MILSIM - What is it ?

[Baz JJ]

I follow the milsim groups on Facebook and it always amazes me how many different milsim experiences are out there, the misconceptions of those who believe what others tell them and often just downright ignorance that their style is right.

There are lots of flavours of milsim. Its just about reading the information and playing whats right for you.

 

[Baz JJ]

Reading through the lazy player thread, another difference between milsim and skirmishing occurs to me.

In many skirmishes, players will rush objectives or try bold moves, knowing that failure involves a short walk to regen and they are back in the game a few minutes later.

In milsim, regen is deliberately made to be an effort - usually a long walk or at least medic rules with bleedout time. This is not done to be mean or inspire some kind of hardcore experience.

There is nothing like being scared of being shot.

Its a natural emotion in a real action, for obvious reasons.

Long regens help to add a degree of realism.

That heart thumping fear and inevitable adrenaline rush when a firefight kicks off and you are, both trying to conserve limited ammunition by short bursts of auto or better still, semi and you know that taking a round will put you out of the game long enough to at least miss that firefight.

You often read about hi-cap fests with players trying to get as many balls in the air as possible to maximise their chance of winning. Milsim players using mid caps or sometimes even real steel limit low caps will conserve ammo and pick their shots, knowing that any prolonged action will have to be punctuated by time sapping mag changes.

 

[EPICllama]

It is really very immersive. Okto in the last game had its "filmsim" elements, characters played by the staff to do particular things and drive the story and the missions along but really what made the game was all your team mates and the tactical play. In a skirmish when you put someone somewhere they wander off after 5 minutes, that just doesn't happen, your team mate will take his sector seriously. There were many moments of brilliance in the previous game, most of them unscripted by the organisers and more to do with the team mates and how they acted.

I highly recommend it, it is so far the best "airsoft" game I have ever played by a long way. You can't ever get that experience in a normal skirmish because they lack the level of commitment and command and control.

Thanks man I will go one day for sure

 

[jeffery7466]

It is really very immersive. Okto in the last game had its "filmsim" elements, characters played by the staff to do particular things and drive the story and the missions along but really what made the game was all your team mates and the tactical play. In a skirmish when you put someone somewhere they wander off after 5 minutes, that just doesn't happen, your team mate will take his sector seriously. There were many moments of brilliance in the previous game, most of them unscripted by the organisers and more to do with the team mates and how they acted.

I highly recommend it, it is so far the best "airsoft" game I have ever played by a long way. You can't ever get that experience in a normal skirmish because they lack the level of commitment and command and control.

Is it more expensive?

The impression I get is I'll have to spend a ridiculous amount of money on uniform (combats, boots, webbing/assualt vest) and gear (bergen, basher, sleeping bag, cooking equipment, ration, etc...) to look like the real deal.

 

[Baz JJ]

No its not expensive, You dont sleep in Okto games so you dont need military camping gear. I think one of the rebels at an earlier game was boasting about a £20 loadout, The dearest thing is buying five or six midcaps as you cant use high caps or carry loose bbs with you.

Even the MDF is only DPM so is quite cheap to meet. The game is £60 though.

 

[NickM]

As with anything you can go cheap and cheerful or high end. Yeah you get the guys who want all the real steel kit and pay £200 for a pair of trousers. But guaranteed they'll be stood next to someone who has spent that much on most of their kit combined including AEG. And their gaming experience will probably not be all that different.

I started with 2 loadouts, a dpm (free from my cadet days) and a ddpm (£20 from a surplus store). My PC was £40 on ebay, second hand, came with most of the pouches I needed, all but a hydration carrier. Holster was second hand about £15. That did me for most of my events fine. As Baz says, the midcaps were probably my biggest expense, but if you shop around or club together you can get a box set between 2 which really brings the cost down.

One event had SF vs generic middle eastern rebels. The brief for constructing each kit was SF, anything goes, upgrade anything you want. Rebels spend the least amount possible, including their rif, also try to remain with the look as well. So Cyma AK74 second hand, no upgrades.

 

[BBrotherwood]

No its not expensive, You dont sleep in Okto games so you dont need military camping gear. I think one of the rebels at an earlier game was boasting about a £20 loadout, The dearest thing is buying five or six midcaps as you cant use high caps or carry loose bbs with you.

Even the MDF is only DPM so is quite cheap to meet. The game is £60 though.

An 8 hour skirmish at my local site is £30. It is no more expensive then attending 2 skirmishes.

 

[Baz JJ]

It occurs to me that there is a big difference between the playing style of skirmishing and milsims.

Neither is wrong and many think that they are two branches of airsoft. I would beg to differ and say its the other way round.

Milsim and skirmishes are two different disciplines that share a use of airsoft in their execution.

In skirmishing, its mostly about airsoft.

In milsims, airsoft is just one of many tools.

I started off with skirmishing for about a year, played at a few different sites and then realised I was still wanting. Milsim satisfied that itch for me.

There seems to be a lot of ignorance about milsims by people who form opinions based on what they read or others say.

As there are lots of flavours of milsim, its more likely going to be an opinion of one site/game rather than anything else. A lot judge by what they read about Tier1 and Stirling. They are both at one end of the milsim scale and by no means represent all it has to offer.

 

[Samurai]

Skirmish is playing paintball with airsoft guns and gear.