Not as expected

When I first heard about a TT2 I was thrilled!  Could not wait for the invite.  Started playing 4 days ago only to find out I am playing a watered down version of Evony.  This is not the game I was looking for in a TT2.  For anyone who has played an Evony type game before, then you know that money rules and you cannot be competitive without it; and eventually having to feed everyone will grind you to boredom.  I was under the impression when I first started that feeding troops would not be the case and that is the reason I even gave this game a look.  But now I see that yes, indeed you must feed troops and workers, this is not what was originally said in the forums.  I won't be continuing. Sad because I was so looking forward to a TT2.  This is not a sequel but a completely different game loosely (very loosely) based on the original.  Was it the devs intention to create an Evony clone?   

Xana, that is a harsh accusation, to say that this game is a clone of something else.

Have you got any evidence to back your claim?

Granted Evony is a multiplayer strategy game, where you have to build, train, etc, but this game is no where near a "clone" of any sorts. I have played Evony, and discovered that it is true, that money rules, however, that is not the case here with TT2. It is based, I believe, off of the original TT, but very different in a lot of ways. In the original you didn't  play multiplayer, yes you battled monsters, but there was no "war" aspect to it. TT2 is way better, in my opinion, than TT or TT Gold. To the devs---keep up the awesome job. I AM A PROUD PLAYER/TESTER OF TT2 AND I PLAN ON STAYING.

Glad you said that Alice - I've never played Evony and 5 minutes of cursory research convinces me that I never will.  The two points raised - the need to feed everyone becoming horribly boring, and money rules - I think if you'd give the game a chance you would find that these are both false.

Need to feed - yes, you have to keep up food production but that only means building the appropriate infrastructure, there is no grinding beyond that.  You have to get food production up anyway in order to advance your game, so I disagree that this becomes horribly boring over time. 

Money rules - you can get some mild advantage by using money, however Enkord has stated publicly that the game will be fully playable and winnable without any real money investment whatsoever.  In my experience so far, this is the truth.  You can get a small bit ahead by using money, but not an overwhelming amount.  It is more a way to manage your time in the game, rather than a way to race ahead of everyone else, or indeed to stay in the game at all.  There is certainly no case in which it is required to pay to keep playing.  Some of us enjoy donating to support the development of the game, which is being done by a small indie shop (not a big corporation like the one that runs Evony.)

OK, end of rant...

So, Xana, does this mean that you're not going to be playing the game anymore?  If so, would you be a peach and delete your hero/account from the system?  I have the misfortune of starting up a new hero that is smushed right up next to you, and in about a day or two, i'll probably have you completely surrounded.  I'm a bit OCD about these things and don't much like the look of that one lonely cell within my domain that belongs to someone that doesn't play the game anymore.  ktxbai

I have to say that the game is not as I expected either. I was a big fan of totem tribe and totem tribe gold. But this game is just another war game like all the others available. I play moderately active, being online two times a day usually. But I am constantly attacked by other players (today I was attacked 10+ times). I cannot possibly build against that so there is no fun at all in playing. I have no ambition to be the best, or to attack my neighbours at all, I just wish to play this game leisurely when I have the time. Originally it was promised that this game would be suitable to all kind of players, but I find this is only fun to those who have lots of time online (or lots of money) and who enjoy attacking others. So I quit.

I play moderately active, being online two times a day usually. But I am constantly attacked by other players (today I was attacked 10+ times). I cannot possibly build against that so there is no fun at all in playing. I have no ambition to be the best, or to attack my neighbours at all, I just wish to play this game leisurely when I have the time.

Two times per day, how many hours each time?  Your neighbors will always be stronger than u if u only have a few hours to play. And eventually they will want to take over your land because u are blocking them.

Your defenses were strong, but u could make them even stronger if u had next age towers. By playing few hours per day u also weren't able to rebuild towers or use Truce items (everyone gets some from wheel of fortune and quests).

You could join an alliance for protection or ask a strong player to protect u in exchange for a % of your resource income. You can make a new hero and be placed with players of same level, or accept that online games are not for u and quit.

In the end, it's not the game's fault that a few players lost their towns and want to quit, this is an online game after all, in every online game, if u can afford to spend only a few hours daily u will be the weakest player, and always complain.

In the end, it's not the game's fault that a few players lost their towns and want to quit, this is an online game after all, in every online game, if u can afford to spend only a few hours daily u will be the weakest player, and always complain.

This is exactly the problem. A few hours a day is a lot for most people. You are right that I don't like the online wargames, but this game promised to be different and suitable to all kind of players. I am disappointed that it is not.

The game provides means to play successfully even for players who spend one 1-2 hours a day, it's just those means are not automatical and you have to make some effort and learn your way around. Also like Arthas said, naturally you will not become the top player this way.

I'm sure you know my opinion on this by now ;p but I wanted to adress the "learning" thing. In every game there's a learning curve and that's to be expected. But I don't think you can expect casual players to learn the hard way - spend a month or two playing to then be totally destroyed, start anew with the knowledge gained and be golden from there on. At least half of them will quit, imo. The defense part is not stressed nearly enough in the tutorial. A level 5 tower + a level 5 wall will not serve in the long run. And if you don't happen to click on your advisors after the tutorial and never visit the forums you loose like half the knowledge needed to defend yourself. I think you should add more of the defense part (at least for the collectivism players) to the tutorial and simply stress it more in their dialogue.

The game description says:

"Casual Players Will Not Be Offended"

I find that this is not the case. I do not mind being attacked once in a while. I have no ambition to be the top player in my area also. I just wish to be able to play casually without frustration. Apparently this is not possible (being attacked 10 times a day), which makes the game not for me. And it makes this game just like the thousand others already available.

One of the things I loved most about TT and TTG was the fast pace and the constant new adventure. Perhaps I'm not playing correctly, and I am experiencing the Zweinstein not recognizing stone cutting, but I am a little bored. I keep waiting for the next step. I've been playing for 3 days, and all I seem to be able to do is play a time management game of tech learning and building upgrades. Am I missing something? Will I ever get new quests if the ones I have open are frozen due to a bug?

I am NOT a player that wants to challenge and conquer other players. I will build defenses as I am forced to, but I will not be out plundering other players.

This is Alpha testing.  It may be that it is not a game for periodic and casual players at this stage since we are in an artificial environment, with limited climate options and a truncated world map, so are all together.   We are fighting for land and resources, either passively through rapid growth or actively through war and that is how it is currently.  Only the developers can say if it will be this way once released to the public, but I have faith that once the game is open for public play, casual players will not be disappointed.

Alpha testing is just that------testing-----this means that we need to test all ---war and the equipment that goes with it---differences between Collective and Lead heroes-----building culture or culture wars for global resources.  The game at this point is NOT a casual player game.  So maybe, as Bers has said in the past, this is not the time for you to be playing.-----This is not the finished product.   I might also add that ---believe it or not----if you take time while you are building something and read the forum you might find that most of your concerns have been addressed time and time again.  You might also get a sense of what it means to test.

This is Alpha testing.  It may be that it is not a game for periodic and casual players at this stage since we are in an artificial environment, with limited climate options and a truncated world map, so are all together.   We are fighting for land and resources, either passively through rapid growth or actively through war and that is how it is currently.  Only the developers can say if it will be this way once released to the public, but I have faith that once the game is open for public play, casual players will not be disappointed.

Right - the World map will be much bigger than in Alpha, the players will not be jammed one almost on top of other and I hope things will look different then. And the experience a player can get from the test period will be valuable. I think we all have passed through the period "not as expected" and if the new players have a little more patience imo some of them can change their opinion.

Zing accepted mina. This is my first go at alpha testing. I am sure I am missing elements. I will continue to play, be I casual or more, I was just confused and truly curious if I am missing clues to add more adventure. I have begun perusing the 'hints and tips' to get a leg up. I am a voracious player when properly stimulated. One of the things I enjoyed most about the original games was that the war factor was all AI based. I did not intend on poking insult at the game creators. In fact, TT has been my favorite game of all time for years now. Kudos Berserker and all the other people involved in the evolution of this game. Please be patient with those of us that have wandered here from a less battle based lean. I feel honored to be a part of TTJ's process. Thank you for the opportunity.