My return?

So after basically a year sabbatical due to working weekends, I want to renew my member ship and return. However, I see I've missed a lot. Hoping someone can bring me up to speed on a few things around here.

For starters, who's GVAC? They seem to run the show game wise.

Bio BB's. I know there has been serious drama about it, so to the point, (yes or no) is Panther in house BB's only?

Panther aside, has airsoft gone Bio's everywhere? I have a few thousand non bio's left including sniper rounds

FPS, I see the cut off is 500 for GVAC. My credentials allow me up to 550, and my rifle hovers around 504. Am I screwed?

Is my T-Shirt that was ordered last year still around? I never got it

And finally, how many camera men work the games? I've inherited a nice Nikon camera but also have a go pro with gun mounts.

[Tjfast]

pm sent

I would say sell your guns cause airsoft sucks in so many ways right now. If I didn't have to go on Facebook to sell my guns I would probably be done with it already!My 2 cents. But who the fcuk cares.
Over a hundred players out there and only, if you're lucky, a dozen guys who try to make it better.
And LMAG isn't a club anymore, it's a site on the computer.

playing with GVAC, chances are you wont be chrono'd.

don't play the sniper role. nobody calls there hits.

anybody wanna buy a TM VSR????

[jsae]

I see that TJ has responded to your questions offline, so for the broader audience answers follow.

...
For starters, who's GVAC? They seem to run the show game wise.

GVAC is a way to promote the broad community. It is set up to collect game hosting announcements and spread them to numerous fb airsoft groups. Apparently, several thousand fb users could read the GVAC announcements.

Panther runs the show and the base safety rules are theirs. GVAC is more an open platform. Any group or player can post a game to their fb page and then step up at the 10:30 briefing and host the game. A quick chat with Elliott when you get there and he calls you up to lay out the scenario when he finishes the core safety meeting.

Bio BB's. I know there has been serious drama about it, so to the point, (yes or no) is Panther in house BB's only?

Technically, yes. But they have ways to allow you to use your own Bio BBs. We can explain it better at the field.

Panther aside, has airsoft gone Bio's everywhere? I have a few thousand non bio's left including sniper rounds

Essentially, yes. Bigfoot was planning to allow styrene until their own supply runs out. But they will require Bio BBs once they run out of their own styrene ones.

FPS, I see the cut off is 500 for GVAC. My credentials allow me up to 550, and my rifle hovers around 504. Am I screwed?

No. Panther will likely allow that energy level as close enough to their limit. Plus, Panther looks like it will allow the host of any given Sunday to extend their base rules.

Is my T-Shirt that was ordered last year still around? I never got it

We still have everyone's shirts reserved. Char is still storing them in the same box as before.

And finally, how many camera men work the games? I've inherited a nice Nikon camera but also have a go pro with gun mounts.

The number of cameras varies.

And about the players honour: you could say it's getting "better". But some players who were extremely bad at honouring hits are excluded from the main Sunday group.

I'm sensing a great deal of bitterness here. So you can finally get guns easily and the whole thing goes to hell? What happened?

[jsae]

I think it involves lots of factors, Sicyon.

Here are some:

• Panther starting larger direct involvement in airsoft at their field
• the field BB's mix-ups
• Panther Airsoft Club and other club deals mix-up
• MUCH more diverse set of groups coming forward to play
  
  • some use their own fb groups
  • some use their own forums
  • many don't post their interest in playing
  • proliferation of fb groups in the area about airsoft
• MANY of the diverse groups seem to not want to post their interest in games on a central forum
  
  • observed at LMAG
  • noted at Omega Ops
  • actually not required at GVAC fb group
• plugging into GVAC as a clearinghouse for game announcements theoretically advises several thousand potential players of upcoming events, so a 40 player turnout is only around 1% of the people you reach

This last one is likely key: reaching 4000 to 5000 people and you only need to have 1% of them available to play.

Generally, in the heyday of OpFor and BCAC, we were generally having 60% to 80% of our active players showing up for regular games. And even that was easily 5 to 10% of the users on the forums. Active players lists were really less than 200 and full user lists were always less than 1000. Even now, LMAG users are less than 700.

If we were to have 5% of 4500 people play now, we would see a game involving 225 players!

How about the fact soooooo many losers don't call hits, or a couple of admins figured they could do what ever they want and created distrust among all of them, including me, or people that should know better with no gun condoms in parking lot, or shooting from the parking lot into the speedball field, with no goggles either, or guys that walk on the field like they own it and don't put any effort into the game. Like you said, guns are cheap and everywhere, but that also means anyone can get one. So trying to get rid of the bad players is impossible now. And they have ruined the game of airsoft.
Cook off tried to run a game last Saturday and 25 or 30 guys on each team playing attack and defend, most of our team kept going out and attacking when they were told to stay and defend! After lunch everyone split off and we were left wih around 20 players for the afternoon.
The only good thing about airsoft right now is the friends/players from a few years back.

[Crash]

Bushman, I had a feeling things were going to get much worse without the clubs running the show. I was planning on getting back to airsoft this spring. But, by what you are saying it might be time to sell off the equipment.
Is there any other field to play on. Where you dont have to worry about cheaters???

[Tjfast]

Things are getting better.... I've noticed it over the last few weeks. It seems those who were causing problems play with themselves now, and the players that take it structured game and play a little more seriously are all playing together. The days of Op-for BCAC style is gone for now, end of story. Its been said a million times but airsoft has come out of grey and is to easy for someone to go down to there local store, pay a fraction of what they would 5 years ago, and come on the field.

Structure will be restored, its just a matter of hearding the sheeps in the right, organized direction and its already happening.

Anyone else notice how games are getting started earlier, and more on time lately?