The "CONTACT!" Home Page

Updated: Monday November 16th 2009

Back to the Contents Page
Go to the Links section below

C O N T A C T !

UNITED NATIONS STAR GATE COMMAND LOGO a scene from CONTACT
"Okay people, this is definitely not Kansas, heads up, weapons hot, and stay frosty!"

	C O N T A C T !

Introduction

Welcome to the School's pages dedicated to it's "Stargate" inspired science fiction airsoft role playing campaign, which began in July of 1996. Known as CONTACT!, the events are military simulations/ role playing weekends, run in a 'campaign' structure, that is, there is a long term mystery or 'story arc' into which individual weekend 'episodes' are fitted, much like the 90's TV series "Babylon 5". For us the movie Stargate and the spin-off TV show Stargate SG-1 serve in the role of "plausible deniability", in the event of premature disclosure of the "truth". Our plot is unique, with plenty for the thoughtful player to get their brains wrapped around, or when that fails them, plenty for them to exercise their trigger finger on!

Mil-Sim & LRP

A medic treats the wounds of a fallen comrade.

The term "Mil-Sim" meaning "military simulation", refers to those kinds of airsoft games that aim to be as realistic as possible. So for example the amount of ammunition carried by a player, is more like that carried by a real soldier, rather than the impossibly huge bucket fulls carried in quick skirmish type games. "Wounds" are acted out, and "Medics" are needed to patch people up, or get them back to base if things get really tough. To this you add realistic tactics which are vital if you want to survive.

The term "LRP" meaning "Live Role Playing", sometimes called "LARP" ("A" for "Action") refers to the type of games which are like taking on a role in a computer game or movie, but where you really have to do the things your character wants to, but without the benifit of a script, or the hinderance of an audiance, apart from your fellow players. You playy a "character", with a different name and background history to your own, necessary if you need to survive death!

Great effort is taken to ensure the suspension of disbelief by maximising realism. The authenticity of the venue, the weapons, uniforms, insignia and general atmosphere, draws you in deep to the illusion that you really are working for the United Nations Star Gate Command, in their most secret and vital project to save the world.

Weapons & Combat

The "M4 SOPMOD" manufactured by TOKYO MARUI of Japan and released in the UK in 2009.

Combat is conducted with airsoft guns, the increasingly popular alternative to paintball type weapons. These airsof guns are ultra low powered air weapons discharging 6mm plastic BB's at one twelth of the power of a paintball gun. The BB's contain NO paint, so there is no mess, but it does require complete honesty on the part of all players to acknowledge their hits, and as we are a non-comercial organisation, cheats are swiftly shown the door. The principle models of these airsoft guns are driven mainly by electric motors, and because of their extremely low power, they are legally permitted to be fully automatic, typically shooting at about 600-1,200 rounds per minute, with a maximum effective range of around 40-60 metres. For night fighting "tracer" amunition is used to radically enhance the combat experience. This is achieved by the use of a clever electronics package fitted to the muzzles of our weapons that uses a strobe light to illuminate specially coated BB's, which then glow bright green or orange as they fly through the air at up to 100 metres per second, very dramatic indeed.

To add to the realism, these guns are perfect plastic and metal replicas of genuine firearms, with replaceable magazines, varrying in capacity from around 40-100 rounds, depending upon model, which means you have to master the art of fire control and weapons handling. The guns can be fitted with optical sights, including night vision devices, torches, bipods and other accessories. We even have so-called "fragmentation" grenades and command fired "Claymore" mines to make things interesting, plus smoke grenades for signaling and concealment. These grenades and mines are standard commercially available paintball accessories supplied for use with BB's, which meet our stringent safety requirements, see our Rules and Regulations pages, via the links below.

UKARA & the VCRA

As of September 30th 2007 The Fight School is a registered airsoft site with the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailer's Association ("UKARA"), which means that our members are able to comply with the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (VCRA), which came in to effect on October 1st 2007, and controls the purchase of airsoft weapons.

The Venue

The Guard House, that serves as the concealed entrence to the bunker.

The Guard House, that serves as the concealed entrance to the bunker.

Games are run from a genuine ex-government fully operational underground nuclear bunker near Brentwood in Essex, which is now run as a public museum. The owners have been allowing us to live, work and sleep in this base for 48 hours at a time since 1999. Bearing in mind the Stargate inspiration, this venue is the ultimate in set dressing. To which we bring our authentically costumed activity that splendidly complements the bunker's military atmosphere. For directions to or a virtual tour of the bunker click on the links below. If nothing else the bunker itself is well worth a visit, and if you can make it in May, they run a Military Vehicle Show, with numerous displays, including a recruiting stand for CONTACT

The bunker staff can provide genorous meals and other refreshments available to buy in the base's Mess Hall. There are excellent toilets and hot showers available within the bunker complex. There are bunk beds in the dorm's, or as the base is quite large, being originally designed to house 600 personnel, there is, consequently plenty of space for you to bring your own camp bed/matress, and find yourself some privacey. The base is of course warm, dry and well lit.

And what do the public visiting the bunker make of it all? Well they love it, having very heavily armed military type characters "actually" doing things makes the setting really come alive for them. For our part, having the public around makes the base seem far more active than it would otherwise be. We simply write the public in to the background of our scenarios as other base personnel going about their own business. Surprisingly it works rather well, most of the time we don't even notice that the public are there.

We have three actual fighting areas outside of the bunker, which itself is a "safe zone". The closest is a woodland area on the same land as the bunker itself that is used by a commercial paintball company during the day, which is used for some night fighting and a few daylight missions. Nearby is a grassland zone that we alone use, complete with trenches and foxholes. Over the nearby road, on another section of land owned by the bunker is our own dedicated fighting area. This is a mixture of woodland and grassland. In addition we are constantly looking for alternative playing sites to add variety to the campaign.

Event Format & Costs

You can arive anytime on the Friday afternoon of an event, giving you plenty of time to gear up before "time-in" at around 20:00. From then until 23:59 of the Saturday, you are at war! From midnight until 07:00 it is "time-out". This is done to ensure that those who have long drives home on the Sunday, get enough sleep to have a safe journey. This is particularly important as some of our players in the past have come from as far afield as Cardif and Carlisle. Those who don't have far to go, or who aren't driving, take this time to break open a bottle or two for some friendly socialising. Game-over is at 16:00 on the Sunday when we break for the final event debriefing. We then clean and pack up to be off the site by no later than 18:00.

Full Weekend Rate £45.00. This covers all accommodation, and site fees for the whole weekend from Friday to Sunday.

Half Weekend Rate £25.00. This covers one nights accommodation, and site fees for either the period from Friday to 17:00 on the Saturday, or from 17:00 on the Saturday to 18:00 on the Sunday.

For those unable to stay overnight, there are three "Walk-On" rates to cover site fees:

Saturday Full Day Walk-On (10:00-00:00): £25.00.
Saturday or Sunday Daytime Only Walk-On (10:00-17:00): £20.00.
Saturday Evening Only Walk-On (17:00-00:00): £10.00.

Some special events are subject to a surcharge to cover their increased costs, such as the Regimental Dinner, which is an extra £17.00. Details will be given on the Diary pages for any surcharges.

If you need the loan of a protective mask for the event, there is no additional charge. We do not hold stocks of loan costumes, weapons etc., but members will lend or hire out their own spare kit to new players if requested in advance.

Pyrotechnics, ammunition and other supplies (badges, metal ribbons etc.) are normally available on site at very low prices for our members.

You will need to either bring your own cold food/rations (sorry no cooking within the Bunker), or sufficient funds to purchase it as and when you want to buy it from the Mess Hall. Below is a guide to meal costs. The Mess Hall is open for business between 10:00-17:00.

Full English Breakfast: £5.00.
Main Meal, e.g. Steak & Kidney Pudding, Peas and Chips: £4.00
Cooked Snacks, e.g. Burgers & Chips: £3.00
Tea, hot chocolate and coffee are free outside of the bunkers normal opening hours (10:00-17:00), otherwise they are 60p.
Cold cans are a £1.00.
Beer and wine (for time-out use ONLY) start from £2.00.*

* NB: Most people bring their own.

Other Requirements

Depending upon your desired role, combatant or non-combatant, civilian or military scientist, body guard, medical or inteligence personnel, you will need to bring suitable clothing for the role, such as battle dress uniform, head gear, gloves and boots, or even a lab coat or scrubs! You'll need your own 'bed roll', that is sleeping bag and matress/air bed or the like. Plus all your own weapons and military/scienctific equipment. Help with getting geared up, or even the loan of such kit can be easily arranged. See the General Regulations and its CONTACT appendices, for more detailed information about what you will need to play CONTACT. Note that the School itself does have limited supplies of the more specialised kit (bandages etc.) available for loan to you as a new player for your first event, so you can try out the campaign. For more information upon where to buy your gear, see the CONTACT Links Page off the table below.

The Members Only Email Lists

As a member you can join our three email groups:

The CONTACT Mailing List, through which you can receive official traffic, such as hearing about upcoming events, rule changes etc.
The "in-character" UNSGC list, where you can join in the discussions with other characters about the "scientific" or "military situation".
The CONTACT-Chat list, where you can just chat about anything airsoft, new weapons and kit etc.

If you are a current player not yet on these lists, then simply click the first or second of the links below to apply.

Additional Information

If you require any more information about CONTACT, getting equipped etc. please get in touch with me, Dean Wayland, at the School. For event dates please visit the School's diary pages, and for details of the Rules and Regulations governing CONTACT, please see the links below. I can be reached at:

Telephone: 01438-368177	Send Dean An Email

The In-Character Pages

Now for the fun part. The first of the links with the UN logo takes you to the beginning of the in-character pages of the campaign. The second is a short cut for established players. These in-character pages act as a resource for you, helping you to solve the mysteries of the story arc. Please remember that this is a 'role-play' site, and therefore the dire warnings and threats of the first pages are only there to give it credibility and atmosphere. So go on click the link, and enjoy the ride...

Dean Wayland
aka Brigadier General Alastair R. Courtney
Support Company, RGHQ-51
UNSGC
United Nations Marine Corps

Links

Link	Description	Updated
CONTACT Admin Email List	click here to mail "Parkway" to request your addition to the CONTACT members only email list, used for official traffic by the School for such things as event details etc.	N/A
CONTACT Chat Yahoo Group Email List	click here to go to the Yahoo Groups site to request your addition to the members only "CONTACT Chat" email list, used for all out of character chat.	N/A
UNSGC Email List Service	click here to go to the Yahoo Groups site to request your addition to the members only UNSGC " email list, used for all in-character messages.	N/A
CONTACT On Facebook	click here to go to the CONTACT "Facebook" site run by Simon Doidge, one of our players, to see some of the more light hearted material! As this is another private group, you'll need to first be a member of Facebook, then apply to the moderator Simon Doidge, to join the CONTACT group.	N/A
Directions To The Bunker	click here for maps and directions to the Bunker.	9th October 2007
Visit The Bunker	click here to go to the Bunker's own web site.	See Site
The Diary	click here to go to the School's current Diary pages, where there is also a link to the "Quick Ref Diary".	September 4th 2009
Rules and Regulations Pages	click here to go to the Rules And Regulations pages which include the game rules for CONTACT.	September 4th 2009
CONTACT Links Page	click here to go to the CONTACT links page	July 6th 2009
Who's Who In CONTACT	click here to go to the "Out-Of-Character" page that lists all the player and character names considered as currently "on active duty" or in the "reserve".	November 16th 2009
	For NEW players, click here to go to the "United Nations"** page, the beginning of the in-character section of this site, read and enjoy the ride...**	April 2nd 2006
	For established players, this is a shortcut to the home page of the UNSGC's UK base Archive at RGHQ-51.	November 16th 2009

As of September 30th 2007 The Fight School is a registered airsoft site with the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailer's Association, which means that our members are able to comply with the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (VCRA), which came in to effect on October 1st 2007.

Back to top of Links
Back to Top of Page

End of Page