A healthy discussion of the state of RP in BLRP.

[FictionHopeless]

Before I start, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not trying to start a toxic argument between cops vs crims. Just putting forward my point of view and trying to start a healthy dialogue so we have a more balanced RP and generally have more fun for both groups.

Lately there been a trend of cops being really harsh with criminal offences. Be it felony speeding to robbing banks everyone just seems to be on edge. I personally stop my car when I see a cop trying to pull me over, so I can atleast talk my way out of it. It usually used be a lot of fun where we could talk our way out of a speeding charge or couple of misdemeanors but not anymore. Now you get sent straight to prison regardless of the degree of crime that is being committed. If we try to evade, it always seems like it's impossible to lose a cop car that on your tail. If we use bikes it gets looked upon as a chessy strat. If we try to go for jumps which is a high risk gamble that crims take, they'd be banned for UGP. Also when we do get arrested taking most of our belongings is just kicking us when we are down. Honestly at the moment it's feels so unbalanced that it's not even worth being a criminal. All the spots we worked so hard for has been wiped and we basically have to put in all the work again. Other ways to make money is doing store robberies and bank jobs that is a huge gamble to take and is mostly hit all the time coz there seems to be not other way to make money besides hunting and trucking.

Currently I see a lot of people frustrated at the present situation and are likely to leave this server even through it has an amazing community. I hope and pray that things change for the better and everyone on the server can have fun. Also to those who are reading, kindly write down your thoughts and perspectives so we can have a better understanding. If y'all just through that I'm just whining and reading too much into this, I apologise for wasting your time.

[Samantha Hatfield]

I've been around the server for a few years, it has its phases and or "ups & downs".

Currently, this version of cops vs crims is actually surprisingly really well compared to past instances, I've found since coming back only last month that a lot has changed. LSPD & BCSO are pretty easy to work with and so forth, it depends on the officer of that situation. There is always going to be a need for "More serious officers" and "More laid back officers", I don't think it's them looking upon stuff as cheesy and so forth, I think they look at it from an RP standpoint; you give RP, you get RP.

As of late, I've seen criminal characters more about the grinding aspect of things since all the locations got leaked and meta-gamed, trying to find new things and new ways to earn money.

People need to remember, that it's not ABOUT the money. It's about the story, you can do whatever you want with a story, thousands of things to be honest. This is an RP server, and people treat it more like GTA Online with a VR chat room. This is when player reports come in, some people are too eh to file reports as it's a public server and Badlands is a great place to learn if someone is new to RP in general, which is understandable. We were all there at one point in time.

Something I feel should be done is communication, I have a neutral stance on things as of late as I don't have the full picture. But I would LOVE, to see what staff have been thinking for the past 5-6 months, where do they want to push the server? how can they fix certain issues, where areas are lacking in RP that we the players can fix?

Communication is key, and transparency on top of it is key as well. Myself and many others in the community feel as though, Staff should be doing more meetings. HELL, even a once-a-month community meeting, could bring up important questions, concerns, and general ideas to look forward too.

[Samantha Hatfield]

Side note, this is what IA's are for as well. If you feel an LSPD/BCSO character is too harsh or doing something wrong file an IA. They are meant not just to punish, but to show the LEO command "Hey, this person needs a bit of molding to be great!"

[Tobegande]

i wanna start by saying.. the reason why people have to refind spots for the criminal lifsryle is bacause someone was "nice" enough to leak alot of the locations. However this does understandably be annoying for most criminals, but i bet there is those who has missed the feeling of "discovering" new things.  Sadly this is in my opinion something that punished both players and staff as they had to put in a shift to make sure everything was relocated and functional ASAP. and sadly couldent have been avoided.

When it comes to cops. i dont do the criminal lifestyle so take what i say with a grain of salt... i see it as give and resive... for a long time when i joined the city, i heard alot of shitalk onto cops, they do this,they do that.. and that started going away and seemingly people liked interactions and their characters progression in it all. but i gotta say.... lately we have started seeing alot of new people come to the city, alot of activity from more criminals and low and behold gangs beeing active against eachoter. Imo this does front a Realistic reason for officers to be on high alert when it comes to their activity. i see it as this Crim activity makes cop activity change. well at that point crims see cops change and therefore might incease their intensity aswell. this will jsut be on repeat untill we get a common understandig that... Hey... we are ruining our own experiense its becoming more of a gta deathmatch then RP. something that has been mentiond multiple times before....

when it comes to robing places etc. both parties are  at charge to make it not repetetive. wear costumes, demand diffrent and odd demands ( realistic) make it fun and diffrent. dont say "free passage and no spike strips" at every robbery ( again not saying anyone does this but its often used) giving the " hey ill give you the hostage if *insert name here* drives the prusuit Vehicle, cops can then bounce back... yes if "insert description of individual"  drives your car. dont be scared to take losses. dont expect winning all debates with cops. but be playfull with it. make it enjoyable. there is so many creative advantages for the crims with costumes,cars etc that can make it fun. Loosing in RP can be fun! and sometimes Loosing leads to more fun then gettign away cause interactions are lasting longer.

 

 

 

 

[Pvtoneill]

Cops always win.

[tay]

10 hours ago, Pvtoneill said:

Cops always win.

If you genuinely think that, you have not played a cop character. I'd say on a 4-5 hour shift, if I am lucky 2-3 scenes total will I have someone arrested and processed. Maybe I am more relaxed than other cops but even so.

[Denver]

All I can say about this topic is I wish every criminal had a cop character, and every cop had a crim character. This is unreasonable as not everyone wants to be a cop, however it would help with a lot of the "hate" towards officers.

I have 3 active characters myself and 2 extra crim chars for messing about. I can see both the crim and PD side of things, and sure I agree that some things may be a bit harsh, but the only way to make sure this doesn't happen, is by filing IA's. IA's dont necessarily get someone in trouble, but do get them monitored and talked to by a supervisor, and could even lead to a coaching session to make sure it won't happen again.

 

As for other complaints people have about cops and the way we do things, all I can say is, relax, enjoy the awesome world of roleplay where the sky isn't the limit. We're all here to have a good time, and I truely think not a single cop is a cop to make everyone's life a living hell. As long as you talk to the officer in a calmly matter, I truly believe you can both benefit from it.

[Titus]

Hey all. Some might remember me, some might not... I've been a career crim since I got in with a rap sheet as long as I am tall. Lately i've been trying to kinda 'turn myself around' and stay away from certain crim activities and even operating / doing legal jobs to stay outta jail. It's been... interesting. Not saying I'm fully rehabilitated but we'll see where it goes. Why do I mention this... Well, it's my interactions with people here (especially cops) on Badlands that shape how I react.

For example.... I had just stolen a car from MRPD the other day and was pulled over for speeding a block over. Thought to myself fair play, I'm caught. The cop 'freaks out' in RP cuz of my face (it was great) and starts calling in additional units and even the bomb squad (again, all RP). Another cop comes, they kept their distance and were shouting at me... it was quite the scene. What was even better is they didn't run the plates so I was eventually able to drive away lol. That was an amazing scenario... fairly short and sweet, but not expected and well played by the cops. I tried to keep pace RP wise as this wasn't your typical pull over, put in cuffs, buh bye and hope they enjoyed it as well. This is a prime example of cops going for RP vs the W.

Next up is a scenario that almost turned me back to full crim. I bring my taco truck to Downbad and start cooking up some fresh stock. Parked at the rear, minding my own business. A couple cop cars come roaring in, they exit, draw their guns, and start yelling at me to get out. I obviously comply and was immediately cuffed. They stated a 911 call was made about someone selling drugs or whatever in the area and since my truck was smoking (cooking tacos) I was the prime suspect. A discussion about illegal searches ensued and eventually they were cool enough to call a supervisor. However they decided a random call from a random person was probable cause since my truck was smoking and search it... they found nothing, some joints maybe that was taken as payment for tacos. Realizing they had shit on me they then decide to search me as well. Probable cause was the truck, it was clean, so they continue trying to get the arrest from some bogus call. I had a deagle and switchblade on me... And the 2 young cops were soooooo happy, saying gleefully I'm going to jail, etc. Titus was obviously pissed so I stopped engaging in dialogue with them since I figured if they went this far to arrest me I better shut up lol. Eventually the supervisor recognized the situation and put a stop to it... we agreed no harm no foul, it was dealt with then and there. This is a prime example of cops going for the W no matter what... luckily the supervisor was there.

The point of these two scenarios is that there are cops out there that truly value RP over getting the arrest. There are those who have been around for a long time and try to coach those who are newer. Of course there are some young cops out there that get swept up in the moment, just like many crims. I think it's up to both the cops and crims to demonstrate good RP and both be okay with taking the "L". Sometimes that "L" is the catalyst to new and amazing friendships or even interesting rivalries. I'd say react in char to whatever the situation brings and go from there. I spent about an entire month a ways back with at least a class 3 on my back due to cop interactions and it played itself out naturally. Understand both rookie cops and crims might be quick to arrest / violence and roll with it. With time people grow. Value your life / freedom, be an example to newer members, and if necessary throw up a report. 

BTW I'm not pro cop or vice versa... I'm pro good experiences, regardless of outcome. And I'm still learning

Cheers all... if ya read this far well done, it was a long one lol.

[HwRusty]

(This is all my opinion)

I personally didn’t have a problem making money on the crim side. If anything, I enjoyed the adrenaline rush in a chase. There’s so many ways to make money and RP at the same time it’s crazy. I always thought losing the cops was a “talent” you know? Like you’ve got to put work in to find little things you can do around the city to gain space and advantages. No one ever would ramp off of a ramp to try and escape the police if anything, it would destroy your car. Cops don’t always win as well, like @tay Said I could watch a police stream for 3 - 5 hours and they’ve only caught 2 people. Cops don’t always win, that’s just something someone who always gets caught says. (MY OPINION) Bikes are a ratty thing to do, but police get bikes and use them. So crims are allowed as well, the way I see it, is that it’s only ratty because the chase is always bad if you’re escaping on a bike. You can go though so many ally ways and things like that to get away.

When being caught, of course you get your items taken away. They aren’t gonna leave you in the cells with a phone, radio, gun, anything like that because you COULD potentially use it to harm someone.

there are so many jobs that you can work being a crim, such as; Working at Hayes, Burgershot, TunerShop, every restaurant in the city. Starting your own “Selling” business. You just have to have the right mind set. I agree that Hunting / Trucking should be nerfed, but that’s what people choose to do. You just have to put the time and effort in to get to know people! my character, only went hunting for the first 2 weeks. Got his money up and then met people and interacted with everyone. (Harold Russell) was getting things that big GANGS needed around the city, he went up and asked every gang if they needed anything. He gained phone numbers, knowledge everything like that. And no one does that anymore, Harold never paid for a single spot EVER. I personally don’t think anyone does this enough anymore. It’s so easy to make money on crim, just need to use your brain more when it comes to it. 

I won’t lie, when all the spots got changed I was happy. I enjoy going around finding spots, it’s so rewarding and for filling if you ask me. I’d never sell a spot for money. Instead I would sell what that spot makes and make MORE money from it, it’s pointless giving up locations because you LOSE money in the long run. Sure it’ll be found sooner or later but you’ve made a lot of money from it.

(all of this is from me being a crim for 4/5 months)

let me know what you think