My experiences so far.

[Binman (DayZ) 7]

So i've had roughly five lives in Dayz so far, I never played ARMA or the mod so its all been new to me.

Life #1 - Dropped from a small ladder, broke my leg... crawled for a few miles looking for something to put me out of my misery.

Life #2 - Engaged a small pack of Zeds in fisticuffs whilst looking in a town for something to use as a weapon. I was torn apart.

Life #3 - Equiped myself modestly and survived long enough to meet another player, well not so much meet as hear the crack of a long-range rifle before dying instantly on the tarmac.

Life #4 - Im doing quite well and im clearing out a small town, house by house, I notice a fellow survivor, he notices me and raises his rifle,.. as I scrabble for cover and get my pistol out a pack of zeds fall upon me forcing me to flee, I sprint to a wall and fall to my belly crawling through the broken concrete, I get to my feet just in time to see the other survivor stood a little way down the street taking aim.. a short burst of fire later and its all over for me.

Life #5 - I run to the nearest settlement and happen across two fellow survivors (one with a fireaxe) moving quickly from building to building searching for gear. I try to greet them, to socialise.. they ignore me entirely and continue stripping the houses of loot, i follow for a while trying to make contact to no avail. At this point something inside of me snaps, up until this point everything and everyone I met wanted to kill me or eat me,. to be ignored makes me see red. I knock out the axe wielding survivor with a sucker punch to the back of the head take his weapon and set upon his unarmed friend with it felling him quickly. Stripping anything of use from the unconscious man I leave him next to the corpse of his companion and set out into the hills for a new life as a murderer and a thief ashamed at myself but alive with a solid weapon, a compass and a few provisions. I am still alive at this point, but its only a matter of time till im stood on the coast with an empty belly, a flashlight and a battery.

This game is great! I love it. Obviously theres a lot of work to do done but i knew that when I paid my money, at the moment the only thing that makes me stamp my feet is the zeds ignoring walls.

[liquidcactus 719]

Welcome to DayZ

[xenology 61]

Think you need tot ake a break from gaming for a while  and see help especially if you literally snapped for being ignored rather then killed.....Welcome to DayZ for killing innocent people I'll be looking for your head don't poke it out I hear you have some nice loot...

[Binman (DayZ) 7]

Hi Xenology, opinions are special and I thank you for yours.

but uh... "Think you need tot ake a break from gaming for a while and see help" come on bonny lad you're better than this im sure.

I only want to be friends, to explore this big wide world together and be stronger for our friendship and common cause... I sure will pop an axe in your melon if its your time though x

Edited April 8, 2014 by Binman

[Murlough 192]

Lol congrats Binman! I have been through similar scenarios but when i tried to kill i guy witb a shovel his buddy walked in on me and pretty much chased me out of electro with his fire axe of death xP. Love the game tho and i wouldnt feel too bad about it this is DayZ afterall.

[shaeg 136]

I don't trust anyone in this game. Murder sim 2014 lol

[Jock McScottish 216]

Binman, when people decide to ignore you and carry on with what they are doing THAT is a sign of friendliness brother. When a guy sees me and ignores me on SA or the mod, I instantly respect them for 1. Not trying to kill me 2. Trusting me not to kill them.

 

Killing players cos they didn't stop to exchange pleasantries? sounds to me you were looking for an excuse to be an asshole.

[gearjammer 97]

They may not have understood your native tongue... So yeah, there is sometimes a language barrier.

[Binman (DayZ) 7]

We were all relatively fresh spawns so I doubt anyone got too bent out of shape about it.

 

I told you the tale of my experiences a month ago, im surprised people are still talking about it.. but if the concensus is that im a very naughty boy then so be it.

[Robert Neville 59]

I bought DayZ not so long ago and I think it's a great immersive and atmospheric game.  Here is my journal of the "lives" lived in DayZ so far, if it may be of interest by anyone.

 

Journal recording 1.  May 11, 2014.
First day in DayZ world.  Found myself in the shoreline.  Took a swim, then wandered around.  Foolishly approached a woman I thought was another survivor -- she was a zombie.  Killed while fighting with her.

[Robert Neville 59]

Journal recording 2.  May 12, 2014.
First encounter with another survivor on a road near the coastline.  He had a mask covering his face but seemed friendly; he just said hello before continuing running in the opposite direction.  Later, I was killed by a zombie in full military gear at the entrance of a village.
 

[Robert Neville 59]

Journal recording 3.  May 14, 2014.
Started walking keeping the sea on my right.  Cannot point where I am.  
Entered a residential area; was full of zombies but I managed to escape.  Found there some medical supplies and a map.
Approached some deserted 6-story condo on a hill; found a water pit near the entrance and was finally able to drink.  The bottle and the purifying tablets I found some time ago proved themselves useful.  From the roof of the condo I got a better view of the environment.  I spotted a church; I think I am in Berezino.
Apart from a fresh apple, I have only been able to find rotten food so far.

Resumed proceeding north toward the northern border of Chernarus.  
Found a wrecked ship on the shoreline, with several interesting object onboard: duct tape, medical items, and binoculars.  Heard a couple of shots outside but saw nobody.  

I am hungry, thirst and sick by now.  On my way to the north I arrived into a city.  Had my second encounter with a survivor: he approached me and knocked me down without saying a word.  Died shortly after.

[Robert Neville 59]

Journal recording 4.  May 16, 2014.

Entered Svetlojarsk.  Found quite a good amount of canned food, drink, medical supplies, and some useful gear -- a hard hat and winter pants with a lot of room for items.  Was also able to find a double-barrel rifle and a old soviet SKS, unfortunately unloaded.  Finally met a couple of friendly survivors; one asked me for some ammo (which I had none) and eventually gave me a can of spaghetti.
While searching an upstairs kitchen in an abandoned house I was attacked by a survivor.  He started punching me as soon as he entered.  I defended myself and knocked him out with a good couple of blows.  While I was deciding what to do with him he recovered consciousness and attacked me again.  I knocked him out for good and I finished him off with the axe he was carrying; otherwise he would have killed me.  The stupid schmuck should have attacked me with it instead.  Frisked him and took most of his belongings: a nice biker jacket, his sunglasses, a gun holster (with no gun), and some canned food.  He was carrying an unloaded SKS too, with a rusty bayonet attached.

I am hydrated and energized by now.  Proceeding southwest: my aim is to pass through Olsha to the airstrip nearby and hopefully find some weapon and ammo.  
No annoyances en route save a few encounter with zombies; for that I had to take shelter in a gas station for a while.

Managed finally to arrive to the small village of Olsha.  Found a canteen with still a bit of water in a tabernacle.  Exited the village and took the road through the woods.  

After a while I arrived on the border of a lake.  I must have taken the wrong road since there's no lake between Olsha and the airstrip.  This could be the Black Lake, according to the map.
Saw a rabbit there, trying killing it with my axe but it managed to escape me.  Started retracing my steps: night is falling and I want to take shelter to Olsha.

[server disconnected, joined another server]

 

It is daytime now.  Reached Osha and found the correct road to exit the village.
After a while on the road I saw a cross planted on the border, near to the wreck of a car.  I couldn't help myself but scoff at it -- the poor bastard had a chance to die before the zombies apocalypse began.
Reached finally the air base.  I have to be very careful as it might harbor bandits.  
A man armed with a rifle was guarding the base.  He seemed friendly but hurried me to leave saying it was a dangerous place.  I left, not before searching all the buildings.  I wasn't able to find much gear there, but at least I was able to exchange my boots.

Exited the air base.  Decided that my next destination would be Krasnostav, the biggest city around.  I was walking at a fast pace towards it - equipped, fed and hydrated, with no zombies in sight - approaching the city via a road that runs through an open field.  I realized this was a mistake when a bullet killed me.  The sniper must have been hiding on one of the tall buildings on the city borders.

[Robert Neville 59]

Journal recording 5.  May 21, 2014.

At the beginning I really thought they got me this time.  Woke up in a beach which, according to my calculations, is on the eastern coast.  Attacked almost immediately by zombies, managed to escape but badly hurt. 

I bandaged myself with medical supplies found in buildings nearby.  In the same buildings I was also able to get some good gear.  I was walking on the road by the shoreline, going toward south, when I was attacked again by several zombies.  Was hurt again but managed to run away.  I heard two men calling me; they were on the beach, in full camouflage gear, and had a rifle each.  I took the risk to approach them as they seemed friendly. 

One of them had just started bandaging me, when all of a sudden the zombies I thought I left behind attacked us.  The two men started running around shooting but couldn't stop the zombies.  One of the zombies attacked me again and I lost consciousness.  This is the last thing I remember before dying.

[energeticsheep 95]

Inspiring.

[Sadhima 0]

5/25/2014

I LOVE the concept of the game.  I've been waiting for a zombie apocalypse / survival / MMO for a long time now!  Here is my
experience so far, on the first few hours of gaming, and bulleted for convenience.

-killed a zombie with camo and he disappeared immediately after he died
-cant you have at least -something- as a weapon to start off (switchblade, brass knuckels, or something else crappy)?
 made 3 characters and was immediately attacked with no way to escape, and nothing to defend myself with.  pretty frustrating.
-zombies charge very quickly at the character, and then spend 5 seconds trying to turn around to get you again. ultra-dumb zombies.
-zombies do not open doors/smash through them, they simply pass right through at full speed, making door-closing and fence-hopping pointless,
and do not have to crawl to pass through very small wall openings.
-will we ever be able to use environmental objects to block doorways?
-too many controls.  i love options and diversity, but there are simply too many, or do not have a more intuitive funcionality.
fluidity of controls has a huge impact on how much i enjoy a game, and im sure im not the only one
-confusing interface.  i was holding a pickaxe 'in my hands', and saw it waving around on the screen, but when i hit the attack button,
nothing happened.  then i realized that i had to enter attack mode to raise my pickaxe even higher for it to do anything.
-hopped over a rail in a building that was maybe 10 feet off the ground and broke both legs.  i've seen parkour
videos on youtube where guys manage to land more like 15-20 feet without a problem.  waaaay too much falling damage (unless you wanted
to add item weight and a backpack full of spaghettios)
-after breaking both legs from falling damage, i quit and wanted to start over, knowing that i cannot jump from very high. i
realized that i cannot start over again until i die (very irritating), and when i joined back onto the game i left, a zombie began
attacking me, so i started crawling away.  the zombie stayed put, attacking the 'air' in the place where i had spawned, with no
lag or latency issues, as if i were still in that same spot.
-equipping container items is confusing.  i'd rather just right click and 'equip' a 'container', and have all existing items in the 'container'
 that is being replaced automatically transfer.  SOOOO much easier.
-music, of course (im sure i didnt need to say anything)
-sneaking around and stealth takedowns would be really nice (and thrilling to me personally)
-in order to kill any number of zombies, all you have to currently do is keep strafing sideways, because they cannot hit you
-zombies will often clip through walls
-zombies spot you from an insanely long distance
-a dead body seems to be impassable.  very irritating if it is in a doorway
-blood loss apparently never stops?
-more of a suggestion than anything, but character mobility is very limited, and cannot make use of surfaces, or ledges a
little higher than you are
-wonderful suggestion! click on character status effects (wet, broken leg, thirsty, etc), and have a tooltip appear that gives a
description of how the ailment effects you, and some suggestions on how to fix it)
-a stamina indicator of some kind would be nice
-i unequipped a pitchfork and broke my legs (and darn, no zombies around to end my misery)
-cannot climb stairs with broken legs, at all
-able to open and close doors from a floor higher than what the door is on, and behind a wall
-being underwater:
 >sound never changes
 >can still see rain falling all the way to the bottom of the body of water
-zombies do not roam at all
-footsteps are very loud
-too laggy to actually fight a zombie effectively
-would be nice to have SOME kind of character backstory, instead of just being plopped down in the middle of nowhere

 

Overall, the game is just unplayable to me right now.  I'll check up again every now and then to see how things are doing.
I'd REALLY love to see this game come to completion, because it's a game that has needed to be made for a long time now,
and I'm thrilled to see it coming true.

[mazymodz 10]

They are working on zombie pah-finding ATM. In best cases we will see it in the next update.

 

There are multiple warnings that this is Early Alpha and that there are many things that can disrupt your game-play  I'm sure the game will be much greater by the end of this year when the game is supposed to reach beta.

 

The only thing required is patience and  hope.