Let the Free Play Begin!
Okay, so the somewhat tedious story mode out of the way, it's now time to get into the free play! An interesting feature of Castaway Stories is its tracking of time. You don't get a digital clock as in the main game, but this sundial sort of thing that divides parts of the day into 8 blocks: 5 day and 3 night. It obviously is counting hours, as there are careers that begin at 9 a.m., but you the player can't actually see them. There is also no visible counter for which day it is.
This makes tracking equal rotational gameplay a bit difficult. Oh and also-and this is really weird to me-if you stop playing one household at a certain time, the next household you play will pick up at that exact time, no matter what it was when you left them before. So if I'm playing House A and leave off during block 3, House B will begin during block 3. Let's say I get bored of House B at block 7 and head back to House A. It will be night time (block 7), despite having left off House A in the day time earlier. So if someone was at work when I left and I come back after his return hours, he has to wait at work until the day cycles back until he can come home. Very strange! I later worked out a system to keep the days and hours roughly in sync, but at the beginning I was jumping between households, meeting Sims, exploring my options, and not really paying attention to the days so much. Oh, and as usual with a new Sims project, I always start off taking hardly any pictures and then I get attached and go photo-crazy. So we'll start out with a bit of a jumble, and a lot of talking as I try to fill in the blanks, but I promise it will be more organized and less blah-blah-blah-y in the next update, okay? Okay!
First up we'll say a brief hello to the Manave household: a.k.a., the Chief's Hut. (If this counts as a hut, I would be fascinated to see a mansion!)
Chief Fangaloka lives with his "wife" (for some reason none of the Sims who are married/related in the story have any relationship once you can play them) Huhana and their daughter Nanihi. Both ladies are pretty low on Nice points and the chief has learned just to put up with it. :)
Even though the free play starts out with your playable castaway, and I stuck with her for a few days, I took no pictures. So enjoy this loading screen picture and a bit of backstory... Jessica married Akolo Mamanu (it was kind of an accident, but I wound up pretty happy with him!) and became the tribe's new shaman. They are expecting their first child and have to put up with an annoying orangutan that I can't get rid of. They lived in the story-provided hut for a while until I got sick of it for being very cramped (can't even fit a double bed in it without remodelling) and for being simply an awkward lot.
Fortunately other simmers have forged on before and left tips for me to find! There are no roads on castaway islands, so you can't place new lots. But you can edit existing lots in SimPE to turn community lots into residential lots. So Jessica, Akolo, and their stupid orangutan moved into the much more customizable Creepy Hollow and built a little home for themselves there. ...And we'll see more of them in round two 'cause that's all I've got!
Up next is the Men's hut: home to 3 bachelors. Originally Akolo lives here, but since Jessica married him, there was an empty bed for Rararhu (chief's bodyguard, residing in Family Bin) to move in.
I decided fairly early on that this particular tribal society would have a class system, to spice up my game play a bit, and to use the cool new face paints. I picked this one for the warrior class, and liked it about as much as Emobi here. So it will change eventually. :)
Anyway, Emobi is the meanest of the bachelors here and starts off with a chubby tummy, but seeing as he's a Fortune Sim in the Hunter career, he wants nothing more than to sit on his exercise machine all day, so tummy was quickly lost. (Just in case any hardcore CS fans were wondering.)
He also gets along great with the new shaman, who proves she has fully integrated into this new society by sharing dirty jokes all the time. Seriously, it's all the natives here ever do.
Rarahu, the aforementioned bodyguard, is also of the warrior class, and has an ongoing feud with Emobi. Personally I think Emobi is jealous of Rarahu's reputation and popularity in the village as master hunter, but Rarahu can also dish out the abuse, so I don't really know who started it.
Timoti is the last bachelor resident, and though the facepaint looks almost identical (another reason why I soon changed it), he's of the artisan class. Technically artisans and warriors are of equal status, but warriors are generally held in higher respect due to carrying spears, I guess. Timoti doesn't particularly care, but though he and his hut-mates get along well, he's definitely the lowest on the totem pole there. Incidentally, Timoti was the one I had intended for Jessica to marry, as he seems a nice, creative sort in the story. But then I forgot who he was (...I plead not playing the story in one sitting...) and picked Akolo instead. No regrets, as it turns out Akolo rocks and Timoti is a lazy bum!
Being a hut full of bachelors, it seemed appropriate to hire them a maid. I get a kick out of the frilly patterns on her clothes. A fashion historian could give a fascinating lecture on how Simlish maid costumes were influenced by early trade routes and settlers passing by Felicity Island...
How cute is this little go to work icon??
Emobi has a sweetheart, who picked him out all by herself. This is local bossypants Rainui Heimata, whose bio suggests she is very forward and fairly unpopular in the village, and she lives up to that reputation. In other words, perfect for Emobi. (Yes, they are one of my favourite couples.)
Love (or something like it) is also in the air for local celebrity Rarahu Anuata. Technically he is betrothed (more on that later) but he can't help it when the ladies keep giving him attention. His bio claims a "reputation for tidiness" is irresistible, and I guess it must be true!
Another neat feature of this game is that visitors just show up and invite themselves in to do whatever they want. Probably that would drive me crazy in the main game, but here it really fits that tribal community atmosphere. The drum is very popular with Rainui, her brother Ahio, and townie Hori (one of three by that name!).
Fear not, Rarahu. Pili's legacy shall never be forgotten. (No, this is not the most ridiculous chance card this game has to offer.)
Moving on! Let's visit the Tama household. Amanaki was the shaman, but now he's passed the reins to Jessica and stands by as kind of a mentor. Despite his dearth of Nice points, he has a habit of bringing home strays. Patariki in the background there was an abandoned baby in the jungle...
...Afi's parents probably bribed Amanaki to take Afi off their hands as his apprentice...
...and most recent addition is the young outsider, Winford, whose origin story is so strange, Amanaki has kept it to himself. No one would believe him anyway.
"Hey congrats on marrying your husband!" Yes, the final household member is Urari, another "wife." Like the Manave household, she and Amanaki are set up as though they are married, yet barely even know each other. So I fixed that. :)
Urari's bio mentions she is the island's top herbalist, so I gave her the title of Healer. I have yet to figure out exactly what that means in terms of gameplay, but in the meantime she sports some special face paint (that will change again in a few pictures). For now she does a lot of the childcare, though Amanaki is a big help too. I just didn't get any pictures of him.
Urari made a fuss when Amanaki came home with yet another toddler under his arm-she thought he had outgrown that habit! But she and her husband never had children of their own, and with their (unofficially) adopted sons now men preparing to move on, Urari has to admit it is nice having a little one in the hut again.
Speaking of the young men, they get along very well, which is nice to see. I expected Patariki (right) to be more of a haughty snob from how i saw him briefly on community lots before, but he's good friends with his surrogate brother, Afi. This is especially impressive when you consider what a total loser Afi is. :D "Afi came to the Tamas long ago for shaman training, but he never displayed much talent, discipline, or dedication."
He gets along with his new "brother" too!
Even the untalented, undisciplined, and undedicated Afi can look after the new kid. (Ooh, island-style sippy cup!)
Patariki was never a candidate for being shaman, but his association with the Tamas has still elevated this foundling to high status (warrior). And, as a warrior in his prime, it's now time to see about finding a partner and building his own hut. After searching past many, many orangutans (some of them violent!) , he finally comes across other Sims.
Jessica, that does not look good for the baby... (and what is wrong with your ankle grass thing..?)
Mm-hmm...
Tumata Tehea was also on the lot, and Patariki had to admit, she was lovely, and friendly too. But Amanaki had taught wisdom to his boys, and Patariki knew first impressions could be deceiving. He had heard gossip about this young woman, and while he knew one couldn't believe everything he heard, reputation was also highly important on a small island...
(Fun bit of trivia: In the story mode you have to place these urns onto pedestals. After the story the urns are still there, and still can be placed...though nothing happens of course.)
Back at the hut, Afi offers his entry for header image...
...this townie is highly agressive...
...and Patariki was never this messy! :D
Everysim works in this household, so Winford needs a nanny a few hours every day. She's just as good at ignoring tots as the one in the main game. Perhaps even worse, as she abandons the poor kid up some steps on the other side of the lot from all his toys. :(
"Please come home soon, father!" "Swing! Whee!"
Fortunately the grown folks are home soon enough to give him attention and put him back in reach of his toys.
Patariki isn't the only one hoping for a mate, and apparently this townie hasn't yet heard that Afi has been dumped from shaman candidacy. What's that? You think she might like him for his personality? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha....
The Tama household comes with a pet-house on the lot, and while I was tempted to get them a hyena, that's David Bennett's shtick, as we'll eventually get to. Instead, I tried for a jaguar, as there's one involved with Amanaki in the story.
Unfortunately jaguars are woefully unfinished in this game, and can only perform one (1) interaction: the admittedly cool "pounce."
It has a really cool, smooth animation, and great faces, but it requires cheats to operate, and that's all they can do.
They can't even move, let alone eat, on their own or by my direction.
So we said a regretful goodbye to the jaguar. Maybe some modder can one day fix them up? I can hope. :)
I...I don't believe it! The nanny is giving attention to her charge? Of her own volition?
Oh, I see. Everyone's home and she wants to look good for the boss.
"By Tuzu! Is that nanny actually competent!" "How many times do I have to tell you, son? Things are not always as they seem. Always consider the possibilities."
"So much for that tip I was hoping for." *drops child* Winford: :( That seems like a good place for a break! I was planning to fit everything into one post, but apparently I had more pictures than I'd thought. Part 2 will be up soon-ish. In the meantime...dag dag!