This is just an idea, put here to be criticized and discussed.
Plates:
Each player owned vehicle will receive a unique, 7 digit license plate.
Players may purchase custom plates at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) for $10k +/-
State vehicles plate will simply be “STATE”
Plate numbers will be shown in one of two ways.
Upon entering a vehicle the plate will be displayed where the fuel and speedometer are located.
By typing /plate playerID while within range, the range will be the same range currently used with /speed. The return text will be VehicleModel Plate#
Registration:
Player owned vehicles will need to be registered to legally drive on Liberty City streets and highways.
Registration can be payed at the DMV and will expire 7 days after purchase.
Fees:
1-3 owned vehicles: $50 per vehicle
4-7 owned vehicles $75 per vehicle
8-9 owned vehicles $100 per vehicle
10+ owned vehicles $150 per vehicle
Registration can be payed by going to the DMV and typing /payregistration. After typing the command a list of owned vehicles will appear showing which dates the vehicles were last paid. Typing /payregistration [plate#] will renew that vehicles registration making it legal to drive for the next 7 days. The registration will act as a simple 7 day timer, a player may renew early to reset the timer if they so desire. Stored vehicles do not need to be registered, and will receive no penalty or late fees for being unpaid.
When renewing a vehicle with expired registration it is recommended to visit the DMV in a State vehicle or an owned vehicle with current registration as driving with expired registration would be considered a traffic violation and is probable cause for a traffic stop.
Impound
Police Officers can check the status of a vehicles registration but the mechanism will vary depending on a few circumstances.
Typing /runplate [plate#] in the drivers seat of a police vehicle while stopped will return with VehicleModel PlateID, Valid from Date, or Expired on Date. The vehicle must remain stopped for 5 seconds after running the plate before the information will appear, any movement will cancel the process.
Typing /runplate [plate#] in the passenger seat of a police vehicle (while on duty) while in motion or stopped will return with VehicleModel PlateID, Valid Date, or Expired Date after 5 seconds.
If a Police Officer finds a vehicle being driven with expired registration they may conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, they may not /suspect a player for driving with expired registration.
The police Officer has the option to impound the vehicle, or give the driver a warning and a ticket costing $100.
To impound the vehicle the police officer must enter the passenger seat (to prevent abuse and drive-by impounding) and type /impoundvehicle [plate#]. This will render the vehicle inoperable, the same way a vehicle behaves when it runs out of fuel.
After this is done any mechanics on duty will receive a message stating that a vehicle is available for impound, mechanics going on duty can also type /impounds to see if there are any vehicles needing to be impounded, this command will show active impounds with plate numbers. They can then type /startimpound [plate#] to get gps coordinates to the vehicle needing to be impounded.
The mechanic will get a red X (like gps) showing the location of the vehicle, they will respond to that location with a flatbed truck, once in range of the vehicle they will type /impoundvehicle [plate#]. At this time the vehicle will go into the impound storage where it will be unavailable for retrieval for 24 hours. The mechanic will earn $250 for using a state flatbed, or $500 for using an owned flatbed.
To retrieve a vehicle the owner must go to the current impound yard (Fishmarket PD) and use /retrievevehicle. Retrieval will cost $200 or $500 if the player was a suspect at the time the officer ordered the vehicle impounded.
Thats all for now, might be forgetting some small details. The prices can be lowered or raised, the point is not to have players paying a lot of money but rather to add some variety and tasks to the game, and also tax those with many vehicles.
Flame away…