I loved the original game, Totem Tribe. One of my favorites ever. When I saw there was a second one coming out with a bigger world, I was super excited. I joined right away, to play the alpha test and give feedback. This is that feedback.
I first played maybe a year ago. I don't remember exactly when, but it's been long enough that my mail server no longer has the invite. I really enjoyed discovering the unfolding storyline and building my little town. I liked the science aspect, too. I was frustrated by the extremely slow pace of the game, but it was generally worth it. Then a big alliance decided I was in their way and started attacking me. I couldn't really defend myself, as I was much smaller than them, and spending my resources to do so meant that I could no longer play the parts of the game I was there for. I stopped playing.
Then I replayed the original game, and it was still so good that I decided to give this one another shot.
I started again a month or so ago, and I really enjoyed all the improvements that had been made. I liked the randomly appearing blacksmith or trader types. I was getting to almost the same place in the game as before, plot-wise, and I was excited to see what happened next. I was again frustrated by the slow pace of building stuff, which was somewhat mitigated by the fun Tesla and Garden puzzles.
I kept getting messages about my science research being too slow. Because I could only build one thing at a time, I could either spend resources on building more resources, which take forever and only give tiny increases, or I could build stuff that would more directly help me in exploring and furthering the plot. I just want the plot, so I went with building an exploring party. I kept getting those messages, though, so I thought I'd build another city where I could concentrate on resources, to get science going. The only good space available for a second city that wasn't right next to the first was on a border in the direction of another player, but still many spaces away. Their cities were large and established, so there was no way that I would ever compete with them for territory, which was what I wanted.
Then I got a message from the leader of an alliance, threatening me with how big and powerful they are, and that I had somehow stolen "their" land, which neither of us had yet claimed, and I did not want to claim. They sent several more bullying messages about how big and mean and experienced they were. I told the leader my intentions. I apologized for seeming "aggressive". They ignored me, and sent a huge war party numbering about 2/3 of my total population to kill the new city. So I quit. So far as I know, they've killed the other one, too. In any case, it was clear that, once again, I was going to be a target of a giant alliance.
What I wanted was a larger version of the original game. What has been created keeps many of the terrific aspects of that game, but both times I've played, has been overrun by the PVP aspects, which I don't like or care about at all. Both times, I have been damaged to the point of not being able to play the parts I like by pre-existing alliances which I have zero chance of defending myself against. I believe the game as it stands gives a new player very little chance in succeeding. Not only do these alliances have huge armies which can kill others pretty much at will, but they also start the game being able to support each other in building stuff, so they can progress much faster than any single player would. A single player, even if they wanted to PVP, simply cannot keep up in the current system.
I am sad that I will not be able to play out the plot line, which I am interested and invested in. I recently donated, and I am sad to leave that money behind, too. I wish there was a way to play without worrying that it might all be for naught if an alliance decides they don't like me. If this part of the game changes, I would be very happy to come back, so please keep me in the loop. But I can't spend another month building something just to see my ability to play the game destroyed again. It's not the game I want.