The bad sport mechanic is a fine idea but badly implemented. Also funny how the main way of griefing (frags by jet) is no longer penalised.
But the people saying it punishes players for playing a GTA game the way it's meant to be played (killing others and blowing stuff up) and that this is ridiculous are kind of right too.
Naturally I'm just guessing, but I think if a R* employee who worked on these things was to read this, he'd probably think something along the lines of; "You're not wrong, you're just an asshole."
If R* didn't want people killing eachother in free roam, then by default players would be impervious to attacks from others. In GTA IV there were still ways to kill eachother, but those could probably get patched too if they so wanted.
What R* was likely considering, and this is what a lot of players (including a bunch on the forum here) are forgetting or ignoring, is how much fun players have. Especially the weaker ones. The main difference between just playing the game and doing things that you do in the GTA universe and being a troll/griefer is (not) having any consideration for the fun of others. Basically, being an inconsiderate prick or not.
Logic also demands that if you feel wrongly accused here, you're probably just one of those players who completely forgot about how the gameplay experience is for others or that everyone has a so-called thick skin and doesn't give a rats derriere about getting killed repeatedly in a videogame.
Otherwise, if you don't care but the behaviour matches your playstyle, you're probably said prick and there's really nothing more to say about it.
The best way to deal with these things IMO would be to have different types of public sessions. There's plenty of ways to play privately, sure, but you shouldn't be forced to choose between two extremes; having to play all by yourself or being squashed like a bug every ten seconds. Yes, you can play with friends and crewmembers, but for many people these will not fill a session, and it's not the same as meeting random people. I've noticed there's also LOTS of loners out there.
They had the right idea in GTA IV. You could simply select to host or join a game without "friendly fire" and that meant not being able to directly kill eachother. It still allowed for everything else, naturally, such as chasing and ramming eachother, bringing cops to other players or doing stuff together with strangers without fear of someone ruining the party or people accidentally getting shot.
But most of this can be achieved by changing passive mode. How hard can it be for a game developing company with years of experience to implement a simple godmode switch for players? I think it could work if passive mode actually made you completely invulnerable to anything players (not NPC's, those really are just part of the game in every sense) can throw at you, regardless of wether it's bullets, explosives or cars slamming into you.
If no "safe" sessions are added, make passive mode free as well. Increase the timer when turning it off before you can hurt other players again, I believe it's five seconds now? Should be ten or fifteen. Ideally, add a range restriction so people can't use passive mode to walk into your camp spot, turn it off and then frag you. Perhaps add a warning that a nearby passive player is exiting passive mode. With all of these changes I think you could protect players without giving them easy ways to grief others.
Or just make different kinds of sessions so people can choose what kind of players to hang out with. Or rather, in what kind of environment.
Regular free-for-all FR as is standard now. Weapon kills disabled. All kills disabled (no kills by players possible).
Regular type session but without player indicators (blips, notifications that NPC's were sent after <X> or that <Y> grabbed a car requested by Simeon).
I do believe that there was an option for this in GTA IV free roam games. With no way of knowing where others are except by actual sighting or sounds of weaponry, everyone would have to be on their toes all the time. Stealth would actually be a (small) factor in survival. Silenced weapons aren't heard as far away, flashlights can easily give your position away. Driving vehicles that look normal and adopting a law-abiding driving style will decrease the odds of someone spotting you. Actual traps with friends and crewmembers can be set-up. Because let's be honest, if you're sitting on one street block or in one building (or train, or whatever else there is) with five of your high rank buddies, who is going to be stupid enough to walk into that? Noone, if they've played GTA:O for more than an hour.
But back on-topic...
If your K/D ratio is at positive 7, you clearly are the best player in the world and it's extremely unlikely that you're doing anything suspicious.
Ofcourse you're going to get reported if you get thousands of kills and not nearly as many deaths. Even if it doesn't seem like you're cheating in some way, people will probably report you just to try to get back at you. If you have nothing to hide then R* will not find anything and you can keep on playing, what's the problem here?
If it looks like you're cheating because of your eternal lag, all you can do is improve your connection or avoid confrontation with other players, because they can and definitely will report you.
