Going off of this, death would be so rare and so determinate that the server would rapidly stagnate into absolute predictability. Firstly, lets explore why PK's are a thing, and what benefits they actually bring.
I can agree with you there, it would stagnant to an extent. But IMO, it'd create longer-lasting RP for Rebels, CPs, Citizens, etc. Plus, it's not like im saying 'you cannot kill a downed person, you can, it'd just have to be thoroughly rpd out so that the death is genuine to a person.
As I just don't find a situation where you are downed, with a giant timer in your face in a black screen changing to 'you are dead' due to someone shooting at you with very minimal RP, genuine and fun.
1. The hard, perhaps unkind, truth of PK's is that they exist in part to filter characters and stories out the door so that others may take their place. Its a natural and efficient way of making sure the server is not stagnated with the exact same people, doing the exact same things, forever. As characters die, new ones take their place. Moreover, those that survive those characters grow and prosper from that death themselves. Ideals change, motives shift and mindsets get altered.
I agree with this too, but at the end of a PK just feels like someone did a simple /me lowers their pistol and shoots the CP/Rebel/Citizen, it just stops feeling like a genuine death. Getting injured and being able to at least put up some form of retaliation, whether verbally or physically, and rping getting out of a situation does more to get people thinking, to have ideals change, motive shifts, etc.
2. PK's are very much around to prevent people from acting like idiots. Players are players, and if not given appropriate threats of permanent discontinuation, will often start doing things without any thought or risk management whatsoever. They'll commit to plans they never would if otherwise mortal and will act in such a way that cheapens interactions.
I just agree with this tbh. There always needs to be a danger, but if that danger just, as I've said, feels cheap... Well, it can just kill a person's motivation.
Firstly, bleedouts are indiscriminate and always happen upon being downed. So, the idea of not getting a chance isn't really true.
You sort of don't get a chance, as it's a large blacked-out screen with a giant timer and 'press E to die' button right in your face. You can't truthfully roleplay like that, as, well, it just blocks ur vision and you are unable to type (as if you type anything with an E, it lowers the timer) so if you do anything you are essentially guaranteed to die quicker.
NPC deaths is something not everyone agrees with, but I actually support them on the grounds it makes encounters with them significantly more dangerous. NPC's are mostly jokes who are endlessly limited by Source. Having that extra bit of gravity for them helps alleviate that a bit. While also making dangerous parts of the world/map feel actually dangerous.
NPC deaths in sewers are fine, as, well, you can't truthfully moderate it. My gripe is with PvP fights and how players respond/react/roleplay in them very poorly. But, if NPCs are just fixed, like what Hoki says, then there'd be less complaints over them.
All that being said, It wouldn't be the worst thing to enable bleedout godmode, and do away with the timer. So that randomly executing and PK'ing players is at least a little classy with RP. Problem is people will abuse this in combat pretty often which makes it far less appealing in practice.
I'm not saying god made bleed out, essentially. I'm saying that you should just have *enough* health when in it so that you don't just die from getting hit in the head with a wall by being dragged, or your foot touches the 1 pixel of an Incen', or that someone walks over you. As deaths like that are, well, null at that point and essentially kill any RP, while also nulling any form of PK.
And people will abuse, that's the point of staff. To stop the abuse.
In the end, I just want some type of system that allows a person to be injured. As currently, people will just *die* and that leaves CMU/CPs without any form of medical RP, and the only medical RP there is going into your inventory and pressing 'use on character'. So maybe it's an option given to the player on a down perhaps? To take an injury or just die? So you aren't *forced* to take one and can just die if you want, or you're allowed to take an IC injury and are unable to continue participating in the fight once it happens.
As currently, the systems we have just feel cheap and unfun to me, as a Medical Roleplayer, and as a roleplayer in general. If I wanted a bleed-out screen, I'd go play a Battle Royale or something, as that's what our current system mimics. A downed teammate. But even there, you are still able to react in some capacity and aren't at 1 hp.
