Hello! I'm new to DayZ - I waited specifically for the SA to come out as I wanted a fresh introduction to the game. My experience has been good so far - there are problems for sure, but nothing that can't be ironed out/fixed. I'll go into those a bit later, but I first wanted to talk about my first 3 lives, as honestly, they were some of the most compelling gameplay moments I can remember. Life 1 - LOOT! I started out *completely* lost. I could just about walk, but couldn't figure out much else. After a lot of searching google, looking at the key bindings in game and trial and error, I managed to figure out the basics. My torch equipped and pointing in the right direction, I set off and made my way for the nearby houses in search of food, drink, and possibly other survivors. The houses were empty, and proved little in the way of sustenance. I was getting thirsty, and the sound of the sea lapping at the shore nearby wasn't helping. Maybe I could just try some salt water? Surely it couldn't hurt that badly. No, bad idea. Deciding to stick to the road, for fear of getting lost in the nearby forests, I made my way to.. well, whatever town might come next. As I walked I noticed what looked like a military complex come into view in the distance. Intriguing. I continued, being sure to keep my torch off for fear of alerting whoever else might be snooping around. As I approached, I suddenly noticed a torch light atop one of the buildings. Maybe two! Sudden fear mixed with intrigue and hope gripped me - surely anybody using a torch atop a building in the middle of night would be new like me? Surely they wouldn't be a seasoned pro... But wait, maybe it's a trap? Maybe they're trying to lure me into a trap? Damn, I don't know what to think. Deciding to risk it, I approached the building. Certain I'd be seen anyway, I decided to flash my light a few times - I wasn't a risk, and I wanted them to know that. Approaching the doorway I see the torch wielder. He kneels down, shining his torch at me. He looks wary too. I kneel, shine my torch away from him. We sit for a few moments - we aren't a risk to one another. I'll call him Dave. Both of us clearly had no headsets, and neither of us knew how to text chat, so we continued silently together to explore the rest of the base. Dave wanders off a bit. I'm hunting around and notice what looks to be a body on the floor near by. Interesting! I appraoch cautiously, and search the corpse. It's carrying an M4 machine gun, an enormous backpack, clothing, some rotten food and... a fire extinguisher. JACKPOT! Hurriedly I fumble with my inventory, trying to figure out what goes where and what I can take. I must have that gun. And the rotten food. And the extinguisher. Suddenly WHACK. You're bleeding. DAVE, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU PLAYING AT? I swing around to see Dave standing behind me, looking worried. I frown, wondering what on earth he's playing at. Then WHACK, another hit, this time from the side. I look and see a third surviver - his fists raised. In a situation like this, armed with a gun and rotten food, there's only one thing you can do. Run. I ran, and ran, and ran, terrified for my life, not risking a backward glance over my shoulder. Finally, I stop by a bush, kneel and check behind me. He's not there, thank god. I sit down to regain some energy. I can't help but notice my clothes are damp with blood. That guy hit me hard. I equip the M4 - I doubt it's got any bullets.. I test, I was right. The fire extinguisher looks pretty lethal - I equip it and head away from the base. So there I am. This rookie with backpack the same size as me, an empty M4 over my shoulder and a fire extinguisher in hand. My head's throbbing. I'm still bleeding heavily. I have no idea how to bandage myself. I need to drink, and eat. I'm not what feels like a safe distance from the military base, so I take a moment to sit down and rest my feet. You are unconcious. DAMMIT! I sit for 10 minutes hoping beyond hope I'll wake up. I don't. I respawn. Life 2 - Over quickly Life 2 was short lived (ha) - To summarise, I tried to melee a zombie with my fists and lost. Life 3 - OH MY GOD I'm hungry My longest life of the three! I started out near a rail road and what looked like an industrial rail station of some kind. Wondering whether rail road workers had much use for machine guns, rotten food and fire extinguishers, I eagerly made my way over. I head straight toward a large building - some kind of office maybe. I make my way up the stairs, searching rooms as I go (with no luck). On the top floor, I notice a sneaky ladder hanging from the ceiling. I climb it and find myself on the roof of the building - exciting! I wander, and find a Wrench on the floor. That'll be handy. I sit for a moment to check out my surroundings, wondering where I'll head next, As I do, I see a torch light in the distance. With Life 1's experience of other players I decide not to draw his attention this time and find a quick way down from the roof. I head into the nearby village/town and start to search some houses. Then I hear it - a pretty horrible moan coming from just around the corner. Wrench in hand, I cautiously approach and, sure enough, standing around the corner is a lady zombie. I smash her face in with the Wrench, though not before taking some pretty significant damage myself. Once again learning from the mistakes of my first life, this time I'm determined to bandage myself, somehow. I look at my inventory - what can I use? My t-shirt, that's literally the only thing. I tear it into rags and quickly bandage myself. It stops the bleeding, thank god. A quick search of the house results in a rotten orange. I take it and I wolf it down; beggars can't be choosers. A quick search of the zombie is fruitless, and at this stage with a rapidly depleting stock of bandages I just want to get away from the town and any further zombie attacks. So, I head for the nearby forest. I'm starting to get thirsty again, my head is throbbing, my mouth is dry. I start to feel sick. That orange. Damn. As I wander further, and further into the Wilderness, the ground around me starts to feel soggy. I flick my torch on and to my delight I see a pond near by. Quickly, I head over and dunk my head in for a long gulp of possibly deadly/poisonous yet all the same refreshing stagnant water. Slightly refreshed, I continue. I still feel sick. 10 minutes of running later and I'm starting to get dizzy. I'm starving, very thirsty, still feel sick. I can't run any more. There aren't any houses in sight, I feel completely isolated. I won't give up. Right clicking, I zoom in on my surroundings, and in the distance I notice what looks to be the top of a building. I'll head in that direction - I might not make it, but I'll try. It's slow going, I can barely stand and I'm getting weaker by the second. Another 10 minutes later and I'm finally approaching another small settlement. I can't hear any zombies this time, it seems quiet, and there's no sign of other players. Good. As I near a house I notice from the corner of my eye someone... something running in the darkness toward me. I zoom in and squint. That's no player. Thinking quickly, I pull out my trusty Wrench and wait. This zombie ain't moving quickly, but 20 seconds later he's with me. I cave his head in with the Wrench and bandage myself. I'm out of bandages. I start the process of very slowly hobbling to each house in the hope of finding something to quench my thirst and fill my belly. After 4 or 5 unsuccessful searches, I strike it lucky with a rotten banana in house 6. I eat it. I feel a bit sick again, but it wasn't half bad. As I stumble out of house 6, I almost kick over a canteen on the floor. It's half full, thank god. I gulp it down. I don't have room in my inventory for the Canteen, so I carry it in my hands - it might come in handy. Outside I find a well with a rudimentary drinking fountain/tap on top. I try to get it to work, but it won't. I stay there for 5 minutes hoping beyond hope it'll work, but fail. It's time to move on. House 7, 8 are fruitless, nothing. I get a momentary burst of energy from the banana and can run again, for at least a few minutes. Doesn't last long and I'm soon back to a slow crawl. House 9, nothing. House 10, seems empty. It's almost time to log off and go to bed. As I head for the door, I notice a can on a sideboard. What's this? Soda? It's Soda. SODA. YES SODA! I grab the can and gulp its contents down in one. Your thirst is quenched, your hunger is satisfied. For now. And I logged off. So there we have it! I'm currently still sat in that same house, looking forward to logging in once again to see what'll happen. I'm going to search the town some more, try to fill up my canteen if I can, before heading on to the next. I'm also going to try to find some friendly players to team up with.
