How is it a server that was ranked in the top 100 is now barely under 1000, is it really the maps that are played? The players that play and contribute to the server? Or the server rules which dictate how the game mode is played? The following possibilities to the downfall of Jail could be the guards, the prisoners, the game play, the maps, the rules, or maybe something not in that list.
Lets start first with the guards, who have been as of lately, pretty lack luster. Many guards are just so bad it makes you question why they want to play as one. They fail to notice if someone is missing and rebelling, they fail to control the prisoners beyond the cell block, and they even fail to prevent themselves from baiting by not using areas designed for them. However, on the other end of the spectrum of guards there are those who are overly strict and tend to ruin the fun for prisoners just as much, or if not more, than those who are just poor guards. Those who are overly strict tend to shoot on sight of the smallest infraction such as shooting those who bumped their mouse and caused their in game character to twitch. These are the guards that cause a relaxed environment to be be an no-fun, unfair, and unrewarding playing environment.
To be a successful guard, one must be assertive. If a guard is passive or aggressive then they will cause the prisoners not to have fun or be able to do their objective of rebelling. If a team of guards is full of a assertive players, those who are able to control the prisoners but yet able to move them from area to area to have fun and give the chance of them to escape or rebel. A success team of guards will be able to have slightly more wins than the prisoners. Assertive guards know how not to bait by using areas designed for them. What areas are designed for them you may ask yourself? Well lets take a look. There first are the catwalks or raised pathways that make it hard for the prisoners to kill a guard with their knives. Next there are the guard towers which are towers that highly raised and may contains sniper rifles for long distance sharp shooting. Finally there are areas behind fences or glass windows that provide safety from knives and even bullets which allow guards to be on the same level as the prisoners but in safety. A good guard also knows if a prisoner is missing and trying to escape. Failure to do so or swiftly generally will result in a prisoner being able to kill multiple guards before being eliminated. If the guards are to win they must quickly assess the number of prisoners accounted for and swiftly eliminate those who are rebelling. Guards also must know how not to be too strict and prevent the prisoners from having a fun time. Finally, wardens should not use free days or 'Hide and Seek' days if they're team is taking heavy losses and do not have a lead over the prisoners. Either of these days should only be used if and only if the prisoners have not won many rounds and used to help improve their morale.
Next, the prisoners must be able to understand the Jail Break game play. Jail break was designed to be a team based game play mode in which the prisoners work as a team to over throw the guards and destroy the prison or escape from it. If the prisoners fail to work as a team against a team of assertive guards then they will fail to win. Prisoners should realize the games they play on the maps are actually there to help them rebel and escape. Without them the guards wouldn't move them around to areas and kill them off that way thus causing it to be much harder to rebel and escape. Prisoners should work as a team but not rely on each other to start a rebellion. If only one or two start to rebel but fail the rest should not see if they are successful or not otherwise those who waited may not get the chance to get a kill. As a team prisoners should coordinate when, where, and how to rebel therefore increasing their odds of winning. It is also up to the prisoners to notify their teammates if they are going to plant the bomb so that they may get in position to rebel, hide or run.
Now comes the game play and what is it now. Jail break originally was for the prisoners to rebel and the guards to prevent the rebellions. Now days it has become to the point where prisoners don't even know they should be rebelling and even complain when a bomb is planted thus making them all wanted. That was the objective not to sit around and twiddle their thumbs. It was up to the whole to team work together to win not just a lone ranger. On the other side, guards should also not just let prisoners walk off because they're afraid to shoot them or fail to even notice them leave. They should work together to keep the prisoners in check and still allow the prisoners to have fun by utilizing the map without playing games in cell block for half of the round. Guards should also prioritize defusing the bomb and not killing prisoners unless they're in their way to said objective. In addition to the following, some say its the maps' fault that Jail is dying but is it really? Lets take a look at the maps which have many things to do on them from swimming in a pool, to climb an obstacle course to fooling around in a cafeteria and even racing on a large course. Many guards fail to use the map and what it has to offer saying there isn't anything to do but in reality there is tons of stuff to do whether its basic games in areas like climb, race, maze, etc to innovating new games for those areas to make it more interesting and less repetitive. Adding new, or former maps to the server will only help boost population for a while before the hype is over and the population dies out again. It is said putting a band aid on a severed limb will only help so much before the injury is just too much for such a small solution.
Maps such as 'Prison Break Final', 'Alcatraz (Jail Break Version)', 'Prospekt', and others are being called boring when there's nothing to do on them but a few things. Lets start with 'Prison Break Final' or PBF for short. This map has a kitchen, pool, sauna, bathrooms, solitary, yoga, and an out side. There's many things to do if the warden chooses to be innovative such as an interesting game in yoga where they must exercise or be killed or solitary where one cell will die such as like couch game or even the sauna where if someone leaves first they die for exiting before being told or whatever one can imagine. Next is 'Alcatraz' Jail Break Version which is designed more for rebelling and escaping than sitting around and doing nothing. This map has a climb, pool, soccer, cafeteria, kitchen, a boat dock and even showers. Just because they're not labelled as such doesn't mean they aren't there. Many games could be invented here if the warden spends more than 3 seconds thinking about what the prisoners should do. Next and lastly for now is 'Prospekt' which is a remake from the original which also had a similar layout but with less guard areas making them more vulnerable to being killed by the prisoners. This map is heavily based around rebelling and escaping but offers a pool, cafeteria and soccer field to keep those not rebelling in check. There are other maps people do the same things each round instead of mixing it up each time and taking a chance to go places and do new things. Wardens should be more innovative and not do the same things the last warden did.
Additionally some might say the rules are either too strict or not strict enough, well at least clear enough as some still try to find loop holes and break the rules because they can. Having guards break the rules such as gun planting, baiting, not being with in visual range of the prisoners makes it not as fun to rebel or just to mess around and have fun. Having prisoners easily rebel due to guards that break the rules makes it less fun for both sides as it becomes less of a challenge for the prisoners to rebel and for the guards that follow the rules they tend to suffer in the face of their teammates breaking the rules. It is up to the admins and players to make sure the guards are not breaking the rules just as the prisoners should not be breaking the rules.
