Is UK airsoft losing steam?

[Duff Beer]

8 hours ago, Tackle said:

Very true, myself & @Duff Beer were part of a pretty big team, I think 21ish members at one point, great guys & generally all very keen, & then out of the blue a couple lost interest, quickly followed by more who felt they had grown up commitments, next thing it's all come tumbling down, now we're just whispered legends in the halls of valhalla lol.

We're not quitters though are we Jim?

I did have a bit of a hiatus, but I’m back and I’m still mooching around in the team kit flying the flag, but I think you and I are the only ones playing regularly.  It’s always good when someone from back in the day spots the team patch though and we reminisce over the old days.  If I can get a few people of a similar vibe to the old crew together I might ask Rev nicely if I can reform the team.

 

Work permitting I’m getting out there a couple of times a month, but it’s a difference to my student days where I’d play every Sunday.  As far as numbers at my local goes there’s certainly no let up, and what’s promising is the amount of rentals who are enthusiastic and want to get into the hobby properly.  Granted, it makes me feel old seeing kids who weren’t born when I started playing play their first game.

 

People will always find money and time for their hobbies, and whilst there’ll no doubt be some shrinkage of players and sites when people tighten their belts I’m confident that the core of both that makes the game what it is will stay the course.  Being super cynical it might concentrate the minds of sites to make sure that everyone has the best day possible, so any sites that aren’t hot on the basics (chronoing, marshalling, letting muppets who deliberately headshoot for the ‘Tube continue to play etc.) will lose players and feel the squeeze.  Thankfully the sites I play at are exceptional and have a great bunch of players so I’m confident they’ll be fine.  They’re even opening up a new site!

 

Also, whilst it’s counterintuitive, the summer can see a drop in players.  Just like the depths of winter the extremes of summer can lead to people swerving a day or two, and if they’ve got to entertain the kids for the summer holidays and/or go on vacation the slush fund spent on skirmishing can be spent on other things for a couple of months.  
 

All in all, down this neck of the woods Airsoft is still very much alive and kicking!

[Colin Allen]

8 hours ago, Krisz said:

You couldn't force MED indoor and no need for it when people shoot each other point-blank or sub 10 meters. That's not the point anyway.

This cancer american speedsoft has to go to somewhere else though (mainly speedsoft tournament) because they're absolutely insuffarable most of the time. Speedsoft is fine per se problem is when speedsofters act like they're hot shit and rules only apply to them when they like it or suit them.  Spamming trigger on SEMI, peppering people for no reason, blatant cheating, playing with the HPA regulator, so basically the total opposite what you see in Japan. I've seen all of it since I play again indoor and always grind my gears why I paid for this shitshow... I met some cool speedsofters but lot of them absolutely detached from reality.

Speedsoft is a different game and should be treated as such.

[Tommikka]

2 hours ago, Colin Allen said:

Speedsoft is a different game and should be treated as such.

That’s a key point - but speedsoft is a style of airsoft

 

Its up to sites as to what they have in their games.

 

A Milsim should not include speedsoft - but that does not exclude someone from being light and nimble.

(There was a real life battle case where a soldier (marine?) dropped his large pack and ran in and out through gunfire ….. speed-fighter)

 

If a skirmish site primarily runs a regular a local game for local players then the mix of players will be the locals, and they could be a mix of milsilms, dressing up, recreational fun, stacked up queues on the corner,  speedsofters etc

 

 

[Rogerborg]

15 hours ago, gavinkempsell said:

Have you attended the last couple  of skirmishes?

 

No, I prefer Area-66, as it's a smaller site (thus more playing versus walking) and easier to get to for me.  PoW is a very decent site though, well run, and I've not seen any problems with the players - I've enjoyed my days there.

[gavinkempsell]

8 hours ago, Rogerborg said:

 

No, I prefer Area-66, as it's a smaller site (thus more playing versus walking) and easier to get to for me.  PoW is a very decent site though, well run, and I've not seen any problems with the players - I've enjoyed my days there.

That's a shame, I've only been twice so far but I work most weekends so not sure how many times I'll manage over the year.

Edited June 20, 2023 by gavinkempsell

[Rogerborg]

11 hours ago, gavinkempsell said:

That's a shame, I've only been twice so far but I work most weekends so not sure how many times I'll manage over the year.

 

Well, that's a shame.  Area-66 runs the occasional evening / night games, so depending how far the travel is, it might be worth keeping an eye on them.

 

To be clear, I do like PoW, but as with Section 8, you can occasionally go whole games without even seeing the other team, especially if you're on defence.  At Area-66, it's generally straight into the action.

[Lozart]

In terms of numbers my local sites are still going strong.

 

As for the case of changing styles of play? Trends come and go. Yes, speedsofters have pretty much taken over any and all indoor sites, so go outdoors there's a lot less of them there. Granted CQB is where I started off (ahhh...The Mall....good times) but it was always the same - some that were happy to follow a bang through a door way and a bunch of wusses gagglefucking outside. Captain Teamkill shouting from the back to "move up" and going nowhere himself. Pretty much all that's changed is the guns have got shorter and there's more kids in lycra.

 

Before AEGs were a thing ALL guns had hoses on them. HPA is nothing new and I doubt it's going away, finding a responsible site that polices its players is the way to change things though, not broad brushing the whole crowd as cheaters. There were just as many bad sportsmen before the tanks and airlines resurfaced.

[gavinkempsell]

I had to youtube speedsofters, pretty much what I thought it was but seems a lot like spawn camping in first person shooters, surely if it's an issue at a site they can simply ban the practice?

[Lozart]

1 hour ago, gavinkempsell said:

surely if it's an issue at a site they can simply ban the practice?

 

[Tackle]

1 hour ago, gavinkempsell said:

I had to youtube speedsofters, pretty much what I thought it was but seems a lot like spawn camping in first person shooters, surely if it's an issue at a site they can simply ban the practice?

 

37 minutes ago, Lozart said:

 

Never really gave speedsofters much thought, in all honesty I don't think I've encountered more than a couple over the years, but been playing a bit of CoD lately, these motherfuckers that go through doorways & round corners jumping around like skippy the feckin bush kangaroo are really pissing me off🤬, I guess they're the digital version of a speedsofter, so now I hate them too🖕

[Tommikka]

5 hours ago, Lozart said:

(ahhh...The Mall....good times)

 

but it was always the same

- some that were happy to follow a bang through a door way

and a bunch of wusses gagglefucking outside.

Captain Teamkill shouting from the back to "move up" and going nowhere himself.

 

Pretty much all that's changed is the guns have got shorter and there's more kids in lycra.

 

 

….. and another type at a Mall doorway:

 

the faction leaders who wave at each other through the shop window to have an ‘alliance chat’, and the one who puts his gun down to stroll into the shop door

 

Then gets shot in the top of the head as he ducks below the line of fire, but the shooter at the doorway decides to shoot the unarmed man strolling in *

The opposing faction leader then apologizes “Sorry, I haven’t told him not to shoot you yet”

 

 

and then distract players in the repeated afternoon safety brief with the blood dripping from my head …… “excuse me marshall, that guys head is bleeding”

 

* correct action strictly speaking which I cater for in my own event rules - if you don’t have your hand up then you’re a live player, and could be doing a sneaky move 

[Cannonfodder]

As I've been visiting different sites and doing mid week games I've been to a few different cqb sites end one thing I have noticed is that many look like they're starting to crack down on some aspects of speedsoft, such as prefiring and spamming the trigger.

On 20/06/2023 at 06:03, Duff Beer said:

It’s always good when someone from back in the day spots the team patch though

Did you guys play at Fort Amhurst donkeys years ago?

[Madhouse]

What’s not helping are the amount of YT videos out there that give the wrong impression of what we do - it’s not kills every few seconds, everyone’s not a cheater and pews aren’t laser accurate.

 

Spoke to a guy last night and his only impression of Airsoft was from stumbling across YT videos and the above is exactly what he thought we did. Of course I set him straight, but that’s what we’re up against when trying to attract new people into the sport.

 

I don’t think interest in general is waning, it’s not the kind of activity that shouts about itself, so it’s pretty hard to gauge anyway. I’d say that growth is organic though with players inviting others along and getting them hooked.

[Krisz]

On 20/06/2023 at 07:22, Colin Allen said:

Speedsoft is a different game and should be treated as such.

Which doesn't mean I have to put up with their shit behaviour. They can have each other as long I'm not part of it. Airsoft is a silly game and I play it for fun. Not everything has to be competitive in this world...

Edited June 24, 2023 by Krisz

[Duff Beer]

1 hour ago, Cannonfodder said:

As I've been visiting different sites and doing mid week games I've been to a few different cqb sites end one thing I have noticed is that many look like they're starting to crack down on some aspects of speedsoft, such as prefiring and spamming the trigger.

Did you guys play at Fort Amhurst donkeys years ago?

At the Invicta Black Site prefiring is classed and blind firing and is therefore a no-no.  The maximum weight limit for BB’s is 0.25g, everything is chronoed, and they have they own branded zip ties for the regulators on HPA.  There are a few HPA players that are a bit speed-soft, but with a 300 round limit per game they can either play speedsoft for a short time or play tactically for the whole round.

 

Yes @Cannonfodderwe did.  I was the marshal with the cutaway mask.  Have you seen the Fort these days?  They’ve cut down all the trees, turned the foxhole into an open air cinema, and gated off the chapel so you can’t walk through it.

[THE CHIEF]

I don't think airsoft is running out of steam. I think the manufacturers are. Each year it's what new M4's are they producing. If no one ever made another armalite there would be enough to go around for years to come. Maybe release the new latest furniture every now and then to fit the existing M4's. I wouldn't mind if there was real innovation but so much is the same gun and gearbox over and over again.

 

I'm thinking back to 2003ish when classic army exploded with a range of AK74's, G36's, Aug's, G3's, M249's, SR25's

 

TM were knocking out Sig 552's, M14's, M733's (an overhaul of the basic tooling) a revamped GBB system for pistols.

 

Chinese clones were cheap as chips and even they showed innovation and new models. I think one of the first HK416's was a JG. I'd take a thundermaul over yet another MK18 any day. 

 

Given the primary reason for airsoft guns was to get hold of accurate replicas of firearms I would like to see more variety from the manufacturers. It's all got a bit stale for me. 

 

I'm happy to keep playing and buying but there's not as much that excites me these days AEG wise. 

[SBoardley]

2 minutes ago, THE CHIEF said:

I don't think airsoft is running out of steam. I think the manufacturers are. Each year it's what new M4's are they producing. If no one ever made another armalite there would be enough to go around for years to come. Maybe release the new latest furniture every now and then to fit the existing M4's. I wouldn't mind if there was real innovation but so much is the same gun and gearbox over and over again.

 

I'm thinking back to 2003ish when classic army exploded with a range of AK74's, G36's, Aug's, G3's, M249's, SR25's

 

TM were knocking out Sig 552's, M14's, M733's (an overhaul of the basic tooling) a revamped GBB system for pistols.

 

Chinese clones were cheap as chips and even they showed innovation and new models. I think one of the first HK416's was a JG. I'd take a thundermaul over yet another MK18 any day. 

 

Given the primary reason for airsoft guns was to get hold of accurate replicas of firearms I would like to see more variety from the manufacturers. It's all got a bit stale for me. 

 

I'm happy to keep playing and buying but there's not as much that excites me these days AEG wise. 

In the airsoft rif manufacturers defence, there is only a finite number of actual rs weapons to replicate…what exactly would you like to see that is yet to be turned into an airsoft rif?

5 hours ago, Cannonfodder said:

As I've been visiting different sites and doing mid week games I've been to a few different cqb sites end one thing I have noticed is that many look like they're starting to crack down on some aspects of speedsoft, such as prefiring and spamming the trigger.

Did you guys play at Fort Amhurst donkeys years ago?

Also what is meant by pre firing? Do you mean binary triggers?

[Cannonfodder]

3 hours ago, Madhouse said:

What’s not helping are the amount of YT videos out there that give the wrong impression of what we do - it’s not kills every few seconds, everyone’s not a cheater and pews aren’t laser accurate.

It doesn't help when sites llike Phoenix cater for twats like licking shitstains by setting up games specifically for them to generate bullshit content. For me this straight away puts them on the avoid list

 

@THE CHIEF whilst I agree that more variety of rifs would be nice, I think  alot of it is down to consumer demand.

3 hours ago, Duff Beer said:

Yes @Cannonfodderwe did.  I was the marshal with the cutaway mask.  Have you seen the Fort these days?  They’ve cut down all the trees, turned the foxhole into an open air cinema, and gated off the chapel so you can’t walk through it.

I thought I recognised the patch from there. I can't say the mask rings any bells, but it was nearly 20 years ago and sometimes I struggle to remember what I did last week.

 

I haven't been back since I last played there but tbh I'm not surprised it's changed so much. At least its been preserved though, rather than cleared for housing 

12 minutes ago, SBoardley said:

Also what is meant by pre firing? Do you mean binary triggers?

Firing as you approach and go round a corner so if there is someone there you're already putting shots out rather than having to react. To me it's a twatish move which involves zero skill

[THE CHIEF]

35 minutes ago, SBoardley said:

In the airsoft rif manufacturers defence, there is only a finite number of actual rs weapons to replicate…what exactly would you like to see that is yet to be turned into an airsoft rif?

Top of my head... a BREN gun, HK21, Owens gun, lewis gun, swedish K, M60E3 long and short...

 

Maybe based on the Cam870 an Ithaca M37 or spas 12

 

Based on the trishot AEG a usas12 

 

I know some have been done based on old technology like the TOP M60 or KTW M37. But they are not practical skirmish weapons. There's so many that haven't been touched. 

 

 

[Duff Beer]

55 minutes ago, SBoardley said:

what exactly would you like to see that is yet to be turned into an airsoft rif?

Let’s see:

 

Good Famas F1 or F2

Good Browning Hipower Mk III

GBB Mk23 Socom

FN2000

King Arms L1A1 (assuming they ever release it)

 

Instead we get Glock, Glock, AR, AK, AR, Glock, AR, AK, Glock, Glock, AR

 

When was the last time you saw anyone rocking a Famas at a site?  I know the last time I saw one, it was 2005.  

 

Still, I remember the times before the MP7’s were out so I can’t complain too much

[SBoardley]

16 minutes ago, THE CHIEF said:

Top of my head... a BREN gun, HK21, Owens gun, lewis gun, swedish K, M60E3 long and short...

 

Maybe based on the Cam870 an Ithaca M37 or spas 12

 

Based on the trishot AEG a usas12 

 

I know some have been done based on old technology like the TOP M60 or KTW M37. But they are not practical skirmish weapons. There's so many that haven't been touched. 

 

 

I guess the obvious reply to that is that rifs based on obscure or obsolete weapons don’t appeal to a large enough market to warrant r&d and manufacture? Though an aps cam based spas gives me a bit of a boner. 

[THE CHIEF]

42 minutes ago, SBoardley said:

I guess the obvious reply to that is that rifs based on obscure or obsolete weapons don’t appeal to a large enough market to warrant r&d and manufacture? Though an aps cam based spas gives me a bit of a boner. 

Sorry to say the spas is also obscure and obsolete these days. However... I would argue that any of the listed weapons would be collected and used. Especially in Japan. I bet a BREN and owens would sell well in America. 

[Adolf Hamster]

46 minutes ago, Duff Beer said:

FN2000

 

The f2000 is already a thing, g&g, cyma and jg do them?

[Tackle]

27 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

The f2000 is already a thing, g&g, cyma and jg do them?

The good old tactical tuna, I've got one, you either ❤️ or 🤮 them. 

[Adolf Hamster]

2 minutes ago, Tackle said:

The good old tactical tuna, I've got one, you either ❤️ or 🤮 them. 

 

I love the look of it, but wasnt much of a fan shooting something that had less trigger feel than a dewalt.....