Introducing Travian

What is Travian?

Travian is a German browser-based game developed by Travian Games GmbH that is largely based on a predecessor game called Tribal Wars. In 2006, the game was ranked first in the "best browser-based game with over 10,000 players" category of the German website Travian Games. The game's developers drew roughly from Classical antiquity and particularly from the Roman Empire to create a predominantly militaristic real-time strategy. Along with two English versions, and the original German version, the game has been translated into 30 other languages[2][3], and today has just over 3 million players and over 150 servers worldwide.[4] It is programmed in PHP and runs in the browser. It was the first game of its type to be playable through a mobile phone, using a java platform.

The Game

The player starts as a leader of a small village with two people. The village has one building, which is the main building, and around the village lie 18 fields each providing one of the resources: iron, crop (or wheat), clay, and lumber. Troops can be produced once a player has built a barracks and a rally point. More troops are available after the player has built an academy where troops are researched. These troops can either be used to attack villages, often in order to steal or raid resources, or to defend against Teuton, Roman or Gaul troops attacking. Once the player has fulfilled certain criteria, they can found other villages or conquer those of an enemy with a tribal leader.

The aim of the game is to increase population and to control as many villages as possible. After a certain amount of time, further buildings and concepts are introduced, namely the introduction of the wonders of the world. The game ends when a player has finished constructing the world wonder to level 100 in a Natar village.

Each player when joining an alliance earns points for raiding (thieving), attacking, and defending. These points make up an appropriate ranking system, and also promote the alliance one is in.

There are four tribes of which only three are available to players, the Romans, the Gauls, and the Teutons. Each has their own characteristics. The Romans have a balanced set of attributes, the Gauls being weighted for defensive, and the Teutons geared towards an aggressive style of play. However, the actual style always comes down to the player. Romans also have a production bonus, which allows them to build or upgrade one building and one resource field at a time. The fourth tribe, the Natars, are computer controlled, the Natars enjoy many benefits normal tribes don't but only come into the game as part of the end game sequence.

Villages

To have a second village, a palace or residence level 10 and 2000 cultural points (500 for 3x speed servers) are needed. To obtain a subsequent village, a progressively increasing number of culture points are needed. They are gained by almost all buildings other than the World Wonder. The higher the building level is, the higher the culture points it produces each day. Culture points can be seen in palaces or residences. After a palace or residence reaches level 10, three Settlers or a tribal leader (Senator/Chief/Chieftain) can be trained.

The 3 Settlers will travel to an empty spot on the map and settle a new village for the realm. Settlers need minimum resources of 750 of each type.

A tribal leader has the ability to conquer another player's village as long as it is not a capital. By speaking to the village's people, the Administrator can lower the allegiance of another player's villagers. After attacking roughly five times with a tribal leader, the village will fall to the attacker's realm. The village's loyalty will not be lowered during a raid.

Alliances

The game is heavily geared towards cooperative play. In fact the only likely way to win the game is through cooperation with an alliance. It's nearly impossible for single players to win, but an alliance can win together. Resources can be traded between players, and towns can be reinforced with another player's troops. An in-game alliance feature is also available, providing the main catalyst for strategic play within Travian; players join and fight together for mutual benefit. Within an alliance, players can view attack and defense information for all alliance members, and also benefit from improved communication tools such as mass alliance-wide in-game messages. Because the maximum number of members in an alliance is 60, 'wings' tend to form as an alliance develops. Being a wing entails having multiple sub-alliances, often with similar names, acting as one alliance. Wings may not fight and destroy each other due to the friendly fire rules. Towards the end of a round, different alliances often join together, resulting in larger coalitions (meta alliances) - other diplomatic agreements include Non Aggression Pacts.

End Game

Each Travian server ends with the "end game" sequence. For normal servers it begins after about 300 days, and for speed (3x) servers it begins after about 100 days. After this time has elapsed the Natars, a race controlled by the computer, are released. As the players on the server begin to build the World Wonders that they have to capture from the Natars, and meet resistance. The Naters will, every 5 levels of the Wonder being built, attack the villages with wonders until level 95 when they will then attack every new level. The first alliance that builds their World Wonder to level 100 wins the server, which stops and restarts.


Developer : Travian Games GmbH
Engine : PHP
Version : 3.0 and/or higher
Platform : Interpreted script; platform independent
Release date : 2004
Genre : Real-Time Strategy
System requirements : Web Browser, Internet
Input methods : Keyboard, mouse