Why do you think civies are killed?

[Solid Knight]

All very good points. Don't engage unless they are a threat to you. This philosophy, along with the proposed changes for 0.85, will hopefully make the civi class not only bearable, but much more fun and useful than before.

The problem is, in a game, you know they're on the other team which means they're always a threat.

[McBumLuv]

The problem is, in a game, you know they're on the other team.

I don't see how that should be a problem if you also know that in-game they can't harm you, and you should ID them first. If you fear them giving away intel of your location, well shooting back surely isn't going to help.

I'm not quite sure what you could mean other than that, though I'd be glad to hear what you have to say.

[Solid Knight]

I'm saying that by the very nature of the game it is impossible to have some sort of neutral faction. You're either team one or team two. You play for team one or team two. Everyone playing the game knows who is on what team.

Then of course there are other factors. You can't play as a pro-US civilian on many servers simply because you get kicked for giving away caches or dumping vehicles. Why, I'm a civilian, shouldn't I be able to help the US by any means necessary if I feel so inclined to do so? Then there are civilians that actively help the insurgents, calling in mortar strikes, riding in their vehicles, helping them get into position, running through enemy fire to heal the wounded. They've made their alliance pretty clear. Hell, they spawn at insurgent hideouts. That pretty much explains it all. Also, the fact that you're arrested on the spot (should you not be gunned down) kind of shows that you're not really a civilian. I guess that's why they're called "collaborators" which is just a short way of saying an insurgent who isn't a grunt.

So really, no matter how you look at it is just doesn't work out. It would be far better to have another insurgent kit type than to attempt to portray a role that the game isn't really suited to portray. It's just something that sounds cool in theory but in practice is highly impractical.