We could look at server wipes (extreme), or discounting the price of game-necessary items for newer players such as bank bags, factory crushers etc. We could also investigate how the building towards player to player interactions by stocking low grade foods in NPCs affects new players.
We could also look at the viability of a loans system from the bank, or a rentals system so new players and poorer players can rent items rather than invest large sums to buy them - perhaps renting the cookers in ronnies.
Bank robberies might cause a loss other real players money, some of which is insured, as another way.
The restrictions on players ability to do certain actions without renting a property also reduced roleplay and increased reports. Today was the first time I saw a player made passive rp structure in the form of a "favela" built near bridge. Usually players don't do this because they cannot profit without renting a property. This player was profiting from farming on the brick of trinity and so this clever build was removed. People lock themselves in their houses and then make a refund request if raided or similar. This also means going out on the streets becomes "unsafe" and increases fragrp; the same streets where players used to cook food and mend items for one another in public. This also plays into the shop system - marketing in public meant pop up markets and sales new players could benefit from. Now people either make a shop that gets PD raided or advertise and get warranted.
The high cost of death was made to increase life value, but causes others to shoot first and ask questions later so they don't lose items. The raised death bills mixed with the material losses from deaths and long death timer all ended up causing more fragrp and less trust and risk taking which is where fun and RP come from.
The attempt at managing and controlling unrealistic RP through development has accidentally created a city where no one trusts each other or acts charitably, locks themselves inside their houses, and shoots anything that moves. The way the server drives down profits has caused players to focus on making profit, and completely disregard the opportunity to be in a good community and have fun. Gang wars used to be funny, now they're just a business decision.
Free up the options players have, maybe even giving them toolguns, and trust players and the staff team to behave and follow the rules, and you'll find they respond well and start playing in ways that are not simply drone like and copying what the rules explicitly allow, and also not rulebreaking and bad for others.
You can do this through in game freedom, and by rewriting the rules to be a freedom based system - "you can do anything you like except these things", instead of a complex and messy rulebook built case by case through small reforms - for instance, I still find it silly but not unfair that I had a staff report accepted for walking into townhall and taking the mayor hostage, resulting in a 10 minute negotiation with no deaths, including the mayor. This was a positive situation which even the hostage enjoyed, and resulted in no losses to other players and even no violence. However, due to a mistrust of players to act positively, a rule exists that prevents someone from raiding townhall for any reason other than killing the mayor, and so I was punished.
The more players are restricted, the more they will start to misbehave for fun as they feel they do not belong to a community. The more freedom they have, the more they will build together. This includes the staff team - I understand why report times can be so long, because why take reports if all the game enforces is a city with empty streets and people locked in buildings?
