The "Drugs have no benefits" Argument is Weak

[SaintBatemanofWallStreet]

Quoting Nickelback helps nobody.

And it doesn't matter whether you know a drug dealer or not. If you're driving to the hood in an expensive sports car, that doesn't make you immune to what goes on down there. If I was a banger and went to carjack or rob you or whatever and you were like "I know so and so." My response would probably be like "I do too, now get the fuck outta the car." What it actually is, is bad for business. On both sides. Because why would someone be driving a Comet or whatever to Rancho or Davis? You stick out like a sore thumb. If I was a cop and saw that, I'm making up some PC and pulling you over and getting you outta the car for a little searchski. And most of those college boys and girls that selling dope, they still get their drugs from the hood. They just save you the trip down. Because you buying a dime bag every day has far less weight than him buying a pound a week. That's reality tbh.

[Engelbert]

I was merely responding to the comment above, given the woman in question was me, alas that happened more than half a year ago anyway. The point is, that it is not necessary to even interact with the hoods like that.  Given there are always people willing to buy in a bulk and then spread it elsewhere. Which is why such college student is pretty much the only way for someone living in Vinewood to get their daily dose. The issue here is that people are simply not buying drugs, I know that, cause I did roleplay a dealer as well as an addict. And tbh roleplaying an addict is more fun. People shouldn't even consider approaching drugs regarding the buffs, that's game mechanics, not necessary for roleplay. You have to emote blazing up the joint or snorting the snow anyway as there is no animation, so what's the problem? You buy it, you use it, you get high. Done.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Engelbert

[DLimit]

4 hours ago, Maca said:

I also can't believe that I'm agreeing with EliH, we're usually sworn opponents in opinions. We need a way to combine different drugs together to make things weaker / potentially overdose material. Now that my boy Caporegime is gone though I highly doubt a decent drug system is going to be released for a long time and not as elaborate as he was writing up whilst in FM.

 

Having visual and physical effects script-wise is a way of saying "Hey, I'm a lazy bastard that can't think outside of the box and research drug usage and effects so I need a script to determine it for me." A serious roleplay server doesn't need RPG elements that decide what you roleplay and how you roleplay it.

 

Drugs are however not hard to get. The reason drugs are 'difficult' to get for players is because they expect factions to be stood on a street corner hustling drugs. It doesn't work like that in 2019, most of the drug transactions that occur in real life now are over-the-air drug sales. By that, I mean call-to-call and text-to-text drug transactions to meet at locations, specify a quantity, price, drug, etc. It's not like The Wire and some people need to get that out of their skull.

As a person that spends their time in a real-life hood, I'd argue that individuals usually refrain from discussing details over the phone. Usually, it'd be discussed in code, with statements such as "Yo, I'm at ___... Come through!" on the phone, prior to negotiating the deal in person, as cellular phones are traceable in 2019. Furthermore, you STILL possess individuals that will sit on park benches or stand by stores within the hood, in real life, like statues in order to distribute narcotics. The traditional method has never ended, it has only become more subtle due to the rise in patrols within "hotspots". Generally, individuals would disguise transactions with a five to ten minute conversation rather than simply meeting to conduct an exchange.

Bad = "Yo, I got that" /me hands the person the bag - /me hands the person the wealth - "Peace".

Good = "Yo, what's up, man! How's the kids?" "Yea, they're cool, fam... Had to take them to daycare... You still in school?" "Yea, bro... kinda been struggling with math" etc... /me shakes hand with each other, conducting the exchange.

 

[Engelbert]

Pretty much, hanging out with someone you buy drugs from at more or less public place brings less attention than you may think.

Code may be necessary at times, especially when you are asking them out for a deal. Which why roleplaying and maintaining a certain level of relationship with the dealer is never a bad thing. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by Engelbert

[EliH]

Yeah I agree that drugs don't need in-game effects. Stat additions, etc, are the anti-thesis of what GTA:W wants to be.

 

Having some visual effects though that last longer would be nice.

 

As for "realistic buying", I don't think I know a single person who buys it from dudes in the hood. Unless they're other dudes in the hood. Everyone else gets it from regular people who are getting it from Cali/Colorado.

[Trupiano]

2 minutes ago, EliH said:

Yeah I agree that drugs don't need in-game effects. Stat additions, etc, are the anti-thesis of what GTA:W wants to be.

 

Having some visual effects though that last longer would be nice.

 

As for "realistic buying", I don't think I know a single person who buys it from dudes in the hood. Unless they're other dudes in the hood. Everyone else gets it from regular people who are getting it from Cali/Colorado.

snip I read it wrong.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Henning

[EliH]

Just now, Henning said:

Wait hold up what? People are RPing getting their weed from Cali/Colorado?

No I mean IRL. ICly it's buying from the hood mostly from what I can tell.

 

I'm trying to say that like 99% of people don't buy shit weed from the hood anymore IRL, so idk why people do it ICly.

Edited October 26, 2019 by EliH

[Trupiano]

27 minutes ago, EliH said:

No I mean IRL. ICly it's buying from the hood mostly from what I can tell.

 

I'm trying to say that like 99% of people don't buy shit weed from the hood anymore IRL, so idk why people do it ICly.

IK what you meant, If people were RPing getting it from Cali/Colorado it would be a power gaming issue.

[Vindus]

Hi, my name is Vindus and I'm an addict. 

 

Edit: There has long been a discussion in discord channels about the server's drug system. I do see the problems in the current system but I personally love roleplaying around drugs, either as a seller or user.  However, I do not have a solution for the current system either as I do not use the drugs on the server for the scripted benefits but I understand how some people think there needs to be a greater benefit for people to use drugs more. 

I believe one of the problems is the players on the server that just play their characters as if they had no defects, there are not a lot of people willing to play an addict and even when you play as an addict, people usually frown upon it when you start getting into the roleplay.

I found a duo of homeless people and I was on my junkie alt. I approached them and shot up my heroin, which I roleplayed into details. They told me to gtfo or they would report me for offensive roleplay because it felt too real.

Edit2: One of the biggest problems as I see it is the fact that you can split up drugs or mix it, I understand that this comes down to the script. My solution to this is when I take cocaine, I make several lines and snort them up in a period of maybe 30-1h even though it does not make sense to snort a gram in thirty minutes, it feels more realistic than to snort up a gram in one line. 

As a person who has been around narcotics my whole life, I would love to see a more realistic take on the drug system on the server and I would be willing to actively partake in that project if it ever became a priority.

We also need a prescription as they are extremely popular, you would be surprised at how many people take prescription pills without the actual prescription. (That includes fake pills)

Edited October 26, 2019 by Vindus

[aldo]

i dont understand why its frowned upon to want a script effect though:/

 

if my character takes coke, my screen should sharpen up, my fov expand a little or something...idk

 

if my character smokes weed, it would be cool for the effect to last for like 30 mins to an hour

 

if my character takes LSD, it would be cool to have my screen go all types of colours with things moving

 

not because im lazy, but because its immersive and cool to have

Edited October 27, 2019 by aldo