A lot of people come up with reasons for why Unturned 3.0 ended up being a PVP fest, and while almost all reasons contributed too it, I think one of the biggest reasons was related to the first experiences most player had with 3.0.
When 3.0 first came out it was a lot different from 2.0. Zombies hadn’t yet been added, so there was essentially no real single player challenge and joining servers was made easier than ever. This, plus weapons already being in the game essentially set up the perfect environment for deathmatches. People flocked to the servers to find weapons and become the “king of the hill”.
Contrast this to when 2.0 came out on steam (This is when I started playing). The zombies were much more challenging and fair (imo). Joining servers was hard but making a private server for you and your friends was easy, and the overall vibe detracted from PVP because survival seemed to be enough for most players.
Basically my point is despite the inclusion of better survival mechanics later in 3.0’s development, the first experience with a game often drives what we expect from it. If 3.0 had started with a lot more survival content people be more likely to treat it as a survival game.
So what does this mean? I think it would be best to hold off on a completely open beta until zombies and other threats are fully implemented so that we can intentionally design the first experience to be better. I know this could be a bit of a bummer for some people who just want to hop in and play, but games take a long time to make and its better in the end, trust me. (And besides, I’m sure Nelson is planning to give more keys as the closed beta progresses)
Anyways thanks for reading!