Rebalancing the Rent-A-Car System

[PerfectArc]

Currently, the rental car system is too sparse and doesn't have very much coverage on the map, especially in places which are more highly traveled, like fishing spots and along trucking routes. Adding more rental locations and changing their distribution can immensely benefit stranded or newer players. I know one of my biggest issues early on in my server experience was getting disconnected during a trucking run, losing the truck in the process. After re-logging my only choices were to find something to jump off of and die, or make the 20 minute run back to the city core.

 

More locations for renting cars would be great for new players, or for players who end up stranded after a server disconnect. Placing them near key locations like the DMV/Fishing Docks/Bank, along highway truck stops and around the center core of the city could make self transport much easier. You can balance this with Taxis by making rental cars charge more per distance traveled, or charge a flat, upfront rental fee (Maybe $200?); Ergo, Taxis become much cheaper in comparison but rentals are more flexible/accessible when in sticky situations.

 

Also, adding a feature which prevents players from using rentals if they have a warrant for their arrest could prevent users from exploiting rented cars as an escape tool for police chases. Alternatively, you could say "screw it!" and give players an optional /suicide command (with some penalties for use) if you prefer to avoid revamping the whole system.

[Bjorn]

Non-owned vehicles parked along the road or at parking lots that are able to being stolen. To prevent a big chaos these vehicles need a respawn timer after being exited or you can sell them for some $ at a car dealer? That'll fill emptyness at the streets too.

[AccidentalHuman]

I agree there should be some more CityBee rental locations throughout the server in the heavily trafficked area's.

 

As for Bjorn's suggestion of having empty vehicles laying around I don't support this, there are already a tonne of player owned vehicles on the server and selling stolen non-player owned vehicles in the car dealerships would cause an issue with the economy and increase money farming..

[PerfectArc]

I agree there should be some more CityBee rental locations throughout the server in the heavily trafficked area's.

 

As for Bjorn's suggestion of having empty vehicles laying around I don't support this, there are already a tonne of player owned vehicles on the server and selling stolen non-player owned vehicles in the car dealerships would cause an issue with the economy and increase money farming..

 

I agree with this. Rental cars should be excluded from sale (obviously), and should despawn after a few minutes of being unoccupied.

[Johnny183]

I believe the rent-a-car system currently in place does not really provide the service it presents to new players. Before purchasing my own vehicle, most of the time I spent running to my destination as I was not near a car rental service at all. It's frustrating having to wonder through the city avoiding the chaos of courier drivers trying to get to my intended location.

 

Furthermore, there also needs to be additional areas where you can spawn your personal vehicle as currently, even with my own vehicle, I continue to run to most of my destinations. Maybe you should be able to spawn your personal vehicle using a command as sometimes people crash or have to leave the server in locations nowhere near a vehicle spawning service.

 

To counter the problem with car persistence, personal vehicles should automatically be removed from the world after 30 minutes of inactivity and rental cars should be removed after 10 minutes of inactivity. Hopefully this helps reduce the server lag.

[PerfectArc]

I believe the rent-a-car system currently in place does not really provide the service it presents to new players. Before purchasing my own vehicle, most of the time I spent running to my destination as I was not near a car rental service at all. It's frustrating having to wonder through the city avoiding the chaos of courier drivers trying to get to my intended location.

 

Furthermore, there also needs to be additional areas where you can spawn your personal vehicle as currently, even with my own vehicle, I continue to run to most of my destinations. Maybe you should be able to spawn your personal vehicle using a command as sometimes people crash or have to leave the server in locations nowhere near a vehicle spawning service.

 

To counter the problem with car persistence, personal vehicles should automatically be removed from the world after 30 minutes of inactivity and rental cars should be removed after 10 minutes of inactivity. Hopefully this helps reduce the server lag.

 

Also a great idea! Perhaps a system like the base game where you can call a mechanic to come deliver your car to you would also help fix the issues that you and I mentioned. +1

 

Edit: Maybe that could be another player job the devs can add, like mechanics/tow truck drivers that can fix and drop off your vehicle where you need it. This could add another dimension to the RP experience.

[BFortier]

Edit: Maybe that could be another player job the devs can add, like mechanics/tow truck drivers that can fix and drop off your vehicle where you need it. This could add another dimension to the RP experience.

There's a mechanic faction already.

[PerfectArc]

There's a mechanic faction already.

Good. Using existing features means that this might be easier to implement.