In a separate thread I wanted to see how many people would be interested in helping beta test Castaways 2. Loads of people posted so here it is! I am officially starting the test on Sunday morning, and it will run for 1 week, but I am posting the beta client a day early. The reason I'm posting it early is so that people have a little extra time to maybe familiarize themselves with how the game works. Once Sunday morning hits, the server will be cleared so everyone is starting at the same time.
Please keep in mind that this is still a beta of the game, so there are spots where features and sounds are missing. There may also be a few places where temporary place-holder sounds are being used, that will be replaced at a later time. The server could go offline at any time, as I find myself needing to adjust things that I cannot do while it is running. I will do my best to keep the server going for the entire week without any major interruptions.
Skimming through the changelog might be helpful, but definitely take the time to read through the readme file before playing. Once you're in the game, I suggest you look at the "About game" section first, so you can get a grasp of the basics to get you started.
Please use this thread to share bugs, comments, and to maybe help others who are still trying to figure out the game.
*I've removed the download links since this public beta ended on 3/12/16*
Only starting a single player game will play the game's intro (currently), and I do recommend you check out the ending story to Castaways 1 first, so that the intro story makes more sense. It basically continues right where the ending story leaves off.
The "About game" menu contains a summary of the Castaways 1 story, as well as the ending story, but it is probably more convenient to read it here because it is quite long. I haven't split it up into easy-to-read pieces within the game, so it's just a huge chunk of text that you can't navigate though. Here is the ending story:
(If you haven't beaten Castaways 1 and want to unlock the ending story yourself, consider this a spoiler alert!)
Upon finishing mission 5 of Castaways 1, this is the story:
Victory. Cheering and celebration can be heard throughout your settlement. A weak and beaten Yeti king is dragged in to your war tent and dropped at your feet. As he slowly lifts himself into a kneeling position you can see he has been beaten within an inch of his life. What dark magic was used to raise the dead? you ask. He doesn't answer, but his eyes lock on to yours and it is clear he knows the answer, and then he speaks. If you agree to spare the rest of my people, I will tell you a story my father told me long ago. You nod.
Yeti once ruled these mountains, and no one had ever discovered our cities. Our people have always been stealthy, existing as nothing more than legends to anyone who ever caught a glimpse of us. Before I was born, a few strangers from far awaya walked into the capital Yeti city. The human man went before my father, the King, and said he was seeking a cure for a rare sickness that was killing his wife. Oddly enough, the Yeti people DID have a cure for the disease the woman had.
When asked how he knew of the Yeti, and that they knew the cure, the human pulled a small stone cube from his pocket. He said, This trinket has the power to answer 1 question to anyone who touches it. The day I first discovered it, I was worrying about my wife and wondering where I could find a way to save her. The instant I touched the cube, its magic filled my mind with the knowledge of your people, how to find you, and that you could cure my dying wife.
My father offered the human gold and jewels in exchange for the magic cube, and surprisingly the man agreed. Seeing the King's surprise, he explained that the cube will only answer a single question to each person, so it is of no further use to him. As my father reached out and took the trinket, he was curious about the object's origins. In an instant he was shown an ancient and forgotten past, which prompted him to keep the cube a closely guarded secret that was not spoken of again until I was a standing beside his death bed.
On that day before he died, my father slowly pulled a stone cube from his pocket and told me of the day he met the human strangers. I must tell you a story of the past, he said to me. It is the story I was told by the stone when I first touched it. The kneeling Yeti rubs blood away from one of his eyes, and seems to be reminded of something as he looks at his hand. Back in the most ancient of times, the magic bloodlines had not yet been diluted, and the world's wizards could perform magic far greater than anything possible today.
In those ancient times, the world's most skilled wizards created a group of items so powerful, that they could not be un-made. To their creators, these items became known as the Faults. The immense power of these objects threatened to destroy the balance of the world, and there was little choice but to deny their existence and hide the abominations so that none could ever be used again.
Only a single Fault had stayed with its original creator, and it was arguably the most powerful of them all. A small charm, tethered to a silver chain, possessed the power to transfer items through time itself. A person need only touch the charm to an object, think of a time, and the item would be transported to that time. Rather than thinking of an actual year or time, the person must imagine an event. The event could be a battle, the birth of a child, or some future event like the fall of a nation or the death of a specific person.
Over time, the remaining Faults had worked their way into the world. Many battles and wars were waged by the holders of the Faults. While their existence was usually known to only a few individuals, they played heavy roles, behind the scenes, to most of the world's major events. It took generations before they were all rounded up by a group calling themselves the Fault seekers. Descendants of the original Fault creators had passed on their knowledge and the mission to collect the items, so that one day the world could be at peace.
The Fault seekers, devised a nearly perfect plan to hide these items which could not be destroyed. They traveled far and wide, hiding each Fault. Before sealing up each hiding place, the Fault charm was used to ensure no one could retrace their steps and find what was hidden. With a touch and a thought, each Fault was sent forward in time to the day the last person died who knew of their existence. On that day there would be no one left searching for the hidden items, when they magically reappeared deep within their respective hiding places.
The last item to hide was a powerful book of endless wealth, and the wizards intended to hide the charm along with it. The book was placed in a secret compartment deep within a crypt, with the charm held in place under its weight. Instead of being held to the caster, the charm traveled forward in time along with the book. The last of the Faults had finally been removed from the world. You realize that you have been leaning further and further forward during the story, and the Yeti pauses as you lean back in your chair. The stone cube is one of those Faults.
This doesn't explain the undead, you say to the Yeti, my people are dying even as we speak. The Yeti locks eyes with you and continues speaking. When I stood at my father's death bed, it was not in a royal chamber. The Yeti grits his teeth and clenches his fist. It was in a tiny hut, in one of many refuge camps my people had built. Humans had already invaded our mountains and driven us down into Goblin territory. Our stealth was the only thing that kept us a secret from the Goblins, and we barely managed to survive in the forests.
My father had sought wisdom when he first touched the cube, but when I took it form his dying hand, I was seeking revenge. My people had lost their lands, many had lost their lives, and soon they would lose their King. When I touched the stone, I wanted to know the fastest way to bring death to the humans, and the stone showed me the location of another Fault. I won't bore you with my journey to get it, says the Yeti while an unsettling smile forms on his face, but as the cube had told me, I cut myself with the flower's thorn.
The black rose, you see, works by enchanting the blood of its master. Upon returning, I snuck into a human village and flicked drops of my blood on to a sleeping man. During the night he changed and rose as the living dead, attacked the rest of his family, and proceeded to create new zombies from everything he fed upon. In the chaos that was caused by the zombie horde, my people and I traveled to the very top of the mountain to build this city. Because only I personally am protected from the creatures, I had to lead my people where it is too cold for undead to travel.
You grow angry at the sight of his crooked smile, but you stop suddenly after leaning forward and shouting for him to wipe that grin off his face! Something has caught your eye. A ring on the hand he is supporting himself with. With only a glance to your men, they already know what you are thinking and they forcefully grab the Yeti and hold his arm out as he attempts to resist. You slide the ring from his finger and hold it up to take a closer look. Mounted in the center is a small stone cube. What do you want to know most of all? Asks the Yeti, as the smile returns to his face.
As you hold the ring, you start trying to figure out the best question to think of before touching the actual cube, but your eyes grow wide as you remember something from the Yeti's story! Your eyes quickly move from the cube to the Yeti's smiling and bloody face. Oh no, you say out loud, and your gaze jumps again to the Yeti's blood hand prints on the floor, the smears from your men dragging him in, and even to the blood spotted on the soldiers themselves. You frantically begin checking your hands, arms, and clothes, but to your relief they are all clean.
Sir, what's wrong? one of the men asks. The Yeti begins to softly laugh and your attention goes back to the cube. You quickly make a decision and touch the cube. The experience is like nothing you could ever truly explain, but your question is answered in vivid detail. You get your fingers around the cube, forcefully pull it out of the ring, and stick it into your pocket. One of the guards raises his hand to hit the Yeti for laughing, but everyone is interrupted when a guard lunges over and begins biting the face of the guard next to him!
You turn and grab the arm of your General who was standing behind you. We have to go NOW, you yell! As you pull him and rush out of the tent, screams behind you prove you left in the nick of time. Sir? Sir! Your General is confused at first but seems to figure out what is happening when he realizes that all around you, many of your soldiers have begun changing into the undead. As you both climb on to your horses, he turns to you and asks, How do we stop them? Never mind about the undead General, I have work to do. And you both quickly ride away. Thank you for playing Castaways, by Aprone (Jeremy Kaldobsky).
