In this guide I hope to explain HL2:RP to a good standard for players hoping to get started and a general guide for everyone. I will be acting on any feedback given depending on the quality. I have played almost 200 hours of HL2:RP and 400 hours of other types of SeriousRP. Game modes such as DarkRP have been worn dry by the rape sweps and general cancerous staff. HL2:RP seems like a fresh place to enter and enjoy. I have picked up experienced on all areas and hope to share some of it to the small HL2:RP community.

HL2:RP takes place before Half Life 2, so Gordon Freeman has not yet been awoken and the rebellion hasn't formed to a massive number. Combine has a strong grasp on all communities and runs the cities in a tight, violent manner. The cities are run by an Administrator and Sectorial Commander.
Sectorial Commander is the Combine arm of the city, while the administrator is the human arm.
The cities remain under heavy surveillance with the usage of Type I Scanners (City Scanners) or immobile scanners.
Citizens may be given tasks to do such as boxing rations, but the majority of the work is handled by Civil Workers Union. The Metropolice Force overwatch any operations in the city and enforce the laws set out by the Combine and the Administrator.

Creating your character for the first time can be a difficult concept as you need a backstory, a name and a physical description of your character. Your backstory does not need to be displayed but may be required for applications.

Naming your character is usually the easy part. As long as the name isn't silly and won't provoke anyone, for example "Adolf Hitler" or "Bob Good"
Here are some examples of names:
David Mcmillan
Mark Davies
Daryl Watterson
Your name will usually have to be approved by an admin, but that doesn't stop you from continuing to RP. If they spot an issue, they will usually confront you about it. If they kick you, they're either inexperienced staff members or looking to start a fight with someone.

Your characters physical description is what everyone sees when they walk up to you. For example, "Dark hair" or "Big lips" and it may describe accents.
Descriptions such as "Tall | Male | White" aren't considered acceptable.
Description should be descriptive.
Descriptions such as:
"6"4 | African-American descent | Steady Stature | Big build | English Accent | Standard issue civilian uniform | Heavy brown boots"
Try making the description match your player model.

Life as a citizen can be difficult and may remain difficult. You are roleplaying as a person with a heavy weight on their shoulders restricting their actions.
While under surveillance.

If you want to take part in RP as a loyalist, you may want to invest in a request device. This is used to report criminal activity to the Dispatcher which will then route MPF to your location. Once holding a request device in your inventory, type in chat "/request (Crime) (Location)" If no location is transmitted, it may take longer for MPF to be routed to your location. If a crime is reported, an officer may reward you with Loyalty Points which grant you access to additional rations, the ability to apply for Civil Workers Union, and if required, the MPF.

If you want to take part in rebel RP, You may invest in weaponry from a Black Market Dealer, maybe mug citizens or steal equipment from the MPF. This will make you classed as an anti-citizen if witnesses and reported committing a crime. The murder of an officer is a Level 7 violation which will result in an amputation (death) of your character and prevent it from ever being used again. If committing a minor crime, you may receive a Penalty Point which will restrict you from receiving things such as rations (after receiving 6 negative points) or even lead to an amputation. Crime punishments include: Re-education (knocked out and then thrown on the street), public re-education (knocked out publicly and then thrown on the street) A cycle in detainment (A cycle = 5 minutes in prison) or amputation.