Sorely tempted to try this again, but I know that I'll get nowhere because of wolves, zombies, starvation or plain old bad luck.
Do it! Here are my suggestions for a safe start: (People like bows; I don't)
- Start with a level in Mechanic
- Pop outside, grab a rock. Go back in, smash a locker. Go to crafting, and make a crowbar. It's a useful tool, and a reliable weapon.
- Look on the map, find a nearby town. If it's very small, well, consider restarting...
- Go to the outermost house. Break in through the door (activate the crowbar on it, the door remains intact) or through a back window
And you have a house. Don't bother with combat much - you're too fragile at this point. Your first three priorities should be:
- A place to sleep at that can be locked for the night
- Tailoring and clothing
- Food
Any house works for the first one, especially given that you can close windows that aren't broken
For the second, houses have many clothes. Practice sewing on them to repair/reinforce, and when they are damaged cut them up. Smash windows in other houses, and take the sheets (very large). You can cut those to rags, and rags to thread. This will give you a headstart on clothing. You want something like cargopants/hoodie/backpack as a great start for storage space. Reinforce everything as possible. Having fitting, reinforced clothes will go a long way in helping you survive. Animals also like tearing your clothes apart, so being able to repair them will help.
For the third, scavenging outlying houses will help you a lot in the first few days. Later on, you should have the equipment to reliably kill animals, and meat is a great source of food.
I hope this helps! I could easily put together a short video with this info if you'd like.
EDIT: Don't worry much about weapons; a crowbar will get you through much of what the game offers. Another great option is the nail bat. Try to avoid most guns, 9mm or .22 are your best options for something really quiet. A nailgun is a fantastic weapon vs zombies, and traps/pits are a great way to passively kill animals.