abysmal

I think 3rd person and crosshairs are at best debatable, and at worst unnecessary, but we NEED a system of identifying other players. There is nothing more immersion destroying than not being able to tell my group members apart from each other, or recognize another player. Please don't remove ID's. The servers without them are massively less enjoyable for me (they discourage ad hoc grouping), and in almost no way better.

I really don't want to see the playerbase become fractured. I really like the interaction of different playstyles in a single environment, and if we make PvE severs, the others are going to become more or less dedicated PvP.

Yes, scrap them. It makes the mod feel too 'gamey' (like a Gmod RPG) for my tastes, has not served to eliminate PvP in the slightest. The fact that it is taking your attention away from more pressing matters is reason enough, especially when there are a lot of features I think that almost all of the players can agree we want. The fact it is so polarizing and divisive is proof enough that it isn't working as it should.

Can you elaborate on where to find these deer stands?

It seems really odd that .45 rounds are more damaging than 5.56, considering that the former has a net energy of around 475 joules and the latter's net energy is around 1660, not to mention it has a unique tendency to 'tumble' inside one's body and cause massive trauma. I think I speak for everyone when I say I would rather take a bullet from a 1911 than an M249. 9x19mm is also comparable to .45 in terms of net energy, and should probably do the same damage.

Here is what I feel about PvP: people obviously like the game as it is, as is visible in the meteoric growth in player numbers and perpetually full servers. Any compromise or removal of the PvP system would massively alter the gameplay. I think the worst thing we could do is totally change the game through feature creep, and break something that people obviously love.

What needs to be accounted for in the evaluation of what happens when we are offline is the fact that it is difficult enough right now to even get in a server. Therefore, even if the player wants to log-in to avert this, they are unable. Like I am right now.

I am in total agreement..

Armory mode is a sandbox mode that comes with Vanilla Arma, wherein you periodically get missions in a manner very similar to how you suggested. I really think discovering what you can do in game is most of the fun, and I'm not sure I like the game 'condoning' certain activities. It takes the fun away, for me at least.

This is just what we need to put the focus of the game back on fighting zombies, and make it competitive with PvP in terms of the loot yields

I really don't think this game should turn into Armory mode.

I agree with you in thinking that some more variation might definitely be nice. I was thinking about installing this replacement pack, and it might be preferable to the default skins. http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=13097 However, I still think the variation should be 'natural', and not an incentive for the player. Nobody with a 4 hours life expectancy should be worrying about what they are wearing, and especially what they will be wearing after they 'die'. Instilling a sense of persistence across lives would really destroy the atmosphere and be a turn-off to new players I think. All in all, I think whatever gameplay incentives there are should serve to keep the gameplay centered around survival, not collection.

Can we please let this not turn into hat fortress 2? The game shouldn't be about vanity and collecting clothes, it should be about survival. I feel that preoccupation with appearance has no place, and will only detract from the serious tone that the game should have. Just because unlocks have become ubiquitous in FPSs and WoW doesn't mean we should adopt them. DayZ should be a counterpoint to the current Xynga/CoD gameplay trend of obsessive collection. The last thing I want to see is a refreshingly original, uncompromisingly challenging gameplay experience become its own antithesis.

This reminds me of that part in The Road when the man forces a thief to surrender his possessions and tries to convince the boy that sparing his life made them better than the roaming murderers they faced, only for the boy to later remark "But we did kill him." In short, this would be a good way for people to effectively murder each other, but dodge the humanity effects of doing such a thing.