This is still an issue in 2020. it looks like the color of the face.jpg is added to the base model instead of replacing the base texture model.
As an extreme example on can create a fully white and a fully black face.jpg or paa
black paa:

I agree customization of the keys and controlling the camera with an XBox 360 controller would be awesome.
Also Zooming as in zooming with a virtual camera lense in the current spectator script would be very much appreciated
There's a preset for flying a helicopter with an xbox controller, so why can't we controll a flying camera with the same device?

I also noticed this. It's really annoying and makes using the TrackIR a pain. And with your weapon up and targeting with your scope you can't look left or right properly anymore.