Posting some nice content from Kotton and here's some basics to understand some of the things he refers to.
1. There's currently half a dozen maps to jump in, and you can play them live or practice them with AI only.
2. On average you have 45 minutes in each map before you need to find the extraction point
3. If you die you lose all the gear you brought in
4. If you don't extract in the time limit, you are classed as MIA and lose all the gear you brought in
5. You can loot in each map and there are 6 traders between games with whom you can buy and sell new gear/weapons
6. There's also an online flea market for players to trade between each other (using in game currency)
7. Some players go in with a knife or hatchet only, to just loot shit and escape, they are known as hatchlings (we all do it at some point)
8. You can play (though it has a cool down period) as a member of the AI Scavenger faction but this doesn't boost your stats
9. You do have a 'gamma' container which has a few slots and where the gear contained will not disappear should 3 or 4 happen
10. You can insure your gear, and have it returned to you but if another player finds your dead body and loots it in game, no insurance recovery is possible.
11. Usually you get dropped in a map with a dozen other players (at separate locations unless you've formed a squad) with AI Scavs spawning shortly after and at regular intervals.
12. The traders give you missions to do. I might record me doing my latest one. I have to go to the Customs map, go to a truck in a particular part of the map (that so happens to have loads of AI Scavs patrolling), pick up a gold watch from inside the truck cabin and extract with it. For this |i will receive experience points, money and an AK74U or some variety of AK, I forgot. The game is anal about weapon detail.
That'll do for now @Diddums eh