WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

We've released the next patch, v1.0.3h!

[h2]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h2]
* New music track, a fingerstyle guitar version of the old High Hunt theme; plays when hunting mule deer and moose at night.
* Reduced amount of RAM memory used by the game. Should allow the game to run more reliably on computers with less RAM.
* Mates will come closer to player-wolf when sleeping (that distance is still affected by personality).
* Small alert appears now if you unlock the cursor (to allow free cursor movement independeng of wolf controls) -- we suspect that some players do this inadvertently (by tapping the comma key) and then are confused when the wolf controls do not work properly.


[h2]GENERAL BUGS FIXED:[/h2]
* Player-wolf sometimes jumps on slopes that are not steep enough to warrant a jump.
* Cougar swims underwater.
* Fresh carcasses turn gory a bit too quickly when predators start eating them.
* Amethyst snow cover is inconsistent between near and far areas during Fall season.
* Amethyst: Gap in one area of mountain slope on Basic graphics mode.
* Amethyst: Can get stuck at edge of map north of Lamar River.
* In Wolf Customization, neck ruff slider resets each time you open the panel.
* Buck mule deer lose their antlers upon dying.
* Cougar chases player-wolf farther than it really should.
* Sometimes a lot of coyotes converge on carcasses.
* Typo in Cinnabar pack name.
* In rare situations, things go awry when loading an autosave, trying to place animals far away from the terrain, causing bad performance and game crash.
* If audio volume is set to zero, some audio still plays when starting a game.
* Lost River: Various rock and collider issues.
* Thin white border on some dream images.

We’re all busy working on various aspects of the game. Tommi is creating the mate and pup AI for life at the den. Mikko is making some important refinements to multiplayer. Andrei is expanding features in many of the game’s secondary systems.  And Susan is taking time to sew masks for donation to hospitals, non-profits, and congregate living communities. If you want a WolfQuest themed mask, Redbubble has added them as a product option at our Merch store. 

Meanwhile, I have been working on a variety of things as well, including some tricky bugs in the latest beta build. I've also been looking for some wildflowers to include in Slough Creek. The models take a bit of tweaking but add some nice spring color, as you can see in this week's devblog video.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

___________________________
We have released the first episode of WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition (Amethyst Mountain) for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. While in Early Access, we are updating the game frequently with more features, multiplayer, and ultimately the Slough Creek episode with pups. The mobile version will come after the game is completed on PC/Mac platforms. We’ll then resume development of the next episode, Tower Fall (DLC).

UPDATE: Saved games in this beta are not backward-compatible with the last official release, so if you want to try the beta, be sure to start a new game.
_______

Patch 1.0.3h is now available in our beta branch! (Instructions below on how to get it.)

[h2]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h2]
* New music track, a fingerstyle guitar version of the old High Hunt theme; plays when hunting mule deer and moose at night.
* Reduced amount of RAM memory used by the game. Should allow the game to run more reliably on computers with less RAM.
* Mates will come closer to player-wolf when sleeping (that distance is still affected by personality).
* Small alert appears now if you unlock the cursor (to allow free cursor movement independeng of wolf controls) -- we suspect that some players do this inadvertently (by tapping the comma key) and then are confused when the wolf controls do not work properly.

[h2]GENERAL BUGS FIXED:[/h2]
* Player-wolf sometimes jumps on slopes that are not steep enough to warrant a jump.
* Cougar swims underwater.
* Fresh carcasses turn gory a bit too quickly when predators start eating them.
* Amethyst snow cover is inconsistent between near and far areas during Fall season.
* Amethyst: Gap in one area of mountain slope on Basic graphics mode.
* Cougar chases player-wolf farther than it really should.
* Sometimes a lot of coyotes converge on carcasses.
* Typo in Cinnabar pack name.
* In rare situations, things go awry when loading an autosave, trying to place animals far away from the terrain, causing bad performance and game crash.
* If audio volume is set to zero, some audio still plays when starting a game.
* Lost River: Various rock and collider issues.
* Thin white border on some dream images.

[h2]To get the beta build:[/h2]
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.

One of our goals with WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is to recreate seasonal changes of Yellowstone’s Northern Range in accurate and immersive ways. As we work on the upcoming Slough Creek episode, while Tommi works on the den quest, Mikko works on refinements to multiplayer movement, and Andrei fixes bugs and a whole variety of things, I’m spending some time on spring changes in the environment. Today’s devblog looks at two of these: the lingering presence of snow on north-facing slopes in April, and the floods that often fill the meadows with water in May.

These flooded meadows will present hazards to pups, but not in the way of the old game, because…wait for it…in the new Slough Creek episode, pups can swim! Well, at least they can stay alive in the water…in good conditions….for awhile. Water will still present a hazard, but it won’t be instant death for pups like it was in the old game.

Here's the devblog video:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The amazing aerial photos of Slough Creek flooded in May were taken by Jenny Golding and George Bumann, used with permission. Be sure to check out their website and YouTube channel for a lot more photos, stories, and information about Yellowstone nature.

______________
We have released the first episode of WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition (Amethyst Mountain) for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. While in Early Access, we are updating the game frequently with more features, multiplayer, and ultimately the Slough Creek episode with pups. The mobile version will come after the game is completed on PC/Mac platforms. We’ll then resume development of the next episode, Tower Fall (DLC).

Patch 1.0.3g - Released on April 27, 2020

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS:
* New physics system to improve collisions for player-wolf and NPC animals. This should eliminate major problems like getting stuck in tight spots, and overall should be a much more robust system for rocks, cars, stairs, etc. Player-wolf also now slides around obstacles.
* Lost River: Dispersal wolves come from various packs specific to the area, instead of from packs around Amethyst Mountain. (Note: You must start a new game to see these new pack names.)
* Adjusted lighting in main menu to match Amethyst and Lost River lighting (it previously had lower ambient lighting, making it harder to see wolf eye color)
* Adjusted sunlight in deep winter to be whiter, less yellow, for a better wintertime feel.
* Some refinements to snow-dust kicked up by running animals.
* Meat chunks now glow in scent view.
* Tweaks to Amethyst pond water colors.
* Added some informational notes to Game Settings: Graphics panel.

GENERAL BUGS FIXED:
* Unable to bite elk calves in deep winter season.
* Grizzly can deal damage when wolf is behind it.
* Mate sometimes doesn't sleep when player-wolf sleeps.
* Fox doesn't die gracefully when killed in water.
* Moose sometimes takes great damage by kicking itself instead of wolf.
* Mate's internal turmoil is a bit too dramatic when a competitor is occupying a carcass.
* Some Amethyst terrain textures are blurry.
* When changing quality levels in main menu, Very Low quality is selected for Large Objects even at higher quality levels.
* PROBABLY FIXED: Ungulates and foxes occasionally grow to enormous sizes.
* Eagles that should sit on dead trees branches instead spawn on the ground below.
* Can get stuck in objects after you bite another animal.
* If you rename your mate, their scent readout doesn't show new name until you load a saved game.
* Bull moose carcass lacks antlers.
* Occasionally wolf howl has no audio if howling right after another wolf howls.
* Carcasses don't turn gory until you've eaten a fair amount.
* Occasionally the fur texture breaks, and the animal skin is smooth and shiny. (Generally when switching between scent/headcam and/or photo mode).
* Some placeholder terms displayed in Game Help entries.
* Occasionally vegetation appears in front of dream images.
* Sometimes some animals and carcasses don't have a scent-color in scent view.
* Sometimes carcasses are invisible in scent view.
* Sometimes early morning fog in the Lamar Valley forms too quickly.
* Emote menu can be enabled while sleeping.
* Cougar walks on water, fights in water.
* Mismatched cliff meshes on Basic graphics mode.
* Wolf walking issues (audio too fast, tail too impatient)
* Wolf doesn't play swimming animation sometimes when in water.
* Audio issues with upper Chalcedony creek.
* Eagles just won't shut up.
* Occasionally Camera render distance isn't changed when changing quality levels.
* On Basic graphics mode, rivers and ponds levitate when you sprint towards them.
* Wolf can get stuck when leaping onto a boulder from slope above.
* Minor errors with scents.
* Various minor AI issues.
* Minor music glitches.

LOST RIVER BUGS FIXED:
* Very deep hole in the eastern hillside.
* Collider glitches near dam.
* Some spots without creek audio.
* Wolf floats above the parking lot by the ditch.
* Elk can sometimes spawn inside Floppy's enclosure.
* Lost River collider issues on walkway on big gas tanks, police car, behind yellow trailer, many others.
* NPC animals get stuck at top of Two Step falls.
* Refinements to water effects on Lost River creek.
* Trees growing out of houses.
* Glass in claw machine doesn't respect fog.
* Mate glitches when player is on one of the fuel tanks.