AGD at a crossroad.. where do you want it to go?

[MindJob]

Obviously, AGD is at an important crossroad right now...

As the biggest part of its customer base.. what direction do you want it to go in? What do you want to change? What new products do you want to see?

Im curious to see what everyone else thinks.

[Lupis Fidelis]

I would personally like to see AGD "push the mechanical marker envelope". The Auto mag is the best and most reliable mech out there. One day there could be a pnuematic trigger version of the TAC/ULE marker. It would be nice if an emphasis could be placed on these guns.....Like say an all mech tourney....Maybe call it Mech assult or Mech warriors . I also think AGD should focus on more "inventions" like the warp and such. I myself am not interested in E-guns and would not lose any sleep over AGD turning away from that path. I guess this is really what they have been doing as of late so I think they are really doing a good job. AGD needs to keep its eyes peeled for new and old niches that need to be filled.

[BobTheCow]

As the biggest part of its customer base.. what direction do you want it to go in? What do you want to change? What new products do you want to see?

Not necessarily true. It's easy to forget that us, as in those who frequently visit the forums, do not represent the majority of paintball players or AGD customers. There are many many customers who probably don't know forums like this exist, let alone visit them frequently.

Additionally, I think a much higher percentage of us (again, "us" = AOers) are the speedball/tourney type than is the norm for paintball players overall, and so AOers feelings probably won't correctly reflect what the AGD consumer base as a whole would want.

So... umm... didn't actually contribute to answering your question at all, sorry about that. Just keep this in mind, anybody, we're not as super-influential as we might like to think.

[cledford]

I expect that due to liablity reasons electro markers will soon be HIGHLY regulated. Expect at a mininum manditory trigger pull weights at a mininum.

If AGD is poised correctly, they can swoop in with the pnu-mag (I think it should be called the Titan after Ronin's post in the Tom thread) and clean up. Simpler design, no batteries, no legality issues, no liablity.

Sounds like a no brainer.

-Calvin

[Thordic]

TP is right, AO may think they are the largest portion of AGD's customer base, but we are just a portion.

[Wc Keep]

i seriously think that agd needs to come out with a new gun. something mech, something light, something efficient, something small.

they need to drop everything and anything that is mag though. that includes their valve. dont know how many actually noticed but that valve is the heaviest part of the gun. they should make a valve that is seperate from the reg. this way you can have a lighter gun in general and agd will be able to market their reg to other guns.

[GT]

valve is the heaviest part of the gun. they should make a valve that is seperate from the reg. this way you can have a lighter gun in general and agd will be able to market their reg to other guns.

Only makes sense that the reg is heavist piece, it contains all the internals AND an inline reg. I challenge you to find a gun that has a lighter set of internals and inline. Heck, who makes a reg lighter than the reg on the back of the valve.

I think one thing that makes AGD great is that almost everything is backwards compatible. If I were AGD I would push the mech market, hook up with DW and see what kind of mags pour out of the mold. Make more bling-bling bodies, as well as accesories for the tac-one. I think the bigger issue is getting 3rd parties invovled. Sure would be nice to see another eclipse/shocktech/dark mag.

[chairman_mao]

^^^^^
WERD!

If it ain't broke don't fix it. I agree that third party is next evolution of mags. In the last year how many third party dealers have entered the mag fray and how many more options are their. Think of what would happen if a LARGE company started to produce mag parts.

[Muzikman]

Well, personally, since you are already at the "Crossroads" just go head and sell your soul to the devil.

[GodLovesUgly]

i think that with the new rules, that look like they're going to limit the rate of fire, E markers are going to be a problem... you don't need a DM4 that can shoot 30 bps if the tourny's will only let you have 15, this gives AGD a huge advantage to take a big market share. with the development of the pneu-mag and as said above some third party help Mags could easily become a more widly picked marker. also a little advertizing goes a long way... as for the direction of AGD the only way i can see is up!

[NewMagMan21]

I may be going into dangerous ground since Im kinda new to AGD. But why not make a whole new style of gun *Scary music* *screams in the night* !!
Lol just an Idea but I mean an Automag is amazingly awsome design which I bow down to . But why not have the regulator like other guns do, and maybe have a stacked tube body. I know it would dramatically change AGD and possibly for the better. You see this all the time with companies having very different styles of guns in their arsenal.
Just what I think and again I think I may have crossed a line

[Muzikman]

Ok, here is what I see as a way to redesign the "Mag" (and the key is not to call it a mag).

Still use the blow forward design based around the front half of the the valve. Move the reg to a standard inline reg. Make a body with an integrated rail. Make this rail a bit thicker and run an air passage from the ASA to the valve inside the rail. Go back to the Banjo bolt idea from the original RT's. Now install a "hAir" type trigger system and I think you would have a mechanical gun that people would buy. The other thing to do is figure out how to fit an E-Blade frame on the bad boy. That way people can go electo by just purchasing an already produced frame.

[GT]

Ok, here is what I see as a way to redesign the "Mag" (and the key is not to call it a mag).

Still use the blow forward design based around the front half of the the valve. Move the reg to a standard inline reg. Make a body with an integrated rail. Make this rail a bit thicker and run an air passage from the ASA to the valve inside the rail. Go back to the Banjo bolt idea from the original RT's. Now install a "hAir" type trigger system and I think you would have a mechanical gun that people would buy. The other thing to do is figure out how to fit an E-Blade frame on the bad boy. That way people can go electo by just purchasing an already produced frame.

I like but,
It must also come in aGG colors and mills....... dawG

[Mer]

Many ideas.

I'd love to see AGD do some heavy advertising. Do whatever they can to dispell the "Mag Blender" nick name they've acquired over the years. Get their markers back in the online stores. Do this all while not resorting to the negative advertising technique of putting other peoples equipment down.

The custom ULE and Tac One Mags are great but it limits them to factory only sales. They need to get some standardized markers out on the market and in the different stores for people to get their hands on. When they see the simplicity of the design the public will love it.

They need to offer counter top displays of the level 10 bolt in action. Just a properly tuned bolt with a cut away body that can demonstrate the dollar bill test right there in front of the customer. Tell me that wouldn't be a sure sale.

There is so much sales potential for AGD that their not taking advantage of. Nothing is going to happen unless they start doing something.

Eric

[gibby]

Marketing has always been an issue with AGD. Along with the "old" technology and the lack of a major design change and time, the "blender" reputation will always be there. However, like all of us know, they aren't anymore but people still feel that way about Mags. Why? Because they are not aware of the changes that has occured in the last few years.

Great, we know the problem so we all feel that we need to fix it. We spend all our time trying to convince others that mags are great and can still compete...but most of the time, we do this on the fields and people rarely have time to REALLY listen. That's great for the few who really do listen and take the time to be open minded, but the simple fact remains...if mags aren't on the paintball store's walls, players and consumers will never be exposed to mags.

AGD needs to start getting back on the good side of shop owners. They need to educate the shop owners or at least let them be aware of what the mag is today. About a year ago, I went into a shop that had one level 10 bolt kit. I mentioned to the owner that I thought it was cool that they had it available. But after talking with him more, I found out that he has never installed one before and wasn't really sure how it worked. I found that a bit weird. This wasn't a small mom and pop store either. Granted, they were a major dealer for WGP out here in SoCal.

My point...get the shop owners involved and educated. Show more support for shop owners and don't leave them dry.