mom said it's my turn to make a big sweeping proposal thread
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." — Sun Tzu
Think of this more as an inspirational guide, to give you ideas of what you and players COULD do, rather than hard limits on what you CANNOT do.
Rewarding player creativity by answering their questions not with a "No" but instead with a "Yes, but..." encourages players to think outside the box, resulting in more complex and unique storylines which can unfold organically, rather than as the result of rigid planning before-hand.
Give players the freedom to tackle problems in any way that feels realistic, but introduce new challenges along the way to keep them occupied. I think that one example of an area where players should have much more freedom than past CityRP servers is in the field of INTELLIGENCE. Here, I'll lay out a detailed set of mechanics and guidelines that allow one faction to gain information about other factions without relying entirely on an Admin or GM's improvisational storytelling abilities.
To start, I'd like to cover Clandestine Ops, Forensics, and Espionage.
The Combine crushed Earth's defenses in 7 hours. Today, those who survived do so with only a fraction of the strength they once had.
Despite this, it is possible to subvert their regime, but the defiant few must act in the shadows.
CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS
Reward planning, punish recklessness.
City 6 has a disciplined, experienced garrison of Civil Protection units, whose armament is directly tied to the SOCIOSTABILITY INDEX.
The more anti-civil activity detected and reported to the CCA, the more that SOCIOSTABILITY will go down.
After dropping below certain thresholds, this will result in the CCA receiving increased firepower and defensive capabilities.
Anticitizens who feel particularly bold might intentionally lower Sociostability in the hopes of stealing this more advanced equipment, as risky as that might be.
A lowered Sociostability index will also loosen the Rules of Engagement governing the CCA's ground troops,
meaning it will be easier for the CCA to violate a citizen's privacy, justify their detention, or carry out their execution.
As such, citizens may find themselves motivated to prevent Sociostability from decreasing by reporting crimes they witness.
Reporting Anticivil activity to the CCA is also a great way to prove your loyalty as a citizen of this city,
and that loyalty will be materially rewarded with benefits such as improved living conditions or access to exclusive luxuries.
To avoid the penalties of Low Sociostability and the risk of being reported by civilians,
Anticivil elements should try their hardest to cover up their operations whenever possible.
An afternoon raid on the CMS is much more visible than a midnight burglary, but both would lower the Sociostability score.
If they were able to infiltrate the CMS as a worker-- or blackmail existing personnel to give them the supplies they need-- they might avoid lowering Sociostability.
Anticitizens must also operate with the knowledge that any witness to their deeds could be an asset to the Combine, unless "properly motivated" to remain quiet.
FORENSICS
The environment can tell just as much of a story as the people who live in it.
Another reason for Anticitizens to keep their actions unnoticed is that the Combine's total control over the City grants them a formidable ability to lock down and analyze the aftermath of any confrontation, combing it for evidence that could send Civil Protection breaking down your door long after you've escaped and blended back into civilian life.
While Anticitizens in the past may have gotten away with simply bombing a target and fleeing before the cops showed up, things won't be as easy this time around. The CCA may be able to trace fingerprints, shell casings, blood type, and more from the environment-- not to mention pulling footage from a city-wide surveillance network that expands as the Sociostability drops over time.
Of course, this works both ways-- resourceful rebels may find themselves capable of falsifying evidence,
learning the civilian identities of Civil Protection units, or locating supply depots by keeping a close eye on Combine activity.
This mechanic could be implemented without coding, simply by having staff members keep a close eye on server Logs and monitoring S2RP engagements.
For example, if a group of rebels steals .45ACP from a warehouse without wearing gloves, and later use a M1911 to commit a crime, the CCA should have the option of tracing the shell casings back to the warehouse, where they could then have a chance of identifying fingerprints, which might later lead to the apprehension of a suspect.
A channel available to GMs and Admins could be used to keep track of these "Evidence Chains" OOCly-- and the Combine Terminals or forums could be used to record evidence from an IC perspective.
I'll cover specific evidence types and easy ways for them to be introduced into gameplay without any coding necessary in a future post.
ESPIONAGE
Espionage is what most people think of when they hear "Intelligence".
The art of gathering secret information without your target even knowing they're being monitored,
it is a key capability that should be highly valued by both CCA and Anticitizens.
Becoming a spy should be something available only after the competing factions become organized and armed-- it would be pretty unfair for either side to start the story with a spy already in place.
Infiltrating the enemy with the goal of securing secret information, or using blackmail to coerce an enemy into providing intelligence, is something that regular players should be permitted to do. This keeps Intelligence grounded, and prevents it from serving simply as an OP insider's clique.
Becoming a spy is a dangerous job-- if a player's character becomes a Spy, they should do so with the full awareness that being caught at any point can result in a PK.
To prevent spies from avoiding suspicion and sending information without fear, all spies will be deprived of their true faction's radio, and assigned a Handler. The Handler will periodically require the spy to risk their cover by performing COVERT ACTS-- things like meeting with a representative of their true faction, planting trackers or listening devices, or by stashing written messages containing important information to pass it towards their true faction. If a spy is caught doing one of these activities, and cannot talk their way out of it-- well, they're on their own. Such is the life of a deep-cover agent.
Espionage can also be performed by accessing enemy networks-- whether by hacking into the Combine's secured networks through physical Access Points, identifying and monitoring Anticitizens' secret caches, or rarely, even by securing a Radio from a captured or killed enemy.
All players should be careful not to rely on any one method of Intelligence, as regular pat-downs, paranoia, internal investigations radio jammers, and other methods of counter-intelligence could be employed to render the most commonly used tactics utterly useless.
This is just an overview, and I'll be updating this thread soon with specific mechanics and rules for us to work on TOGETHER as a team to ensure game balance and entertainment is preserved for all.
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." — Sun Tzu
Think of this more as an inspirational guide, to give you ideas of what you and players COULD do, rather than hard limits on what you CANNOT do.
Rewarding player creativity by answering their questions not with a "No" but instead with a "Yes, but..." encourages players to think outside the box, resulting in more complex and unique storylines which can unfold organically, rather than as the result of rigid planning before-hand.
Give players the freedom to tackle problems in any way that feels realistic, but introduce new challenges along the way to keep them occupied. I think that one example of an area where players should have much more freedom than past CityRP servers is in the field of INTELLIGENCE. Here, I'll lay out a detailed set of mechanics and guidelines that allow one faction to gain information about other factions without relying entirely on an Admin or GM's improvisational storytelling abilities.
To start, I'd like to cover Clandestine Ops, Forensics, and Espionage.
The Combine crushed Earth's defenses in 7 hours. Today, those who survived do so with only a fraction of the strength they once had.
Despite this, it is possible to subvert their regime, but the defiant few must act in the shadows.
CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS
Reward planning, punish recklessness.
City 6 has a disciplined, experienced garrison of Civil Protection units, whose armament is directly tied to the SOCIOSTABILITY INDEX.
The more anti-civil activity detected and reported to the CCA, the more that SOCIOSTABILITY will go down.
After dropping below certain thresholds, this will result in the CCA receiving increased firepower and defensive capabilities.
Anticitizens who feel particularly bold might intentionally lower Sociostability in the hopes of stealing this more advanced equipment, as risky as that might be.
A lowered Sociostability index will also loosen the Rules of Engagement governing the CCA's ground troops,
meaning it will be easier for the CCA to violate a citizen's privacy, justify their detention, or carry out their execution.
As such, citizens may find themselves motivated to prevent Sociostability from decreasing by reporting crimes they witness.
Reporting Anticivil activity to the CCA is also a great way to prove your loyalty as a citizen of this city,
and that loyalty will be materially rewarded with benefits such as improved living conditions or access to exclusive luxuries.
To avoid the penalties of Low Sociostability and the risk of being reported by civilians,
Anticivil elements should try their hardest to cover up their operations whenever possible.
An afternoon raid on the CMS is much more visible than a midnight burglary, but both would lower the Sociostability score.
If they were able to infiltrate the CMS as a worker-- or blackmail existing personnel to give them the supplies they need-- they might avoid lowering Sociostability.
Anticitizens must also operate with the knowledge that any witness to their deeds could be an asset to the Combine, unless "properly motivated" to remain quiet.
FORENSICS
The environment can tell just as much of a story as the people who live in it.
Another reason for Anticitizens to keep their actions unnoticed is that the Combine's total control over the City grants them a formidable ability to lock down and analyze the aftermath of any confrontation, combing it for evidence that could send Civil Protection breaking down your door long after you've escaped and blended back into civilian life.
While Anticitizens in the past may have gotten away with simply bombing a target and fleeing before the cops showed up, things won't be as easy this time around. The CCA may be able to trace fingerprints, shell casings, blood type, and more from the environment-- not to mention pulling footage from a city-wide surveillance network that expands as the Sociostability drops over time.
Of course, this works both ways-- resourceful rebels may find themselves capable of falsifying evidence,
learning the civilian identities of Civil Protection units, or locating supply depots by keeping a close eye on Combine activity.
This mechanic could be implemented without coding, simply by having staff members keep a close eye on server Logs and monitoring S2RP engagements.
For example, if a group of rebels steals .45ACP from a warehouse without wearing gloves, and later use a M1911 to commit a crime, the CCA should have the option of tracing the shell casings back to the warehouse, where they could then have a chance of identifying fingerprints, which might later lead to the apprehension of a suspect.
A channel available to GMs and Admins could be used to keep track of these "Evidence Chains" OOCly-- and the Combine Terminals or forums could be used to record evidence from an IC perspective.
I'll cover specific evidence types and easy ways for them to be introduced into gameplay without any coding necessary in a future post.
ESPIONAGE
Espionage is what most people think of when they hear "Intelligence".
The art of gathering secret information without your target even knowing they're being monitored,
it is a key capability that should be highly valued by both CCA and Anticitizens.
Becoming a spy should be something available only after the competing factions become organized and armed-- it would be pretty unfair for either side to start the story with a spy already in place.
Infiltrating the enemy with the goal of securing secret information, or using blackmail to coerce an enemy into providing intelligence, is something that regular players should be permitted to do. This keeps Intelligence grounded, and prevents it from serving simply as an OP insider's clique.
Becoming a spy is a dangerous job-- if a player's character becomes a Spy, they should do so with the full awareness that being caught at any point can result in a PK.
To prevent spies from avoiding suspicion and sending information without fear, all spies will be deprived of their true faction's radio, and assigned a Handler. The Handler will periodically require the spy to risk their cover by performing COVERT ACTS-- things like meeting with a representative of their true faction, planting trackers or listening devices, or by stashing written messages containing important information to pass it towards their true faction. If a spy is caught doing one of these activities, and cannot talk their way out of it-- well, they're on their own. Such is the life of a deep-cover agent.
Espionage can also be performed by accessing enemy networks-- whether by hacking into the Combine's secured networks through physical Access Points, identifying and monitoring Anticitizens' secret caches, or rarely, even by securing a Radio from a captured or killed enemy.
All players should be careful not to rely on any one method of Intelligence, as regular pat-downs, paranoia, internal investigations radio jammers, and other methods of counter-intelligence could be employed to render the most commonly used tactics utterly useless.
This is just an overview, and I'll be updating this thread soon with specific mechanics and rules for us to work on TOGETHER as a team to ensure game balance and entertainment is preserved for all.
