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08-24-2022, 08:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-24-2022, 09:28 AM by Arkten. Edited 1 time in total.)
Hello Fearless,
Rules state what can and cannot be done on the server and so they are naturally a very important aspect to consider. While the ToS looks great and the forum rules (mostly) good, I would like to talk about the server rules in this thread as they can literally make or break the RP experience. Personally, I find most of these rules to be dumb and just a made up excuse for not having to implement mechanical counter-measures or risking players losing some stuff. Like a casino where by law you cannot lose is a boring casino, so too are the server rules. Let's enumerate all of them (you might wanna open them in another tab for reference):
X marks X as a fantastic rule that should be kept.
X marks X as an okay-ish rule that has difficult circumstances.
X marks X as a horrible rule that must be abolished.
General server rules:
General roleplay rules:
Building rules:
Combat rules:
Government rules:
Crime rules:
Vehicle rules:
All in all, most rules are pointless or ineffective on their own. It would be better to alter the gameplay to make rule-breakage infeasible or just 'not worth it'. You will probably disagree with me on many things, but the main point was to highlight how most of these rules are self-invented problems and how some others actively prevent RP from happening on an RP server. Say 'semi-serious' all you want, that will not change the facts.
Summary:
In this I listed 4 fantastic rules, 5 okay-ish rules with one of them being a political hornet nest and 35 horrible rules. What a way to spend ~3 hours.
TL;DR socialist owner -> socialist rules -> no players on server k thx bye
Rules state what can and cannot be done on the server and so they are naturally a very important aspect to consider. While the ToS looks great and the forum rules (mostly) good, I would like to talk about the server rules in this thread as they can literally make or break the RP experience. Personally, I find most of these rules to be dumb and just a made up excuse for not having to implement mechanical counter-measures or risking players losing some stuff. Like a casino where by law you cannot lose is a boring casino, so too are the server rules. Let's enumerate all of them (you might wanna open them in another tab for reference):
X marks X as a fantastic rule that should be kept.
X marks X as an okay-ish rule that has difficult circumstances.
X marks X as a horrible rule that must be abolished.
General server rules:
Spoiler :
1.1 The most sensible rule on FL imho. Cheating, exploiting, circumventing are game-breaking mechanics that can land a player an enormous, unlosable advantage. This must be prevented, however do not think the rule alone will do. You will still have to implement effective anti-cheat measures and clean, bug-free code. Don't skip that just because it is already forbidden.
1.2 Scamming is a self-invented problem solvable with proper transaction mechanics. If the safety of my transaction entirely depends on dropping my item and hoping the correct person picks them up or having to pray the correct person stands in front of me when I press enter after typing '/givemoney 100000', then that system is bad and should be replaced immediately. Have each party list them items they want to exchange from their inventories and let each of them confirm twice before finalising the trade. It is not hard to understand for users but makes their transactions a lot safer. If the players still manage to get scammed (e.g. by dropping their items or blindly entrusting a stranger with all they have) then it is their own fault. There can and should not be a rule against player idiocy. Let them learn by their own mistakes.
1.3 Enforcing one common language in IC hinders player interaction. While OOC should be in English for obvious reasons of not wanting to divide the entire server into multiple language fractions, there is no harm in two friends speaking their native language when they are together. It can even enhance roleplay: Imagine an officer trying to infiltrate a russian mob and all of them speak Russian. It really adds to the depth of the RP.
1.4 Why not shoot or lock players away that are annoying af is beyond me. This rule actively prevents RP by taking an IC nuisance and making it an OOC issue. If a micspammer is present, let the police lock them away. He will stop eventually and most of the time he will not see a player anyway if the players so decide. (Could also be an interesting demonstrationRP if the gov does'nt care about locking away lunatics).
1.5 Oh boy, what a fan favourite. I do not wish to engage in ideological warfare here, so I leave you to decide this on your own.
1.2 Scamming is a self-invented problem solvable with proper transaction mechanics. If the safety of my transaction entirely depends on dropping my item and hoping the correct person picks them up or having to pray the correct person stands in front of me when I press enter after typing '/givemoney 100000', then that system is bad and should be replaced immediately. Have each party list them items they want to exchange from their inventories and let each of them confirm twice before finalising the trade. It is not hard to understand for users but makes their transactions a lot safer. If the players still manage to get scammed (e.g. by dropping their items or blindly entrusting a stranger with all they have) then it is their own fault. There can and should not be a rule against player idiocy. Let them learn by their own mistakes.
1.3 Enforcing one common language in IC hinders player interaction. While OOC should be in English for obvious reasons of not wanting to divide the entire server into multiple language fractions, there is no harm in two friends speaking their native language when they are together. It can even enhance roleplay: Imagine an officer trying to infiltrate a russian mob and all of them speak Russian. It really adds to the depth of the RP.
1.4 Why not shoot or lock players away that are annoying af is beyond me. This rule actively prevents RP by taking an IC nuisance and making it an OOC issue. If a micspammer is present, let the police lock them away. He will stop eventually and most of the time he will not see a player anyway if the players so decide. (Could also be an interesting demonstrationRP if the gov does'nt care about locking away lunatics).
1.5 Oh boy, what a fan favourite. I do not wish to engage in ideological warfare here, so I leave you to decide this on your own.
General roleplay rules:
Spoiler :
2.1 What's considered intentional is highly ambiguous. You cannot blame players for seeking the easiest way out. It is the gamemode's own fault if it allows instant teleportation via job changing and does not discourage dying or disconnecting apart from a small circle one may enter when an admin does not look. I have always been a huge proponent of a temporary character-bound inventory for this and other reasons: Make death meaningful! If you would lose your entire inventory and not just what you have equipped, people wouldn't ask to be shot or D/C immediately as it is worse than 15 min jail time but keeping a lot of your inv. Alternatively you can force them to take therapyRP for their suicidal behaviour or similar. No need to make a rule out of this.
2.2 Great rule that should be emphasised and moved up to be rule 1.2. As an RP server and not a 'lets argue about rules' server you want RP to take place even if rule breakage occurs. Admins/courthouse will deal with the infringement (if it even was one) so the player should continue to follow along AT ALL TIMES.
2.3 Some ties into rule 1.5 while other things, especially extremistRP, are just legal obligations. Cannot blame you for not wanting Adolf HitlerRP.
2.4 Metagaming, like scamming, is a gm-made problem: Stop showing players all this nonsensical information of their name, ID, job, how many kills they have (aka how likely it is police will warrant them for something), etc. I have never had a session where someone (even advanced roleplayers) DIDN'T metagame on a severe level. The only way of fighting this is by widely restricting information. You can keep a personal kill counter that only shows your own kills so the aggRP faction can still have their dick measuring contest.
2.5 Yes, the /me, /it stuff is stupid powergaming that cannot be restricted sensibly in any other way. However self-supplying should never be regarded as powergaming. If I cannot supply myself, then I never have any reason to be a merchant other than RPP farming. If merchants are not selling their stuff, they are missing out on profit (which is their own problem). The players could just offer higher prices due to higher demand and supply. This could actually simulate a good economy for once.
2.6 By default you are as your playermodel suggests: A human. 'Roleplaying' aka pretending to be something different will land you in a psychiatry or jail for posing a danger to the public rather than on a roof with an admin yet preventing more RP.
2.7 How about you let the players do as they want? If casinos scam players, players will stop playing for money with them. It is simple as that. If someone blindly trusts someone else to have their best interest in mind, then that person is a fool and deserves what's coming to them. You could also have a police officer stationed there, to make sure stuff is not getting out hand (scamming-wise) who could then be bribed or similar. This is another rule actively preventing RP.
2.8 While there is no effective way of forcing players to forget their past lives, minimising information especially regarding player names/IDs can help prevent revenge killing. Then again, one could RP the brother who has just heard of the tragic death and is set out to kill the gangsters. All in all, I am unsure about the first bullet point. The other can be prevented with drawing a visible NLR circle a player may not enter and will be spawned outside of. If he can enter, then he should at least be warned that he is (probably) breaking NLR and admins will be notified about this event. They can remove the NLR and thus the circle and notifications for a player.
2.9 This stuff should not be shown to prevent metagaming. Even if shown, having a sensible naming policy is something the government has to decide upon, not the admins (bar legal obligations of course).
2.2 Great rule that should be emphasised and moved up to be rule 1.2. As an RP server and not a 'lets argue about rules' server you want RP to take place even if rule breakage occurs. Admins/courthouse will deal with the infringement (if it even was one) so the player should continue to follow along AT ALL TIMES.
2.3 Some ties into rule 1.5 while other things, especially extremistRP, are just legal obligations. Cannot blame you for not wanting Adolf HitlerRP.
2.4 Metagaming, like scamming, is a gm-made problem: Stop showing players all this nonsensical information of their name, ID, job, how many kills they have (aka how likely it is police will warrant them for something), etc. I have never had a session where someone (even advanced roleplayers) DIDN'T metagame on a severe level. The only way of fighting this is by widely restricting information. You can keep a personal kill counter that only shows your own kills so the aggRP faction can still have their dick measuring contest.
2.5 Yes, the /me, /it stuff is stupid powergaming that cannot be restricted sensibly in any other way. However self-supplying should never be regarded as powergaming. If I cannot supply myself, then I never have any reason to be a merchant other than RPP farming. If merchants are not selling their stuff, they are missing out on profit (which is their own problem). The players could just offer higher prices due to higher demand and supply. This could actually simulate a good economy for once.
2.6 By default you are as your playermodel suggests: A human. 'Roleplaying' aka pretending to be something different will land you in a psychiatry or jail for posing a danger to the public rather than on a roof with an admin yet preventing more RP.
2.7 How about you let the players do as they want? If casinos scam players, players will stop playing for money with them. It is simple as that. If someone blindly trusts someone else to have their best interest in mind, then that person is a fool and deserves what's coming to them. You could also have a police officer stationed there, to make sure stuff is not getting out hand (scamming-wise) who could then be bribed or similar. This is another rule actively preventing RP.
2.8 While there is no effective way of forcing players to forget their past lives, minimising information especially regarding player names/IDs can help prevent revenge killing. Then again, one could RP the brother who has just heard of the tragic death and is set out to kill the gangsters. All in all, I am unsure about the first bullet point. The other can be prevented with drawing a visible NLR circle a player may not enter and will be spawned outside of. If he can enter, then he should at least be warned that he is (probably) breaking NLR and admins will be notified about this event. They can remove the NLR and thus the circle and notifications for a player.
2.9 This stuff should not be shown to prevent metagaming. Even if shown, having a sensible naming policy is something the government has to decide upon, not the admins (bar legal obligations of course).
Building rules:
Spoiler :
3.1 Props should not be easily available and certainly not freezable. By having anyone be able to freeze a prop in the middle of everywhere, you introduce yourself to this problem. Make props cost some money so you cannot spam them, have a good prop limit (maybe even 0 at the start and increasing linearily to 20 with each hour). Make props freezable by admins only. You can then have donors or 500 hour players be able to freeze props without admin intervention. Stop having the physgun and toolgun (except adv duplicator) on the main server. That is build server only. You can still transport items via hands anyway. The only excuse I tolerate for keeping this rule is server performance.
3.2 I thought checking vehicle conformance was the government job, not the admins. Let players put anything they want to their cars (if they even can after you got rid of physgun/toolgun). Any 'building' policy related to vehicles should be set by the government.
3.3 Non-freezable props will be bound to gravity. If non-realistic props/materials are banned anyways, why make them selectable? It may not look good, but if you allow me to select the material/prop then I will use it. The government could then again decide on which colours buildings may have, or if they are allowed to have cameras, etc.
3.4 Easily one of the worst rules on the server. You could also just list out all the coordinates in which contraband is allowed to be brought into, it would not make a difference in stupidity. Let players base wherever they want. Criminals will not base in police-frequented areas such as NEXUS or similar anyway. If they base in the hospital, then only because there is no one coming (lost places RP, anyone?) making it just another abandoned place. Considering the government can destroy any props with breaches/molotovs anyway, they can also handle removing illicit structures in and around the city (yes, that includes 'gamemode vital features'). No need for admin intervention.
3.5 Non-freezable props are always rammable.
3.6 As much as I hate to admit this. Free prop building can be abused in a way that makes it impossible for an attacker to stand any chance. A reason why I think freezable props should have admin confirmation before being placed. Non-freezable doomforts do not exist however.
3.2 I thought checking vehicle conformance was the government job, not the admins. Let players put anything they want to their cars (if they even can after you got rid of physgun/toolgun). Any 'building' policy related to vehicles should be set by the government.
3.3 Non-freezable props will be bound to gravity. If non-realistic props/materials are banned anyways, why make them selectable? It may not look good, but if you allow me to select the material/prop then I will use it. The government could then again decide on which colours buildings may have, or if they are allowed to have cameras, etc.
3.4 Easily one of the worst rules on the server. You could also just list out all the coordinates in which contraband is allowed to be brought into, it would not make a difference in stupidity. Let players base wherever they want. Criminals will not base in police-frequented areas such as NEXUS or similar anyway. If they base in the hospital, then only because there is no one coming (lost places RP, anyone?) making it just another abandoned place. Considering the government can destroy any props with breaches/molotovs anyway, they can also handle removing illicit structures in and around the city (yes, that includes 'gamemode vital features'). No need for admin intervention.
3.5 Non-freezable props are always rammable.
3.6 As much as I hate to admit this. Free prop building can be abused in a way that makes it impossible for an attacker to stand any chance. A reason why I think freezable props should have admin confirmation before being placed. Non-freezable doomforts do not exist however.
Combat rules:
Spoiler :
4.1 What a way to kill aggRP. If you couldn't fill an entire army's worth of weaponry to magically pull out of your arse 10 seconds before you need them, there wouldn't be rampages going on. If there still is, it is the job of Police/SWAT to get things under control. Perfect RP opportunity. If a gov decides to openly execute citizens, then there is reason to overthrow it, making the gangsters the good guys suddenly. Make death meaningful and people will want to avoid risking their ingame lives. But considering death has virtually no consequence and inventories are filled with guns making them cheaper than water, you are begging for RDM to take place all the time. Again a temporary inventory might be a good solution. You do not need an RP reason to kill someone just like I do not need a reason to kill anyone IRL. I can just do it and my motives may never be uncovered. Only because there are actual heavy consequences am I deterred from doing so and the game should mimic just that.
4.2 Anyone can engage in a fight. As mentioned in 4.1, if death is meaningful people would not be so quick to walk into a firefight. If some merchant goes crazy and starts murdering people, then that is again a lot of potential for player interaction and good RP to take place, instead of preventing all of this with a rule.
4.3 But please get a map that does not have such a fault, so you can get rid of this rule as well.
4.4 Just git gud. Yes, having a high ground is a good strategy that actual police and military forces use all the time. Why restrict it? Shoot them down with a sniper or throw up a smoke/gas/HE grenade (if these actually exists) or approach with the bulletproof SWAT Van. Gov could even pass a law disallowing building/basing/living on rooftops due to the history of police failures this has meant. Someone could buy everything with rooftop access and rent it for a ludicrous high price to profit off this advantage or the police could block entrance to such places entirely. There are a lot of reasons for this rule to not exist.
4.5 MAKE DEATH MEANINGFUL! If guns do good damage (as they would do especially on unarmoured citizens) then you do not need this rule. If they do not conform, kill them. The fact that death is actually preferable is the sole reason people disobey this rule.
4.2 Anyone can engage in a fight. As mentioned in 4.1, if death is meaningful people would not be so quick to walk into a firefight. If some merchant goes crazy and starts murdering people, then that is again a lot of potential for player interaction and good RP to take place, instead of preventing all of this with a rule.
4.3 But please get a map that does not have such a fault, so you can get rid of this rule as well.
4.4 Just git gud. Yes, having a high ground is a good strategy that actual police and military forces use all the time. Why restrict it? Shoot them down with a sniper or throw up a smoke/gas/HE grenade (if these actually exists) or approach with the bulletproof SWAT Van. Gov could even pass a law disallowing building/basing/living on rooftops due to the history of police failures this has meant. Someone could buy everything with rooftop access and rent it for a ludicrous high price to profit off this advantage or the police could block entrance to such places entirely. There are a lot of reasons for this rule to not exist.
4.5 MAKE DEATH MEANINGFUL! If guns do good damage (as they would do especially on unarmoured citizens) then you do not need this rule. If they do not conform, kill them. The fact that death is actually preferable is the sole reason people disobey this rule.
Government rules:
Spoiler :
5.1 Just kill the dictator. There is absolutely no reason for this to even exist as a thought.
5.2 Let the president do what he wants. He knows the consequences. If he does not care much about his presidency, consider doing him the favour of killing him. If death would be more meaningful he would also naturally avoid it, although he already does more so than other jobs. If everyone loves the president and harming him is unthinkable, then why should he need security? If things are more uncertain he will out of self-preservation motives keep guards around.
5.3 Go ahead and lie all you want. This power disparity is perfect for creating natural conflict resulting the government either turning corrupt or having to find a more effective way of preventing rogue officers from infiltrating their forces. Yet more reasons to overthrow the government or have demonstrations or stop paying taxes (if that were a thing), forming underground rebellions, citizens actually teaming up with rebels to fight the establishment, etc.
5.4 Same as 5.3
5.5 In a normal world where kicking someone out of their job does not magically teleport them away, you could just detain corrupt government officials and arrest them like normal citizens. Never understood why detaining government officials is not allowed. Could also be used interestingly for SWAT overthrowing the (dictatorial) president as they want the position for themselves.
5.6 Let the government be as corrupt as it wants. It can set any price they want (as they often do with high taxes IRL).
5.7 See rule 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6
5.8 If names and job titles didn't show up, you could just go undercover by using a different vehicle and clothing. What is the point of this /undercover feature. The police can still ask for ID and check their databases to check the claim, that he is an undercover officer. Sure it might be a good idea to ask your sergeant first, but you might just take the risk of getting kicked out or marked as rogue for going undercover when he does not want you to. Pointless rule.
5.9 The SWAT Commander decides what the SWAT's duty is unless overruled by the president. If they do not follow orders, they will just be demoted/detained and that is about it. If the gov wanted them to, why couldn't they assist police?
5.10 No one has to follow any law. Not even the government and even less so some affiliate group. See the previous points for reference.
Wouldn't have thought that all government rules are shitty before I made this. wow, gg FL.
5.2 Let the president do what he wants. He knows the consequences. If he does not care much about his presidency, consider doing him the favour of killing him. If death would be more meaningful he would also naturally avoid it, although he already does more so than other jobs. If everyone loves the president and harming him is unthinkable, then why should he need security? If things are more uncertain he will out of self-preservation motives keep guards around.
5.3 Go ahead and lie all you want. This power disparity is perfect for creating natural conflict resulting the government either turning corrupt or having to find a more effective way of preventing rogue officers from infiltrating their forces. Yet more reasons to overthrow the government or have demonstrations or stop paying taxes (if that were a thing), forming underground rebellions, citizens actually teaming up with rebels to fight the establishment, etc.
5.4 Same as 5.3
5.5 In a normal world where kicking someone out of their job does not magically teleport them away, you could just detain corrupt government officials and arrest them like normal citizens. Never understood why detaining government officials is not allowed. Could also be used interestingly for SWAT overthrowing the (dictatorial) president as they want the position for themselves.
5.6 Let the government be as corrupt as it wants. It can set any price they want (as they often do with high taxes IRL).
5.7 See rule 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6
5.8 If names and job titles didn't show up, you could just go undercover by using a different vehicle and clothing. What is the point of this /undercover feature. The police can still ask for ID and check their databases to check the claim, that he is an undercover officer. Sure it might be a good idea to ask your sergeant first, but you might just take the risk of getting kicked out or marked as rogue for going undercover when he does not want you to. Pointless rule.
5.9 The SWAT Commander decides what the SWAT's duty is unless overruled by the president. If they do not follow orders, they will just be demoted/detained and that is about it. If the gov wanted them to, why couldn't they assist police?
5.10 No one has to follow any law. Not even the government and even less so some affiliate group. See the previous points for reference.
Wouldn't have thought that all government rules are shitty before I made this. wow, gg FL.
Crime rules:
Spoiler :
6.1 Crime is never allowed. That is why it is called a crime. However, criminal behaviour is entirely an IC issue and should be kept that way. If police are doing a good job of enforcing laws, criminals will naturally want to cool down on city crimes. However, if the police is incapable of doing so it is not the admin's task to clean up behind them.
6.2 Realistically speaking, what in god's name could prevent me from taking everything you have on hand? FL might need a banking system to safely deposit money, as that's what it was made for. Then I could only be stealing whatever the person has on hand, which might even be less than $200.
6.3 I can commit crimes all I want. Only the IC things (gov) should stop me. As for the selling limit see rule 6.2. As for making sure the player knows what he buys, see rule 1.2.
6.4 Considering criminals do not want to be caught, there is no need for clarifying this circumstance as a rule. Considering criminals do want to be caught, they are just bad criminals and easy fish for a 15 minute timeout.
6.5 No. See rule 4.1
6.6 Again. What is the point of this? Nothing prevents merchants from having a side hustle IRL. If it is about merchants not selling refer to rule 2.5.
6.7 See rule 6.2 about fine limits. If threatening someone else, they can decide if that is worth it or not. Remember, not every negotiation succeeds.
Who thought crime and rules match anyways?
6.2 Realistically speaking, what in god's name could prevent me from taking everything you have on hand? FL might need a banking system to safely deposit money, as that's what it was made for. Then I could only be stealing whatever the person has on hand, which might even be less than $200.
6.3 I can commit crimes all I want. Only the IC things (gov) should stop me. As for the selling limit see rule 6.2. As for making sure the player knows what he buys, see rule 1.2.
6.4 Considering criminals do not want to be caught, there is no need for clarifying this circumstance as a rule. Considering criminals do want to be caught, they are just bad criminals and easy fish for a 15 minute timeout.
6.5 No. See rule 4.1
6.6 Again. What is the point of this? Nothing prevents merchants from having a side hustle IRL. If it is about merchants not selling refer to rule 2.5.
6.7 See rule 6.2 about fine limits. If threatening someone else, they can decide if that is worth it or not. Remember, not every negotiation succeeds.
Who thought crime and rules match anyways?
Vehicle rules:
Spoiler :
7.1 CDM = RDM with cars. Refer to rule 4.1.
7.2 This should be an IC law, not an OOC rule.
7.2 This should be an IC law, not an OOC rule.
All in all, most rules are pointless or ineffective on their own. It would be better to alter the gameplay to make rule-breakage infeasible or just 'not worth it'. You will probably disagree with me on many things, but the main point was to highlight how most of these rules are self-invented problems and how some others actively prevent RP from happening on an RP server. Say 'semi-serious' all you want, that will not change the facts.
Summary:
In this I listed 4 fantastic rules, 5 okay-ish rules with one of them being a political hornet nest and 35 horrible rules. What a way to spend ~3 hours.
TL;DR socialist owner -> socialist rules -> no players on server k thx bye
