Project "City Life"
 

This post is simply to gauge interest within the community.
I know that Graal is ready for this project but I am uncertain if there will be enough players interested in this concept.

Here I go.

Formal Introduction of “City Life”

The Project:

The project “City Life” will be organized by myself. I am not posting this in search of staff; however, if anyone is interested in helping, we welcome you with open arms. I do have the necessary staff but to work quickly, a few more additions would be lovely.

Let me start off by saying this; yes, it is a Modern server. No, it is not Era.
The project is biased off of The Specialists and SA-MP. Both of the games
I have mentioned have been modified by a player to meet role-playing standards.
I have been partaking into these role-playing servers for about three years now.

My ultimate goal, is to bring that role-playing life to Graal Online. We have the community and I bet a handful of these people have the intelligence to partake into role-playing and actually enjoy it.

The project should take around 1-2 months to complete fully, scripts and all. Of course, things can be added afterwards but I am talking about meeting the requirements for the Classic Playerworld Tab. The task will not be difficult since there will be no quests, no events (Well some, but they will be role-played and not scripted.) and no hassle. The world will be average size, feeding approximately 30-40 mouths; yet, we will welcome more players with open arms.

The concept:

City Life will be divided as followed into 2 major parts; the legal organizations and the illegal organizations. These organizations will be lead by players and they will role-play every situation. The server will focus heavily on forum activity. Why you ask? Because everything on the server will be ran by the players and not by staff. They will need to communicate with each other to know what is going to happen next. The organizations will also be lead by players. They will apply on the forums in a formal application for a legal or illegal organization. Once accepted, that player will begin to recruit members and run his organization. We will limit the number of organization’s depending on the player count, and the illegal organizations we accept will be carefully watched, to avoid nasty DMers (See definitions below).

Here are a few examples of Organizations:

The Police Department
The Medical Department
The Mafia
A Street Gang
The 7-11 (A convenience store)
The Diner
The Mall
The Bar

These organizations will most defiantly not be named as so, (Except for the PD and MD) the players will choose what they name it, how they run it, the ranks and pays etc.

The players will each be dubbed a pedestrian upon entering the City Life server. The pedestrian will have a pay average of 7 to 15$ an hour (It will be generated randomly). After that, you may apply for new jobs for your character through the mayor (City jobs as Lawyer, Doctor, Police, Cook, Electrician, etc etc) which will have a little advantage over your pedestrian pay. These pay’s will be given to you every 1 RP day, which is the equivalent to 5 real life minutes. Of course, organization related jobs will receive a higher pay, but you will need to apply through the forums and RP a situation that the owner of that org chooses.

Now I bet you are all asking yourselves, what is there to do?
Well it is simple... You can do anything!
There will be a few scripted items, such as a robbable Bank, Corner Store, Stores in the mall, Diner etc. (They will need to be RPed; do not abuse the plugins we give you, or they will be removed.) You will be able to take hostages and demand payment from the PD. You will be able to participate in gang conflicts. (Which can end up in gunfights.) You will be able to join the police department and uphold the law or join the medical department and help those injured fellahs. You will be able to (eventually) hop into your car and race illegally through the dark streets of the night. You will be able to try and rule the streets, spreading fear into the eyes of pedestrians, surrounded by your gang members. You will be able to commit that perfect contract kill or that high paying drug deal. You will be able to have good player relations and have wonderful experiences as you grow with your character.
Role-playing has no limits, and we will not limit you. We will always be open minded to add whatever you need to fulfill your every role-playing needs.

*Post too long, Will continue on next post*

RP School:

Creating a Character-
Creating a character and giving him a background is probably one of the most important events in City Life. In CL, we strive for originality, so give your character a unique background, personality, fears, religion. Giving him/her a unique perspective of everything can lead to interesting RPs.

Jobs- So in City Life, I hear you can only RP with guns... Wrong, please, find a job that would better support the community. Don't apply for assassin and mercenary just to get guns and kill people. Although city jobs may seem dull, they can lead to better RPs than just mercenaries and such.

Role-Play Every Situation- Probably the biggest RP tip ever; though it might seem simple, you can't call yourself a good RPer if you don't RP every situation, even some as small as spray painting, or as big as a robbery. Remember; always be in character… no matter what.

Create an RP- I hear all the time that people are complaining about how there is no RP going on... Well make one, it can be as simple as spilling a cup of coffee on somebody to starting a robbery RP.

Apparel- This is very simple, but your clothing should be related to your job. Please, no anime, fish, stupid looks, wear something that belongs in a city.

Every Decision Matters- Just remember in RP, that every decision in RP matters, and will affect you in the future.

What is role-playing?
Role-playing is like writing a story, your character is one of many in an unwritten book, everything you do, affects the story.

When you role-play, act like in real life. It is meant to be like your second life. You have object you would like to archive, everybody has another, one just want to sit in dinner talking with his friends, another want to reach top in politics, while somebody else would like to protect the city from crime. You can do it all without danger of getting into Real-Life jail, you can make your character to be either good or evil, criminal or police officer, rich or poor. It all depends on how you act. In real life you don’t just go shoving everybody on the street, you don’t walk around kicking everybody nor shoot. Also, everything is possible if you role-play it correctly. Treat every life, as if it was your own, as if you have only one. Never act like when someone is aiming at you, and you just kick him back, take the gun and kill him. That’s disgusting, pathetic and idiotic. NEVER.

One of the most important sentences in this ultimate role-playing guide:

Role-playing is not anything to win, you cannot always win a gunfight as well as you will not always run away when kidnapped. Let something to happen, if you think that fits much to real-life, even if you don’t want to get killed, robbed or anything else that’s just happening. You cannot always win!


Proper /me command usage

As we cannot actually move our hands, legs and show emotions with actually moving our face muscles, we need to use /me command to show our actions and emotions. Important thing is that /me is in third person and begins with lowercase letter!

Wrong: "/me walks down the road, I lean against the wall and start to smoke my cigarette."
Correct: "/me walks down the road, leans against the wall and starts to smoke a cigarette."

Also:

Wrong: "/me bandages your wound."
Correct: "/me bandages his wound."

So you can see… it’s like writing a book.

Some people say that role-playing is acting like your character, that’s wrong. You have to become that character and feel like him/her.

Remember, your character is human, you cannot run around taking bullets like its absolutely nothing. If you get shot in leg, walking is getting harder, if you get shot in stomach, you may suffer such pain that you cannot talk or fall unconscious. You might try to imagine such pain and try to act it out. Use /me to announce so, use /me as often as you can. Know when to stop, your character has limits as every human does.

Always keep in mind that you are role-playing with others, you are not the main character, you cant dodge bullets or kill anyone you dislike, you are not an amazing pickpocket, doctor, marksman AND a driver. Stick with one speciality. As mentioned before, you can’t always win, act like game is real.

I hope you understand importance of /me command, its most powerful tool of a role-player, understand to be real, you are human, even trough engine allows you to do crazy jumps, don’t to that! Don’t ignore bullets you have taken, just because your health amount has not reached 0 yet. Doesn’t mean you can keep running with bullet in your leg. If you are shot, you need medical attention immediately. Take everything seriously, handling a gun - make sure you feel it, gun is very powerful tool. You don’t walk on the street aiming it at everybody in real life, don’t you? Make sure its safe, and you main the ground, for not to hurt anybody. If you get tortured trough role-play, doesn’t mean you have lost. One of best role-players I know said - "When you Role-play you only loose if you look to win."

When you look to win, it will cause you to do stupid, like in a gun fight, you will forget to use /me and start to charge bullets at your foes. When you look to win, you will start to ignore others /me. The winner is the one who took their effort type intelligent /me and enjoyed watching how the situation evolves. This is how you earn respect and friends of fellow role-players, when you look to win - YOU LOOSE. Keep that in mind, never start to do unrealistic things, causing you to loose what you have earned. Role-playing is NOT about winning a gun fight. You've got the point.

Death

Act like you have got one life, like if you die, you cannot come back, as in real life. Do not take death lightly; killing should be last thing you can think of. Catch the person you dislike, get him to a quiet place and torture him the way you like, beat him up or just break his hand in favour of your case. Do not kill!

If you get disrespected by being shoved or insulted do not pull out your gun and don’t shoot his head off. Would you do that in real life? I’m sure you would not.

How to recognize when the player is IC or OOC?

The most common form is '//' prefix, every message with them before, mean the player is speaking OOC, therefore do not use the information gained this way IC.

Example:


// Damn, he DMed me ;( :[ - Out Of Character - OOC.
Good morning, officer. - In Character - IC.



Also in City Life, there will be three types of global messages that every player can send. They are:

"OOC" - Usage: "ooc <message>" - By its name, Out Of Character.
"Advertisement" - Usage: "advert <message>". - In Character
"CNN/Newsflash" - Usage: "cnn <message>". - In Character



If you use IC global messages to advertise an illegal activity, such as hitman offers or weapon dealings, you can and probably will be arrested.

The rules, guidelines and descriptions:

1. If people haven't introduced themselves to your character, you don't know their name, unless you met one of their friends or workers that told you their name. Shall you want to prove this fact, you must go to a random city and name every single person you see on the streets for me and film it.

2. You can't see people's jobs just by looking in their profile, unless they are a police officer, in which case they would have a uniform and badge. You won't know if somebody is a hitman/mafioso/whatever unless they or somebody who is in the know tells you. That being said, a random person like a doctor probably wouldn't know about a criminal organization, don't god the role-play by accepting information from an idiot who wouldn't know, they have to have a reason.

3. Don't be a vigilante unless you have a specific role-playing reason for doing so. If somebody is robbing, the cops will handle it, unless you are assigned to guard the building or are in cahoots with the robber don't get involved. When cops are chasing down a criminal, don't run with the cops, you put yourself at risk and there is no guarantee you won't be shot and killed by the criminal.

4. There is a Shift-key, you can hold it to walk. Nobody has unlimited stamina, jog around the town as you please but it would be best if you walk when you are in a building. If too many people are running around it creates chaos and confusion in a small area.

5. Don't powergame. This means that if you are in a situation with a different character; allow them the chance to actually take part in the role-play. Don't say "/me knocks you out with a lead pipe", you don't know their character would be instantly knocked out and for all you know they could have cat-like reflexes, enough to duck out of the way. Say "/me takes a swing at your head with a lead pipe" this allows them to either dodge it or get hit. They will know if their character is good enough to dodge or not, don't worry about that.

6. You can choose to be a normal citizen and still have fun, not every single one of your characters has to be an ex-military commander who can disable a man in two seconds. You can still have intense social situations if your character befriends a criminal without even knowing it, good role-plays will probably result. If you are in a diner, you can talk to people, don't be shy, and have your character make powerful allies to combat your enemies. You can still have hidden operations going on in the background, just don't make all your characters "Titanium ****" with the ability to scale walls, dodge bullets and fire weapons with 100% accuracy.

7. Role-play fear, this server seems to do a ****ty job with this. If a man is firing a gun, run away from him, do not run at him unless you are a cop. Even a cop would still be afraid of a gang of terrorists with AK47's trashing a store. In a stick-up, it is best to follow the criminal's demands or expect to be murdered. Everyone gets scared, if you see a grizzly murder your character's mental health would be effected greatly and your first reaction would not be to confront the criminal. People with guns are scary, remember this. You will panic, you will sweat perhaps you will even break down crying in a terrorist attack such as an armed robbery or murder.

8. You must know how to spell, people who talk like "hi dudes, wuzzup" will get little respect in the role-playing community, do whatever you like over OOC chatter but keep it clean and sensible in IC chatter and actions.

The Descriptions:

Grammar

Remember, grammar is one of the most important skills in role-playing, it states the situation clear and is looking really good. You do NOT have to spell everything correctly, but try your best and it will be great!


* Use periods and commas.
* Every sentence begins with capitalized letter, "He is my friend." instead of "he is my friend.".
* Avoid netspeak - "lol" "u" "noob" etc.
* Understand difference between - "Your" and "You're", "to" and "too", "its" and "it's" etc.

Realism/RP: Alright, another huge thing, people, please just act real is the best way to put it. A huge example, when somebody has a gun to your head, you probably couldn't roundhouse kick the gun out of his hand, pick it up and blast him. If somebody has an AK47 pointed to your head, you should probably follow their commands if you don't want to be a terrible RPer.

OOC: A big, big, big problem, people think they can use OOC to communicate for IC purposes. Such as, if you need to meet somebody somewhere, don't say in OOC "bob come to the gas station." Instead, call them or find them. Please, do not spam the OOC board, if you don't have anything important, don't say anything.

Death Matching (DM): This is probably the worst thing possible in City Life. A DM is when somebody kills somebody else for no specific reason or nothing related to RPing. But, please, don't whine when people kill you and it actually had RP purposes, such as mugging. (( If you see DMing, demo it and report it to the admin staff, they will be glad to perma ban the player. ))

Revenge Killing (RKing): A revenge kill is when somebody is killed in RP purposes and then try to kill the person that just wasted them. This is entirely unacceptable and should be dealt with immediatly. (( If a DMer kills you, don't try to RK, report it to the server staff.))

Metagaming:

As a short description of metagaming we can say - Using OOC knowledge In Character. It is very, but VERY annoying. For example, if you hear in "ooc" that some gang is going to kill somebody at their HQ. Such a dumb metagamer you are, as you go and save him from oppression. Never do that, it ruins the RP.

Powergaming:

This means controlling other characters, without letting him respond to the /me or any actions. For example, "/me kicks Firstname Lastname, knocking him out.", instead of "/me kicks Firstname Lastname, attempting to knock him out." This is just plain annoying, leave your powergaming at home.

Godmoding:

Good example of godmoding is just running around shooting everybody ignoring damage taken by your character. If somebody shoots you in leg, you should slow down and most probably also fall on the ground. Jumping and not taking cover during eventual gunfights is also disgusting, you would never do that in real life. Also disgusting example of godmoding is acting like superhero, terminator and einstein in one. You are not superhero, play a normal citizen with its own opinions, friends and physical capacities. You are a normal human, act like in real life!

Chatspeak, netspeak, 1337speak:
When you are roleplaying, avoid using this disgusting style of typing. For example "yo d00d how r u whatev i hav 2 go nywayz cya".

That is about all. I am open to every and all questions, comments, concerns.

Thank you for reading this if you actualy went through the whole thing. I know you guys are not to fond of reading alot. :P

PS: Sorry for the triple post, I guess I typed alot.
PSS: I have examples of Organization applications that I have posted to create orgs on the games I have mentioned. If you guys are interested, I could also post them as well.

It's a good concept and idea but I'm not totally sure on how well it will survive. New Generation Graal Players aren't heavy into Role-Playing like they were when Valikorlia didn't suck. It'd be interesting to see how well it handles, though. Good luck.

Well I think the "New Generation players" did not get a good tasteful roleplaying experience, if we are talking Val anyways. This would bring whole new and different style of Roleplaying. Drug deals, Contract kills, Weapon dealing, Bank Robberies, Cops vs. Robbers, Gang rivalries, Owning your own store, Working in a professional manner. I think that this server could even help improve some real life issues. This would be a good place to roleplay yourself even (If you are a pedestrian that is.) and chill with your friends, smoke weed, eat a bite, whatever.

im waiting for a modern server that doesnt revolve around gun slinging. welcome to real life, not every one carries a gun or weapon!
TEAM NON VIOLENCE, ASSEMBLE!

anyways, then i went back and read your post(s) to see if this was anything like my dream, and holy hell its close.

i like the rp bit youre throwing in, good luck!

I hate how people bash moderns, its not only moderns with violence. Give me a good list of servers without any violence in it or swords, thats like me saying. "zawmg NOT EVERYONE HAvE MAGIC AND SWORDS zawmg" -_-

Your post is totally unnecessary, please only post if you have a comment regarding my concept. I do not want a chatroom in here.
Thank you.

Sounds fun :)

It would be!
On the blatant advantage to all those keen developers out there; you come work for me, you get to be a founding staff members on a soon upcomming classic server. Well, if the staff is hard working of course..

Get over yourself.

PLEASE Get over yourself, so Thrash how was your day?

Are you serious? This is my thread and I am asking for serious feedback.. I do not need your interferance.. Maybe bringing my project to graal is not such a good idea. Seems to be filled with a few immature brats that cannot respect other people's wishes.

Uh? Your calling me a "brat" when all I was doing was replying to what somebody said and was going to end it at that.

Well as you replied to him you could of commented on my post. It is rather stupid to look at my post, not comment on it whatsoever and speak to someone who has actualy contributed to my thread about something totally and utteraly different.

Anyways back on topic. I already have 4 graphic oriented staff members lined up. The server will enter its Alpha stage soon as we begin to plan out and outline the server. If there is anyone else willing to lend a helping hand send me a PM or post here.
Thanks alot!

Care to share who those 4 are? Im interested in knowing how good the server will look ^^

Jer (My IRL Best Bud), Myself, and I have maybe's from Sage and Killerogue.

Oh gooooooooooooooood i HAAATE modern servers.
Why are people trying to do more "real" stuff, when Graal isn't even 0.0001% close to IRL. Graal is ment to be unreal.
X_X

...what?

The server idea is alright but the only good RPers you're gonna get are Val's old players that quit because current Val sucks.

Jer, as in Jeremie Small?

Yeah Jeremie Small. Oh and Tom just added himself to the list saying he could lend a helping hand.

Or because Sulukra wouldn't approve their guns.

I'll back this up 100% if it gets started on the right track.

Sup dawgs. I'm here to bash a server.

Just kidding, I love your ideas. Love it so much that I want to give you kudos, if it was possible.

Okay anyways, you want this server to be modern, correct?

#1. Good luck with your little grammar thing I saw. I've had 6 years experience with modern servers, 1/2 of every modern server player couldn't even spell "Era" correctly. (Yet for some reason, mostly anyone who's powerful on Era learns how to spell, and uses that against the retards who can't spell)

#2. It's going to be hard to get some people to RP.. I can understand RPers in a 1950 mob, but it's going to be hard to get some good RPers to play 'street gangsta'. Hence bringing back Modern player IQ again. "Wat iz rp." <-- Caps & Periods is the best you're gonna get.

#3. Bringing Seph's post into consideration, theres not enough RPer's as is, they're all probably off playing Dungeons and Dragons or something.. I've yet to see a "modern" rper.. But it sounds like a sexy idea.. ;O

#4. I see your staff list is semi-respectable, Sage.. Jer.. ****, even Hachi said he'd back you up. You're on a good track, and attracting some nice reputations here.

Keep us posted on this, I want to see how far it goes.. Hell, I might even join.. I used to get yelled at whenever I tried to RP, maybe some era kid can teach me how to modern RP :D

I love posts challenging me. Modern RPing is different from what you all know. You basicly act as yourself or as a character. You do not have to be "The King of Atlantis" to have a good role while roleplaying. It is basicly a digital world; heck, maybe even those Unholy-Nation girls will come to meet boyfriends through RP ways.. You never know!

The gangsta thing you are refering too is exacly how I want them to spell (If they are roleplaying an African American gangsta' that is.) And maybe I wont need the best grammar at first, but eventually people will learn through Roleplaying how to spell and such. I mean, thats how I got to my current state of language manipulation.. I was not Albert Einstein to begin with. As long as they use correct punctuation and capitalization, I am all good.

I need to run now, but seeing as I do have a bunch of people interested, I am about to introduce the artists to each other and begin work on the "tileset".

I know the word seems to be used alot for custom playerworlds but frankly I do not wish to resemble in the slightest bit the disgusting place you guys call era (No offence to anyone there, I just don't see a point in the senseless carnage.)

Why is it they should only be using slang if they are roleplaying an African American 'gangsta'. Black people aren't the only people who use slang. >.>

We all know each other. XD

I wasn't trying to challenge you. I was just making bits of points. ;(

Please tell me you're not encouraging UN kids to play there.. No offence, but that's going to break all respect anyone has for you..

Not every "Gangsta" is african, ftw. Lots and lots of mexicanos, chicanos.. Etc ;P

Just don't go jailing people when they say "WUHT?", because then 3/4 of your server will be jailed.. Unless you find some smart kids.. :(

Touche, and I hope they take offence when I say it ;(

Again. I totally support it. And if you ever get up a good plan, and a good tileset, and stick to it, maybe I'll stop by and dev for you. ;)

Although I have no clue who you are, you speak frankly. I would be honored if you were to work for me.

He is Brad, that is all that you need to know. Listen to him, it will be worth your while.

And give Jer a message for me IRL, will you? Punch him in the face and say "That's for abandoning Ziro on your own server.".

This server sounds really fun, will be good getting a decent modern server up. I could never really get into Era more than once.

Yeah, sounds fun.

He punches harder then me, so I wont be doing that. He is really busy IRL what with boxing, smokin' some, trying to get a girlfriend and so forth.

I am just trying to find a way to get all the GAT's together to plan the perfect tileset, since all the GAT's I have gathered have very different styles..

Yeah, I know exactly what he is busy with - but you forgot something; he is busy breaking a promise, and a friendship for that matter.

Well I am pretty sure that his real life matters more to him then this childish game, do you not see reasoning in that? Besides, I had purchased half and half that server with Jer and we never made a promiss to anyone. Let alone he gave that server to you without my authorization and I hold the paypal account. So.. Well I'll stop there for your sake.

Really, all I am saying is that if he can not hold something he says - then he should say so. He had me waiting for months and months without telling me that he was too busy or anything.

And no, he didn't give it to me. He let me use my idea on the server, with him as Co Manager. It's not like it matters, I haven't used that server for a long time now.

I really don't want to ruin this thread, as I like your idea.

Then we're back on topic.

What kind of things will 7-Eleven sell? I really like those puree iceblocks. I forget what they're called.

I feel like being a smart-ass.
What do 7-Eleven's sell normaly?

:)

Alright im sorry. The usual: Food (Chips, bars etc..), Cigarettes, Lighters, Drinks (Non alcoholic ;)), band-aids (Heals a small ammount of damage), Phone Book's, Pre-paid cellphone cards (For your Phone newbies!), Item Insurance (Very good incase you die), Lottery tickets, Spraypaint (Tag yo' turf yo'), Matches (Set houses on fire!!! WOOO). Thats just a small summary, more to add.

Once again adding more to do for those thugs and vandals.. Tag walls, Set places on fire.. Make the news! Always fun to be on the front page as a "Badarse". Hopefully they blur out your face or the popo's gonna comez afta' y'all.

Im sorry, I am going a bit overboard, I hope this answered your question!

Don't forget them slurpee's, and super gulps ;)