What was the Last Major Technical Advance in paintball Markers ?

[Brandon]

When I left paintball, Timmy's, Shockers and Egos ruled the fields. Since I've came back it seems like the newer markers are rehashed and refined copies of the older technology, even mechs with spools are available. For example the shocker RSX and LX are more like refined Ions ( in terms of the bolt system ) Where as the Lux is more like a Sprung SFT or NXT Shocker. Am I Wrong??

What was the last major technical advance to markers that you can think of ?

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

When I left paintball, Timmy's, Shockers and Egos ruled the fields. Since I've came back it seems like the newer markers are rehashed and refined copies of the older technology, even mechs with spools are available. For example the shocker RSX and LX are more like refined Ions ( in terms of the bolt system ) Where as the Lux is more like a Sprung SFT or NXT Shocker. Am I Wrong??

What was the last major technical advance to markers that you can think of ?

Sprung as in like a fasor? No spring was in my bolt "core" on my 2.0

yeah all the new "speedball" markers look and shoot close to or makes no difference. Best on the market is the planet eclipse gamma 2 core and alot are copying that now. All just Personal preference. Just like when blowbacks were popular, it was all down to what fit right in your hands. They all shot the same for the moist pork.

[Jordan]

"Moist pork"?

Oh my....



🤭

[Brokeass_baller]

Moist pork needs to become a thing.

"How's it shoot?"
"Like moist pork."
"Niiiice."

[ATBen]

I guess the newer affordable mech markers? I mean they're not really technically advanced in any way, but for the weight, consistency, and price points you can't go wrong.

Maybe there is something in magfed that's new? Continuous feed mags seem to be all the rage now.

The most technically advanced stuff I've seen is the AR stuff that's out there. Sherwood has been testing it with Ronin Kenetic Entertainment. Basically you can see and interact with AR props (power switches, loot boxes, explosives etc...) by looking through your phone. Maps, comms, leader boards, wall of shame, way points, flag stations etc. are all in the app too.

Once the HUD tech that's found in ski, snowboard and swimming goggles finds its way into paintball lenses, the possibilities are endless. Imagine shooting a nerf rocket at a tank and watching it explode in your HUD, or an air strike where you can see the plane or gunship in the sky? And yeah, I know the EVS had a HUD, but GI scrapped it, Intel owns the IP and shelved it.

There's also a huge area of sports science that's opening up to pros now too. Things like widgets that can be added to hoppers and markers so teams can study things like shot height, gun angles, where eliminations are, key bunkers etc.

[OpusX]

And yeah, I know the EVS had a HUD, but GI scrapped it...

What if I told you I know where one lives....

[ATBen]

Then find a way to flash it back to the original snowboard goggle software and get Ronin to install their program. It wouldn't have the cool explosions and stuff, but you could have directional arrows and objective stuff scroll by.

[The Inflicted]

.
Once the HUD tech that's found in ski, snowboard and swimming goggles...

Whoah- this is real?!

[Brandon]

its amazing how small tech (size) has gotten...

[ATBen]

It's already been banned in open water swimming comps because it's such an advantage not having to look up and get bearings.

[nobbie333]

[Cyberpyr8]

Ah you're the guy that bought it. :P Great idea but the cost was too high. Probably just ahead of it's time.

[cfos00]

It wasn't at all well done, esp for the cost. Great concept, but the practical uses on it really sucked. It had such a short range that it was basically useless. It only worked for 50-75 feet in terms of range. So it doesn't exactly help much to know where teammates are when you can quite easily see them just as quickly.

[nobbie333]

[Hobbes]

For me the biggest technical improvements came from internal gas lines (no macro) and ease of maintenance. The ease of maintenance comes from things like bolt kits that come out as a single unit with the push of a button, grips that peel off instead of removing screws, and wireless connections.

[ChuckLove]

My guess would be the self timing LPR-less modern spool valve guns. I believe (not 100%) that this was first implemented on the Dye NT10 and eventually developed into the Gamma Core. John (Irony from PbN) I believe is the man behind this madness.

Disclaimer: This information is most likely flawed due to my shoddy memory.

[nobbie333]

I feel the last major technical advance is how fast you can remove a valve or drivetrain now but also is the downside you can’t customize your marker like you could before
and adding technology because it is there like wireless charging, hud and adding a thing called (blue teeth) 😜 is a gimmick

[pghp8ntballer]

True innovation to the sport, regardless if it “took off” or not?

My thought would be first strike rounds. Still not commonplace but a genuine technical advance.

I don’t consider internal airlines an improvement at all since it significantly limits the air source mounting options.... and the Nelspot has had an internal airline since creation... before the sport was a sport... just saying.

Also quick valve train/internals removal is not all that fancy or new. Once again, Nelson markers can be quickly torn down with just a screw or two in some cases depending on design, setup, etc. The automag is a one screw, entire valve train removal design. Even spyders from around 2000 allowed you to remove over 50% of the internals by removing a single pin.

Wireless comms and other electronic gizmos are not really an innovation as they are logical adaptions from other sports or tech capabilities.

[ChuckLove]

Oh ya FSR rounds is a good one.

[russc]

My guess would be the self timing LPR-less modern spool valve guns. I believe (not 100%) that this was first implemented on the Dye NT10 and eventually developed into the Gamma Core. John (Irony from PbN) I believe is the man behind this madness.

This is the big recent one to me. This development was the cherry on the top of spool valve technology, both mech and electro.

[glaman5266]

For me it's the Gamma Core. While it isn't a blow-you-away technological advancement it did set a VERY solid standard for spool valve markers. Most high end electros today use some sort of design similar to the Gamma Core & all of PE's markers except the LV1.6 use some variant of it. This has spread into mech paintball as well, spawning good-shooting, reliable mechs that shoot like high-ends for a fraction of the price. Remind you of anything else? (the Ion ) That may not be an equal comparison, but I feel there are similarities.

And what pghp8ntballer said- First Strike rounds. I don't use them and they aren't super commonplace, but they changed woods/scenario game play & are a boon for magfed & limited paint formats.

[ATBen]

EVS is old news. I'm talking HADO Ball meets Paintball.

https://youtu.be/TjbtH_MxDQI

[Cyberpyr8]

I remember a Behind the Bunker podcast with the original owner of Pinocio talking about his patents and idea for integrating a camera with wifi into the hopper. He said they thought they could get the cost down to the $300 range for the camera and hopper. They could stream to a PC on the sidelines and see the game in real time from the players perspective. Imagine that on a speedball field or even woodsball game where you could see all the players POV in realtime and watch the game. Wasn't long after that episode when HK bought them out. Makes me wonder if they will ever do anything with it. That could be a game changer. At least it would make watching paintball a little more interesting. Wouldn't be a stretch to see them add it to a mask too. I look at my $25 Wyze cameras and think it's not too far off from being doable.

[tjd10684]

It's doable right now you just have to go to a different hobby. FPV gear does this all the time. If your willing to go to an analog signal you can do it for under $25. If you have to have a hd feed you will have to get up to $150. I have a strange setup that I used 1 time that let me fly my fpv quad around my backyard and livestreamed the fpv feed on twitch. Too bad I'm not a very good pilot.

[Cyberpyr8]

I understand the technology is available today. The problem is getting paintball companies to implement it. I think it really could change the way people watch and think about paintball. Guys running cams and posting to youtube now get a lot of views. If it could be done during the games that would make live events more exciting to watch. I would love to go to word cup and not only watch in the stands but have monitors showing the feeds from the different players. Makes moves on the far side of the field easier to witness.