Tribal Stage

Welcome to the tribal stage. This segment plays quite differently from those before. Instead of being in control of a single creature, you have an entire tribe to manage (if you've ever played an RTS, you should feel right at home)! Although, your tribe starts rather small, it will grow soon enough, but we'll get to that in a moment. Like before, the goal box in the top-left corner of the screen will help you get started. It will walk you through your first few tasks, which include making your tribe look cool and raising a baby (cost: 10 food units), which increases your population by one. Although your tribe can only contain a maximum of six members at first, it will soon grow to accommodate many more.

Although the village may seem barren, it will soon grow to be much more.

Ultimately, you fill in your progress bar by either befriending or destroying competing tribes. But you can't just march in and expect them to bow to your demands…oh no, this is something you'll have to prepare for!

Tribal Chieftain

Like most tribes, yours has a chief. The chief is, by far, the most important member of your tribe. Not only can his staff perform the function of every tool (meaning there's no need to equip him with others), but only he can initiate social actions with other tribes and make use of the tribe's "consequence abilities." As such, it's important to have him on-hand whenever dealing with another tribe. Oh, and don't sweat it too much if he bites the big one; a new one will be soon be born at your camp.

Tribal Outfitter

While you may not be able to change your creature's physical attributes any longer, that doesn't mean you can't deck him out in the latest fashion styles! By using the tribal outfitter, you can equip your tribe members with various accessories that will enhance their abilities. Make sure to cater them toward your goal: battling or befriending.

Resource Gathering & Building

So here's the thing: in order to grow, or do much of anything as a tribe, you'll have to construct buildings. These are essentially tool-sheds (one tool-type per building) that enable your tribe members to equip themselves with the proper gear. Each one serves a different purpose. But constructing buildings requires food (think of it as money) which you'll have to gather in order to fund your projects. As such, your first priority should be to gather as much food as you can—simply select the tribe members you wish to do the gathering, then select a food source (such as the plants if you're an herbivore, or the fish in the ocean if a carnivore). They will continue to gather resources until you tell them otherwise, or if they run out of things to gather. As your tribe grows, try to keep at least a few members on food gathering detail so your supplies don't run low.

Once you have the resources, it's time to start building! Each building serves a different purpose, such as impressing fellow tribes (if you want to become friends), or bestowing your tribe's members with weapons in preparation for battle. Either way, you should choose the building that suits your needs (that is, don't bother building too many weapon shacks if you're going for a peaceful victory).

Tribal Interaction

Okay, so you've built a few buildings and want to venture outward and interact with other tribes - you'll find them marked on your map. If you're going to attempt to wipe them out, make sure to equip your tribe-mates with weapons (such as spears) from a weapons building you've (hopefully) constructed and send them on their way toward the camp.

Likewise, if you wish to befriend the other tribe, you can play music for them and have them join your side; just make sure that your group includes the chief, as he's the only got who can initiate social interactions. Before departing your camp, equip your tribe members with at least two different instruments (divvy them up evenly)—if you only have access to one type of instrument, you may want to consider battling the other tribe instead. Once equipped, proceed onward to their tribe and right-click on any one of their members (with your "social" button activated) to begin the musical performance.

As you perform, keep an eye on the thought bubbles that appear over the other tribe members' heads—these indicate which instrument you should play. Click on the respective instrument from the menu to the left of the social button to respond and improve your performance. If you manage to completely fill the meter, the other tribe will become friendlier toward your tribe—now perform the music show once more to get them to join your cause!

See the icons above the other tribe members' heads? Play that instrument!

Regardless of whether you make peace with or wipe out an opposing tribe, you'll inherit their tools and outfits which you can then use to deck out your own tribe.

Other things to Watch Out For…

While you're away, other creatures may come and steal your food! So try to keep at least a few tribe members at home-base to scare them away. Furthermore, other tribes may attempt to attack you without much warning. If you hear the sound of the war horn, gear up and get ready to mount a defensive.

Evolving

As mentioned, befriending or destroying other tribes fills in your progress meter. Whenever you reach a milestone (after befriending or conquering the 1st, 3rd, and 5th tribes), your main hut will grow in size, and the total amount of tribe members you can have will increase! Once you've filled the progress bar completely, it's time to move onto the civilization stage!