Xin-xi

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> They start their journey in the dense mountains, surrounded by beautiful cherry blossom.
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>
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> –Tribe description
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**Xin-xi** is the first tribe in Polytopia. It is a free regular tribe, and it starts with the Climbing technology.

Xin-xi has a moderately slow start, being unable to harvest any resources immediately, but their bonus to ore spawn rates combined with increased mountain spawn rates allow them to consistently rely on mines and decent-size forges to grow their cities in the mid-game. These mountains also afford Xin-xi a decent amount of protection, giving defence bonuses to all Xin-xi units on mountains, and forcing enemies to research Climbing to fight Xin-xi on equal terms. Xin-xi also has an easier time exploring their own biome with the increased vision from standing on mountains, allowing them to discover ruins and villages in their biome more easily and removing some need to take an early explorer from their second or third cities to reveal the map. Xin-xi overall is a decent pick in most land maps, where they can benefit fully from their mountain bonuses and exploit them for early protection.

## Lore

### Tribe Celebrations

* 2019 Tribe Day: Did you know that the Xin-Xi named themselves after Mt. Xin-Xi, the tallest and most sacred mountain on the Square? With the help of their mounts, a brave few climb the summit to prove themselves worthy of the Xini-Kai Spirit’s blessing, which lets them prepare the amazing Xini blossom tea.
* 2020 Tribe Moon: While every tribe has their own rituals surrounding the laying of an egg, the Xin-Xi are well known for their elaborate performances. At dawn, recently laid Xin-Xi eggs are painted with bright, vibrant colors and mesmerizing patterns, all while a troupe of village musicians play a song to ward off evil spirits.
* 2021 Tribe Moon: Tangy, refreshing, and fits in your hand, the plump Ixi fruit is a delightfully versatile fruit that can be found all throughout the lands of the Xin-Xi. The Ixi fruits are considered a token of good fortune, and are often handed to traveling parties to bestow them luck on their adventures.
* 2022 Tribe Moon: "Climbing a big rock isn't hard, can't anyone do that?" Yes, maybe a small band of people, but what about an army of people? The Xin-Xi don't just climb mountains for fun, but have perfected the science of managing troop formations, defense, logistics, and supplies around these steep summits.
* 2023 Tribe Moon: Xin-xi buildings are primarily made from the bark of Xini trees - a sturdy, durable plant that can resist the frequent windstorms they encounter. The Xin-xi have a strong communal tradition of helping each other build and rebuild houses, shops, and other buildings in preparation for natural disasters.

### Webshop

* Tea of the Xini blossom is considered the best in the Square, and many have tried to get a hold of some of the precious leaves. Sadly, they wither immediately in the hands of one who is not protected by the Xini-kai spirit.
* The Xini-Kai is a climber of great dignity. It delicately carries the precious leaves of Xini blossom up the steep hills without damaging a single one. To make tea from the leaves, they must be entirely fresh and without a scratch.

## Strategy

*Main article: Xin-xi/Strategy*
Xin-xi do not start with a population tech so you cannot upgrade on T0, however because of climbing, they can scout out very early to find villages, ruins, water and enemies. If you find ruins, take it if it is in a convenient location. If you have metal in your territory, go for Mining and Smithery, as this will help you build a decent economy going into the game. If you do not have metal in your territory, go for whatever is best, e.g. Fishing or Hunting. Capturing a city is useful, but remember to get any techs you need beforehand. You will want to use scouting on mountains to your advantage as much as possible

The Xin-xi are one of the few tribes for which it is viable to research Smithery and use Swordsmen. Starting with the Climbing technology allows Smithery to be researched more quickly, and more mountains lead to more metal resources that can be harvested through Mining. Swordsmen can be powerful troops, with high attack and defence, while being far less expensive as Knights (especially since the technology required to unlock Knights, Free Spirit and Chivalry, typically serve no other use).

## Inspiration

The Xin-Xi tribe appears to be inspired by Japanese and Chinese cultures (cherry blossoms, mountains resembling Mount Fuji). Their helmet design resembles Japanese Kabuto helmets used by samurai, but they could also be inspired by Chinese helmets.

## Design

* Fruit: Ixi fruit (mandarin orange)
* Animal: Xini-Kai (white horse)
* Field: Green fields and brown soil, identical to that of Imperius
* Forest: Xini trees (pink blossom trees)
* Mountain: Tall, pointed mountains with snow caps
* City: White with red roofs and a black wooden frame
* Helmet: Medieval Japanese helmet with red spikes protruding from either side on the top

### City Naming Syllables

[hyphen], bu, cha, gu, li, po, sha, szu, xi, yo

### Music

Links to Xin-xi's music are included below.

* Theme
* Nature Sounds
* Polytopia Music song: "Kirschblüte (Xin-xi Anthem Remix)" by Xisha-cha
* Sha-po Theme

### Ambience

In the ambience playing throughout Xin-xi lands, the wind blowing through tree leaves and birds chirping are heard.

## Skins

### Sha-po Skin

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> In the misty hills around Mt. Xin-xi resides the Sha-po, a secretive legion of assassins trained in the arts of dealing a silent death to anyone who opposes the Xin-xi Empire.
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>
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> –Sha-po skin description
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>

The Sha-po skin was added in the second skin pack for Polytopia. They wear black hoods covering most of their face and shoulders instead of the Xin-xi helmet, with a black bandana and the two red accents from the Xin-xi helmet still present.

* The city buildings are mostly the same in terms of structure, but with the red rooves recolored to black.
* The monuments' red elements are also recolored to black.
* The Warriors and Riders use long wooden staffs instead of clubs.
* The Archers throw *shuriken* (Japanese throwing stars) instead of a bow and arrow (their sprites originally mistakenly included quivers, but this has since been fixed)
* Their Swordsmen and Giants use longer, *katana*-like swords..
* The Cloaks and Dinghies have black hats, with the red accents gone and their eyes barely visible.
* The Daggers have a different mask and wield *kunai*.
* They have a slightly quieter and stealthier sound for moving units.

### Trivia

* In one early iteration of the Sha-Po skin, they had the name "Shi-Xun" and their description read, "The Shi-Xun ninjas are a secretive legion of soldiers and assassins that enforce Xin-xi superiority across the Square."
	+ At this stage in development, the sprite for the weapon used by Sha-Po Archers was also slightly different.
* The Sha-Po skin is currently referred to in game files as "Ninja."

## Trivia

* Although Imperius is the first and original tribe, Xin-xi is the default tribe for the code and is tribe "0" in the code.
* The Xin-xi are inspired by East Asian cultures, especially Japanese culture. The 2019 Tribe Day blurb is about Mt. Xin-Xi, which may be a reference to Mt. Fuji, and the architecture in the 2020 Tribe Moon poster seems inspired by Japanese architecture. It bears a strong resemblance to the Chureito pagoda, a famous pagoda in front of Mt. Fuji.
* The Xin-xi theme was originally named "Synthetic Disco."

## References

1. ↑ Xin-xi mug
2. ↑ Xin-xi Tee
3. ↑ High Flyer on Discord.
4. ↑ Soundcloud