ThunderCactus sounds dead on about the state of airsoft. Skirmisher numbers flourish every year, but then tend to either get bored and leave, or take it to a LARPing level.
The number of people using "legit/expensive" kit (NODs, Crye/LBT/Ops Core gear, legit optics and lights, rucks, overnight gear, rain/cold weather gear, etc) is going up here in Ontario, and that's the fast-and-dirty heuristic that I use for "is this player going to be sticking with airsoft for a while". That's not to say that a lot of good players don't play hard in just their jeans and 5-year-old condor vests, while a lot of new players splurge on kit in their first year of chairsofting. But it's a simple heuristic.
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Originally Posted by AnthonyG
Statements like "I reserve the right to vet all players" or "you are not on the roster until I approve you" are somewhat BS. Are you saying this because you are legitimatly afraid all the bad boyz in red digi-cam are going to show up and ruin your game, or is it because you and all your friends just want to play with familiar-face, "top tier opr8drrs".
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I can't speak for everyone, but the appeal of private games for me is that there will be a minimum level of competency among the people I'm playing with. I don't consider myself a long-time vet, but I land pretty heavily on the "I'm just here to LARP" side of the spectrum. The people attending these private games know what they're getting into, and know how to play along, so I can get immersed in my LARPing and enjoy myself.
However, there is some truth to wanting to play with familiar faces. I've trained with several different groups, and LARPing is so much more fun when you're on the same page as everyone around you. If I see a random team mate covering a corner, it's nice to be able to walk up behind them, put downward pressure on their shoulder, and know that they'll get down on a knee so we can high-low it.
I have certain expectations about the experience I'll get when I attend a "milsim", which are just based around how I enjoy playing. That expectation is relatively, but not unreasonably, high. I want to play in a milsim where people don't quit whenever they feel like it; are able to follow orders; have a teamwork mindset; have comms; don't cheat; can push themselves; come prepared for the experience/weather/length/whatever; and are able to have fun without needing to pull a trigger. This is basic stuff, that a game of vetted players is more likely to provide.
It's great to play alongside newbies and get to know them. That's how I've met many of my friends, and how I've personally grown as an airsofter. But it's a lot of money and effort to go into a milsim, and now that I know what I want, that's what I try to find. I don't always want to get out to a game just to potentially spend 18+ hours herding cats on my squad, or listening to people complain about guard/recce duty, or watching people walk to their cars at 1am. Sometimes it's just fun to join a game where I can relax, and "get some work done" with like-minded people.
But arguably the best part of private games, is that they do stuff that you can't do with completely open games. Because the "invited" players meet a minimum level of competency, these games are often more challenging, or can do things out of the ordinary. Events like that not only give me new and interesting experiences, but also allow me to learn a lot of new stuff. Most events I go to, I'm one of the most junior/inexperienced people there, and people teach me a lot.
Games like Deadfall couldn't work with walk ons that end up walking off (like I attempted to do at my first Deadfall). Blackline events wouldn't be the well oiled immersion/learning machines that they are with random non-committed people. You couldn't have random people "raid" another game to kidnap a command element like Blackline did at Delta's Pathfinder game (with Delta's permission, of course). Not just for the obvious reasons of "random people shouldn't be trusted with motor vehicles, zipties, and hoods" - but also because it took weeks of lead-up preparation, and was executed by very dedicated and teamwork-focused players with patience, perseverance, and communication. It's difficult to achieve that kind of immersion if everybody isn't on the same page.
Sorry for getting so off topic.