village, Saigon etc.

I guess the whole keep it realistic thing went right out the window.

Just close your eyes for the unrealistic ones.

*facepalm*
That's the wrong attitude entirely!

I would like to see as much realism in a field as possible. Lots of cars, partially destroyed cement and brick walls.
No sniper towers, they have no place in a realistic senario. Just have accessable roofs.

Think war torn country more than secure installation.
Cheers,
Grant

Trenches would be awesome, for someone who is doing a ww2 impression. Water doesn't have to be a problem if some pieces of plywood are cut in to short wide sections for duckboards, at least in the vital parts of the trench (entrances and strong points for example) to keep the cost down. At least two of them having interlocking fields of fire would be nice as well. There was a trench in the new FR field on the right side of a "village" for 1 team and all it really did was hold that flank, it didn't help the rest of the team hold anything else, and since people love crowding trenches, it sucked up manpower.

Basically I am saying include a well placed, small, trench, that is hard to attack frontally, but can be flanked. A firestep would be a nice touch as well.

What I really dislike in a field is the overtly paintball-ish elements, like assorted mazes and obstacles. I enjoy milsim, and prefer being on a field that has a realistic sort of layout.

Sometimes less is more.

well my suggestion somewhat exist in a real world, when I was down in the states I get to play with a bunch of guys down in Colorado and in one part of their field there was an old semi gutted Boeing DC10 and on another they set it up as an old town similar to the ones in Iraq.

How about an old Canadian Forces Base... http://airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=72007

I'd like a large farm land with a real MOUT erea.

With transport for everyone on the field.

QRF squad anyone?

strippers and house music, free dope and some of that stuff... used to eat it all the time...

ah! balanced gameplay and plenty of cover. It's a good time when there are walk-ins and people who don't take the whole airsoft hobby serious enough to choke the fun and game out of it all. I like playing with a mix of new players and more experienced ones. that way there's low hanging fruit *and* a challenge!

Cars, fires, tanks and more fires.
Big building with lots of windows. More floors, the better.

Then some naked chicks on the field to get us more pumped.

If you want to do trenches, then you have to do them properly which might mean spending more than a little money on them. A good, proper and long lasting trench system is far more than just a hole in the ground that is longer than it is wide. Line the edges with sandbags to mark them for safety, and consider putting some as bunkers with structured roofs over them.

Think about where you put holes in the ground, as they WILL gather water. Dig them a little deeper than needed, and fill the bottom with drainage tiling and crushed gravel. Pack the side walls, structure with sandbags, and reinforce with corrugated sheet steel if you can. (All edges safely capped) If you design the bottoms of your trenches as drainage ditches that actually lead somewhere they can drain into, then you shouldn't have many problems.

For any structures I would plan them out as a small village or work camp. Lay them out on paper as you would expect to find in a real world, non-combat situation. Then while building consider what quick impromptu fortifications that could be done to them.

trenches, dark set of hallways, bunkers, fox holes

A mix of long range and CQB. Someone with a stock TM should never feel outranged, but there should be a few kill zones that upgraded guns can reach out and get people.

Different paths to one target, should be able to flank.

You should be able to flow from one area to the next.

Add enough space (between the structures) to use a small vehicle or two (jeep sized).

Nice bathroom facilities are always good. Nothing like hunkering down during a game and getting up to find a nice sliver in your arse.

hmmm..
 

Well we have most the town stuff covered at Bigfoot in Mission out in BC. The point about buildings being used to hunker down in by large groups is a valid one.

The other thing to consider about buildings is FPS limits and fire control.

As well as safe access, we have had two incidents, one guy hit his head on a half height door, lots of blood no serious damage. I bounced off a door that had been barricaded, apparently very funny to watch, but my shoulder disagreed somewhat. Both were easy fixes, bright orange around all half doors and no barricades.

We considered tunnels, but decided the animal, water, and problems with smoke when allowed made it not worth while. Short covered sections of trench may show up next year.

Space & cost are the biggest issues, we have a small field but lots of dense vegetation as well as several covered approaches to the town area.

Here is a slightly out of date interactive map, there have been some changes over the summer. Click on the numbers for images of that area.

Interactive Map (Not 56k friendly)

One thing that I have always enjoyed but may not work in your woodlot, but if there is cedars or pines, I like to trim all the branches 6 feet and down right off in some areas and other areas leaving them, it creates alot of shooting/running lanes and also adds cover.
I also spent a whole weekend helping a friend pile old dead scrub branches and sticks into a few piles on his property. It made the woodlot much cleaner!

Is it to late to say "Black Jack and Strippers"?

Trench warfare is always fun, an easy combat to water issues are old crates that can be had from most big box stores that sometimes try to get rid of the ones they can't return. Specially lumber yards. Lay them down and if you can pick up lengths of "Slab" wood from a lumber yard that does its own cutting you'd have a great planking system.

A thick wooded area with a small "town" about 100 meters away from the woods. Something like the WW2 Battle of Foy, but no artillery. Fox holes scatered in the woods, and some trenches leading to bunker possitions in the town. Possibly a small mine field, and some barbed wire to add some effect. Large straw heeps for cover on the way from the woods to the town. Make it like a capture the flag idea, when the allied troops get the flag in the town, the allies win. When the Axis get the flag in the woods, the axis win.

Imo, rainy trench weather might actually be fun, ofcourse only to people who'd like to play in that weather, but it'd make some some interesting games, really miserable conditions. But that's just me.

I would say trenches are a big one that everyone can do on their outdoor field. It plays great and if you make fire steps and ramps it doesnt slow play down at all... we have 6 foot deep trenches- lots of fun to play in but ironically some people 'forget' they are there and have fallen into them so now we mark all of our trenches with small sections of slat fence- kinda ruins the effect.

Out of the blue, In a CQB field. It would paradise for me if (rangewise) you were able to attain 75% of what I see. I don't like seeing people that I cannot reach wth my BB. Since we can't really improve airsoft range (while being safe) It would be great to have a field were there is only very few spots where your range of sight exceed your AEG range of fire.

What to have in a field?

Well, assuming insurance/liability and money are not issues:

1. A "man's" room, complete with antlers over a roaring hearth, LCD TV and a bar.
2. A covered concrete pad with lots of tables and chairs
3. Great props
4. A place to camp and shitters
5. Great big search lights (great at night games)
6. Mixed AND varied terrain, hills, streams, wilderness, buildings
7. Vehicles!
8. Loud speakers

+1

Personally, the Ideal field for me would be a giant mixed terrain(Fields with long grass, thick bush.) and a Large Central Complex with Various building of various sizes a tower or two. small buildings scattered throughout the bush. Scrap cars along trails wide enough to allow vehicles into play. As stated before some search lights on the towers would be cool along with a loud speaker spewing a foreign language. That I would pay up to $125 for a weekend of play.

Rig an electric-fuse firework to a plug interface at each respawn point. Each team gets one Counterstrike-style detonator box with a killswitch and a compatible plug. Maybe designated bombers go pistols-only. Plugged in, armed and button-pushed, the box delays the detonation by 20-60 seconds, and it flashes and beeps loudly the whole time; maybe it even counts down in a pleasant female UK accent. If the firework detonates, the respawn point is destroyed. That would be awesome.

I'd tend to focus more on the psychological and emotion affects rather than physical properties of a field.

-Booby traps (not even set up by a team, but put there by the organizers/field operators)
-Foreign propaganda (pamphlets scattered about, rousing speeches or music/national anthems on speakers within a fortification, "Join your German brothers and you will not be harmed," general demoralizing of enemy forces, etc)
-Overhead explosions (sound shells)
-Live fire (hopefully people can use common sense about it)...(live fire as in combustion, not shooting live rounds)
-The smell of blood/fake blood (war torn countries can be all that torn unless there is blood splattered on a wall or two, nothing creepy than waltzing into an empty village where the air is heavy with the smell of blood)
-the sounds of fire-fights and artillery being heard from places out side the bounds of the field

A lot of cool physical things can be added to, but for myself, the full effect comes from the emotional state one ends up in while playing. If I'm playing milsim, I want to feel like my life cold be taken at every turn.

But yeah, underground tunnels are an idea of thought of as well, especially if they appear shoddy and you feel like they could collapse at any moment...obviously should be built well, but with the appearance of poor/hasty construction.

As for unrealistic, how about a field like a temple/dungeon from Legend of Zelda? Team A attempts to traverse the dungeon, solving the puzzles and dodging the traps, while team B acts as the baddies, or both teams try to solve it simultaneously, but only one can get the heart piece/treasure at the end. The latter would lead to fighting over keys, maybe even the teams helping each other some points. Maybe set it up so the teams must help each other at one point.

something close quarters and lots of buildings

The only experience with what could be called trenches was at the old Flag Raiders field with the earthen mounds just outside the entrance to the field. I'd like to more specifically see some proper 4ft trenches.