I was thinking about creating a standard formula for stream speed, so we can base it off math, not eyeballing it. Stream Speed is such a crucial stat, yet you almost never hear about it.

I was thinking about having the time it takes a CPS 2100, 4100, or similar gun's stream to cross the 30ft. mark as 1x stream speed. The only major variable is the size of the stream, as a 20x can travel faster or slower than a 5x stream, for example. But now that I think about it, the difference is not that great because the stream is still coming out of the same pc which has a set amount of power. Maybe measure stream speed with the largest setting possible on each gun, or the smallest? Feed me some ideas...

Maybe use a smaller gun to set 1x? I really want to do this, to finally give us a way to rate this often unheard-of stat.

Not quite unheard of.

Crossing the 30 ft. mark would be hard to measure. I think it should be tested on each nozzle of a stock soaker aimed level, to wherever the stream hits the ground. If it's a homemade or has a multinozzle mod, there should be a standard, such as 1/4". I'm not sure if blasters can support this, but my piston homemade gets 10x output and the same range as my 11/64" nozzle, so I assume it works pretty well.

Or you could just have a standard (such as 3.8 seconds to get to 35 feet on a CPS 2100 mk. 3) is 1x and measure it on different nozzles. For example "My speed on the blah nozzle is #x, but on this nozzle its #x.". If your gun has longer range, you just calculate it down.

I think I mentioned stream speed aswell a few months ago on isoaker.com in one of my rants about pressure power. FPS is already universal standard for measuring energy/muscle power in paintball, archery, airsoft and firearms. I suggested 1x as a universal comparison, since one could create a custum test nozzle that can be applied/adapted to most soakers. For comparison it has to be a unified nozzle size, since the heavier the projectile, the less the FPS will be.

At isoaker.com:

Distance should have nothing to do with measuring it, since the FPS is measured directly infront of the nozzle.(If you decide you use a chrono).
In any case, getting the actual FPS would not be hard with all those chrographs out there. All one has to do is wanting to spend $60-$200 depending on the Chrono tool typ.

This chronograph will work definatly on a soaker:


This chronograph should work on a soaker:

Distance would have to matter if you are not using a chronograph. And you could convert into fps by distance / second and then reduce until seconds = 1. Like a water gun that takes 2 seconds to get to 30 feet (probably unrealistic) would have 15 fps. Plus I think hat people should be allowed to say the fps on different nozzles. Like for modded guns if they shoot slower on 1x nozzles and you don't use them, why bother using that nozzle. As long as you specify the size it should be okay.

I would rather keep this to speed to a set distance, rather than feet per second. FPS is more for power, like in real guns, and I would rather not spend $60 on a chronograph. I want distance to matter in this stat, as who cares how fast the water leaves the nozzle at that split second? What matters is how fast it is moving at a set distance, which is more useful for battles, dodging, and all that.

The decision is yours. The reason why i personaly would prefer measuring FPS from the front of the nozzle is becasue of a more accurate reading. Plus in order to call a stat officialy FPS, it has to be measured from the nozzle. The speed of a distance of 30 feet will already be affected by wind and even lamination. But I supose it should be enough for basic gaimg stats.

People can of course measure it from different nozzles. But lets say it that way, FPS is unfortunatly not always proportional when reducing or increasing size. A pure energy data comparison would no longer be possible. At least not for purely accurate stats(or as acurate as possible.)

Like I said, Chonos are an option. I might buy one(prochrono) myself, since I have to use it sooner or later for my martial arts data.

When you are aiming for a target and fire, it will also be affected by wind and lamination.

I think a pro-chrono would work best for super -accurate scientific data collection, but just seeing how long it takes to get to 30-or-whatever-people-decide-on feet would be accurate for water gun fights.

Knowing the speed of the stream as it leaves the nozzle isn't going to help anyone. You need to know how long it takes the stream to go a certain distance to be able to visualize your shot.

Unfortunately, although it is an obviously interesting statistic, I don't really support the argument that knowing your stream velocity will help in a water fight. Sure, you could use it to find out how long it would take a steam to hit something at a certain range, however you can get the same feel for a gun's capabilities by just shooting it around for 5 minutes. Hell, the ammo is water, not bullets. It's not like your wasting anything by trying it out for real.

I'm not discouraging trying to find the stream velocity, it just seems to me that it is not something that would be particularly useful in a water fight.

edit: spelling

Making this a bona-fide, accepted stat would help prospective buyers. They would naturally be affected if the gun they might want to buy has a very fast or very slow stream speed. Also, it does help in wars. Stream speed destroys some traditional advantages that enemies may have when fighting certain guns. A gun with fast speed scores kills because it's hard to dodge. With this knowledge, players can develop tactics that try to negate stream speed advantages or use it to its maximal effectiveness if they have such guns.

It's just like any other stat. Applying Wetmonkey's point, sure you could measure how far your gun shoots or how much water it can shoot at once, however you can get the same feel for a gun's capabilities by just shooting it around for 5 minutes. When that argument is applied, the very taking of stats can come into question. We take all stats for fun, and to add more dimensions to the world of soaking. B)

I was thinking more in a review. In a water battle, do you really think about what output you're shooting? That doesn't help you much. For someone checking out a gun, they might like to know how fast it shoots to know how long their enemies have to dodge.

I'm going to just keep this simple and do how long it takes a stream to go from 0-30ft. If I get any time, I will have to some tests to find the 0-30 velocities of my guns...