If you like paintball the way it used to be READ THIS! - By Gome
In reference to the limited paint portion of the Battle for Baghdad. The limited paint portion of the game brought back memories of my playing days before semis and less expensive paint. It was reminiscent of when paintball was about team work and the skill of the individual players and not about who can afford to send the most paint downrange in hopes of a kill.
In our discussions during the return trip to Alabama, Goob and I both agreed that the sport would do better to limit the firepower at all events. This would reduce many the problems associated with paintball events today. The hose-fest atmosphere that has developed has led to cheating, verbal abuse and a general disrespect for other players. A player does not need to be shot 20 times to prove that they are eliminated. We as a sport need to return to honor and respect. We need to be able to trust the other players again. We need to control ourselves and our rate of fire to give someone a chance to say ‘HIT’ or ‘PAINT-CHECK’ again. Limited paint would not effect the ability of a shooter to shoot a lot of paint in a short period of time but it would make a player play more conservative again. If every event had a limit on the amount of paint carried, players would give someone a chance to say that they have been eliminated, it would give new players a better chance to be competitive, the players who love to be snipers could snipe again and know that if they score a hit they will not be hosed before a player acknowledges the hit. If you think I’m nuts, that is your opinion. If you agree, state your opinion so that others will know. If you think I am over reacting, think about this: HOW MUCH PAINT WOULD YOU CARY INTO A SINGLE GAME OF A 5-MAN TOURNAMENT? Years ago the answer was probably 50 rounds max. Today the answer is probably over 1000! If you were the only person to score hits and eliminated the entire other team……THERE WAS ONLY 5 OPPOSING PLAYERS! 200 rounds per player is a bit excessive. If you don’t remember the days when a 7-ounce bottle of air was all you had, and 40-round hoppers were all you had, go out with your friends and play some old fashioned paintball. It is actually FUN. I am not saying that we need to limit technology, just limit the paint. If you own a full or semi-auto gun, shoot it as fast as you want but do it more wisely.
MY BACKGROUND
I started playing paintball in 1990. I must say that it was a more expensive sport to be involved in then. Paint cost between .08 and .10 cents per ball. The only people I knew who bought a case of paint owned the field. Can you remember California Magnum paint?
My first gun was a used Piranha for a whopping $225.00, this price included a 40-round hopper and a 7-ounce tank. In three months, I made my next ‘big’ purchase; a 90-round glued PVC ‘weenie’ loader…$30.00! The team I played with decided to go play the Masters Tournament in Nashville, one of the guys had just bought a PMI-3 (VM-68) and semis were cool. I had to have one so I bought a 68-Special from Tippmann $400.00! We played in preparation for the Masters and with the new semi I found that I now needed to carry more paint than the weenie loader could hold and those pesky little tubes were a pain. Some companies had come out with nifty 40 round pods for around $12.00 each but I instead went with Tupperware tumblers that would hold 90 rounds (no cost, they were in the cupboard).
The Masters Tournament….wow! Paintball players from nine different countries, 50 teams in all. My first big event. My first exposure to sponsored teams. My first ‘real’ tournament. The first time that I only had 15 minutes between games to get ready (this included filling that lone 7-ounce bottle while in line with 20 other players) I wore a blister on my finger pulling that trigger. I had my semi-auto baptism by fire. It was not as cool as I thought it would be. After the Masters I dropped the Tup-cups and began to use just the weenie loader again. With some self-control, I could still afford to play paintball.
The semi-auto Rapide pistol was introduced. I thought how cool it would be to have a gun that shot using 12-gram. The Rapide also had a nifty 40 round magazine. I dropped $90.00 for one, made my own holster, carried it as a never used side arm. I believe I did play with it once but again these were the days of year old California Magnum and it was particular about paint (it was a mess). It was a tough little gun; I gave it to someone I worked with.
Paintball became tedious. I would go to the field and players were adopting the hose and pray method of play. I stopped playing but kept the Piranha and the 68 Special.
A year went by before I found myself working with a different group of people. It was decided that I would pull my guns out of mothballs and five of us would go out and play. It was truly fun playing with players who did not feel the need to hose. All of them bought the new Piranhas and we were having a blast. Within a few months, a couple of the guys bought Pro-lites and we talked of our first tournament together. It was a hectic as I remembered from before but we had a great time.
We would all get together and play civil war (no hopper, only one paintball at a time). Civil war playing was the most fun I have ever had playing paintball. We could get together for a six-hour session and not spend $6.00 on both the paint and the air.
All of us changed jobs and our schedules did not link up anymore so play was far and few between. We did manage several night trips to Crossfire in Bremen Ga. Paintball was still a blast. There were no cuss fights, no one was ever lit up. Honor and respect was the number one rule.
It got down to just a few of us on the team. One of the guys upgraded to an Automag and I finally sold the sledgehammer (68 Special) and bought a Pro-lite for $200.00. We were still having fun but our scheduling put play times farther and farther apart. This is when we made the transition to scenarios.
Thanks to Wayne Dollack, we were feeling the rush of paintball again. We lived for completing the missions. After nine scenarios, I began to once again tire of the hose-fest atmosphere. It is still fun to play as long as missions are capable of being accomplished but getting shot 20 times before you can even yell hit sucks.
Enter Stephen Hipkiss and Virtual War Games inc., Camp Blanding Florida. The first segment of this scenario was different. It was limited paint rules and it was the most fun since we played civil war style. If I can find a scenario with limited paint rules I guess I will play forever but I have now been spoiled and don’t think I can go back to play with the hosers.
Help me! If you too are tired of what the game has become help me find the next level. Let our voices rise to challenge the profit of paint sales in favor of fun.
E-mail us with your opinion whether you agree or disagree: Gome Goob
Must Have:
Should Have:
Good to Have:
May Need:
Don’t Need: