I've played around 30 hours now I suppose and somewhere around 30 attempts at survival (could be 40 or more, easy to lose track).
I've been murdered twice. So I don't think ganking is a particular issue. One of those times was a guy with a rifle waiting in a town and another was possibly accidental. I was with 2 other survivors, all 3 of us had just met in the hospital tent camp near the airstrip by the coast and one of them said another was on the way (all in direct chat, though I don't have a mic). Not much later a guy turned up and shot me - perhaps seeing my name on his crosshair being a name he wasn't expecting to see at the agreed meet, he shot me. Of course he could just have overheard the 3 of us (none armed, lol).
Difficulty seems to be genuinely high, which is good. With no gun, no food nor drink, starting off solo is pretty difficult. I prefer using an axe to kill zombies, since that's not going to aggro any more who might be near (didn't try the crowbar I found one time, so not sure which weapon is better). I once had a Makarov with 6 clips but the zombies around the compound I was in kept respawning ("infinitely" though not entirely sure about the mechanic) and following the sound of gunfire so it's basically pointless using a gun to hold off zombies. A gun seems best to pick off a few zeds who might be in the way and then leg it.
Zombies staying inside the building they spawn in is a real nuisance. The tall barn with the two sets of stairs separated by 10 feet is actually OK to enter if a zed is up on either of the wooden levels - just stay below him on his side, or freely explore the other side, quietly.
Zeds see into buildings far too easily though (not sure if "sound" is an adequate excuse for this) and I've been hurt through walls and watched zombies walking through walls. I thought all that stuff had been cleared up, so that's annoying.
Early this afternoon I stumbled upon a Coyote Backpack, i.e. the 24-slot monster. I literally had nothing to put in it. But this got me planning: now it's worth me secreting it somewhere and then filling it up with stuff.
So, now I have an AK74 + 3 clips, a Makarov with a few clips, quite a bit of drink (no food) and a Winchester with 85-ish slugs stashed somewhere in the world. Oh and another stash of drinks and firewood.
Within 10 minutes of me getting the AK74 I was shot at, from behind, about 150m I'd say (someone with an AK). Though he hit me I wasn't slowed down at all, so was able to run off and hide behind the terrain and bandage. Watching his direction for 10 mins I saw two guys together on the road. I'm pretty sure I was attacked by a solo guy, because none of the shots "overlapped" as if from two. Perhaps those two guys were chasing the other guy? He had prolly shot a whole clip: half trying to hit me and then, seemingly, half to fend off nearby zeds (I'd left them behind). Can't be sure it wasn't the two of them that attacked me, though as I never saw any muzzle flashes or smoke.
So I haven't used the AK in anger yet. I suspect that guy (or the pair) got my scent when I used the Winchester on a couple of policeman zeds. I wanted to see if they would have anything decent on their bodies, so killed them, out in the open. I stashed the Winchester shortly afterwards, when I found the AK.
I've used up 3 lives (now on my fourth) since I got the Coyote backpack. One spawn was way too far away from my stashes, but luckily my two other spawns have been within 10 mins run
So, tomorrow should be fun. The big question is where from here? I only know one person who's also playing. I'm generally not so hot on gaming with a regular group online (don't like to be tied down to "appointments") so I'll prolly play safe, stash everything and run around with just the hatchet. Maybe if I bump into someone to buddy up with... I might experiment with the Winchester, using it to make looting easier (shoot and scoot style), since I have "ammo to burn".
Food is by far the biggest problem: murder for a tin of beanz does seem to be intrinsic to the game, to be honest. Though health issues are also a big downer. Breaking a leg is effectively terminal if you're playing solo. Having a zed break your leg just by attacking you is a real pisser. Dropping down a tall ladder, using the command "drop down ladder" and just dying when you hit the ground is also a real pisser.
One time I was filling water in a pond, then drinking then refilling (why can't you just glug from the pond, that's what I want to know). When I looked up there was someone across the pond. He had a hatchet. I finished refilling the canteen and, whoops, drew my gun (as it had been equipped before I reached the pond). He ran off. Shame...
As a long time OFP/Arma/Arma 2 player, I'm au fait with the mechanics and things like navigation. All the same it's quite satisfying to be put into this world, which isn't a "mission" and to be engaged with staying alive, making up objectives and bumping into people (and the odd zed or hog or being overtaken by a rabbit while ambling up a road) when not expected. Being alive for 4 or 5 hour stretches is very satisfying. Though, necessarily, since I'm without squad and have no base to speak of, I've decided simply to use consecutive lives to ratchet-up my gear stashes and explore the world. Suiciding by running into a town and collecting 20 odd zeds is amusing when your stuff is "safely" stashed for the next life.
I did try lying across the railway track, but there's no trains.
