BillyB Posted January 19 Report Posted January 19 (edited) Expanding & Rebalancing Prison Roleplay BillyB - Jan 2026 (Formatting looks better HERE) Currently, prison roleplay is extremely limited, with inmate actions somewhat restricted to Earning Stamps to Buy items from the store Reduce sentence time Convert to cash on release Interacting with other players by Making friends Robbing people Attacking inmates Attacking guards/LEOs While this is better than what prison roleplay once was, the current system can unintentionally ruin immersion and consequence, particularly for serious crimes with deep lore behind it. The Main Issue: Sentences aren't long enough/proportionate & there’s little to no natural roleplay opportunities in prison At present, players (especially those with VIP) can be convicted of severe charges such as the below following an organised and impactful rp scenario: Domestic Terrorism Attempted Murder of a Gov. Employee Assault with a Deadly Weapon Yet, they can still be released within 60 minutes due to automatic reductions. This creates several immersion-breaking outcomes: Severe crimes feel inconsequential Criminals are rapidly returned to the people they were just interacting with Law enforcement and judicial RP is diminished Crime should carry weight and prison should feel more like a meaningful consequence, not just a brief inconvenience. For example, one of my characters is in the process of lore-backed roleplay with another character involving escalation of serious crimes against a group of individuals. After being caught and arrested for what was essentially a poorly planned terrorist attack, if I pled not guilty, I would've been in DOC for around 45 minutes with Royal VIP reductions. To counter this I have simply avoided playing on that character for the time being. In addition, as there are limited things to do in prison, long sentences often lead to the vast majority of players simply tabbing out and doing something else, just making DOC essentially a timeout. Proposed Solution: Longer sentences & more prison roleplay opportunities Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Probation Purpose Probation should function as a conditional early-release mechanism for serious offences, not simply an automated reduction. It will reward inmates who demonstrate good behaviour while ensuring serious crimes still carry long-term consequences. Rather than having shorter sentencing guidelines, some inmates can become eligible for probation after serving a meaningful portion of their sentence. Eligibility Served a minimum percentage of original sentence (e.g. 50-80%) Maintaining good behaviour in prison Completing prison work or rehabilitation programs No recent disciplinary violations Conditions Enforceable conditions: No serious crime No possession or use of illegal drugs & weapons No association with known criminal gangs Mandatory check-ins (PD/DOC) Length of conditions: 2 days for first time offenders 5+ days for re-offenders 14+ days for serious offenders Violations Immediate arrest without investigation Automatic reincarceration Reinstatement of original sentence + penalty Enforcement Probation Officers in DoC Probation tracker in MDC GPS ankle monitors to track serious offenders RP & Immersion Benefits Encourages increased care and restraint with illegal RP post release Gives LEOs meaningful follow-up RP Makes early release feel earned & tense as it can be revoked Deterrent to players getting out of prison and going straight back to high-risk criminal rp Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Community Payback Programs Purpose Community Payback extends punishment beyond prison by requiring offenders to actively repair harm caused to the city. By integrating payback with existing road workers and random world events (e.g. tipped-over trucks, road hazards) punishment becomes visible, immersive and meaningful without relying solely on incarceration time. It can also be used to outsource to other departments, such as LSPD or LSSD, to assist with laborious activities such as groundskeeping or vehicle maintenance. Eligibility Offenders granted early release or probation Non-serious or extreme offenses Repeat offenders as an additional condition - not a replacement for prison Individuals whose crimes caused public disruption or infrastructure damage Conditions Offenders must work exclusively within the Road Worker/Public Works role Respond to eligible random events such as Tipped-over trucks Roadway obstructions Traffic hazards Infrastructure damage Wear mandatory high-visibility work clothing Remain unarmed and free of illegal items Use assigned vehicles whilst working only Comply with mandatory drug and alcohol testing whilst working Wear GPS ankle monitors whilst working Enforcement Failure to comply will result in: Immediate warrant issuance and recall to prison Probation violation charge Loss of future eligibility for early release programs Law enforcement may: Conduct random spot checks Arrest immediately upon violation RP & Immersion Benefits Punishment becomes public and visible Reinforces realism and consequence for action Encourages slower, thoughtful post-release roleplay Creates organic roleplay interactions between LEOs and Civilians Reuses existing gameplay systems, reducing dev involvement Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Prison Banking System Purpose Provides inmates with a secure and regulated way to store prison-earned currency (stamps) Prevents loss through theft or fighting Encourages continued participation in prison work Supports longer and more meaningful sentences without unnecessary frustration Allows 10-15s processed whilst carrying cash to deposit it into their Prison Trust Account Allows for inmates to have prison currency paid into their account Conditions Inmates can deposit stamps into a Prison Trust Account Stamps stored in the account cannot be stolen and are only accessible by the inmate and COs Withdrawals limited to prison shop, sentence reduction options and exchanged to cash upon release RP & Immersion Benefits More akin to real-world prisons where currency is stored digitally Reduces conflict driven by inventory theft Encourages long term prison RP participation Makes long term sentences less monotonous where players just go AFK Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Additional Prison Jobs Kitchen Assistant Serves food & drinks to inmates Washes dishes & maintains kitchen cleanliness Cell Block Cleaning Cleaning cells, showers and other general areas Prison Workshop Manufacturing items such as license plates and furniture Logistics Assistant For trusted inmates, assisting DOC guards with retrieving items from stores to stock vending machines Job Leveling XP for carrying out jobs, increases payout Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Inmate Release from Custody (/leaveprison) Release From Custody Process When there are more than 2 DoC players active, they should receive an alert when a criminal is approaching the end of their sentence. This will then prompt the players to begin the Release from Custody process for the inmate. This process will involve collecting the inmate from the cellblock and then processing them: offering them reformation help, arranging transport back to the city if appropriate for probation and then giving their belongings back. This process will introduce additional RP opps for the DoC faction and inmates. If there are no DoC faction members around, players can simply use /leaveprison to leave through an automated process which also gives them access to their possessions. Reintroduction of /leaveprison On many occasions, I personally have been involved in roleplay inside prison and was then automatically released as the timer ends. This is far less than ideal and stops roleplay unless there is an admin to teleport you back. With the current state of prison roleplay (heavily lacking) and DoC sometimes becoming an AFK waiting room, I believe the removal of /leaveprison contributes and enables that mentality. Of course, players shouldn’t be able to just stay inside of prison for an unlimited time but this can be handled by DoC guards being able to view inmates who have severely overstayed their welcome. Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Inmate Management System Add IMS to existing MDC to track all currently incarcerated inmates, including charges, risk level and staff notes. This replaces the use of forum sections for MSI notes etc. DoC have full access with PD/JB having read access Core Features Live Inmate Roster Inmate Profile Report Security Classification & Reviews Audit Log Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) NPC Prison Smuggler Purpose Introduces a controlled underground economy within prison Adds meaningful crim RP opportunities inside prison Mirrors existing city-based NPC so feels mechanically familiar Placement Locations are non-obvious and rotating If discovered through counterplay, unusable for X period Locations: Laundry room Showers Yard Kitchen area (Only accessible to Kitchen Assistants) Services Improvised lockpicks (Used for getting into restricted areas or for prison break) Shivs Drugs & Paraphernalia Phones Counterfeit stamps (Similar to packed money) Conversions Convert workshop materials into contraband Trade favours for stamps (Similar to task master) Risk & Consequence Every interaction carries risk of guard discovery Random contraband searches for high risk inmates Consequences include solitary or added sentence Guard Counterplay Random searches of cells & inmates Intercept smuggler drops Temporarily shut down smugglers Sting operations RP & Immersion Benefits Adds RP opportunities Encourages inmate alliance Mirrors real-world prison dynamics Increases immersion for drug addict characters Integrates with existing NPC system Future Expansion Options Prison factions for criminals Smuggler driven story arcs Taskmaster for when inmates released (NPCs are lifers giving tasks to fellow criminals in the outside world) Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Offline Sentence Progression The current offline sentence progression should be removed or HEAVILY nerfed as this contributes to the problems mentioned previously where sentences are too short and not proportionate. Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 (edited) Assigned Cells Introduction of assigned cells for inmates, allowing inmates to store items in lockboxes during stay. Can also tie into the banking system/be an alternative. Hostile cell takeovers/robberies. Could assign 2 inmates to a cell, creating paths for alliances. Edited January 19 by BillyB Quote
BillyB Posted January 19 Author Report Posted January 19 Awaiting Processing Cell When there is a large number of 10-15s to process into custody, usually following a large-scale scenario where players can be frustrated, it often becomes very overwhelming for DOC staff processing them in the normal processing area. To address this, I believe the addition of a large processing cell where 10-15s can be held after being dropped off by PD/SD and then processed one-by-one by DOC. Quote
garybruce Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 I think something like the ideas in this are needed. There are currently avenues of roleplay on the server that people chose, such as terrorism or attacks on the government, that need more harsher outcomes to feel realistic. I find myself adding in 'a few days rest' after I do some kind of terrorist accident to create this mnually. As it seems unrealistic that I can do some extreme act and then 70 minutes later I can walk back up to those people and have a chat, or do the same thing again repeatedly. Otherwise this makes a kind of mockery of the law. Being sent to DOC for an hour isn't a deterrent or really a punishment at all (My character uses that time to earn money). I like the idea where for certain crimes there is a form of probation upon release to deter that person from doing anything for a while, or being extra careful while doing it, and if they were to break that then some kind of punishment is imposed. Presently there is a form of this on the server, which is working at Bennys. A criminal who wants to work there tries to stay out of trouble and not be caught for something for fear of losing their job. I think a similar thing implemented for some crimes, where you need to stay clean x days or receive a harsh punishment, would add more interesting roleplay. Maybe that harsher punishment is a long jail sentence, or some kind of restrictions, i'm not sure, but I am sure there are good ideas for what it could be. 1 Quote
Requiem Posted January 20 Report Posted January 20 Excellent and well thought out suggestion thread. I love most of these ideas and I think it would significantly increase RP opportunities for both inmates and the DOC faction. Prison times have been lowered to the point they have due to there being few activities to do in DOC leading to the time spent there as an inmate to feel like an OOC punishment rather than an IC punishment. If many of these kinds of new features were added, I believe it would be reasonable to reintroduce some higher caps on prison time. 1 Quote
BillyB Posted January 23 Author Report Posted January 23 On 1/20/2026 at 7:17 PM, Requiem said: Excellent and well thought out suggestion thread. I love most of these ideas and I think it would significantly increase RP opportunities for both inmates and the DOC faction. Prison times have been lowered to the point they have due to there being few activities to do in DOC leading to the time spent there as an inmate to feel like an OOC punishment rather than an IC punishment. If many of these kinds of new features were added, I believe it would be reasonable to reintroduce some higher caps on prison time. Thanks for your feedback! I'm hopeful this suggestion is seen by the right people to help influence the upcoming prison update. Quote
Carl Vespucci Posted January 23 Report Posted January 23 Certain crimes need heavier sentences IMO, shooting cops needs to come at a higher price, terrorism etc, BUT I do feel like having higher times at the current state of DOC would not be good, I totally agree I wouldn't mind serving longer sentences if I had alot of this fun stuff to do in the post! +1 1 Quote
DaddyShrood Posted January 23 Report Posted January 23 53 minutes ago, Carl Vespucci said: Certain crimes need heavier sentences IMO, shooting cops needs to come at a higher price, terrorism etc, BUT I do feel like having higher times at the current state of DOC would not be good, I totally agree I wouldn't mind serving longer sentences if I had alot of this fun stuff to do in the post! +1 Longer sentences should tie in with the prison update, I agree that longer sentences with how DOC currently is would be counterproductive. Quote
BillyB Posted February 10 Author Report Posted February 10 (edited) My thoughts following the DOC update released 07/FEB/26 DOC Faction Member Perspective The ability to now see all inmates using /inmates has greatly added to roleplay. We are now able to carry out headcounts and identify missing inmates. The addition of cloths, radios and polaroid cameras to the locker is also great and saves us having to do supply runs and then file expense claims. The addition of lockpicking has created roleplay scenarios where we have to search for inmates who manage to escape the main cell-block. The new cell mapping is awesome, especially the covered toilet - we no longer have to see inmates using the toilet! The addition of money making avenues has reduced the pvp aspect of prison, making our duties less tedious. We are finding that the lockpicking of doors is becoming a constant issue now and whilst it's good for giving us things to do, it can sometimes be excessive or hard to monitor due to the sheer volume of doors. I believe some kind of door management system would be good to address this, potentially including an alarm which triggers when a door is left unlocked for x amount of time. It would also be great if we could have a /lockdown command which would automatically lock all egress/ingress doors such as the cellblock to yard, etc. We have found that some doors in the prison are no longer lockable using the new UI, this currently is just limited to the outer towers as I believe the other issues have been rectified. Our cars are now extremely vulnerable in the employee parking, we have experienced a few inmates who have broken out into the outer courtyard and then gone on to picklock cars. I believe the implementation of a gated employee parking area that cannot be picklocked would resolve this. The addition of an alert which is sent to DOC when an inmate's time is up would be beneficial. To also address the lockpicking issue, the addition of CCTV would be great as we could have somebody regularly checking the CCTV to look around the entire facility for anyone in areas they shouldn't be in. The addition of motion sensors outside the main building, related to the first point re escaping, would also add to immersion - prison facilities are high security. Criminal Perspective The ability to lock laundry machines using a keypad is brilliant and much better than the former timer system. The ability to lockpick doors has created a reason to smuggle in items such as lockpicks which I think greatly adds to prison roleplay. The multitude of ways to earn money whilst inside DOC is great, I have personally found mining to be the most effective way to earn money. The fact we are no longer forcefully teleported out of prison when the sentence is over is great and I think subsequently the DOC policy to lockdown inmates who do not leave when their time is up adds to realism. The fact we are able to control the TV is also great now and will allow for fun group activities when a large group of people are incarcirated. Adding the ability to purchase contraband from NPCs would be amazing. These characters could hang out in the mines but also have rotating spawn points. As mentioned during the last community meeting, the ability to craft low quality weapons using mined ores would be good. Obviously keeping in mind prison break rules, it should be heavily monitored but can also be used as protection against other inmates. Related to the above, the ability to create drugs inside prison would be awesome too. This could be using ores gained through mining and then also cleaning products from laundry NPCs. For example, adding in bleach to the laundry room npc as needed for dirty laundry but also the ability to use it with ores to create narcotics. Edited February 10 by BillyB Quote
Chilo Posted February 10 Report Posted February 10 22 minutes ago, BillyB said: Adding the ability to purchase contraband from NPCs would be amazing. These characters could hang out in the mines but also have rotating spawn points. I believe this is planned for the second part of the update! It was mentioned in the community meeting. Quote
JWIT1 Posted February 10 Report Posted February 10 28 minutes ago, BillyB said: To also address the lockpicking issue, the addition of CCTV would be great as we could have somebody regularly checking the CCTV to look around the entire facility for anyone in areas they shouldn't be in. CCTV does exist and is easy to have more scripted CCTV cameras spawned in, if you have any key areas/locations where you feel that scripted CCTV would be beneficial please send them over my way and I can raise it to be reviewed and potentially implemented. Quote
Bala Posted February 10 Report Posted February 10 I said it to Osvaldon and I’ll say it here. There is absolutely no need for every door in the prison or in fact the server to be unlockable. While having dynamism is a good thing, we have to make things for the server we have and the idea of people smuggling in lockpicks is memey as fuck. It’s just going to be another meta exploit. Cell Doors, Doors to the Kitchen, Shower, Rec Room, Infirmary and Yard should be all unlockable. Allows you to get out of your cell and go and do stuff. Everywhere else should remain locked as before. I don’t want to personally see people reducing the prison/doc’s experience to lockpick/prison break simulator or have to put up with people unlocking the doors at mission row to dump all the food out of the vending machines. 2 1 Quote
Felarx Posted February 10 Report Posted February 10 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Bala said: I said it to Osvaldon and I’ll say it here. There is absolutely no need for every door in the prison or in fact the server to be unlockable. While having dynamism is a good thing, we have to make things for the server we have and the idea of people smuggling in lockpicks is memey as fuck. It’s just going to be another meta exploit. Cell Doors, Doors to the Kitchen, Shower, Rec Room, Infirmary and Yard should be all unlockable. Allows you to get out of your cell and go and do stuff. Everywhere else should remain locked as before. I don’t want to personally see people reducing the prison/doc’s experience to lockpick/prison break simulator or have to put up with people unlocking the doors at mission row to dump all the food out of the vending machines. I agree with you, however it is counterable if we are keeping the lock picking of doors. Implement a rule into the NRP rules, why would you lockpick into a police station which would be RPly flooded with police officers, the same with MD and SD.. Keep DOC as it is, that's what the correctional officers + the cameras are for. Edited February 10 by Felarx Quote
DaddyShrood Posted February 10 Report Posted February 10 1 hour ago, Felarx said: I agree with you, however it is counterable if we are keeping the lock picking of doors. Implement a rule into the NRP rules, why would you lockpick into a police station which would be RPly flooded with police officers, the same with MD and SD.. Keep DOC as it is, that's what the correctional officers + the cameras are for. If it's going to be kept the same then we need some way of detecting that doors are being picklocked. If you have say 4 COs, it's very difficult to monitor the entire prison when realistically you'd have at least 4x that amount. 2 Quote
Josh Posted February 11 Report Posted February 11 Yeah, some sort of alarm is needed! It's going to be too much for a pain for 2 CO's which is the common amount to be on duty to watch and manage the 20 some doors in the prison Quote
