Been a long time since I played HL2 RP regularly, but what disappoints me in the HL2 RP community is how generic and static the experience has become. In many ways I supposed it's been that way for quite a while - to some degree with LemonPunch. However, one thing we tried to do in periods were major pushes that advanced the story/lore and variated the gameplay - different maps that we prepared to offer a more original setting, events that inspired different kinds of interaction, and sub-servers that also empowered players to seek out a variety of exciting experiences.
I would encourage server owners to see if they can scrap the old generic eastern European city-based HL2 RP, and try to create more innovative approaches that challenge the status quo. How about imagining HL2 RP in other cultures than the game explored? How would the HL2 universe be applied to the Middle East,
rural US, tropical islands? City 8's take on Tokyo, Japan was to say the least refreshing back when it was first made. Or how about creating an even more unique setting with a custom lore - a huge resistance-lead
bunker etc?
Sure, maybe these concepts will totally flop and your server won't go anywhere - but what's to loose for you in trying something different? One reason we couldn't do that in LemonPunch was because we had much to loose - many players, an established experience that was appreciated and working - so our strong incumbency role made us rather risk-averse. As a fresh challenger you don't have to worry about that and should have all motivation to experiment with and innovate new HL2 RP experiences. In fact, it's probably the only rare advantage you'll have over incumbents. On top of that you will also have more fun trying something new and exciting - so when you're on your server with a mere 15 players you'll at least have a good time rather than feel like you're wasting it - which should give you and your staff motivation to continue on rather than giving up.
Two more notes that's a bit off-topic from the rest of my post, but quite essential. Please, please, please - scrap the dull and foolish "/roll combat systems" and "shoot to miss standards" that make a majority of potential players fall asleep. Sure, interactive and skill-based combat may not suit your ideal serious roleplay, but perfection is the enemy of progress, and if you want to gain players you'll have to compromise that ideal to make your experience more exciting and dynamic.
Don't do it alone - it'll go nowhere without a playerbase. If you're going to start a server/community, do so with your friends, their friends, yours and their connections. When I founded LemonPunch, I brought in all my connections and friends, Cryptic brought in all his connections and friends, we brought in players and staff from recently closed communities, and the result was that we got a full server on launch and continually kept growing from there.
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