This is what happens when kids overrun a game.  Day Z didn't used to be like this; back when it was a newly released mod for ArmA 2, it emphasized teamwork, and since it was played by ArmA 2's more mature community people actually did work together.  Most people didn't shoot first and ask questions later, but ever since most BF/CoD/Titanfall gamers jumped on board, things changed.
 
What's worse is, the developers of Day Z seem to want it to be this way.  Originally Day Z had a "humanity" system: essentially it gave a distinctive bandit skin to those who shot on sight.  This way, you could tell who'd be hostile upon first glance, but they removed this system, lowered the amount of zombies on the map by hundreds (though they may have fixed this by now), and made loot/vehicles much more common (though I believe standalone fixes this).  
 
They need to add the humanity system back and expand on it, perhaps by enforcing some kind of penalty on those who shoot on sight (make them visible on the map and make zombies spawn around them).  

boredgunner
This is what happens when kids overrun a game.  Day Z didn't used to be like this; back when it was a newly released mod for ArmA 2, it emphasized teamwork, and since it was played by ArmA 2's more mature community people actually did work together.  Most people didn't shoot first and ask questions later, but ever since most BF/CoD/Titanfall gamers jumped on board, things changed.
 
What's worse is, the developers of Day Z seem to want it to be this way.  Originally Day Z had a "humanity" system: essentially it gave a distinctive bandit skin to those who shot on sight.  This way, you could tell who'd be hostile upon first glance, but they removed this system, lowered the amount of zombies on the map by hundreds (though they may have fixed this by now), and made loot/vehicles much more common (though I believe standalone fixes this).  
 
They need to add the humanity system back and expand on it, perhaps by enforcing some kind of penalty on those who shoot on sight (make them visible on the map and make zombies spawn around them).  

 
Well if it wasn't for your hated "BF/CoD/Titanfall gamers" dayZ wouldn't have made Bohemia piles of cash. God knows they need it seeing as their sales of their sim products is only to a hardcore small niche of players. 
 
They'll need this cash to get their engine out of the year 2001 with it's multi-core efficiency and GPU usage. 
 
 
I'm sure you won't admit this flaw in the engine though, as Arma fanboys have convinced themselves that drops to below 30 FPS are just fine and the clunky UI and animations is actually a feature of "realism"
 

 
This thread is timely for me as I was thinking about being a Solo Player in a Multi-Player world.
 
I have little to no experience playing Multi-Player games. I tried my hand at Team Fortress 2 a couple of times, because I was invited by one of my Steam friends to join a game. My friend kind of abandoned me early on and I just played it by ear trying to learn what the game was about. Long story short I soon figured out it is a team based game with missions and everyone needed to perform a specific task in order to win. When I tried playing as a character I wanted to be, the guy who seemed to be in charge, tried to tell me to be something else, and was kind of a dick about it. So I left the game and haven't tried it since.
 
The idea of playing in a Multi-Player game as an individual that is free to roam, kind of appeals to me...is that possible? I understand that games have goals (missions), but whether I choose to go it alone, or join up with other players, seems doable. I'm not sure Day Z is this kind of a game.
 
I'm not sure I really understand Multi-Player games. I have nothing against Team Play as I enjoy playing L4D 2 and Borderlands 2 on Steam with my friends, but that's Co-op. I think it would be cool to find partners to team up with to get through a tough Zombie blockage...is that how Day Z plays?
 
It seems from reading this thread that there are (non-zombie) assassins roaming the wild. I don't have a problem with that, but like Boredgunner says, they used to be tagged as hostiles, which makes sense to me.
 
I did a little research on Day Z and found this Wiki info on the engine:
 

 
 
 
 
 

At the moment there are not alot of zombies roaming and they seem to be limited to where there are buildings.
 
Playing with a friend helps but is not required at all.
 
You meet some nice and some not so nice but you take your chance when you meet them I guess.
 
Today I had a wander around without my companions and fell off a ladder, I then spent the next couple of hours crawling around looking for some wood to make a splint or a morphine injector.
After a while with no joy I server jumped a couple of times for fresh loot and then decided I'm going to bed now LOL
Hopefully my mate has morphine or he can run around and find me some wood.
 
Point I'm making here is there are perils to being alone also which adds to the tension.
 
also I have about 6 can openers, I think my carrying priorities are wrong LMAO

DayZ SA has been the most terrifying game I've ever played by far, and its because of the uncertainty of the human element. I've met friendly players that will just walk on by or trade a few items. I've met people pretending to be friendly only to handcuff you and take your stuff the moment you let your guard down. I've met players posing as friendly to lure you into an ambush and kill you for your gear, and I've met those who will shoot on sight to defend their loot.  
 
But that's what makes it fun, you don't know whats going to happen. Are you gonna get the drop on someone? Would that person kill you they had got the drop on you?  You've played for hours not seeing a single player on this 93 square mile map, then suddenly you hear a can of soda pop open in the room next to the one you are looting.
 
I've ruined plenty of pants in game, and have almost ruined a few in real life 

Well I was a avid player of the Mod for ARMA 2 and liked it besides the hacks and what not. I just bought the standalone and so far I am enjoying it. Sure it has its bugs but the style is nice. Ive been away from the gaming world for a few months and its nice getting back into it with a game like DAY Z 

http://www.eurogamer.net/...down-as-leader-of-dayz

boredgunner I completely agree on everything you have said this far.
 
First off, I was unaware they removed the humanity system, I loved that as I always had the 'hero' skin and it kept me alive in alot of my encounters because it made others comfortable around me, but also gave me the ability to keep pesky bandits away from me because I knew who to shoot-on-sight.
 
Second, the lack of zombies is why I currently don't play, they were supposed to have fixed this issue within a month. Original idea was to have more zombies then there has ever been (10k on the map at all times). I loved playing DayZ in the mod because of the fact that, when you shot a gun or caused to much noise, you would have 10-20 zombies on you, exactly as it would be. In the SA I can fire guns all day and constantly run around blissfully and be lucky to get 2 zombies chasing me. Boring. Not why I play(ed) DayZ.
 
Last, but definitely not least, optimization irks me. Under 60fps is unacceptable let alone under 30 -.-.

tet5uo

boredgunner

Opolis
http://www.eurogamer.net/...down-as-leader-of-dayz

Good news.  Maybe now BIS will put a little bit more focus on ArmA?

 
They need to stop messing around and buckle-down on re-writing most of the core parts of their engine.
 
 I have a feeling the platform he was making the game on is the main reason Rocket decided that the game will never live up to his hopes. 

Well, him leaving probably won't make a difference when it comes to BIS improving their engine.  I guess we'll see what him and his new studio create, since he does collect royalties from Day Z.  They should use Outerra engine.