Dasein808

I've been having this problem as well and the best solution I have worked out so far seems to be to add something new to your active inventory (any item works as long as it was not already in your active inventory (I'm not sure whether or not items taken from your backpack will work, though)). For whatever reason, this seems to force the game to register the changes to your inventory,

I know.

By looking at their weapons and comparing them to your own to decide whether or not they have reason to kill you for what you own, or what they may think that you own; from there, it's up to you to determine the rest through what they say. I still say it's too risky to interact with strangers which is why I prefer to remain within my own group and generally avoid other survivors.

... Not what I was trying to imply. I was suggesting that if you're dumb enough to adopt a, "Oh, hai gaiz," approach in a post apocalyptic setting, then you get what you deserve, but you should still have enough sense to be able to visually assess your new would-be friend before revealing yourself and beginning your, "Wanna team up?" speech.

If you're dense enough to approach a stranger (reveal yourself) in game then you should also be able to at least assess their equipment versus your own, or at least what they're showing atm. Given the ARMA engine's atrocious weapon switch times, if it's not showing, then you still have 5-10 seconds to find cover during their animated lockdown. If you're foolish enough to try and talk with strangers in the game and they're not immediately meeting your conversational overtures with bullets, but instead responding either in chat or through voice communication, then you are reliant on your own real world character assessment skills to determine whether or not the person is a threat. The alpha state of the mod and its current nomadic server structure allows for a greater degree of anonymity than a statically bound server model. The inevitable result of the increased anonymity is an increased amount of unaccountable douchebaggery within the general population. This is why those that try to work with their newfound online friend should not be surprised when they find themselves betrayed for the "lulz."

It's a potential consequence for your would-be killer. Btw, why don't you look up "post-apocalyptic" and try and grasp why there should be no in-game consequence for murder in a lawless society. No, your mistake was letting them see you. Don't show yourself to strangers and you'll find your life expectancy increases dramatically (in the same that way it would IRL under similar circumstances). I never called you a "pussy," but I did generalize in the sense that I felt that the proposed suggestions were too mainstream in light of everything that has made this mod what it is (i.e. different from the mainstream market precisely through its unwilllingness to hold the players' hands (permadeath) using candy coated features (bandit skins)) You'll have to get back to me when you work out a "fix" for human nature. In the meantime, my most hands off proposal would be static servers to help facilitate more cohesive communities who can deal with it (or don't) as they see fit. As many have already pointed out, it's always going to be part of the game (I think it should be as well because when combined with the permadeath aspect, it's a large part of what makes it more exciting to play than other games). I just think that the current server structure promotes banditry in players that might not otherwise participate if they knew they would be dealing with more or less the same server population (i.e. promoting the sense of accountability that you're requesting without resorting to changing actual design mechanics)

The consequence for theft and murder is that you have just as much of a chance of having it done to you, how is that hard to understand? It's why I generally try to avoid survivors outside my group. I don't kill without provocation, and many times, I'll get the drop on another and wait until they move on in an attempt to avoid conflict and not be a "griefing douche." Also ,why do you need to rely on some externalized game mechanism when you can dispense your own justice by firing back? I know that you may not always be able to because sometimes you get killed outright, but those are the situations where you acknowledge that you made a mistake and you try to learn from it by adjusting your behavior. I have yet to see evidence that a "large majority" support the claims you guys want. I would rather see things left as they are with relation to the player models, but transition to a more static server model for a standalone game. I think that the anonymity provided by the game combined with nomadic server hopping contributes to rampant banditry more than anything else. It also limits the development of server based communities that could be formed under a more static model. These communities could decide their own solutions to bandits (if they even wanted to pursue some sort of bandit policing measures). I feel that this would be more in keeping with the sandbox nature of the game and allow the server communities to determine their own levels of tolerance for banditry.

We're more attuned to the spirit of the mod and can understand that a true post apocalyptic setting is one in which the previous rules and authorities of the former civilization are no longer relevant. It's this razor's edge of brutality that has allowed this mod to make the impression it has. It's not candy-coated and surrounded with rubber bumpers and arrows to guide you safely through your journey. Your decision to trust a stranger is tied to your ability to judge character and motivation not because he's not dressed like a "bandit." Stay strong with your vision, Rocket. Ignore the casuals trying to turn this into something warm and fuzzy. Keep it cold, sharp, and fucking brutal.

Semi-related: Since 1.72, I have been having problems with game animals vanishing either before or after being killed and / or gutted. Last night, I was stalking a cow in the moonlight with my revolver. I fired and he fell down, but his body disappeared before I could gut it; another one vaporized as I was switching weapons in preparation for the kill. A goat I killed also had its body disappear immediately after being gutted. I have yet to see any other mention of these issues so far and while it's unrelated to the OP's topic, it seemed like an appropriate place to add this information instead of starting a whole other thread.