How do you play tribal starts?

[ephemeraltoast]

Thinking about doing a tribal start since I haven't in a while, but I'd like it to be different than the way I always used to do it, where I was only living with neolithic tech for the tiny period before I could rush electricity and guns and then have everything be like a normal playthrough but with different colonist names. I'd rather try playing with a more long-term commitment to the tribal lifestyle with all its challenges. Does anyone play tribes that way? I feel like Ideology gives some options here (like not minding "rough living" and temperatures) but I'm curious how other people play tribes. Do you really lean into the neolithic experience or just send 'em into space like everyone else?

[Markus Reese]

When I play tribes, is usually years before I ever progress to electricity. Research those basic techs, research the stonecuttings. Equip bows, make swords and plate armor, enjoy the progression to the electrical age.

There are advantages to this. It keeps wealth down, letting your pawns equip and skill up vs the values that come from generators and wiring and gun, etc.

Dont underestimate the strength of bow and sword. Greatbows are almost competive with the rifles.

Rough living in caves and an ascetic life? Can be a lot of fun.

[glass zebra]

It really depends for me if I get a researcher at start or not. If I don't get a colonist with passion in research for quite some time, I just take the increases work force from the tribal start and focus on what they are good at. Ideology definitely changes a lot here, especially with the Guranlen trees, which give you an early armour shred option against stuff like centipedes. Recurve bows are rather good, considering that they are only made of wood so you can just spam craft them up to high quality with little problem.
Having 5 people can also mean that you can invest into animal fighting earlier, though 1.3 has nerfed early game options for this one in favour or dryads. You can also invest into heavy trapping early on or many other things like that. I usually still try to trade early for some items I like a lot. I really wanna get e.g. a shield belt early one, just because how easy they make it to counter certain situations. If you can buy some combat animals early, those might help a lot too since they can reproduce quickly. You can do a lot with just recurve bows + animals, but might just have to create ton of pemmican to not let all of your meat rot. I'd say it really depends on what people and memes you get at the start.

I usually don't plan on staying tribal forever, though did have a game like that where I never went to electricity years ago. Milk has a good enough shelf life to create fine meals every day, recurve bows and animals can kill a ton. What more do you need? You think you will miss something without electricity?

[jscjml]

I usually just make a basic house next to the Anima Tree, and have everyone on meditation duty for 6+ hours a day. Tribals can take advantage of the Anima Tree to give them psycasting levels, which are very OP in alot of cases.

Other than that, I'll put some statues inside of the house to keep mood up. Then make a trap hallway going out of my house.

5 Colonists @ ~30k wealth will only give you raids of like 3 people (Losing is Fun default %). A trap hallway can deal with any threat at that colonist/wealth. So keep your wealth down as much as you can while you meditate at the tree for the psycast levels.

When colonists are done meditating, they go to research or grow food. Having Invisibility + Berserk Pulse on a pawn is super good, this combo can stop whole sieges/raids if used correctly.

[Markus Reese]

Is that tribal play or is that metagaming....

For OP, following screenshot. As a tribe I make hut style colonies, flowers and open, a central gathering spot, etc.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1205709504

[jscjml]

It's just one way to play a tribal start. If anything you could just not research electricity and keep the tribal feel going. Thats one of the good things about Rimworld, you create your own story and whatnot.

But yeah if you're playing tribals, checking psycasts out could make for a fun playthrough.

[Markus Reese]

Psycast tribal is fun. That is my current play, though limited screenshots. I am currently finally progressing into electrical age, but even that still was quite tribal with wind power and so on, keeping my tribal style of building.

But just choosing tribal to farm psycasters I dont think is quite the tribal experience as much :-) Unless still keep it old school when progress to doing more.

[jscjml]

Yeah I guess its just up to someones opinion :) OP was asking how people played tribals, so I wanted to sound off on one way I like to play them. Plus nobody else mentioned it at that point so I thought why not.

[Markus Reese]

Well, it definitely is a way to play the tribal mechanics, but it didn't seem to have the "how to play" the neolithic living/experience was all I was getting at :-) The big colony of psycasters is definitely fun however building around the trees and so on. though in unmodded, the minimum distance from an anima to build is quite large.

[Jaggid Edje]

I did a tribal start on my current game and used custom difficulty to set the research speed slider way, way down in order to make it really feel tribal. It took me years to get to electricity, and I actually started with a decent researcher.

I went with a fluid ideology with just animistic orientation, and nothing else, and let it evolve through gameplay. Early game we were so reliant on wood, for building, heat, light, etc. that I eventually evolved them into a tree-loving cult, but it started off just animistic.

There's a mod that adds tents, including tepees, and I used that mod such that the early tribe lived in those. They function as outdoor beds that remove the mood penalty for sleeping outside as well as provide some protection from weather (but require fuel in the form of wood).

I didn't have a grower in my starting group, so the tribe was also very reliant on hunting and gathering from the wild. With the leather used to build the tepees to live in.

The first "structure" built beyond the tepees was the kitchen and roofed storage, then slowly an actual workshop building took form, and then a temple, and finally a rec room and prison block.
Then finally my pawns started getting bedrooms indoors.

I rather miss the tribal days, things were so much easier then.

[Markus Reese]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Snip for space

I rather miss the tribal days, things were so much easier then.

Yeah, how you did it was similar to how I did, minus the tent mod. That would be fun. For roleplay is why I do that sort of circle layout for my starting place. Just big enough for one or two, not joined and single wall wood. Not a tent, but did it that way for roleplay.

Nice thing is with new apparel, one can keep that tribal feel a lot longer. Even with electricity you can still maintain that visual style and apparel. Personally I really like capes. While not as good as say a duster, you can really maintain that tribal/spiritual look while getting quite decent protection from it. Bows and all that can stay viable for a very long time.

Even late game when I start developing flak armor and such, I keep that in shelves and only have my pawns throw it on when there is combat, else they go back to their tribal style clothing once done. I use minimal steel/plasteel for any regular construction, maintaining that curvish style. If I do make something special and advanced, such as a hospital, I also ornate it up as well.

[MortVent]

for me the only thing I rush to research is in order:
Stone cutting
Complex Furniture (beds, shelves, etc)
Smithing
greatbow
long blades
plate armor (which includes having to have complex clothing)

From there I tend to finish out the lower tier stuff
devilstrand, carpetmaking, brewing, coca, etc

For buildings it's usually one major storehouse/general crafting building, several barracks huts, a couple family huts (for mates and those with roles), a kitchen/diner (food storage, prep, etc) and a medical hut (hospital)

Once I got the non-industrial stuff I move into electricity.
electricity
air condition/heating
watermill (if on a river)
batteries
chemfuel processing (turn human/insect meat into chemfuel along with extra wood)
solar power
work on flak + gun turrets
medicine related (up to vitals monitors)
then just flesh it all out

I tend to hold off on geothermal and more advanced stuff though till I get the earlier stuff done. Mostly to keep from jumping my wealth too high, but also so I can keep up with the upgrades to my pawns. (doesn't do you much good to jump to pulse rifles if you can't make any)

[Jaggid Edje]

I wore tribal style clothing for a LONG time as well. Tribal kilts and tribal ponchos, specifically, which are added by the vanilla apparal expanded mod.
I also used bows quite a ways past the normal technology mark. The Greatbow is actually really dam good when combined with the quiver utility item which that mod adds.

My outfit evolution once we did move past tribal went into what felt like "western" style, with dusters, bandanas and sombreros becoming mainstays. The colony still all wears bandanas to this day, it's a cult. LOL

[MortVent]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

I wore tribal style clothing for a LONG time as well. Tribal kilts and tribal ponchos, specifically, which are added by the vanilla apparal expanded mod.
I also used bows quite a ways past the normal technology mark. The Greatbow is actually really dam good when combined with the quiver utility item which that mod adds.

My outfit evolution once we did move past tribal went into what felt like "western" style, with dusters, bandanas and sombreros becoming mainstays. The colony still all wears bandanas to this day, it's a cult. LOL

For me my default is:
Simple helmet
Flak vest
Duster/Jacket/poncho depending on weather
Button down shirt
Pants

Usually use cotton + steel, eventually going to devilstrand for the clothing.

I do use plate for my melee brawlers early on, then full flack armor (jacket, pants, helm) till I get into power armor sets for them (marine/cat) with recon for my shooters

Sometimes I'll make locust armor for shooters/brawlers but usually just do jump packs and shield belts as needed

[Markus Reese]

Yeah, it is great when you really can immerse yourself in that early play. Ideology really is nice for helping maintain that. My last two colonies were both tribal starts. I am later in tech now, but you can see the level of preservation I have had with the tribal style. The form and design of the newer building keeping a tribal image.

This first one for example is harder to see the early tribal influences, but apparel and overall art etc keep it still feeling that way despite that I am almost ready to build the spaceship and invested in bionics and the regeneration techs.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2604662001

This second base isnt as advanced, but it does showcase the process of development a bit more with my central building. It gets quite cold in winter, so apparel is a bit more modern, but despite that, I havent gone to the "ideal" clothing. Jackets instead of parkas, and tailed hats instead of toques. The main building? The round rooms are original huts from when the tribe first started, eventually integrating them into something more akin a fort.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2604666535

Sometimes I build a bit in roleplay. For example, in second fort? Had a leader die. So got from quest luciferium and resurrection serum. Alas it was too late, so I built the sacred secure vault seen in lower left. Later on I used both to heal up ancient soldiers I found in an ancient danger. Still my armored luciferium vault though.

[Gallonidas]

Originally posted by ephemeraltoast:

Thinking about doing a tribal start since I haven't in a while, but I'd like it to be different than the way I always used to do it, where I was only living with neolithic tech for the tiny period before I could rush electricity and guns and then have everything be like a normal playthrough but with different colonist names. I'd rather try playing with a more long-term commitment to the tribal lifestyle with all its challenges. Does anyone play tribes that way? I feel like Ideology gives some options here (like not minding "rough living" and temperatures) but I'm curious how other people play tribes. Do you really lean into the neolithic experience or just send 'em into space like everyone else?

The most fun and challenge you can have is by reasearching always the fastest tech available. I.e.:
Let's say at the start the quickest tech to research is Recurve Bow at 400.
Then you do it first.
Next one, still at 400 is Passive Cooler, then you do it.
Next Beer Brewing...
Then Stone Cutting
And so on...

There is a mod called Research Whatever, it does just that automatically.