Following this logic, Quake 3 is a perfectly viable platform for roleplaying.
I have never player Quake 3, so I'd honestly like you to explain this statement.
the RPG crowd is attracted by the Fallout brand which results in endless whine, delusions about what this server is and suggestions that are simply bad for general gameplay. If you wanted to make 2238 really cater to the RPG demographic, you'd have to basically redesign the whole thing. That'd mean scrapping 2/3 of the project, I highly doubt the odds of that happening are high.
However, PvPers/metagamers whine a lot too! Because farming is not as easy as before, because there are no detonator parts, because of a lot of different reasons. And when Solar said "TC, let's flesh this out", the result was a long thread full of trolling and many "current system sucks, let's go back to x sessions ago". It seems making a good PvP/strategy server requires scrapping a great part of the project or at least going back quite a lot of steps...
If something can be done, it will be done. If it makes you progress in the game faster, it becomes the dominant style of play. The fact that PvPing is the dominant style of play is reason enough to call 2238 a strategy/teamplay game.
But that's not the dev's or the game's fault, it's the metagamers', who don't want to have fun but to dominate. If metagamers knew they could instantly win their next TC fight by clicking on a specific rock in Junktown mine 6000000500004 times, they'd do it. And complain about it at the same time.
Because this game is not friendly for people who just want to do quests, trade and roleplay because of the way it was designed. Would you complain about people blowing you up in Q3 if you wanted to roleplay?
Uhm, Quake 3 again, sorry. Anyway, I understand the game should be "dangerous", but a great swarm or proxy army full of powerful items doesn't look like "Fallouty danger".
People aren't complaining about the idea of TC, they are complaining about balance, specifics etc. Somehow, I don't see that many threads discussing the best way of roleplaying here... I wonder why? Because...
No, it's because PvPer's gamestyle makes it almost impossible to RP, so there's no real point in discussin RP when you don't have many possibilities in it.
Well, WWP project was a military operation which failed, that's it.
How? roleplaying a town mayor or a biologist studying the Wanamingos or a town guard with a crappy Assault Rifle is a military operation?
But it does work as a strategy server because people are playing it that way. Yes, it is terribly imbalanced because of the underlying "but it's a survival/RPG game too!" schizophrenia, but it generally works.
How exactly does that "schizophrenia" harm your strategy gamestyle?
On the other hand, people can't play it as an RPG game in unrestricted environments at all, because the design doesn't allow it because you end up with a bullet to the head.
Pretty much sounds just like what I said, metagaming harms roleplaying, and not the other way round. I think it was avv who said that "PKing is metagaming", because you know the game design makes it safer to PK everyone. Metagaming can't be fully controlled, players "should" try to stick to Fallout instead, but it seems the only thing they liked in Fallout was the graphics.
I understand metagaming gives you a lot of advantages, but this is a game, not real life. I fail to understand why players can't just enjoy the wonderful thing FOnline actually is, by sharing a common space with other Fallout fans.
A balanced PvP game is perfectly possible, you just have to keep in mind it's a strategy game and balance the strategic layer in the endgame accordingly. The tactical level is actually very well balanced right now. And the survival part is actually the easiest part to work on, because all you need to do is adding content without worrying too much about balance and inserting gameplay hints into dialogue in a way that doesn't break the fourth wall.
I see most people shit on new quests and "content", see quests just as a way to get their first caps or xp, and even exploit them for a base. They pay a lot more attention to new/reworked perks, traits, builds in general. 2238 players tend to not care about the "survival" part, they just see it as the annoying part you must go through before you can join "real" PvP. (I understand you just said this game must not scrap this part and I'm glad you think that - I am talking about a general tendency, not about you).
They see victory in TC/PvP as a goal they must reach. Everything that lies between them and that goal should be done as quickly and efficiently as possible, even if it means doing boring activities. Unless there's some pretty big cultural difference going on here, I don't think this is how "entertainment" and "fun" works. I connect to FOnline looking for fun and entertainment, but I usually have problems playing the game the way I want because there's people who act like FOnline was their work or at least some kind of chore. These people are usually complaining about game features, balance, nerfed/op'ed stuff, etc. I personally don't feel I *really* need any technical change in the game at all.