In a move to further enhance player experience and care in its league, the PSP released a statement on Monday regarding their implementation of new technology that is designed to enhance the experience of competing teams.

The release outlines the showcasing of ScoreBlast technology. Teams registering for PSP events through the APPA website will be encouraged to add a matching text-message enabled cell phone number to each appropriate member on the roster. The new technology will allow for more freedom among teams who have completed their daily matches. Instead of idly waiting until all of the day’s matches are completed for appropriate scheduleling, teams instead will be sent text message updates containing information directly to their phone.

This allows for teams to leave the premises after their matches are finished out, and still be connected directly to the information that the PSP will dictate regarding the next day’s play location, match time, and opponent. The new ScoreBlast system is designed to work with all major carriers, both domestic and international.

The full press release reads as follows:

PSP and APPA Announce New ScoreBlast Technology!

Paintball Sports Promotions, the world’s most popular paintball league, and the American Paintball Players Association, creators of paintball’s most successful registration and player classification system, are pleased to release APPA’s new ScoreBlast technology at the season-opening PSP Phoenix Open tournament.

With ScoreBlast technology, teams add the number for a text-enabled cell phone to their roster and then at the event receive updates blasted directly to their phone! This new service will roll out with automated updates of each team’s schedule as they advance through the tournament, with even more information to be added to ScoreBlast as the season progresses.

“Paintball Sports Promotions is not satisfied with merely meeting player expectations, and neither are we. That’s why APPA has continued to innovate, developing the most comprehensive registration system in the sport,” said APPA creator, Chris Raehl. “We’ve continually add new features like our pioneering real-time online-scoring, our ID card line eliminating ExpressID Pass, and now our new ScoreBlast service.”

Teams who use ScoreBlast will no longer have to wait on-site for all games to finish and the next day’s schedule to be printed nor have to find internet access at the hotel to check the online schedule. They can instead grab some food, some sleep, or socialize with all of the other paintball players at the event, as their next day’s opponents, fields and game times will be ScoreBlasted directly to their phone. ScoreBlast works with all major cell phone carriers, both domestic and international.

“It’s not enough to just charge player registration fees without having a comprehensive registration system to back it up, and that’s why leagues that value their players like PSP does use the APPA system,” said PSP Chief Operating Officer and former professional player Lane Wright. “From providing the best officials and best format in the sport to using only all-natural grass playing surfaces, every decision PSP makes is ultimately dictated by providing the best experience for the player. That kind of focus explains why more players have chosen to play PSP events than any other league for five years straight.”

The PSP Phoenix Open will be held March 13th-16th at the Glendale Youth Sports Complex at the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Fiesta Bowl and Super Bowl XLII, in Glendale, Arizona. Check out www.pspevents.com to register for the event and for more information. For more information on the APPA paintball registration system, including adding your league to APPA, visit www.paintball-players.org.

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Planet Eclipse has always been known for innovation in the field of marker construction. In 2005, they firmly planted their foot in the door with the release of the Ego. Since then they’ve grown to become one of the largest high performance marker manufacturers in the world, and have successfully hoisted the Ego onto one of the few pedestals available for future markers to be benchmarked against. But how does the sixth installment of the Ego fare when compared to previous versions of itself?

As with my review of Dye’s DM8, I’m sad to say that the 2008 Ego has failed at impressing me with its performance and innovation when compared with previous models. It seems that Planet Eclipse has simply missed the mark this year, and has placed its focus in other questionable locations.

In late 2006 Planet Eclipse unveiled, to much public and critical acclaim, the new Ego7. Derived from the operating principles of the previous two Egos, the Ego7 demonstrated a new direction for the brand, redefining the standards that players should accept for performance, reliability, durability, weight and ergonomics. Add to that list peerless Customer Service and uber-simple user-maintenance, and the complete package becomes a formidable prospect.

This year the Ego8 will push these boundaries even further, by building on the already impressive platform of the Ego7, drawing on some of the experience gained from the highly-developed SL74, and moulding all the entities into a new marker with devastating effect.

So began the press release for the 2008 Ego. Keep in mind the emphasized part in bold, as I’ll continually reference back to it when explaining the finer details of the 2008 Ego. Let’s start out by going through the changes that Planet Eclipse has made from the 2007 Ego, to the 2008. Their promotional video highlighting these features is rather stylish:

 

The first thing that is directly noticeable is the new look. The Ego sports a brand new coat of makeup in the form of more aggressive milling and 3D design, a change in the frame construction, and some internal upgrades which allowed for the “sleeker” machining. While not excessively different to the point of being un-recognizable, the redesign here gives a slightly smaller profile and allows for a smoother “attachment” to the marker.

The exact specifications compared (with battery) are:

2008 Ego

• Length: 531mm
• Height:  216mm
• Width: 26mm
•  Weight: 1.99lbs / 906g

2007 Ego

• Length: 531mm
• Height: 216mm
• Width: 26mm
• Weight: 2.07lbs / 941g

So, in actuality the only significant change in construction is a weight loss of 35g / 1.23oz. Also, one can note, the trigger design has come directly from the SL74. Moving on to the internals, the 2008 Ego sports from the factory the famed “Zick Kit” rammer system and a “Cure” bolt. The combination of the two allows for both lower operating pressure, higher efficiency, and better handling of fragile paint. Both of these have been heavily used as upgrades to the 2007 model, where they were excluded, and as factory inclusions for the SL74.

Internally, one of the changes that Planet Eclipse has managed to perform is the inclusion of a new style QEV. Instead of a single or dual QEV as seen in previous models, the 2008 sports a  “Q-Block” that is essentially two QEVs fused into one. Planet Eclipse has designed the Q-Block to exceed previous flow rates by excluding any hoses or restrictive fittings on the exhaust side. The Q-Block is also designed to be tool free, regarding maintenance, and can be stripped for cleaning in a relatively short period of time.

Continuing, the 2008 Ego changes things up with the inclusion of a new LPR and HPR. The HPR changes from previous stacked shim models to the ultra accurate spring design from the SL74. The spring design has been shown to not only increase output pressure consistency, but it is a joy to perform maintenance on when compared to shim stack regulators. The LPR too features internal upgrades in the form of the dual gold spring operation, and piston material upgrades. These features were first implemented on the SL74, and have been carried over after their success in performance.

Some other minor features on the 2008 Ego that are worth mentioning are first, the electronics. The frame has been fitted with an upgraded board that brings back both the optical and microswitch options. Many players have different opinions as to which is better, so Planet Eclipse has catered to both fields with the option of using either. The board itself has all the programming options players would expect out of a next generation marker, along with various pre-programmed league locks. The inclusion of an auxiliary port, and a easy read LCD also make their return from the SL74.

The barrel that comes standard is an Eclipse 14″ Shaft II two piece with a .693″ bore. The Shaft II is the cream of the crop when it comes to Eclipse barrels, and comes after extensive testing on the SL74.

Testing of the 2008 Ego was in a brisk thirty degree January Xball practice. Out of the box setup was simple, with everything attaching together smoothly. After a quick check over and an air fill, I set the pressure for 280fps and noticed an out of the box average shot consistency of +/- 3. While not perfect, it certainly is acceptable considering that the regulators were far from broke in. Lining up at fifty feet with Marbalizer paint, I was impressed when the Shaft II barrel put shot for shot within a six inch diameter.

After setting the electronics to the new PSP rate of fire, I headed out for play. Needless to say, as expected, the Ego performed like a charm. I put two cases through the marker that day and never once did the Ego disappoint me with a broken or chopped ball. First shot drop off never occurred as well despite it being rather chilly. Planet Eclipse markers were designed to be used with a low viscosity lubricant that works better in colder weather compared to grease based spool valve markers.

Efficiency was exactly what I had expected from a new Ego. On a 68ci/4500psi LP Crossfire tank, I garnered 1320 shots on a full 4500psi fill. This was out of the box, brand new performance. I’m positive that after things get broke in fully I should see an increase close to the 1500+ that Planet Eclipse advertises.

Now to get on to that gloomy intro, and the meaning for all of my SL74 references throughout the review. Simply put, the 2008 Ego is just a SL74. There…I’ve said it. The move from the 2006 Ego to the 2007 Ego was a drastic change due to not only size adjustments and milling, but a complete electronic overhaul, internal design change around, and all around improvement in every way possible. With the SL74, Planet Eclipse worked their magic on the 2007 Ego to create a marker that oozed high performance in every square inch. Where the 2007 Ego was the Corvette, the SL74 was the McLaren F1…and sported the price tag of one as well. Two thousand dollars was an extremely high price to pay for a paintball marker, and the market at the time of release was for professional teams with high paying sponsorships that wanted the best of the best.

However with the pressure of releasing a new marker for the 2008 season, it is my opinion that Planet Eclipse simply ran out of ideas and time for a new marker and technology after the releases of the 2007 and the SL74. It seems that to save face, they repackaged the SL74 into a slightly heavier body, milled their new logo, and sent it out without a barrel kit. For those of you reading this going “you’ve lost it Bill,” I ask you to kindly browse all of the “borrowed” technology that the 2008 uses from the SL74 along with comparison pictures.

As with the DM8, the 2008 Ego isn’t a bad marker by any means. It is the pinnacle of Planet Eclipse’s current capabilities, and offers the performance that one would expect. However for a player looking to upgrade to a new Ego, I honestly see no real point in picking the 2008 over a 2007 model (with cure bolt and zick kit), or a SL74. Both of the latter can be currently acquired much cheaper than the 2008 version, and will perform exactly the same with less of a dent in your wallet.

Planet Eclipse 2008 Ego Features:

• Ultra-Lightweight Monoform Body
• Deftek Offset Feed Tube
• Flush-Fitting Eye Covers
• Integrated Rammer Housing
• Integrated FRM
• Cure Bolt
• Zick Rammer and Rammer Cap
• Stepped Valve Chamber and Valve Guide
• High-Flow Valve
• Q-Block – New 1-Piece Dual QEV block
• Light-weight Aluminum Regulator Pistons
• Superior Coil Spring Regulator Design
• Dual Trigger Sensing Board
• Duel Instrument Grade Ball-Raced Trigger
• Magnetic Trigger Return
• Skinny-Fit Co-Moulded Rubber E-Star Grips
• T-Slot Rail Mounting System
• Major Tournament Preset Modes
• Capped and Uncapped Semi and Ramping Modes
• 9 De-bounce Modes
• Direct-Acting Solenoid
• Black-on-White Transflective LCD Display
• Swivel In-Line Regulator
• Lever Operated Clamping Feed
• Shaft II 2-Piece 14” 0.693” Barrel
• On/Off/Purge System
• Lower Cyclic Mass
• Less Kick
• Quieter Shot
• Improved Efficiency
• Low Profile Break-Beam Eyes
• New Clam-Shell packaging
• Tool Tube Hex Key Set

The Planet Eclipse 2008 Ego is available today from Planet Eclipse’s online store for $1,250.00.

Pros

• Ultra lightweight design
• Small profile
• Software support for all major leagues
• Excellent efficiency
• LCD Control Display
• Large list of high quality Planet Eclipse parts come standard (Cure bolt, Zick-Kit, Shaft II Barrel, etc.)

Cons

• No real big difference in performance over an upped 2007 Ego or SL74

Final Rating
3.5 out of 5

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Just to keep everyone updated, I’ve begun changing the site around a little bit. It has been a couple of months since our launch, and the response that we’ve received here has been extremely positive. With that in mind, I’m digging into both the front and back ends of the site in order to improve things.

One of the more noticeable things you can see right away is the new re-designed logo. Our original logo was the product of about ten minutes in Adobe Illustrator, as I was under pressure to get the site moving. However, the new logo is a great improvement I think, and will serve well for the line of soft goods that we are currently working on. For comparison purposes…

Old Logo:

New logo:

Some of the other new things we’ve added around here is the Upcoming Reviews scroll underneath our search bar. The scroll will update every couple of seconds with upcoming reviews that will be featured on our site.

In terms of usability and site cleanliness, I’ve removed the “Content Link” advertisements from the entire site. These were small advertisements that take the form of links in the site’s text. In the time period of my trial, I didn’t see a positive response from them and I wasn’t pleased with the way they were implemented. For now the only advertisements on the site will be the header banner above the site, and the text ads at the beginning of each article.

With all that said, please be patient with the site the next few days while we continue to streamline everything. Don’t be surprised if you visit and some things are mis-aligned, or random text is placed in odd locations. That’s just us working to provide you with the best paintball coverage online.

And as always, for the best possible experience in browsing our site…please download and use the Mozilla Firefox web browser.

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Following the move by the PSP to update the rate of fire, the Millennium Series has also updated its requirements regarding the speed at which paintball markers, that are used in its league, are fired.

The announcement comes after a span of speculation and skepticism after the PSP’s announcement. For a brief period, European fans wondered as to what the Millennium’s reply to the PSP’s decision was going to be. The final declaration is 12 balls per second.

The changes have come early in 2008 to allow for electronic board manufacturers to release appropriate software updates for the new caps, and to give time for teams to practice using the new settings. As with the PSP, the Millennium’s motives for continuing the rate of fire caps throughout its European league are unclear at this time. Some speculate pressure from paint sponsors, while others are claiming it is to enhance gameplay and spectator involvement.

The official press release from the Millennium Series is as follows:

Millennium Series ROF cap in 2008

Following discussions with team owners last week, and extensive consulting with various gun/board manufacturers, the MS will update the respective wording of rule “11.01 Markers” to

• The first 3 shots must be semi-auto mode only.
• Markers will be limited to a ROF of 12 balls per second, defined as no two consecutive shots may be timed shorter than 83ms apart (reading on ROF meter of 12.0 bps or less = legal; reading on ROF meter of 12.1 bps or higher = illegal).
• Ramping of shots will be allowed only once 6 bps has been achieved. Then the marker may ramp to 12 bps, but only as long the 6 bps is continually maintained. Once the trigger is stopped to be activated, only one single additional shot may be discharged.

Clarification: the 6 bps for start/sustained ramping dose not need to be hit physically, it refers to the time delay between trigger activations, which must be at least the equivalent to 6 bps. So a marker may start to ramp up to 12 bps, if (after the first three shots being in semi-auto only) the time delay between 3rd and 4th trigger activation is less than 167ms.

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I’m honestly somewhat shocked to be reporting this, and at the same time it doesn’t really surprise me with the current state of the United States economy being slowly flushed down the proverbial toilet.

Hybrid Paintball has published a very emotional press release, with a companion video titled “endMovie”, to their website. The tone of the release is laced with anger, hate, sorrow, remorse, and sadness at the current state of the paintball industry. The release is being interpreted by many other “sketchy” paintball news sites that Hybrid is calling it quits and disbanding.

However, it seems that Hybrid is merely stepping down its levels of production and output for the current time period while it can acquire its footing. At no point in the release does Hybrid state “we’re through”. Hybrid does state that:

Once more.. We are still here, not like how we do, but we are still here. Production I still have and whatever I got that you want. I have, till the industry warrants it. And if it warrants it I’ll make more.

For those who are new to the sport, this won’t affect you at all. In fact, reading over the press release won’t bring about any emotion whatsoever. However, veterans know that Hybrid has been involved in a serious struggle with both wholesalers and foreign manufacturers regarding their products. The strain of legal battles has apparently been enough to seriously impact Hybrid Paintball as a company. Veterans know exactly what Hybrid is talking about when they speak of cancer and industry monopolies.

Here follows is both the “endMovie” and their official press release:

THE AGE OF CHANGE

To everyone in the paint-ball community,

With the current situation of an economic melt down. We are going to be in the situation of change.. Not just our company but the community of paint-ball as we know it. Most importantly, our country.

We see the dying of paint-ball dealerships almost every day. We have seen and been involved in the constant bickering of paint-ball manufacturers to not alleviate an ridiculous infrastructure of an ever changing paint-ball community.. What we see is conglomerates and umbrella companies slowly try to corner it and kill, or be killed.

Competition is progress. But when there is none, You have become a monopoly. A beast that becomes fat and become a cancer to its own body. Now we fight internally.. From disgracing the new player to never having a good time, to the recballer who gives a damn about nothing but playing and if a field is not around or he thinks that his local field only caters to other so called “important non-paying types”, he becomes renegade … lawless.  To the dealer, who cannot figure out why no one comes in their store. To the dealer that decides to devalue industry product because they are now in survival mode to make ends meet. To the manufacturer who now must do the same to help with dealer margins, but bleeds its own margins and soon must be hasty in their decision making… We must stop and start reflecting!

Players will not feel this because you have the options to stay home and play online but know its always best to go play our sport like you should. Players have the luxury to love and hate brands to prove a point not knowing that this industry right this very moment, ONLY NEEDS GROWTH, the growth of competition, the growth to be better ambassadors to the new, the old, and the ones who have fallen to a disenfranchised love of the sport.  The west is feeling the crunch, east will follow soon enough. Soon their will be nothing you decide what you want, that is the day the industry as a whole may be destroyed.

We have stepped sideways because first off, we can, and secondly, the consumer, the dealer are simply not buying how they use too.  To the consumer that can afford to pay in other industries good money, but is educated to go cheap in paint-ball. If you cant afford it, you just cant afford it. HOWEVER, what must be done is to let new people embrace our sport so we can grow. To also provide a service to the community that we are legit.  When we do, fields are easily accessible.

Now working on other industry where competition is fierce, they still maintain order, respect, right to fight, but keep the margins in check  so its industry will not implode. Buyers still buy. No matter what.  You can see it by their own conventions…

At this time I say we need a united front, a governing body, with two common goals; to thrive in our great industry, and to  keep the industry from failing.  We so love this sport? Then each player has a responsibility to improve it.

History is repeating-itself and the more you see it then you begin to believe that the harvest did not justify to reseed because of a long winter. And we need to hold on to the fabric that made us great. to conserve, to demand, to supply must all come into play.

We are a luxury sport,  but when dad loses a job, or your parents lose their homes, who plays? who wins? most importantly, who survives? furthermore, who controls?

Once more.. We are still here, not like how we do, but we are still here. Production I still have and whatever I got that you want. I have, till the industry warrants it. And if it warrants it I’ll make more. And when I can get up to lick my wounds, heal, and get up off my feet and feel like I need to do something, I’m coming after you.. To the loyalists: I got a lot more in the war-chest that these fools haven’t thought of yet! Just wait and see.. To my killers.. I will make things right.

myspace.com/contractkillermma
contractkillerclothing.com

Chris Corcino, John Marques- Hybrid tech LLc (the only Hybrid), Contract Killer clothing Co.(The Last of Our Kind)

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