Is this still the same Half-Life RP or not?

[Kwasior]

This small thought has been bothering me for a long time. Many people have already brought this up before me, but I also want to share my thoughts. So if someone sees the same conclusions they mentioned or others, that's your problem.

What's goin on?

When I started playing on this RP server in 2022, the map I was on captured the atmosphere of the Half-Life Alyx universe. Of course, it was the first RP server I played on G’Mod, but over time I noticed that this server is different from its predecessors, who unfortunately did not withstand the test of time. Specifically, it differs in the atmosphere of the world it is set in and the treatment of human life.
In HL2, we can experience the grim reality of humanity and the futile fight against the Combine from the eyes of an ordinary civilian if we observe the environment a bit.
In contrast, in the world of HL Alyx, life seems to have more freedom, but the oppression of the occupier is still felt, and there is more life in the environment through the saturation of colors and light. However, I come to the conclusion that WN has long since started to move away from the classic HL in favor of its own utopia of a world under Combine rule. The environment on the current map (which has issues) is very bright and colorful, (more so than in HL Alyx), making it easy to distinguish specific places with Combine supervision from those without. Human life is mostly ordinary with slight changes.

Is this bad?

It depends on the perspective.
From a technical standpoint and with the introduction of new features on the server, it’s clear that there isn't a strict boundary on what can be introduced.
From a gameplay perspective, this might deter some players from continuing to play or bore them quicker, as certain roles often require an atmosphere to fit into the whole. For the same reason, there is an odd friendliness towards other people despite surviving a major purge. I believe that humanity, even 20 or 30 years after the war, would still be emotionally crushed. On the other hand, the younger generations who barely remember pre-war times could be manipulated into living in such a world, but they would feel the fear of the Combine and their attitude towards changes could be critical.

What are the conclusions?

The WN administration could be more cautious about introducing significant changes that might make the environment seem milder than it typically would in HL. At the same time, we players must constantly remember that we are the ones who survived the worst and lost almost everyone.

What can we do now?

That's your problem to solve, but it matters how you do it.



That's all from me, and if anyone has any complaints about this discussion, write in the comments, and we’ll argue it out.

 

[MrMindBlow]

At the same time, we players must constantly remember that we are the ones who survived the worst and lost almost everyone.

I believe the general issue stems from exactly this.

On one hand, its a videogame. Its meant to be enjoyable in whatever direction one may get satisfaction from and from experience gathered as a collective over plenty of HL2RP years and servers, you cannot be 24/7 oppressed and grimy. Its been shown time and time again that it will drain a lot of fun from the cocenpt of "roleplay", despite said setting being quite literally a 1:1 depiction of the lore/setting in the HL universe. The reality of the matter is that it does not make for a "fun experience" thus does not generate a positive feedback loop where you get any feeling of reward for being oppressed or an oppressor for example.

I personally doubt I'd last long on a server with a setting as oppressive as it "should be" because I doubt I would find it rewarding to even try anything.

On the other hand however, its all completely player dependent like you said. A server and their management can make an extremely similar and as close as possible carbon copy of the HL universe and enforce it through various mechanism and systems but the reality of the situation is that if the player is simply UNWILLING to take part, it just won't work. Which again, ties with my previous point.

There is also the fact that enforcing how one "should" roleplay in a videogame gamemode made with the intention of being creative with understandable limits (common sense rules) seems pointless to a certain degree.

 

[nora]

mom said it's my turn to make a post about how willard isn't oppressive

 

[Lost Coast Chanties]

 

[MazuzaM]

I agree, this doesn't feel like a Dystopia at all, however in the upcoming map the lightning will be more accomodated to it being a Dystopia as we have the VMF File.

For the rest of RP aspects, I agree, people don't fear the Civil Protection, they treat them as your average Joe Cop who does his job, food is way too available and if you try to change it people start complaining and call it an "annoying" feature rather than creating Roleplay. There's also the factor of clothing freedom, I believe that more people should wear blue jumpsuits until they reach a proper collaborator tier, The ambience feels dull as well, there's hardly ever any alarms unless MYSELF starts playing occasional breencasts or Overwatch announcements/alarms for incursions.

I wish there was more insight into this, it doesn't feel immersive and Dystopian at all.

 

[0xNiklas]

Issue is, that in v1 several issues came up. CPs were kinda TOO oppressive. If you dared to press shift for half a second, expect a beating. CPs taking people their *ENTIRE* inventory and "Oppressive" CombineRP is behind the Nexus, close doors. Shit had to change, cuz no one wanted to play like thi. Except the bad faith cmb players.

Point is. In favour of player fun. We shouldn't restrict people more. Those are IC issues in my view. If a City doesn't enforce the atmosphere in an authoritarian oppressive regime. Then it is the cmb side taking the L for it. Though the overall "I don't fear CPs lol" despite years of brutal occupation should leave an impact.

I agree, this doesn't feel like a Dystopia at all, however in the upcoming map the lightning will be more accomodated to it being a Dystopia as we have the VMF File.

For the rest of RP aspects, I agree, people don't fear the Civil Protection, they treat them as your average Joe Cop who does his job, food is way too available and if you try to change it people start complaining and call it an "annoying" feature rather than creating Roleplay. There's also the factor of clothing freedom, I believe that more people should wear blue jumpsuits until they reach a proper collaborator tier, The ambience feels dull as well, there's hardly ever any alarms unless MYSELF starts playing occasional breencasts or Overwatch announcements/alarms for incursions.

I wish there was more insight into this, it doesn't feel immersive and Dystopian at all.

 

[MazuzaM]

Issue is, that in v1 several issues came up. CPs were kinda TOO oppressive. If you dared to press shift for half a second, expect a beating. CPs taking people their *ENTIRE* inventory and "Oppressive" CombineRP is behind the Nexus, close doors. Shit had to change, cuz no one wanted to play like this than the bad faith cmb players.

Point is. In favour of player fun. We shouldn't restrict people more. Those are IC issues in my view. If a City doesn't enforce the atmosphere in an authoritarian oppressive regime. Then it is the cmb side taking the L for it. Though the overall "I don't fear CPs lol" despite years of brutal occupation should leave an impact.

Taking away someone's inventory is a no-go, you will get de-whitelisted from the Civil Protection faction should you do so.

I do not believe any of the issues we have are to be managed In Character, perhaps through the use of a Staff led event, but we need OOC intervention if we want to achieve an ENJOYABLE Dystopia, no I don't think if you talk Civil Protection should fuck you up, but ultimately I think they should be feared, people should be forced to wear jumpsuits until they enter the Collaborator party or Tier 3, the whole atmosphere should feel oppressive with constant (but not annoying) Dispatch announcements in various languages as the population is scattered around the globe (The videos for them are present on youtube for free), ration cycles should be monitored and keep the population in control with food while having an enjoyable experience.