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This is not an 'FL is dead' thread. This is a discussion regarding FL's content. The type of content; data size and style. The server's UI. Its loading times. The gamemode and its mechanics, etc.
In the last couple of years of development, I feel as though FL has been moving in a hypermodern direction, losing its charm and character. With some DarkRP-esque implementations and styles that perhaps another CityRP community has, I'm sure a lot of the community, especially FL's veterans, are not happy.
Hopefully, this thread won't get closed for 'toxicity' when we're all having a constructive and importantly relevant conversation for the team can see our opinions on this topic before any big changes or decisions are made that we may not be happy with. This way, we can do our best to have FL move forward in a way we see fit from the state it's in today.
Below is some stuff I wrote on this topic in a previous discussion to get this one rolling and to see what some of you think.
Talking about what content should be on the server is where things get a little more subjective. Thankfully, no matter how subjective our opinions on the topic may be, we can identify what works and doesn't work by how well the server runs and how the community populates the server long-term after an update and engaging with it. For me, and I'm sure most agree, remaining faithful to a simplistic Evo City map style, Half-Life 2 and CS:S content will always be beneficial to the server - with minor exceptions every now and then that regard expanding roleplay opportunities, immersion, ease of play, etc, without impacting some of the things outlined below.
Load-in times for the server should be as short as realistically possible, especially for players that don’t already have the content installed and enabled. This includes reducing the amount of high data/high-resolution textures and models. An important example of this is cars. High-resolution modern cars cause the server to lag, reducing the FPS of players in the areas or while observing these cars. Server and gamemode stability performance needs to be the outright priority. This means reducing the number of content containing high-resolution textures and models as much as possible without taking any of the core essence of the Fearless RP experience. Modernisation has been an identified issue in development for the last few years. When we move towards implementing content in updates that modernise the server, the server population always decreases over time. People don’t play Garry’s Mod to have a AAA ultra high-res gaming experience. It’s supposed to have grittiness; it’s built on the same engine as Half-Life 2. All modernisation does is take away from the critical user-server stability and performance and also the character of a 14-year-old CityRP gamemode. The members of the community who love the server most and care about its state fell in love with it because of its charm, its ability to be wonderfully comedic at times, while also allowing for intricate roleplays to take place. The gamemode and its content need to remain simple. Otherwise, well, another City RP community is the direction we’ll go in.
We should be a little more self-aware and acknowledge there's nothing wrong in realising and admitting that an implementation didn't work, so long as something is done about it, such as reverting implementations that hypermodernise the server. The kind of updates that the community does appreciate address bringing structure and complexity to the gamemode. Additions that don’t take away from a stable user-server experience or add unnecessary gimmicks, but rather optimise the gamemode and server performance, expand immersion and increase roleplay opportunities. These include the pass/associate system, the contraband theft system, the marketplace (though admittedly decreasing some player interaction),... Avgard's player model update from 2016... , FLAMS, maybe? The old UI definitely. However, examples of things that the community doesn't appreciate include the car damage system. It has a DarkRP-esque UI/HUD, it's clucky and gimmicky and too time-consuming and annoying for a semi-serious CityRP server. I understand it was done to give mechanics more to do - so the right intent is there. Perhaps revert it to how it was but change toolboxes so that all they do is make the car drivable, and if the player wants to drive the car at full capability then they can take it to the mechanic. If there isn't one, then take it to the same place as we do now to fix it, have players pay a small fee, and wait 10 seconds or something for it to be fixed and off you pop. No spare parts, no localised damage system, no waiting 5 minutes. Now, I touch something with my car, there goes the engine! As I said, it's a Garry's mod server. We don't expect a AAA experience. Cars fly about the map and most are hard to control. Revert it. Another example is the kevlar/health regeneration system revamp. It's too clunky and tedious. The HUD for whenever I use something is fat-in-your-face in the middle of the screen. Put loading times in a small rectangle above the hunger bar like we used to have. It was clean and worked fine. Why was it changed? Revert it. And so on for any other implementation in the last couple of years that is tedious for the player to interact with, takes away from the fun of playing the server, hypermodernise the server, or is too clunky or out of place. The gamemode and its content need to remain simple.
The population also drops on the server when the map is too often changed. This is because players spend time making dupes for roleplays or bases or what have you, only to have the map switched, forcing players to go back to building or coming up with roleplay ideas rather than having peace-of-mind fun on the server. This is particularly damaging to clans or organisations that are still in the midst of setting up their clan and discourages members of the community from having the motivation to engage on the server. I must admit, I was for the monthly or quarterly map switches to keep things fresh but in hindsight, it didn’t work. Whatever happens, stick to a couple of maps that the community approves of which meet the above criteria. Keep a given map in place for as long as possible, until the community voices boredom and the population starts to decrease over time - but ensure it’s the map in place at fault and nothing else. A map change would only happen once a year or so to keep things fresh while maintaining familiarity with the FL DNA throughout the map’s run. Another issue with introducing maps we haven’t had before, or adding any more than three to the list of ‘approved FL maps’ is the advanced duplicator spawn lists. Finding dupes I made for v5p on the v2d spawnlist and pines dupes on v4b1 is annoying as hell and just makes development seem incompetent - even though it's such a small thing. So keep the things we approve of in place. Don’t fix things that aren’t broken, so don’t reintroduce the map vote system unless it takes place over the span of a year and is kept only to the maps on the list to ensure dupes’ continuity over the maps.
Last but not least, the guns and combat systems. FL lost a lot of its population after the more aggressive and underground-type roleplayers were screwed over due to several updates. Most notably, the switch from madcow to CW. I also admit I was not at first completely against the switch. After so many years with the same guns, perhaps it's best to become skillful with another set of guns? Maybe it could have made the server feel fresh and fun to play again? Hindsight allows me to see why madcow is preferable and why it's loved by myself and the rest of the community. Madcow and its gun mechanics are plain and simple, built for source engine and felt natural in FL’s gamemode. Whereas CW is clunky and complex, gimmicky, hypermodern for our server and feels unnatural. It is obvious to me now why we never had an issue with the type of guns we used before the switch. Revert it. It’s okay to be wrong, just realise it and fix it. The server needs madcow guns back how they were a few years ago, slightly nerfing the range for the M3. Reintroduce stealing people’s contraband. Revert being able to place breaches on absolutely everything; rendering molotovs useless. With each of these damaging implementations we've had, half of the playerbase quits. A playerbase full of FL veterans, people that can be looked up to, and help lead the community as shown in the past.
There are other things where discussion is to be had. How we can encourage people to create and interact with clans and that system. Milestones. Farming, etc. But none of these extra bits and bobs can be had if there's no one on to enjoy the server. The basics should be prioritised. And in my opinion, work needs to be done to keep the server simple and reintroduce its lost charm.
There is also the economic reform that is being discussed within the team. Here's the link to its Google Doc that JoeJoe provided for people to see if you haven't already:
>Proposed economic reform<
In the last couple of years of development, I feel as though FL has been moving in a hypermodern direction, losing its charm and character. With some DarkRP-esque implementations and styles that perhaps another CityRP community has, I'm sure a lot of the community, especially FL's veterans, are not happy.
Hopefully, this thread won't get closed for 'toxicity' when we're all having a constructive and importantly relevant conversation for the team can see our opinions on this topic before any big changes or decisions are made that we may not be happy with. This way, we can do our best to have FL move forward in a way we see fit from the state it's in today.
Below is some stuff I wrote on this topic in a previous discussion to get this one rolling and to see what some of you think.
Talking about what content should be on the server is where things get a little more subjective. Thankfully, no matter how subjective our opinions on the topic may be, we can identify what works and doesn't work by how well the server runs and how the community populates the server long-term after an update and engaging with it. For me, and I'm sure most agree, remaining faithful to a simplistic Evo City map style, Half-Life 2 and CS:S content will always be beneficial to the server - with minor exceptions every now and then that regard expanding roleplay opportunities, immersion, ease of play, etc, without impacting some of the things outlined below.
Load-in times for the server should be as short as realistically possible, especially for players that don’t already have the content installed and enabled. This includes reducing the amount of high data/high-resolution textures and models. An important example of this is cars. High-resolution modern cars cause the server to lag, reducing the FPS of players in the areas or while observing these cars. Server and gamemode stability performance needs to be the outright priority. This means reducing the number of content containing high-resolution textures and models as much as possible without taking any of the core essence of the Fearless RP experience. Modernisation has been an identified issue in development for the last few years. When we move towards implementing content in updates that modernise the server, the server population always decreases over time. People don’t play Garry’s Mod to have a AAA ultra high-res gaming experience. It’s supposed to have grittiness; it’s built on the same engine as Half-Life 2. All modernisation does is take away from the critical user-server stability and performance and also the character of a 14-year-old CityRP gamemode. The members of the community who love the server most and care about its state fell in love with it because of its charm, its ability to be wonderfully comedic at times, while also allowing for intricate roleplays to take place. The gamemode and its content need to remain simple. Otherwise, well, another City RP community is the direction we’ll go in.
We should be a little more self-aware and acknowledge there's nothing wrong in realising and admitting that an implementation didn't work, so long as something is done about it, such as reverting implementations that hypermodernise the server. The kind of updates that the community does appreciate address bringing structure and complexity to the gamemode. Additions that don’t take away from a stable user-server experience or add unnecessary gimmicks, but rather optimise the gamemode and server performance, expand immersion and increase roleplay opportunities. These include the pass/associate system, the contraband theft system, the marketplace (though admittedly decreasing some player interaction),... Avgard's player model update from 2016... , FLAMS, maybe? The old UI definitely. However, examples of things that the community doesn't appreciate include the car damage system. It has a DarkRP-esque UI/HUD, it's clucky and gimmicky and too time-consuming and annoying for a semi-serious CityRP server. I understand it was done to give mechanics more to do - so the right intent is there. Perhaps revert it to how it was but change toolboxes so that all they do is make the car drivable, and if the player wants to drive the car at full capability then they can take it to the mechanic. If there isn't one, then take it to the same place as we do now to fix it, have players pay a small fee, and wait 10 seconds or something for it to be fixed and off you pop. No spare parts, no localised damage system, no waiting 5 minutes. Now, I touch something with my car, there goes the engine! As I said, it's a Garry's mod server. We don't expect a AAA experience. Cars fly about the map and most are hard to control. Revert it. Another example is the kevlar/health regeneration system revamp. It's too clunky and tedious. The HUD for whenever I use something is fat-in-your-face in the middle of the screen. Put loading times in a small rectangle above the hunger bar like we used to have. It was clean and worked fine. Why was it changed? Revert it. And so on for any other implementation in the last couple of years that is tedious for the player to interact with, takes away from the fun of playing the server, hypermodernise the server, or is too clunky or out of place. The gamemode and its content need to remain simple.
The population also drops on the server when the map is too often changed. This is because players spend time making dupes for roleplays or bases or what have you, only to have the map switched, forcing players to go back to building or coming up with roleplay ideas rather than having peace-of-mind fun on the server. This is particularly damaging to clans or organisations that are still in the midst of setting up their clan and discourages members of the community from having the motivation to engage on the server. I must admit, I was for the monthly or quarterly map switches to keep things fresh but in hindsight, it didn’t work. Whatever happens, stick to a couple of maps that the community approves of which meet the above criteria. Keep a given map in place for as long as possible, until the community voices boredom and the population starts to decrease over time - but ensure it’s the map in place at fault and nothing else. A map change would only happen once a year or so to keep things fresh while maintaining familiarity with the FL DNA throughout the map’s run. Another issue with introducing maps we haven’t had before, or adding any more than three to the list of ‘approved FL maps’ is the advanced duplicator spawn lists. Finding dupes I made for v5p on the v2d spawnlist and pines dupes on v4b1 is annoying as hell and just makes development seem incompetent - even though it's such a small thing. So keep the things we approve of in place. Don’t fix things that aren’t broken, so don’t reintroduce the map vote system unless it takes place over the span of a year and is kept only to the maps on the list to ensure dupes’ continuity over the maps.
Last but not least, the guns and combat systems. FL lost a lot of its population after the more aggressive and underground-type roleplayers were screwed over due to several updates. Most notably, the switch from madcow to CW. I also admit I was not at first completely against the switch. After so many years with the same guns, perhaps it's best to become skillful with another set of guns? Maybe it could have made the server feel fresh and fun to play again? Hindsight allows me to see why madcow is preferable and why it's loved by myself and the rest of the community. Madcow and its gun mechanics are plain and simple, built for source engine and felt natural in FL’s gamemode. Whereas CW is clunky and complex, gimmicky, hypermodern for our server and feels unnatural. It is obvious to me now why we never had an issue with the type of guns we used before the switch. Revert it. It’s okay to be wrong, just realise it and fix it. The server needs madcow guns back how they were a few years ago, slightly nerfing the range for the M3. Reintroduce stealing people’s contraband. Revert being able to place breaches on absolutely everything; rendering molotovs useless. With each of these damaging implementations we've had, half of the playerbase quits. A playerbase full of FL veterans, people that can be looked up to, and help lead the community as shown in the past.
There are other things where discussion is to be had. How we can encourage people to create and interact with clans and that system. Milestones. Farming, etc. But none of these extra bits and bobs can be had if there's no one on to enjoy the server. The basics should be prioritised. And in my opinion, work needs to be done to keep the server simple and reintroduce its lost charm.
There is also the economic reform that is being discussed within the team. Here's the link to its Google Doc that JoeJoe provided for people to see if you haven't already:
>Proposed economic reform<
Kind Regards,
![[Image: 2tVFym3.png]](https://i.imgur.com/2tVFym3.png)