NightRipper

Pretty sure you could hear his footsteps regardless... producing the same result.

So I had just respawned in Kamenka after being killed in a firefight when the camp my mates and I had set up was invaded. Kind of bummed out, had lost a full set of gear, a nice M16A2, and was now about a 3 hour walk from the rest of the group. Undaunted, I set off going north. I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to go near any major (or minor) cities or towns, as my zed train-losing skills are sub-par at best. Of course, I immediately broke that rule after spotting an isolated barn completely free of zeds. Investigation yielded a double-barrel shotty and a hatchet. Feeling good about my findings, I melted back into the woods. Things got slow after that, and I ended up getting lost for awhile, actually doubling back accidentally twice (honestly, I must have circled Pavlovo about 3 times). My goal, however, was to head north, and I was eventually able to get my bearings. After I reoriented myself, I scoped out one of the deer stands near Pavlovo. Scanning the treeline, I saw that luck was on my side, as the stand was completely zombie-free! I flanked through the woods, and when I climbed up, my jaw almost dropped. Sitting there on the floor of the stand was a shiny new M4A1 CCO! "Finally, a lucky break!" I thought to myself. I scooped it up, along with the STANAG clip beside it, and hustled off into the woods. My elation gradually subdued as the next few stands I visited were virtually useless. More troubling, however, was my food and water indicators, which were now very much in the red (I had already consumed the single can of soda I found in one of the deer stands a while ago). I was now faced with a dilemma: risk my new weapon by attempting to raid a town, or starve to death in the woods with my cold dead fingers clutching my M4? Fortunately, luck was with me once again. As I was moving through the trees, I spied a one-room building in a small clearing (I believe I was North of Balota at this point, but I'm not 100% sure). With my water indicator about to flash, and my food in the red as well, I decided to try my luck and investigate. After determining that the area was free of zeds, I crouch-walked my way towards the one-room structure. As I approached the door, I heard that unmistakable fly-buzzing that can only mean one thing: a player died there recently. Not daring to get my hopes up, as I figured the body had probably already disappeared, I tiptoed into the room. I was greeted by the sight of a corpse lying on the floor. Survival instincts kicked in at that point, and without a second's hesitation I went to loot the body. Pretty much anyone who's played DayZ has had that experience of elation that comes from cheating death in one way or another. My moment was when I opened the gear menu for the dead body, and was greeted by 4 cans of food, a canteen and 3 sodas, a Makarov, a hunting knife and a map! After transferring the loot to my inventory, I melted back into the woods. With a full belly, plenty of provisions and excellent firepower, I've now made it all the way up North.

Far be it from me to stifle your enthusiasm for anti-cheat, but the voice of reason in me obligates me to point out that "ESP on players, and items" is very very difficult to prove... seeing without being seen is an art form to some players, and if you've ever ran with a mate in a ghillie suit, well, it makes you damn near invisible. Also, accidental item duplication is possible due to the alpha nature of this game... I've had a hatchet clone before, don't know how exactly I did it, but the inventory system is conducive to this sort of thing. Anyway, that's my 2 cents, carry on.

19. Russian hatchets must be reloaded before use. 20. Switching guns can't be done while moving. 21. Liquid can only be consumed when inside a container.

The debug monitor is covering up so much because you're playing at like 800x600 resolution. Recommended solution: better computer. You can easily tell if a building can be entered by whether or not you can see through the windows. Can't see through windows? The best you'll be able to do is find a loot pile in the entryway of a house if it has one (where the front door is). The community is generally survival oriented, which may have something to do with this being a survival game and all. But look for established groups that coordinate with voice chat such as Team Speak, they're your best bet for co-op.

Fixed.

I'd like to echo the "patience is key" and "one false move is all it takes" sentiments in this thread. One of the reasons I keep coming back to this mod is that it's so brutally unforgiving and realistic, and yet.... now all my other games seem too easy. Case in point, I went into Nadezhdino yesterday while waiting for some mates (had just respawned at Prigo, so was unarmed), and with some patient stealth proning I went from hatchet to double barrel shotgun to winchester (also found a hunting knife and a canteen, the latter I filled up in the nearby pond), and then I got cocky. Decided to go further into the town, accidentally aggroed a few zeds through a wall, tried to make a break for it and ran up a hill (yes, beginner mistake), broke my leg, and boom, within 30 seconds of thinking "hey, let's press my luck a little and raid another building," I was dead. So yes, this game is a sly, sneaky b*tch, but if you treat her just right, she'll rock your world. Just never let your guard down, mates! tl;dr: this game is unforgiving, don't let your guard down!

One neat trick I thought I'd share, has saved me from death a few times now... If you've aggroed some zeds before you find any weapons, and you happen to be near a downhill, take off running down it. Lead the train of aggroed zeds down the steepest part of the slope you can find, but before it flattens out, stop suddenly. You should watch the zeds go flying over your head, and fall to the ground, dead. I've lost a tail of 3+ zeds this way, completely unharmed. Also, it's damn satisfying to watch. Hope this helps.

Obviously the OP has never seen Shaun of the Dead. Srsly tho, Brits say it Zed, and Zed it shall be.

I posted this in the other thread identical to this, but I just want to say, I played DayZ for the first time ever yesterday, and within a half hour from my very first spawn ever, I had a revolver, an Enfield, and 10k blood. It's all about going carefully and using stealth. If you can't/won't do this, you're pretty much guaranteed an inevitable ragequit on par with Michael from Rooster Teeth.

You know, in some games this is called "boosting," and is typically a ban-able offense.

The only other thing I would add is that typically if you draw agro, head for the nearest building and engage the zeds there. It'll give you more time to think, and will reduce the likelihood of you doing something stupid and getting yourself eaten.

Use prone. It got me into - and out of - a village, unarmed at the former and armed at the latter. Sound is key as well, if you're using speakers, try switching to headphones. Also, different types of ground make different levels of noise... So instead of crouch-walking on a hard road, stick to the grassy areas.

Excuse the newbie question, as I'm only a day into my DayZ experience, but why DID they remove Side channel communication? Seems like it would harm gameplay. Just curious if there was a specific incident or trend that sparked the change.

I'm in the middle of my first ever spawn in DayZ, and I started with no weapons. I stayed calm, didn't panic, took it slow, and managed to have both an Enfield and a revolver within a half hour. Just because you don't start with a Makarov doesn't mean it's a death sentence. Just means you have to be more cautious.