It was awesome to read all of your replies. It feels like I've really tapped into the main vein of this game and you can all vibe where I am coming from, which is great. I rather like writing retrospectives and am happy to continue sharing my experiences. At present the raiding/scavenging continues. I've found an isolated town somewhat off the beaten path that also happens to have a police station and government building. Close enough to civilization to interact with other players when I feel ready but reasonably far away that I feel somewhat isolated too. I find this to be a comfortable middle ground. On a side note, five years of studying Russian and a little time abroad has kind of come in handy with this game. The Russian setting is a total bonus for me personally. I let roleplay fantasies pop into my head of playing a character that got trapped during the Apocalypse during a study abroad. I wonder if there are any dedicated Russian speaking servers? That would be cool as hell. I found that as a foreigner, it was easy to ingratiate myself with Russians - I'd be interested to see if the novelty of being a curious traveler carried over in DayZ. So I staked out the entire town from a nice vantage point and have since raided each building more than once. I've learned a few more things about this game too. First off, I discovered that buildings labled гостиницы (hotels) often have lots of food, clothing, and weapon tech (scopes/unusual equipment). I suppose because the hotel also doubles as a столовая (basically, kitchen)- which makes a lot of sense that they are so well stocked. The town I was in had two of these places so frequent scouting turned up some cool trinkets like a gun scope for my SKS and a waterproof container (as well as a good condition can opener!). I've put away a lot of ammunition and was able to score two 30 round clips for my 22. rifle which I've managed to fill up completely with about 25 rounds left over on reserve. Its a quiet gun and I like that because this town also has a hell of a lot of zombie spawns crawling around. I discovered that if I hug walls and stay off the city streets, that I can usually avoid zombie encounters - but just in case, I feel a lot safer having a more stealthy gun with plenty of bullets. I also feel a lot more comfortable with the shooting mechanics now that I have practical experience aiming, reloading, holding my breath and naturally, capping zombies. I had to log quickly while still inside the police station. I knew it was a risky maneuver but I took the chance. I was nervous when I logged back in later, and sure enough, as soon as I did I heard people talking to one another. I raised my gun and listened to their conversation. With 30 rounds packed I was SURE I had the drop on them. There was no way for them to know I had logged in right on top of them, and while my heart was pumping and I felt taken by surprise, I KNEW that I had the element of surprise. Let me tell you, this was a powerful feeling. I sat inside of a storage closet, gun ready, and listened. "Ha ha, you got that right, man" one of them said. "Shit, dude. I might log soon, I'm hunnnngry." said a second. "Alright, let's blow." Said the first. Okay, there is probably just two of them, I thought - and they are leaving, great. I waited a few beats and crept out of the closet. No one. I made my way up to the coopala on the roof and entered third person where I easily saw the two of them making their way down the street, carelessly playing tag with a zombie. I placed my .22 on the ground and pulled out the SKS, angling myself in the doorframe where I scooted forward until I had them in my scope. These guys were totally screwing around, checking out buildings and melee killing zombies. They looked like they were having a good time too. I envied them, actually. Then the inevitable thought popped into my head: Should I stay put, say hello... or kill them? As friendly as I portrayed myself to be, I found myself actually dwelling on the "kill them" decision a little longer than I expected. A lot could go wrong, sure. There were two of them, and I would probably only be able to kill one of them right off. But from my vantage point I could easily see his friend run away, allowing me to loot the corpse. If he chose to stay and fight I stood a fair chance taking him out. The more I thought about it the more powerful I felt. What a strange strange feeling that no game has ever invoked in me before. Any other shooter, and it would have been little concern to kill these guys. They would respawn full stocked and good to go. In DayZ, absolutely not. I don't have to imagine how long it took them to learn this game, gear up, or find one another. I was in an interesting position to end their fun and if I'm being completely honest I found the prospect tantalizing. I lowered my gun. No. There was no need. My guy was energized, hydrated and healthy. My vision clear, my backpack stuffed with food and bullets and I knew my terrain. Most importantly: they were leaving. There was no reason to kill these guys, who seemed to be rather enjoying the apocalypse, together. I watched them go for awhile, heading west, presumably towards the next populated city. It was at this moment that I decided it was time to leave and set off South, into the woods. My destination: one more side city and then back towards the coast, where I will seek out other players and see what the hell happens...
