SpeedQB Competition

[Grounded]

Its undeniable one of the most interesting groups to read within reddit and is growing and spans countries. G&G has been hosting it for years and now other weapons companies wants in on the untapped market. Yeah I am talking about SpeedQB. Hold on my milsim brethren...i am not switching sides...just, hear me out on this one. I am hoping that this article will drop some knowledge to those asking the same question I kept asking myself, why?


What the $%^& is Speedsoft?

Ah aha! The majority of us airsoft players we are familiar with the military simulations structure, often re-enacting combat or law enforcement scenarios to add an element of realism to the sport adding comms and a chain of command. Airsoft events can be as short as hours to even days! In the SpeedQB world, games are played indoors and act much like paintball on crack where fast sweeps and sliding is common with rounds usually lasting about 4-5 minutes on average.

Like all things cool, SpeedQB came from Southern California. Just as the nicotine patch, the band No Doubt, Egg McMuffin and the Hola Hoop.



So which brings me to the next part of this story...we all know that SpeedQB is huge in SoCal....but what about in the PNW? OAA (Oregon Airsoft Arena) is the only one that's been truly open and somewhat exclusive to host SpeedQB games...if you live in the Portland metro or surrounding areas. What if...just hear me out...what if, this was brought up to the Northwest. Where there's teams, bragging rights and ofcourse a trophy to show off. What if i was to tell you that instead of one place to play, you can visit 2 or 3 or 4 others arenas and compete with other players...in a true competitive style with brackets and competition. Airsofters in the Northwest can be ruthless but if there's something i know is that we love a challenge.

Let me know what you think, would you like to see a bigger SpeedQB plays in the state and what rules would you like to see.


Stay Frosty,


Grounded

[Norseman]

I left paintball because of the cheating and hyper competitive nature of the sport 20 years ago. And that’s using paintballs that mark opponents. With airsoft? How do you paint check someone when there is a new car and sponsorships on the line?

I like Airsoft better as a hobby.

I also really like immersion. Which paintball completely lacks.

But Iam old too....so yah.

[Grounded]

Its growing on me man..

[Cascadian Concepts]

I have a love/hate relationship with Speedsoft.

Although my CQB playstyle is a mixture of realsteel CQB techniques and Speedsoft aggression, I find Speedsoft as a potentially dangerous sub-type of game not because of any physical danger, but for the type of mindset of personality-type that it foster. We all know that personality-type - it’s everywhere on youtube. The stereotype of the hyper-aggressive (as in angry) overshooting cheater is prevalent because more often than not it’s true. I have witnessed it both online and on field. I have witnessed many speedsofters show a careless disregard for weapon handling, and even though I know that airsoft projectiles are nowhere close to being as dangerous as those shot from real firearms, they do have the potential to be abused. I have seen some speedsofters in waiting rooms dryfire at people’s faces in jest. The first time it happened, I was being an ambassador to a friend, attempting to get them into airsoft. That display left a sour taste in his mouth that has yet to dissipate as it keeps getting reinforced with more in-person and online examples. I am not sure why that behavior is so commonplace within the speedsoft community. Compounding the issue is the unfortunately common trend of anger-attributed overshooting and excessive use of obscenities in what normally would be a family friendly environment.

Perhaps the issue is due to the fact that speedsoft was catalyzed in the So-Cal area, therefore the culture was influenced by that personality-type. The proliferation of negative speedsoft content may have normalized it in speedsoft communities outside of So-Cal. I am not sure. This is just a loose hypothesis. Regardless, until that culture is addressed, I can only see it as detrimental to airsoft’s culture as a whole.

However, I would like to note that my interaction with speedsofters at Thunder Kiss NW has been more positive in the past. Maybe the due diligence of the staff there keeps such toxic behavior in check? To me, this shows that perhaps the speedsoft culture is finally mellowing out and is becoming less toxic over time. Perhaps with the proper social pressure, speedsoft can be holistically integrated into airsoft without much issue. But, as of right now I cannot proudly proclaim myself as a speedsofter regardless of my playstyle.

As a tangent, I quite miss the classic CQB style of play - the more methodic and milsim-esque approach to CQB. I love the way that TKNW has set up their kill-house and hope that such field setups expand. Should speedsoft gain prominence I fear that the field too will shift to the more arcade-esque style. At its core, I believe that airsoft must maintain an essence of milsim. After all, airsoft was born out of the desire to subvert oppressive gun laws in a country that is not as friendly to the idea of guns as the United Stated is. If I wanted to sacrifice that sense of realism, I would just play paintball. In my mind there is a dichotomy between the two hobbies. I also understand that a major appeal for speedsoft is that it is cheaper than paintball. Perhaps there is a way to grow the speedsoft industry without intersecting with hegemonic airsoft. We can already see that companies like G&G are making what is essentially just speedball markers based on the classic airsoft M4 body. However, trends like elongated double triggers give room to abuse in semi-only fields. The philosophy of use of speedsoft equipment vs traditional airsoft is too contradictory for me to see them coexisting in the same space.

These are just my current opinions on the matter and as such they are subject to change. To reiterate: It’s the culture that concerns me.
I am one of those zippy bois that sprints around with a hi-capa gold match and a Dye I4, but I just refer to myself as an airsofter, not a speedsofter. I don’t want to be affiliated with the connotations attributed to that culture - not until it changes.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[Norseman]

Its growing on me man..

May I ask why? As a field owner and old school airsofter I’m simply trying to understand the draw. For me Speedsoft represents all the things I left paintball to come to Airsoft for 20 years ago. It’s like it’s come full circle. Why not just go play paintball which is fully established and is heavily sponsored and funded?

Also what is SpeedQB?

Thanks!

(Great post Cascadian concepts)

[Grounded]

SpeedQB is speed quarters battle. Rather than the typical close quarters the game play focuses on speed. Now thinking about it in CQB scenarios there’s 3 rules to execute and that helps determine a successful mission. Speed, element of surprise and violence of action. Nothing is more true in SpeedQB. Now, I am not defending it but I will say that when it comes to milsim there’s parts that are long and dryed out as opposed to SpeedQB it’s all 100% crack filled movement.

[Grounded]

Holy shit! Thanks for the input Cascadian Concepts! A Ted talk for sure! Personally I like to see this expanded as a tournament style to attract new player and show other airsoft disciplines.

[Cascadian Concepts]

I think that as long as Speedsoft remains in a tournament only environment, and that CQB arenas remain relatively milsim-speedsim-esque during normal businesses days, there wouldn’t be a problem. I just pray that fields don’t downgrade to the speedsoft/speedball/paintball style of field that you see on youtube. I think that’s lowest common denominator stuff. In all honesty, if speedsoft replaces traditional CQB fields, I would just quit airsofting entirely or perhaps switch to milsim only.

Speedsoft is the reason why I’ve only airsofted on and off for the past 5 years. Every time I try to give it a chance, the community does something extremely disappointing which makes me leave again.

[Norseman]

SpeedQB is speed quarters battle. Rather than the typical close quarters the game play focuses on speed. Now thinking about it in CQB scenarios there’s 3 rules to execute and that helps determine a successful mission. Speed, element of surprise and violence of action. Nothing is more true in SpeedQB. Now, I am not defending it but I will say that when it comes to milsim there’s parts that are long and dryed out as opposed to SpeedQB it’s all 100% crack filled movement.

I was calling it speed soft! Gotcha.

Except in speedQB your not working as a stack correct? It’s more like paintball were you have a back man and front man and flankers?

Also the pistol with a Cmag isn’t realistic, not sure how common that is but that’s what I think of when I think of it.

Lastly I’m really not a fan of turning Airsoft into a Basketball game, with points and jerseys and refs. Usually Airsoft as a hobby and not a sport is about balance. Not allowing one team to roll another. CQC and IPSC competitions are different in that it’s not two teams head to head. One is against a pinned OPFOR and the other is paper targets and a timer.

I just see a lot of fighting and bad blood and that’s why I left paintball. But I support people’s right to have fun. Whatever floats yer boat. I’m trying to do some different immersion stuff that’s not Milsim. Titanfall, Star Wars, Cowboy, Jurrasic park and maybe something Post apocalyptic next year.