I would like to work to find some solutions of how situations like these can be avoided because I am pretty sure this madness is not what most people that play this game want.
I would like to have my list understood as a brainstorming to move towards such a goal.
1. Give us a "Little Base Admin Password" or "Babysitter Password"
I run Falster, one of the PoB that has been around for more than a year. What we need is a safe "Babysitter Password".
It allows for only 2 commands:
> /base login
> /shop (not: /shop price)
This Pw can be given to trusted people to check the levels of the base, to baby sit it once it has been set to the values you like. It can also be given irply to Police or House without enabling backstabs.
This would take off the complete workload of a base Admin while not making the whole project worth hundreds of hours and carried by dozens of players that vulnerable to the whim of a pw user. And we had that before. I only say IDF Seychelles by Phoenix Alpha.
Edit: The sabotage of Malaclypse Freeport has proven the necessity again.
2. "Master Base Password" and "Secondary Password" are oorp devices
You cannot use it for roleplay. Every owner of a base knows how incredibly oorp the process as a base administrator is. It is no rp to type "/shop price 24 900 50000 50000", it does not feel like rp. It should not be rp.
Destroying bases by irply "evacuating the crew" or "shipping off the repairs" is an oorp act of setting crap like "/shop price 2 0 0 0" and not "Crew, you are under arrest, board the ships."
3. Base placement rules
Admins have to state clear rules of what is allowed and what not. There was so much bad blood by "Location Blockade" bases that there has to be some rules about placement. Telling the players to destroy it if it does not fit is not the way to go for extreme cases like the one that triggered the afrementioned mess.
a) Bases cannot be closer than 5k from any stationary NPC object
Bases that stick in planets, block lanes, block station exits, etc should not exist.
Edit: The 5k distance also kills the concept of insta-killing setups at holes and gates. Guns can reach there, but cannot be arranged to create a real kill zone. Instaing people is not beneficial to roleplay and should not happen.
b) If a base is in visible range of a stationary NPC lawful infrastructure object (lanes, lawful bases, lawful gates), it can only have a lawful ID fitting the rp of the location, e.g. a base at a Bretonian lane has to have a lawful ID that fits for Bretonia.
NPC unlawful/semilawful bases are generally out of sight for rp reasons. The criminals don't not run their shop on Time Square. Imitate Freelancer NPC behaviour.
c) If a base has guns and is closer than 10k from a lawful infrastructure object, it has to have a lawful ID fitting the roleplay of its location.
Semi-/Unlawful factions have rephacks that cause lawful passerbys to be shot. Houses cannot accept that and would never accept that. I take Itabashi as the best known and thankfully already fixed example of this. Kusari would not have allowed the base to shoot GMG (no enemies of Kusari) right in front of New Tokyo.
Spotted problem: some lawful IDs do not work, e.g. I was told BHG ID (lawful) would shoot Junkers (not unlawfuls in some Houses).
Therefore the aim should be that base ID can be relatively free (e.g. a BHG base near a lane is possible if unarmed), but when armed AND near a lane/gate/base, it cannot have an ID that makes it shoot any lawful party of the region it is in.
d) The base's roleplay needs to fit its ID and environment
It's a badly worded 6.10 "Stick with your rp and the Freelancer rp!" rule that is supposed to mean: if you do something stupid and oorp, you can be sanctioned for it. This paragraph should create the basics for reporting a base for oorp issues, but needs to be worded differently.
4. Necessity of having an Infocard (idea by Swallow)
The infocard must be created. Deadline: 24h after base deployment.
In my opnion it should contain:
> IFF
> Irp contact address (the owner)
> OORP contact address (the player)
> short descripton of the roleplay (wirting "secret" or "unknown" is acceptable, but might draw more attackers)
That's all my stupid brain has seemingly been pondering about while I was sleeping. I hope I can sleep for another few hours now. Damn this. Hope it at least was worth anything.
