I've been softing for 17 years now, ever since i was 16. Wow time fly's. I have so many epic stories, moments and memories from over this time. Met some great people, some not so and had some insane moments.
In reality, bar the sheer amount of gear you can get now, affordably not much has changed from what i can remember.
Battery tech is the most obvious change and very welcome, gone are the days of trying to cram a days softing in with the great big batteries of yesteryear.
I've owned pretty much every type of gun, (AEG, GBB) from the OG brands These where only Marui & CA really when i started, well that is all i ever bought from Fire support. Up until maybe a year or so ago i had my CA M16A4 that was my second ever purchase, it would be 17 years old now and it still worked fantastically, only having 1 rebuild ever before we parted ways, it had been my main weapon for at least 6-8 years. Fire support at the time where easily the go to shop, though i frequently placed HUGE orders from Japan.
I have introduced so many people into the scene over the years, i started taking my brother in law when he was 12, hes now mid 20's and we still go a couple times a month.