Suggestion to Improve Phone Tracking and Address Overpowered Police Mechanics on ECRP

[starset]

 

Hey everyone,

I wanted to raise an issue that I think is really holding back some of the best potential RP on the server. Recently, I had an experience that completely broke my immersion and killed a scenario I had carefully planned out.

First off, there’s nothing in the server that states getting a new phone automatically makes it trackable, but that’s exactly what happened. I bought a new phone, and instantly, I was tracked and swarmed by the police. In real life, if you buy a prepaid SIM card, it’s not tied to your identity right away—it takes time to track that. Yet, within seconds of getting a phone, I had cops and a helicopter on me, even though I wasn’t driving any of my cars and was wearing a mask. It was frustrating because I was trying to RP staying under the radar, but the system just made it impossible.

Now, the server does have a cool feature where you can swap car plates, which adds to the roleplay. If you swap plates, you can avoid detection, but if the police check the plates, you could get caught. That’s the kind of balanced RP I love—giving us a chance to stay low while leaving room for consequences if we mess up. But with phone tracking, there’s no balance; it’s immediate, and there’s no way to stay hidden. So what's the point of the car plates swapping?

I think a simple fix would be adding SIM cards that work like batteries, giving you a new number with each one. If the SIM stays with you for 2-3 days, it could get updated in the system and attached to your name. Alternatively, the same could be done with phones—let them stay off the grid for a few days before linking to your identity. That would allow for more immersive, smart RP and give detectives something to work with instead of instant, overpowered tracking.

This brings me to another problem that I’ve seen discussed before: PD and SD are incredibly overpowered. Their cars are faster than most vehicles, making it almost impossible to escape, and they never seem to run out of fuel. In my case, after they found me, the situation got even more ridiculous. I was boxed in violently by cops, even though I was just standing still, not even trying to run. At that point, I had already given up because all my planning to stay under the radar was wasted.

I even have a video of it, and honestly, it’s frustrating how much effort went into creating a fun RP scenario, only for it to be instantly ruined by overpowered police scripts. Please consider nerfing PD and rebalancing these systems to make roleplay more enjoyable for everyone.

[Quietthecutie]

Im not entirely against the main suggestion here. that being said phone tracking is not something every cop can do. infact only a select few are able to do so and only with good reasoning. Next would be a question of counterplay. the thing about removing/swapping plates is PD/SD have the counterplay of carrying out traffic stops, checking VINs, all that. so while yes, the crim has a way to counter plate scanning they still run a risk of getting nabbed for not using correct plates if they get pulled over. with your sim card idea i dont see the counterplay and it would make phone tracing (which again, cant be done by 90% of cops and without good reason) irrelevant. theres already a very easy way to circumvent phone tracing.

As for the LEOs OP part of the suggestion, particularly the part where our cars are faster than most vehicles, thats catagorically untrue. most police vehicles, particularly regular patrol ones top out their speed between 175-200. easily within the range of civilian cars crims commonly evade in and by no means better. the only exceptions to this are vehicles like the shinobi, Jugular, specialised interceptors which can only be deployed in limited numbers during a high speed chase. the same vehicles which are again, incredibly common vehicles for crims to use to evade in. and LEOs also have to go back to a station and deploy them wheras you start your evasion in whatever car you please.

The amount of your average LEOs day that is spent watching Drags, Niobes, Paragons etc fly by at 240 and us being pretty helpless to stop them is the side of the story you dont see. Crims OP? no. thats just part of the game. the cat and mouse of Crims getting away vs LEOs  deploying and getting the specialised units where they need to be. and even then Crims still have a chance to evade, take tires, bike drop, block and obstruct, LEOs still have to get it right and stop you. 

Taking Ls suck and I get that but its important to realise there is another side of this story.

that said its been a while since we have had a good old fashioned "cops OP" post in the forums so im looking forward to some real stimulating conversation here.

 

Edited September 7, 2024 by Quietthecutie