Well.. server down once more, so why not contribute to this discussion now..
I've been thinking about the army-of-alts issue very often, i for once hate alting. At current state of the games structure it IS a nessecity for single player or any player that just wants to have all benefits from the different aspects of the game.
Maybe there's another way to approach this.
How about a revised merc/companion system?
In FO1+2 there were all kinds of different companions, some who could fight well, others who had other helpful skills (e.g. Lenny who FA'd when your FA was lower than his, Vic who repaired..).
So what if there were different built mercs than only the fighters available?
It could be something like this:
1. Mercenary class Contractors, they can't respawn like mercs and have more or less average skills for low/medium tier actions/crafts. They cost money and need regular payment for loyalty or else they leave on their own. They level a bit over time but not to comparable greatness of companion class.
Some examples:
Field Medic
-hireable from any doc in towns
-FA at 150
-DOC at 100
-heals you and your fighters in battle
Laborer/"Mule"
-hireable on "marketplaces"
-high carry weight
-can be used like slaves at mine,
-can be ordered to collect junk from random map for player
-can be ordered to chop wood
-can be ordered to deliver what is in his inventory to a location of players choice (town/tent/base).
Chemist
-hireable at high-tech places like vault city
-crafts drugs on demand if ingredients are put in his inventory
Smithys
-hireable at workshops
-different professions (SG/BG/EW/Armor)
-craft weapons and ammo on demand if parts are put in their inventory
Scoundrels
-hireable at "underground" places like thieves guild in hub
-Lockpick at about 150
-Traps the same
-pick containers and disarm traps (who would have thought THAT..)
2. Companions that are more hybrid-ish. Or Companions that even can't fight at all but have functions like contractors above, only better skill/more craftable stuff. Able to respawn at designated point on death or player death.
3. In addition to hireable "takeaway"-contractors there could be more shops that provide same services locally. (well, maybe not lockpicking,traps..) This would be of use for players with no CH/PP. Therefore the npc disposition should be changed from "under 3 CH almost no one talks to you" to "well ok you got CH 1, npc still talks to you but is really hard on you". A CH 1 player is not able to take any followers, so he must rely on local services for higher prices, which then could be improved by barter skill. Meaning one could play a hardcore loner-asshole char but still get all services at skills he doesn't have himself.
If you like to play a doctor, then you hire some mercs that keep you safe.
If you play a thief, then maybe a laborer is in order to carry all that stolen stuff away to safety since u got not so much carry weight.
If you're out for pvp - let the smithys take care of supplying you with top condition gear.
and so on..
This wouldn't totally prevent alting of course, but could be an encouraging aspect in the game to stick to your char and still get everything else you need somehow. In combination with beforementioned suggestions like relog timer, higher lvl cap, adjusted skill requirements this could be a nice experience.
Now this looks kind of my "christmas list" for fonline and I sadly have absolutely no idea how all this could be realized but maybe devs take it into consideration for a big feature expansion for next wipe
Actually this is the tip of the iceberg of my wishes for this beautiful game... Can't put all that here..
Well, and now for your devastating criticism of these thoughts...
-Oh and if something like this was suggested before, please don't flame me for not finding it in a years old forum full of tons of data