TOTEM - Devlog

Introducing Totem

Unknown — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration</h2>
Starsiege: Tribes was my first online multiplayer game and something dear to my heart. My goal is to build the game I remember with modern technology; one where players fully own their servers and software, and where modding and map creation are first-class features from day one. After seven months of working in the dark, I'm happy to announce Totem</strong>.</p>
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For those new to the genre, Totem is a fast-paced multiplayer shooter with projectile weapons, jetpacks, skiing, bases and vehicle combat.</p>
Over the years I have attempted to create this game several times in UE 4 and 5, but each time was blocked by either lack of documentation, lack of Linux support, or working with a framework that wasn't built for my game. With

Modding</h2>
To ensure this game has a long life, modding is one of the key features I am working on. Servers will be able to host their own mods that clients download on connect. For those familiar with Tribes 2, loading datablocks is back. Currently weapons, projectiles and classes are moddable with more to come.</p>
Content Authoring</h2>
Above is the terrain editing system I have been working on. Until now everything I had been working with was programmer art, so I finally have something to show off. The goal is to create an in-game map editor to make map authoring easy.</p>
What's Next</h2>
Right now I have the bones. Multiplayer works but has not been rigorously tested. Characters, weapons and levels are programmer art at the moment. Deathmatch is almost feature complete but menus and scoreboards need work, with CTF coming next. Skiing and movement need more tweaking to get just right. There's a lot of work ahead. If you want to follow along, I'll be posting regular devlogs here at playtotem.gg. You can also find Totem on [Bluesky/X] @playtotem, and don't forget to say hi in the discord.</p>