AAR: OP Stormfront 2 - 4/27/08 @ABZ field in Fairchild, WI

[Faust]

Does ABZ have its own message boards?

If so, can someone link me?

I was not able to find them on their website...

[79TransAm]

www.airsoftbattlezone.com

On the left hand side menu you will see wisconsin airsoft fourm. Thats it

[murder]

Here is the link to the photos I took as UN Press.

http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/njg361/Op%20Stormfront%202/

[neoptolemus]

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00137.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00140.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00145.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00147.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00154.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00155.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00170.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g178/krumpken/Stormfront%20II/DSC00173.jpg

[Kerrik13]

Storyline
Intense fighting raged in Lebanon as the Israeli Defense Force pushed deep into the country. Hezbollah militants scattered throughout the area offered a stiff resistance, but in the end Israel was able to achieve victory and establish a solid foothold in the country. The forward base that was built during the initial assault was held even as Hezbollah counter attacked. Once the forward troops of the IDF in Lebanon were reinforced, Hezbollah militants were forced to fall back further in their own country. Sgan Aluf Amnan Barak, commander of the IDF in this theatre of combat, refused to comment about the overtly hostile actions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon against both civilians and friendly UN forces. The IDF forces that Israel committed to assist the US in its fight against the Middle Eastern Alliance have been shifted back to Israel and have reinforced the offensive against Hezbollah. UN forces in the area were overun, with numerous supplies looted and soldiers killed, and have been ordered to retreat. The UNIFIL, and the blue line seperating Lebanon and Israel that held a fragile peace between the two countries for several years, has been completely dissolved. The remaining UN soldiers have moved to remote bases and UN headquarters in nearby countries.

Commander Alexander Drake, joint task force leader of the US and UN forces in Iraq, has made a statement that "Any military opposing the United Nations in the Middle East, regardless of previous allegiance, will be recognized as a terrorist organization and will be dealt with under the same jurisdiction as those directly responsible for the invasion by the MEA." When asked to comment if the US would send strike teams in to Israel and attack the IDF or specific commanders in charge of the campaign, Commander Drake's comment was "If Israel has decided to become a terrorist country, then the US will take appropriate actions against it". Drake refused any further comments. Critics say that the US has no strength to attack Israel with the recent series of defeats in Iraq to the Middle Eastern Alliance.

Azeem Abdul Jafar, the eccentric and charismatic son of the great visionary Ahemad Abdul Jafar, was captured and grievously wounded in the fighting with IDF forces in the area. He was found and given medical attention by a UN field hospital, and disappeared into Lebanon after gathering fighters and leading a charge to attack the IDF forward base in the area.

Event Info
Sunday was a great day (weather was beautiful) and I felt that the event was a success. We had about 40 players participate in the game either as role players or members of the IDF or Hezbollah forces. The games missions and style closely reflected the first Operation Stormfront, and although the IDF forces finished the missions early and asked what to do next, I was pretty happy with the pacing of the game. Some missions involved each team attacking each other and other missions had both teams completely seperate. It was interesting watching the ebb and flow of the game, and I got some decent footage of the event. There were a couple hiccups here and there, but I felt all were minor and the game went off without any major complications. I tried a couple new rules, such as executing wounded players and the helicopter, but I don't think they were used enough to provide serious feedback.

The presence of a UN photo journalist was interesting and added a nice twist to the game that I really enjoyed watching. The photographer had a polaroid camera and was tasked with taking pictures of certain items/incidents on the field. IDF forces executing soldiers were arrested and held by UN forces in the base for a length of time. Objectives were photographed and used as bartering tools with both sides. It was an interesting touch, one that will definitely see the light of day in Op Vig 3 :)

For those of you wondering, here are the following missions...
Hezbollah
Attack IDF Base and Secure it at Noon - FAILED
Defend Hezbollah base and keep it secure at 3:30pm - COMPLETED
Control the Village at 1:00pm - FAILED
Defend Katyushu Rocket Truck - FAILED
Defend Azeem from Capture or death - FAILED (even though he was still on the field after capture, he was captured once)
Sabotage IDF Comm Towers - COMPLETED
Escort Azeem has he gives 3 rally speeches - COMPLETED
(Optional) Raid UN base for supply crates - FAILED

IDF
Defend IDF Forward base until noon - COMPLETED
Attack Hezbollah base and secure by 3:30pm - FAILED
Control the Village at 1:00pm - COMPLETED
Destroy Katyushu Rocket Truck - COMPLETED
Capture or Kill Azeem - COMPLETED
Defend Comm Towers - FAILED
Reinforce and Build IDF forward base - COMPLETED
(Optional) Raid the UN base for supplies - COMPLETED

Although the IDF forces completed more objectives, they also fully committed to an assault on the UN and stole their crates, refused to give them back when told to by UN soldiers, got caught executing wounded soldiers, and were witnessed shooting at civilians / unarmed Lebanese people. These aren't "failures", just important things that affect the next game.

Thanks for coming out and making Operation Stormfront 2 a success... I'll post a link to a video once YouTube stops timing out on me and I can get it hosted.

[Maple]

Kerrick,
I am curious about the photographer on the field? (Not on a personal level)
But when you get a minute, could you give some examples of things that s/he did and how that affected the game.
I have seen a similar idea used at a game before, but it was poorly executed and had little bearing on the game or it's outcome.
I am curious how you used the photog to move along the game, etc, etc.

Thanks.
-mat

[DKruse]

Kerrick,
I am curious about the photographer on the field? (Not on a personal level)
But when you get a minute, could you give some examples of things that s/he did and how that affected the game.
I have seen a similar idea used at a game before, but it was poorly executed and had little bearing on the game or it's outcome.
I am curious how you used the photog to move along the game, etc, etc.

Thanks.
-mat

Though he always has things up his sleeve, i know for a fact the photographer was key in the following part of the aforementioned AAR:


...got caught executing wounded soldiers, and were witnessed shooting at civilians / unarmed Lebanese people. These aren't "failures", just important things that affect the next game.



By the way...

Bobcat 1 - Surefire 0

[Kerrik13]

Maple,
Thanks for inquiring, it was a role I added in that I really enjoyed. I bought a safari vest, a tan hat, and a polaroid camera and gave it to a friend of mine who also brought his really nice digital camera. He had a sheet that detailed what he was doing, and had "objectives" he was trying to complete. Some of these things included...

1) Take a picture of Azeem Abdul Jafar
2) Take a picture of the crates in the UN base
3) Take a picture of either team executing wounded soldiers
4) Take a picture of either team clearly attacking the UN guards
5) Take a picture of each teams main objectives (Katyushu rocket truck and comm towers)

Since it was a polaroid camera, it was point, click, and out pops the picture... this could then be taken to each team and used as a bribe. The UN photographer ended up using one picture of an IDF soldier executing soldiers to get the UN guards to arrest him and place him in a "brig" for 10 minutes. The photographer also went to each team and bartered with them, offering to let them see the photographs in exchange for different things. This was mainly due to the polaroid camera, which was well worth the money spent on it. While he used the polaroid, he took plenty of pictures with his digital camera to fulfill the cameraman role as well.

[Beasthunter33]

Having been one of the U.N. Soldiers I have to say the photographer was pure genius. We loved carting him around and making sure he didn't get shot. And he also looked the part very well. I think it was very well executed.

And my favourite picture.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/njg361/Op%20Stormfront%202/_IGP5233.jpg?t=1209668236

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/njg361/Op%20Stormfront%202/_IGP5405.jpg?t=1209668310

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/njg361/Op%20Stormfront%202/_IGP5240.jpg

[Maple]

Maple,
Thanks for inquiring, it was a role I added in that I really enjoyed. I bought a safari vest, a tan hat, and a polaroid camera and gave it to a friend of mine who also brought his really nice digital camera. He had a sheet that detailed what he was doing, and had "objectives" he was trying to complete. Some of these things included...

1) Take a picture of Azeem Abdul Jafar
2) Take a picture of the crates in the UN base
3) Take a picture of either team executing wounded soldiers
4) Take a picture of either team clearly attacking the UN guards
5) Take a picture of each teams main objectives (Katyushu rocket truck and comm towers)

Since it was a polaroid camera, it was point, click, and out pops the picture... this could then be taken to each team and used as a bribe. The UN photographer ended up using one picture of an IDF soldier executing soldiers to get the UN guards to arrest him and place him in a "brig" for 10 minutes. The photographer also went to each team and bartered with them, offering to let them see the photographs in exchange for different things. This was mainly due to the polaroid camera, which was well worth the money spent on it. While he used the polaroid, he took plenty of pictures with his digital camera to fulfill the cameraman role as well.

I have a couple more questions, because your use of a photog seems to have actually worked well and now I am intrigued:
1. Was the photog considered a live target, i.e. he would die if shot?
2. Was the IDF tasked with executing people, or was it by player choice?
3. Was the photog "embedded" (or what ever the term is) with a unit, or did he wander the field?

Just wondering, as it seems like an idea that could be used at other games, possibly in different ways then just have a journalist type photog.
Again, sounds like you took something that has been done before (but not well) and used it to help move along the game. Good thinking.
-mat

[Jun Wen]

Great job actually integrating the photographer into the scenario. I'd just be happy to have someone whose sole task was to take event pictures.

[Kerrik13]

Maple,

1. Was the photog considered a live target, i.e. he would die if shot?
- Yes, he could be killed and would be removed from the field for a while if shot. He had a kill rag ready and everything. People seemed to just ignore him since he looked like a photographer, but they were not instructed to.

2. Was the IDF tasked with executing people, or was it by player choice?
- It was by choice. The players could walk within a "hit" player and shoot two shots into the ground next to him (they were NOT to actually shoot them, but near them) to finish them off and force them to respawn. It was an option, and not a single mission was tied to it except for the photographer trying to capture it on a Polaroid.

3. Was the photog "embedded" (or what ever the term is) with a unit, or did he wander the field?
- He was technically with the UN, so he went with escort all over the place. He wandered, but the UN guards tried to not let him go anywhere alone.

For those of you who want to see the event footage, I finally got YouTube to cooperate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc_8YMGyb_I

[Maple]

Maple,

1. Was the photog considered a live target, i.e. he would die if shot?
- Yes, he could be killed and would be removed from the field for a while if shot. He had a kill rag ready and everything. People seemed to just ignore him since he looked like a photographer, but they were not instructed to.

2. Was the IDF tasked with executing people, or was it by player choice?
- It was by choice. The players could walk within a "hit" player and shoot two shots into the ground next to him (they were NOT to actually shoot them, but near them) to finish them off and force them to respawn. It was an option, and not a single mission was tied to it except for the photographer trying to capture it on a Polaroid.

3. Was the photog "embedded" (or what ever the term is) with a unit, or did he wander the field?
- He was technically with the UN, so he went with escort all over the place. He wandered, but the UN guards tried to not let him go anywhere alone.

For those of you who want to see the event footage, I finally got YouTube to cooperate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc_8YMGyb_I

Good deal. Sounds like you thought the idea through and actually got it to work well in execution. Thanks for the updates.

[Kerrik13]

Good deal. Sounds like you thought the idea through and actually got it to work well in execution. Thanks for the updates.

Hey, if you guys like the idea and some photographers pop up in games I attend instead of coordinate, that would be cool... nudge nudge... :-D

The game was fun, but thanks to the IDF I have to reeeeally change around the storyline for Op Vig 3! :)