Originally posted by Megahurts:

I play permadeath, but I've been known to continue a world with a new character if I hadn't progressed too far. Still going through the motions of crafting my own gear and weapons but utilizing any structures and roads etc. that were left to me ;)

That could make for a very interesting variant - permadeath character, permanent world. Heck, leave the infrastructure, supply dumps, and portals (if any) in place but require the new character(s) to make all their own equipment. Unsure if that would be a blessing or a curse as skill levels would likely suffer.