Nerdsauce

Sounds like the server you are playing on hasn't been reset, or there is someone who has spawned before you that has cleared the place out (or more than one). Try different servers until you find one with some loot.

Thanks guys for the responses :) I think I will definitely go for a slightly more populated server (I think I will stick to YourClassClown's advice in going for servers with a max of 20 users on). I've got a small list of places that I don't think too many people visit that hold quite a bit of decent loot - all within a short run/walk from the spawn points so gear like backpacks, food and drink isn't a problem - I can even get my hands on a full med kit pretty quickly now too. Do you think I should try and loot myself a gun from an empty server first, before entering a more populated one? So far, even on virtually empty servers I've yet to successfully get myself kitted out with one (though, I've found plenty of ammo) because the only time I came close, I made a noob error and tried to be nice to some heavily armed individuals camping out on the airfield and they shot me.

Hey fellow survivors! I have a couple of bambi-style questions for you lovely peeps.... I have so far played between 24-48 hours of DayZ SA - all of them on virtually empty servers. I focused mainly on those because I am a lone player and I wanted to get used to basic survival and how the game mechanics work. However, now that I feel I can comfortably keep my character fed, watered and able to defend against the odd zombie attempt to make me its dinner I would like more interaction with other players. But - and here's where my problem lies - I have been made extremely wary of well-populated servers because of all the talk about players killing bambis on sight. I want interaction - not constant pointless death lol. As such I am not sure if I should chance the more populated servers, or stick to my rather lonely existence on virtually empty ones. Also, again thanks to all the issues surrounding KoS players I am unsure whether or not to attempt to arm myself with a gun, or remain as an axe-wielding scavenger. I know that getting myself some decent armor and a gun will make my survivability odds better - but I am also acutely aware that arming myself makes my character an instant threat in many players eyes. Not to mention the actual difficulty of acquiring anything decent thanks to people camping out the airfields and military bases looking for bambis to shoot. So, what do you peeps think? Should I stick it out on quiet servers with just my trusty axe - or should I start playing in higher populated servers and perhaps even try to get myself a proper weapon to better my chances of survival and make the game experience overall more interesting?

Survive until you die, and then survive until you die all over again. Rinse and repeat :D

Oh yes, I forgot about that option - nice catch! :D

The only two places I have ever spawned is Solnichniy and Kamyshovo - seems I am stuck eternally to those two spawn points for some reason. Wish there was a way to manually select your spawn point, or at least force it to cycle through the other locations instead of leaving it completely to chance.

LOL that's happened to me before too. It's better if you hold Shift down whilst pressing the W key - that makes you walk at a normal pace rather than jog everywhere. Stops such mishaps from happening too often (though, I still managed to launch myself from the top of a wrecked cargo ship I was exploring into the cargo hold). You'll also find if you walk more than jog/run you won't get as hungry or thirsty as often and can travel greater distances with less food and water.

Not all the servers with day-only settings say so in their title. The best way to tell is to just log in to a server (I tend to try out the ones with the least amount of people in first) - at the bottom left of your screen where it tells you that you need to find water to drink there will be a couple of server announcements - one being "This server is always day time" if it is set to always be day. If it doesn't say that, log back out again and try another one until you find one :) Good luck! :D

It sounds like to me that you need to find a server that is set to always daytime - at least until you get everything figured out like the controls, where the water pumps are located in spawn areas (so you can find them even at night) and where the basic items you need can be found. Once you have some knowledge of that, switch back to servers with day/night cycles. As for the day/night cycle itself - I believe it goes as quickly as real time. So that means if you play at night on a local server, it will always be night for you. If you played until morning on a local server, you would see it become day as it becomes day for you in real life. So if you do only play during the evening/night - I suggest occasionally logging in to a server located in a different country to you, to get some of that sunshine goodness :D

Thanks so much for this! I knew about the red brick building with archway, as I recently discovered a Mosin in one. I had NO clue about the cars though! Until now I have walked past them and totally ignored their existence - I shan't from now on! :D

I actually don't mind the fact he hunts new spawns for sport. As long as he doesn't camp out the spawn points themselves, and gives us fresh meat a chance to evade and run like heck, then I think him being there adds some urgency to the game and a danger level otherwise not present. Seriously, the zombies are pretty tame once you have yourself a large spanner or even better an axe. Without those that like to kill bambis and unarmed (except for said axe) scavengers like myself to give us a challenge to overcome (i.e avoid being shot in the face) then there's really little else to do in the game except for gather food and water, which isn't that hard if you've played anything more than ten minutes of the game and it gets boring fast. Especially if you're a lone player like myself. My character has just recently stumbled across what is an obvious bambi trap - a full canteen of water surrounded in a neat circle by tins of tuna. I knew instantly it was a trap and there might be a sniper somewhere close, but I had no idea how long ago the trap had been left, and the various dead bambis lying close to the trap didn't give me any clue as to how long they'd been dead for (it would be cool if rather than disappearing when you die/respawn, your body slowly rots away - to give us a perspective on time past since you died). I got very nervous and started stopping every few minutes to listen for footsteps and have a good look around me. It added a level of danger and suspense I otherwise wouldn't have gotten and I loved it!

Funny thing is - I wasn't sneaking. I walked up to them nice and loud, calling out to them through my mic. I think my mic doesn't sound clear enough for people to understand me though, since I overheard the guy looting me saying he thought I was a Russian (I'm 100% Brit lol) - they need to add more controls to select mic device and mic audio settings.

I've heard that infected wounds hasn't yet been activated, so taking antibiotics won't work. After getting an injury from a zombie attack and taking a boatload of antibiotics I can confirm they did absolutely nothing other than activate the green "my wounds are cleaner" text. The moaning still continued. Also, painkillers do nothing too. I did read a guide that said you can make a splint out of rags and twigs and that will stop the moaning (if you can't find any morphine - the splint has the same effect). Be aware that splints take up three inventory spaces, so it's up to you if you feel you can lose those spaces or not.

I haven't managed to survive more than a few hours at a time. Mostly because I takes me a while at first to find an axe, and I tend to always stumble into a group of zombies minutes after spawning - usually when I'm inside a house and they walk through the walls. I also haven't been able to get my hands on a weapon and ammo yet because they've always been looted no matter what server I go on, or the area where they are located is being guarded by a group of heavily armed citizens so I can't go near them. Wish weapons and ammo would spawn in other locations on the map other than airfields and military bases - would make it easier for us newcomers to get armed without having to go near those newb deathtraps.

You're not alone in being betrayed by someone you tried to be nice to. I too made the mistake of looting an airfield - found tons of cool stuff (but no guns) and had like three first aid kits in pristine condition in my huge backpack. Discovered a small camp at the top of the airfield, with three tents and a campfire (I didn't realize those items were available in the Standalone version yet). Feeling generous I decided to drop two of my first aid kits next to the campfire, along with all the mags and ammo I had looted (since I had no weapon to use them with). Heard some people talking over mic, wandered over to let them know of the gifts I had left - and promptly died in a hail of M4 bullets. I then had to suffer the indignity of hearing them loot all the food, water and cool stuff I had spent hours finding. Turns out walking up to someone who is armed whilst you are wearing a gas mask and have a fire-axe isn't such a good idea after all...