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

[Pollux]

It's great that FL has lasted this long. 

I think Tim raises a good few points.

FL, practically, has not changed since its inception. Don't get me wrong - it seemed to be a winning formula - and people enjoyed it. I have a thousand hours on the server so clearly the actual gamemode itself was enjoyable.

I think it's obvious though that the fervour for it just isn't there anymore. The Casual RP trend has fallen away. Overwhelmingly, people who want to RP nowadays, want to do it in a serious and controlled manner. People don't want to build their own passive RPs. Hence why FiveM and PERP are doing so well - there isn't actually much space to do anything outside of the defined jobs and gamemode. FiveM, arguably, has made RP mainstream. I haven't got into it but I certainly can see why people have.

I think there has to come a time where you acknowledge that the server in its current form cannot attract new people. That isn't the fault of any of the staff - because as mentioned previously the server did fine years ago in the same format - I think the trend has shifted away from individual player-driven Casual/Passive RP to server driven, structured RP. Where the staff, and the actual gamemode itself, provides RP opportunities - for example in FiveM you can be a delivery driver and deliver items completely individually, you can ticket cars, do LOADS of jobs - all without seeing another player. And when there are other players, all RP takes place in a pre-structured, GOOD manner.

The primary issue as well in terms of playerbase is that FL cannot function with less than 25 people on the server - there aren't enough police to do raids etc., not enough customers for passive RP, and those who are on the server are contrawhoring. So when someone joins and there's only five people, there's NOTHING for them to do - unlike FiveM where you can join and do loads of things in the meantime.

TL: DR it's no-one's fault but FL just isn't the trend anymore.

I disagree, I think the fault lies on the fact that no one has wanted to change anything as any change makes it no longer "FL" - an argument which I personally hate but I can see why people say that. This fault isn't on any particular person, it's more what the attitude has been for years. SoulRipper was never around so it was hard for FL to ever have a vision back then, nothing has changed really since the owner swap. Even a lot of the community is pretty resistant to changing anything, likely due to a lot of nostalgia. Truth is everyone has a different opinion as to what makes "FL" what it is because it has no core identity. FL started as trying to copy another server with a stolen gamemode and never really became more than that. It hasn't ever had a vision apart from be just like the server it copied, once that was done and the other shut down it's just been coasting along. FL has always hated change, and I still stand by that it will be the death of it.

I said it before and I still stick to my opinion. Close the server for some months/weeks as long as you need. Come back with a brand new server, new HUD, new F1 Menu, New Content (completely new), new ways to make money but of course FL should stay FL. I know this takes time and a lot of work but it would be nice, would bring back many old players probably aswell. (Or keep the server open and work on something completely new while having one server online)

Doing everything you've just suggested will make it no FL. Fearless is what it is because what's already been built, all its little quirks and uniqueness. Take all of that away and replace it and you've just got something which isn't FL anymore. If you replace essentially everything, nothing which makes it 'FL' remains.

 Well then it won’t stay FL.. who cares. The Players will make FL like FL was before. This doesn’t have to do anything with content actually. All I am saying is that we need something new and the players will make the rest and bring back old FL vibes by raiding other bases, nexus raids, contraband farming together, many roleplays, gangs, etc.  As Awestruck said the server is boring like hell. Sure there may be sometimes some nice RPs but this doesn’t help.

With all due respect Rocky, what your suggesting is put a coat of paint on FL and call it new. Everything you've suggested like raiding bases or contrafarming is what exists already. The players may be the reason FL is what it is today - however a lot of that also relates to the content, tools and abilities present on the server

The only thing I am waiting for is a masterplan of the management. You have had more than enough time for that now. Present it to the community or make a survey. Everyone says it takes time to make a difference. But the majority of the community literally lost their hope in this server. Why? because there has never been a constructive plan which has been presented to the players. Make a survey in regards of how to make FL better again with many questions and then work with that. Not the Management or the Dev team should be the ones who make decisions in what direction FL goes. Give that decision to the players and work with what the majority wants. So there are like 2 options.. Make a survey if you don’t have a plan. And if you do have a plan then publish it and see what the community thinks about it. This is not a small update which has to be hided.. it’s the direction where FL is going to be heading to.

We do have a plan and have had one for a while, I think I'll probably make a separate thread explaining what is going on as I do understand why people feel frustrated - I do too and probably so do Conn and Joe Joe. I was going to reply here with it but it'll just get buried.