What Markers Changed the Game?

[Old School 626]

Quick 2 cents,

IN the beginning there was the Nelspot and Splatmaster.

Then the age of Snipers and Bushmaster +clones.

Then the Autococker and Automag (The Tippmann 68 special was a gas hog that only ran on liquid and broke paint so it did not change the game IMO other than getting to light up people when the bottle ran down and the sear would no longer catch it added nothing).

Next we had more blowbacks join the fray, Illustrators, VM68 and SI Promasters.

Then there was the Angel...



Came back to Electros and you all know what happened there ...... F the Ion BTW.

[skipdogg]

The Automag put ROF on the map. It also religated pumps to a nitch market instead of them being mainstream like they were prior to the automag.

[bound for glory]

i'd add the carter comp. gun and the grey ghost.

[Hobbez]

I can really only think of two that really had any effect on the game itself. And even then its not really specific guns themselves, more a change in type.

When semis appeared on my local fields, how we all played changed. The game itself changed. Much less sneaking, hiding, and stealth and a lot more movement and shooting. In my little corner of central Maine, games were getting shorter and more action packed. This was a very good time for the average player in my area.

And then when the electros started to show on the field. The game changed again. In my area, it was the start of dark days. Angels flooded the fields just as soon as the ads started running in APG. High ROF and bonus balling became an every game thing. Teenagers with electros started overshooting folks to the point of injuries and the field owners wouldnt stop it because they bought 3-4 cases a day of $150 a case proball. This was a great day for owners, because 4 guys with electros would buy more paint than the 20 usuals that showed up every sunday. Its good thing they did, because us 20 regulars got sick of it and built a series of outlaw fields we rotated to each sunday from then on out.

So, now that I've rambled like an old man on a bus bench, let me just say. The semi changed the game (VM-68s mostly in my area) and electros changed the game (mostly angels in my area). I really can't think of anything else that changed paintball like that except professional play. But thats a rant for another morning post.

[athomas]

The original nelspot based markers were the start. Almost all original pump markers were derivatives of this design.

The quality of construction and success of the Line SI Bushmaster made it a favorite for tournament teams and pushed other manufacturers to follow suit. For that reason, I think it deserves acknowledgement in the category of game changers. I know the phantom also came at around the same time and had a lot of support, but the Bushmaster hit the market slightly ahead of it and garnished most of the fame due to its use by the top tournament teams. It was that fame that pushed other manufactures and changed the game.

Glenn Palmers Hurricane deserves mention. It was the first really successful pneumatic semiautomatic paintball gun. The autococker almost deserves mention. It is the semi-auto marker that most people know from the early semi-auto years. But, the autococker is only a modified version of the original Bud Orr Sniper with added pneumatics. Guess what? The pneumatic design was a copy of those done by Glenn Palmer. For that reason, I think that Palmers guns deserve mention as ones that changed the game.

The Automag is another early semi-auto marker that changed the game. It was so much faster than any other semi on the market when it came out, that it took over as the marker of choice at most of the tournament series. It was the gun that started the rate of fire arms race. If it had been introduced with a level 10 bolt system at that time, I doubt anyone today would even know what an autococker was.

The Spyder was a game changer because it introduced a reliable low cost semi-auto marker to the masses. The Spyder was based on the common stack tubed blow-back design. It wasn't a high performance gun, but it satisfied a market for casual users that allowed them to play with semi-auto markers at a price often less than that of a pump marker.

The Shocker was a game changer as it introduced electronic control to semi-auto markers. This started a whole new arms race because it allowed operators to fire guns faster than they could pull the trigger without actually firing fully automatic, which was illegal in most tournaments.

The Angel deserved mention because it introduced quality construction for electronic semi-auto markers. It was the first really fast electronic marker and set the bar that others tried to match, although the high price kept it as a high end gun that only serious players could afford. Even though people used other markers, they really wanted the Angel.

The Ion deserves mention because it, like the Spyder, introduced a low cost electronic marker to the masses and forced other manufacturers to lower their price point to compete.

There are other nice markers out there that have been around for a long time and are well known. It could be argued that they are game changers, but most are copies of other designs and didn't really influence or change the sport of paintball.

[OPBN]

I really like threads like this. I have only been seriuosly around paintball for a few years and find the history very interesting. I always knew that peple often times replaced their AC pnues with Palmers, but didnt realize that Palmers actually introduced them if I am getting the above post correct.

[Carnage reigns]

I really like threads like this. I have only been seriuosly around paintball for a few years and find the history very interesting. I always knew that peple often times replaced their AC pnues with Palmers, but didnt realize that Palmers actually introduced them if I am getting the above post correct.

I tend to agree. These thread give me some prospective. What part of Ohio are you shooting in sir? I don't think I have EVER seen another mag on the field unless our field owner plays.

[hunter100]

Blow back semi-autos. These are the lifeblood of the rental market. No rentals=no fields=no paintball. You can argue all you want about tournament guns, but cheap reliable semi auto markers have been the only thing that keeps fields in business.

[OPBN]

I tend to agree. These thread give me some prospective. What part of Ohio are you shooting in sir? I don't think I have EVER seen another mag on the field unless our field owner plays.

I am outside of Lima Ohio which sits between Dayton and Toledo.

[Carnage reigns]

I am outside of Lima Ohio which sits between Dayton and Toledo.

I know where that's at. A little 2 far north. I'm by cincy.

[Carnage reigns]

I am outside of Lima Ohio which sits between Dayton and Toledo.

I know where that's at. A little 2 far north. I'm by cincy.

[bound for glory]

carter comp>line si bushmaster
colin comp(aka grey ghost) dito
if you have to ask or google, you were'nt there...

[athomas]

Blow back semi-autos. These are the lifeblood of the rental market. No rentals=no fields=no paintball. You can argue all you want about tournament guns, but cheap reliable semi auto markers have been the only thing that keeps fields in business.

Absolutely! But the need for reliable semis for rentals was driven by development of fast guns for tournament use. Many of these tournament guns were used by rental players and were out of their price range for the majority. This meant that the majority of the players couldn't compete with the firepower of a few of the walk-on players until the low cost blowback markers were introduced and got into the rental armory.

The innovations developed for high end equipment often end up in the designs for the lower end equipment. We see these innovations more often in the lower end equipment and most often associate it with them. We all want the Ferrari but often settle for the Camaro.

[bound for glory]

i owned a '75 camaro

[Aslan]

Quick 2 cents,

(The Tippmann 68 special was a gas hog that only ran on liquid and broke paint so it did not change the game IMO other than getting to light up people when the bottle ran down and the sear would no longer catch it added nothing).

...... F the Ion BTW.

If we expanded the topic to include all paintball items/actions...then I'd have to add: