When are our suggestions going to be implemented?

[TerPepsi1]

I want to start this thread off by saying I have nothing but utter respect for the SMT and every single member of this community. Gaminglight Policerp is an excellent server, and one that I have come back to year after year. I also wanted to clarify that I have no right, nor intention, to speak on the difficulty of implementing new features on servers, as I have never worked on a Garry's Mod server. This post is not to be taken as an attack- rather, I would like for those who read this to take this as a piece of constructive criticism.  With that in mind, there are a few things I felt needed to be said.

Reading through the suggestions forums, it has come to my attention that our community's suggestions are indeed heard and accepted, but rarely applied. I know I am not alone in saying that I feel my voice is not heard when my suggestion is marked as "accepted" and then not days, not weeks, but months pass and they have still not been implemented. I have been semi-active on the suggestions portion of this forum since the summer, and the ratio of suggestions approved to suggestions implemented within that timeframe has been- from what I've seen- astonishingly low. Everything from a simple civilian chef job to my own suggestion of a drug dealer job have been sitting "approved" for a long, long time, and there is no end in sight.

Now, as I have said earlier, I have no right nor intention say that this is the SMT's fault in any way, shape or form. Though it *could* be an issue of lack of work ethic or motivation, I sincerely hope and doubt that this is the case on the part of the SMT. This being said, I thought it my responsibility as a member of the Gaminglight community to bring to light these concerns that I have seen not only in myself, but also in my peers and my friends.

Again, I wanted to end this off by emphasizing I have nothing but respect for the SMT and those responsible for keeping the server running. This post was not meant to be inflammatory or offensive in any way, and I just hope that it inspires change, if change is needed, within the server's management.

Thank you for your time, and I wish you all the best.

 

-TerPepsi

[th3]

Most of the time, a suggestion is tested and ends up not working out so it wont be added! A lot of stuff is considered and tested before making it onto the server because everyone who is an SMT member wants to make sure the server doesn't suffer countless errors when something is added that hasn't been tested.

[Matthew]

If the suggestion is accepted, then the suggestion is tested (if an addon/new job etc.). Why do we test it? Well the main reason to see if it is OP (Over powered) and if it is, if we can edit it to a fair point. Some addons also can stress/cause errors in the server and lag it even more . And some suggestions we are still working on to see if we can fully implement it without any issues (Yeah it takes a bit and recently found some can't be added for various issues). If the accepted addon has a problem, then we don't add it. I hope you can understand. 

~Matthew

[Inactive]

I would like to express utmost respect for not being afraid to say your opinion. Too many see people get blacklisted for being toxic against SMT actions they do not agree with and in turn become afraid to say their ideas. This community's foundation is the players in it. Your ideas and criticism is what keeps it fun for everyone to be in the community. To anyone reading, don't feel scared to express your feelings. As long as you remain respectful, and offer some thoughts on how to fix the problem, you will never offend anyone. Gaminglight since the beginning has always been a place where people can be themselves while having fun, and it is sad to see so many being afraid to speak there mind. Thank you for setting an example for everyone.

[Friendly Steve]

@TerPepsi1

This is exactly the type of post SMT want to see from our players. Respectful, mature and well thought out.

You guys are what enable us to enjoy the positions given to us by having people playing on the server and having fun!  

Now to touch base on a few thing you talked about.

With suggestions SMT always try to make the best decisions when it comes to them. All of us in SMT have invested hundreds/thousands of hours into Gaminglight and also frequently RP whenever we get the chance to so we definitely like to have fun on the server and new things are always a bonus! Unfortunately however, new things can also cause issues. For example VC Mod, or just a vehicle mod in general is a staple in most Garry's mod servers, however it is also the most lag causing thing you can add. Garry's mod wasn't ever designed to fully support a vehicle mod and have them control the way you could when you build one in game using the props and various tools (thrusters, wheels etc) or even when you're using the default vehicles in game. 

The other issue is a lot of members that I have spoken with regarding lag issues/not being able to load into the server are simply either not a strong enough internet connection or their PC is lacking in certain areas (Generally CPU since Garrys mod runs a large amount of physics due to the source engine). The more stuff we add into the server the more things your computer will need to download/load to get in and to run once you're in the server. Having to many entities or addons to load before you get into the server can cause timing out issues (internet speed usually) thus causing a lower player count which also creates other issues for RP experiences so it is a very fine balance we need to keep.

 

Onto the other topics of your post in regards to your lockpick suggestion (I am not sure if you were referring to this or other suggestions that you created/commented on that were suggestions, but ill touch base on those a little bit) I have edited the code for that job to include the regular lockpick however there is a process with actually getting it into the server files to reflect the change in game which is why we state it may in some cases take up to a week to be implemented in game. 

If it has been more than a week it, as others have stated it is usually because there were issues with the addon when we tested it. This could include the addon not being stable enough or conflicting with other addons in the server. We always try to get back to a post if something went wrong, or when I am looking into it before we accept it I will put a PENDING. However we are only human to, most if not all of us have school/work and things can slip our minds especially when other issues are presented to us that may take priority over the addon being implemented.

 

Onto the drugs addon suggestion that was accepted back in September. The previous PoliceRP Manager and Zeeptin began setting the ground work for the addon to be implemented however there was a lot of coding that needs to be done/edited with the addon. Myself along with other SMT have spent hours researching every single effect/side effect of the mods that might not be listed in the code, actually testing the drugs so that they work the way we want them to and the way they should and make it so they are not super OP ruining RP experiences. We are happy to say we are getting really close to being ready with that addon if everything works out in the end. Unfortunately though it's not as simple as just subscribing to the addon, adding it into the server and that being it, there is a lot of behind the scenes work which players do not see. 

For the CAT model issue post that you commented on that should have also been fixed, the issue was it was not into the workshop pack for the server when people subscribe to it. We can add them and everything looks OK from our end of things but if a player is still having issues we always encourage them to reach out to us to see if we can resolve it with them or see if it's a larger issue. 

 

 

Onto the topic of addons being denied just so I can give everyone some clarification. We ALWAYS value any suggestions made, when I look at them I instantly think of the dedication the player has in the first place to not only think about ways to improve the server, but also taking the time to research an addon that fits their suggestion and do their own research on it. However this doesn't mean that any suggestion can be implemented. 

When I look at suggestions I think of the playability of it, the effect it might have on the server as a whole and the effect it will have on the servers community due to it being a Police RP server.

In my time on the community, before I even became a staff member I saw quite a few jobs added in the past that SMT had spent hours coding, editing, changing and making it as flawless as they can which unfortunately, usually had an expiration date attached. What I mean by expiration date attached is that players usually lose interest with the job being added and only play it because it's "new". Then what happens is the amount of players actually using that job drops significantly or it is just never used again after a few weeks/months. 

 

Lets take the Construction job for example; 
- Great idea in theory but there is not enough for the job to do to make it a long term thing. Generally new jobs need something to do. While yes you can set up work projects for replacing a side walk, checking generators etc, there is no way to actually make the player feel like they are doing that. The player will set up cones around a side walk, stand there and try to RP out that the sidewalk is being replaced but can't actually do anything to feel like they are doing something other than placing props around an area. I spoke with a few people regarding that suggestion to get different opinions and the consensus is it would get boring because there isn't an actual way to do anything.

The CAD System;
- Again great idea to enhance RP but it was already added before and never was able to be used properly. This is heavily dependent on everyone in a department taking their time to learn all the ins and out of the CAD system and be able to tab out to interact with it since it has no overlay attached for Garrys mod. The issues that were present before in State when they had this is not enough people used it, some didn't want to learn how to use it. An addon like that would require the entire department to be active on it and use it which wasn't the case and it failed.

I would go over a few more suggestions that were denied to kind of give you the thought process on it but I hope you can kind of understand where were coming from, from my examples above.

 

If anyone reading this have anything to mention to SMT regarding the server please don't be afraid to reach out to us and to those reading this big wall of text, thank you for making PoliceRP and Gaminglight a space where we can make new friends, make memories and most importantly have fun! 

[TerPepsi1]

Thank you all for the replies. I’d recommend you maybe make these things clearer in the “Accepted” comment or whatever that you put on accepted suggestions. Something as simple as “Note: The suggestion may not be implemented if it is found to cause performance issues, imbalance, etc.”

 

Also, hope everything works out with that drug mod, Steve. I feel like it’d be a really great addition to the server.

 

Side note- if I eventually wanted to help with the server’s development, where would I apply to do that and what kinds of things would I have to know? I have a pretty extensive experience of computer science for a senior in high school (I am currently learning about data structures which is generally regarded as a second-year computer science college course), and might be interested in learning Lua nd helping out. Any links with requirements or applications would be appreciated- I’m currently working on another computer science project but as soon as that’s done I would be willing to invest my time here.