Because it launches differently depending on if you are using steam or the box or the box and steam.

I'm just gonna stop playing until I know we have a stable build out there.

I am running a non-steam version, I updated to 1.7.1.4 using the torrent on the dayz site. Then I installed the beta patch which created a "beta" folder in /expansion. Lastly I added -beta=Expansion\beta;Expansion\beta\Expansion -nosplash -mod=@dayz to target in my shortcut properties.

Am I screwing up something?

Generally speaking there should be a beta launch shortcut inside your main arma2oa directory (well actually arma2 since you are running the disk version)

Find that shortcut and ad the -mod=@dayz onto the target property with nosplash -emptyworld and whatever else you want to do.

Then launch the game. Find your expansions menu option and enable everything inside. restart.

Then your game should show two icons in the bottom left one for ARMAII and one for ARMAIIOA. In the top right it should say beta and dayz.

Ah the shortcut was the problem. Instead of the exe in the Arma 2 root folder you should now adjust the exe in the /expansion/beta folder.

Change the target to ?\ArmA 2\Expansion\beta\arma2oa.exe" -beta=Expansion\beta;Expansion\beta\Expansion -nosplash -mod=@dayz
and Start in to "?\ArmA 2"

With this shortcut the game will launch but I still can't get past the loading bar when I try to join a server.

look in your \arma 2 folder. There is a NEW shortcut for the beta. Drag that to your desktop and go into properties and add the -mod=dayz thingy.

played .4 last night. The zeds are back to seeing and attacking through walls are super tough and the loot spawns are the suck. Going to take the week off and hope they find some balance of loot and zeds agro-vision.
Feels like i am being punished atm, fun levels dropped to why bother .

I don't know wtf they are thinking with all of these changes but, I'm sure they will get the hint that they effed up when they see the numbers fall off.

It is ALPHA. He has not even gotten the game remotely where he wants it. Alpha is for adding features and tweaking features and this is one of the better alphas out there because the developer actually cares more about making his game how he wants it than he cares to appease the forum people who dont understand what a Alpha is for.

Zs can still walk through walls but, instead of fixing that he took pistols away?

As a potential paying customer, I'm not enjoying the game as much as I used to.

It's his game, he can of course do what he wants but, I think he is making a mistake with the choices he is making lately.