A World Called Travian 15/08/2007 I have very little experience of online games. While I was still in England, my sons persuaded me into the online version of Halo, an excellent example of the move-quickly, shoot-to-kill, save-the-earth kind of game and I must admit that I became fairly hooked on it. But apart from that, I have tried no more than the occasional puzzle or word game.My old reflexes cannot compete with the lightning fast reactions of teenagers playing intensely active games anyway. A large part of my enjoyment of Halo was in watching the amazing speed of my younger son, the Pootle, as he carved out a name for himself in the virtual world. Otherwise, I tended to hide in corners and bash anyone who came along.My little villageYesterday, however, I discovered something called Travian. And this one is right up my street; it's what used to be called a "god game".The term came from one of the earliest of the genre, Populous, in which you assumed the role of a god with certain powers and you had to shepherd your people to take over a world in competition with other peoples. It was marvellously addictive to someone like me, since I was once deeply into chess and I love strategy games. I worked my way through all the levels and even wrote notes on the strategy required for each one.Populous 2 saved me from my obsession. Typically for second stage game releases, the makers over-complicated the game with far too many new powers and unnecessary graphic advances. I rested on my laurels from the first iteration.But now I have discovered Travian. For a start, it has the most important requirement of all online games: it's free. Without that, I would not have even looked at it.That was my first mistake, of course. In looking at it, I became interested. It was fairly typical of this type of game; you start with an undeveloped village and then, by careful and strategic development of resources, you have to grow your little settlement until it can begin to compete with the villages around it. It is possible to slowly build an empire - but the operative word there is "slowly". Being an online game, everything takes time, so that you can leave the game for hours and it continues to build quietly in the background.In fact, this makes it ideally suited to the net. Few people have hours to spare playing internet games and Travian asks only a few minutes of your time each day just to set new goals and start fresh improvements. Otherwise, it runs itself.So the game was winning me over already. The master stroke came when I realized how simple it is. All of the other games in this genre that I have seen have included far too much complication; it is very obvious that one would have to spend days just learning how to get started in some of them. But not Travian - it is very straightforward and easy to begin and has the brilliant innovation of allowing new players a 14-day grace period in which they can develop their villages uninterrupted by attacks from other, older villages in the vicinity. Add to that a gentle learning curve and you have what I consider the perfect game.Yes, I am hooked and already am balancing resources against usage, planning how best to develop rapidly. Less than 24 hours have passed but my little village progresses quite satisfactorily and the population grows. Of course, in two weeks' time the neighboring villages will probably gang up against me and wipe my budding settlement off the face of the earth but, for the moment, I'm happy.Which brings me to an odd fact I noticed in playing the game: the vast majority of the players are obviously quite young. It's their chosen names that give them away - not many older people want to be known as Deathhead Slayer or Exterminator Extreme or some other bloodthirsty claim to greatness. And one gets the feeling that these youngsters have one goal in mind in the game - world conquest with as much blood spilled as possible.It does not help that, when you have a look at the statistics for the game, you find an entry that lists the number of attacks and casualties in the game - and they're in the tens of thousands per day. Has no-one heard of peaceful co-existence at all?Really, these young bloods ought to be off indulging in something more wholesome and active; some good old-fashioned blasting of aliens in Halo or Doom 3 would suit them far better. This business of plotting to build an empire and take over the world is for older and more sinister minds. Like mine.Ah well, I shall just have to plan for solid defence and let them break themselves on my stone walls. And then, when they're exhausted, I shall take them over by stealth. Maybe I could get them to take out loans and mortgages from me and then foreclose before they can rebuild. There is more than one way to skin a cat, Horatio...
Clive
Janus Be careful, those games are like crack cocaine. Before you know it you are staying up for 3 days straight and your family is hosing you down because of the smell. It does look fun though...must...resist. Date Added: 16/08/2007
Gone Away Oh, I know the dangers, Janus - that's exactly what Populous did to me! Just one more game and I'll go to bed... But that's actually the beauty of Travian - after you've been playing for a couple of hours to start, you run out of resources and have no option but to wait until they build up again. And that takes hours so... You might as well go and do something else! Date Added: 16/08/2007
Boogie You could try bribing the other players so they would join forces with you. You could even double cross some people in your quest for greatness. . . . if you really wanted to. Date Added: 16/08/2007
Gone Away Actually, the game contains a system of alliances and you can join one if your village gets big enough to be invited, Boogie. I've been put off the idea somewhat because I overheard some players talking and they were agreeing that it was foolish to go to the aid of an ally and risk getting beaten up yourself... There is no honour left in the world, not even amongst Travian players. ;) Date Added: 16/08/2007
Fractal As one who got hooked on the original Sim-City (and its follow-ups, but as you mention there is a tendency to 'overdo' the tweaks on subsequent developments), I can vouch for the addictive quality of these games. I remember well the joy and satisfaction of seeing a town grow into a City and having a balanced budget! I have yet to try Travian but rest assured that the long winter nights that approach WILL be wasted!.. Live long & prosper AFC Date Added: 20/08/2007
Gone Away I managed to avoid getting into the Sims; it was a close thing, however, as my daughter, Boogie, got hooked and bought all sorts of upgrades to it. So far (this is after a week of playing), Travian has proved to be right up my street. It even gives me a chance to make calculations of how long it is going to take to build up the necessary resources to build this or add that. A delicate balancing act at this stage. In this coming week I shall build defences to hold off the ravening hordes that are bound to arrive as soon as my protection wears off! Date Added: 21/08/2007
Fractal I have to question the 'skinning of cats'! Some things are just NOT allowed! These new games are a force to be reckoned with! afc Date Added: 24/08/2007
Gone Away There has to be some way a cat is useful, Fractal. Even if it's just serving in an old adage... ;) Date Added: 24/08/2007
Fractal Now look here... cats have a place (just ask Egyptians, they have reverred them for ages), but that aside; Cats are VERY useful... Where would we be without typing lessons that did not include cats sitting on mats - Dogs would pine without something to chase.. Civilisation as we know it would collapse without a cat that visited the Queen... Cats are here to stay! Date Added: 25/08/2007
Pootle Games like these are becoming increasingly populaur, another is Ogame where you build up your planet to get stronger. I know a bit about these as WN has both an Ogame and Travian section. I can see why it might deem fun to the different types of players but for me it just doesn't do it. I can't sit there for hours thinking when is this wood going to build up so I can make a puny wooden fence that someone who's been on the game for years can smash down. It's got to be all out action for me, I think you might like Oblivion dad. It's the kind of game that's super addictive. It's a single player FPS RPG with a huge world. So many quests thing to do and ways to plan out what you want to do. You can choose loads of races and customize your character to perfection, choose classes and even create your own. It's only fairly old with magic, swords and the like but very entertaining. For instance my Orc Crusader is a member of the thieves guild and regulaurly robs blacksmiths, houses and other guild houses. Which he then fences the good to other thieve traders. Although it needs a really good PC to run it, ours can run it on low. Latest fun FPSs I've played have been Prey (amazing), S.T.A.L.K.E.R - Shadow of Chenobyl and Gears of War. Bioshock looks amazing too. Date Added: 03/09/2007
Clive You win, Fractal - cats are fine (can't have civilisation collapsing, after all...)! :) Date Added: 08/09/2007
Clive I think I can only handle one game at a time, Pootle. And I find Travian so absorbing that even when I'm just waiting for something to build up, I'm plotting my next moves. In fact, help, I'm being taken over by Travian! Also, you know me - can't handle too much complication at once. I like games that allow me start knowing almost nothing and then gradually teach me as I progress. And Travian gives you plenty of time to learn... It's slow, I'll admit that. :) Date Added: 08/09/2007
Fractal I am not sure if I passed this on...# http://analogik.com/multimedia_samorost.asp If I did, then here it is again. If not then go here and enjoy what is a sublime example of gaming. Have fun and enjoy. Oh, and check out Samorost 2 as well. AFC Date Added: 14/09/2007
Clive Ah, yes, I have seen and tried Samorost before, although I'm not sure it was you that told me about it, Fractal. It is one of the weirdest games I've ever tried - enjoyable but strange. The problem that I find with games of that type is that, sooner or later, I come across a puzzle that refuses to listen to reason. And then I get annoyed and refuse to speak to it anymore. With puzzles, so much depends on how our minds work. ;) Date Added: 14/09/2007
Mtymite I love Travian and if you want more to do in this game, you have a game going on each server. I am on World 1, 3x and 4 now. I also run the tribe in World 1 called CDM (Carpe Diem). I have 2 ppl that I sit for in this game which means that I log into their account when they can't be on and work with their town. I am a female so for me the attraction isn't the attacking but the organizing, chatting, and building up something that is just mine :) I have 4 boys at home and a husband and this doesn't take a lot of my time and I just sit down for 5 or 10 mins and check it out during the day and then get up and do the dishes or fold the clothes. Sometimes I just leave it on and check on it periodically during the day. Another game that is just like it is Tribal Wars which is a little harder I find. More ppl play it so there is many more players attacking others then in travian. I have towns in many worlds there as well. I have made many friends in both of these games but because travian is a little slower I do like travian better. You also seem to work with members better because their are fewer members to work with in a tribe (60 max). Of course like ours you can have multiply brother or sister tribes. Also you work with other tribes and ally with them or have NAP's (non-aggession pacts) with them. I have enjoyed having Aghorri in my tribe. He is a great diplomat and has many insightful ideas and thoughts. Helps when you are a leader of a guild you never really started and just kind of fell into the job. I have done the best that I can and have learned a lot about communication with others and organizing and building a great group of players that can work together. Also I have learned about who to trust in positions of leadership and the questions to ask and to trust my judgement of ppl because for the most part it has been right. I have enjoyed playing this game with you Aghorri. Join World 4 with Gabbard and I. We started a guild called Elite. :) Date Added: 10/10/2007
Clive Ah, Mtymite, I dare not join World 4 - World 1 takes up far too much of my time as it is. There are limits to my ambitions too: one world to plot dominance over at a time is enough for me! It is truly an excellent game, however, and should carry a government warning because of its addictive qualities. :) Date Added: 10/10/2007
Mtymite Just letting you know that world 1 may not exist too much longer. There has been speculation that it will end this winter sometime. All one needs to do if they are really rich is build the wonder of the world. You have to be able to make thousands and thousands to be able to make it but there are some out there that can and have already started making it. They have to get to 100 and the game restarts. So we have started in world 4. We will see what happens when they restart ... maybe I will make CDM again in World 1. Not sure yet. Date Added: 11/10/2007
Gone Away Such cool contemplation of the end of the world! I do remember reading something about this wonder of the world somewhere but had forgotten the details. Ah well, our fate hangs by a thread in World 1, it seems. Date Added: 11/10/2007
El Carlos you might like this: http://www.tribalwars.net it looks very similar - I'm on World 9 (North) username Crimson Dawn if you give it a go. Date Added: 24/11/2007
Gone Away Yes, I've heard of Tribal Wars, Carlos, but to be honest, Travian takes up enough of my tie as it is! I dare not even look at anything else. ;) Date Added: 24/11/2007
Wayne Shannon Howzit Clive, it would seem that you've either somehow become the proud owner of heaps of spare time, or your inner arm is filled with hundreds of tiny Travian jab marks. I am too terrified to even look in at one of these games. Date Added: 26/11/2007
Clive A wise decision, Wayne - I struggle to escape my Travian bonds but suspect that I must await the end of the game (early in the new year, I'm told) before truly experiencing real life again. Date Added: 27/11/2007
Wayne Shannon My son is hooked on a game called Runscapes (or similar). I've had to limit him to thirty minutes three days a week. But I'll tell you this: Those thirty minutes are like a dog-handler's rewards. I can do magic better than David Copperfield with them. Date Added: 27/11/2007
Gone Away Ah, parent strategies - where would we be without them? ;) Date Added: 27/11/2007
Wayne Sometimes I think the parental strategies are second only to the manipulative children techniques. Date Added: 28/11/2007
Wayne Hey Clive, I just read your description of the Valley of a Thousand Hills in "Landscapes". It's lovely. I remember it just like that. Grass so hard it pierced your arse. I've been told they have on offer nowadays, a very special holiday package for mother-in-law. For a once only bargain price of R100 a week, she gets to spend a week on each hill. Date Added: 29/11/2007
Gone Away Hehehe, Wayne, a double-edged sword indeed! Thanks regarding "Landscapes". You're no mean writer yourself. :) Date Added: 29/11/2007
Wayne I feel like a Jack Russell puppy who has stumbled on a Great Dane's deserted food bowl. There are some fantastic scribblings back there in your attic. Hope you don't mind if I put my feet on the chair. Date Added: 01/12/2007
Gone Away Go right ahead, Wayne - you know writers thrive on praise... ;) Date Added: 03/12/2007
Wayne Clive, we've been talking about you: HERE. Date Added: 10/12/2007
TehAznKid Hah~ I love your description of Travian. ;D! I found your blog by means of it, so hey! But I do agree with your statement regarding the "younger blood". I myself partake in that pool, but I have now left that group of adolescents. A new year has led me to "Adventure out" from the grasps of Travian developers. I must say though, those several days of "administering" our alliance was pleasant and enjoyable =D! Date Added: 03/01/2008
Frank This game is incredibly addicting. My friends got me hooked and now I can't stop. Does the name "MyNamelsFrank" give away the fact that I'm 15? Date Added: 04/05/2008
noop ive been hooked for about 3 months now. make sure you read lots of strategies and start at the beggining of a server or else you'll be "farmed" by bigger players like me and we have no mercy. normal servers last a year and speed servers last a month. happy travianing and welcome to the sleepless life of an addict Date Added: 18/08/2008
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