This is by far my best solo start. Maybe I just have a better idea now or it's just easier to focus when you're still technically online with other people.
My base is basically a 1x1 hut on a country road that I took over on my first night just so I could get on the roof and be safe from night zombies.
Now my routine is:
Daylight - try to get as much done as I can. Usually running fetch or digger missions from the trader. I try to do the fetches by knocking holes in the wall to get straight to the fetch item and get out. I don't go poking around inside buildings but loot what I can from outside (more holes in more walls... especially the kitchens). Had pretty good luck so far finding animals to kill and some eggs. I buy whatever I can from the trader and his vending machine so I have decent clothes and enough food.
Night - Go back to my hovel and dig. I have a small underground area carved out now. Struck nitrite, iron and a little bit of coal. That's where the bulk of my XP has come from: night mining. If a zombie bothers me I can get on my roof and kill him or shoot him through openings around my doors.
Mining really seems to be where it's at. You need it anyway, it's great XP and you can be mining in relative comfort and safety if you put a roof over your head and a decent defensive door setup. I mostly work in flagstone since it's easy to make from mining (rock+clay) though you could build in metal if you were mostly mining iron. I also mine if it's raining super hard and too cold to go out without spending a lot of food.
I got a bellows, a pot and a grill but no crucible, beaker or anvil. I'm able to use an iron pick now that I can (so far) keep repaired. I loot every trash bag and birds nest I see! I had a wrench but lost it in my 1 death.
My base is basically a 1x1 hut on a country road that I took over on my first night just so I could get on the roof and be safe from night zombies.
Now my routine is:
Daylight - try to get as much done as I can. Usually running fetch or digger missions from the trader. I try to do the fetches by knocking holes in the wall to get straight to the fetch item and get out. I don't go poking around inside buildings but loot what I can from outside (more holes in more walls... especially the kitchens). Had pretty good luck so far finding animals to kill and some eggs. I buy whatever I can from the trader and his vending machine so I have decent clothes and enough food.
Night - Go back to my hovel and dig. I have a small underground area carved out now. Struck nitrite, iron and a little bit of coal. That's where the bulk of my XP has come from: night mining. If a zombie bothers me I can get on my roof and kill him or shoot him through openings around my doors.
Mining really seems to be where it's at. You need it anyway, it's great XP and you can be mining in relative comfort and safety if you put a roof over your head and a decent defensive door setup. I mostly work in flagstone since it's easy to make from mining (rock+clay) though you could build in metal if you were mostly mining iron. I also mine if it's raining super hard and too cold to go out without spending a lot of food.
I got a bellows, a pot and a grill but no crucible, beaker or anvil. I'm able to use an iron pick now that I can (so far) keep repaired. I loot every trash bag and birds nest I see! I had a wrench but lost it in my 1 death.