Survival Guide

Choice of fortress

Any place you choose to stay for the night should have multiple exits, but preferably not ones that are visible from each other. A very good way to confuse zombies or avoid them altogether is going up a flight of stairs after having dropped out of sight, as such, multi-story buildings are ideal. You're also going to want a place with storage space because as of yet players are unable to craft and place any form of container.

Some appropriate buildings in the Suburbs are buildings 4 and 10.

4 makes an ideal fortress as it has plenty of storage space upstairs and is convenient to access from the starting location. You can collect supplies from houses 1-3 and get into 4 with enough time to barricade windows and settle down for the night within the first day. With two exits and an upstairs hidden from view of either of them, it's quite easy to let the zombies shuffle in one door and out the next while you hide upstairs. Barricading nearly every window is a must in the Pre-Alpha due to some glitches that let you see out of windows in the front room while being in the middle room. Naturally, the zombies can see in as well. The only disadvantage currently is the fact that it is on the edge of the map, forcing forage trips to often go overnight to reach the opposite edge of the map. Clearing out double story houses and/or building 10 for an overnight stay is a good idea.

10 is another crowd favorite because you can live on the 4th/5th floor well out of sight of any zombies. And it also lets you cull a zombie horde one by one as the come up the stairs. Storage space is adequate, but there won't be much in the way of supplies when raiding the apartments as they tend to be rather barren. There's also the chance that the front door is locked, forcing a noisy entrance for a game start may not be ideal.

Gathering Supplies

Zombies spawn in less numbers during the day, but they have greater vision range. It's still well worth avoiding the night time though, because the street often become crowded with the undead. A good offense can make the best defense though. If you have a reliable melee weapon (Spiked bat is an excellent choice, although a fire axe works as well) clear out the area you're foraging in of stragglers. Since zombies seem to attract each other, it's best to not let any follow you, even if you're just on a routine cupboard search. Never use guns for this purpose, and try to stay away from doors so you don't accidentally bash them and make more noise than needed.

Keep an eye out for houses that make good fortresses. Even if you have a main one where you collect supplies, be aware "circumstances" may prevent you from returning for up to a couple days at a time. Knowing multiple defensible places to stay is a good idea when you have to make trips further afield for supplies. Also stock enough food to get you through a day or two when going on an outing, just in case you get stuck before finding anything edible.

Remember to turn corners twice when escaping zombies. They will know enough to follow you around the first, but if you can make it around a second you'll have lost the shufflers. When entering rooms, be aware a zombie may be standing vacantly just out of sight. When entering a room, a good tactic is to run to the corner you can see fully, giving you space to deal with any zombies who lurch after you. A pushing weapon such as a plank/bat/spiked bat is ideal for close quarter encounters to at least give you space to think before you get attacked.

Combating the undead

Although the hammer does some damage, the very short range and lack of instant killing power like the axe make for a horrible weapon. When starting out it's actually better to use wooden planks as a weapon since they push zombies away. Until you can find a bat or axe to use on them of course. Even the most minor of injuries can result in infection and eventual death, so keeping the undead at arms length is a key to surviving more than a couple days.

Guns (assuming there will be more than the shotgun added at some point) are very much a last resort weapon. If a horde of zombies has you pinned in a dead end room and is breaking down the door, then you use it. Another group of zombies will almost certainly be attracted. Even then, the liberal application of a spiked bat can still allow you to take out quite a few of the shamblers before darting around them. Use with caution, and preferably never around an area you'd like to spend the night in.

Injuries and Infection - An ounce of prevention is worth... everything. There is no cure after all.

Injuries currently only come from zombies at the moment as guns seem to kill instantly. Infection can happen when the skin is broken, currently that means scratches and bites. A scratch is far less likely to infect than a bite... but that's perhaps because a bite is almost a guaranteed death sentence. Eating well and resting (for convenience sleeping pills make the resting part much easier for the player) help heal injuries, although it's unknown if this has any effect on the chance of infection from an injury. Bandages should be applied to flashing injuries to aid in healing.

One of the worst injuries to have is anything happening with your feet. Walking in any way will cause your character to experience pain, but it's currently impossible to lie down or rest in a way that doesn't involve sleeping. The best way to heal this injury is to stock your inventory with food, pain pills and sleeping pills. Feed up before drugging yourself unconscious and the wound will heal over time.

Unfortunately, early infection (before the queasy moodle appears) seems to cause generalized minor injuries to the entire body, including the feet. Because this counts as a foot wound, your character will be in constant pain whenever he tries to walk. This puts a serious drain on pain pill supplies. It's unknown how long this early infection stage lasts if no further injuries are sustained, or if it only increases your chance of full infection upon taking the next injury.

Once the queasy moodle happens, your days are numbered. With lots of bed rest and good food the infection can take over your body in as little as 4-6 days. Unless you're trying to push for an extra couple days on a record game, it's probably best to make your bucket list and start on it immediately.