Re: Tribe Vibes

From: dougs@caa.org.au

Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 00:00:00 +0000

On Mon, 19 May 1997 01:13:17 -0500, Patrick Travers
<ptravers@flash.net> wrote:

>I just started playing TribeVibes (or TribeNet as I was introduced to
>it).  So far, I have had one turn.  The game is very challenging; Andrew
>is not overstating the complexity of the possibilities here at all.

welcome to the game...you've picked up the complexity side of things
very quickly...when i started (introduced by friends) i didn't have a
set of rules so assumed it was a lot easier...that was about 5 earth
years ago and i still haven't gone to the depth of research you have
about how long things take!

<snip>

>My observations from my one turn so far:
>
>1) The intracacies of the game leave you with LOTS of dreams; however,
>at one turn every two weeks, I've computed that it will be 11 months
>before all of my warriors are outfitted with slings and leather armor.
>That's just the FIRST step in arming my clan.  Then comes bows (which
>you have to search for staves in a forest and wax from beehives to make
>the strings to go on the staff to make the bow), real metal armor (you
>guessed it - you have to mine the ore, then mine coal, refine the ore
>into usable metal in a refinery --- oh, did I mention that you have to
>BUILD a refinery (which requires metal to construct, of course) --- oh,
>and did I mention that you have to first STUDY refining, metalwork,
>engineering, and stonework to be able to build your refinery..., you get
>the idea).  All of this studying and construction must take a back seat
>to feeding your people, herding your animals, finding a suitable place
>to set up a village, etc.

after this you'll want to research new weapon and armour types just to
maintain parity with other clans!...presuming of course you don't
starve in the meantime...

>2) The game is VERY realistic.  For instance: If you don't feed your
>people, they go out and kill your herd animals for food.  You, of
>course, could have done that in your turn instructions.  But, if you
>don't provide enough food for them, your tribe members do it for you,
>and only use half of the meat (because they're doing it in the middle of
>the night to avoid your guards).  And if you run out of herd animals,
>well, then, they die.

this is news to me but is easily avoided...my feeding instructions are
"eat hunt return then stored provisions"...stored provisions includes
your herd...make sure you complain if you do only get half food from
your animals...

>3) Did I mention that the game is VERY realistic?  Hunting parties
>gather DRASTICALLY less food in wintertime.  It's currently winter on
>the continent where I'm located; I have almost HALF of my tribe out
>hunting for food; last turn (my first turn) they brought in enough to
>feed just over 1,000 people.  My clan is almost 5,000 strong.  I will
>have to slaughter a large portion of my herd of goats to keep my tribe
>members from doing it for me; of course, at half the efficiency.

welcome to winter wonderland...hunting is *not* the way to keep your
clan going indefinitely...

>4) Your clan does not magically come about knowledge nor resources. <snip>

aint this the truth...you're only looking at the minimum statistical
occurences!...in real life it could take longer...of course not all
the skills are useful or necessary...

>5) You may attempt to do things in which you have no knowledge, but you
>pay a stiff penalty (e.g. - people die trying to mine minerals or get
>lost on scouting missions and never come back).

that's life though isn't it!...note that highly skilled people can
also die if you're unlucky!

>The only complaint that I have is it takes TOO LONG between moves.  In
>todays minute-by-minute world, TWO WEEKS is ridiculous.  I'm in
>communication with the game masters (Andrew is one of them) about
>writing a version of TribeNet in Java, to be played at the rate of one
>turn per day.

believe it or not your solution is too *fast*...once you're in close
proximity to other clans the amount of planning for each turn goes up
exponentially...there's battles and trades to plan (and muck up of
course)!

>Overall, I'm very pleased with the game, it's complexity, the
>interaction between players, and the realism that the designers built in
>to the game.

if you really want full value from the game you should join a
religion...VVV appears the best option...there is a link on the
TribeVibes homepage (lost the address sorry) or e-mail me on
dougs@caa.org.au...

welcome lonely traveller...

doug

References

Tribe Vibes
"A. Davey" <adavey@ocean.com.au>
Mon, 19 May 1997 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Tribe Vibes
Patrick Travers <ptravers@flash.net>
Mon, 19 May 1997 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Tribe Vibes
"A. Davey" <adavey@ocean.com.au>
Mon, 19 May 1997 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Tribe Vibes
Patrick Travers <ptravers@flash.net>
Mon, 19 May 1997 00:00:00 +0000