16/02/2013 - Community event AAR

[Iffn]

I'm not questioning your compitence as FTL at all Speirs. I think we sticked to the plan that was given to us and tried to fulfil our mission as best we could.

[=VG= Calv]

Speirs =VG= LAN_WROTE ...


Suggestion:
* formation training with a convoy

Yeah, for the first time handling vehicles like this it wasn't too bad, but there's plenty of room for improvement.
The biggest problem with the left/right herringbone formation was that nobody knew what direction the car in front was going to turn until after they turned.
Plus we didn't really have set positions in the driving formation, I know semler outlined what he wanted, and it's clear what he was aiming to achieve with it by keeping the primary vehicles in the centre, but it was perhaps a little overcomplicated.
The following:
Demon1-1 - Lead
Demon1-2
Demon2-1
Demon2-2
Demon3-1
Demon3-2 - Rear
would've been simpler.

But again, it's all due to inexperience with vehicle tactics. It's all a learning experience.

[=VG= Speirs]

@Iffn - I was talking about my own performance. I dont wanted to insinuate anything.
Maybe a hard judgment but when i regard the result afterwards its fair enough.

We have fulfilled the mission (!) that's what counts. We all have to work on details.
I am confident and sure that we have a better run at the next mission.

[PITN]

I was the secondary pilot for this mission. Overall I think the mission was a success and there were also some missteps. I would like to share some observations and feedback based on gameplay and this AAR.

• Load-outs.
  The load-outs worked great. They just need some tweaking. The Demolition/Engineer should be added. Empty backpacks are nice but I prefer to have everything filled. Players can clear their pack or just drop it and grab an empty one.

• Radios.
  All vehicles need radios pre-installed. Radio comms need to be clearer. Codes are great but plain English is preferred when under stress. Command net or 117/119 traffic should be for platoon to platoon or platoon to HQ or support (aircraft/artillery). ie. CMD ? 1, Firesupport ? 2, CAS ? 3, MEDEVAC/TRANS ? 4. The 148's should be on the same channel for that platoon. The 343 should be on one channel per squad. Fireteams communicate in direct or 343 even if there are 12 people on that net. There was some unnecessary comms and I was guilty of it myself. If your using the radio then say, ?THIER CALLSIGN?, YOUR CALLSIGN? and wait 5-10 seconds for a response before you try again. Make sure when you press the transmit button that you count to three before speaking.

• Support slots.
  Even if there are a set number of people signed up there needs to be extra slots available for interested players. These slots can be in pairs or as individuals. Depending on the number of extras you can add support attachments and assign them a squad. If there are enough you could even make a new squad/platoon.

• Pilots.
  The Pilots had no role for this type of mission. While supply runs would exist for a pilot no player wants to drop off a some ammo once in three hours. Simple support roles like ammo/supply drops can be accomplished with the Logistics module. We could have been utilized better as an attachment to the platoon in a supporting infantry role. The first helo was lost to an extremely accurate RPG and the second was lost due to a lift script bug. It took us 45 minutes before we could attempt the recovery of the helo when it could have been recovered in ten minutes with the Logistics module. The Logistics module would have also solved the satchel dilemma.

• Vehicles.
  All vehicles should be pre-loaded with gear necessary for a patrol. This includes radios, ammo, explosives(C4/ LAT/HAT/etc.) and medical supplies. Vehicle formations. The herringbone. This is used for extended stops along a column and it isn't usually called. You just tell the column to stop and they assume the correct posture. Unless you practice these formations they will always be a clusterfuck. They also do not translate well into online games. You would be better off modifying it slightly by just working on fields of fire and sector responsibility. Other helpful formations are Wedge, Vee, Echelon left and Echelon right.

• Formations and movement.
  While watching the drama unfold overhead I could see some squads in excellent formation. These guys were on the line and I could clearly see the fireteams and who the leaders were. Textbook. But others just seems to run into the fray without and type of cohesion or safety. They might has well been a mob running down the street. This can only be fixed with regular drilling or practice sessions.

• Squads and units.
  Let each squad be responsible for their vehicles. The squad leader can drive or assign his own. The vehicles radios should be on the platoon net. MRAP(119) to the SL(148) The SL has his RTO to talk to CMD if he has to.

Practicing formations.
You do not have to be online to practice formations. Formations used by infantry are almost identical to vehicles and BIS did a good job on recreating this. Load up a game in the editor and fill out a 4,8 or 12 man squad and command them into various formations. DO NOT do this in MSO or with ACE. These mods screw up the AI. When you are commanding these AI try different formations, awareness and stances. If you pay attention you will see the AI cover there own sectors and provide pretty good 360 degree security. You do need to have regular drills with other players to get that squad cohesion though.

[Warfighter]

I would love to get PMs before ArmA events.

[=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty)]

Overall pretty fucking great considering this is only our 2nd event and our first with 40 players on the server (and in TS)


So to summarize the event:

More lead time = more organization

We need to get the signup thread, comms details, squad structure, etc up at least 5 DAYS before the event. This allows us to properly prepare for # of players and work out any kinks. This also will allow us to 'prep' the event - admins can login an hour before start and do things like mount vehicle radios, pre-pack vehicles, etc.

Send out PMs to members informing them of upcoming event


KISS (keep it simple stupid)

We need to keep the plan simple and clear - at least until we are pros at whatever the task is (ie: mechanized patrols)


Bored players are Angry players

I swear in testing the number of OPFOR in those villages was much higher!!! Anyway... yes there was not enough to shoot at - trust me this will be fixed for next time (you will regret your words!!!)


Comms Structure

Still a WIP this will need more discussion


Start Delays

Always an issue it seems however having more preset loadouts (and tweaking the ones we have now) should help this