Council

[Oli]

Hello.

So during the discussion that Paulius had with the community on discord, a lot of points were brought up regarding how the criminal RP state have been declining over the years.
We all understand how server pop affected this side specifically but I believe the main reason is that people who start new gangs, they do the same things they used to do in their previous gang, that consisted of the same group of people, just under a different name and colours, hoping to achieve something different.

Something that the server does not miss is the big bad council behaviour that included taxing smaller gangs for neutrality, killing those who dont pay and just having dominancy over the criminal world. But this big bad council also did more to the server than just taxing people.

The council understood that having 2 gangs in a permanent feud hurts them more than it hurts said gangs, as it brings more heat to the streets. So they used to hold meetings with all the gangs, discuss gang politics and understand why these parties have been fighting constantly everywhere on the map and such stuff. They also had situations that included all the other gangs in the server to work together against their common enemy, LEOs. And I'm not talking about night crew hunting down every cop, I'm talking about situations where they had a HC getting arrested so they would call everyone to come and free him, as afterall, they were the council.

I understand that this can be worked out ICly without the intervention of "Cartel" but seeing how the server is going, I dont think its going to happen.

So I'm here to suggest that Cartel start taking that role and responsibility upon themselves. Organize monthly meetings with all the gangs in the server, the small and the big ones, hear what their plans are, what do they need and such, have them meet each other and exchange names and numbers (this would create a lot of rp opps and relations). If 2 gangs have been hitting each other non-stop, everywhere in the city, instead of having FM force an NLR, why doesnt the Cartel discuss this with said gangs? And order them to stop if needed or else X and Y will be done? 

It was also mentioned how "events" were fun but need to have better moderation and stuff like that, why does it have to be OOC? Why does it not happen naturally ICly? For example, Cartel HC is currently getting arrested, Cartel calls and orders all the gangs to gear up to try and break him out. This wont only bring RP opps to criminals, but also to LEOs, it'll also get criminals to work together to achieve something that has no physical reward to them but it'll count as a favor, a favor that the Cartel will keep in mind the next time this gang needs a favor. There are a lot of RP opps that can be made by this. 

Note: as Cartel is RPly the strongest criminal organization in the server, I'd suggest having a good number of players during the meetings, whether these players be admins on different characters, doesnt even have to be actual characters that are being played, but just something to showcase how strong the Cartel is.

Criminal side started dying once IC actions started having OOC consequences, this was said and mentioned by multiple official factions that set a great example for criminal factions across the years before they decided to disband and quit the server because of these actions.

Long live crim rp, cheers.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Oli

[Mortem]

+1 

Intervention on an OOC level is not really a necessity here, what is needed is a positive push in the right direction in regards to IC roleplay opportunities and developments between criminals factions in general that provide something new and not the same old spin labs until you get arrested. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Mortem

[Aldarine]

I wish I had more time to give a proper response to this but alas I’ll keep it brief.

I do not completely disagree with you on some things but I am also aware of a lot more barriers in place to make this feasible than you may think - some of which come from players themselves. I can’t do into full details because of a mix of time and private information but if you are open to it please do send me a forum pm (so I can keep everything tidy to look over) and we can chat more. It’s not simple navigating certain things and finding that balance to bring things more IC but I’m here to make the efforts.

[Bala]

It's a bit revisionist to paint the Council as some sort of in-character moderator, because they were actually what criminals think PD and SD is, now. If you behaved as they wanted you to behave, you were allowed to exist. If you didn't, they had enough people and clout that they'd bang on you until your faction folded. Saw it happen with Wanted because they started selling guns and undercutting prices, saw it happen with WCA because they dared to oppose. Both factions, that if they were around today would be at the top end of the performing crim factions as well.

The activity and the structure was intriguing but the mishandling of that era has persisted with the restrictions on factions and attitudes towards what is acceptable roleplay for criminals to this day.

I don't think a reliance on specific individuals to that degree is healthy, especially if the individuals responsible for keeping things moving have different opinions on how things should go than the factions it effects. Not to mention, that if those individuals are not active, the system grinds to a halt.

What perhaps may be better is something a little more organic and lead by the factions themselves, instead of faction management or their IC counter-part. Allow the factions to establish their own hierarchy through conflict AND role-play but without the handbrake constantly on.

Let factions figure the criminal scene and themselves out. Put the goal posts out, make sure factions clearly understand how far they can go and leave them to it. If the violence begins to boil, cool it off for a couple days, bring it back to a simmer. This shit works best when you don't know what is going to happen, but how much of what goes on now is predictable?

Repurposing faction management as a team that supports and guides a particular faction to be the best version of themselves as an individual faction, as opposed to being boxed into a cookie cutter conformity and punished / threatened for daring to colour outside the lines. That was something I heard in that meeting and I've heard it a number of times over the past couple years, usually right before a faction decides to call it quits. Every faction that drops, is another missed opportunity and another what could have been.

Coming at a faction from a perspective of support, rather than management will get you a lot further in the long run. If someone feels that something is a discussion, they're going to be more receptive to changes than if they feel it's an argument or a telling off.

 

[Smoke1]

On 11/14/2023 at 4:56 AM, Aldarine said:

I wish I had more time to give a proper response to this but alas I’ll keep it brief.

I do not completely disagree with you on some things but I am also aware of a lot more barriers in place to make this feasible than you may think - some of which come from players themselves. I can’t do into full details because of a mix of time and private information but if you are open to it please do send me a forum pm (so I can keep everything tidy to look over) and we can chat more. It’s not simple navigating certain things and finding that balance to bring things more IC but I’m here to make the efforts.