I think it's wonderful that nebulous gave Tyrone the honorary title of HL2 RP Administrator. I'm sure they're very proud of him.

"i became staff

do with that as you see fit historian hudson"

"I left about 4-5 months ago and returned about a week ago.

Some notable changes would include primarily the mentality shifting to a more roleplay friendly environment and a lot of QoL for cops in my experience. Some might see some changes as very minor but man, as someone who primarily plays cop it's a lot of fun and I'm glad I returned.

I think 2020 was a great year overall and helped the server progress further."

How does it compare to those earlier years?
"2020 had its ups and downs like Rabid said, a majority of 2020 was spent on i17, which we swapped to sometime in fall of 2019.

i17 posed a few issues, but these issues come up every year looking back at the archives lmao, don't particularly remember much about the beginning of it.

Overall it was a pretty good year for HL2RP in general, we saw the release of HL:A which got a few people interested, definitely not as impactful as I expected it to be but whatever.

The few key events/things I can remember are Joseon, release of HL:A, the rise and fall of Trident, Enmity, and the C24 map change.

Joseon was a big event, a lot of new stuff was tried, from a more fluid system of rebels and gangs in the city rather than hiding in the sewers/outlands, to the removal of dispatch, to gang warfare and plenty of other things like @Trains xen pit and the fish market.

I think Joseon basically started a cultural shift in Neb where a lot of people really expanded their view of what HL2RP really is, and what it can be, I didn't really play during the event and functioned as more of an observer (which I now regret) but it was pretty important and it's the reason why the server is the way that it is now.

A week after Joseon or so HL:A dropped, Neb basically agreed prior that it wouldn't really affect our lore, although it was nice because we got a lot of newer HD models, more lore regarding the combine and Xenian infestations (which now play a larger part in the server), and a bit of a change in how vorts work/what their abilities are.

As for Trident, Trident was a rebel group that @Subeh created after he got unbanned, prior to Trident showing up RebelRP, the beaches and the outlands were practically dead and empty to say the least, they were pretty much devoid of all life, I spent a majority of the time prior to it on one of my crafter characters and I saw maybe a couple of people a day if I didn't leave the beach, most of whom were just newer players.

After Trident was created it brought on a sort of rebel renaissance, a lot of interesting characters popped up, a lot more rebels were active, and it caused a shift of rebels moving to the Outlands rather than staying in the beaches after ferrying rules were lifted. This divided the playerbase a lot, and due to the size of the map calls for a map change started to crop up more frequently a year after we were on it since the city was practically empty while there were 60-80 players on.

Enmity was an event set in the middle east, which was a new setting at least for me.

It was also a pretty experimental event, again it focused on a few new pre-existing factions similar to Joseon, it was split between the government which had forcefully taken control of the city lead by a defacto dictator, the other faction was an elite police force which consisted of the best CP officers around the world, and an insurgent group comprised of freedom fighters which fought against the government.

During this I played a character that was part of the government, the government was split between a few ministries which the players that decided to apply for the government faction created themself, I joined the then cab lead smallfries (who now deactivated his account and quit neb) as part of the ministry of peace.

The government faction sort of died out as it wasnt nearly as action packed as the rest of the groups, although I continued to play on it, my main goal as the character was to make sure that the citizens of the city were safe and protected, both from the government/police and the freedom fighters

A day or two in the government building was bombed which forced the citizens/government to move over to an airbase nearby while rebels and the freedom fighters occupied it, during that time I mainly focused on logistics and making sure everyone was safe, on the final day the dictator showed up, called all those willing to fight for Sudan to help eliminate the rebels in a final battle while I tried to dissuade them so we could evacuate, with the help of some other dudes we went into the command building and tried to get in contact with an evacuation force.

Some players went on to fight the freedom fighters, a lot of people decided to just evacuate, and after the evacuation marked the beginning of C24

Now, I was a big fan of C24 but it was a disaster, the map was horrible, it was massive and the playerbase died, we peaked at 18-20 players frequently and it was pretty demotivating, around that time I also joined the staff team.

The map had an interesting idea behind it, a Race X infestation began deep in the sewers and slowly spread, the Race X containment corp were introduced as a new faction.

I thought it was a neat story but there were basically no players on, it also brought on some big changes, mainly the lack of cameras in the city which allowed more leniency between cops and rebels, not to mention the CAB changes which werent too well received, and also the introduction of Race X which wasn't really a thing prior

I loved C24 because it was the map i first played on when I joined the server and community, but alas it was just good because of nostalgia.

In early 2021 we changed maps to City 8 which has been great, I'd love to talk about it but we gotta wait for the 2021 interviews."

What did you enjoy about the server in 2020?
"Definitely Emnity, as mentioned previously I played a governmental official that was part of the Ministry of Peace, my goal was mainly to make sure the citizens stayed safe from the oppressive regime/cops and the freedom fighters.

Favourite part was the final few days when we evacuated to the airbase, being practically the only government character was practically in control of the entire base at the time, defending it from attackers and organizing logistics and stuff, gathering everyone to evacuate was also pretty fun, as was watching vorts battle with hunters right outside the base."

Out of 10 players on the server, how many would you describe as being new?
"I'd say 3/10 are new players, although a majority of them dont actively use the forums."

How many would probably have premium membership?
"Maybe like 3/10 as well, at least judging by the amount of premium tags i see on the forums."

How does it compare to earlier years?
"I'd say that 2020 was one of the best years yet. 2019 went out with a bang for the server with Borealis and Republic, two major events. Borealis took place in early November if I remember correctly, and Alyx was announced shortly after it. This really increased morale, and this spirit was carried into 2020. Early 2020 was great, things were bumping, and as others have said Alyx really bolstered the numbers.

Then, Joeson was announced. 2020 was a year of change for Half Life 2 RP. There was a major shift away from the boring dystopia, and Joseon was one of the catalysts for it. While major changes happened in 2019, such as non-branded food being legalized, the mentality change came with Joseon. Joseon showed player choice and the best of what Half Life 2 RP could be-- Xenian Pit Fights, massive conflicts, actual cops that seemed like characters, corruption, drug trades, all with massive stories going alongside major plotline events.

Now, Joseon set up what 2020 and 2021 would be. Things were good, but not much changed. Enimity, another major event, reinforced the change that could be. However, with the map change to City 24 (which is a terrible map) the population nose-dived. This mood stayed around for the last few months of the year.

However, 2021 is when it all changed. The change we saw in Joseon was brought to the main server full time, we're hitting great numbers, and things are amazing. The boring dystopia is gone, and 2020 really set that up. I have no doubt that 2021 will be a great year."

What did you enjoy about the server in 2020?
"Like I said, I really enjoy the change that came along with 2020. Joseon really set up the mood that has defined Half Life 2 RP from then on out. The first Xen-Pit Fights and the 'final charge' of Joseon were incredible. I'd like to define two broad moments that I really enjoyed in 2020.

1. Following the map switch to City 24 (which isn't a good map for Half Life 2 RP) the first experiment with no cameras on the entire server was tried. It went fairly well, but there was one thing that really sold me on the idea... I had opened a restaurant on the map. This wasn't a 'come in, ask for the script, have it handed over, and walk out' thing. You were seated, gave a menu, served drinks, and then you got your course. It was like an actual restaurant. However, one thing blew me out of the water-- Cops started to come in.
   
   Cops, while 'still on duty' would come in, take off their masks, and sit around in a crowded restaurant with 10 other people and eat. Occasionally people would come in, cops included, and reserve a back room. You'd see them gamble, drink, and dine before going back out to patrol on the streets. This carried over to City Eight, where there are once again ZERO cameras. It's really allowed for City RP to flourish and for rebel RP (and crime RP) to be brought topside.
   
   
2. The arc of Adeline Ravoux is absolutely insane and ended (sort of) in the final days of 2019. Adeline Ravoux started off as a scientist in the UIL, and was invited to a rebel group called 'Cerebellum.' No one knew who was in the group except the guy who ran it, both OOCly and ICly. It was so secret, that only a hand full of people knew about it OOCly. Three big names that were in (or associated) around Cerebellum were Karl Huxley, Adeline Ravoux, and Engel Haas. Keep in mind, all three of these people began as citizens running around from bar to bar. Engel Haas would go onto lead the Eurasian Liberation Army, one of the biggest rebel groups.
   
   Long story short, Adeline Ravoux began a multi-year arch by advocating for Transhumanism. She ascend to the position of Tribune after being elected, then becoming Prime Minister. After literal months of conflict between herself and others (Karl Huxley was one, who ended up getting into CAB) it all came to ahead in December of 2019 when Ravoux took the opportunity to seize power and exile her opponents.
   
   In the climax, there'd be militia groups roaming the streets under her orders hunting for opposition, while an exiled 'Republic' would eventually come in and topple her. In the end? She'd reveal the truth about Cerebellum and how she was working for them-- How the 'Empire could be defeated from above and below.' It was great, and the arc extended into 2020.

However, this wasn't the end. The totally separate group of players who were in the Militia would go on to establish a rebel group, seeing her as an Imperial figure, and going on to fight anyone and everyone to try and install someone related to her into power. Eventually we got stomped out and went into hiding, but it was the first thing that really got me into rebel RP, and it was a blast."

Out of 10 players on the server, how many would you describe as being new to the server?
"I'd say there are alot of new players, and a good bit of returning players. People who haven't played (or had a major interest in years) are coming back with what Nebulous has to offer now. With the failures of several unnamed communities there's been a great deal of people. I'd say there's a 6 regular - 4 new split going on."

"2020 has been a distinct change for nebulous imo. Building up on the year prior, I think 2020 helped solidify the community even more, and as a whole has just been generally pleasant. It did mark the unfortunate death of Stasiland, however I think nebulous has been drifting away from being a server with a forum into being a forum with a server, which seems very positive.

In comparison to years prior? Significantly more friendly, welcoming and overall pleasing. I wish I joined in a time like this, and not when telling someone to drink bleach was a common insult."

"I started playing in 2018 when the clockwork mentality was still there, but we were beginning to see change. I properly got involved at the start of 2019 and when 2020 rolled around, the community was near unrecognisable. We'd come so far from 2019 in 2020 alone.

With the world facing one of the biggest threats globally in 70 years, our numbers spiked. Half Life: Alyx exacerbated this and we saw a flux of new players coming into the server. This persisted until about July when nebulous saw its first actual competitor in years. Terranova came and swept up some of our playerbase. The players were equally divided between Terranova and Nebulous and we saw a bit of a low period until Terranova dissolved and was absorbed into willard.

After that, we had a 128 slotter which was good, but as the coordinators (@nexus and @Baker ) said was rushed and had to be implemented quickly, which to their credit they did do well for the time and resources they had.

The 128 slotter got us onto C24, a map the entire community wanted. After a week, however, we saw a massive fall in players to the point where peak times meant 20 players on. Obviously, a very bad time for neb.

We recovered though, and as we always do, bounced back with C8's release and we've been seeing blue skies ever since.

2020 changed a lot, we saw a lot, and it was for the better as Nebulous, in my opinion, finally had its place challenged which led to innovation. Competition = innovation."

Out of 10 players on the server, how many would you describe as being new to the server?
"I'd say it's an even split, we can't accurately measure this as many new players don't use the forums (i.e Barry who had an entire story line centered around him). So I guess 6/4 regular:new maybe."

Out of 10 how many would probably have premium membership?
"I'd chance somewhere around 3/10. I had it in 2019 briefly myself but cancelled it."

"2020 was a year of highs and lows. Alyx bumped the population up to heights we haven't seen in years for almost three months (alongside massive mentality shifts), but the latter half of the year was admittedly a little slower than usual and we hit a winter slump after a failed map change idea that we've since come roaring out of.

I know you haven't specified 2021 yet but the mentality and rule changes from 2020 have pushed the server into a brand new golden age and drawn so many people back. Our pop now sits to rival our healthiest in CW and has already lasted longer than most map changes of the time.

2020 changed a lot about the community, and for the better."

In Jan 2021 I posted on the nebulous forum asking how their HL2RP server had been through 2020. This was preceded by the 2019 interviews and was part of a series.

"Let's just say I enjoyed being a farmer, despite the fact my Farmhouse was a 'Noteworthy Location' that got searched like every hour by soviets or had gangs trying to mug me for food (and drugs). It was fun for a while. However, as populations dropped and shit, it was much harder to do anything.

One problem I found was a distinct lack of being able to do anything, like, if I didn't have my farm or car. I would've just run around the map looking for someone since Fork is a huge ass map. It was hard to find people and do someone in the short term that would be fun. You had to either be in a pre-determined group of friends/gang or business or within an actual faction to have a goal in mind. The common player base was essentially thrown into this cool map with cool features without even the slightest clue on what they should even be doing.

I barely saw any conflict during my period. The only noteworthy thing that happened was someone raided the airfield and my farm was next to it. My Character, Eric Armbruster, had a lot of dealings with groups, selling cocaine, refining red-phosphorous and stored DShK's in his barn, but even then, it felt like I was pointless within the world. Watching other people go around attacking checkpoints and having these epic gamer moments. Which if I felt pointless, I can't imagine how bored an average player with no flags or anything would be doing.

Stasiland had plenty of great ideas, some really cool features (except the money, please I just want to carry money and not take 90% of my inventory) but it felt really exclusive to factions or people who, as I said, already established. The server felt too 'open' if you catch my drift, where you spawn as a citizen, but it's not like hl2rp where you're forced within the city and there's already this established lore most people are familiar with. But instead, you're in Germany and you're not quite sure what to do with yourself.

To conclude, I enjoyed stasiland, it was fun and was pretty funny at times. But citizens make up a bulk of the playerbase, and without a designated 'role' for them to have, just meant all they could do is run around the map and passive rp with the one Wayfinder they met on the way."

"I still remember how I was walking on a hill and saw like an entire platoon of soviets and germans near the dock station, with BTR and all. I watched them fight and shoot insurgents in the city for 5 minutes or so, it was quite interesting even if it was far away.

Then I decided to pull out makarov pistol and start 'sniping' the soviets, took out one or two, and eventually reached the point that I kept all of them pinned in one building and Close-Air-Support was called, which killed me in 1 rocket when I fired and hurt the pilot lmao, got told that I wouldn't be PK'd since the helicopter was trying to S2M and hit me hiding in the forest.

Someone said that they thought they were being shot at by an actual sniper with a rifle, but it was just a fart-gun with 9mm.

Big Fork map was where all of the magic of WW3RP happened, long-range combat, NATO drones, planes, helicopters, white phosphorous, formation of insurgency, assassination of Scherbina by molotov, and endless source of gold-tier memes."