Factions - How Should They Be Implemented?

[burridgedan]

How should factions be handled in the server? Should there be a couple of "official" factions, which are more hard-coded into the script and the server lore or should all factions be player-created only?

I am leaning towards two or three official hard-coded factions that all have their own goals and morals to give the base lore life, with unofficial factions still having a place alongside them.

If we go the way of a few official hard-coded factions being present, I want to avoid the dynamics that we had previously with S.T.A.R.S and Umbrella etc. So ideas welcome all round, whether you are for, or against hard-coded factions.

[Vinnie]

Here are some ideas from me.

How about allowing factions to appear organically?
two levels of faction status: "Unofficial" and "Official."

Unofficial Factions function like basic guilds in an MMO. Upon having enough members (ghost accounts not included), Players can convert owned property into a guild house, unlocking shared storage and modest perks unavailable to typical civilians—such as a low-grade water filtration system or a workbench for crafting scrapyard gear and ammunition.

Over time, some of these groups may grow in popularity. Once they reach a certain threshold, they become eligible for Official Faction status. If approved, they gain access to a larger, dedicated HQ in line with legacy factions.

Official faction candidacy would be subject to a community vote, with the server owner retaining veto power to ensure balance and thematic alignment.

This approach also lifts much of the burden of creating faction lore and structures from the dev team, allowing that aspect of the world to develop more organically through player interaction.

also ucbestmen

[burridgedan]

The idea of organic factions is definitely the original intention, and how it’s currently basically scripted in the game mode.

I like your suggestion, and it follows a similar structure to the old systems we had in place for factions but with a more organic way of them emerging.

Some changes to the property system as it is now might have to be made, and I think what I might do is throw out the idea of purchasable interiors and have all interiors be open and searchable. Then as these factions start to emerge and grow the ones that achieve official status can choose an area of their choice and we can maybe script in some extra stuff such as gates and commands specific to their faction which would make sense on an RP level too as they would have spent time clearing out and making a base in one of the locations.

Community votes work well I think too. And maybe some sort of team for faction related matters could be a good idea for the future as well.