I probably shouldn't hijack Tom's thread to talk about how I have seen paintball change, but I'm going to anyway.
I too have played since the "beginning" (I think it was 1986). I played in many tournaments back then as a member of Constant Pursuit (maybe you old guys know who we were). I've never played in any scenario or big games but have always wanted to. I have seen a lot of changes, some for the better, some for the worse.
The Better
Paint has gotten much cheaper. So has the equipment, from goggles to markers. You can buy quality equipment for maybe half what it use to cost. And in most cases it's better too. This directly related to the increase in sales. Making paintball more mainstream. More sales generally equals lower costs. More people showing up at the field also makes for a target rich environment, and that's good too.
The Worse
Not everything is better, however. Tournaments are in my opinion the single biggest disappointment. I thought we (old school tourny players) we whinny cry babies. We couldn't hold a candle to the new crop of players. Not all of them, but too many of them. And the language. Why do the prompters put up with that? Cheating taken to new levels. It's bad. The tournament scene is a mess as far as I am concerned. I'm glad I am not involved anymore. It's not just tournaments either. I remember when overshooting was a "crime" (sorry, couldn't help it). Prior to a year ago I had NEVER been overshoot or "Bonus Balled". NEVER, including tournaments. In the last year I've lost count of the overshooting and bonus balls. I guess that paintball is now attracting those with really bad attitudes.
While I really enjoyed the old days, I think for the most part things have gotten better. I don't play in tournaments and don't have to deal with any of that. Overshooting can be (as is) dealt with by the field owners. I just think we are seeing some serious "growing pains". There you have it, my hijacking of Toms' thread is over.