The Official Gameplay Guidelines

GAMEPLAY GUIDELINES

This document consists of most gameplay guidelines for Stapleton County. Updates to this document may occur at any given time without notice. It is expected for each individual to understand basic rules before participating in any activities within Stapleton County.

Last modified 09/25/2024


TABLE OF CONTENTS

BASIC GUIDELINES
SPECIFIC-SCENARIO GUIDELINES
DEPARTMENT/BUSINESS/MISC. GUIDELINES
USE OF MEDIA CONTENT AS EVIDENCE
EXCEPTIONS
ENFORCEMENT & CONTESTING MODERATION


BASIC GUIDELINES

ROBLOX COMMUNITY STANDARDS

All players must follow Roblox’s community standards to ensure safety and security for all players. Failure to do so may result in moderation action taken against you. The roblox rules can be found here. Examples that are strictly prohibited are self-harm, self-harm encouragement by falling off the bridge, or by another other means.

LTAA/RTAA

LTAA (Leaving to Avoid Action) or RTAA (Resetting to Avoid Action) is the action of leaving and/or resetting to avoid actions taken by law enforcement officers. If an individual has been handcuffed using the “handcuff” tool specifically, they may leave the game but may receive additional jail time.

If you have been detained by an officer for questioning, you are obligated to remain in the server until the officer has completed their respective actions in an appropriate amount of time. If you believe that the officer is unnecessarily holding you, the officer may face moderation actions against them.

Should an individual lose an officer during a pursuit, they must wait around 5-10 minutes before leaving the server. The waiting process should not happen when actively driving or evading law enforcement officers.

SPAWN-KILLING/ARRESTING

“Spawn-killing/arresting” is the action of intentionally hunting or arresting players who are loading in to begin their gameplay within Stapleton County. Should the subject have an infinity symbol above their character upon initially joining, it means they have recently spawned and are loading into the game. Officers shall allow the subject to leave the dealership and begin their gameplay before attempting to arrest the individual.

Players who have been killed/respawned may be detained at spawn for booking/investigatory measures.

METAGAMING

“Metagaming” is the act of receiving information that you would have not been able to receive otherwise. For example, utilizing the citation book tool to grab the identification of a subject.

If an individual release their username to another individual, then the use of the leaderboard or any outside sources to match the individual is authorized. Searching a subject’s vehicle plate or scanning the individual’s prints may constitute the authority to utilize the leaderboard to view their avatar to match the individual. Viewing the leaderboard to match an individual who is evading is not permitted if no other form of identification is used, and is considered “random searching”.

Random searching may also be defined as utilizing the phone to call every user in the game to match their caller ID to the person that previously called or using tools such as the Commerce giver & donation tool.

Exceptions are if an individual is breaking game rules, such as attention seeking. Utilizing the leaderboard or citation book in these contexts is allowed.

VEHICLE OPERATIONS

If a civilian’s vehicle has been flipped while being pursued, they are unable to flip their vehicle back up (unless their vehicle has been flipped due to an individual exploiting unintended bugs. If an officer’s vehicle has been flipped during a pursuit, they may begin to flip after they lose sight of the suspect’s vehicle. If the suspect’s vehicle is still within sight and is damaged (popped wheels, boxed in, etc), the officers may not flip their vehicle upright until the scene is considered complete.

Non-law enforcement officers such as the Department of Public Works can flip their vehicle upright as long as it’s not involved in a roleplay scene.

ATTENTION SEEKING

Attention seeking is the act of doing activities to bring attention to yourself such as purposefully ramming an active scene that you are not part of. Following an officer during their movements during pursuits or traffic stops is considered attention-seeking and should be avoided. Unless such activities are causing severe server disruptions, the officers should utilize the law to its fullest extent and deal with the individuals in-game.

Dialing 911 to gain the attention of law enforcement is permitted as long as the location is provided, no matter if correct or false. Spamming the 911 system is forbidden.

SCENE DISRUPTION

Scene disruption is the act of disrupting active scenes for the sole purpose of annoying players. Roleplaying scene disruptions to your character are permitted, as long as it does not harm the gameplay for others. Shooting or ramming public employees repeatedly constitutes as scene disruption and can be subject to moderation.

If an individual’s actions are premeditated with reason, it is permitted. Scene disruption is up to the game moderation team, depending on prior history.

CAMPING DEALERS

Camping any illegal dealers within Stapleton County is strictly prohibited for both criminals and law enforcement officers unless you are holding up the dealer against law enforcement officers. Officers may use interactions with illegal dealers to try and follow them to get a different probable cause to pull the subject over and initiate a search. Interactions with dealers should not be the reason for BOLOs. Being near, or interacting with any dealers shall not constitute probable cause.

Taking a weapon out to refill ammunition is considered interacting with the dealer. Taunting, the act of willingly taking out a gun to pretend to refill ammunition may be used as probable cause.

CUFF-RUSH/CUFFS

Cuff-rushing an individual is the act of utilizing handcuffs/any detainment tools to rush at an individual. An example of cuff-rushing is sneaking up to a person at an ATM robbery and immediately cuffing them. Instead, dry-stun them as it acts as a tackling mechanism.

For law enforcement officers who wish to cuff-rush individuals for continuous attention seeking (such as constantly ramming your vehicle & running away as soon as you pursue or similar), you should gather evidence of it beforehand in the case a ban request is submitted regarding yourself cuff-rushing. Game moderators won’t be going into the DMs of LEOs to ask for evidence (although we may ask for context for clips submitted by criminals).

Cuff-rushing is not permitted except under special circumstances. These circumstances only include the following: If the user continuously logs out of cuffs, if the user continuously seeks attention and leaves the scene upon pursuit; if the user continuously breaks gameplay guideline regulations, and if the officer is unable to grab them appropriately; or if the user is glitching and/or exploiting the game.

Law enforcement officers may not use the handcuff tool to grab government officials or any player to remain “godded” to prevent harm. Using players as shields while in a situation is also strictly prohibited. Law enforcement officers purposefully detaining/holding a suspect and intentionally holding them for an unnecessary amount of time to process the arrest will face moderation.

In the event a player escapes detainment into any body of water, law enforcement officers are authorized to run after the individual with handcuffs.

ABUSE OF GAME MECHANICS

Abuse of game mechanics is the act of abusing features unintentionally added with updates to the experience. Abusing unintended mechanics is strictly prohibited, and may result in moderation action.

VEHICLE USAGE

Car surfing, the act of standing on top of a car, whether inside or on the hood is prohibited. Should the vehicle they are standing on begin moving, the subject should leave the vehicle and roleplay from that point onwards. Running away from crimes by jumping on or inside of a moving vehicle is prohibited and will result in moderation action.

Equipping tools while driving is prohibited, besides cell phones & ID, civilians glitching their inventory to view tools in the driver’s seat of any vehicle is considered an abuse of game mechanics. Law enforcement officers are authorized to equip a radar gun and relevant tools while the vehicle is stopped, as long as you unequip the tool when you start driving. Using a radar gun or any tool while flying a helicopter (being a pilot) is prohibited and may result in moderation action.

Law enforcement officers with rambars are prohibited from slamming into stationary vehicles with “Pattern 3” lights on to disable a vehicle’s tires. The act of purposefully placing your vehicle with pattern 3 enabled is also prohibited and may result in moderation action.

Utilizing the helicopter’s spotlight on players during the day (even to flash briefly) and when they’ve entered any structure that blocks the light’s sight is prohibited, and may result in moderation action.

During a shootout or foot pursuit, players running through vehicles to avoid being shot at or tased are prohibited. While in most cases these actions are unintentional, repeated actions may result in moderation action.

Driving boats onto land is prohibited and may result in moderation action.

WALL SHOOTING/VEHICLE SHOOTING

Wall shooting is the act of shooting through walls or poking the barrel of your firearm past a wall, which includes the use of animations to avoid shots. During a shootout, a part of your body should be visible. Wall shooting is prohibited and may result in moderation action.

If the windows of a car have been damaged/broken and the person still cannot be hit due to game physics/errors, they can shoot the player from inside the vehicle. It is prohibited to walk inside a vehicle to shoot before having a broken window.

VIOLATION BAITING

The act of violation bating is baiting other players into breaking any gameplay guidelines. Doing so may result in moderation action.

FALSIFYING REPORTS

Falsifying reports is the action of falsifying, cropping footage, or framing an individual in a light that is inherently false or skewed for them to receive any sort of moderation taken against them, and may result in moderation action. An example of this is an individual glitching prior, which the offender clipped, cropped, and sent to the moderation for action to be taken.


SPECIFIC-SCENARIO GUIDELINES

ABUSE OF PUNCHING MECHANICS

Abuse of punching mechanics is the act of utilizing the punching feature to punch individuals through vehicles, buildings, or any other object that is not intended. If an individual is being punched and the criminal escapes to their vehicle in an attempt to use this rule against them as a shield, it shall not be in effect.

SPIKE STRIPS

Spike strips should only be used during pursuits in an attempt to stop the vehicle from fleeing any further outside of city limits. They should not be used to stop a vehicle from driving away from a traffic stop, high-risk stop, or thereof, and may result in moderation action.

PLACEABLES

All placeables within the experience are to be used for the purpose they are intended for. Placeables should not be used as cover, to climb structures, or thereof, and may result in moderation action. An example of this is placing a barrier or other object, to then use as cover.

TASER, K9 USAGE DURING SHOOTING & RUSHING

During a shootout, officers are expected to not use their tasers to end a shootout and arrest an individual. K9s can be deployed on an active shooter when all other means have been exhausted, and should not be the first go-to in every shooting scenario.

Rushing into scenarios without first attempting to negotiate with reasonable attempts (such as bank robberies) is strictly prohibited and deteriorates gameplay for all players, and may result in moderation action.

Officers shall not tase players or use K9s within vehicles, this may result in moderation action. Vessel exceptions are tasing individuals close to land, not in high-speed situations, at a realistic and reasonable distance. Officers shall not tase players while operating or being a passenger within a vessel.

TREES

Shooting and hiding in trees is allowed, and law enforcement officers may not cuff-rush any players for hiding within a tree to ambush, or evade law enforcement officers.

EXPLOITING IN OTHER EXPERIENCES

Exploiting other experiences relevant to Firestone, such as during times of war or deployments is strictly forbidden, and will result in moderation action.

BAITING

Laying in the snow to bait getting run over by others is considered a violation of gameplay guidelines and may result in moderation action.

FIRE SCENE

Running into an active fire scene is unauthorized unless you join part of the scene before any first responders arrive, such as law enforcement officers and paramedics/firefighters.

BIKES

Purposefully utilizing bikes to glitch vehicles is against the gameplay guidelines and may be subject to moderation.

SOLITARY

Purposefully resetting your character when placed into a single cell to re-enter the day room is against the gameplay guideline and may be subject to moderation.

POSTAL

Committing crimes that require lethal force, or other actions that god-mode gives an advantage towards while doing the postal job is strictly prohibited and may result in moderation action. Otherwise, minimal crimes such as simply evading should be handled by law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers shall not cuff-rush or otherwise break the gameplay guideline to detain/arrest the individual unless other regulations are broken.

CRIME IN SPECIFIC LOCATIONS

Committing crimes within locations such as the Lunar Arena are considered against the gameplay guidelines. Those committing crimes within this location may be subject to moderation.


DEPARTMENT/BUSINESS/MISC. GUIDELINES

BUSINESS TOOLS/PLACEABLES

The usage of business tools and placements should only be used for business roleplays and events. Using your business tools for other means such as creating barriers for criminal use or otherwise is strictly forbidden, and you risk your development support (tools/vehicles) indefinitely. Other businesses may not use competing business tools, even if game mechanics allow such, and employees who abuse these features risk themselves being moderated for abuse of tools.

AUTHORIZED EXPERIENCES

Any experience facilities used for training not under the State of Firestone group, or particular department groups are not authorized for use and may be subject to moderation.

DEPARTMENT ASSETS

If a department official or any other ranking individual is terminated/resigns from a department, all assets of that department must be transferred over to the next person in charge. Those who fail to transfer documentation in an adequate amount of time may be subject to moderation.

TEAM CHANGE ABUSE

Department/public employees are strictly forbidden from utilizing the switching teams feature to avoid confrontation from players and may be subject to moderation.

FLASHBANG/TEAR GAS/SMOKE BOMB

Use of any throwable object such as a flashbang, teargas, or smoke bomb through walls, such as through bank walls is considered against the gameplay guideline, which may be subject to moderation.

PUSHBARS

Pushbars equipped on law enforcement vehicles are to be used as a PIT maneuver mechanic during pursuits. Officers are prohibited from positioning their push bar in a manner that may result in a disabled state or any other abusive way that is considered against the gameplay guideline, which may be subject to moderation.

VEHICLE USAGE TO AVOID COMBAT

Usage of law enforcement officers vehicles to avoid combat is the act of sitting within their vehicle to avoid combat with players. Law enforcement officers aren’t required to exit their vehicle upon shots being fired while they are seated in the vehicle/the combat is initiated, but they cannot sit back in vehicles to intentionally avoid combat.

FEAR-RP

Fear Roleplay does not exist between civilians and public employees. Controlling an officer or public employee based on fear, such as holding them at gunpoint, or to control (power-playing) is prohibited. FearRP is authorized between civilians, as long as both parties are willing.


USE OF MEDIA CONTENT AS EVIDENCE

INTRODUCTION

We intend to allow the community to freely live-stream or record themselves playing Stapleton County. Allowing the legal system to prosecute individuals who stream or record & upload their crimes for entertainment purposes will push away streamers, YouTubers, and ordinary players out of the community who wish to show their content/gameplay to others.

CIVILIANS/CRIMINALS

Ordinary civilians or criminals who live stream on platforms such as Kick, Twitch, or YouTube, or record their actions may not have their evidence used for prosecution purposes within the justice system, or law enforcement officers. If the author of said media permits the usage as evidence to be used, then the legal system or law enforcement officer may use said media. If permission is granted, it may not be retracted.

PUBLIC EMPLOYEES/LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

Public employees, or any law enforcement officer have the same rights as ordinary civilians or criminals when it comes to the use of evidence during prosecution. However, they may be punished accordingly by their respective Department Head(s) with the media provided, whether the original author permits or not.

For the media to be used in the legal system, they have the same regulations as civilians/criminals. If the author is attempting to contest the consequences in the court of law due to their actions of self-published media, they must permit the usage of their message as evidence in court. If they decline the usage of their media as evidence, they may not contest in the court of law.

EXPECTATIONS & ENFORCEMENT

Public employees are expected to not misuse this regulation, any intentional misuse permits the courts and their department head(s) to use said media, whether permission was granted or not. Any media content can be used for expungement cases, but the author cannot be prosecuted based on the result of the expungement unless the author gives explicit permission.

Game moderators may take action on any users breaking game regulations if the media shows said evidence. Permission is not needed from the author


EXCEPTIONS

CO-FOUNDER+

If a Co-Founder or above is testing a feature, they are to be considered as players that are not actively participating in gameplay, unless they specifically choose to decide to roleplay. If they explicitly state that they are testing a feature, then the individual is unable to perform any action on other players and vice versa. Co-Founders+ will always attempt to do their testing outside of gameplay.


ENFORCEMENT & CONTESTING MODERATION

ENFORCEMENT

All gameplay guideline violations are enforced by game moderators. Typically, if there is a clear breach of gameplay guideline regulations, both parties should ignore such actions and return to what they were doing previously. In extreme situations, game moderators can kick or ban the player.

CONTESTING MODERATION

If you believe that you have been unfairly moderated, you may submit a ban appeal in the Stapleton County Hub, with your explanation of the situation. Oftentimes, you can approach the Head Game Moderator in an attempt to figure out what you did wrong and what can be fixed, as long as you inquire with proper etiquette. Targeting and harassing game moderations will diminish your chances of a successful appeal, alongside potential community removal at the discretion of the Co-Founder+.

Should you have a complaint about a game moderator, feel free to approach the Head Game Moderator with respect to your concern. You should have evidence of your primary concern before approaching the Head Moderator about your complaint.

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