Post by phalecrocorax on Nov 4, 2016 19:33:43 GMT
Hey there, I'm Phale. Been a part of the community for a month or two now, and I've got my share of issues that I'd like to comment on. I'll split this post into three parts, to make it a little easier to navigate.
Part One: Fixing the Citizen faction and encouraging roleplay between the CPU and citizens
There's no doubt that the citizen faction is just plain boring in its current state, and it desperately needs to be made more entertaining as it is the core faction of Half Life 2: Roleplay, it just is. Without it, all the other factions crumble and there's no point of making a server. I have first hand experience on multiple characters on how boring citizenRP can be. With the map being changed every week, it causes buildings to be shut everywhere, CPU telling you to buzz off and no other citizens to roleplay with because they realized that rebelRP is one of the only enjoyable types of roleplay right now. When I first joined the server, I had a very negative experience and when I brought up this issue in the OOC chat, there were staff members and MPF who told me that the citizens are supposed to create roleplay for themselves. That is partially true, but how are we supposed to create roleplay for ourselves without the tools necessary? It's like throwing a stick and your kid in the garden, then expecting him to entertain himself for the rest of his life; it just doesn't work.
The problem with this, is that you can't just think up a solution then the problem is solved. It demands multiple solutions as well as team effort to keep the citizen faction and its roleplay alive, and I believe our best shot right now is opening up the Grizzly Grotto full time, and employing somebody capable and active, as well as add certain plug-ins to spice up the experience. It can not be argued, the Grizzly Grotto is one of the best hubs for citizenRP on this map and for good reason. It's a Universal Union approved bar and entertainment spot, commonly supplied with pianos and items to buy. Right now though, it's as dusty as a grandmother's attic. If we are going to revive the Grizzly Grotto, there's no room for half assed work as it needs to be completely renovated and spiced up. I'd even be willing to run it myself given the opportunity. Some suggestions I have are:
That is merely one solution and another one I have is actually making other workshifts other than the standard ration packing. God, that gets boring quickly. Instead, put a little effort into it and create new work shifts with new opportunities for citizens such as disposing of garbage at the garbage disposal station (obviously), washing clothes for new citizens at the laundromat, transporting goods from the factory on the east side of the city (after decorating it, of course). What's good about these ideas is that they are unique and refreshing, but unlike the factory, you've actually got opportunities for a rebellion or small scale revolution. In normal work shifts, as a CPU, I could literally run down to the local corner shop IRL, get some snacks and drinks, and get back home before it's done. The CPU need to do nothing and they just stand there idling. With the working possibilities that I suggested, CPU have to be on their guard, some citizens might suddenly shove them into the incinerator, steal some goods and run away, or bleach an officer's eyes.
If we take a step back to the Grizzly Grotto, it shouldn't take long before you realize it's not only a hub for citizens, it's a hub for the MPF. I hardly see any CPUs passiveRPing, and introducing the Grizzly Grotto would not only encourage them to passiveRP, it would also allow them and citizens to socialize, both ICly and OOCly. It's incredibly easy to tell right now that the MPF and citizens are divided OOCly, and it gets to the point where you could stick around for weeks but not know how well a MPF regular roleplays because you never get the chance. At the minor cost of slightly less professionalism, you get better roleplay and the CPU and citizens alike can finally realize how many roleplay opportunities there are with each other. It might get to the point where some befriend each other and in the future, I believe that can lead to a road of interesting and unexpected turn of events.
There are, of course, many more solutions that need to be implemented to make the citizen faction's roleplay entertaining, and the next part of this suggestion partially links together with the former part.
Part Two: Increasing the usage of the map
So when I say increasing the usage of the map, it should be self explanatory. Right now, I can think of the top of my head about nine buildings that are prime spots for roleplay but are not used, and that's only in the actual city area of the map. It's clear that the map isn't used enough as it is. If we're going to use a map as expansive as industrial_17, then we might as well "make the most of our money". Buildings like the theatre and the Cafe Baltic always stand cold and empty, and that quite saddens me due to their potential. For the theatre, we could start mandatory propaganda sessions located at the theatre where propaganda like videos are shown via PlayX, either ones we find or ones that dedicated players create, and possibly even plays organized by the Civil Workers' Union such as the Phantom of the Opera.
I'll instead create some bulleting points for locations and their possible usages, so everybody can get a rough idea of what I mean:
* Cafe Baltic - Self explanatory, either get somebody to run it or take it under the CWU's wing
* The Theatre - Reason stated in the paragraph above
* The Laundromat - Turn into a place to wash clothes, doesn't necessarily need to be run by anybody
* The East Side Factory - Decorate it so it looks like a storage locker area, perfect for hiding, mugging and workshifts.
* The Catwalk Apartments - Turn into exclusive and luxurious apartments for figures such as the CWU head and possibly its department leaders, high tier citizens, etc.
* Unnamed Railway Overlook - A tiny refugee camp, completely with tinder boxes, supplies, etc.
* The Souvenir Store - A furniture store/carpenter business for your apartments
* Unnamed Soup Kitchen in Upper Plaza - Self explanatory, turn into a soup kitchen for the poor citizens
Another major area that can be exploited is the slums. I've always thought it's silly how there's an admittedly good sized chunk of the city that the Union doesn't consider safe. Considering how powerful they are, it just doesn't make sense. What if you were to move in there, at least fence off the main part of it and create some form of marketplace where civilians could trade? The Union could rent out a spot to citizens so they could set up a stall and sell food, furniture, household essentials and etc. It would also be a prime spot for illegal trading. It might be a little ambitious but I'm sure if we all tried, we could achieve some of these things.
Part Three: Creating some unique factions
While in the end, it's up to the players to create factions and not have to rely on the staff to create and administrate them, it can be useful to make some factions unique to the server and let the players take over. Take the CWU for example. We could use the same concept that almost every other server has done, or we could replace it with something more interesting. Why not make all shops be their own independent little thing and instead replace the CWU with some snobbish loyalist group that gathers in the Metropol? This is my weakest suggestion and I haven't thought it entirely through but I presume the staff could expand on this idea.
Part One: Fixing the Citizen faction and encouraging roleplay between the CPU and citizens
There's no doubt that the citizen faction is just plain boring in its current state, and it desperately needs to be made more entertaining as it is the core faction of Half Life 2: Roleplay, it just is. Without it, all the other factions crumble and there's no point of making a server. I have first hand experience on multiple characters on how boring citizenRP can be. With the map being changed every week, it causes buildings to be shut everywhere, CPU telling you to buzz off and no other citizens to roleplay with because they realized that rebelRP is one of the only enjoyable types of roleplay right now. When I first joined the server, I had a very negative experience and when I brought up this issue in the OOC chat, there were staff members and MPF who told me that the citizens are supposed to create roleplay for themselves. That is partially true, but how are we supposed to create roleplay for ourselves without the tools necessary? It's like throwing a stick and your kid in the garden, then expecting him to entertain himself for the rest of his life; it just doesn't work.
The problem with this, is that you can't just think up a solution then the problem is solved. It demands multiple solutions as well as team effort to keep the citizen faction and its roleplay alive, and I believe our best shot right now is opening up the Grizzly Grotto full time, and employing somebody capable and active, as well as add certain plug-ins to spice up the experience. It can not be argued, the Grizzly Grotto is one of the best hubs for citizenRP on this map and for good reason. It's a Universal Union approved bar and entertainment spot, commonly supplied with pianos and items to buy. Right now though, it's as dusty as a grandmother's attic. If we are going to revive the Grizzly Grotto, there's no room for half assed work as it needs to be completely renovated and spiced up. I'd even be willing to run it myself given the opportunity. Some suggestions I have are:
- Steer away from just plopping a salesman behind the counter and thinking it'll create roleplay. Have an actual person roleplay as the bartender, having to listen to the poor citizen's day.
- Add forms of entertainment like a pool table, a piano, a blackjack table (one can actually more or less play blackjack in HL2RP using /roll) and an ol' jukebox to listen to some tunes.
- Decorate the Grotto in a way that makes it look like a rundown place that's well past its glory days in the old world, but at the same time a cozy and habitable spot for citizens to gather and chatter away.
That is merely one solution and another one I have is actually making other workshifts other than the standard ration packing. God, that gets boring quickly. Instead, put a little effort into it and create new work shifts with new opportunities for citizens such as disposing of garbage at the garbage disposal station (obviously), washing clothes for new citizens at the laundromat, transporting goods from the factory on the east side of the city (after decorating it, of course). What's good about these ideas is that they are unique and refreshing, but unlike the factory, you've actually got opportunities for a rebellion or small scale revolution. In normal work shifts, as a CPU, I could literally run down to the local corner shop IRL, get some snacks and drinks, and get back home before it's done. The CPU need to do nothing and they just stand there idling. With the working possibilities that I suggested, CPU have to be on their guard, some citizens might suddenly shove them into the incinerator, steal some goods and run away, or bleach an officer's eyes.
If we take a step back to the Grizzly Grotto, it shouldn't take long before you realize it's not only a hub for citizens, it's a hub for the MPF. I hardly see any CPUs passiveRPing, and introducing the Grizzly Grotto would not only encourage them to passiveRP, it would also allow them and citizens to socialize, both ICly and OOCly. It's incredibly easy to tell right now that the MPF and citizens are divided OOCly, and it gets to the point where you could stick around for weeks but not know how well a MPF regular roleplays because you never get the chance. At the minor cost of slightly less professionalism, you get better roleplay and the CPU and citizens alike can finally realize how many roleplay opportunities there are with each other. It might get to the point where some befriend each other and in the future, I believe that can lead to a road of interesting and unexpected turn of events.
There are, of course, many more solutions that need to be implemented to make the citizen faction's roleplay entertaining, and the next part of this suggestion partially links together with the former part.
Part Two: Increasing the usage of the map
So when I say increasing the usage of the map, it should be self explanatory. Right now, I can think of the top of my head about nine buildings that are prime spots for roleplay but are not used, and that's only in the actual city area of the map. It's clear that the map isn't used enough as it is. If we're going to use a map as expansive as industrial_17, then we might as well "make the most of our money". Buildings like the theatre and the Cafe Baltic always stand cold and empty, and that quite saddens me due to their potential. For the theatre, we could start mandatory propaganda sessions located at the theatre where propaganda like videos are shown via PlayX, either ones we find or ones that dedicated players create, and possibly even plays organized by the Civil Workers' Union such as the Phantom of the Opera.
I'll instead create some bulleting points for locations and their possible usages, so everybody can get a rough idea of what I mean:
* Cafe Baltic - Self explanatory, either get somebody to run it or take it under the CWU's wing
* The Theatre - Reason stated in the paragraph above
* The Laundromat - Turn into a place to wash clothes, doesn't necessarily need to be run by anybody
* The East Side Factory - Decorate it so it looks like a storage locker area, perfect for hiding, mugging and workshifts.
* The Catwalk Apartments - Turn into exclusive and luxurious apartments for figures such as the CWU head and possibly its department leaders, high tier citizens, etc.
* Unnamed Railway Overlook - A tiny refugee camp, completely with tinder boxes, supplies, etc.
* The Souvenir Store - A furniture store/carpenter business for your apartments
* Unnamed Soup Kitchen in Upper Plaza - Self explanatory, turn into a soup kitchen for the poor citizens
Another major area that can be exploited is the slums. I've always thought it's silly how there's an admittedly good sized chunk of the city that the Union doesn't consider safe. Considering how powerful they are, it just doesn't make sense. What if you were to move in there, at least fence off the main part of it and create some form of marketplace where civilians could trade? The Union could rent out a spot to citizens so they could set up a stall and sell food, furniture, household essentials and etc. It would also be a prime spot for illegal trading. It might be a little ambitious but I'm sure if we all tried, we could achieve some of these things.
Part Three: Creating some unique factions
While in the end, it's up to the players to create factions and not have to rely on the staff to create and administrate them, it can be useful to make some factions unique to the server and let the players take over. Take the CWU for example. We could use the same concept that almost every other server has done, or we could replace it with something more interesting. Why not make all shops be their own independent little thing and instead replace the CWU with some snobbish loyalist group that gathers in the Metropol? This is my weakest suggestion and I haven't thought it entirely through but I presume the staff could expand on this idea.
