What happened to the server?

[Zecon]

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I do believe there is some truth in what you are saying, though I think a lot of things are rather hyperbolised. FL’s success isn’t completely dependent on its gamemode, sure, but to say that it isn’t a contributing factor at all is rather misguided.

FL’s gamemode is at the core of why many people decided to stick around rather than server hopping constantly. It completely differentiated itself from the mass of DarkRP and serious RP servers. You don’t walk around seeing people blasting rocket launchers in anime playermodels (sorry Arny), and equally you don’t have to spend half an hour performing basic tasks such as acquiring a car or obtaining food. It provides the perfect balance between realism and escapism.

In fact, I’d argue that FL has a much stronger dependency on its gamemode than most other communities. DarkRP servers have to differentiate themselves almost solely on the experience that the community provides because of how saturated that market is. FL on the other hand already has its unique gamemode, giving it the upper leg. This is most likely why over the past few years you have received such backlash for drastically changing core aspects of it.

I think you are misunderstanding people’s longing for certain updates to be reverted. It is stupid to believe all change is bad, and I doubt that’s what the majority of people believe. However, you don’t seem to realise the ramifications certain changes will bring and the reasoning behind them. Perhaps it’s due to a lack of consideration or testing, or maybe it is just genuine miscalculation in what the perception will be. Either way, there is a noticeable trend with all of these cases.

There are several examples of this but I shall just describe a couple. The recent HUD change was something that received a fair amount of negative reception. The issue is that something FL has (for the most part) been very good at is keeping a theme. That doesn’t just mean the same blue colours, but the same coherent styling and structure. People become accustomed to these things and appreciate the familiarity, and when you drastically change that are bound to be upset. Does this mean you have to stick with the same HUD for eternity to please the playerbase? Absolutely not. Elements become outdated and stale but need a refresh (in fact even the previous HUD update was quite poorly received). However, there are ways to conduct such changes that do not involve completely compromising the previous iterations that people enjoy. The 2014 update we had to the F1 menu was the perfect example of how such things can be executed. I have attached screenshots below for those who were not in the community at this time. SoulRipper put it best in his original post “We've tried to modernize the menu without making it a whole lot different. For the simple reason that the old menu was already working fine for most part”. Stick to this philosophy with things like the UI and you’ll have a winning formula.

Old F1:

Spoiler :

Updated:

Spoiler :

The second major example I can think of is the weapons. Like it or not, the combat mechanic and cops and robbers aspect of FL is a large factor of its appeal for a lot of players. There is a noticeable skill curve and with the cost and potential loss of weapons on the line, it is no surprise why these encounters are often tense and entertaining. However when MadCow was thrown out, this all gets turned on its head. Everything was back to square one and naturally those who have spent the time learning the ins and outs of those weapons aren’t going to be happy. If there are specific issues with MadCow, the solution is not to just chuck them out and adopt a completely different replacement. It’s like if you loaded up GTA one day and suddenly all weapons are from CSGO and require the same precision aiming. If the weapons look bad, change the view models and import some replacement sounds. If a gun is overpowered, turn down its damage or fire rate. Just because there are issues with a particular mechanic or system doesn’t mean the entire thing should be scrapped.

Not all updates are trash. New additions are usually well-received and so are minor alterations. However when you completely overhaul major aspects of the gamemode, please understand that people are not hating just for the sake of pissing you off. There are genuine reasons for being displeased with such modifications.

I must reiterate that I am not implying that FL can survive solely on bargaining its gamemode will be popular. I am merely stating that I think you are severely underestimating the importance it has in players’ willingness to rejoin the server.

There are, of course, several issues with the community itself that still need addressing. All of the controversies and toxicity has created a hard divide between the community. You pick your side as to whether you’re an aggressive player or passive and never shall the two meet. This is an incredibly damaging environment for the community. What made the server so enjoyable back in the day is that people used to partake in both freely without any prejudice and often the two would overlap. You’d have scenarios like a shop owner buying into Corleone protection who would then defend your shop from thieves or inspections, and so many others. There would be constant interactions between the entire server. Everything now just feels like closed-off unwelcoming groups hiding away in doomfort bases, which is incredibly off-putting for newer players.