What’s your thoughts on the current situation of the server?

[Tim]

Yeah like for weed, you need a dealer to buy the pots and seeds needed to reproduce your own drugs. Maybe we could implement that to farming and mining etc. Allow for jobs to sell the goods required to do those activities. Instead of being able to self supply without even changing jobs. Which would increase player interaction and add new jobs.

[Idea]

I have mentioned this in another post I cannot seem to find right now; Looking at FL now, I feel like watching the last of L². If the staff, especially Management, do not put in a lot of work now, there is no way FL will bounce back. Former players need to be offered the same amount of excitement they were years ago, and new players must be attracted to the server via content creators and other advertisements. I have first heard of FL in a video from some German dude who was not even particularly known here, but his videos had hundreds of active viewers and must have brought new people here - including me. If there were cooperations with YouTubers or other content creators to attract new users and updates (ready to be released when attempting to attract users) to attract older, more settled players, I can see the server coming back.

Suggestions like going back to DarkRP, which along with all inconsistent map changes these past years, belong to the dumbest decision of the server's leadership, will not help the server's situation. The only kinds of players that might attract, are the ones not welcome in this community with their blatant ignorance of rules.

That leads me to another thing; having six people in the server's leadership is no good when none of them put in the necessary work. You guys seem to extend Management with more and more departments, but then some are too inactive or just do not do anything. Of course, loyalty and previous work should be rewarded, but at this time keeping people in Management instead of making them Veterans (or in other words; people who stay instead of resigning) who do not actually do stuff is just toxic to the server's situation.
Management should really get together (if all would even bother to attend) and reconsider their positions and their will to even try and save the server before anyone makes any attempts to steer FL towards a brighter future.

Anyway, that's my take on FL. On one hand, the fact I cannot help the server really bothers me, but on the other hand, I have heard and experienced plenty of how FL runs internally, so I almost think trying would be nothing but a waste of time.

[Tim]

Kevin the god must save us.

[Deriptz]

This might be a long shot, but try to host a veteran/old members event. Whenever I speak to my friends that I know from Fearless or just in real life that I have played Fearless with, we always have the same conclusion: we would like to go back to the golden times. However, this can only be achieved if we go online in masses with good RPers and have some proper times just like in the old days. I know this will be difficult to achieve as most of us have gotten older and might not have the time to play for 3+ hours straight, but it can be worth a try.

Good luck, it just hurts to see that there were virtually no people online in the last month...

[Arkten]

There is no use in saying 'x must be fixed' or 'y should be implemented' and pretend like that is going to magically fix all the problems. It only leads to false beliefs about what the community needs. More often than not it is just one's own idea one wanted to voice. It is not helpful in any way and pisses off management/devs as much as it pisses the players off for feeling like they were not heard.

It makes most sense to solve this problem systematically:

First of all, there must be a defined goal. Without a goal there cannot be a problem. As official statements do not cross my mind as of writing this, I assume the goal to be that the community survives. For that it needs members (of which it has plenty) and a space to meet (which are forums/discord/server).

As I do not use Discord anymore, I will have to concede that field of subject to someone else.

As for the forums: They are actually great. One of the few websites i can browse without cringing too much at 'modern design principles'. It is proper text communicating over the internet, it has all the information a player needs. I wouldnt necessariy count it towards the mandatory requirements for community survival. That's the server's role. However, I would appreciate a bit more activity. Players will only go on the forums if there is something to do. As an example: If you allow them to make suggestions and interact with their ideas, they will make suggestions. If you block that, they won't post. Granted, it could use some activity, but I don't see why that couldn't come from the management role either. Suggestion: You have the roleplay category where players can share their roleplay stories. Why don't you use it to post about the RPs happening daily in some kind of 'newspaper' format. Just to inform the players that something is going on on the servers. It does not have to be that much of an effort, but could boost forum interaction and server interest.

Onto the server: This is the most crucial part as it is the main community interaction. Server survival necessarily means it has to be filled with players. Specifically two things are of utmost importance: player recruitment (e.g. how are new people going to find the server to play on it?) and player retention (e.g. why should they stay?).
For player recruitment, we might see a grim future. Garry's Mod is an old game and not exactly popular at the moment. Everyone is anticipating S&Box which will in the long term take over Garry's Mod's playerbase anyway, so you should look out for possible ventures there. As for staying on Garry's Mod (which I feel is like trying to keep an old CS 1.6 server alive when everyone is playing CS:GO), you will need to recruit new members: The server needs to be known and easily accessible. That, in short, means the following:

1. Advertisement: The server browser puts FL at a disadvantage because obviously not many servers run the FL gamemode. Which is why you will need a lot of advertisement, even branding. Work together with popular (gmod) YouTubers/Twitch Streamers and get the gamemode known. Invest in Google Ads and/or produce a professionally made trailer. If people won't know it, they can't join it.
   
2. Downloads: First impressions matter! Cutting down on the insanely long loading/downloading (for first-timers) time is crucial. Most people will not bother coming on, if it takes 10 minutes to load in.
   
3. Rules: FL is known for having a long set of rules one is expected to read before starting to play adding to the already too long setup time. Reason being: "The average ban is much longer than the hour you will spend reading our rules.". While rules are not bad per say, some of the rules are harmful to the server as they add unnecessary complexity and/or are hardly enforcable/try to force a certain playstyle possibly not preferred by players. Keep only the most necessary of rules. You will still have plenty to go by. Make them simple and easy to understand.
   
4. Complexity: Gamemode complexity can be something very good, as it can aid in keeping players invested in the gamemode, however be wary of beginners. Sure, there should always be something you can learn to do in the gamemode, but you shouldn't be forced to learn everything before you can start playing in a meaningful way. Remember: The earlier the player gets to do what they came for (which is playing), the better.
   

Everything on this list is more important than content (which is player retention): If you can get no new players to join because the setup is tedious and time-consuming, your content has no value. Now, lets assume we have made someone join for the first time and having them play a little. We need to discuss strategies to keep most (preferably all) of them interested and invested in the game.

But first and foremost: FIX THE GAMEMODE!
I don't care that it crashes less and neither do newcomers. If missing models/textures, glitched cars, low framerate, ugly designs, non-functioning items and the like are a common occurence you have to fix it. No shrugging and telling the player to fix their game. Fix your gamemode! Now, lets continue:

For players to be interested there must be some kind of progression (e.g. money, cars, status, RPP, whatever) they can follow. If there is nothing to do, players might as well get on another server where they have something to do. Keep in mind, that players should not be forced to do something, as that will make progression feel like a chore. Rather just offer the progression as a way of keeping the player busy when they are about to get bored.

For players to be invested the progression must hold some kind of value (e.g. time/resources spent, group activity). If you progress very easily the player will feel not feel invested, as whatever they get done has no relevant meaning other than time spent on the server. If you progress hardly at all, the player will feel frustrated, as though it is impossible go forward and get something done. Remember, many players have working lives and cannot spend more than 2 hours on games. Striking the balance between too easy and too hard is key here and depends on what kind of progression you add.

Again, do not force the player to do something as a setup just in order to play (e.g. you can only buy cars after you have passed a driving test or something like that), but retain players via meaningful progression. If they do not want to progress, they can also just hop on to chill, because you dont force them to progress, so thats a bonus.
Also: This game is a multiplayer game, so it should come as to no surprise that player interaction is the most valuable resource you can have on the server. Make sure players interact with each other to add to the experience of everyone involved. Some contra-whore at the end of the map is not adding value to the server, so you should refrain from supporting that kind of playstyle!

All of that is meaningless, if no one cares to implement it.

These changes (and all others, of course) require a functioning team with a clear structure and concise working procedure to pull off. While I haven't had a look behind the scenes for a long time now, one reoccuring theme has always been: Mismanagement.
Yes, I know, everyone on the team is committing their free time to do voluntary unpaid work. Still, management must make sure that the team is actually committed. If your constant excuse for underperforming is "it is my free time", then it is time for management to kick you out. If this community is to thrive, then someone needs to pull the strings. And that means, that someone has to actually care as though it was their primary job. I don't care about promoting your friends, preferring sympathy or even selling admin slots, but keep everyone committed and kick everyone out who is not committed.
As for the work: You need precise and in-depth protocols for devs/admins to follow regarding their work. Check-in on them to make sure how they are doing and make sure they follow that protocol. If the protocol is great and is followed, the result will be great, regardless of who executes it. If your protocol is bad (or worse: you dont have one) you are dependant on skilled people to execute your plans greatly and will have to deal with their constant nagging as well. As much as you would like for everyone to be a happy family, it will most likely not be able to sustain this community. Think of admins/devs as a resource you can allocate and replace as needed. Because, that's what they are and any denial of that will hurt your performance.



Anyway, these are just the 2 cents from a sane person about this. There is so much more one could talk about (gamemode-specific for example), but that is all I have time for today.

[god]

Go get money on server wiv 7 billion players and not 12 on a good day

[MasterNoda]

Rambling:

There isn't much of a reason for people to play really. Most of us here have done so much on the server already that the only thing keeping people around was the fact that the community itself kept logging on, but with a massive drought the "I'll log on and do things with others" isn't there at all.

There isn't a reason for players to log on daily, and especially no reason for players to log on while no one else is there. The server, without other people, is a test of how much you can do to entertain yourself with incredibly little.

Sure you could earn money, but it's incredibly easy to get, very limited in what you can spend it on, but also incredibly boring to earn. Earning money in FL is like the worlds worst clicker game.

In other multiplayer games, there are things to earn over time, currencies have value to them and you can spend it on time-limited items, cosmetics, and other things you can flex having after going through some effort (but still fun effort) to earn. That doesn't exist on this server. There is no reason to try and earn money because you can buy everything you want and just hold onto it forever, apart from like two cars that have been made legacy items.

What the server does have over others is the ability to construct custom dupes that can be used in roleplays and events. That was always a massive appeal for me and many others. Thing is it takes a lot of time to learn how to use GMods tools to construct nice looking dupes, so its fairly out of reach for anyone with little time and/or little dedication to wanting to learn to build. Aside from that, there isn't a single thing FL offers that other roleplay servers and games dont have.

From the outside, we are just another roleplay server that can only be discovered through the ingame menu.

Also as much as people want to say gmod is a dying and old game, check steam charts: https://steamcharts.com/app/4000#All , Gmod is practically as popular as ever.

Overall the problem we are facing is a complex mash of so many issues that have piled up and killed off any motivation for existing players to join, which has obviously killed off any interest new players have when logging on for the first time. I don't know about you guys, but personally if I saw an RP server in the gmod listings that had 0-2 players online, I wouldn't even bother logging in.

So my advice is this: make the game interesting again to those of us that are still listening, because more and more people drop this community by the day, and its the only thing we have going for us.

[Nadrickk]

Well, there is a few issues:

First and foremost: The map is odd, sorry. Just change it back to v2d    
A huge map like this, requires players. Which you dont have. Which makes the server feel more empty. Having a small good-feeling map (light, sun, not dark) makes it feel less empty, and you tend to meet those 2 players more often, than on a huge map.


Fix the gamemode. Long loading screens, unneccesary rules, fix it. Also, add more legacy items, or a Black market thing, where for a period of time you can buy legacy items, that either dosent come on sale again OR is off the shop for a long time, for a huge amount of money. People want something to work for, and earn money for. A purpose.

As for RP - Get the teachers (event coordinators) to do something, and properly. Proper Passive/Aggr RP events. And get some proper ones. I've seen 2 running around with super weird unrealistic names, and when even the "teachers" troll, why should the rest of us RP properly anyway? 

the rest has been said already. FL always had some big up's and downs, but this is one of the worser ones, and Divey and the "management" team, really needs to step up. Now. Also, if you have inactive staff team, remove them. Why are they even there?

is tomo even alive?

[Haarek]

The feedback that has been given here now is certainly constructive and most of it true.
I hope some if it is taken to heart, and is done.

With Falc, Me, Master, Arkten, Jan, Soul, Derpitz, m0x you have over 60+ years of experience on FL giving brutally hard advice on what to do.
FL is unique in that it has so many people that know the game mode in and out - not In a technical "code" term - but in it's dynamics.

Some of us have spent half our life here, literally.

Remember, most of us probably did horribly in school because of FL. Instead of doing trigonometry´n´shit we learned how to have FUN on CityRP.

I hope the 5 SA¨s are able to get something done. For gods sake: anything. Get this ball rolling again.
There's still people who care, and don't want to see FL dwindle for no reason.

If we were 17 yrs old again we would do it ourselves

[Nadrickk]

The feedback that has been given here now is certainly constructive and most of it true.
I hope some if it is taken to heart, and is done.

With Falc, Me, Master, Arkten, Jan, Soul, Derpitz, m0x you have over 60+ years of experience on FL giving brutally hard advice on what to do.
FL is unique in that it has so many people that know the game mode in and out - not In a technical "code" term - but in it's dynamics.

Some of us have spent half our life here, literally.

Remember, most of us probably did horribly in school because of FL. Instead of doing trigonometry´n´shit we learned how to have FUN on CityRP.

I hope the 5 SA¨s are able to get something done. For gods sake: anything. Get this ball rolling again.
There's still people who care, and don't want to see FL dwindle for no reason.

If we were 17 yrs old again we would do it ourselves

^
For some of us, FL was a huge part of our childhood, where alot of things were taught - Both IRL, and in the game world. Nothing lasts forever, but it sucks to see a part of your childhood die out, because nothing is being done to prevent it.