The Last Werewolf News

[h2]Hey all![/h2]

I wanted to give you a quick update on The Last Werewolf - development is still underway! Thanks for your continued support and patience. As a solo dev, I'm doing my best to create an enjoyable game experience. Keep an eye out for more updates!

As always, I encourage you to share your thoughts, questions, and feedback with me via the Steam Community Hub or Discord. Your input helps me improve the game and make it more enjoyable for everyone.


[h2]WHAT’S COMING[/h2]

[h3]Minor Update: April 2023[/h3]
In mid-late April, I'll be releasing a minor update to Chapter One. This update will include some adjustments to the mechanics of the game. Specifically, I'm changing how Wolf Sense works - it’ll no longer impact the Wolf Metre, but instead will have a cooldown period. At this point, only dialogue interactions will contribute to the Wolf Metre.

I've also added some new characters, dialogue options, and tweaked environments.
I've addressed a few minor bugs in the game that could impact immersion. Don’t worry, none of these were game-breaking.

You can find a full list of fixes and updates in the Update Tracker by clicking here.


GIF above:Here is how the Wolf Sense will be behaving in the next update - UI may still be tweaked.


[h3]Major Update: August 2023[/h3]
The major update is still on track for an August release. This update will include Chapter Two of the game and introduce controlled shifting into the wolf form. There are also new characters and locations - one of my favourites is the outdoor cinema! I'm excited to share more details about this update as development progresses.

In the meantime, I've included a screenshot and gif to give you a sneak peek of what's to come in Chapter Two. Keep in mind, the levels are still in development and may change visually still.


Screenshot above: The waiting room for the clinic location in Chapter Two.


GIF above: Run free as the wolf in Chapter Two.

Hey everyone,

This is a quick announcement to let you know that I’ve addressed some of the bugs/issues that have been reported by the community.

I appreciate the support I’ve received so far! Please keep sending your feedback so I can keep improving the game for everyone!


[h3]Version 1.0.1 Updates[/h3]

• The escape key now turns the menu on and off, rather than just on. It also no longer turns on during conversations.
  
  
• The Wolf Metre now throws an alert when activated. This works both in TAB mode and Conversation mode. Please note that this is just in basic mode at the moment. I’ll develop this further as I progress through development.
  
  
• The Wolf Metre will no longer activate when the menu is open or while talking to characters.
  

[h3]Update Tracking Sheet[/h3]

I’ve also created a spreadsheet that everyone can view to check out the development progress. It is currently broken up into Bugs/Issues, Minor Update, and Major Update. Please note that development is subject to change, and some features may be delayed until after the next major update.

You can view the spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zT1Bjildv4qX9ke0jVP3sZi6RDfJxl5CRHmfE9s2jlU/edit?usp=sharing

Hey everyone!

The Last Werewolf is now available to play. In this initial release, Chapter One is available to play through while experiencing multiple paths, with two major endings to experience.
Chapter one will be acting as an introduction to the main character, the mechanics, and the narrative structure aka their day-to-day investigations.

I’m super excited (and honestly super nervous) to bring you all onto the development journey of this interactive narrative, mystery game. This is the main reason why I chose to take this game into early access, in order to share my development process with others as it happens.

I encourage everyone to join the discussion boards and let me know their thoughts, what you’d love to see, and what you feel isn’t working for you. You can join in via discord or the Steam discussion board.





I’ll quickly outline a few things that you may want to know:


Achievements
This will likely be the number one question for many. Will there be achievements? Yes, there will be achievements. They’re in the process of being created. I’m just holding back a little for an ideal time to release them.


Next Planned Minor Update: March 2023
There is a minor update planned in March that will aim to improve the user interface, audio, and deepen the narrative (eg: access to Lachie’s diary).


Next Planned Major Update: Aug/Sep 2023
The next major update, The Drunken Witness, is scheduled for August/September. This chapter will be bringing vampires into the mix, plus a new mechanic that you’ll see at the end of case one.


Bug Fixes: As needed
If a bug is found, please let me know and I’ll fix it as soon as I can. Keep in mind that a bug can either take me two minutes to fix or a few weeks. As I work a regular job on the side, there may be a slight delay in getting the fixes out. But I will keep everyone in the loop of what’s happening via the discussion board, discord, and announcements.

While I don’t expect issues, these things happen in Early Access, especially early in release. I‘ve tried my best to catch them all, but there's always some that can slip through. If you happen to come across one, please aim to give me as much info on the bug as you can, such as day, location, interaction, and inventory. Even a screenshot can help locate the problem.


Mature Content Description
The Last Werewolf contains content that may be triggering for some players. Lachie is a twenty-something woman who is starting her journey of self-discovery. This journey is about exploring her internal struggles to regain control of herself. For her story, the topic of mental health/illness is explored via herself and those around her. This includes discussions around daily struggles, stigma, sensationalism, identity, addiction, self-harm, suicide, and grief.

Other topics explored are: Discussion around death and the afterlife; Heated confrontations with implied mild violence; Betrayal.

While some of these topics are not covered in Chapter One, they will be covered in Chapter Two.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to give you all an update on the release of our Early Access game. Unfortunately, the release date has been pushed back a couple of weeks due to some technical challenges I've been facing.

The previous dialogue system caused some bugs and started deleting important dialogue, so I've made the decision to transition over to a new dialogue system, Yarn Spinner. This new system has been working much better and has allowed me to continue working on the game.

The delay is due to the time and effort required to transition to Yarn Spinner and make sure all interactions are working smoothly. This process is taking longer than expected, but I'm determined to provide you all with a fun and interactive narrative with differing consequences.

Once the dialogue has been integrated into a playable level, I'll be releasing Chapter One. The current aim is to release the game within two weeks.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I can't wait to share this game with you all!

From the Unnatural Freak trying not to shift during this little roadblock.

I am thrilled to announce that The Last Werewolf will be launching into Early Access on 14th February 2023 at 10:00 AM PST.

It is important to note that the initial release includes only chapter one. The story will progress throughout the game, with each chapter building on the last. Therefore, controlled wolf shifting is not planned until chapter two, but players will get a taste of it at the end of chapter one. And, I want to emphasise that chapters two and three are a part of the core game and will not be DLCs.

Please keep in mind that while I’ll do my best to avoid save system issues, it’s possible that some errors may occur when adding new content or updating the game. I’ll do my best to minimise these incidents.

I value your feedback and encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas through Steam Discussions or Discord. I’ll be collecting and prioritising your suggestions for future updates. However, it’s important to note that not all requests can be implemented, as they need to be reasonable and align with the overall vision for the game. Thank you for your support and I’m looking forward to hearing from you!




I am also excited to present an experimental approach to the game's aesthetic. While I hope that you will enjoy the art direction, I understand that it may not be to everyone's taste. That's why I'll be actively listening to player feedback and taking it into consideration. If there's a significant amount of negative feedback regarding the art direction, I will explore other options to ensure that the game is enjoyable for all players.

Here's a sneak peek at the opening animation for the initial release.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]