GM controlled factions are planned since the very first day. So far it has not been possible due to the lack of various other prerequisites.
GM controlled/supported factions is a concept, not a game mechanic. If you talk about missing prerequisites, you're in my opinion missing the point. The point being that such factions could (and probably should) be more or less very much like the current gangs, but with some designated themes, prerequisites for candidates and rewards for members. You could implement it right now in a matter of minutes, you could've done that 6 months ago - adding the "NCR Rangers" or "Enclave Squadron Alpha" gang name and a faction terminal in an existing location isn't exactly rocket science, same with selecting talented individuals to make it work. Adding another layer of PvP mechanics like zone control or whatever you're working on is not going to change the basic fact that the GM team lacks people capable of successful leadership and well-meaning interaction with the
entire playerbase, or even construing believable conflicts/scenarios inside the gameworld framework.
To make this critique a bit more constructive, the closest you ever got to achieving something meaningful was Izual's effort at creating the NCR Army, but there were obvious mistakes that made the project ultimately flop:
- the faction had no persistent impact on the game world; it was more of a player driven special encounter than a group with actual goal
- since there was no persistent impact, there was no long-term reward for participating, hence not enough experienced recruits
- heavy handed handling when it comes to supplies and character stats - while having everything supplied to you by ther army may be realistic, it's not a good game mechanic when everyone else has to work for his stuff; this contributed heavily to the general perception of the Army being that it's an abuse of the game world - hence even less experienced recruits
- heavy handed handling when it comes to player discipline - again, while having people parade on the base square and go through basic drills and chores may be realistic, it is not enjoyable gameplay -
even less people willing to join
- as much as this may hurt, it's a fact - generally incompetent handling during combat situations which combined with "cheated" stats and equipment led to the Army having a rather terrible reputation among normal gangs - they were either the bringers of sudden death or free loot supply, ang given their lack of persistent and predictable goals they couldn't be interacted with on a meaningful level by other factions (you couldn't ambush them, you couldn't fight them over something important or prestiguous - as I've said, just a really weird random encounter)
Successful GM-driven, NPC based factions should share the following qualities:
- be allowed to take part in TC to create meaningful, persistent interaction with both gangs and other NPC factions
- have clearly defined, openly stated goals and boundaries in which they operate
- take active, roleplay-based actions in the server's faction diplomacy environment to pursue the aforementioned goals; this means being active on IRC, forums and the server itself to actually be competitive when going against player based gangs; leaders behaving out of character in this context (no matter where - IRC, forums or server) would be completely unacceptable
- perhaps publish a monthly "faction review" with immediate goals stated, to make their behaviour transparent and predictable and to reflect their more "open" nature (this could exclude the more in-depth intrigues and secret alliances, which could be revealed after they stop being relevant) - this would have an additional effect of creating a persistent server history and improving the general immersion
- faction members should generally get their exp, stats, supplies etc. on their own; important members would get faction-specific hi-tech hardware in
extremely limited quantities (like, 1 or 2 PAs monthly for 5 guys or something like that, a bit more weapons - make it more of a sacred relic than everyday occurence on the battlefield, just like Gauss Pistols right now or CA a few wipes ago when it was uncraftable) - the rules for getting supplies should be public, dynamic and generally subject to constant playerbase review and discussions to keep it all balanced
- while important member and faction leader in-game discipline as far playing "in-character" should be maintained, normal members should be allowed to act more or less at will with some very basic constraints not to scare people away; a normal NPC faction member should be encouraged to roleplay by good leadership embodied in giving a good example and the leader maintaining the faction-specific mood, not forced by an arbitrary set of rules or some specific code of conduct
- in combat situations, good leadership and proper tactics would be a must to maintain the credibility of the faction and the spirit of competition among its members; this means using voice communication software, creating a members-only forum and doing all the things that normal gangs do; this is an absolute must or else such factions would just share NCR Army's fate in being considered extremely cheap and/or incompetent when it comes to solving tactical situations.
As you can see, all of the conditions can be fulfilled with the game mechanics we have right now, this very moment. All that is needed is a few good, competent men willing to make it happen. Heck, even placing the faction terminals inside the faction-specific WM locations wouldn't be required - it could just as well be normal basecamps with the only server-related prerequisite being the devs providing faction names for these groups.
To sum things up, FOnline 2238 is more or less a roleplaying game. A good roleplaying game session is not created by a good rulebook and rolling 2 dice instead of 6. It is created, first and foremost, by good gamemasters coming up with good stories. Consequently, introducing new functions into the 2238 server world is not going to improve the overall experience - allowing a few dedicated and competent people prove themselves at demanding jobs of leading NPC factions and writing the overall narrative of this gameworld, a narrative that can be heavily impacted by actions of gangs and perhaps even single individuals is going to work wonders.
To sum it up, it really is all about design philosophy, not about going into specifics and creating more and more complicated code while losing sight of the bigger picture. Countless examples, both pen-and paper and online prove that human-oriented approach is more effective and flexible than leaving it all to mechanics and calculations. The devs will of course choose as they please and the players will judge them on their choices. I think that the ever-diminishing server population and the rise of other FOnline projects are clearly a sign that some change is necessary.
Also, wall of text critically hits you for 3243262 points of damage.
