Major changes while I was out

[Cap Town Cat]

Hey everyone,

I have been away from the game, and automags.org, for about 5-6 years now. Not that I got upset with the game, it was a function of a lack of good field, cost, and college/law school. I have been gone so long that I forgot my log in name an don't have the email account it was attached to anymore.

I hope you all can answer some questions for me. When I left I still loved the game. I loved airball but mostly because I was playing with same talent and cost level people. The occasional arrogant cheater would role through but the other players would walk off on them and go play urban ball instead. Now that I am back I have been trying to catch up, reading some blogs and such to get a feel for where the game went while I was out.

Let me give some context. The last big event I remember before leaving was Tom stepping down from AGD and the XMAG production ceasing. I think it would have been 2004.

1. What happened to the Autococker? WGP doesn't even have it on their site? Ebladed black magics are selling for < $200? Have I really been gone that long?

2. What is a good gun now adays? I remember Angels being the creme-de-la-creme at $1k but now I see guns rocking nearly $2k.

3. Is it true that players are leaving the sport right and left?

4. Do I understand correctly that tourneys are allowing full auto?

5. Where is a good place to buy Automag Upgrades online?

6. What is the current status and plans of AGD?

7.Has anyone tried sticking pnuematics in a Zframe...I'm seriously considering this



Yes I know I should search for these answers. And I did, but I got a lot of false positive search results when searching for such information.

[MANN]

1 - went the way of the dodo.

2- mech - automag
electric - viking

3- yes

4- no, but they do allow ramping

5 - here, themagsmith, Tunamart, AGD, BEO, PBL, ebay

6- none. just keep chuging along. no more e markers.

7 - yes. people have put pneumatics in everything now.

[sandfreestyle]

NXL tourneys do allow full auto

[Smoothice]

1. WGP prices are in the crapper. Have been for a few years now.

2. Ego's are pretty nice. invert mini's, cyborg's. I don't have any of those but people seem to like them

3. Yes

4. I don't believe full auto. But they do allow ramping. Which is basically a capped full auto that requires you to at least pull a certain minimum bps. Ex: You pull 6 bps and it ramps up to 13.3 bps.

5. HERE, or tunamart.com, or the AGD store. The other places i've seen all over charge.

6. There don't seem to be any. Keep selling old stock. Make new stock when needed.

7. Yes. prepare to drool all over yourself. http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?t=216314

loguzzzzzz also build others pneumags. So if you need some work done just shoot him a pm.

[xero28]

Let me be one of the first ones to say "welcome back". I was out for about 5 or 6 years before coming back last year, happy to see AGD is still around strong. I'll try to answer a few of your questions.

1. What happened to the Autococker? WGP doesn't even have it on their site? Ebladed black magics are selling for < $200? Have I really been gone that long?

From what I understand, WGP went out of business last year. Their value has dropped dramatically, but they are still around being sold used.

2. What is a good gun now adays? I remember Angels being the creme-de-la-creme at $1k but now I see guns rocking nearly $2k.

I don't have too much first hand experience with "high-end" guns, but I guess Egos are where it's at right now. Of course a nice X-valved mag with a ULT can keep up just fine with most of the high end guns. When ROF is capped, why do you need a gun that can shoot 40 bps?

3. Is it true that players are leaving the sport right and left?

I think right now because of the economy paintball is losing players who can't afford the prices of paint and field fees, but I don't think paintball will be going away any time soon.

4. Do I understand correctly that tourneys are allowing full auto?

Can't comment on this one, don't know.

5. Where is a good place to buy Automag Upgrades online?

Right here on AO. Check the B/S/T forums. What's great about Mag owners is that once they get their gun set up just the way they want it, they need a new project. So to pay for the new one they sell the old one! I have upgraded my gun numerous times from items purchased from the great people here on AO.

6. What is the current status and plans of AGD?

Status - Still producing and selling some of the BEST paintball products ever.

Plans - From what I've seen/read, keep producing what they are at the moment, probably no major new products in the near future. Though Pro-Team Products is currently designing a new MicroMag body.

7.Has anyone tried sticking pnuematics in a Zframe...I'm seriously considering this

It has been done. I know that I have seen them here. I think Loguzzzzzz did one. Check the "Pneumag Pics" thread. Should be in there.

Again, welcome back and prepare to enjoy the sport all over again.

-X

[warbeak2099]

The NXL allows "NXL full auto". The first two shots are semi-auto and the third is full. After the third shot the cycle starts over again. I actually find it harder to play with.

[insixdays777]

New awesome markers: Electro: MacDev Droid or Cyborg RX. Mech: Pneumag

[Cap Town Cat]

Thanks for that link Smooth, I think I did actually salivate onto my laptop.

But yeah, I am glad to return in some form. I am currently feeling the itch to hit the field again. But it's tough finding a field close to DC proper.

I have the itch to start a project since I can't really play given where I am. I am torn between doing the strangest stuff possible to my Mag or picking up a dirty cheap cocker just to fiddle around with.

And, just because I got out for a few years doesn't mean I sold my baby. I put 4 years of work and tuning along with multiple pay checks to get this gun to a respectable point.
Blue ULE
X valve
Z frame
Edge Barrel kit
Obviously that isn't anything do drop your jaw about now adays. But man back in the day she could shut up the Angel boys with a quick trigger walk. I missed ONE HUGE THING, that distinct Automag bolt noise.

Oh and Mann, I have two digits for you...54, with love from Kentucky.

[Spider-TW]

For the autocockers, I was looking at them at the time they took the dive. I had never had one. Having watched them develop from sheridan pump days, it startled me when I spotted them in walmart and academy sports.

A large sporting goods conglomerate (sry, someone will remind me here I hope) bought JT, Brass Eagle and eventually WGP. This is when the variety of 'Trilogy' and other cheap WGP cockers started to appear. When all that didn't perform so well (too cheap for cocker die hards, too complicated for new players), they just shut the WGP manufacturing down. Now you have a relatively complicated machine with no factory support and fading aftermarket support. Add to that the used market is complicated by the presence of late model cheap manufactured products and only the real cocker fans can navigate it well.

A similar problem struck the WDP angel. They sent them overseas (china I think, punkncat?) to be manufactured. The cheap version doesn't sell as well and the old versions have lost a lot of support. Now the used ones are mixed in with the slightly used cheap ones, and the market is confused and losing appreciation.

One of the nice things about mags and vikings is that there was never a cheap version built.

$1400 used to buy you a solid, late model, well tuned, custom marker. Now you get a high end electro off the assembly line with some quality control. There is an entire market now for the most recent 'model year' markers. Most values drop to around $300 in about 2 to 4 years. If you keep your markers longer than that and do your own maintenance, 06 egos are easy pickings right now.

Or get that cocker you always wanted.

[MANN]

Oh and Mann, I have two digits for you...54, with love from Kentucky.

This is where I would normally talk trash to every school in the SEC. unfortunately this year we suck. Oh but our football team beat you

[Dark Side]

Spider, I believe the company you are reffering to is Kee. They own a sunstantial chunk of PB.

[Spider-TW]

Spider, I believe the company you are reffering to is Kee. They own a sunstantial chunk of PB.

Is "K2" the same as "Kee"?

(rabidchihuahua, pg. 2)

[fishmishin]

No Kee and K2 are seperate companies, but between them they own most of the current paintball companies right now. At least this is how I understand it anyway. I am just coming back to PB myself and have been doing some research on what has changed, after a 10 year break, well I will leave at 10 years because I don't want to think it has been any longer than that,lol. I did play a big game this weekend in Hopewell, VA, first time on the field in a long time, wow I got old, and I was glad to see some other Mags out there. I was thinking I would probably be the only one out there. I wasn't and it made me feel good to see em. I have always been an AGD loyalist and plan to continue to do so. You got to love a gun that has been sitting in a closet for 10 years, well oiled, only to be brought out, re-oiled, and taken out to play. In my opinion that is hard to beat. I will confess that I did break out my 7-year olds GTI pirahna to play with for awhile, But I had just gotten finished doing a few things to it, and I wanted to check it out before I handed it back over to him, and in the morning it was like 9* outside and my ag was shredding paint. I took the mag back out for the last couple of battles and wondered why I played with the GTI as long as I did. My mag shot so true, that it reminded me of why I loved these guns so much. I can't wait to get to do some stuff with it. Current setup:

Classic mag
stock reg
powerlyte .45 frame
lvl 7 bolt
15 hole Jacko barrel- still shots outstanding for fourteen years old
psychoballistics drop forward- that things a piece of you know what
benchmark foregrip

Just a stock old beater that I kept because I didn' t want to be left with nothing. With the exception of the barrell. Looking to get a x-valve and lvl-x, when I can find one's I can afford, ULE black body, & ULT.
Also have a AIR AMERICA Raptor REX reg, that I need a drop forward and a bottle for.

After that I hope to be satisfied with it, although I probably will want to keep on working on it.

Anyway I am so glad to see other AGD loyalist around, and that AGD hasn't gone way of WGP. Although I would like to see them start some working on some new products, I guess it could be kinda hard when the old one's are just so d@mn good!!

My name is Chris and I'm a magaholoic, thanks for letting me share!!

[fishmishin]

Sorry to have rambled on so long I just thought with the topic: Major changes while I was out
it was the proper place.

[Spider-TW]

Mag upgrades usually just lead to more mags.

Unless I sell as I go, I keep ending up a rail or frame short of a whole mag.

The old parts have their uses too, especially in a plain CO2 mag, a pump mag, or a pneumag. I think the only part of my old 68 automag that is not in service somewhere is the original valve that I traded in for an X-valve and then bought a replacement for it.