Ssqdd

[RoamingStorm]

wow, thats odd, Id like a 3 inch plasma screen tv

[Lenny]

I got it! The next big thing in paintball is the electro-pump! It'll have 4 modes of fire, ramping, and a really sweet tiny LCD screen that'll play movies and get TV reception in case you're bored in between games.

And it'll work like... like... How would it work? My plans have been foiled again... *sigh*

That'd be way cool if pumps had ramping... and a TV...

[Cow hunter]

I got it! The next big thing in paintball is the electro-pump! It'll have 4 modes of fire, ramping, and a really sweet tiny LCD screen that'll play movies and get TV reception in case you're bored in between games.

And it'll work like... like... How would it work? My plans have been foiled again... *sigh*

That'd be way cool if pumps had ramping... and a TV...

wouldnt ramping bring us EXACTLY where we started..........

[Lenny]

wouldnt ramping bring us EXACTLY where we started..........

How? Have a circuit board telling the gun to fire two or three balls per pump cycle (autotrigger) over say 4-6bps. That'd be wicked cool and give pumpers a chance in modern speedball! And everyone would be all like "Dude, that guy is so agg for a pumper. Totally agg." and all the pumpers would rejoice because they would finally be considered cool among all the agg-ers, and the agg-ers would, like, warn newbs and be all like "Watch out for that dude." and the newbs would be all like "What, the pump guy? I have a rental Tippmann! I can beat him!" and all the agg-ers would be all like "whatever kid, I'm on his team" and the pumper would finally have a place in modern tourney paintball society, and world peace world finally happen via an international treaty, and boy scouts would start helping old nannies across the street again, and cancer would be cured, and TV wouldn't need censorships because no body would ever cuss, and annoying little sisters would cease to exist, and I'd win the Mr. America contest (and if there isn't one, one would be made up for me).

Or something like that...

[usagi_tetsu]

In the near future, as one of my TOG buds predicted, now that we've comfortably achieved 15bps in markers, feeders, and air systems (yes, gotta have a good, reliable source of propellant to keep those high rates of fire), everyone will begin focusing on technology to get those 15 paintballs to land inside an area smaller than a coffee can. How are they going to do it? Well, as we all know from Mr Kaye's foray into military/police equipment, it's going to take more than slapping a fancy hunk of barrel-shaped metal on the front end. Not sure exactly what that's going to entail, but it's going to be interesting.

As for tournament formats, Durty Dan posted an article a while back that looked at getting paintball on TV. It had some interesting concepts, but boiled down to a one-on-one stock class format, which even I think would be too boring. So I started tinkering around with what I thought would be the ultimate in both technology and tournament format, and came up with this diatribe over on the TOG.

Since I posted all that, I don't think even what I proposed would really paintball as a sport really that great to watch on TV, but it would remove a lot of the cheating elements that just seem inherent to the tourney scene nowadays. I think paintball could be incorporated into a reality TV show and made palatable to the masses. Hey, it would be the first reality show I'd actually watch, and I don't even watch the current paintball shows on satellite/cable.

[REDRT]

I see speedball taking over more and more, and pump getting less and less of a factor. Of course it will still be around however.

I don't think so. I see pumps making a come back. Speedball is dwindling some. High pressure, attitudes, big business, the money. I have a large group of friends that are all talking about buying pumps this year and play for pure fun insted of the speedball field all the time. Tippmann's C3 might not be off the mark too far. I think if we see a new marker from AGD it is going to be a new super fantastic pump. A better chance of that over a new E-marker.

[ThePixelGuru]

I think people are looking the wrong way for paintball's future. Paintball's grown up, and we've got markers that are pretty damn close to perfect. At this point, paintball's got to mature. In terms of gear, I think we'll see lighter and more reliable setups for cheaper and cheaper. The Ion set a hell of a trend, and even if you don't like SP you've got to like what they've done for the price of markers. $500 will probably get you a top-end marker soon enough. This is probably going to suck for a lot of companies, since a race for lower prices usually means a lot of people get screwed. Look at most pro sports these days. Ask yourself how many baseball equipment companies you can name - what about soccer, football, or lacrosse? How about paintball companies? The only reason the numbers are so different is because of how much younger our sport is.

Paintball needs an audience, too. The format as a whole needs to change to something people can see and understand on TV, and let's face it, if you've never played paintball before you're going to be pretty damn confused watching the NPPL. Smaller games with ramping could become the norm. Fewer players means it's easier to keep track of, and it's just easier to see a rope of paint than a couple shots on your TV screen. We're already seeing this trend; 10-man is almost dead, 3-man is becoming more and more common and many fields are beginning to allow ramping.

This isn't to say that recball doesn't still have a place, but it'll certainly be taken less seriously than the speedball scene. Tournyball will be to the NBA as recball is to pick-up basketball games in schoolyards - it's the same game and both are enjoyable, but one's taken far more seriously while the other would never make prime-time TV.

This doesn't answer the original question at all. You've asked how much better paintball equipment can get, but I think that's the wrong question. We should be thinking in a more general sense and looking toward the future of the sport as a whole rather than sitting around wondering if someone can make a better paintslinger.

[MoeMag]

[REDRT]

Well no matter were the sport goes I hope it doesn't go on tv. I can't stand the sports that are on tv now! Also I think with are ever growing stupidity in the country it might be just as negative as it could be positive. I'd say it would have to make the Olympics before it could be branded a household name, excepted and share air time with the likes of NBA or NFL.

[lather]

Paintball is already popular enough without it having to be on tv.

I dont understand the big push for more tv exposure.
Does something you enjoy doing have to be on tv in order for you to justify it? I dunno, I just never felt the need for tv exposure to validate what I like to do in my free time.

Im actually starting to wish it reverts back a bit to become less mainstream. Im beginning to think this sport was better when it was just a large group of enthusiasts. Im hoping that the whiny, pasty 14 year old "street gangsta" (most of whom, quite often, live in $500,000+ dollar, gated-community subdivisions) segment of paintball will discover airsoft.

[usagi_tetsu]

Probably a good market move on LAPCO's part to bring back the Grey Ghost recently. Get a jump on the competition.

[Phantom_Mag]

55 cal paintballs

Shoot farther
Smaller hopper
Light marker
Maybe Less Painfull.

[Jotsy]

I'd say it would have to make the Olympics before it could be branded a household name, excepted and share air time with the likes of NBA or NFL.

skateboarding never went to the olympics (did it? i'm not sure). but yet its gone really "mainstream". i think we're going about this the wrong way. everybody's been trying to get paintball on ESPN, when mebe it would be easier to get it onto MTV. (although sometimes i cringe at the thought of paintball being exposed to yet more of the mtv generation )

things i'd like to see happen, i'd like built in loaders so i don't have to worry about snapping the feednecks. intergrated air systems, shaped to be like stocks. high end processors and touchscreens in the grip frame to adjust all the settings (cos i'm a gadget whore lol). i also think it would be cool if there were light reflecting tracer rounds that look like they're radiating in sunlight. (mebe a special fill with a transparent shell.)

more of a what if question now but imagine what if speedball introduced respawns? we'd prob need a dedicated pit crew refilling pods and air tanks, and the rules would have to be changed a bit, but i think the respawns would introduce a sense of urgency to get that last guy out before the respawns or that last guy could be a hero and hold out till backup arrives.

[marpat]

55 cal paintballs

Shoot farther
Smaller hopper
Light marker
Maybe Less Painfull.

i agree maybe the way is to have smaller paintballs.. look at the RAP4 series of markers almost 1:1 scale and it's clip fed! if it weren't for the small size paintballs that aren't allowed on a standard field i would have picked one up very long time ago.

I don't know why .68 should be the standard .. maybe Tom can answer that since he has a patent on paintballs

Aside from the where paintball is going i believe we have reached the pinnacle of the marker as we now know it..

maybe they'll come out with a voice activated marker system or better yet a biometric marker that only works with your fingerprint. so no marker will ever get stolen again.

anyway..

my 2 cents.

[ThePixelGuru]

Paintball doesn't need to appear on TV for me to enjoy playing, but it's getting to a point where paintball needs to be on TV to get money in the industry and keep it alive. We play a damn expensive sport, this isn't like skateboarding where you just need a board with wheels and a random jumble of concrete to play around on.

As for the painful part of paintball, I think it's a good thing. Paintballs don't hurt much at all (sometimes I don't even notice a hit, but then again I was a lacrosse d-man and lacrosse balls carry a little more oomph), but they hurt just enough to make people flinch when they get hit. With all these skilled wipers around, looking for that telltale flinch is one of the best ways for a ref to spot an elimination.