9TriLLo

"Company" is just a fancier word for legal sub-factions backed by a script that people both in a faction or outside a faction can benefit from, they don't really solve the issue here, but they certainly help a part of the community. However, there is still a huge amount of characters that won't/can't run companies due to IC motives, nor become part of ones. By offering these schemes the way you do, sure, you trickle down drugs, weaps, contraband and money into the server through channels who have a less disposition to go fully inactive, but at the same time you kinda spit on people's efforts that try to find creative, unique ways of doing things and can't fully take advantage of those schemes because of the lack of support from the server. I'm also somewhat disappointing that you guys made this announcement without even having all schemes ready. The scenario scheme and the possibility for individuals to get approved for schemes, I understood, are things to come, so why not make them a priority, get them ready and then make this announcement?

You are proposing these illegal schemes, but most of them require you to be in a faction. Why not make it character-specific instead of faction-specific? This is too limiting for people who want to roleplay creative schemes and try to make it either solo or into a faction through organic ways w/o depending on the faction itself. I think the days where the schemes are tailored to benefit factions and factions only are long gone, or should be. Making them character-specific ensures a better flow of drugs and I believe that those character can be from inside a faction or outside them. It shouldn't matter.

Approaching an illegal faction is a common issue that most roleplayers face, so I'll try to explain a few possibilities I've learnt about during my time as a roleplayer. Some ways are hard to pull while others are easy, some are creative and unique, while some are common. How you get involved depends a lot on who you are trying to portray and approach, so keep in mind that if you do the wrong action at the wrong time to/with the wrong guy, you'll find yourself in a position that is hard to come back from. The same goes with the right action at the right moment to/with the right guy. It can benefit you, or it can ruin your chances forever. What matters most is to keep true to your character and its personality because nobody likes to see people roleplaying one character today and another tomorrow. Don't be a robot. One thing I've noticed is that most of the new characters get help from certain factions either by acquiring a role they didn't earn via their own development or by having their newly created persona already know an insider, thus kickstarting their roleplay within the project. While this isn't against the rules, in most cases it might be a mistake for the future of said faction because it takes away the chance for the possible member to undergo a real recruitment process based on his own efforts and creativity, so it creates a player who needs to be spoon-fed roleplay instead, because that's what he got used to from the beginning of his time within the organization. Of course, there are exceptions, people who have been in said faction before, people who are known by the leadership to be capable roleplayers, etc, but I'll mostly be talking about new roleplayers joining an existing faction they've never been in before. That being said, here are a few ways a new character can get within the ranks of an organized crime group: Normally, a mob has a variety of legal façades open for business which your character can approach and find or create roleplay at. No matter if it's a bar, a gym or a trucking company, all venues can provide a way in for the people that are interested in joining the faction. For example, a bar/café will provide the best environment for building friendships with the other members by sharing a drink, a story, or even by playing a game of pool. The gym offers your character a way to improve its body, the possibility to watch, comment and bet on boxing matches or even the chance to become one of the fighters, thus getting the recognition of the insiders if they feel like they can use you or work with you. The companies allow having a stable job for characters that need it, but they don't offer a clear path inside the mob, so you'll have to figure one out by yourself depending on the roleplay that occurs, the chances that are presented to you and the purpose of the firm your character works for. When considering most legal fronts, it's also possible to ask for a job from the get-go, but that (in my opinion) is a tricky and recycled way of approaching because, realistically, the insiders won't just go to their legal employees to ask them to commit crimes without proper reasoning behind, so make sure you trickle in motives for them to consider you for extra jobs. There is a big variety of businesses that a faction can open for the public that new characters can take advantage of, so make sure you figure out a realistic way to benefit from the chances presented to you by them. For the most part, the mob acts like a pyramid scheme, where you start from the lower levels and try to climb your way up the ladder for financial gains and for the power attained from being up in the hierarchy. That being said, it's unlikely that somebody from the higher ranks will accept sharing more than two words with a new character that they don't know when it comes to business, so what you can do to get them interested in you is run gigs on your own. Being self-sufficient and creative in your roleplay gives you a good and well-developed way into the faction and it will surely serve you better in the long run rather than relying on others to give your character stuff to do. You can take the legal route and roleplay running a company or owning/leasing a place, or the illegal way where you can have your character do petty misdemeanors or white-collar crimes. It's always a good thing to showcase your illegal activity to the right characters at the right time because people aren't just inducted into a life of crime out of nowhere. The mob will rather approach people who are already involved in crime or have a firm they can work with/exploit rather than your ordinary civilians that work 9 to 5s. One important aspect to remember is that your character should behave the way he would behave towards people he doesn't know no matter the rank they posses until they are told otherwise IC, so keep any knowledge gathered via OOC means away from your roleplay. Don't act a different way with a character just because you've seen on the forums that he is a high-ranker, the insiders are quick to notice this and it will not help you getting in quicker. A thing I don't recommend for fresh characters to do from the start is the drug/weaponry dealing because, for the most part, it's a boring and overdone idea that is usually rushed and conducted in a poorly and unrealistic manner, so consider exploiting other venues of roleplay instead and do your research well. The organized crime groups make a lot of their money by exploiting other people, their addictions, their mistakes and their businesses, so with that in mind, another way of approaching arises. A character that has issues, especially monetary ones, may be a target for the mob, so the chances for an involved member to find his way into the middle of their problems by offering assistance aren't slim at all. For example, let's say that your character has a difficult situation at home and is desperate for money, but at the same time he's an avid gambler who can't seem to get enough of the vice, so he needs to find a way to get more money than he earns from his job. This scenario creates the space needed for a mobster to step in and offer his "help", thus putting your character in direct contact with an insider. It's a toss of a coin and it's a case by case scenario because certain people will just laugh at your character's problems, while others will seize the opportunity to exploit it by either offering your character jobs to do or a loan. This is hard to pull in a correct and realistic manner and is also very risky because your character will have a hard time getting rid of the problems that are pestering him in order to get back on his feet, so new roleplayers might get overwhelmed by this situation, but it's without a doubt an interesting way to approach and will surely be appreciated by the others.

Cool stuff, but was the referral program announced a few days after the server dropped in order to avoid the possible referrals from people who would've join anyway?

I wish there'd be a scheme in place people can apply for to finance their RP because I doubt it that, in 2023, the peak RP experience for getting money is grinding these boring jobs that barely pay, leasing a business and selling drugs/weapons through the faction script. There are many angles of RP that people can and will approach, but it's demotivating when there's a lack of $ on their account to finance even the basics (a car, rent, a club entrance, etc).

Had a lot of fun interactions with you back when I had Dylan Boniface in Str8. Welcome back!