WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

[h2]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h2]
* Adjusted how NPC wolf personalities are created, so fewer will have "average" personalities in the middle of the ranges.
* More ravens now circle above carcasses.
* Stranger wolves now tuck their tails when fleeing after losing a fight.
* Leaving wolf creation/modifying panel with unsaved changed now displays a confirmation notification on screen.
* Reduced the required howling time to place a carcass marker (because for wolves with long howls, some players had trouble placing markers if they didn't let the how finish completely.)
* Adjusted the single-tap (on spacebar or other key) duration requirement to be more accepting of various tap styles.
* Improvements to mate's behavior when following player.
* On Easy difficulty, cougars are much too easy to thwart.
* Carcasses spawn more readily now when player is low on health and food.
* Multiplayer lobby: New column indicating private games.
* Icons for Original Coats in Wolf Customization now show those actual coats (previously showed icons for the Classic Coats).
* Added "Hide Ironwolves" toggle in My Wolves and Setup New Game panel.
* Improvements to mate hunting behavior.
* Mate is more eager to attack calves and fawns during calf-mother fights.
* Mate is a bit less jumpy when attacked.

[h2]BUGS FIXED:[/h2]
* Slough Creek multiplayer: Sometimes no music playing after leaving den.
* SC multiplayer: When choosing rendezvous site, text on World Map refers to dens instead.
* If you bite-hold a stranger wolf while sliding down a slope, wolves stop but camera keeps sliding.
* Mate (and other animals) too eager to slow down when encountering obstacles.
* Mate won't quite go home when sent home alone.
* Game stalls at end of sleep period if a notification is trying to be displayed but cannot.
* Sometimes mate doesn't return to player after a hunting excursion.
* Mate still too easily "distracted" when following the player
* Mate sometimes falls behind for no good reason and has to catch up to the player.
* Mate gets stuck in loops near creeks when moving on their own.
* NPCs can get stuck behind mid-sized obstacles.
* Pups don't come out when mate returns home alone.
* Wolves sometimes don't react to dangerous prey animals, letting the prey pummel them to death. (In particular, mate when traveling alone and running into bison.)
* Wolf pup carcass does not glow in scent view.
* In rare situations, mid-distance terrain does not get rendered when Enhanced Vegetation is enabled.
* In multiplayer chat panel, the scrollbar does not go to the right place if the player sends a message with the bar above the bottom.
* In multiplayer lobby, in a very specific state, game could stay stuck on "changing multiplayer region" notification.
* If number keys are remapped by player, then the multiplayer input keys can trigger other actions.
* Interface elements specific to pup-raising sometimes appear on other maps.
* Cursor focus is lost on the Bug Reporter when a non-pausing notification appears behind it.
* Stranger wolves do not always howl after chasing the player out of their territory.
* Missing text on notification when grizzly or coyotes give up den raid.
* In Slough Creek story mode, problems ensue if a player is inside the den when the pack begins to move to another den, or to the rendezvous site.
* In multiplayer lobby, if the list of games refreshes, the current selection can switch to a newly added game.
* Sometimes carcasses decay much too quickly. (Fix will work only in new games.)
* In certain circumstances, player can get stuck in den at end of Raise Pups quest.
* Cougar never arrives at den during raid.
* Typos.
* Terrain and water issues.

This beta is available in the Steam Public Beta branch (see instructions below) for Windows computers only.

NOTE: Multiplayer IS compatible with the last released version, 1.0.8a, so you can play MP games with those on that version.

[h2]BETA 1 - 3 January 2022[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Adjusted how NPC wolf personalities are created, so fewer will have "average" personalities in the middle of the ranges.
* More ravens now circle above carcasses.
* Stranger wolves now tuck their tails when fleeing after losing a fight.
* Leaving wolf creation/modifying panel with unsaved changed now displays a confirmation notification on screen.
* Reduced the required howling time to place a carcass marker (because for wolves with long howls, some players had trouble placing markers if they didn't let the how finish completely.)
* Adjusted the single-tap (on spacebar or other key) duration requirement to be more accepting of various tap styles.
* Improvements to mate's behavior when following player.
* On Easy difficulty, cougars are much too easy to thwart.
* Carcasses spawn more readily now when player is low on health and food.

[h3]
BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Game stalls at end of sleep period if a notification is trying to be displayed but cannot.
* Sometimes mate doesn't return to player after a hunting excursion.
* Mate still too easily "distracted" when following the player
* Mate sometimes falls behind for no good reason and has to catch up to the player.
* Mate gets stuck in loops near creeks when moving on their own.
* NPCs can get stuck behind mid-sized obstacles.
* Pups don't come out when mate returns home alone.
* Wolves sometimes don't react to dangerous prey animals, letting the prey pummel them to death. (In particular, mate when traveling alone and running into bison.)
* Wolf pup carcass does not glow in scent view.
* In rare situations, mid-distance terrain does not get rendered when Enhanced Vegetation is enabled.
* In multiplayer chat panel, the scrollbar does not go to the right place if the player sends a message with the bar above the bottom.
* In multiplayer lobby, in a very specific state, game could stay stuck on "changing multiplayer region" notification.
* If number keys are remapped by player, then the multiplayer input keys can trigger other actions.
* Interface elements specific to pup-raising sometimes appear on other maps.
* Cursor focus is lost on the Bug Reporter when a non-pausing notification appears behind it.
* Stranger wolves do not always howl after chasing the player out of their territory.
* Missing text on notification when grizzly or coyotes give up den raid.
* Terrain and water issues.
_________________

[h2]BETA 2 - 4 January 2022[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Multiplayer lobby: New column indicating private games.
* Icons for Original Coats in Wolf Customization now show those actual coats (previously showed icons for the Classic Coats).

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Beaver constructions and a few other objects are pink.
* Some audio is muted for some players.
* In Wolf Customization, current coat is not always indicated correctly.
* Mate (and other animals) too eager to slow down when encountering obstacles.
* Mate won't quite go home when sent home alone.
* In Slough Creek story mode, problems ensue if a player is inside the den when the pack begins to move to another den, or to the rendezvous site.
* In multiplayer lobby, if the list of games refreshes, the current selection can switch to a newly added game.
* Sometimes carcasses decay much too quickly. (Fix will work only in new games.)
* In certain circumstances, player can get stuck in den at end of Raise Pups quest.
* Cougar never arrives at den during raid.
* Typos.
_________________

[h2]BETA 3 - 4 January 2022[/h2]

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Beaver dens don't play nicely with the water.
* Private games can't be joined.
_________________

[h2]BETA 4 - 4 January 2022[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Improvements to mate hunting behavior.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* NPC wolves lost their mojo.
* In Wolf Customization, some issues with saving changes.
* In main menu, wolf carousel gets offcenter in certain situations.
_________________

[h2]BETA 5 - 5 January 2022[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Mate is more eager to attack calves and fawns during calf-mother fights.
* Mate is a bit less jumpy when attacked.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Eagle freezes in air during den attack if all pups go into den.
* SC multiplayer: When choosing rendezvous site, text on World Map refers to dens instead.
_________________

[h2]BETA 6 - 5 January 2022[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Added "Hide Ironwolves" toggle in My Wolves and Setup New Game panel.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Slough Creek multiplayer: Sometimes no music playing after leaving den.

___________________________________

[h3]TO GET THE BETA BUILD[/h3]
1) In the Steam app, go to your Library, then right-click on the WolfQuest: AE name in the left column and choose Properties.
2) Then go to the Betas tab and select the WQ current Beta option in the pulldown. No password is necessary. Steam should then start downloading it. Later you can switch back to the public version in that Betas tab, by selecting NONE in that pulldown.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

When we began developing the first version of WolfQuest way back in 2006, we imagined a three episode arc: Fall, Winter, and Spring. We had to collapse that into two, due to budget constraints, but that established the format: each episode focused on one or two seasons in Yellowstone, with certain quests and gameplay. So when we began working on what became Anniversary Edition five years ago, it felt natural to think about a third episode, Tower Fall, that followed the pack as the growing pups learned how to hunt. (We also had vague ideas for another episode after that, continuing the story into the deep winter, set in Pelican Valley.)

But as the game evolved, we realized that the game's potential went well beyond those months, and so our ideas for this next episode expanded substantially. Instead of folllowing the pack for a few more seasons, we would follow the pack over the course of years. Time just keeps going, the seasons keep passing by, and the pack has a litter of pups year after year, until the player-wolf dies.

And once we had that in mind, it felt increasingly weird for that to be DLC. It's not a DLC side quest, it's simply the rest of the game -- the rest of the wolf's life. Iany other game, without WolfQuest's unique development history, that's what it would be: the rest of the game. The problem with that, of course, is that our financial model for WQ:AE was based on Tower Fall being DLC. Someone who bought WQ 2.7 for $10 already got AE for free. That's a lot of people! And since we've had our hands full with all the new stuff we've now released in 2021, we bided our time, until now, when we need to make that decision. So here's the new plan:

* Tower Fall will be DLC: a new map that we hope lots of players will purchase. If you buy this map, you'll be able start a new game here,or move your pack to it anytime, as long as the pups are big enough (September through March in each game-year). And then you can move back to Slough Creek or even to Amethyst Mountain.

* The "rest of the game" -- your pups growing, learning to hunt, becoming yearlings as you the new pups of the year are born, then eventually either dispersing or staying with the pack for awhile to help raise the pups of the year, and so on -- all that will be part of the game, no additional purchase necessary. That will be the complete WolfQuest experience, available to everyone who owns the game.

We're really excited about this plan, especially with some of the twists and turns that can happen over the years with your pack. But this raises an interesting question: What do we call this "rest of the wolf's life"? For so long we've used the the map=gameplay model, where "Slough Creek" is shorthand for "raise pups," but that won't work anymore, since you'll be able to stay at Slough Creek if you like. Or start a new game in Slough Creek or Tower Fall. Or establish your territory and choose a den on Amethyst Mountain. With the entire saga playable on each map, there are so many possibilities!

So we're calling this the Saga: Life goes on, time goes by, pups are born, grow up, disperse, one generation after another.... It's the WolfQuest Saga. We think it'll be kind of epic!

The Saga is going to keep us busy for awhile and the game will remain in Early Access until it's completed and released, which means we won't be turning our attention to other platforms until that point.

In addition to Tower Fall, we plan to release more DLC in 2022: at least one more wolf customization pack, and of course the expanded Lost River map. If you start in Lost River, you won't be able to travel to the Yellowstone maps, but you will be able to play the entire Saga, raising pups year after year. We also have another Yellowstone map in mind. We want to give players more ways to enjoy the game -- and more ways to support game development. You can also support the game by gifting the game or DLC to friends, writing a review on Steam, and even donating to WolfQuest on Fundly.

I'm sure that this will raise many questions for players, but this is all we have to share at the moment. Devblogs in the coming months will look at various aspects of the Saga. We are as eager as anyone to get this new phase of the game out there, but as usual, we have not set a release date. So stay tuned -- 2022 is going to be a another great year for WolfQuest!

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Multiplayer: Added notification if a player is away from keyboard (after five minutes), also noted on Pack Info.
* Elk run more slowly as their health drops.
* In Game Help, updated text about coat color and pup health to match that in Find a Mate quest tips.
* Added note to Power Pack and Living the Life achievements about needing at least three pups still alive to earn the achievement.
* Controller: Fixes and improvements to controller navigation in main menu.
* In Setup New Game, selected/highlighted states of dropdown items now have a more prominent color.
* Improved feedback in notification when deleting duplicated files on server (which can take awhile).

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Mate and other NPCs can get stuck behind large rocky obstacles.
* Controller: Some issues when navigating buttons and input fields on Setup New Game and Game Settings
* Can play emotes even in in Pupcam mode (and in general, emotes override everything).
* Problems ensue if player refuses to leave den when Journey quest begins.
* Mouse glyphs don't always show correctly in quest and notification popups.
* In MP games in which the Host Decides when to sleep, one player can wait on sleeping long enough that sleep track ends. resulting in no music playing.
* Aurora (Northern lights) are extremely rare.
* Beaver hunting "Hold Still" notification loops if you are already pressing the R key.
* Terrain issues.
* Text errors.

This beta is available in the Steam Public Beta branch (see instructions below) for Windows and Mac computers.

NOTE: Multiplayer IS compatible with the last released version, 1.0.8a, so you can play MP games with those on that version.

[h2]BETA 1[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Reduced health now makes elk run more slowly, sooner.
* In Game Help, updated text about coat color and pup health to match that in Find a Mate quest tips.
* Added note to Power Pack and Living the Life achievements about needing at least three pups still alive to earn the achievement.
* In Setup New Game, selected/highlighted states of dropdown items now have a more prominent color.
* Improved feedback in notification when deleting duplicated files on server (which can take awhile).

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Mate and other NPCs can get stuck behind large rocky obstacles.
* Controller: Some issues when navigating buttons and input fields on Setup New Game and Game Settings
* Can play emotes even in in Pupcam mode (and in general, emotes override everything).
* Problems ensue if player refuses to leave den when Journey quest begins.
* Mouse glyphs don't always show correctly in quest and notification popups.
* In MP games in which the Host Decides when to sleep, one player can wait on sleeping long enough that sleep track ends. resulting in no music playing.
_______________

[h2]BETA 2[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Multiplayer: Added notification if a player is away from keyboard (after five minutes), also noted on Pack Info.
* Fixes and improvements to controller navigation in main menu.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Aurora (Northern lights) are extremely rare.
* Beaver hunting "Hold Still" notification loops if you are already pressing the R key.

___________________________________

[h3]TO GET THE BETA BUILD[/h3]
1) In the Steam app, go to your Library, then right-click on the WolfQuest: AE name in the left column and choose Properties.
2) Then go to the Betas tab and select the WQ current Beta option in the pulldown. No password is necessary. Steam should then start downloading it. Later you can switch back to the public version in that Betas tab, by selecting NONE in that pulldown.