I'd be happy to donate any codes I get to this endeavour, as the friends I do have are either too entrenched in their favourite MMO (Mostly EVE and WoW) or not interested in this type of game.

However, my account has only been active for two weeks today and I've no idea when I'll actually get a code. Still, if you need them when I do get one, count me in!

You're still talking about adding mechanics to deal with a problem that only exists in the minds of a small amount of players though.

You think it adds immersion to be able to attack whoever you want, whenever you want. You might not even be the type to abuse that, but history shows that if you add such mechanics you will drive away any player who doesn't like it, because there are plenty of nasty people in the online world who will go out of their way to spoil things for as many people as possible because they get enjoyment out of it. This is why games like Darkfall are considered to be niche. Darkfalls subscriber numbers will never be close to the market leaders, or maybe even EVEs, because the sort of person who enjoys that type of environment is in a minority compared to the wider MMO-playing market.

The vast majority of PvE players have no interest in PvP, don't get any enjoyment from it, and wouldn't get any excitement out of the idea of being jumped by a combat mech while they're mining. You can't force them into mechanics that ruin their style of play just because not having it there ruins your style of play, you have to find the middle ground. At the moment I think PO does a decent job of it, as people who like to solely engage in PvE can wander around the Alpha islands and blow up NPCs and mine/craft to their hearts content while only worrying about NPCs, and the people who enjoy PvP can wander off to a Beta island and get ganked.

That's what it comes down to ironically. People who like PvP have one option, which is the Beta islands. On the Beta islands you get ganked by groups of players, and can't PvP unless you have another group of players backing you up. Some people want to be able to PvP on their own and the current system doesn't cater to that, so maybe some sort of arena system as has been tried and tested in loads of games is a possible solution?

A game has three choices: Cater to the PvP niche crowd, cater to the PvE majority, or try and put in mechanics that allow both types of player to enjoy their game. Some do the first (Darkfall, Planetside, EVE to a lesser extent), some rare ones do the second (I can't think of any PvE only games, even if the PvP is only in arenas) and most attempt the third option because that's what gives you the chance to attract the widest audience.

Am I missing something? Surely the solution to this problem already exists...

If you're the type of person who likes the "excitement" of possibly being nailed by a player in a combat bot while mining, turn on your PvP flag. Doesn't that make you a viable target even on the Alpha islands?

Then you can ignore the people who DON'T agree with you that it's exciting to have their hours of work (where they may only be able to play for an hour a day) blown up by someone who's bored and can't find enough PvP on the beta isles, to play they way THEY want to play.

Everyone's happy!

You can even create a group, like most people with niche interests do, of players who are known to turn their PvP flag on in the Alpha isles then, and gank yourselves silly without ever ruining the game for people who don't like it.