My suggestion is in part about a feature that allows you to Enable/Disable your status for PvP.
Enabling this feature means you can be shot by any player at any time. It also allows you to participate in PvP actions such as Town Control, Arena, Events, and so on.
Disabling this feature means you cannot be shot by another player, but shooting another player will result in you being Enabled for PvP. You cannot participate in Town Control, or any other action that requires PvP.
Certain aspects of the above options can be effected by in game actions. Mainly if you are Disabled for PvP, and you shoot another player, enter an unguarded town/area, enter a tent/base you will become Enabled until you leave those areas/stop shooting people and CD. A possible addition is while in a Guarded town, if you break the rules in any fashion (steal and get caught, attack an npc/player, door block, ect.) you become Enabled; *and possibly blown away depending on your crime*
When going from Enabled to Disabled, a 5 minute cooldown can be in effect, meaning until that 5 minutes is up you are still Enabled, and doing anything that would normally Enable you for PvP will still do so, thus requiring you to wait another 5 minutes.
While Disabled for PvP, players can experience the Wasteland and Guarded towns in reasonable peace. Any players that are traveling with you (tagged) may still injure you, and even shoot you. *This takes away the chance for people to Rocket away at each other with no fear of AoE dmg* Also anytime you use the Radio to send a homing signal you become Enabled along with everyone in your group and whomever uses the signal to enter your encounter. *This making it so groups who travel in the using radio signals because they don't have Cha, are still effected by each others weapons. Also adds to the RP that if you're calling on a radio you're leaving yourself open* A reason why this should be allowed in the wasteland itself is it can help balance the fact that in TB combat if you drop in on a group of PK's they get a full turn+ to decide where they're gonna shoot you. In RT combat it allows for much the same balance because you can still run or fight depending on your style.
A later idea that was brought up is that only lower level characters have the option of not being flagged for PvP, again with the above stipulations still in place.
PROS: This can drastically lower the amount of Guarded town player killings/bombings. It can allow those players who aren't designing their characters JUST for PvP to explore and enjoy the game, perhaps leveling up to eventually join the PvP aspects. Lower level players will not get nearly as abused or disheartened by overcharged PK's with nothing better to do than camp near popular areas. This will allow people to more fully test and inspect many more areas of this beta, the reason being they won't be constantly forced to stop just because they aren't a level 21 PvP character traveling with 4+ people. It may actually increase the player base, because the door is opened to more than one style of game play. Higher end gear will mean more to people, those who wish to use it out in the wastes will only have to contend with NPC's and the many challenges they can bring. Adding a sense of accomplishment when getting that gear knowing you don't have to just hide it away cause it's so easily lost.
CONS: Many players who devote their time on this game to only hunting people will be discouraged and upset at the loss of targets. It may become exploitable in some fashion I haven't thought of, thus causing more grief to players. People may level up their non-PvP characters, then attempt the PvP aspects of the game, and become discouraged because of going up against pure PvP's. People may choose to still grief low level players when encountered in the wastes by shooting all the stuff in the encounter and then looting it, but that's a far cry from losing everything you may have worked hours to get with no choice.
In all honesty having this feature added does not mean it HAS to stay, it is only a test after all. Because so many of the things in this game that cause people grief and make it so much harder to do anything are connected to the fact that you can be shot anytime anywhere by anyone willing to do so, with GM's and Dev's unable to be on or around constantly to fix every exploit/exploiter makes this a possible solution. Having a choice at the least in places where you 'Should' be safe could make a big difference to people and the game.
