Tempest
The hotfix has set sail!
We are glad to inform you that the hotfix is live. Ship sails are visible again and the quest “All aboard” no longer makes the game crash.
The update is already available via Steam. Make sure the update feature is enabled in the options of your Steam client.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Our team wishes you good luck in your search for Sun Wukong's Golden Staff ;)
Unexpected problems and their solutions.
Our team has received messages about a game crash that occurs during the “All Aboard” mission, as well as sails disappearing for some players’ ships. Thanks to your prompt response, we were able to quickly identify and correct these issues.
However, we’d like to thoroughly test the upcoming patch before releasing it into your hands. If untested, the hotfixes may actually add to the aforementioned problems, rather than solve them.
The patch is expected to drop mid next week, which should give us enough time for QA.
Our team apologizes for the inconvenience and will be grateful if new and existing players give Tempest one more shot next week. To make the wait more bearable, we’ve lowering the price on the game’s OST and DLC.
Thank you for understanding.
Cheers!
HeroCraft PC.
Tempest: the Quest. Get ready for Halloween! Part 3
Ahoy, captain! We continue our Halloween themed quest and this is your last chance to join since next Monday will reveal the terrifying end of this story. The comments to the previous installment reveal a pretty even split between the options and a wonderful spinoff on the life of second mate Fuhrer_51[RUS]. Seems pretty intriguing so far!
___
You can't help but feel that sound nagging you, distracting you, filling your mind with trouble and disquiet. You must examine it.
You cross paths with the second mate as you go down into the holds, and he nods as he clearly heads to the rescued man. Fair enough, to each man his own, and you won't be standing in his way while he's doing his job, whatever it is.
The holds are dark: you take a dim light from the hook by the entrance and give it some fuel. Shaky light fills room after room filled to the roof with containers well-bound to the floor and walls. As shadows dance on the walls with your every move, you realize the sound has shifted: the whistling is coming from all around you now. With the deep sea behind every wall, no matter where you look, your predicament seems impossible.
Slowly, you continue moving between the crates as a deep, aching pain begins to pierce your temples. Then suddenly, a patch of light catches an odd inscription, seemingly carved into the boards ages ago: *849JB*
You trace the writing with your fingers, and the whistling dies down for an instant, but you are certain: those symbols now belong to you, forever. Your hands begin to tremble at this unexpected realization.
You raise the lantern higher, and spot similar inscriptions everywhere the light falls. *B8Y90* above your head, and a bit to the left “B8BMX*. Panic rises in the back of your throat, and you scramble to reach the other end of the holds as more and more inscriptions appear in the dancing light, so meaningless at first. The whistling is almost gone, replaced by a new woe: persistent memories of strange sigils that had never been here before. You're certain, you were the one to affix this cargo here and remember inspecting the entire hold.
Then you tumble as something rams into your legs. That you manage to catch the lantern seems almost a miracle now. You lie still on the boards for some seconds, staring at yet another missive just over your face *R5G05* Time passes: you don't know how much. *8F5F3*, keeps spinning in your head; *KA9D5*, it echoes and reverberates.
You realize you have to get up, and you manage to recall the captain's orders, but before you can do anything, the vessel shakes once, then more and more, and then it goes quiet. You already know what it means, so you run. Through the holds, up the stairs, then higher and higher, not even letting your eyes adjust to the light. You throw the doors open, fully ready to face the blinding light, but instead, you face the tumult right as it reaches its peak.
Whatever you expected to see, you did not expect this.
You see sailors running to and fro; you hear bits of orders, screams of panic; you feel someone shoulder-checking you, but the man disappears before your eyes can see him; all enveloped, enshrouded in fog dotted with shining orange sparks coming from elsewhere, brought forth by lights you cannot see; and it's like the world is burning, but the air is as cold as before. Perhaps, even colder still.
The captain sees you and heads toward you from the foredeck.
“Did you speak to the man?” he asks you, his face so familiar and yet strange, lit by unnatural, otherworldly light.
*CNWDP*, you say slowly.
“He's ready to talk,” comes the second mate's reply from behind your shoulder. “At least now he seems able to talk.”
Captain's eyes remain transfixed to you. “What did you just say?”
“QKQBV*, you say, unsure what your superior finds so perplexing, *G57F3*
As you turn to face the second made, a question leaves your lips: “Have you seen the writing down in the holds?”
He shakes his head in return: now there are two grown men looking you over for signs of madness. Several long seconds pass before you hear new words: “We just ran aground, and there ain't supposed to be anything to run aground on here. Both of you, get in the water and scout the area. But first, I want you to come to your senses. I'll talk with the gentleman in the meantime. Fuhrer_51[RUS], ready the boat and choose several men for the crew.”
The captain then turns around and heads to hatch belowdecks.
The second mate continues to stare at you: “Can you perform your duty?”
You just stand there, surrounded by the noise and motion and the milky-red glow and the building pressure, both outside and inside your head, as something calls to you; begs to be let out, out into your confused thoughts, but you should be able to get a hold of yourself if need be.
1. We have to figure out what's going on. I am ready to set onto the water immediately.
2. I'm not sure I can muster enough concentration to avoid hindering the team like this.
Tempest: the Quest. Get ready for Halloween! Part 2
Hey, pirates! Recently, we have started a Halloween themed quest and you did a great job participating in it. Now it's time to face the consequences of your actions. If you've missed the start — don't worry, you can join now!
___
You slowly approach the crowd of sailors around the rescued man as a sense of foreboding sets in. There's no way to press through to the captain. You spot a familiar face nearby, an old friend made over many a shift together on watch.
"There's a wrecked ship somewhere overboard, all around us in pieces. We're right next to where she ended."
The news start spreading from man to man, getting louder and louder, and soon enough it reaches the command.
Second mate Fuhrer_51[RUS], leaning over the man, says it first:
"Was there an engagement?"
The poor soul's eyes are speechless and full of terror. With nothing on hand but his own good judgment, the sailor decides to make up his mind.
"A ship musta been wrecked nearby. Prolly more than one," he says, turning to address the captain. "Not to sound like a coward, cap'n, but our ship, she ain't prepared for a fight like this."
Fortune favors the brave, but better to be wary than dead. All the more so with the ship loaded to the brim. And as always, taking a bad risk is bound to cost you your load, your ship, and even your life.
"Ho! Helmsman!" the captain yells. "Swing 'er round!"
A sense of release cuts through the tension. As all hands get ready, the men take the rescued soul away for some food and warmth. You overhear the captain grumbling as you follow the guest out with your eyes:
"Can't be taking no risks right now, afraid."
Slowly the ship starts to crawl through the thick, billowing fog, without a sound save for the splashing waves and creaking rigging. The quiet chatter of the crew drowns in the thick air. With visibility measuring in a few feet, even the slowest possible pace makes for a treacherous traverse.
You glance at the captain, a tall, mighty mast of a man who has spent his entire life at sea, and wait for him to order the sails taken in until the fog clears. But then you see him anxiously fidgeting with one of the keys scattered across the deck. His eyes dim and brow furrowed, it's clear that the man has been hollowed by anxiety far deeper than any sailor so well experienced ought ever feel.
Then, suddenly, there's a loud strike against the broadside. Unthinkably, the captain, a man of unparalleled mettle, startles before your eyes and rushes toward the sound, struggling to temper his own haste.
The crew, utterly astonished, are confronted by an enormous tree, roots and all, floating placidly atop the waves. It could not, should not be here. Even a cabin boy fresh into his second season on this route would know well enough: a full day's sail separates this point from the nearest island.
"What the devil?" sputters a surprised voice on your left.
"Maybe it was a storm?" another follows hesitantly.
"There was no storm," comes the captain's grim reply. It occurs to you that he began to understand a thing or two about your bizarre predicament. His eyes, broody and dim just a moment ago, are slowly starting to clear, but the utter despair forming on his face instead stuns you.
"Keep up the pace!" comes his voice, loud and booming, a tone as empty and distant as the woe in his eyes.
"Too dangerous, cap'n," says the chief mate, watching the waves. "There's like to be, aha, yet more debris and trouble oer’board."
"Indeed there is." The mast of a man suddenly shrugs, focusing his gaze on you, and follows it up suddenly with a dejected smile. "This shan't be your last traverse. Go pay that barmy a visit, see if he's talking any sense now."
The captain is captain, and orders are orders. And yet, as your feet lead you into the holds, his strange words and actions keep spinning in your head. And as you keep pondering, the atmosphere of quiet danger grows more and more uneasy. It takes you a while to come back from your thoughts to the quiet, long, whistling sound, not unlike the sound strong winds make as they blow through a crack in the boards. You don't just hear it, you FEEL it, and it's coming from the lower holds, where the goods are kept.
1. Follow the captain's orders and go see the rescued man
2. Climb down for a brief moment to see where that sound is coming from.
Tempest: the Quest. Get ready for Halloween!
Ahoy, Pirates! There are some treacherous waters ahead, so you'd better look out for squalls! After all, we all know that October is the time when evil spirits set about their dark deeds. At the very end of the month here on Steam, we will be hosting a big giveaway, but first, you're in for a terrifying journey to uncharted islands.
All you need to do to take part is to keep up with the game news. Every other day, we will release an installment of a story that we will be writing together with you, with a choice for everyone to make at the end of each chapter. Every vote in the comments will be taken into account, and for those that want to flesh out their answers, the story might play out in a very different way.
You'll encounter some pleasant surprises along the way, so we encourage you to keep up with our updates. ;)
And now, let's get started.
_____
You are part of a crew of seasoned sailors that have braved the seas many times together. Each one of you dreams of captaining a ship one day, free to sail the seas under their own flag. But for now, all of you pitch in and pull your weight for a common cause.
It's been four days since you left a trading port. Your ship is set on a well-traveled and familiar course through calm waters, the wind is favorable and fast, and the clouds on the horizon threaten a cold fall shower that might dispel the thickening mist, which has been gently creeping aboard since midday.
A deck boy climbs up the rigging towards the crow's nest, peering intently into the distance once he settles there. Any sailor, no matter how experienced, knows how dangerous sea fogs are, how quickly they can lead a ship off course and run it aground over underwater rocks. The captain has good cause for concern: the ship is sitting exceptionally low, its holds chock-full of goods to sell.
The first mate gives a call to trim the sails and slow down. As the ship decelerates, a milky-white shroud creeps over the deck and keeps rising, faster than anyone expected. Your bewildered crewmates carry on, looking around uneasily now and then, and somewhere in the shadows, you hear a quiet murmur. "The boatswain has always been rather religious," you think to yourself.
"Man overboard!" Suddenly, a muffled and unnaturally distant cry rings out over the deck from the nest. Sailors rush to the side to see a shoddily cobbled-together boat swaying on the waves nearby, and a man clinging to it. His body is submerged, only his head and one hand still above water to clutch at the frail wooden frame.
"Pull him up," the captain orders.
You go about rescuing the man quickly. He's completely exhausted after staying in the water for so long, his muscles cramped, his body ice-cold and almost lifeless.
As soon as you haul the poor fellow aboard, he starts coughing up a lung.
"Don't go there," he croaks. "Turn back. Turn back."
The sailors huddle around, clearly confused.
"There are keys," one of the men who dragged the poor fellow out of the water pipes up. "Lotsa keys in the boat."
With these words, he opens his hand, and several thuds onto the boards. Silver and gold, in all shapes and sizes. They look mesmerizing, alluring, and somehow filled with promise.
AG7QE-0650A-28DLP
P794W-YWWIC-B6ZPM
R4YX3-L5WXE-ZG89I
The captain kneels near the saved man and asks where he hails from. "What sinking ship did you flee?" The saved man answers with a hoarse, "No, don't go, they're all there."
The man, his grim words, and the frigid, unnatural fog all fill you with dread. You step aside and look at the madman's boat tied to a boom. As your eyes glide over the water, you notice something dark floating on the surface. Straining to focus, you manage to make out some planks. They look like pieces of wreckage, but you're absolutely sure that just a little while ago before the thick fog settled in, there was no sign of another ship anywhere nearby.
Irrational fear grips you. It seems the whole crew has gathered around the saved man and hasn't noticed your predicament. You consider your options:
Tell the captain a wrecked ship might be nearby.
Keep silent.
___
Leave a comment with the number of your reply down below. If you feel like it, you can give a more detailed answer alongside the number. ;)
You have 12 hours to think this through.
Tattoo contest results
Hey, pirates! It's July 17th, so it's time to announce the winners of our tattoo cosplay contest where a few lucky privateers will get a PIRATE ‘AAAAR!’ BUNDLE! as a gift. July 16th was the deadline for submissions and with this in mind, we are super thankful to all of the participants that invested time, creativity and effort. Anyway, no more talking — here they are:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1804619016 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1788889099 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1805524482
Our team representative will contact the winners shortly, so if you are one of them — please make sure your profile is public and you can accept friend requests. If you’ve missed this contest — don't give up, there will be more interesting competitions in the future.
See you next time
! Screenshot contest results
Ahoy, pirates! Since it's already June 6th, it's time to announce the winners of our second screenshot contest where a few lucky winners will get a Pirate City DLC as a gift. June 5th was the deadline for submissions and with this in mind, we have approved 45 entries for participation (we had to reject a few screenshots since they were made before the contest even started).
Our team was pleasantly surprised by the amount of quality scenes you guys have captured. It wasn't easy to pick who gets the prize and decide between the runner-ups. Anyway, no more talking — here are the entries that captured the game in the best way possible (in our humble opinion):
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1760742044 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1157933790 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1756000901 Our team representative will contact the winners shortly, so if you are one of them - please make sure your profile is public and you can accept friend requests.
We are super thankful to all of the participants that invested time, creativity and effort into their submissions, since this is exactly what makes it all worth it. If you didn't find your nickname in the shortlist — don't give up, there will be more interesting contests in the future!
See you next time!
Pirate City is released + screenshot contest
Hey, pirates! It’s time to build and develop your own settlement, buy a share in any shop, board and capture a sinister looking ship and become the ultimate champion of a land-based arena — Pirate City DLC is finally available on Steam!
Raise the sails and load the cannons 'cause you have a new and incredible adventure ahead:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1073630/Tempest__Pirate_City/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUHPIJHkvGE For more details regarding this DLC, check out our previous updates:
- Building the city of your dreams
- Enter the arena
- The haunting Grim Reaper vessel & buying a share in a shop
Make a screenshot — get a chance to win Pirate City DLC!
Since the base game is getting a general overhaul today as well (updated tutorial and visuals, improved water physics, bugs being fixed, etc.), we are encouraging you to participate in our second screenshot contest for a chance to win the new DLC.
All you have to do is take a gorgeous looking screenshot from Tempest using the in-game screenshot mode (you can find the hotkey in the settings menu), share it in the Community Hub and post a link to it in the comments below (only new screenshots are allowed)! Submissions are welcomed till June 5th.
P.S. we will pick the winner/s next week, captains!
7 days to go: Pirate City releases on May 29th!
Ahoy, me hearties! ‘Pirate City’, the next DLC for Tempest, will release on May 29th. Just 7 days left before you can finally start building your own Pirate Heaven!
We have previously mentioned how exactly you will be able to build the city of your dreams, along with some additional details on a land-based battle arena where your captain is going to be challenged with all kinds of creatures. But is that it? Of course not!
Capture the haunting Grim Reaper vessel
According to legends, a mysterious ship has been roaming the seas for many decades. Those who dare board it leave the realm of the living, but they never actually die. Nothing can scare the Grim Reaper's crew. Will you be brave enough to discover its dark secrets?
Buy a share in any shop
As a respected captain, you will get an opportunity to buy shares in shops located in any friendly city. These fine establishments will grant fixed income depending on the current stage of your settlement. In addition, players will have to pay attention to their relationship with the specific faction that owns the city.
If you happen to lose the trust of the faction, you will get less income or even lose all of it. One other thing to remember is that you are allowed to partner with one shop only, so pick it wisely!
See you next week, captains!
Pirate City showcase, pt II: enter the arena!
Hey, pirates! Previously, we have already told you about the building of your own settlement in Pirate City, which is one of the central features of this addon. Today, we are going to shed some more light on the content of the upcoming DLC for Tempest: a land-based battle arena.
Yes, you heard it right — this time the only person you can rely on is your own captain. Will you be able to survive the ever growing waves of pirates, skeletons, and god knows what else?
To enter the arena you will have to investigate a new marker on your map that should be located near your own city. Once you reach the destination, you will have an opportunity to choose the weapon and start testing your combat skills. Unlike the regular island based missions you got used to while playing Tempest (first introduced in Treasure Lands DLC), the arena is going to offer you space limited zone that will get filled with enemies for you to fight with.
You can expect to be handsomely rewarded for each wave of foes you defeat. The longer you can survive without leaving the arena, the bigger the reward is going to be! Also, you will be able to participate in a global arena records book that will give you an opportunity to compete against other captains from all around the world.
Become an absolute champion of the arena, and earn the reputation of the most fearsome and respected pirate in known history!