Staying in the Game

[-Drake-]

I think that sounds a bit like phase 8.

[DrAlexanderTobacco]

I've found that a lot of airsofters go through a set series of phases.

 

1. The Preliminary phase - you've bought some cheap tat to faff about in the garden with.
2. The Awestruck intro phase - you've visited a site for the first time and spent the day gawking and holding regulars guns.
3. The Purchase phase - You buy any gun with hi-caps or a boxmag, and gear with no consideration for kit coordination !
4. The Impressionist phase - You splash the cash because you want to BE whatever real world army unit is hip at the time, also you only attend milsims only now.
5. The Tacticool phase - Nothing but overpriced gash will do, no impressions just slatherings of fancy codura and RS.
6. The Niche phase - You don't want blend in with airsofter joe! so you put together loadouts of very particular non-standard / obscure military units.
7. The Tactisports Bra phase - Weight ? no you don't want that *suitcase*, you want teeny tiny sports bra like chest rigs that fit about as much stuff as your trouser pockets.
8. The Don't give a *suitcase* phase - You don't care about any of the above anymore, you just want to shoot some people with your now streamlined collections of expensive things. Every other month or so.
9. The Sometimes phase - Those who get out less not because they don't have time (what they'll usually tell you), but because they're old or have discovered another hobby to pour their savings into.
10. The Collector - Who needs friends and skirmishing? not when you have a stupidly large collection of rare and overpriced guns.

 

 

Notable mention: The Hipser phase - You don't do any of the conformist nonsense above, its cowboy hats and stupidly impractical guns for you because *fruitcage* common sense.

That's *fruitcage* incredible - Spot on!

 

I'm at phase 8. Phase 8 is where it's at

[Skarclaw]

Yeah digging phase 8. Cut the ! Missed sportsbra phase tho

[heroshark]

I've always tried to set my kit up for practicality,anything that wasn't was booted .And have always liked to get out at least once a month, whether it be local or away.

[RWJP]

Scarily enough, I realised yesterday that it has been a little over a year since I last played Airsoft. 

For me at least, I've dropped out of the hobby due to transport, lack of friends playing and my job. I don't drive, so I can't travel to sites on my own. My friends who do play either don't live near enough, or work weekend jobs, or are currently stuck on a big grey boat hunting drug dealers and pirates. My job also involves lots of Sunday shifts, meaning that the few days where I could meet friends and get to a site are often occupied with work.

I think I might buck the trend in one respect, I have never been in a situation where I couldn't afford an Airsoft game, which is probably fairly unusual for a 23 year old Uni graduate who works part time and temporary jobs!

 

Fortunately, I never had the "performance anxiety" (hehehe) that you mentioned, I know i'm not particularly fit or athletic, so I don't mind how well I do at a Skirmish, and because of that, I've often had days where I have gone "Holy *suitcase*, did I really just do that?"

[scorch]

I think that sounds a bit like phase 8.

 

Except this "streamlining" thing. 

 

That sounds a lot like "owning less guns"

[Lone_Bullet]

Sorry, I should've mentioned in my post that they were observations, not necessarily complaints. I fully understand not playing due to monetary constrictions or putting more focus on your family. Hope I didn't come off as some arrogant *beep* :/

 

No offence taken, just added personal notes .

You're no *beep*, no worries mate

[Rob15]

Despite 'working in the industry' it's been far too long since I've played, the last time I did was the last OP MA but for me there are lots of factors that stop me playing, not having fun has never really been a big issue from what I remember, obviously some days skirmishing were better than others but I think I've always had fun to some extent.

 

One of the things that did become a bore though was the time spent sorting and packing kit pre skirmish then all the unpacking and cleaning after, I wish I'd bought a TM M3 and a pile of shells years ago so I could have just left it and some ammo in a kit bag between games and fuled myself up with bacon sammiches to power it, far easier and a vast amount of fun to skirmish with.

 

I think the point about accessability of airsoft is an important one, I actually think the poor accessability of airsoft is more of a risk than changes to the law and the media, the fact you can normally only play on a Saturday or Sunday at designated sites that often aren't that close and have to pay for the green fee ontop of all your kit is always going to keep airsoft a fairly niche hobby and therefore an easy target for kneejerk law changes. Mountain biking by comparison (my other old hobby) is far more accessable, a decent bike and suitable clothing/protection does add up but I have a range of local (within 2 miles) and good trails which I can go to any day of the week and with no 'green fee'.

 

Personally I struggle to have free days at weekends and free cash at the same time usually, my better half is a primary school teacher and lives in another county so it's normally only practical to see her at the weekends, and virtually all the profit from my business is currently going towards a better CNC lathe and extra kit for my workshop, I also don't have a car so on the rare occasion I have enough money to play and a free weekend I can't even get to a site

 

There is also the priority element for me, the one thing I love doing the most is going to gigs, that's even more unaccessable than airsoft but given that most bands only tour the UK once every 3 or 4 years and there is a tendancy for them to split up/die from drug overdoses/become rubbish live after an amazing previous tour (I'm looking at you Depeche Mode) it's the one thing I will almost always make sure I have time and money for and prioritise it over everything else, if I miss a tour there is a fair chance I'll never get another chance to see a band again but I'm fairly confident that there will still be airsoft sites around in the years to come.

 

I have also done the 'streamlining' thing, I've sold off loads of my guns and kit over the years and cut my loadout down to something far simpler and lighter but I still have more than enough kit to play which I would like to start doing again when life stops getting in the way.

 

TL:DR, Life, *fruitcage* you.

[Gunmane]

I honestly cannot figure out where on that list I fit in.

 

• I make excuses whenever there is a game or event, whether it be distance (despite more games being closer), money (despite having funds to go to games), family matters (even though folks often say I should go), etc.

 

• I just cannot stand paint, which seeing as that will remain a fixture forever more, is something that discourages me either from going somewhere or during actual play.  I can't brush up against cover or go into certain areas of a field because it is just coated with paint.  Mind you, I will jump into a river or stomp through muck if necessary, but the rainbow paint everywhere just drives me nuts.  Often I rather be playing in the snow, simply because there is less paint around.

 

• Over the past year or so, or perhaps since I first got into airsoft years ago, I have felt somewhat. alienated from the local community.  Not on their part (local folks are great people, and I can chew the fat with them just fine), but rather that I do not engage myself with joining teams, attending the big events, using radios, or feeling overly enthusiastic about "milsim".  Whether it is because most of the local community are sick of old fashioned recreational games, or just that it is difficult to draw folks to games without setting up detailed scenarios, I just feel uneasy about going to such orientated games, even though I generally just play the same as I would in unorganized games.

 

• Yes, I am the guy who tries to be specific with a loadout that stands out from the crowd, but at the same time, I am not wearing tacticool gear that costs more than my primary.  As much as I love my historical gear though, the realization that it hard to require it all (even if some parts are cheap) and the paint being everywhere has led me to figure that I need to just either get more commercially available patterns for uniforms and gear that I like (so going from Soviet to 90s and beyond Russian Federation for example) alongside wearing what I do have that can be replaced hopefully (such as my KLMK set).

 

• This goes alongside the previous point, but yes, I have quite a few guns, even ones I will not likely ever use due to my fixation on East-Bloc gear (stuff like my TM famas and p90).  I also own a RealSword SVD, though I do use it even without a proper scope.  As much as I would like to add to my collection of both gear and guns though (and buy stuff I still don't have a loadout for, like a ZB-26), I refuse to do so because of my bizarre mindset that is still gripping me right now.  Even when my folks ask me to think of something that I would like to get this time of year (essentially saying for me to go buy something for them to wrap up), I just say and do nothing.

 

• I don't really have anything else that fulfills what airsoft does.  I rarely leave home, barely play videogames anymore (I'm usually watching someone else do so), and nothing else really attracts me.  Despite the idea that folks at some point turn to real steel firearms, I honestly do not plan to, not because of costs, not because of not being able to do it often, but rather that it does not interest me (and because of a reason I rather not say).  I'm sure that if I ever get a career (unlikely), I would probably be like others less likely to go to games, but on the flip side I think that perhaps I would go more often, because I would fill more confident about using what little spare time I would have and what money I had that is not going to support the folks.

As an example of my completely asinine thought processes, there is a big game coming up on the 20th, hosted by good folks and with folks I enjoy meeting up again attending.  There will also be a contingent of Russian-kit enthusiasts going (supposedly a growing local chapter of the Rushing Russians), so I would probably enjoy seeing all their kit.  I have time and encouragement by the family to go, and I haven't been to a field since March.  Will I go?  Probably not, because I am a twat.  I will more likely instead be visiting my cousin to play videogames whilst his mother and mine go bake cookies at a family gathering elsewhere, because my cousin enjoys my visits (since like me he has no social contact but even less than me), because there is games I have that can really only be played with someone else, and in the end I can make someone other than myself happy.

 

This all probably has nothing to relate to anyone else, but I just needed to write something, having seen threads similar to this one pop up over the last year and seeing changes locally and elsewhere to communities and whatnot.  I will say that I agree that accessibility issues seems to be key, at least nowadays as economies are in the tank and pressures change.

 

Really, Rob15 has answered this best with his last words.

[Skarclaw]

Sounds like you are a bit depressed.

[SixtyNiner]

Phase 8 for me.

 

I think a lot of people are just lazy. They get into airsoft expecting it to be like the movies or Modern Warfare. They have visions of the opposition running into their machine gun fire while they sit comfortably in a cozy bunker or foxhole. Running? Aiming? Tactics? Thinking? Nah.

The more determined might try a few more game days but their interest will drift elsewhere as soon as it gets wet and cold, or the World Cup starts, or the next cool fad comes along.

 

Only a small percentage, the true players, will keep coming regularly and attend events whatever the weather year after year. And sure, they'll go through all the phases listed above (I have, some of them several times) but it's the game that keeps them coming back.

And I wouldn't have it any other way, because its the regular players that are the most honest, best sports and all round good guys.

 

And while everyone else trudges around Bluewater we'll be across the road at the Sandpit pretending to kill each other…

 

(I've never actually played at the Sandpit but it's on my wishlist and it fitted well with what I wanted to say)

[Tw1tch]

I guess I'm somewhat a 4/5 stage.

 

US SEALs are cool (I'm not sure why but they've always been a unit I've followed), newer kit is cool, old kit is cool. But I also dig the guuci kit from the likes of FirstSpear, BFG and so on.

 

Saying that I've not played since about July because of a fractured ankle which refuses to heal at an acceptable rate (hence why I'm currently building up a sniper rifle).

[3vi1-D4n]

Few reasons I can think of:

 

1. Cost. Airsoft piles up the more you're into it (if you're into it), but then again, so does any hobby you're passionate about (hellooooo photography!).

2. College/Basic Training. No more time, no more money. "Getting out of airsoft sales", etc.

3. Change in the player landscape (more younger players). No more fun, no more friends.

4. Change in the player landscape (more douche-y players). Way more unfun, time to GTFO.

5. No interest. Probably ~40% of players in the US are like that; stay for 2-3 years, get out because it's not worth their effort/time/money. Probably comprises most of the FPS/COD/360noscope player base.

6. Closing of fields. Linked to #5 and #3/4 in some ways, less interest -> less reasons to have fields nearby.

7. Distance of fields. #6 leads to #7 - kids don't want to drive more than 20 miles to get somewhere (dafuq, driving is fun wut is wrong with you kids).

8. *suitcase* keeps breaking. Hear this a ton; guess what? Any machine without proper maintenance/love is going to die on you. Probably also why your 2003 Civic's timing belt is squealing like a soon-to-be-murdered pig.

9. Family. This applies to my old group - guys get married/more time into kids/career, no time for fun. Shame really, I mean you can't fall back on [insert alcoholic poison of your choice] forever.

 

Or a combination of all of them. However, I have yet to see airsoft in the "decline" (as one of my local shop dealers said...probably since Chinese retailers are kicking him in the *albatross* on prices). Newer and younger players are out in force; hopefully this means a newer generation of more invested players (though, knowing this generation, un-bloody-likely).

 

/semi amusing rant over

 

I actually see some of what you say are symptoms of why people leave vs actual cause of the issue.

 

If you can get a group of players who see value in what they do, and have a good solid culture, they will:

- Stay around

- Make friends with the young ones/noobs

- Teach and Coach young ones/noobs to play and maintain their guns

- Find new fields (call and contact landowners etc thats how new groups start)

- Bring their families to games.

 

Having coached airsofters with 3-8 years of experience before, I find that because they have turned up to so many bad games they have built up a lot of bad habits:

- Over gearing - gear not fit for purpose

- Under preparing, not enough planning ahead for missions

- Lack of goal setting and expectations in a mission

- Poor fieldcraft

- Lacking self awareness of how their strengths and weakness affect a team

- Lack of self preservation

- Lack of healthy leadership (lots of big ego types, leading from rear shouting abuse to get people moving etc but absence of expectation setting)

 

Its like a cancer isn't it?

 

These symptoms arises because the games these players have been to, cater solely for the individual gratification and does not promote the necessary culture or system of improvement to generate the value required to keep people around.

 

If we continue with the modern consumer model of airsoft, then yes 2-3 years turnover is all we expect  Hence you see all the problems stated above.

 

Of course the other side is that airsoft gets long in the tooth for some, as playing a light infantry soldier the same way for years on years it does get long in the tooth (been there done that there is only so many hours you can stare blankly at a VCP), that and the effort often is less than the returns particularly if we rely on others who don't have your interest in mind.  But I guess thats why senior players have a role to be less combat oriented but more in leadership positions which is where it becomes a more natural way to continue the system.  Nowadays I can only afford one game a month, but since I plan the game, defined the training and mission objectives, I don't need to be in the front line

 

Knowing when to step back is half the trick.

[T3CH]

Currently stuck in chairsofter mode due to unemployment.

 

WHICH *fruitcage* SUCKS AT THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!!

[Gigueand]

I gave up on attending games just for the sake of the game a long time ago. Nowadays I only attend "regular" events to see friends, *rickroll* around and maybe shoot some BBs.

 

I've been playing shooting sports for going on 18 years now and there's just not that much that I haven't done or seen on the field as far as shooting at people and having them shoot at me. The only events that really stoke my excitement are the big national level events at interesting fields. For example, this year I had the opportunity to play on a real MOUT site and at a decommissioned juvenile detention facility. The two years before that I played in huge events at a defunct steel mill. The massive, unique AOs coupled with camping/hoteling with friends made attending those events worth it. 

[kaufmau]

So I used to play once a month for about a year,

 

Then I moved jobs, friends moved and I moved home twice. I then got married and bought a house and joined the specials.

 

Other things just 'took' over and my ulster for the game fell to the side. I still wish to play but I've sold all my gear and money is always tight, the prep need for a game is always off putting, check batteries etc.

 

Come the new year I'm buying a tri shot and am just gonna rock up and start playing. I have a car and there are 3 sites with in a reasonable distance so that has never stopped me.

 

It's just other things became more important and free time became more of a luxury.

[Ryaw]

Good thread. I think Drake's phase chart pretty much nailed it for the more seasoned players. I also agree that there is a high turnover of players who you only see around for 1-3 years, before they're noticeably gone for good. There are so many "former" players who still talk about airsoft on Facebook or the forums, but just don't play any more. I know some who have tried to return after being away for a year or so and immediately failed to return. I think a lot of older players simply outgrow airsoft and have other more important adult things to worry about.

 

I marshal at my woodland site, when I can be bothered going, mostly due to work shifts meaning I only get to play once or twice per month and increasingly due to poor weather and general lack of keenness anymore. Sometimes I do really still enjoy it, but I feel less and less inclined to drag myself out of bed and have to worry about being an encouraging team leader to regulars and noobs alike. The free game days I get for marshaling are undoubtedly the main attraction, but I much prefer to work alone these days, or with one or two old-school players who I know I can rely on to know what they're doing. I usually wish I was playing faster indoor CQB instead.

I personally have been playing for over 6 years now, but it seems much longer. For almost all of that time, I've kept to the same local outdoor site because I really enjoyed it and the people who attended/ran it made it as much of a great social event as a challenge to win games. We had great specialist WWII themed "filmsim" events (WWII themed site) and everybody made a real effort to look the part and play well as part of a larger team. Everything was magical for about a year or two. Every game day, we'd be on the same teams, Allied vs Axis, formed a bond and got to know each other's personalities and styles of game play well. Then gradually the regulars became less regular and faded away for one reason or another......., mostly getting older, i.e. having families, more pressing responsibilities, sometimes site politics. A knock on effect, was that as more and more of the regular group left, it encouraged the remaining few to attend less and less due to lack of a social bond, until they too left completely, which was a real shame, as it ruined the feel of the site for me and other "old guard". 

 

I started out with 2nd hand Flecktarn camo and a JG G36K, then to fit in with the Axis team, created a few WWII German impressions which I ran for 2 years, then dropped WWII due to lessening WWII player numbers, in favour of simple and effective Soviet and modern Russian kit (which I still have for woodland), then dropped that for whatever worked really (mainly OD molle gear), bought far too many guns along the way and got rid of most of them over the past 2 years. Having already had all manner of guns, I find most are usually the same in terms of performance and reliability, or lack thereof, so the attraction is less and less nowadays. I'm board of TM recoils, hate AR's, useless expensive bolt action rifles etc and have had several TM pistols, which all performed like one another. I'd like another AK74 though at some point.

 

?I'm more about the personal fun level these days than overall team objectives, but I try to put myself on the team with the older guys who are wearing the gucci kit, carrying the pricey guns and give the impression that they know how to "operate", lol. Usually this works well and we get along successfully in games. I try to avoid younger players and who I perceive to be inexperienced as I find them frustrating to work alongside. I'm getting grumpy in my old age (33).

 

About 18 months ago, I started doing CQB more and more with just a pistol and pretty much dumped woodland play except for warmer days and now find myself happy with my small, but carefully selected collection of Scorpion Evo AEG, TM Breacher gas shotty, TM P226 E2, G17 Custom and MK23 Socom gas pistols which is all I'll ever need, apart from a TRMR grenade. I know that I don't need anything more, but occasionally consider buying another few TM pistols to try out, then talk myself out of wasting money. Nothing new-release-gun-wise really interests me at all these days. The Scorpion Evo and Breacher have been great purchases though admittedly and really freshened up my playing enjoyment and styles.

 

I've also noticeably found myself being more and more attracted to random "Gucci" kit, not so much for the look, but for the practicality too. I'd never consider doing an impression loadout these days. The thought of becoming a Navy Seal Wannabe does nothing for me. I've seen others with about the same experience as myself levels go through the same phases lately, dropping specific military loadouts and kit in favour of more civilian-shooter-esque simple plate carrier, HSGI battle belt, plain grey trousers, chequered lumberjack shirt, baseball cap and an M870 Tactical.

 

So to summarize, keep things fresh, effective and play with like-minded friends of similar experience to keep airsoft fun, otherwise laying in bed and playing COD becomes more appealing than leaving the house to skirmish.

 

I feel that CQB has ruined my appetite for woodland gaming, but I love the fast-paced action of being up close and personal, more than max-range firefights with hi-cap mags. I was using just pistols indoors and loving doing so, but I like to try and keep things changing to say interested, so I bought the TM Breacher, which I wasn't overly keen on at first, but now I find it an essential part of my CQB fun and as challenging as using a pistol. To try and keep the entertainment value high for myself, I think my next purchase will soon be a GoPro4, so I can move my hobby up a notch and enjoy the film-making side of it too. I expect this will have the desired effect of keeping me interested in playing.

[evansy]

I've start writing a new thread every week or so then rarely end up hitting post.. maybe I'll finish this one since it's fairly unlikely to cause internet fights.

 

Simple question, why is it you go to a skirmish and only a tiny portion of the players look like they've been at this sport/hobby (herein referred to as spobby) for more than a few months?  I don't mean being decked out in a ton of fancy gear, this isn't a money thing.  Regardless of gear, I think most of us can tell a player that's been at it for maybe a year or less vs one that's been doing this for quite a few years.  People's loadouts fluctuate and vary but you can tell a more experienced softer by the general sorted-ness of what they're wearing, amongst other factors.  Hopefully that makes sense anyway...

 

So after maybe a year-ish, what happens to so many people?  I mean by that point a lot of people will have spent many hundreds of pounds, if not a lot more; I've met very few softers who don't bloody love snapping up some sort of guns or gear every month when their pay rolls in.

I think the VCRA still has a lot to answer for when it comes to new players in airsoft. If you take in to account the initial commitment of playing 3 games before they can buy their own RIFs can put the newer players off. Just taking my local site's prices as an example the hire guys are paying almost £50 to play.

That said the hire spaces usually fill up pretty quickly but I think that may be down to the site being on a large paintball site which runs at the same time as airsoft and the people playing paintball want to see what the guys with the cool guns are doing.

[bobtuskins]

I've been skirmishing since 2008. Back in the day, at my peak I'd go once a month, nowadays, I'm lucky if I go once every three.

For me, the lack of attendance is due to a number of factors:

 

1) Work. I work in a path lab that runs on a 24/7 basis, naturally, I am more often than not working nights or weekends, which is when 99.9% of all games take place. Usually, though the odd weekend once a month frees up, and I have a choice of three local-ish sites to choose from which usually turns up a day I can attend.

 

2) My refusal to go alone. I could quite happily pack my gear and go play at whatever site I choose, but it's really not very fun for me to go by myself, so I need at least one member of my team to make it worthwhile.

 

3) The aforementioned teammates' availabilities, which vary as some are busier than others, commitment levels vary between their jobs and airsoft, meaning that if they have a choice between work and airsoft, it's often work that wins.

 

4) For me there's also the fact that I can't get as excited about open days anymore. I'm finding that I go just to keep my UKARA details up to date. They just don't do it for me, player attitudes seem more focussed on winning at all costs and emulating whatever nifty trick they learned in that weapons training video they watched or that computer game they played. They'll happily ignore safety concerns and shoot people point-blank in the face, ignore hits in order to look cool coming round a corner or whatever, and the marshals just don't seem to care as they're regulars and/or they don't want to kick players out for rule breaking as they'd rather have the cash for the green fee next time.

 

5) Which leads to this point, where I'm attending themed milsims (Gunman filmsims) almost more often, and looking forward to them more, simply as the player base seems to be considerably more sportsmanlike, dedicated to the hobby, and actually wanting to be there for the whole game experience, rather than for their own gratification of shooting some guy in the face and chuckling about it with his buddies later.

 

6) Which then leads to this point, where not all my team members can and will make the filmsims as they dislike "re-enacting", or "doing a field weekend" (despite weekenders being as diametrically opposed to field weekends as possible), or getting the kit. The latter being a genuine concern as it can get pricey, if not incredibly difficult as stocks of cheap surplus dry up.

 

So all those factors stack up leading to my less than stellar attendance for airsoft generally.

 

Bring on the days when we can have ultra-realistic VR, so I can have my obscure Cold War era kit for cheap and play with a dedicated base of enthusiasts from around the world with realistic weapons and engagement ranges, I say.

[QQexDERA]

Good thread, it certainly rings a bell for me.

 

I've been skirmishing a very long time (I started when there were only two sites in the whole of the UK!), and for me, my Airsofting career has split into several phases over that time.

 

When I started it was pretty much just sunday skirmishing, and via a circuitous route I ended up head marshalling two sites. After that I moved onto the longer events. Then I went into the WW2 scene for five years (as both a player and event organiser). Sadly, however, one particular individual absolutely ruined WW2 Airsoft by flooding the scene with low grade events that were more to do with him putting cash in his back pocket than adherence to the ethos of WW2 Airsoft. Frankly, a lot of people in WW2 Airsoft just got off due his activities and left the scene. Then I went back to the MilSim scene, and now I attend a couple of events a year. The rest of the time I run an Airsoft business building high-end RIFS for people who know what quality work actually is. 

 

I suppose what I'm trying to say is this: What you want out of Airsoft will most likely change substantially over time. Do not be afraid to experiment with some of the genres that exist within the hobby. 

[ninja master of coffee]

"5) Which leads to this point, where I'm attending themed milsims (Gunman filmsims) almost more often, and looking forward to them more, simply as the player base seems to be considerably more sportsmanlike, dedicated to the hobby, and actually wanting to be there for the whole game experience, rather than for their own gratification of shooting some guy in the face and chuckling about it with his buddies later."

 

These more or less got me back into airsofting after I took something of a break. They also improved my game a great deal since the offered the opportunity not to just have masses of hi-cap spam fests at max range. I've come to think that ammo limits are almost a must for woodland airsoft since it stops players just mindlessly hosing an area at the edge of their range. Once people learn to actually close distance, use movement and concealment you have much better play. Also anything that reduces over killing helps, to this end gunman MilSim and filmsim employ ammo limits, burst duration limits and often bring in semi-auto only for the more close up games. It means people fire a small number of rounds and actually fire when they can hit a target rather than spray and pray. For me airsoft is the most fun when it's with your mates and you actually have to think about what you're doing, that way it's fun regardless of if you win or not and play stays fresh and interesting.

[Beeingmyself]

I think some folks start the spobby (epic, just epic CK ) thinking it's a great idea.

 

You get to play with guns and live out the whole "I've always known I was SF material" scenario.

 

Reality sinks in when you actually play and gunfights don't play out like the movies.

 

You set your gear up all wrong, it's cumbersome and a LOT heavier than you thought it would be.

 

But, you'll give it a few more tries.

 

Nope, same again, and again.

 

/ragequit

The above and the fact it is a lot harder than playing games on a computer

and learning it takes practice just like any other spobby (epic CK)

[Counting Count]

I'm finding Facebook is becoming more of something that irritates me with airsoft, I've been supervising games longer than many people have been playing which (sad as it is) means I've seen some changes, from the VCRA and its progeny within UK retailers to the whole rise of the 'Paintsoft Poser' mentality, where once if a player didn't like a certain game played they either A) sat in the safezone and swank there d*ck or Played though with the idea that the next game would be more to there liking.

 

Now all I see is automatic posting to Facebook slating a site (news flash there's 39 other players on site not just you - and usually its while they're playing with a smartphone) massive cries of 'Where are the Photo's?' (and the Facebook whining when they're not in any), makes me wonder why I bother still being involved in a 

 

spobby 

 

like that, you want everything your way (down to winning all the time) go play a console game.

 

I'm going to be having an enforced break from the game by having transport issues and so far I'm quite enjoying laughing at the whole spoonfeeding mentality of the thing at the moment, I may not bother playing or being involved again.

[Beeingmyself]

I'm finding Facebook is becoming more of something that irritates me with airsoft, I've been supervising games longer than many people have been playing which (sad as it is) means I've seen some changes, from the VCRA and its progeny within UK retailers to the whole rise of the 'Paintsoft Poser' mentality, where once if a player didn't like a certain game played they either A) sat in the safezone and swank there d*ck or Played though with the idea that the next game would be more to there liking.

 

Now all I see is automatic posting to Facebook slating a site (news flash there's 39 other players on site not just you - and usually its while they're playing with a smartphone) massive cries of 'Where are the Photo's?' (and the Facebook whining when they're not in any), makes me wonder why I bother still being involved in a 

 

 

like that, you want everything your way (down to winning all the time) go play a console game.

 

I'm going to be having an enforced break from the game by having transport issues and so far I'm quite enjoying laughing at the whole spoonfeeding mentality of the thing at the moment, I may not bother playing or being involved again.

That is a sad development I'l give you that....

 

The problem with FB as I see it is that it is ruinng the forums.

On the forums you have catagories og serchengines which is nice and neat.

But youngster are posting more and more on the FB pages where it is harder to search a page.

So you have a lot the same issues and questions over and over again.

Things like good tutorials and such are nowhere to be found on a FBpage

but people dont use the forums for this anylonger...

 

And mos people will disappear from a forum if you mind them that they have to follow the rules of the forum

and go make a FBpage where they are kings and make their own rules...

[Cannonfodder80]

I wonder if that will be a temporary thing though. As more people get fed up with all the armchair lawyers arguing over the vcra, takers with no defence trying to buy or the ridiculous prices some folk ask for second hand rifs more people will start to come back to forums