Ive been around this server longer than most of you have even known it existed. Ive seen every so called "golden age" come and go, and let me tell you, none of them were as perfect as you remember. People love to romanticize the past, but what you call "serious roleplay" back then was just as shallow as it is now, only dressed up differently. The truth is, people just stopped pretending to care, and honestly that makes things more genuine.
Raiders? Ive fought them, Ive been one of them, and they are the reason this server still has any lifes in it. The endless raids, the chaos, the shootouts... thats what actually gives people stories to tell years later. Without that constant conflict, the city would be nothing but silent bases churning out drugs. Anyone claiming raiding "ruined the server" has clearly forgot that it was raiding that built its identity in the first place.
Roleplayers? I have watched wave after wave of them cycle through, and its always the same. Half of you spend more time AFK than actually interacting. You sit around waiting for someone else to make your story for you, then jump on the forums to cry when it doest go your way. Thats not roleplay, thats dead weight. The raids ARE the roleplay. The adrenaline, the buildup, the aftermath... thats what creates a living city. Everything else is just background noise.
And staff? Ive seen more staff lists than I can even count, and it never changes. Favoritism, kneejerk bans, cliques looking after their own. People complain about it like its some new thing, but its been part of the culture here since day one. Whether you like it or not, the drama is half the entertainment. If staff ever actually "fixed" things, the place would be a graveyard.
Now let me tell you who really keeps this place alive: the tow truck drivers. Ive watched them since the old days, tirelessly hauling wrecks off the road, getting screamed at both cops and criminals, and never once breaking character. They are the last true roleplayers on this server. They keep the streets clear so raids can happen, they create confrontations when someone parks like an idiot, and they give people a reason to interact that isnt just AFK grinding. Without tow truck drivers, the whole thing collapses. No raider would even make it to a shootout if every road was clogged with abandoned cars. No cop would have an excuse to pull someone over. No citizen would get to whine about their precious car being dragged off. Tow drivers are the unsung backbone of PERP, and only vets know it.
PERP was never serious RP. Its always been a playground for raiders, grinders, staff cliques, and the tow truck drivers who hold it all together. The chaos IS the golden age. And if you cant handle that, you were never cut out for this community in the first place.
- Jorge Guadalupe