Recently, I've gotten to thinking as to why City RP struggles as opposed to Slums RP. I found three reasons are possibly present.
1. The City proper, that is to say, Victory and Triumph are kind of lame design wise. (mechanically speaking) Maybe this is just me scrounging for answers, but when I look at the slums, its insane how different they are. The slums is made up of multiple lanes, sections and alcoves, all which allow you to maneuver through it differently and separate yourself from the public eye if only for a little bit. This is especially true in V4. Every single loyalist street though, is just that. A street. A single, straight road leading to nowhere (poetically). Everything is open as hell and whether standing on the far side, or the nearest, someone can always see you. I think its possible this makes it simply nearly impossible to engage in anything out of the norm, as any such plans would have to be made in the lower city. The only off-shoots of the streets, is locked, private stores, or the RDT which is mostly filled with locked private doors.
Technically we have apartments right now, but even that will be absorbed into the Slums soon. Of which, it doesn't matter since the Apartments are just out of everyone's way so they are never used. Not really a good example as a result. I think the slums have the advantage of feeling bigger, even if they aren't technically so currently. The varied environments make you feel that distance travelled is greater than it ever feels in those straight roads. The privacy lends itself to plans. Plans lend themselves to action.
Or this is not the answer at all. Either is possible.
2. After the sweeping changes to rebels, its technically easier to be a rebel than it is to be a loyalist. Within a week or so, you can fairly reliably become a fully kitted rebel, and even top-grade gear such as rifles are only ever one BMD or Expedition away. (Which is another thing that now separates rebels - regular events) Loyalists though haven't gotten any adjustments to match this as far as I know. The work shift grind is still terrible and no faster now than it was before. It seems like its been slightly addressed by lowering the requirements (these days the lower tiers have way more respect IC it seems) but it still doesn't do much. Not that it is as simple as allowing the CWU to give out 10 points as they used to. That was the first time loyalist RP took a hit, simply because literally everyone in the city (slums and all) was pretty much a T3 or above. There was no loyalists at that point. Just numbers.
Ultimately, the loyalist grind, from what I hear, isn't very fun, and frankly, there isn't much to gain from it. As a T6 I never really feel atop the world or anything. A fully equipped and readied rebel has guns, armors, allies and hidden stashes Etc. A fully fledged loyalist has a target on their back, a suit, many restrictions, and some general permissions, I suppose. Though, whether or not CP's shrug you off like anyone else is a complete dice roll. Increased and encouraged freedom of activity may help revive the city. Perhaps high level loyalists need a group of people dedicated to organizing them and using the many perks they have gained to benefit the Citizen on an OOC level. To keep fun things happening via events, sort of like Futurism, sort of, did. Just without the constant OOC drama and getting shot part.
3. Obviously, slums are free to do anything they want. This is a tricky one, because its natural to an extent. The whole portion of the City is closet rebels so they naturally don't follow the rules. They can make structures, fires, arts, Etc. There is just more to do as there is no one stopping you doing anything. Rebels themselves are so powerful these days too, that any organized efforts they commit too are mostly uncontested save for OTA deployments which typically don't happen unless they are being violent or killing CP's. It gives the slums an increased measure of independence to do whatever they feel is fun at the time. Maybe loyalists could do this stuff too, I'm sure there is no laws against it. But there is a certain discouragement from doing stuff out of the norm I would imagine as only the futurists ever really did in my memory (and of course always got themselves shot by taking it too far.)
Its possible, that unlike before, the slums basically is independent at this point. CP's are nearly useless in keeping it controlled and OTA never deploy, which is good. But, this has resulted in the old bunker problem we had, where without contest or trials, the Slums has basically broken off from the city entirely. The key to everything is to have the slums and actual City inseparable. To make sure you cannot function without interacting with the City on some level and this I think is what is largely lacking currently.
Maybe all that's correct, maybe none of it is. City RP has carried the same boons and tribulations for as long as HL2RP has existed, and many things have been tried. Anyone who pretends to have the answer is typically just another version of wrong. All I know is defeatism doesn't help anything. No point in saying nothing can be done constantly, or crying inevitability. Maybe once. Once is good. After that though, you may as well just try. City RP has lasted as long as it has for a reason. Despite all the bullshit, it does work. Many of the same people crying about how boring it is, are the same people who have played it for ten years.
