***NOTE: See dedicated server info at the bottom if you want to set up a server!!!!
So far this game is decent. They have a LONG LONG way to go, but it is early alpha. It is refreshing that they didn't include zombies. I am so sick of zombie games. Now we get to see giant dinosaurs, which is neat. Some are mean, some are friendly. The one running around on my server right now (pub1.thedeadlands.net:9933) is an herbivore, so it's friendly, and a little shy.
There is no digging, but voxel terrains have always caused problems anyway. It's definitely not perfected yet in games like 7 Days To Die, etc. You can build quite a few items from basic stuff, like stone axe, metal axe (currently doesn't work), all the way to a CNC Workbench where I assume you can create more complex items. There is a basic workbench as well which give you access to build quite a few items. It's also used to identify unidentified ore.
Structure building is different than most other games. You don't build with blocks, they are all mostly prefabricated structures, or large prefabricated parts (like the concrete platform or concrete wall). The landmass is supposed to be big, but there is no in-game map that I can find, so I am not sure. It feels big, which is part of the problem with the rock generation system currently in place (explained below). Players will have to hoard stone and ore before moving away from the player spawn points, and then make potentially long trips back to the spawn areas to resupply their stone and ore, but it's all depending on how the admin has configured the rock spawning.
I don't know if houses can lock, there is no menu option for it, but I assume something like that will be added later. I have only built a small house so far.
The land claim function is neat, until there are a lot of players on the server (max of 20 currently). As players claim land for their clan or themselves, it gets increasingly more difficult to find a place to plop your home near stone.
There is a stamina system in place. When you run, you use stamina. You must use your stamina sparingly, in case you need to run from a dino because it accumulates rather slowly.
The rock spawning system is the absolute worst I have seen in any of these types of games. It is so bad that they had to implement a rock indicator to let you know if you are near a rock node. The rock spawns are based on how many players are logged in, and the spawn distance from player spawn points is configured in the server's config file. Set it too close and the rocks are all centered around the player spawn, set it too far, and you will probably have trouble finding rocks. It is hideous and I wish they would go with a different system that isn't player-centric.
When you log in, you are randomly spawned on the map, even if you have played on that server before. This is annoying because you don't start where you last logged off. You can make a bed and that becomes your spawn point, but if I happen to find a rock spawn, but I have to log off for a bit, when I come back in, I am spawned at my bed (if I have one) or randomly on the map. This is extremely annoying. I am sure the devs will address this in the future as probably many players will complain about this.
When you log in, your toolbelt is set to the default with the knife. This is a minor annoyance.
When you "return to lobby" it never reconnects to the lobby. When you exit the application, half the time it freezes up and I have to "switch to another user" or "log off" or "reboot" to clear the screen because the last rendered screen stays frozen even when the task ends. This may be a Windows 8.1 issue.
Overall, I will be looking forward to watching this game develop, and I definitely recommend it even with all of the problems.
By the way, you can run a dedicated server (it's unity after all). Here are a couple of links that will get you started with your dedicated server setup:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/299860/discussions/0/522729901308169617/?l=swedish
http://beastsofprey.eu/index.php?page=Thread&postID=2#post2
The second link was helpful in setting up everything, but the first link explains some of the parameters in the config file (especially rock spawning). Follow this link to get the server update because apparently it's not available through steam, and it does fix rock nodes disappearing and other issues: http://smartfoxserver.com/download/get/167