Revamp Mechanics & Private Mechanic Shops
Introduction
You need a mechanic? If you are lucky you are gonna find a couple up north. If your car is perma stalled it will stay where it is for a while. You're better off sending it to mors. That's how we have been living the mechanics shortage during the past year or so. Suggestions aren't listened to and repair kits won't be introduced because they would remove RP from the two mechanic factions that dominate the server. Right now no player can repair a damaged car without being part of those factions. Maybe that's the change we need?
Not to be toxic or anything, in fact I respect the people that lead the two factions and I see that they are trying to solve this issue by teaming up but it ain't working. I worked at LSC on 3 characters and after a month you realise it's boring as fuck. It's time to think out of the box and create more RP for everyone in the server.
Changing The Job
The server revolves around cars. The game itself is called Grand Theft Auto. Maybe we should focus on improving the RP revolving around cars since we all have so many.
The change I am looking for is introducing items at LSC & Bayview to repair cars, accompanied by /me's and /do's. There would be shelves for each kind of vehicle class, containing car parts to fix the vehicle. The mechanic grabs the parts and uses them to repair the vehicle. Just like burgershot items, only employees can access the items and they cannot be dropped or used when work vehicles aren't nearby to avoid abuse.
The mechanic will ask in /do what's wrong with the car and take the parts they need while RPing. All the parts would work the same way (repair the car by 200HP) and they are different just to serve the purpose of the RP.
Truck deliveries would refill the shelves just like at burgershot.
Private Shops
Imported toolboxes should allow you to chop and repair cars.
Toolboxes for repairing cars, bought from special stores, should be identical in looks, cost a fraction of the imported ones and only allow you to repair cars. By repairing cars I don't mean just putting back together a chopped car.
An item called "Common VehicleClass Parts" should be added to the game and it can be taken from cars when chopping them and you can sell it to NPCs. The sale price could be similar to a car's door but players can buy them from NPCs for x3 the sale price. It is expensive when only one is in stock and the price lowers based on how many the NPC has, all the way to x1.5 sale price. This system would incentivise private sales so all players can sell for more or buy cheaper.
Players can buy the specific items from the NPCs and use them to repair cars, adding HP (450 is a fair amount) to them. Super and sports car parts should be the most expensive.
I also think that LSC and Bayview should be able to sell these Car Parts for a fixed price that is equal to an NPC with low stock.
Cars would not turn on after removing the "Common VehicleClass Parts". Scrapyard vehicles drop a different item that only works with scrapyard vehicles and doesn't add to the NPC's stock, since it's different.
Aren't parts overpriced? Well yes, but NPCs and LSC/Bayview would have high prices so players are pushed to sell to each other.
These parts are going to make the difference if your vehicle is permastalled or has 0 HP. A 0 HP car costs as much as mors if you want to repair it. Instead of sending it to mors you have a cheap mechanic repair the serious damage and then take it to LSC/Bayview for the detailing up to 1000 HP. You spend less time and money, more RP for everyone and more solutions for broken down cars!
Evolution of Shops
At this point we have to talk about enterprise. Players will start stacking up car parts they manage to buy for cheap, open their repair shop and become a proper business.
Those who want to turn into a faction should have handlers, discord and a forum post. They will make posts, recruit mechanics, even commit crimes if that's part of the RP they want to do. When they become official they should be rewarded with what the current mechanic factions have:
- F4 menu & /showbadge
- Script support at their HQ and uniforms with CTRL+D
- Vehicle spawn (flatbeds, roadside vehicles, company cars) & a limit of spawned vehicles
- /mechanic should send a notification to their on-duty mechanics
- Ability to customise cars in /Modview and sell mods
- (Shelves with parts and trucks that deliver them, just like LSC & Bayview would have)
If they lose official status, they lose the script support and go back to repairing cars with the parts purchased from players, NPCs or the two companies.
Footnote
The government roleplays "fighting monopoly" in-game but this is the monopoly we have to fight as a community, and the real monopoly that should be fought. The game we play revolves around vehicles and vehicles depend on 2 factions. If those two factions do not work, the game has to be played differently but there's no way for us to solve the issue as players. You get hit with the "IC issue" while you are physically unable to change anything at all. This suggestion is a solution and a way for players to roleplay repairing cars while solving issues that are more OOC than they are IC. A double W.
You can with enough escalation just like you would do with a gang member that is on your block for no reason and does not leave. You don't just go to them "hands hands" "sell the house or die". You harass them first and build up the scenario until you use violence. Maybe if you thought about what you are writing before you did it..
