Hello,
[SIZE=11pt]I begin by warning the following post will be quiet long.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]For the past three weeks i have been actively collecting opinions, approaches, experiences and any kind of information on this issue. I made a post recently in the Q&A area but got no response from the staff. The admin BEA suggested that i presented my concerns and any proposal in this topic. So here it is:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I will start by stating some known rules:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]*It is considered RDM if a player kills another without initiation.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]There must be an initiation for the integration of other players ( let’s say teammates ou even undercover police) in a ongoing roleplay.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]*All roleplay must have high quality.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]*All roleplay must be initiated, either it is hostile ( robbing, taking hostage, executing) and friendly ( ask for a ride, ask for help, offer hostile information).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]In all it’s terms there must be an initiation to start a roleplay situation. How do you initiate a roleplay? Using voice. Because talking/shouting with other players is the only way possible to define the roleplay situation that is to begin.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I was taught this from the beginning. But the server has changed. Fewer and fewer players actually drive in roads as the most active players are already rich enough to buy choppers and planes. Why did this new dynamic brought me problems for upholding the principle that “ [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]all roleplay must be initiated. Intent is not the same as initiation”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]? [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I will give some examples ( that indeed happened):[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]1- I was with my hemmet box, a solo player in a hellcat began to chase me and tried to land multiple times in front of me. I just kept going, until i stopped seeing the hellcat and got into a greenzone. I was immediately accused of breaking rules and had to compensate the player in question ( asked for an admin answer at the time, got no response).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]2- I was in a humming bird. Saw someone with a zamak truck near the “old diamond factory”. I approached the area and he zamak truck just left. I followed, very low and near, until he entered the airport. I didn’t knew what to do so i ask one of my group mate’s to ask an admin. He got the response that “ if you didn’t initiate, which you didn’t because you were in the chopper, he can go to the greenzone”.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]3- Just recently, a friend of mine was with a huron at the diamond factory. A humming bird came and began to land near the factory. My friend got into the huron and flew off. He went to airport and landed. The humming bird was following him. One of the players inside the humming bird was an off-duty admin who immediately got on-duty and deleted his truck ( he had a transported hooked) stating that he can’t go into a greenzone because he was getting robbed. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]As i said before i have been talking around about this issue. I have asked “ does following someone with a chopper ( with any rebel vehicle for that matter) counts as an initiation?”. “ Can we just initiate a roleplay situation by driving/flying after a player, without saying a single word?”. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]This is not a “Chase & Rob” server. It is a high quality roleplay server. As such, considering using a vehicle to initiate a player, just by following them, it’s indeed strange and allows for exploitation of the highest kinds. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]When i started played in this server, there used to be some decent strategies to rob someone. For example, one of my favorites, was the “roadblock”, which is quite rare now. Usually in a roadblock ( not blocking the road with a car to prevent VDM) there was a forward player in the road that would shout “ stop your vehicle or your tires will be shoot!” and the player in such vehicle already knew that he was in a hostile situation.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Now what i usually see is a team of rebels approaching a player in a chopper, and then 1) if the players stays, they initiate and rob him in the ground 2) if the player sees the chopper and leaves, he is chased until a) he enters a greenzone and is asked for compensation b) he runs for as long as possible.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Upholding the principle that “ [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]all roleplay must be initiated. Intent is not the same as initiation”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt], robbing someone with a chopper should be hard. As an example, let’s say a group of rebels is approaching the iron factory as they know there’s someone processing iron. The sound of the chopper is likely to scare the player. The chopper goes straight to the factory, tries to land near the truck but the truck leaves and goes straight to the Agios greenzone The rebels had the intent to rob. But they were not competent enough to initiate the situation. Since this is not a “ Chase & Rob” server, they failed. An alternative, much more RP like, is to land far from the factory and creep the truck to voice initiate. It will also give more value to good pilots and a team of rebels will wish to have the best pilot possible to be successful at initiation. Right now, any hovering chopper does the job.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]If find it dangerous that even the admins have different approaches on this. I wonder how many people might have been punished or even banned for this reason.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Let’s now look at the relevant rules for this issue:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](2.1) [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]Vehicle Deathmatch (also known as VDM) - Using any vehicle as a weapon (e.g running people over, causing explosions including while sling loading, ramming, etc), will result in you receiving a ban. Three vehicles are excluded from this, MRAPS (Ifrits, Hunters and Striders) can ram other MRAPS in order to disable them, yet not to kill the passengers. This is allowed as these vehicles are the only vehicles ingame that can withstand being rammed. Please note that you need to initiate roleplay before attempting to ram an MRAP. (Please note - MRAPS don't need to be initiated on in the redzone) [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt]This is to prevent random ramming on site. (Three minutes of chasing also constitutes initiation of MRAP and MRAP ramming)[/SIZE][SIZE=12pt].[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]This small section of the rule as been used, wrongly, to justify an initiation by chasing someone for three minutes. I don’t think needs to change but is interesting how some players just misused it.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](2.6) Combat storing, such as storing a vehicle whilst you are being chased or to prevent roleplay will result in a ban[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Combate storing is not the same as to go into a greenzone without any ongoing RP. To define “being chase” should mean that there is an active roleplay, that led to chase. It doesn’t mean chasing by itself to be roleplay. And if you go into a greenzone, it does not mean you have avoided roleplay as roleplay can still happen in greenzones and, of course, how do you know you have prevented roleplay if no one has initiated on you with voice? As far as you know, you are just “living your Altis life”. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](2.7) Trolling - The following examples are considered trolling however there are multiple others so we advise common sense. Running around the police/medics/anyone, throwing yourself in front of vehicles, playing music in any chat or on teamspeak, bombarding the messaging system, buying multiple vehicles to block spawn areas or using them to blow things up, jumping off buildings without RP,spamming the vote admin or vote kick system, talking/playing music in the lobby screen, playing soundboards/voice changers ingame and open TS channels (Punishment is a ban, or permanent ban depending on the severity). [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]This one is quite interesting to me. That is, if chasing by itself is considered an initiation, can a player block other player with a chopper from going into greezones? He can simply block by continuously following another player, without ever landing. When does it end? When the player is out of fuel? How long will it take? Will the player be forced to initiate the chopper by firing tracers? What if they don’t have tracers? Again, if chasing is considered a initiation, we are free to exploit and troll any player, wasting their time in the server without ever wanting to actually roleplay.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](3.7) Baiting - Baiting for the sake of a gunfight is not roleplay. Punishment is a ban. Examples:[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Flying over someone with a chopper waiting for warning shots to instantly shoot them back[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt], robbing a service station with the intent of a gunfight, etc [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]This reports exactly what i just said. If chasing is considered a initiation, chasing over someone to force a player into a robbery/gunfight, using vehicles to exploit and bait RP, shouldn’t it also be punished?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](6.1.6) You must not exploit the green zone to avoid ongoing hostile roleplay. Retreating into a green zone is forbidden.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]This rule is clearly the most used for this issue. But again, it says “ to avoid ongoing hostile roleplay”. If chasing in considered an initiation, then yes, if someone is chasing you, means there is an oingoing roleplay. Still, how do you know it’s hostile? If a chopper is following you and you go into a greenzone, how do you know it’s hostile? That would be just arbitrary.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](7.1.5) Police Sirens - When the Police put on their sirens lights to pull you over to attend to a scene this does not mean RP has been initiated on their point, if you shoot without engaging in RP then this is classed as RDM.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Just curious that even sirens lights from police “do not mean RP has been initiated on their point”. It’s clear that all roleplay initiations must be two sided, voice-initiated. If someone has the intent to rob and has solely initiated a chase after a player, how do you know if RP has been initiated for the player in the ground? Should they just assume or wonder? If so, can we now also assume that i’m going to immediately shoot at them if they land near me? I mean, i have my weapon out, pointing at them, they need to just “know”.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](1.7) As a roleplay game every situation is different and not everything can be detailed within these rules and so it is important to remember this is an adult community and some things simply come down to [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]common sense.[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] Things like the following; do not swear at people (out of roleplay), troll people, or bully people otherwise you will simply be banned from our servers. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]This is likely the most important rule regarding this issue. I love this server because rules allow prediction and fairness to all players. Having roleplay at the highest standards is crucial for the continuation of our community. There should not be rules for everything and anything but certainly, is important to create and build rules that create a [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]common sense[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] in the server. For example, you know that if you want to help a teammate being robbed, he as to initiate for you, at least. You know that if you want someone to put his weapon out, you must actually tell me him that he needs to do it and what are the consequences. There is a logic path to all roleplay. That is why i believe giving the ability of initiate using a movement and a vehicle ( flying a chopper/ driving a car) is not properly representative of that common sense. The reason i called it loophole is that it’s comprension by both players and apparently staff, is not that common sense, as it shouldn’t be. And it does not follow the said “logical path” used in the remaining roleplay dynamics. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt](1.8) Forcing or encouraging another member of the community to break a rule is punishable by a ban.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I help a lot of new players in the island and what i have found ( and even seen) is that the most experienced players, exploit this loophole in the rules to their advantage, blaming other players for breaking ghost-rules and demanding compensations. As such, this also affects the well-being of the community.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]At last: Is chasing someone with any vehicle considered to be a roleplay initiation? If no, i would suggest adding a rule stating, something like: [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“ All roleplay must be voice initiated. Intent to roleplay is not the same as initiation. If you fail to initiate on a player, they are free to continue with whatever their are doing.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]If the opposite is already true, that is, you can initiate roleplay by just following/chasing someone, there should be a rule stating [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“If you have a player chasing you or[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] actively following you, roleplay has been initiated”. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]I gave two suggestions, both respecting the common sense the staff may feel to be the best. I really want someone to clarify me. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Sorry for the long post and my english.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Belly[/SIZE]