HL2RP What do you want?

What do you want from a hl2rp server?
What would make you go "holy shit!" And join a server?

 

Something that isn't Half-Life 2 city roleplay.

Look on the Clockwork server list. It's all the same stuff. Different maps, different names, but they don't mean anything. Nobody tries anything different.

Sure, you can use HL2 as a base for your server, but nobody wants to play as a "malnourished citizen" in a "1984-esque dystopian city" anymore. Nobody wants the first level of Half-Life 2 stretched out into a server that boats "originality."

I've made this point multiple times before. .DUST was the only server in recent times, using HL2 as a base, that was original and fun. It took elements of basic HL2RP and made them fun and different. There was stuff to do. There was a story driving everything.

Stories are important. If you have a server with factions and items and content, that's great- But you've got to find a way to use it all. I'm not talking mini-events that occupy players for the moment and then never turn out to be anything, I mean real stuff.

The problem with most server developers/owners is that they're too stupid to do anything like that. 14-17 year old kids who go to school don't have time to run a server. They aren't going to make anything fun for anyone to play but themselves.

 

something that deviates from established rp universes. something that isn't hl2 or metro or stalker or whatever. something new.

 

If I be honest, there is no point in making a HL2RP server if your going to entirely change it. HL2RP IS walking around a city as a malnourished citizen while CP's beat you and there is rebels stockpiling guns, ammo and money until OTA PK them and the cycle begins again. I personally think servers like ".DUST" were essentially different gamemode's as the core mechanics were pretty different to bog standard HL2RP.

HL2RP in a city has always been what "HL2RP" was known for, changing that factor is essentially doing a different gamemode, if it is based in the HL2 world or not.

Not everybody is a "Grizzled old veteran" who has played HL2RP for years and has seen everything it had to offer, there are still new players coming in and enjoying the gamemode for what it is, now, of course this stream of new players has decreased overtime but it is still there.

If HL2RP in the city is old and boring now, there would be nobody or very few people playing it. And by looking at the serverlist, this is not the case.

But, if you are going to do a server, try and do your own ideas for what is interesting and you would think seems fun, remember, you don't need 20+ people on a server to have a good time. But, no matter how much you change the factions or add new systems / lore, it will always boil down to that basic citizen rp, unless you change the core mechanics of the setting and the gameplay as a whole.

(Please don't kill me)

 

Like simulacra said, there needs to be servers that deviate from the norm. They also need to be done well- as I've seen some servers try to do their own thing and fail miserably at it. Some servers have managed to break the norm and do it quite well. Servers such as Site: 86, Begotten, WWIII RP, certain schemas hosted on other frameworks, etc. etc. Fresh and original ideas, paired with decent coding and decent administration are the way to go. HL2RP is fun for some time, and it can actually be really enjoyable if you do something interesting. As chuck said, .DUST did some really great things with the lore and made something fun and interesting to play. If you can get a decent team of administration that can write out a good story, pair that with the ability to develop and make the gameplay of your server enjoyable- then you will get something captivating for prospective players. Be it in or out (preferably out) of the HL2RP universe.

 

I don't think people should go in expecting to get any real big success from their HL2RP server unless they have a serious team of Dev's, Staff and writers who can make the server a really big hit. I think people who are going in on their own or with one or two people helping them should keep their sights low and expect a couple of people to join their community and reallly listen to that small dedicated community on what direction to take the server. That is most likely the best way to move forwards if you have limited people, time and resources to manage a server and if it has to be HL2RP.

EDIT: Just to add an extra point, try your best to setup an external way for your community to interact through voice (Teamspeak, Discord etc.). When you talk to people over voice-chat instead of text it is much better for discussion or just making the community members feel welcome and wanting to come back.

 

If they offered free 12oz bottles of Capt Morgans upon entering and gave a free chiropractic session, that would make me go "Holy shit"

That or y'know.
When the first thing you see when you join a brand new HL2RP Server is this. This is what keeps people around:

 

You don't necessarily need a large team. 1-5 people is enough to do something decent, given they are all motivated and can assist one another in different fields. A perfect example would be the team that has created the servers like Site: 86, Begotten, .DUST, etc. etc. Personally, if you're trying to run a server like that, I'd study how they did their stuff. I had quite a lot of fun on their servers, even if I've only played two of them.
Another note I'd like to make. If you are going to make a server, looking back in the "communities" archive is actually a really good way to get somewhat of an understanding of how to run a server. A simple thread, be it shitty or really well-made, can give you a decent idea of how to ideally run a server and make the execution optimal.

 

Thank you for sharing your views guys. I will take note of everything said here and see what I can do and if I can do it.
Even tho the Thread was originally a 'What you want from a HL2RP server' instead of a server in general but this is fine.

 

an actual economy, people are really sleeping on how much one would impact rp in a positive way

 

If I had a server of my own, I would have have HL2's dark very dystopian theme be changed to a more relaxed one, albeit still dystopian in it's own nature. I mean scrap the whole 'humanity is genocided by combine' thing with 'the combine is trying to integrate the human potential inside their ever-expanding empire'. If you want to give the old reason of "but the combines are almighty powerful aliens why should they care about humans???", take it from another point of view, why should they waste human potential by blocking them from reproducing? If you had a pair of pigs to be used for meat, would you kill your pigs or let them breed so you can expant your numbers? Earth can be a valuable outpost, if not colony in our own universe, for the combine to operate and further expand.

I'm not saying to give up the dystopian orwellian feel of the original game, but we should approach new ideas as others have stated above. My ideas are as following (some might already be in the game, some are original to a degree):

- The Universal Union acts as the only world-wide government that oversees continents with some degree of self-rule by local representatives appointed by the Universal Union. I also would like a political party system, but not like what you'd think, rather, I mean a fake democracy, where all political parties are owned, approved and overseen by the Universal Union. This could be expanded upon heavily in lore and in server. Have a rivality between two parties, one focused on socialism, other on capitalism (like in the real world), but both have to be directly subordonated to the Universal Union. Think of different political parties that have different approaches on economy and all, but share the common view that the Universal Union is paving the way for mankind to the stars. Just like that. Fake democracy, real RP potential. Think of elections, speeches, all that things that can spice up the server's life.

- More humane Civil Protection. That's right, I bet we are all tired of the same old edgy police force. Why not let them retain their humanity? After all, in my universe, the Universal Union cares only about receiving their resource quotas from their colony, as in water, building materials, even human labour for dirty work, soldiers for military and so on. The Civil Protection should be there to maintain order in the cities and constantly refrain the population from rebelious acts. Let the CCA enjoy a casual talk with some loyalist on the streets, perhaps organise them as an all-around para-military force that is tasked with maintaining the security of the city in all aspects be it crime-fighting or even act as firemen when called. Of course, there has to be drastic measures to be used when any individual commits infractions, and public executions should be the norm for severe crimes such as murder and all that. To resume: More expanded and human CCA, with a reduced dose of public cruelty, but with the same dystopian characteristics behind the curtain.

- The outlands can also be more expanded, if the Combine is to have a stable colony/outpost on Earth, they have to control the Xen wildlife outside, or even domesticate the Xen wildlife to support mankind's need of food. This could create a whole new RP scenarios, from CCA volunteers fighthing in the Outlands in squads in order to contain and eliminate the Xen wildlife, or citizens and vortigaunts in the city opening up warehouse farms where domesticated Xen wildlife is producing resources. I don't know about you but I'd like an Antlion pet.

- Give the Civil Worker's Union should still be the only worker's syndicate out there, under the direct supervision of the local and Union government. Also give greater freedom to loyalists and reasons to actually stay loyal to the Union, not just for the pure ideaology. Those Loyalists should be the elite of society, office workers, government officials, only citizens with a right to vote on public problems and regional problems and so on. They have to represent the intelectual aspect of the Post-7 Hour War society. They are not malnourished, they receive proper food, they should include wealthy individuals that contribute to the economy and so many other things on.

- Generally speaking, a world where mankind isn't suffering completely under the Combine, and society has a degree of trace of the past world, but everything is now directed to the Union first, either respect or resources. Of course, in a world like this, where humanity is no longer threatened severely and rebuilds itself from the 7 Hour War, rebels are not necessary. I am of the opinion that rebels should be replaced with all kinds of gangs and crime syndicates worldwide. Since the average non-loyalist citizen does not receive what the Loyalists do, a black market of goods might aswell be present. I'm talking about many groups of crime groups and gangs, maintaining their small and fake control over the many slums of the cities. Think about drug lords that supply even the wealthy elite of the loyalists with cocaine, crooked Civil Worker's Union representatives and arms dealers and shit like that. The possibilities are many.

- Citizens with the money and/or loyalists should have access to a range of services, maybe an expensive public pool with sauna for social chit-chat, maybe a gym for the loyalists to train and all, sports, helll, whatever you can think from the real world to enhance the citizen RP.

- Plenty more but im lazy to describe

 

You think the way I think.
Noted, thanks. =)

Please do. Either here or in PM.

 

Continuing because there is some interest at least.

A basic example of introduction lore:
I'd like to resume my view in the following description:Freeman and the others haven't escaped the Black Mesa Incident. The Universal Union has decimated mankind during 7 Hour War and now are in the process of rebuilding and reshaping the planet to be a self-sustaining colony integrated within the Combine Empire. The Universal Union has separated Earth into 6 federal states according to each continent except Antarctica. Each state has it's own regional governing body, let's say one is called North American Regional Government (N.A.R.G) with it's capital in New York City (I've chosen this because we know that Breen has negotiated terms with the Combine at the U.N HQ there). New York is in the process of rebuilding. Influx of citizens have arrived in New York to be employed by the authorities in rebuilding the city. For the first time since the 7 Hour War, the mankind's population is begining to slowly recover. A small portion of the population is given permission to reproduce, mostly composed by loyalists and other representatives of Universal Union's authority on Earth. Almost all children are sent to reeducation camps to be indoctrinated and prepared to enter the new society. Any person below 18 years is hardly ever seen on the streets. The gap between the wealthy elite of society composed of loyalists and the working class citizens is widening each day, with the Civil Protection still enforcing orwellian laws to maintain order in the lesser fortunate parts of cities while the rich and the powerful lead a glamorous life. Given the social tensions of the early society Post-7 Hour War, the black market has enabled certain individuals, including loyalists, to become leaders of powerful crime syndicates. You are a citizen, finding yourself in a new world where the old habits die hard. The Universal Union's presence is breathing down on everyone's neck, your less unfortunate peers are struggling to meet daily needs in the countless slums in the outskirts of the cities and the loyal elite of the Union is embracing with open hands the new regime. Could you rise from the rubble and become a succesful citizen of the Union, join criminal activity to raise your standard of living to new heights OR perhaps....you can plant the seed of rebellion amongst those like minded. You decide.

So there you have. These changes to the overall aspect of HL2 should provide plenty of potential for citizen RP. You can start your own business without actually joining CWU, you just need your permit from them, and a *supposedly* clean record. The Union sponsored Corporations require cheap labour force so you can find jobs in the warehouses and construction sites, seek a life of criminal activity in the slums or become wealthy enough to participate in the parties of the elite. Possibilities are many, you just need imagination.

 

I love almost everything you just said. If you have any other ideas, thoughts, or anything, reply here or PM me. I'd really appriciate it.

 

This is the most useful advice anyone can give for a HL2RP server. The playerbase count does not matter, only the quality of roleplayers.

Nobody who is actually there to roleplay will last long if there is some random minge running around and causing chaos.

 

Noted.

 

yeah, i don't like the idea that you're able to view all of the chat as an admin honestly, even admins metagame, probably more than most normal players because it's tempting by how accessible it is

an automated economy would bring citizen rp up all by itself

 

I'd like to see a unique server, something that isn't HL2RP reskinned or HL2RP.

 

Couple of things - as far as the city roleplay is concerned, I'd like to see servers swing back in the direction of 'canonical' playtypes, with Overwatch and an organized "resistance" being abstract concepts to the playerbase. I think it would be neat to see the "shitty areas" of town returning to just hideouts, with Civil Protection sweeps that cause a degree of panic and adrenaline among well-developed characters. Divisions being eliminated would also hinder the edginess of ambition that festers among MPF factions, among other changes in that area.

As far as outside of the city stuff, it's advantageous in my opinion to have a server or two focused on 'canal' roleplay, that has emphasis on the "cat and mouse" game that the Civil Protection and Citizenry seemingly play in City 17, as based on the game. That would be cool. Outlands, though? Nah, not so much.