This is a page for community research.
Terrain/Spawn Research
Research and graphs by Sebom, text by Zebastian
Xin-Xi
The Xin-Xi appear to have slightly more mountains than the other tribes, and a substantial amount have ore. As for the rest, there is some fruit, some forests and some shallow water, but farmland is really quite sparse. Based on this data, Organization will likely be a very good early-game investment.
Imperius
The Imperius seem to have a large amount of farmland, which means that Farming will be a good investment. However, due to the cost of building farms, it shouldn't be a first choice. Fish and forests with game are also common, so players should choose Hunting or Fishing as a first choice.
Bardur
Made by RandomSlime
The Bardur usually start with an abundance of forest around them for quick economic development through Forestry, or a protective shield when Archery is researched. Mountains are quite common as well, most with ore.
Oumaji
Made by RandomSlime
The Oumaji spawn in a desert area, with little to no trees/forest. It may seem like the land is bare at first with the exception of a few fruits, but once Organization is researched, farmland will be revealed almost everywhere. The capital will usually be in the middle of a landmass, but other villages in Oumaji land do tend to have large coastlines with fish.
Kickoo
Made by RandomSlime
The seafaring Kickoo start in a watery area, with vast amounts of population-giving resources covering their side of the map. As mentioned earlier, water is always present, and it is predominantly shallow. This means you can explore your seas with only Sailing, which you can get first thing. The land is either tropical forests or fruit, very rarely will you find any bare land or farms. Mountains are moderately rare. At the edge of Kickoo's biome will be deep water, where whales are not an uncommon sight. Organization is usually a good first choice.
Hoodrick
Thought Bardur had a lot of forest? Well, Hoodrick has more. Animals and fruits are not as abundant, though. Hunting > Forestry should be your #1 priority. Archers without support can be easily defeated, so make sure your explorer parties include a tankier unit to protect.
Luxidoor
The Luxidoor tribe tends to spawn with lots of fruit, forests, animals, and sometimes fish, so any tech would be considered good to start out with. Also, they do seem to usually be in a landlocked situation, so building a good land army to defend against attacks from land-hungry neighbors wouldn't be a bad idea either. They also have a few mountains scattered about, most of which usually have ore.
Vengir
The Vengir tribe tends to not have many resources, yet they seem to have a lot of farms.The occational fruit patch, or a single forest, may pop up. Organization > Farming should be your first goal, unless there is an enemy directly nearby. In this case, it can be a wiser choice to pour your starting 5 resources into another Swordsman for quick conquest. From there, thrive off whatever population resources they have.
Zebasi
The Zebasi house large amounts of farmland and many fruit sources, along with occasional fish. They often spawn on a coastal location, with little to no mountains. There are few animals and forests, however. Since you start with farming, no economic research investment is necessary early on, however, Organization or Construction wouldn't be a bad choice.
Ai-Mo
Ai-Mo have a delicate blend of resources. There is primarily fruit, then animals and a possible abundance of fish. Mountains are common, and some have ore. Depending on your territory, get either Organization, Hunting, or Fishing. There are also virtually zero farms and trees are sparse, so their cities usually do not reach very high levels unless there are many mines.
Aquarion
Aquarion do not have many resources at all, except fish. They often have 2-3 fish, but very few fruits or forests. I would suggest researching Riding so that you may explore and potentially find a better place to grow cities.
Quetzali
The Quetzali have a moderate to high amount of fruits and animals, but not much water access. Organization would be the easy choice here. They are built for land domination as opposed to naval superiority, so this should be your primary concern early on. They also have a lot of forests, so Forestry can be used to get large cities quickly.
Origins
Although Midjiwan has clearly stated that the tribes are not from earth, he does say that they resemble some cultures.
"Polytopia is not earth and no tribe is supposed to exactly resemble any existing cultures on our planet. (Although I agree that some of them are very inspired by earthly customs)" - Midjiwan (http://polytopia.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:847)
Xin-Xi
For this tribe, we can clearly all agree that it is based off of various East Asian cultures. Specifically, it's hard to say, but it's, probably, a blend of Chinese and Japanese culture. The cherry blossoms are Japanese and Chinese, and their helmets are also used by both. The city naming is also based off of the Chinese language, as they usually have a lot of Xes, which are used more commonly in Chinese than other East Asian cultures.
Imperius
This tribe is obviously based off of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Their trees are cypress trees, which were common in Rome and Greece. Their helmets, no doubt, also come from these two civilizations. Their architecture also resembles Roman architecture, and maybe some Greek buildings. For naming, I think it leans more toward the Roman side.
Bardur
The Bardur are probably based off of Scandinavian, Germanic, and to a lesser degree, Slavic people. They live in a cold habitat, they usually spawn with a lot of trees, and their helmets are based off of Viking helmets. Midjiwan himself once wrote on Instagram that he was having a "Bardur Style" party for releasing the game, and we do know that he resides in Stockholm, Sweden.
Oumaji
The Oumaji are probably a blend of Arabian, Berber, and Egyptian culture. Their Emperor's Tomb is a pyramid, common to Egyptian culture, and their Eye of God somewhat resembles the Kaaba. The forests they have are palm oases, which were really important for settlements in Arabia. Their Headscarves are very Berber.
Kickoo
The Kickoo are based off of native Caribbean, Amazonian, and Austronesian tribes. Everything from the headdress, to the houses, to the habitat and animals, resembles the lives of these peoples in the rain forests.
Vengir
It is confirmed that the Vengir are based off of cliche “Evil” kingdoms.
Luxidoor
The Luxidoor seems to resemble North Indian culture with their turbans and elephants, and their elusive luxuries which dazzled the ancient and medieval traders and explorers.
Hoodrick
This tribe is based off of Medieval European, particularly English/British, culture, due to their very European Oak forests and style of cities. Their appearance and tech also seem to be based off of the British folktale "Robin Hood".
Zebasi
Based off of southern African culture, as evidenced by the clay cities, multicolored tribal color pattern, giraffes, acacia trees etc.
Ai-Mo
This one is probably based of Tibetans ("Prayer Flags", shaved heads, meditation) and Andeans (chilies, llamas, whitewashed pueblos, decorative flags).
Aquarion
Probably Atlantis. There really is no better way to put this.
Quetzali
Based off of the Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Aztecs and Mayans. Their mountains resemble the Aztec stepped pyramids and red soil like theirs is predominantly found in rainforests like the Amazon. Corn is also from Mexico.
∑∫ỹriȱŋ
The ∑∫ỹriȱŋ (pronounced Elyrion) are based of off fairy tales, magical worlds, folktales, and elves. Their giant lilies (or whatever they are) and giant trees are a common theme in the wold of fantasy. Their unicorns are mythical creatures. The belief that elves are tied to nature is as well a connection, not to mention the fairy-tale city design. The Polytaurs are effectively centaurs.
Map
Here is a map of where the tribes' habitats would be if they lived on Earth. Please note that the natives of Madagascar are actually Austronesian, and that the Kickoo may actually be Polynesian.
Below: A fan-made map of where the first 10 human tribes might have been inspired from.
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Naming System
So far the naming system for each city is randomly generated from a list of syllables. "At the moment the names are just randomly generated based on a list of syllables." - Midjiwan
If a village is captured, the city gets a name in the style of the tribe who captures it. The name doesn't change if another tribe captures the city.
The names are generated from 2-4 syllables, as following:
| Tribe | Syllables | Special | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xin-xi | bu, cha, gu, li, po, sha, szu, xi, yo | hyphen | 3.00 | |
| Imperius | ca, do, ica, ip, lo, lus, ma, mo, mus, nu, pi, re, res, ro, te, sum | 3.02 | ||
| Bardur | ark, bu, fla, gru, gu, lak, lin, ork, rø, tof, ur | 2.56 | ||
| Oumaji | ba, dor, gh, ha, ji, ke, la, lim, mu, on, si, ye | 2.92 | ||
| Kickoo | si, va, an, nu, lu, ko, no, lo, oki, li, ma | space | ||
| Hoodrick | th, ley, lo, ol, ber, don, ick, we, in, go, wa, ry, do | |||
| Luxidoor | iss, lô, ga, exi, pô, ni, au, ki, em, ly, ux, uss, ou | ",' | ||
| Vengir | gor, tu, dis, bu, nt, ar, pe, rz, cth, na, xas, th, he, st, im, ck | |||
| Zebasi | la, zan, mo, za, zim, ya, bo, wa, co, zu | |||
| Ai-Mo | so, to, po, lee, dee, tï, pï, fï, sï, nï, lï, kï | Space | ||
| Aquarion | quo, do, tis, nép, ico, éid, po, fic, tun, pol, lan, aq, at, tic, nau, séi | |||
| Quetzali | ja, ix, ex, was, tz, el, qu, ill, chu, ca, ya, wop, cho, tal, tek, | space/two spaces | 2.54 | |
| ∑∫ỹriȱŋ | unknown/untypable |
(Average based on the data of 50 cities in a row.)
Trivia
- The hyphen by Xin-Xi sometimes is on the end of the name, but never the beginning.
- The "gh" syllable by Oumaji can lead to very difficult names to pronounce, for example the city of Ghghgh. Also, the "th" syllable for the Hoodrick can lead to the city of Thth, and pretty much all of the Vengir syllables do the same.
- It is possible to get an Aquarion city named "Atlantis" or "Néptun".
- It is possible to get Hoodrick cities named "Thick","Thin", and “Berry”.
- It is also possible to get Imperius city named "Roma", which is Rome in Latin.
- It is possible to get an Oumaji city named "Limon", which is Spanish for lemon.
Damage Calculator
Created by FrothFrenzy
https://frothfrenzy.github.io/polytopiacalculator/
Time Period
AI Preferences
Warning: Most of my research is based on theory. Don't rely on my research unless you can prove it.
Research by Oaskldk
Keep in mind that my research was only for my games. You might get different results in your games.
City Upgrade Preferences (Easy mode)
- Lvl 1 to Lvl 2: Most of the time the AI chooses explorer over workshop.
- Lvl 2 to Lvl 3: This time its's pretty split. Most games I've played had the AI choosing city wall over resources.
- Lvl 3 to Lvl 4: Most games have the AI choosing population growth.
- Lvl 4 to Lvl 5 and on: Super Units, no doubt. However few cities ever grow to level 5 in easy mode.
Unit Preferences (Easy Mode)
- Early game: Most enemy tribes like to spam warriors. Usually the only tribe that spams riders are the Oumaji, although it’s quite probable that Imperius does it too. Archer spamming also occurs sometime during this period. Usually the tribes that I've seen archer spamming are the Imperius, the Hoodrick, and the Bardur.
- Mid-game: By mid-game, many tribes will use defenders, boats, and archers. Some tribes (notably the Imperius, Bardur, and Kickoo) will have Navigation unlocked. During this period, usually archer spam is at its peak or it has already faded away.
- Late-game: During late-game, few tribes will use swordmen and knights. The only tribes I've seen using them are the Bardur, the Imperius, and occasionally the Oumaji. Most tribes will use catapults, ships, and giants.