WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

[h3]NEW:[/h3]
* Dispersal and stranger wolves howl in response to player howls. Howl icon appears on compass to mark location of howling wolves if 50-2000m away from player-wolf. Dispersals will howl during Find a Mate and Find a New Mate quests. Stranger wolves will howl anytime (though not every time the player howls). They will also howl sometimes without provocation.
* Damage dealt by animals is now affected by their energy level: Prey animals with high energy can do more damage than before, but deal less damage as energy level decays.
[h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Mate now won't hunt bison or other big animals unless the player literally bites them, and even then they may not, if prey is excessively formidable.
* Mate will start following the player sooner, regardless of personality.
* Made mate less likely to attack calves instead of following player's lead.
* Ravens will come a bit closer to you when eating at a carcass
* Player can interrupt the Roll mote (after first 1.5 seconds of it).
* Dispersal wolves who are waiting for a fight to end will now sit down and rest while they wait.
* Elk slow down less when running through forest.
* Adjusted player-marker color on World Map to better contrast against red hexes.
* Refinements to mate's path when running with player-wolf.
* Mate and pup nametags are enabled by default in multiplayer games, and remember their previous state (on or off) when loading a saved game.
* On World Map, pack territories and percentage readouts remember their previous state (on or off) when loading a saved game.
* Made double-tap input timing a bit more forgiving.
* Shortened the minimum duration of long-tap (to pick up pups, meat chunks, etc.), trying to find the right breakpoint between short and long taps.
* In multiplayer games, notification buttons adjust between yellow clickable buttons and keyboard-input buttons if cursor is locked or unlocked while notification is displayed.
* In multiplayer, the AFK timer is reduced from 5 minutes to 2.5 minutes, and now officially-AFK players do not delay quest progression.
* On Wolf Customization, the Wolf Name input field flashes if player clicks on Save/Continue button before giving the wolf a name.
* Snowshoe hare summer coat is darker, more realistic.
* Refinements to distant animal ambient sounds.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Multiplayer achievements killing big prey can be earned even if you died during the fight.
* Multiplayer: Sometimes player wolf does not despawn properly, causing problems in Newborn Pups scene.
* SC multiplayer: Players get stuck if Find New Den subquest was active when Raise Pups quest ends.
* Chase music keeps playing after chase ends.
* In multiplayer, pressing X key to decline to submit bug report makes wolf howl.
* Mate gets closer than intended when coming to player after running, and comes too close after you stop.
* Pups can slip out of den when mate leaves home site to go to hunt with player.
* Predators can attack den in the brief window between the mate leaving and the pups reaching the den.
* Mate struggles to bite beavers.
* Mate runs in circles with a meat chunk.
* Mate keeps returning to carcass when sent home.
* Bull ungulates do no damage during charging attacks.
* Pups come to player over a long distance when traveling.
* Mate gets stuck when returning to player or returning to den.
* Beavers play running animation in slow-motion when walking.
* Wolves kick up snow dust when on terrain that doesn't have snow.
* Large pebbles float above ground along Hornaday Creek.
* Dispersal wolves are frozen if you start sleeping as you're just awakening while they're present.
* Mysterious creek sounds in one area of Amethyst during winter.
* Chorus frogs are not calling in Slough Creek meadows in spring and summer nights.
* Terrain and water issues.

A few months ago, we got a feedback report from the player FrostByter with an excellent suggestion: if the player howls when looking for a mate, dispersal wolves should howl in response. We had to set that idea aside while we focused on Slough Creek multiplayer, but we've returned to it this month -- and it's one of the improvements coming in the next patch. And not only do dispersals respond to your howls, but stranger wolves -- whether patrolling their territory or back at their homesite -- might also respond. Any wolves who do respond and are nearby (within two kilometers) will be marked on the compass, to help you track down dispersals whom you might want to court. This is a fairly small feature but I think it adds so much to the game. Thanks for the suggestion, FrostByter!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Fun fact: Our game developer Tommi realized that howling responses would be affected by the speed of sound (343 m/s), so he added an extra delay to account for that, based on the distance between those wolves and the player.

Another improvement in this patch: All animals now deal less damage when low on energy. This is most pronounced with prey, who become less dangerous after you've chased them for awhile -- but remember that you too will deal less bite damage if you've got less energy at the time. We hope this encourages more realistic hunting tactics, especially since weaker elk will now slow down as you chase them, and tired elk will do less damage to you.

These improvements plus a few more, plus a lot of bugfixes, are coming in v1.0.8d, which is in pubilc beta now. We expect to release it within a few days.

________________________________________

The WolfQuest saga will continue! Stay tuned for more news in upcoming devblogs. More maps and wolf customizations are also coming in 2022!

Once the game is completed on PC/Mac, we will turn our attention to other platforms.

We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready.

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, 1.0.8c, so you can play MP games with those on that version.

[h2]BETA 2 (11 January 2022)[/h2]

[h3]NEW:[/h3]
* Damage dealt by animals is now affected by their energy level: Prey animals with high energy can do more damage than before, but deal less damage as energy level decays,
* Dispersal and stranger wolves howl in response to player howls. Dispersals will howl during Find a Mate and Find a New Mate quests. Stranger wolves will howl anytime (though not every time the player howls). They will also howl sometimes without provocation.

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Shortened the minimum duration of long-tap (to pick up pups, meat chunks, etc.), trying to find the right breakpoint between short and long taps.
* Mate won't hunt bison or other big animals unless the player literally bites them, and even then may not if prey is excessively formidable.
* Mate will start following the player sooner, regardless of personality.
* Ravens will come a bit closer to you when eating at a carcass
* Dispersal wolves who are waiting for a fight to end will now sit down and rest while they wait.
* Elk slow down less when running through forest.
* Darkened the snowshoe hare summer coat.
[h3]
BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* SC multiplayer: Players get stuck if Find New Den subquest was active when Raise Pups quest ends.
* Mate gets closer than intended when coming to player after running, and comes too close after you stop.
* Pups can slip out of den when mate leaves home site to go to hunt with player.
* Predators can attack den in the brief window between the mate leaving and the pups reaching the den.
* Mate keeps returning to carcass when sent home.
* Pups come to player over a long distance when traveling
* Mate gets stuck when returning to player or returning to den.
* Wolves kick up snow dust when on terrain that doesn't have snow. (This was a bug in an update to the terrain shader, and required a bunch of updates and tweaks to get snow accumulation rates similar to what they were before, but please report if you see snow looking like it is accumulating too fast or too slowly compared to trees.)
* Large pebbles float above ground along Hornaday Creek.
* Dispersal wolves are frozen if you start sleeping as you're just awakening while they're present.
* Terrain and water issues.

[h2]BETA 3 (12 January 2022)[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Refinements to response-howls from other wolves.
* When wolves respond to your howl, for those within 2km, a small icon appears on compass indicating their direction: white for dispersals, and color-coded for stranger wolves to match their pack color on map. (Icon is currently too small and hard to notice, will be improved in next beta.)

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Multiplayer: Sometimes player wolf does not despawn properly, causing problems in Newborn Pups scene.
* Small ranger cabin texture problems.
_____________________

[h2]BETA 4 (13 January 2022)[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Improved visibility of compass icons for wolves currently howling.
* Refinements to logic controlling response-howl from other wolves.
* Player can cancel secondary howl (which calls mate to their location) if they interrupt it within two seconds.
* Refinements to mate's path when running with player-wolf.
* Mate and pup nametags are enabled by default in multiplayer games, and remember their previous state (on or off) when loading a saved game.
* On World Map, pack territories remember their previous state (on or off) when loading a saved game.
* In multiplayer games, notification buttons adjust between yellow clickable buttons and keyboard-input buttons if cursor is locked or unlocked while notification is displayed.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Slough Creek ranger cabin textures are a bit off.
* Dispersal mates do not howl back during Find New Mate subquest.
_____________________

[h2]BETA 5 (13 January 2022)[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* On Wolf Customization, the Wolf Name input field flashes if player clicks on Save/Continue button before giving the wolf a name.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Chase music keeps playing after chase ends.
* In multiplayer, pressing X key to decline to submit bug report makes wolf howl.

_____________________

[h2]BETA 6 (14 January 2022)[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Made double-tap input timing a bit more forgiving.
* Made stranger packs less eager to respond to howls in Slough Creek and Lost River.
* Made mate less likely to attack calves instead of following player's lead.
* Reduced the damage reduction multiplier on wolves (so they will do closer to max damage even when low on energy).
* Adjusted player-marker color on World Map to better contrast against red hexes.
* World Map remembers Pack Territory toggle status.

[h3]CHANGES:[/h3]
* Removed the option to cancel the secondary howl quickly before mate starts coming to you. (Possible bug, will add it in next patch.)

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Mate struggles to bite beavers.
* Mate runs in circles with a meat chunk.
* Multiplayer achievements killing big prety can be earned even if you died during the fight.
* Mysterious creek sounds in one area of Amethyst during winter.
_____________________________

[h2]BETA 7 (14 January 2022)[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Player can interrupt the Roll mote (after first 1.5 seconds of it).
* In multiplayer, the AFK timer is reduced from 5 minutes to 2.5 minutes, and now officially-AFK players do not delay quest progression.
* Refinements to distant animal ambient sounds.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Chorus frogs are not calling in Slough Creek meadows in spring and summer nights.
_____________________________

TO GET THE BETA BUILD
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.

[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.