Is it just me?

[dre1919]

I started playing paintball in 1993 and spent many years playing and loving woods ball and scenario. Then, as the sport grew and tournaments and speed ball type play rose in prominence, I moved toward that as a natural progression. I always thought it was crappy that woods ball...the camouflage, uneven terrain and field aspects, as well as the low firing rates and milsim gear...were all suddenly looked down upon by the more "we're a sport now" tourney crowd. (Even though I was a part of that crowd in play, I never adopted that attitude). You could go into "Pro-shops" and they would be amused if you wanted anything by Tippmann or anything firing less than 1,000 balls per second, etc.

Anyway, because things in life are cyclical...and because there are better milsim products than ever before...and because the economy sucks (as well many other reasons I'm sure), woods ball...and all that goes with it...is back and mainstream popular again in the paintball crowd. Hell, it's fair to say it's THE thing now. I find this refreshing (as it never should have left or been replaced by the "soccer with guns" speed ball game anyway, IMHO), but I also find it a little funny and even somewhat insulting. Almost like it was a game style for us hardcore paintball guys, then the corporate types came in and said "Let's make paintball a "sport" so it sells more paint and makes more money" and changed the game. Then, when things went to hell, our "real" game came back and is now fashionable again.

Does that make anyone else want to figuratively (or literally) kick a "Pro Shop, Speed Ball, Corporate Type" in the face? LOL.

[mpsd]

You summed it up pretty well. I started playing paintball in 1991 and moved to speedball in 2005 or so. I even played the Brazilian Paintball Cup in 2006 as well as attended some Pro Clinics, even with Dinasty and Ironmen when they came down here. But then in the end of 2007 or beggining of 2008 I just dropped it off because of the attitude. Man, how I would like to kick some ass... LOL

[leloup]

Trends, man. Businesses have to keep up with market trends, shifting focus to meet demand. I think it was the rapid advance in technology at the turn of the millennia that brought about the change in play, then the fall in the economy that brought it back to its roots with woods and pump style increasing again. Instead of finding fault with one form of play, celebrate that you are part of a sport that is versatile and ever changing.

[Konigballer]

Now theres a funny flipside to the re-emergence of woodsball, spearheaded by the Mil-sim scene. Sometimes they act as though there was no woodsball scene before the Tippmann 98 & A5 was invented and be-dazzled with black accessories!

Many of them only started playing a few years ago, so I've gotten a few blank stares when I pull out my shiny splash Minimag for some woodsball action. "Is that an electro?"

To be fair to proshops though, it is NOT easy running a paintball store. As evidenced by the numerous ones I've seen go out of business... I'm not sure how they even turn a profit in the age of the internet, and their definately subject to the changing market tides.

[dre1919]

Nah, I totally understand why it's back. Hell, I think the next big thing are these magazine fed markers because of the MilSim rage and because it requires even less ammo. But, I do have to agree...I don't know how very many fields make a living, and I think that's why there aren't a lot of fields around me left open. At any rate, I'm pretty happy woodsball and MilSim are big right now.

[Joelus Morolus]

think about it this way: kids are the future of the sport. as the paintball player population ages, life gets in the way. the older crowds remember paintball being fun and somewhat tactical by running around in the woods. most of those aging players have kids now too, so the emphasis will be for their kids to start at the roots of paintball, both for nostalgic reasons and financial ones. no mom or dad wants to support a speedball kid ripping through paint and their wallet simultaneously.

also, with the focus of computer and video games on themes like Modern Warfare 1, 2, 3, Battlefield 1, 2, 3, etc, kids won't go for anything that looks like a "space *****" (to quote some pbnation kids). So the comeback of milsim also has a lot to do with the younger crowds feeling the urge to play "war games" with more skill involved, as well as the "tacticool" looks and full multicam or acu rigs.

when i was a kid (I'm 25 now) we played a game called "Guns". just flat out guns. we had some amazing wood and steel replicas and ran around the neighborhood till the sun went down, holding the girls hostage and using garages as jail cells or nuclear bases. kids want to re-enact what they see in tv and movies and now video games, not get shredded by 20+ bps.

the return to woodsball through this milsim kick is such a good thing. yes markers and gear do look better than they did in the days of early paintball, but it's what the kids want and companies know how to spot it. speedball won't ever die out, not that i want it to, but the mutual respect is likely to come back between woods and speedballers.

my 2 cents.

[Redic]

You summed it up pretty well. I started playing paintball in 1991 and moved to speedball in 2005 or so. I even played the Brazilian Paintball Cup in 2006 as well as attended some Pro Clinics, even with Dinasty and Ironmen when they came down here. But then in the end of 2007 or beggining of 2008 I just dropped it off because of the attitude. Man, how I would like to kick some ass... LOL

Well i guess I am lucky my local pro shop is filled with Mag owners and pump players they ask people what style the like to play and their budget then direct them to the proper equipment for their style

[bound for glory]

i played my first game in march of 1985. skirmish usa. i hated speed ball and its ilk because i liked the woods where we started. everybody thrashin togeather and having a good time, reguardless of what kind of gun you had. where a sneaky punk with a splatmaster could creep up on a guy with a mag and tag him out. yeah. the game should have never left the woods.

[Pyrate Jim]

I think a large part of "why" speedball became so popular was a lot of people fell in love with the game and wanted to bring others into it.
They could not afford a large woods field and the property taxes, so they would do it smaller in order to provide a local venue for those who could not travel outside the suburbs.
Less area means fewer players on the field at any one time, and it was a natural outcome to use the tournament format in an effort to cycle all the players through and let everyone get in the most games they could.

Large woods fields have never gone away. The original "survival game" is still and always has been played by a number of "old skool" teams/groups/clubs around the country.
Many of these are private concerns, they don't advertise or chat online, they don't often accept "walk-ons" and prefer the game over the Sport in most cases.

If I have an issue, it's that for decades the whole paintball community tried to disassociate itself with anything that might be misconstrued as a "paramilitary" organisation.
Mil-Sim has brought paintball back to the woods, True.
But War is the most atrocious thing mankind has come up with and the wish to emulate it in any way, shape, or form is the sign of a sick mind.
Sorry, my pet peeve got loose for a minute...

[bound for glory]

well, i'm a vet and if you really think paintball in the woods, with an airgun that looks kinda, sorta(but not really) like a gun, is emulating real combat, i'd have to advise you to stop drinking or doing drugs. because thats very retarded