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The Wishful Thinking Doctrine;
How TSRP Used to Be and Isn't Now, What it Ought to Be and Never Has, What it Is Currently but Shouldn't Be
~a Manual and Editorial by Psalms~
In years prior, TSRP has been many things; it's been a vehicle for cheap plugins, with a minor emphasis on Roleplaying, and it's been a source of great character interaction, with very little care taken to the fancy touches. There was a time where 'Jobs' were typed by the player with no regards to any administrators, and the Police Department's doors were accessible to all; despite what many have said, this was no E-Utopia, and neither was some sort of virtual enlightenment obtained from 'LOLPlay/RPG' server's like Pink-Fairy's. This essay ought to set things straight from my perspective, on where the cream of the crop of both worlds can be obtained.
Where are you on the great graph of Roleplay?
Roleplaying<-------A----------------------------B-----------------------------C--------------------------------------D---------------------------E>Plugins
-A~ The Classical Servers: NO plugins, aside perhaps the smallest features like Titles, and sometimes Languages. It's a hard concept for some of the newer folks to grasp, but there WAS a time where no jobs were needed, the doors were accessible without keys, and the gunshop was left open for any player looking for a firearm. Everyone there was usually accustomed to roleplaying, and did so in a more-or-less professional manner.
-B~ The Oldies: The old X-Factor, HWRP to some extent, M7X and a few other odd-ball servers. Some in their later existence had a lower population, while others boomed. All had a sophisticated take on Roleplaying in some way or another, but Jobs and Organizations required Administrators; the same plugins as today's servers ran these, HWRP being where the namesake plugins of Harbu hit it big.
-C~ The Modern Servers: This is where we are TODAY; gunfights are solved in the traditional DM fashion, and use of /me is really a death-wish. Why write it out, when you can dive and shoot? Everything else retains a good amount of Roleplay, and depending on server enforcement, proper roleplays are actually quite common. Just the same, EPIC FAIL can occur, and often does, especially when involving large entities such as the Medical Department, Police Department, or Organized Crime groups. Changing leadership and hiring standards goes a long way in fixing those minor leaks, but with an influx of newbies, someone has to teach them how to do things right!
-D~ Cops and Robbers: Servers centered entirely around the Police, and Criminals. Also, see the XCCP. "GET OFF THE STAIRS." Little else goes on here. "Hey guys the hostage just smsed me he's tied up in the back room you shoot the guys outside and we'll taze the other people. Public firing squad in one hour." Yakuza v Italian Mafia v Russian Mob v Irish Mob v Police Force. The great stew of fecal matter that has bred stupidity into all of the aforementioned organizations, and their bastard children. Remember, at the base of each of those organizations is a good idea, or an excellent theme. Bring it out in a decent server, and you've got a formula for success. Sit back and let the noobs flood in, and you'll have a big game of Cops and Robbers, that ends in LOLPlay.
-E~LOLPlay/RPG: See Pinkfairy's RPG Test-Server. Let's try crackmod, and weedmod, and remote-control-tank-mod, and improve our tazers and flashbangs. These saw the advent of the Dojo as the fighting moshpit, that some servers, including Nukesilo still impliment. The only reason I note them is because this is where folks get the idea that Kung Fuing people to death, Taking PCP to shoot down the Cops and stunt away, and tazering the bad guys into submission are good, solid roleplaying ideas.
~~Evolution~~
Any new server that's worth it's salt will bring in new concepts. The radical ones usually die out once the hype is gone, and the shallow ones usually go stagnant once the new map loses it's charm. The really amazing changes are the slow, gradual shifts of a server to balance needs. Here's my biggest tip: Make your server multi-layered.
Roleplaying that fits the proper and uptight players, the relatively loose folks, and the noobies all at once is actually something that CAN be achieved. Sometimes all it takes is a little coexistance.
~Staff your Police Officer and SWAT positions with people who are perfectly okay with tazers and shootouts, but save your Detective positions for people serious about Roleplaying on a deeper level. The same goes with low-level goons, and sophisticated criminals.
~Stay segregated in combat scenarios; shoot it out with people that WANT to shoot it out, and roleplay with those who want to roleplay. Just remember the balance, and try your best not to step on too many toes. Remember that the best way to drive away the strict RP'ers is to kick in their door and taze them during a nice, sophisticated RP, and the best way to drive away the Noobs is to ban anyone who shoots up the fuzz during a fairly legit Bank Heist.
Criminal Organizations
A more Specific Look at some of the more Common Criminal Enterprises
Escape the bland, Cops-and-Robbers mentality if you want to create an exciting criminal roleplay! Here on Nukesilo, we have the Yakuza, and the Mafia. Neither seem to prominently display any cultural significance, or logical reasoning in their activities; Instead of the Mobsters extorting with fancy suits and expensive cigars, or busting balls, or the Yakuza defending their honor with swords and harsh rituals of bloody sacrifice, they Rob Liquor Stores and Banks and Diners. They wear identical masks and use nearly identical weapons, the Yakuza apparently carrying the Katana as a joke, and using the AK47 as their main weapon. THIS is a perversion of what it ought to be!
The Ideal Yakuza
The Ideal Yakuza is made of those select few Japanese and Korean immigrants who have banded together as a tight-knit family, a powerful force to be reckoned with on the street, but far beyond a simple gang. The Yakuza's grunt shouldn't be just any punk off the corner, and it's important that they retain a cultural sense of identity; this may seem needless, even racist, but when it comes to the point that "John Powell" and "Scott Williams" run the show in the Japanese Mafia, the entire ideaology of the Yakuza has been entirely and completely fucked.
The Ideal Yakuza wields the Katana, the sword of their ancestry, as an instrument to defend their honor, not one by which to compete with modern firearms. The cultural significance, not simply some weeaboo's wet dream, is actually what makes a bad-ass Yakuza an intimidating character. Dragon Tatoos, bizarre scars, and the sharpest sword money can buy. (A note; using the Katana means more using /me than anything, even in fights. Whacking away with a Katana on guys with guns, or using it to impale a cop a few feet away is just low-down and utterly retarded.) In short, the ideal Yakuza is, above all else, YAKUZA, not some stupid group of bank robbers that looks exactly-the-fucking-same as every other bland, thoughtless criminal organization TSRP has thrust into the world.
The Yakuza's problems should be as much internal as they are external; after all, the juciest fights, and the most chance to use that nasty-looking Katana? It's within the organization itself. Members should fight eachother for power, for honor, for just about anything! You're looking to uphold your Clan's name, and show those Naruto fgts how s*it's done in Osaka: that almost definitely means beheading a few enemies, or riddling some rivals with lead now and then.
The Ideal Mafia
The Ideal Mafia means some of the most bad-ass, Goodfellas / Godfather / Sopranos / Departed s*it anyone can put together; They're Italian, they're Irish, who gives a da*n? It helps that they're one thing, just to narrow down a culture. If they're Italian, they're over-the-top Italian, they eat spaghetti and club some poor sap with a baseball bat, and say "Oh!" a lot. If they're Irish, they'll be drunk half the time, and they'll talk like they're bloody Irish!
The Ideal Mafia doesn't Rob banks; they rob people, they rob businesses. If you f**k with the Mafia, they should be able to strike enough fear into you that you don't just suspect, you know that these friendly neighborhood legitimate business-persons will find you, throw you into a back alley somewhere, and break your legs-- if you're lucky. There's nothing wrong with a body-count for the Mafia! It's what they do; the Mafia are the guys you learn not to mess around with. Otherwise, why have a Mafia? Just have a bunch of goons with Ski-masks and AK's, and trample on everything that shrimp bastard Joe Pesci died for!
If you can't be a Mafia, DON'T BE A MAFIA. If your idea of commanding respect is carrying a fully-loaded assault rifle in your back-pocket, or a USAS-12 up your ass while you rob the diner that you own, or shoot cops down in the street instead of extorting them, you're no Mobster of mine, pally. Sure, sometimes you've got to shoot it out with Cops, sometimes you've got to shoot it out with a rival gang; but NEVER, EVER think that it's okay for the Mafia to just be a bunch of gunmen. Without stomping shins and breaking faces, you're not much of a Mobster, either. Keep a dimly-lit back room somewhere to take trouble-makers, and sort them out. Give loans, and call them back at insane rates, only to intimidate clients. Blow somebody's pinky-toe off for not liking the color of your tie, or throw him down a fire escape for looking at your sister. Does it matter?! Just be a bad-ass, and do it with charisma! That's my ideal Mafia.
Legal Organizations
The Problems and Potential of today's Government Departments and Misc. Organizations
Whether you're a lowly Patrol Cop or a Deputy Chief, a Paramedic with miserable hours or a Surgeon racking up an impressive salary, you're held to standards much higher than the rest of the server population; you're on Government Payroll, and it's expected you act accordingly. That said, there's a very little lattitude for dilligent workers, and a lot more for those willing to bend the rules strategically. Here's how to do it, how it might work better, and how you should never, ever operate your Department.
The Police Department
The biggest problem most criminals have with a Police Department sprouts from what they see as overzealous, narrow-minded employees; the kind of folks that, when asked how they botched a great criminal roleplay by tazing everyone, say "Stop whining, the Cops won, stfu." The idea of a Police Department is to enhance roleplay, but the moment they become a total and impassable obstruction, it's time to cut off the head and start anew. If your Patrol Cops think they can bust through the windows of a 7/11 and cuff the first robber they see, they don't need to be scolded, they need to be fired. Hire them back when they get the picture. Lethal force is not a no-no when people are shooting at you; in fact, it ought to be accepted that when you start shooting at Cops, you're going to get put down with extreme prejudice. No Officer in their right mind approaches an armed suspect with a less-than-lethal weapon in hand; though many defend it, it's just a bizarre thought. Utilize tazers only when you have an unarmed suspect overpowered, or a non-cooperative runner. (And if your city's criminals think it's okay to flip up walls? Just leave it to the Admins, it's just a steaming pile of bullshit.)
Your Officers are protectors of the peace, so try and get some good PR now and then? Avoid the idea of 'Shock-Trooper' Police on patrol, whatever happens; no gas-masks and body armor for walking through the park, no M4 Assault Rifles out to confront teenaged vandals. The competition is getting a bit unfair, now that Nukesilo's criminals feel they can easily holster an AK-47 just as quickly as a .22 Pistol, and sprint with it; my answer is to address the problem, not to sink down to the level of having every patrolman carrying a small arsenal. That said, if you're facing off with a stand-off, or preparing for a raid, Officers can very well be armed with automatic weapons and 12-gauge Shotguns-- but let's face it, it's just sad when the Police Chief busts out the diner window with a 50-Cal and blows somebody away. If you have a Sniper, put him somewhere where he's not obvious liek obvious troll, like on a rooftop. And shooting everyone is probably still not the best solution.
Be ready to treat people in jail to a little more than just plugin-mandated /jailtime. Have a little chat in the interrogation room, get the stories straight, and follow through on some basic Police Procedures. We're focusing on real life, right? To boot, if nothing's going on, stick around the Department, interract with your fellow Officers. It shows you're willing to do more than just be a John McClane action Cop, and hell, you might even learn something.
If you're a Detective, Detect. Don't just patrol on the street, stay in plain clothes, run things behind the scenes, skulk around bad neighborhoods looking for information and interviewing possible witnesses. Know how they do on Law and Order? That kind of stuff. People will appreciate it when they interract with a Police Officer on more than just a license check, or dealing with the business end of a tazer. They might even give you some helpful information, if you're lucky.
_________________ ~They're gonna hang me in the mornin', before the night is done,
They're gonna hang me in the mornin', and I'll never see the sun.~Maxwell Murder wrote: Gordan and Praphet, you are the two halves of God.
Last edited by Praphet on 07 Mar 2009, 09:07, edited 2 times in total.
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, and I like the use of a visual to help people understand.
, never said you weren't.
