A few comments.
OK, it's an idea thread, spam me if you want, but I'm a coder and if people like the idea, I'll probably create it, although I'll most likely base it on a pre-made RP script, since there's no point wasting time on the basics.
Even though it's an idea thread, it's a good idea.
Also, I'd like advertise my own gamemode. Try it :3
Anyway, the idea is to get HL2 RP right, which requires looking at the HL2 universe.
As a citizen, you live under the oppressive rule of the combine. The CP's randomly do drug busts and beatings as well as always checking for anti-citizen behavior. There's no 'spawn' menu though, or toolgun. In fact, I would expect such a regime to give certain people (who apply?) licenses to sell certain things. And I don't mean gun dealers, I mean people to sell furniture, food, pretty much everything you can 'buy'.
Don't forget that 'checking anti-citizen behaviour' means beating up every citizen who is stupid enough to bump at you :3 (No, seriously. Barney did mention something about a 'beating quota' in the beginning of HL2, didn't he?) Also, see my last comment regarding the spawnmenu.
I would limit players to only owning one type of license at once. However, they can 'spawn' these items, from a custom menu, using combine deportation tech, they can have batches of 5 items delivered. To their 'virtual store'. They can then sell the items individually, making a profit.
I find this idea good, too!
All citizens would be given rations on top of what they trade between each other, daily, but only small amounts, barely enough to keep hunger under control (hunger, of course, would be included).
By joining the CP, or helping the CP (if you were to find a warranted anti-citizen, you could turn them in, for example), citizens could earn tokens.
Then, there's always the rebellious route, label yourself as a rebel, but be careful, if you're spotted by any CP in rebel gear, you are automatically a target of attack, for obvious reasons. Then you can trade in the black market, which has no license system of course, but is high expensive to get the parts for a gun, which you'd have to make yourself using building skills. (I'm a big vague on the gun stuff).
This should be a bit like on TnB. There's only a small amount of trusted people, who are allowed to be rebels. And this means mainly that they randomly do some attacks on combine, but mostly do passive RP outside the city. Only a few people really can sell guns.
Lastly, custom toolgun which would just really be nail, rope, maybe a welder tool too.
You could just restrict tools, but whatever.
Anyway, other ideas to make HL2RP actually like the HL2 universe would be great, I'm sick of RP gamemodes using the sandbox menu as a base and allowing you to spawn props and slap them together at will.
Well, that's mainly because it's convenient to use pre-existing systems familiar to the user. They want to furnish their apartment a bit, so they fire up the spawn menu and spawn a few sofas.