Help us to compile the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Question: What's the difference between Totem Tribe, Totem Tribe Gold and Totem Tribe 2?

Question: What computer software/hardware do you need to play Totem Tribe 2? (And do I need to download anything?)

Question: Do I need to be online to play Totem Tribe 2?

... If I think of more I'll post them.

Is the game totem tribe II is somehow connected to the original game totem tribe?

- Can a player ''die'' and lose his weapons/armors/items or only his units can die?

- Will there be in-game currency (besides Enkord cash) like gold coins?

- Can i sell the weapons/armors/items i find for in-game currency (if any) or Enkord cash?

- Can an experienced high level player attack a newbie's town/country? Can a player only attack someone 10~ levels higher/lower?

- Is the fighting style and the weapons/armors/items finding the same like in Totem Tribe 1 (monster drops etc.)?

- Is there an experience bar and levels that a player can obtain? If so, what's the max level?

- Can weapons/armors be upgraded? Are there different kind of items? like Normal,Magic,Rare,Unique?

Most of my questions can be self-answered by players if the game was released, should i go on with questions like these? :o

When you restart the game, do you have to upgrade all of your buildings, etc again?

How is upgrading technology or buildings different from Totem Tribe (Original or Gold)?

How many units do you get per building?

Are resources (ie. gold, timber, etc) the only things I can trade, or can I trade in other things too?

.... Not a question for the FAQ, but in general: is it a good idea for someone to go back through the past news items posted to Enkord's home page and the comments there, because I remember there are a lot of good questions posted there...?

- Can i play Totem Tribe 2 in singleplayer and offline like in Totem Trible 1?

- I like PvP, can i attack countries unlimited times per day? If someone gets attacked, does his country get a temporary "unable to be attacked" status? Can i see someone's "power" (number of troops,kind of troops etc.) before i attack him?

- I don't like PvP, is there any way for me to stay safe for a while and not get attacked a lot?

- Can i get an ally to help me attack an enemy? Can i get an ally to help me defend my country?

- Is there any in-game npc that sells weapons/armors/items?

- What else can i do after i finish the game?

- Will my hero be able to join the fights in Totem Tribe 2?

Here's a good question I just found...

undrgrndgirl 9 months ago Quote - i'm not sold on the online multiplayer concept, never have been...so, if i want to play alone, how do i keep from being attacked?

Can the game be paused if a player is unable to access a computer because they are on holidays, doing exams etc?
Will there be a "revive" option if our soldiers are killed or will they be revived automatically like they were in the original game Totem Tribe?

Can I block another player because they keep attacking my village or can I only block someone because they are being abusive?

 If we run out of food will our villagers die or go on strike?
Can we create a shortcut to Totem Tribe 2 on our desktops?

Forgive me if these have already been posted. I went through the news archive and comments... There's probably a more logical order to the way the FAQs are listed, I'm just going in a somewhat chronological order from the archives. Also, I stuck for the most part to the questions that actually had answers from Berserker, so it's very likely I missed some questions that went unanswered. I didn't trawl the forums either, so that might need to be done too.

Plenty of stuff can be copied directly from this post:

http://www.totemtribe.com/news/all-things-totem-tribe-2/

You may also want to include this suggested language from a previous commenter: ""Making Totem Tribe 2 available on-line only is something we feel is necessary on a number of levels. First, it will allow us to continuously evolve the game. And second, it will allow us to better protect the game (our losses on Totem Tribe Gold were significant). We did not come by this decision lightly, as we know many of our avid fans are more accustomed to downloadable games. But rest assured, we will do everything in our power to help you get comfortable with the idea of playing Totem Tribe 2 on-line (it doesn't mean you have to play with other players) and what all is involved. We think that, in the end, you'll have a wonderful experience."

Question: Will TT2 be available for mobile devices and tablets?

Question: In previous TT games, the main character (me) was a generic character. Will I be able to create my own avatar and design the facial features, costume, etc?

Question: The main character was also previously not something I could control. Will I be able to do anything with my avatar?

Answer: Yes! Instead of Aruku we will add the ability to create your own hero (or heroine). The hero will be not just helpless doll, it will be able to travel, fight, lead army, interact with objects and so on. The hero will be an integral element of the game and will be very personal to each player.

Question: Will my avatar/character stay the same over time - as in, can I change it at will, or am I stuck with it, or can I only change it when I restart the game?

Question: Will there be more buildings?

Answer: First of all there will be more buildings than in TT1. Way more.

Question: Do we have to upgrade every building on each level, like in the original TT games?

Answer: Buildings from one level will be useful on another one! No more need to build a smithy over and over just to upgrade your troops.

Question: How many times can we upgrade a building?

Answer: Also you will be able to upgrade each building more than once (not just towers!) and each upgrade will look different and will be more effective. For example a barracks will house more warriors, towers will be more powerful and so on.

Question: In the original games we had to create a troop on every level - will we have to do this in the new game?

Answer: Your army can be transferred back and forth between different levels! You will be able to train troops on one level and send to another level to fight!

Question: Are the levels made up of different islands, like in the original games?

Answer: TT2 will not be on islands, it will take place on the mainland. The world map is HUGE.

Question: How can we tell which area of the map is 'mine' and which is someone else's?

Question: All these new things... what will happen to the gems/puzzles? I don't like warfare and I'm not really a fan of simulation games.

Answer: There will be plenty of puzzling/item hunting, no worries. In fact we plan to make the game so players will choose their own play style and focus on things they like the most. People who like puzzles will do puzzles, people who like to build will focus on building, people who like to fight will focus on fighting. Of course you will not be able to forfeit any of those, but you will be able to minimize things you don't like much and focus on things you enjoy.

Question: This game sounds huge - will I be able to play it all at once?

Answer: No. Even though you will be able to reach the end as soon as we launch the game, we will be growing the game over time and adding lots of new things. This means we can launch and test the game as soon as possible, but also give you lots more to do as time goes on. This is good for you in other ways too: it means whenever you finish the game you can always come back and play again and again (and again!) finding new things every time.

Question: Will there be music to listen to as we play?

Answer: Yes! We have new tracks developed too, more than 20.

Question: Will the music be available to download?

Answer: It's too early to talk about that, but chances are we will make it available separately, if we are able to bring some interesting musical experiences. We are more serious about making a rich soundtrack this time around, so there will be way more music in Totem Tribe 2, than in Totem Tribe 1.

Question: I didn't like the fact that I couldn't skip through the text descriptions between levels in TT1 and TTG. Will we be able to do that this time?

Question: Can we talk to other players in a chat screen - or can we only chat on the forums?

Question: In the original TT games we didn't have to collect resources. Will we have to do that in TT2?

Answer: Yes. While the absence of resources in TT1 was fun, we feel adding resources will add more depth and strategy to the game. We will try to make resources mining/management as simple and intuitive as possible not to over-complicate the game.

Question: Does this mean we have to worry about feeding our troops or doing other tedious things?

Answer: No, there will be no day and night and other tedious things like need to feed your people and stuff. Resources are more like you have to accumulate XX wood in order to build a house. With resources you will have to choose which building to build - which ones will help you better at the moment, and which ones are less necessary and can be built later if at all.

Question: Will it work with my video card?

Answer: The game uses no extra special effects and should run on any recent video card.

Question: Can I download any wallpapers or artwork of the game?

Question: Is there a Facebook page or Twitter account for TT2/Enkord that I can follow?

Question: Is this just more of the same TT game, milking a good game - what are the benefits of playing the new one?

Answer: That's what any other company would do - they would just keep on milking a  successful title. What we want to do is to take Totem Tribe and put it on a whole new level.

Question: I don't like the fact that the game is now online and multi-player. Why did you do this?

Answer: While fans supported us well by purchasing the TTG release, the income was still far from thinking about retirement. The truth is, if we were going to make a  sequel the same way as we did with first one, it might not be worth it financially. Therefore we evaluated different ways and possibilities to make it happen and make it profitable. One reason for making the game online is to avoid as much piracy as we saw before with TT1 and TTG - the piracy rate for the original TT and TTG was huge. When we were discussing TT2 we came to a clear understanding that we have to do something different from a regular downloadable game, because with our long development time and budget it will be hard to recoup investment, let alone getting a profit. And one of the major reasons was piracy too. The only way to fix the piracy issue is to make the game impossible to play without server and that's we're going to do. TT2 will be online game, otherwise there is no point in making it at all as it won't be profitable.

Plus, it allows us to build the game as you play it, meaning we can add new things all the time. This keeps our customers interested and increases our chances of more in-game sales. Good extensions worth selling might take quite some time, keeping us from focusing on our main goal (creating new games). We've tried this system for our GUNROX game and it worked out really well. This way we could do late development stages together with our players and react to their feedback. An example: if we've added some new feature, but the majority of players are not happy and would like to see it tweaked somehow, then in the next update released the next day we could change it and due to the automated nature of updates, everyone who has this issue will have it fixed right away without any hassle. Also, while I like games where you can enter later and see stuff changed while you were absent, I hate that you can't play as long as you want in one sitting. That's what we're going to do - you will be able to play as much as you want if you want to.

Question: So how are you going to make money from the game this time? Do I have to pay to access the game?

Answer: No. We will have in-game purchases, but they won't be required to complete the game. They are just little things to add to your enjoyment - things that make resource-earning quicker, or to trade. This makes the game more accessible (cheaper) for our players, but it also means we can recoup our costs. 

Question: Will there be an easy way to find gems this time around? I really liked the gem-finding magnifier.

Question: Will there be a hints system for when I get stuck on a puzzle?

Question: Will I be able to play full screen? How big does my screen resolution need to be?

Question: What happens when there are bug fixes, will I have to re-download anything or update anything on my computer?

Answer: Totem Tribe 2 will have an automated updater which will allow to update the game each time you launch it, if there is new content available. You will no longer need to search for patches and fixes or download new versions. The automated downloader will do that for you.

Question: If we're playing the game online, where does my game get stored and can I back it up in case there are problems with it?

Question: What kinds of facial features can we add/change to our avatar?

Answer: You can pick hair, eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, etc. while creating your hero.

Question: Can we play offline?

Answer: Unfortunately this system requires an internet connection to our servers, so you won't be able to play TT2 offline. While it will require an internet connection, it does not require a good one. We will make sure that even a really bad one will work.

Question: But I don't want to use the multi-player feature. Do I still have to connect to the internet to play by myself?

Answer: The game will be online even despite the fact that you can play alone without interacting with other players and automated updates are just an example of a good feature that can be used even without using the multi-player gaming. Another good example would be online ranking and achievements.
I understand that some players can't be online all the time but we have to move forward. We might lose some fraction of offline-only players but going online brings so much fun to the game in so many new ways that we can't disregard this, sorry. If that means we are losing some players like you, it's a pity, but we won't change our path.

Question: But I also can't afford to pay for the constant internet connection. Why do I still have to play this way?

Answer: Actually, the game saves when you stop playing. So you can play for as much or as little as you are willing to use the internet for. If you can only afford to spend 1/2 hour on the internet, then play for 1/2 hour.

Question: So I am online and playing by myself - do I still see other players?

Question: Can I change from single player to multi-player mid-game, or do I have to wait until I restart at the beginning again?

Answer: There will be basically one game with all of the features, but you will be able to chose of how big of an impact they will have, and you will be able to change it while playing. Even in if you are single-player type of person, multi-player features will still be there, it just won't have as big of an impact. However once you have enough with regular quests and story and decide to enjoy more multi-player stuff like joining an alliance with other players, you will be able to do it at almost any time you feel ready.

Question: Is TT2 browser-based, or do I have to download something?

Answer: Totem Tribe 2 will be online but not browser-based, you will have to download and install it to play.
Sometimes people call all browser-based games "online" but that is incorrect. An online game is a game which requires a constant internet connection while you play. And this downloader will be our own thing, it will not be connected with Steam or other game downloaders.

Question: Will there be a free demo? (Is there any point in having a free demo when the game itself is free?)

Question: How does my game save?

Answer: You will not have to save at all, the game will be calculated on the server, thus even if you are disconnected, game progress is not lost - you can reconnect and continue on from where you left. Basically, the game is stored on our servers, not on your computer. Just enter your login, password and start playing again. Even if your computer crashes or you need to reinstall the game downloader, you won't lose your progress!

Question: Can we choose when the game downloads updates? I don't want it to do it automatically.

Question: If the game is constantly being updated and added to, will there really be a 'finish'? Will I actually ever complete the game?

Question: Will we be forced to see advertising everywhere if we don't buy things? Sent spammy emails?

Question: Will I be able to download the game or access it from other websites, like Big Fish Games or Steam, or somewhere else?

Question: What happens if the servers go down? Will my game progress be lost?

Question: Will you ban players? What does it take to get banned?

Question: Since the game will be on your servers, what do my purchases actually do? Can I really own, trade or sell anything I buy if I don't actually have a physical copy of the item?

Question: How much will these in-game purchases cost?

Question: Will everything look like it did in TT1 and TTG? Will we see new units, buildings, characters, locations, etc?

Answer: No. We have created a new art style, so buildings, units, characters, etc. will all look new. It will still retain the essence of the original games though. The new art means that buildings, etc will be easier to distinguish from the background as well. There are also lots of new units and buildings!

Question: Do we share the world map with other players? Can I see other players and their units/buildings?

Question: In this new town of mine, do I have the option to build walls or roads?

Answer: Yes. In TT2 you can build roads, but you can also build walls. The walls move automatically so when you want to build something new, you don't have to demolish the walls and rebuild them.

Question: In the original games we could only upgrade towers - can we upgrade other buildings in TT2?

Answer: Yes! Upgrading buildings will not only improve their look, but will also make it more useful. For example when you upgrade a hut, the worker capacity in it will be increased. Since we have included resources now, we decided to save some space and make player villages more compact - there is really no need to build a number of the same builngs in your village now, all you do is just make one building of specific type and upgrade it!

Question: Who is Jotun? Who is Gromus? Who is Loku? Who is Matriarch?

Question: What kind of achievements can I win? How many are there?

Question: When I finish playing the game, and restart to play again, will I keep past achievements? What things do I keep and what things do I lose? If I buy an in-game item, will I be able to use it for future play-throughs?

Question: What kind of new units will there be?

Answer: Mounted troops, flying troops, and naval troops.

Question: Will the scout and troop flags remain in the new game?

Question: So if the game occurs on one large world map how do I get to the next level?

Question: What does the world map look like? What does the interface look like?

Answer: See http://www.enkord.com/img/news/tt2-world.jpg, or http://www.enkord.com/img/news/tt2-interface.jpg

Question: Will there be a tutorial so we can learn all the new things?

Question: Do we fight or go on quests in the same area that we build our towns? Can we build more than one town?

Answer: Yes, you will be able to have several cities. We will have 2 types of locations - building locations and quest locations. Building locations are cities and are like levels in original Totem Tribe, where you build stuff, gather armies and fight. Like Red Rock Island in TT1. Quest locations are like levels where you have Aruku alone solving puzzles, like Mist Island in TT1. Plus you can transfer troops and resources to quest locations to aid your hero. For example you may need to buy something or bribe someone in the quest location - then you just gather enough resources in your city and transfer the necessary amount of resources into the quest location using your traders and your hero will be able to spend those resources, solving quests. Resources are like money in this game - you spend resources to build huts, hire troops, buy stuff, etc.

Question: How will I be able to distinguish my town/buildings and units from someone else's?

Question: How much space can I take up with my town? Is there a limited amount of space?

Question: Do I have to trade with other people in order to complete the game?

Answer: You don't have to trade with others, but it could be profitable. For example you have excess amount of one resource - you can trade it to other players.

Question: What is the story about?

Answer: The story this time will feature strong serious themes such as faith, freedom, treachery, hope. The idea about this game is to make it light and easy at first glance, but showing more and more depth the longer you dig into (like onion skin). We don't want to overwhelm players right from the start.

Question: I'm playing by myself. How do I stop from being attacked?

Answer: When you start the game you will be able to pick the social system of your kingdom. The social system is basically a set of bonuses and drawbacks. One of those systems will increase the defences of your villages by 300%, however they will also decrease your attack power by the same rate. Therefore it will be unreasonable for most people to attack you, because they will need 3 times more troops to do sustainable damage to you. Add some other stationary defences you can build and they might need 10x or 20x troops than you which is quite unreasonable - they might find easier targets instead. Furthermore, when you start the game, there will be one week of beginners' protection, when no one can attack you at all so you will have enough time to get used to the game and build up your defences so others do you no harm even if they decide to attack you.

Plus, if you are really really against it, there will be some items that can cast a "truce" on your cities, preventing others from attacking you and you from attacking them, but those items have a limited effect time. We will make sure you will have enough means to minimize the negative effect from being attacked, but attacks might still happen from time to time. Having said that, the multi-player part is not about battling other players all the time, that's boring. The multi-player part will be more about social activity where people team up together to follow their common goal more easily. That goal of course could be waging war against others, but it can also be defending together against others, making a trade alliance, or even helping each other with quests and the storyline, much like on the forums on this site, but right inside the game where you can not only share advice, but also help with resources or troops to your friend in need.

Question: Is the storyline different to the original games?

Answer: The story is new, but it will be strongly related to original game in some way that's for sure. And there will be references to Aruku too. In the begining of the game it might be not obvious but later you will see the whole thing from a different perspective and the two games will be tied together.

Question: I've played TT1 or TTG to death. It gets boring after a while. Will everything be the same if I play TT2 more than once?

Answer: No. You can try many different things, such as obtaining different achievements, playing multi-player or by yourself... but we also have included randomly generated things too! That means that different people might have different items, puzzles, and quests. But not just different people - if you restart the game you might see new things you have never seen before.

Question: Can we have more than one avatar? Can we play 2 games at once with different avatars?

Answer: Yes, you can have several characters on one account and then have several separate game sessions playing in parallel if you want to.

Question: Does the world map include different types of locations, like icy tundras or summery deserts?

Question: Will there be scouts like in TT1?

Answer: Sort of. You will have explorers, which take the place of scouts. They will look different to scouts, but do the same thing - explore new territory!

Question: How many different types of units are there?
Answer: More than 100! There are lots of little people in your tribe.
Question: What is the beta version going to be like?
Answer: Basically beta version would be a sandbox version + tutorial + multi-player, where players could play with their village(s) and kingdom - build structures, train units, trade, explore the world around them, etc. We want to release it so the players will have something to have fun with, while we are making the main storyline and quests.
Question: How do I become a beta player?
Question: How do I send feedback as a beta player?
Question: In TT1 and TTG only scouts could swim. Can other units swim too?
Answer: We're adding ships and lots of other naval things too, including trade and warfare.
Question: In TT1 and TTG only the bad guys could fly. Can we fly now?
Answer: Yes! We have lots of amazing flying units for you to play with, including helicopters and even UFOs!
Question: How many items are there to find in the game?
Answer: More than 80!
Question: How can we tell what level a building has been upgraded to?
Answer: There will be numbers next to the building to indicate its level.
Question: What happened to the Enkord site?
Answer: It's still there, but will be used for anything unrelated to TT. From now on, all the news and updates related to TT is on the new site. If you were a member of the forums on Enkord.com, not to worry we transferred everyone's account over!

Question: Will I be able to change my information that's on the new site?
Answer: Yes. Just login with your old details and click on the username in the green box on the right. You can change your info from there.
Question: If I don't play the game for a long time, and don't post anything in the forums, will my account be suspended?
Question: Can I play using a Mac?
Answer: Yes, a Mac version is planned although not right away. We will release the Windows version first and Mac some time afterwards.
Question: How many times can we upgrade a building?
Answer: As many as 20 times. Different buildings have different upgrade levels.
Question: How many units do we get per building?
Answer: It depends on the level of upgrade - if you are on level 1 (the lowest level a building can be) then you will get one unit per building. Upgrade to the highest level - 20 - and you will have 20 units per building.
Question: Are buildings/units individually upgraded - or do you get to upgrade all your buildings/units at once?
Answer: Upgrades are not some global change to all units, you build an upgrade and then apply it to an unit individually, thus you might end up with several units of the same type, but with different upgrades.
Question: Can't I just build a whole load of barracks at once?
Answer: Normally you won't be able to build several barracks, in order to build the second one, you will have to acquire some unique resource on the world map. This is done to keep the army sizes balanced. However there will be several barrack-like structures you can build (like hunter camps and shaman tents in TT1). This way all the unit types will be used, unlike TT1 where the best strategy was to amass shamans. Furthermore you can settle another town and build a barracks there, and you can transfer your army between towns as you see fit.
Question: Can I upgrade units too?
Answer: Yes! Units will change appearance once you upgrade them. I.e. if you upgraded unit armor the armor will be visible on him and you can see it. If you upgrade a weapon, the weapon will be visible too.