New player experiences

Hello!

I've just started playing after being invited to join last night.  Playing peaceful, I wish to learn the game at my own pace.  Everything is going great.  I'm only level one but my tech tree is ahead of me, almost finished battle.  I have for troops an explorer and a hunter (not much of a troop, huh!) 

My only question is how to move my hero to the next world site that I found.  Forgot its name, Herald something...  Anyway, I am not sure if that area is ready to enter or perhaps I need a new hero to enter a new region?  Having a great time, I enjoy the strategy/rpg hybrid with character stats and a tech tree.  Thrilled to get my invite the day after paying for the game :D   Thanks!

Hi again, just writing to say I answered my own questions and am having fun.  I've learned stone cutting so should be able to have a 'brave' in the near future.  I'm not to sure how I advance levels, I do have the heraldic crest and am on the quest to find advisers nearby.  My town has its first stone although I dont see under building where I purchase and build the stone field structure.  Found a few gems that the Old Herald dismissed as 'glass' although I'm not so sure.  I have a market place and perhaps I'll be able to trade with other players soon...it's a start.  I want to study fortification but it would take 25 days and I'm sure there is much to do before then.  At least with my science tree I've entered the Stone Age.   Hope to figure out how to gain real experience so to level up and progress.

as written by a newbie late on day one.  Maybe I'll live until tomorrow!

Newbie player. I am receiving harassing comments only after being in the game for a few days. There is a lot to learn and I had to create a new hero, just to get the tutorial again to understand a lot of basics. This person warned me to get rid of my extra hero or else! The person also stated that if I continued to play, I would be attacked by them. I sent an e-mail back saying their comments were inappropriate and that if they continued to harass me, I would report it. I am not impressed with this game. I had the impression, after reading the FAQ's section that if a player wanted to play solo, they could without getting into it with other players.  I understand that the design of this game is one where players can see what you are doing, but I find it unfair, given that people have different personalities, and some of us just want to play casually in peace and quite. If the game will not enable me to play by myself, I will probably delete my hero profile and be done with this game.

I know this has been discussed before. Still, I think it should be made more clear in the game description and FAQ that it's a war game and there is no way to completely avoid being attacked. Obviously new players still think they could go solo/adventuring without the multiplayer part (as I thought in the beginning). If they knew, there would be less disappointment.

Thank you for the welcome!

In terms of gaining experience to level up, is the best way to find and complete quests via the game construction or find skirmishes that I may be ready for in a few days.  I've played lots of rpgs and I know that gaining experience for hit points and damage given and taken is usually a priority.  I suspect there may be a way to also acquire better equipment.  Some of my past loves included Diablo II and Heroes of Might and Magic III, so I expect both type games may impact this one.  I've also played a good portion of the single player totem tribe and while it's fun I look forward to combat, may those not be famous last words :) 

Thank you for the welcome!

In terms of gaining experience to level up, is the best way to find and complete quests via the game construction or find skirmishes that I may be ready for in a few days.  I've played lots of rpgs and I know that gaining experience for hit points and damage given and taken is usually a priority.  I suspect there may be a way to also acquire better equipment.  Some of my past loves included Diablo II and Heroes of Might and Magic III, so I expect both type games may impact this one.  I've also played a good portion of the single player totem tribe and while it's fun I look forward to combat, may those not be famous last words :) 

Skirmishes such as plundering or attacking another player or fighting monsters gain XP faster if your Leaderism. Fighting monsters for the Collective players is about the only way to gain XP easily. They can attack other players but do not have the same level of attack power 30% compared to 100% for Leaderism.  

Thanks, Sandy Sue, for the clarification.  I'm not opposed to fighting monsters, I just need to find some!  I'm one day in and I want to know a bit more than I can glean from the game.  Mainly, are all my opportunities to fight monsters, find treasure/gear by going into a new town?  I've naturally only been to my own town and the old Herald.  I suppose that since my little burg is covered I need to look else where, unless I'm not looking in the right places at the home camp.  Am I just aimlessly lost or is this one of the puzzles of the game....to find 'trouble' at home?  Currently pondering where these 'advisers' I need come from:  Home country or elsewhere?  The game sounds fair to a newbie like myself so I should be able to sort this all out.  Cheers!

Had a nap before replying, as one can get immersed in this game very nicely and the clock spins by without being aware.  I got some very nice playtime in and discovered the wealth of activity in my own country!  I adore puzzles and solved several, used some pretty keys and all went quite well.  Apparently one needs to explore carefully if new, as what I saw as fields of snow was the "fog of war" and found everything I needed to progress.  I am still level one, but the tutorial is over and, unless I am mistaken, my newbie standing is ending...I even received a reward saying just that!  I got some gifts for my accomplishments and now I think I am 'fair game', at least in a few days.

I found the puzzles fun and challenging, but not so challenging that I couldn't figure them out and that made things so much fun!  I may be a bit ahead of where I should be, but live and learn.  Having fun is the best part and now that I have my advisers, am a florist, and a beginning blacksmith, my next quest is to travel in the world.  I do wonder what population and reinforcements I should leave in my wake.

Also, in my ignorance I failed in my first market trade with a player, not realizing I had to send a courier with the goods.  Felt so badly for that . 

I know this has been discussed before. Still, I think it should be made more clear in the game description and FAQ that it's a war game and there is no way to completely avoid being attacked. Obviously new players still think they could go solo/adventuring without the multiplayer part (as I thought in the beginning). If they knew, there would be less disappointment.

Saying this is a "war game" is incorrect, because it may sound like the war is a major part of it, which is not true. Putting that in FAQ will mislead players, just in te different direction. The game has war element, along with many other elements, but it's up to player whether to embrace it or ignore it. There is also a farm element, but we are not calling Totem Tribe II: Jotun a "farm game". There are also adventure and quest elements, and many others, but we are not calling it "adventure game" or a "quest game", etc.

I have been thinking about writing to express my opinion not only in this post but also in others, but I always decided not to do it as I no longer play this game. I'm sorry, there were many things that I liked in this game, but there were also many things that I didn't like, some could be explained because the game is still in alpha, but some not, they are just an esential part of the game and will always be. So I quit playing, not big drama, just not the game for me.

Anyway, this time I have decided to give my point of view, I hope you don't mind if I do so, even if I am not playing anymore.

I understand that you don't feel confortable calling this game a "war game", and I understand some of the reasons you give, but I don't agree with this: "it's up to player whether to embrace it or ignore it". I'm sorry, but in my opinion this is simply not true. You can't actually choose to ignore the war aspect of the game. You can choose if you want to have an offensive approach or a defensive one, but not to ignore it. If a newbie read your post or the faq, he can have a false sense of security, that, if he want, he can play almost without the pvp aspect of the game. But like I said, that is not the reality in this game.

So, you don't have to use the words "war game" if you think this will oversimplify what the game actually is, and I agree with that, even if I think that the pvp is really very importan in the game, at least right now. But please be more clear to the newbies about what they are going to find once they start playing.

Hello to all,

Only two days into the game, I'm thrilled with the fun I'm having!  From what I've read in the announcements, it sounds like giving a sort of "grace period" of one week to settle in and develop one's world is a newer implementation into the game and it is a wonderful one, from this newbie's point of view.  I am building and learning at a very quick pace and doing all the little quests of my two advisers (who reward often and nicely, although a few more experience points would be appreciated).

I cannot imagine the experiences of earlier players, but it reads as though there are improvements nearly every day and I'm having a lot of fun feeling safe as I build a town and learn.  I'm rather excited today as my warrior adviser has begun his quests and it's nice to find out that I'm ahead of him by a couple steps so instant rewards come my way.

I could say to earlier players to give it another go, but I am not qualified as I have not seen what happens in week two.  I'm just preparing all I can.  The only part of the game where I am still not sure of procedure, is traveling.  I hope my warrior adviser gives some tips on who and what to bring along and what and who to leave behind to keep my world safe from being plundered!

I'm having a great time and hope it continues after my first week.  It's quite an addictive game so far! :)

Yes, the Bulat will give you tasks to defend, and no, the newly added protection is not the grace period, it's some extra stuff which happens in addition to the grace period if you are being attacked too much afterwards. I am glad you like the game so much, but you are only hitting the tip of the iceberg so far, there is SO much underneath it's not even funny to talk about it :)

Yes, yes yes. This game Rocks! Once you start getting to a second or third town, hold on and have a blast.  

Wow, I read the tech tree and was blown away by the depth that this society could be!   I haven't been anywhere, just happily micro-managing my little town, focusing on resources, and things that make building and learning tech faster.  I like how one boon can affect two or more areas indirectly; e.g. a hut brings workers but also adds to the amount of tech points and to the rate of building...there is a reason why I play games and don't make them, the plans in place for this game, through the little peek I've had show what can be totally EPIC!  So much brilliant thought goes into making this work  it is amazing and crazy impressive that you guys went the multi-player route that is so full of variables!  It's the variables that will make this better and better (and more work for the creators!)

Tererete,

I am always interested in having feedback, but you still haven't listed the things you don't like even after the lengthy introduction :)

Speaking about "it's up to player whether to embrace it or ignore it", I didn't mean you can ignore it by closing your eyes. I meant that there are a lot of people who are not into war that much, they have found a way to avoid fighting and focus on things they like. The usual solution is to join a relatively solid alliance where there are some warriors and the rest are helpers / providers, helping with troops and resources, doing their things and not participating in the war directly. The game provides a lot of means to play the way you want it to play, you just need to be a little bit creative to find that way or make it up by yourself.

No, Tererete didn't state explicitly what she didn't like, berserker, but I know you're intelligent enough to deduce it. However, let me be explicit. In words (literally) of one syllable:

THIS IS A WAR GAME!

If the only way to avoid going to war yourself is to join an alliance where you must constantly support warriors who will protect you, then that merely emphasizes the fact. That's not "creative play", that's war by other means.

Tererete wanted to be in a peaceful alliance (the one left over for me to lead after the previous leader didn't come back) so she could treat TT as a building game. However, an overwhelming alliance went to War with us and she found she couldn't. Again, a simple declarative sentence.

IF YOU'RE ATTACKED RELENTLESSLY, YOU CAN'T BUILD!

Me, I'm still willing to take my chances. I let that alliance spend a week attacking and reducing one of my established heroes while I concentrated on the other, who is now merely a minor supplier to our remaining alliance and will never be able to finish supplying the Wood-based Rude Architect.

And I eventually started a third hero to check out the new-hero arrangements because that interests me.

But Tererete, along with others of my alliance who have quit the game, was not willing to helplessly watch that kind of bullying or to duck out by switching alliances. (Yes, Arya, it IS bullying when you and your cohorts attack someone's hero explicitly because you don't like what the player writes on the forum.)