That's pretty awesome. Perhaps next time they'll protect their assets better.

Maybe someday, but I'd say right now there is no endgame, no metagame.

Honestly, I'd say no for a lot of reasons. That's just me.

Okay, Your complaint is that you're killing people now because 1) people are fighting back, or two 2) the mechanics prevent you from robbing people the way you desire. With option 1, your threat of violence obviously is not a big enough threat, or your victims are poorly chosen and have nothing to lose by dying. With option 2, your only choice is to complain that the games mechanics prevent the sore of highwayman scenario you desire. Your post is hinged upon the fact that you can't play the way you want to play, so you say that you're being forced to engage in a type of behavior you would rather not. So you've essentially become part of the problem if you subscribe to the viewpoint that robbing is preferable to random killing. Nothing wrong with your post mind you, just that it's not the victims fault either, it's that player behaviors are dictated by and large by the game design. Players will pick the path of least resistance that corresponds with their playstyle. At this time there aren't any game mechanics to encourage better behaviors either by the bandits or the victims.

So at some point one of a few things will happen. Either A) the mod will be updated to discourage such behavior or make it distasteful as to not engage in the behavior, or B) it will continue and likely get worse depending on the numbers of players playing. This isn't the first rodeo for this type of gameplay and gamers. Multiserver PvP muds, mmo's have had this exact issue for decades and ultimately no amount of forum hand slapping is going to change the behavior. Look at every single open PvP MMO since the text days and beyond. The solution isn't to kill the troll with fire, but to kill the reward system where unsavory behavior isn't rewarded by lax game mechanics. Ergo, it's the fault of the mod.

I agree with a lot of your observations and postulate that it is only going to get worse.

Is this the fault of the player or of the mod itself? Sure it's the type of play I think many people don't agree with, but as long as the game allows the behavior is will continue and likely increase as the popularity of the product increases. The effects of which will ultimately be negative for the community and the game. In any case, let me get my rope to your gasoline. :)

I'd pay 50 bucks or 60 up to 80 for a special edition provided the product was in the hands of developers with the resources to balance, polish and expand the game in a way that would allow the product to grow as the community grows.

The real test is what you do with the challenges you face. Acknowledge the needs and seek outside assistance, or tackle the problems yourself as they present themselves. Ultimately it's a question of scale and resources. There are certainly advantages of having experiance and size on your side to be balanced with having your hands on the wheel of the ship at all times. In either case, hang in there.

For me, I'd prefer the game be purchased with extremely limited microtransactions, limited to clothing only. I'd prefer that a studio develop the game that has the size and scale to make sure the game gets the development and resources it deserves. I'm not sure kickstarter is needed really, someone like Valve should just come along and help the dev team make this into a stand alone product. Provide the resources to polish and technical expertise on the more difficult aspects of development. That's just me though.