Airsoft Picking up/Dying?

[filadz]

Originally Posted by FreelancerInc

The sport is a rollercoaster in most places, some worse then others. Like mentioned about the old guard are retiring and the new guys are slowly taking their place. For example here in Brooks, we had a slow decline over 3 years as people moved away or quit the sport, then the sport became dead for a couple years and now its on the rise again. With a population of 11k and a player base of over 40...its doing good but the players need to hang out together more. There are atleast 3 different groups in the area that have no clue who the other guys are.

Lucky my city of 140 000 has about 15 regulars I've found.

[nardac]

Seems alive and well in Southwestern Ontario, I've only been doing it since 2011, have seen a steady increase in the number of games offered each season.

Group we run with has many levels of player experience and ages. I think you have a choice of the quality of games you'd like to attend and the kind of people you play with. There's lots of honest decent new players too, many of us have the same values and ideals that the "old guard" had. I'm almost 50 but continue to strive and make airsoft better for myself and the guys I play with.

[ThunderCactus]

It's more popular, but it's also more fleeting of an interest.
In the old days, everyone knew everyone because there was only about 50-200 people in a main community. We all played milsim and scrims, everyone was mostly on the same page. We weren't too hardcore into one or the other. People came and left, but for the most part you'd recognize at least 3/4 of the people at a game for years in a row.
There was more dedication required to start as well, as the cheapest gun you could get was the one everyone else was running and it was $600-$800.

Now it's way more affordable to get into airsoft. You get a $200 gun that's actually half decent, spend $50 on a chest rig, and off you go.
However, we also have way more people dropping OUT of airsoft. People are in it for 2 years, get sick of it and leave.
The people who are in it for just the 2 years tend to love the run and gun pace of basic scrims. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But the milsim crowd is slowly dying off in many places, and unfortunately, milsim really IS what made airsoft great in the first place. The only reason we have vehicles, pyro, huge 300 person games, and actual organization at those 300 person games is because of milsim.

Scrims are great every now and then, but the LARPing is really what keeps people IN. And I think a lot of new people don't realize that.
Maybe there's a reason why someone does it for a year and quits, and some other guys have been doing it for 12 years.

We're running out of milsim, and it's a real shame. Because shooting people is what gets you into the game, but doing stuff OTHER than shooting people is what keeps you in.
You can have the same experience of shooting people in clever ways every weekend, but once you get into night games, and objectives, and organized teams, it's a whole new game.

Eliminating the last few guys on a team in a deathmatch is cool, but single handedly winning the game without ever having to fire a shot is amazing.
Actually 2 of my proudest wins, and coolest games in all my airsoft career were both games in which I never shot my gun.

[ForeRunner]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

It's more popular, but it's also more fleeting of an interest.
In the old days, everyone knew everyone because there was only about 50-200 people in a main community. We all played milsim and scrims, everyone was mostly on the same page. We weren't too hardcore into one or the other. People came and left, but for the most part you'd recognize at least 3/4 of the people at a game for years in a row.
There was more dedication required to start as well, as the cheapest gun you could get was the one everyone else was running and it was $600-$800.

Now it's way more affordable to get into airsoft. You get a $200 gun that's actually half decent, spend $50 on a chest rig, and off you go.
However, we also have way more people dropping OUT of airsoft. People are in it for 2 years, get sick of it and leave.
The people who are in it for just the 2 years tend to love the run and gun pace of basic scrims. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But the milsim crowd is slowly dying off in many places, and unfortunately, milsim really IS what made airsoft great in the first place. The only reason we have vehicles, pyro, huge 300 person games, and actual organization at those 300 person games is because of milsim.

Scrims are great every now and then, but the LARPing is really what keeps people IN. And I think a lot of new people don't realize that.
Maybe there's a reason why someone does it for a year and quits, and some other guys have been doing it for 12 years.

We're running out of milsim, and it's a real shame. Because shooting people is what gets you into the game, but doing stuff OTHER than shooting people is what keeps you in.
You can have the same experience of shooting people in clever ways every weekend, but once you get into night games, and objectives, and organized teams, it's a whole new game.

Eliminating the last few guys on a team in a deathmatch is cool, but single handedly winning the game without ever having to fire a shot is amazing.
Actually 2 of my proudest wins, and coolest games in all my airsoft career were both games in which I never shot my gun.

I agree whole heartedly with this. The weekend scrims are what set the initial hook for me but I always wanted more. Getting into milsim is what kept the interest. As said above, it's often the moments where you're not shooting, rather, planning and manoeuvring that are the most fun.

[Hectic]

Is say its a mixed bag. Theb"old timers" who had been here before the creation of the modern ASC forum are mostly out of the game or play rarely.
All the best groups (both old and new) tend to play private/semi private games/fields and big Milsim events.
The young/new group are enthusiastic and for the most part alot younger then the previous generation due to the ease of acess.
When I started playing one needed close to 1000 bucks just to buy a decent rifle and mags and basic gear (boots eyepro).
That kept the group small and commited.
Nowadays one can get involved/try it out for 50bucks and then if they like it drop 3-500 and play.
Then later decide if they need Rhopped prometheus inners with paintball, i mean polarstar internals etc...
Now we are in transision. We are to an extent becoming the new paintball and as such wind up with devided groups (woods ball, speed/hyperball, milsim/milskrim) and folks get shifted around finding what they like.
Its great really overall but at the same time it thins us out, lots of fields everyone spread out. At a time all of us from scarborough to hamilton and beyond had to travell to FR for Zeons outdoor airsoft only days in 3 feet of snow. Now we can choose from 5 games every week so we choose the closest one and stay home if it rains lol.
As for the snoflakes and such, well without trying to offend anyone, if full auto (within reason, not 5 seccond burst of 60bbsps from a cmag), and thunderB's, smoke nades and rubber knife kills are too intense for you, you may want to stick with Nearf, Lazer Tag or LARPing, all of those can let you "play soldier"
In a "safe space".
For the speedballer airsofters welcome, i cant wait untill the fields start catering better to your needs without forcing you into the paint soaked fields, and i encourage you yo come out a play with the "milsim" guys from time to time, we can all learn tactics from eachoter.
I guesd really we are just in a transistion. PB was the same before. Community division because some like pink and double triggers and some like mag fed and multi cam lol

[Janus]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

It's more popular, but it's also more fleeting of an interest.
In the old days, everyone knew everyone because there was only about 50-200 people in a main community. We all played milsim and scrims, everyone was mostly on the same page. We weren't too hardcore into one or the other. People came and left, but for the most part you'd recognize at least 3/4 of the people at a game for years in a row.
There was more dedication required to start as well, as the cheapest gun you could get was the one everyone else was running and it was $600-$800.

Now it's way more affordable to get into airsoft. You get a $200 gun that's actually half decent, spend $50 on a chest rig, and off you go.
However, we also have way more people dropping OUT of airsoft. People are in it for 2 years, get sick of it and leave.
The people who are in it for just the 2 years tend to love the run and gun pace of basic scrims. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But the milsim crowd is slowly dying off in many places, and unfortunately, milsim really IS what made airsoft great in the first place. The only reason we have vehicles, pyro, huge 300 person games, and actual organization at those 300 person games is because of milsim.

Scrims are great every now and then, but the LARPing is really what keeps people IN. And I think a lot of new people don't realize that.
Maybe there's a reason why someone does it for a year and quits, and some other guys have been doing it for 12 years.

We're running out of milsim, and it's a real shame. Because shooting people is what gets you into the game, but doing stuff OTHER than shooting people is what keeps you in.
You can have the same experience of shooting people in clever ways every weekend, but once you get into night games, and objectives, and organized teams, it's a whole new game.

Eliminating the last few guys on a team in a deathmatch is cool, but single handedly winning the game without ever having to fire a shot is amazing.
Actually 2 of my proudest wins, and coolest games in all my airsoft career were both games in which I never shot my gun.

Agreed. One of my favourite games was one in which I stepped out of the CP just to see what's going on and another was where I fired my pistol like... six times over the entire day.

I think the ability to transition between the technical to the tactical is vitally important because we all love those crazy low on ammo firefights but it is equally cool to see supply lines of reinforcement/replenishment develop.

[lurkingknight]

it's a growing casual activity up here in the NCR, 2 indoor fields, soon to be 5 outdoor fields. 20-50 people on any given weekend day at 3 fields I've visited in the last couple years. It might be a bit TOO convenient to play, so people might not feel obligated to go out often so I often see lots of new faces. Also it seems that every field has its own clique of players with some roving groups of players that visit multiple fields.

If people really wanted to grow it in a positive sense, they need to try and be less cliquey and be more inclusive. Flip side is new players need to learn not to suck and take feedback on how to play better and not be butthurt when they get their shit pushed in by good players.

[ThunderCactus]

Just like the old days, there's people who are out there for fun, and some who are out there for sport.
Honestly I think some of our memories are backwards on the subject. I think everyone USED to be all about having fun 12 years ago, and the very few of us who were obsessed with being the best just kind of dealt with it because we only had one group. So the 4-6 of us that were really good just split off onto both teams and games were basically just the few of us shooting eachother with the odd target popping up every now and then...

New people are allowed to suck, and if they don't WANT to get better, that's fine too.
But they also need to respect that we DO want to get better, and not accuse us of cheating when we're multiple tiers above them in skill.

I do try to get around and play with all the groups around Calgary. Get my face out there, try to push the idea that us milsim guys are GOOD, but not assholes about it lol
I figure if people hate us for being good, they at least can't hate us for being assholes.

[filadz]

Originally Posted by Hectic

Is say its a mixed bag. Theb"old timers" who had been here before the creation of the modern ASC forum are mostly out of the game or play rarely.
All the best groups (both old and new) tend to play private/semi private games/fields and big Milsim events.
The young/new group are enthusiastic and for the most part alot younger then the previous generation due to the ease of acess.
When I started playing one needed close to 1000 bucks just to buy a decent rifle and mags and basic gear (boots eyepro).
That kept the group small and commited.
Nowadays one can get involved/try it out for 50bucks and then if they like it drop 3-500 and play.
Then later decide if they need Rhopped prometheus inners with paintball, i mean polarstar internals etc...
Now we are in transision. We are to an extent becoming the new paintball and as such wind up with devided groups (woods ball, speed/hyperball, milsim/milskrim) and folks get shifted around finding what they like.
Its great really overall but at the same time it thins us out, lots of fields everyone spread out. At a time all of us from scarborough to hamilton and beyond had to travell to FR for Zeons outdoor airsoft only days in 3 feet of snow. Now we can choose from 5 games every week so we choose the closest one and stay home if it rains lol.
As for the snoflakes and such, well without trying to offend anyone, if full auto (within reason, not 5 seccond burst of 60bbsps from a cmag), and thunderB's, smoke nades and rubber knife kills are too intense for you, you may want to stick with Nearf, Lazer Tag or LARPing, all of those can let you "play soldier"
In a "safe space".
For the speedballer airsofters welcome, i cant wait untill the fields start catering better to your needs without forcing you into the paint soaked fields, and i encourage you yo come out a play with the "milsim" guys from time to time, we can all learn tactics from eachoter.
I guesd really we are just in a transistion. PB was the same before. Community division because some like pink and double triggers and some like mag fed and multi cam lol

Are these private games not posted on these forums? How would one get into one? Im from the north and am looking for games down south!

[Danke]

[J-Man19]

quantity: up
quality: down

[Fireboy]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

It's more popular, but it's also more fleeting of an interest.
In the old days, everyone knew everyone because there was only about 50-200 people in a main community. We all played milsim and scrims, everyone was mostly on the same page. We weren't too hardcore into one or the other. People came and left, but for the most part you'd recognize at least 3/4 of the people at a game for years in a row.
There was more dedication required to start as well, as the cheapest gun you could get was the one everyone else was running and it was $600-$800.

Now it's way more affordable to get into airsoft. You get a $200 gun that's actually half decent, spend $50 on a chest rig, and off you go.
However, we also have way more people dropping OUT of airsoft. People are in it for 2 years, get sick of it and leave.
The people who are in it for just the 2 years tend to love the run and gun pace of basic scrims. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But the milsim crowd is slowly dying off in many places, and unfortunately, milsim really IS what made airsoft great in the first place. The only reason we have vehicles, pyro, huge 300 person games, and actual organization at those 300 person games is because of milsim.

Scrims are great every now and then, but the LARPing is really what keeps people IN. And I think a lot of new people don't realize that.
Maybe there's a reason why someone does it for a year and quits, and some other guys have been doing it for 12 years.

We're running out of milsim, and it's a real shame. Because shooting people is what gets you into the game, but doing stuff OTHER than shooting people is what keeps you in.
You can have the same experience of shooting people in clever ways every weekend, but once you get into night games, and objectives, and organized teams, it's a whole new game.

Eliminating the last few guys on a team in a deathmatch is cool, but single handedly winning the game without ever having to fire a shot is amazing.
Actually 2 of my proudest wins, and coolest games in all my airsoft career were both games in which I never shot my gun.

^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^

Anyone whose been around long enough to recall $1000 classic army G36s from A&A Ripoff understands. The barrier to entry was high ergo less ADD kids in the game. Ahhh...cracks beer...the good ol days...

[Hectic]

Originally Posted by Fireboy

^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^

Anyone whose been around long enough to recall $1000 classic army G36s from A&A Ripoff understands. The barrier to entry was high ergo less ADD kids in the game. Ahhh...cracks beer...the good ol days...

I bought my first pistol from Anderson & Anderson
KJW M9, like 600 bucks or something stupid like that, workhorse that damn thing still running strong lol

[Gato]

Originally Posted by J-Man19

quantity: up
quality: down

A truer statement, I have not yet seen.......

Originally Posted by Fireboy

^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^

Anyone whose been around long enough to recall $1000 classic army G36s from A&A Ripoff understands. The barrier to entry was high ergo less ADD kids in the game. Ahhh...cracks beer...the good ol days...

It actually makes me wish Cyma AKs still cost almost $500

[Ricochet]

Airsoft was always going to go mainstream, the current state of it is partially due to the lack of organization by the experienced players. If we ran games that had realistic gear restrictions and dynamics that catered only to a more competitive style, then we'd still be living the good 'ol days. The point where we dropped our standards and became more inclusive to bolster numbers, that's where we screwed up. A good game is a good game, player count is only a small part of that.

I said this ten years ago, and I'll say it again now, just because you're out there with an Airsoft gun doesn't mean you're doing the same thing as the guy next to you. Airsoft is anything that involves Airsoft guns, but wether it's more of a sport or a hobby, is all in how the players take it. There are some player types that don't mix, which is common during the inception of all sports, and right now they are sharing the field, and although they would appear to be doing the same thing, they are as different as playing football is to paving a driveway. Intent and context are everything.

Way back, we had very little Airsoft in our town. We ran a private group on a private field. Our goal was to push a more tactically competitive game style, and that was it. To us, that was the fun side. We had players come and go over the years that didn't want to do what we were doing. Wether that was WWII interest, sci-fi, casual speedball, etc. They'd try playing and not like it, or disagree with our rules, kit restrictions, whatever, and move on. There wasn't really other options for them in our town back then, so it was between quitting or driving forever to find a game type that suited them, but that's that.

There aren't many venues or groups right now that strictly run that type of play style anymore, so that's the issue. If we want to have more serious events, then all we need to do is host them. It's a lot of work however, so that's a deterant to most I'm sure. Also, to play that way is expensive and exhausting, so many bitch out before they are willing to train as a team, crawl through mud, spend thousands on effective gear and give up their own little things to be efficient players, instead of "for fun", as they call it.