WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

In past devblogs, we've shown two common types of wolf dens: the classic "hole in the ground" and the very scenic "under a rock." Today let's look at the third type: "under a tree." These can take many forms, wherever wolves (or the animals who preceded them) found a natural cavity that could be expanded into a den. So for this particular den, I decided to try making it under a fallen tree, as the old roots decayed and created a hollow.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This will be one of over two dozen dens that players can choose from as they explore Slough Creek once it's released. We know that many players would like to go into the den with their pups — but in real life, dens are very cramped and dark so there’s not much you can do in there….but we’re working on a way to give players a peek inside.

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WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is available now for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. The game currently includes Episode 1: Amethyst Mountain, Lost River: Classic, and multiplayer mode in both maps. Slough Creek is in development! The mobile version will come after the game (including Slough Creek) is completed on PC/Mac platforms. The next episode, Tower Fall (DLC) will follow. We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready!

Wolf pups aren't the only baby animals that arrive along with spring in Slough Creek, and we've been working on some special gameplay for the upcoming Slough Creek episode involving the ungulate babies (elk and moose calves, mule deer fawns). Today we're looking at elk calves specifically. In their first few weeks of life, they do not emit any smell, so predators cannot track them by scent. And their mothers hide the calves in tall grass, which makes them even harder to find -- and presents a good challenge for WolfQuest players! If you can find a hidden calf before its mother finds YOU, you'll be able to bring home a nice snack for your pups.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

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WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is available now for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. The game currently includes Episode 1: Amethyst Mountain, Lost River: Classic, and multiplayer mode in both maps. Slough Creek is in development! The mobile version will come after the game (including Slough Creek) is completed on PC/Mac platforms. The next episode, Tower Fall (DLC) will follow. We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready!

1.0.5b - released 1 October 2020

IMPROVEMENTS:
* When loading a saved multiplayer game, the host can now change their wolf along with the game's difficulty, region, number of players, and access settings. They can also keep or remove the "wolves in limbo" (other players who were in the game when it was saved, and whose wolf is preserved in a limbo state in that game.)
* Players who leave a multiplayer game can now switch their wolf and then rejoin it with the new wolf.
* In a multiplayer game, the host can now kick wolves "in limbo" (who have left the game but their wolf remains for five minutes in case they return) without that counting toward the three-kick limit.
* Players who are in limbo (away from keyboard or have left the game without indicating they are not returning) have brackets around their wolf nametag, and that status is indicated in Pack Info.
* Death in multiplayer is reclassified as "near-death" (since you can revive without aid of veterinarian).
* New revive animation after near-death experience in multiplayer.
* In multiplayer chat, up to 12 all-caps letters are now allowed.

BUGS FIXED:
* Occasionally in multiplayer games, game is corrupted and cannot be saved.
* On some Mac computers, the pack territory overlay does not appear on the World Map. (We think we fixed this. Please report if we have or not!)
* At the end of pack rally, for client (non-host) players, the rally wolfhead icon does not (but should) flash black for 15 seconds before the rally ends.
* In the Quests panel, keyboard/controller icons do not appear correctly.
* When loading a multiplayer game, the Load panel shows Mate status, but there are no mates in multiplayer.
* In multiplayer, occasionally some creek pebbles have snow on them when it hasn't snow recently.
* Fossil forest objects are too bright when covered in snow.
* In Lost River, animals walk slightly above concrete in one section of Hank's Ditch.
* Some trees grow out of boulders.

1.0.5a - released 25 September 2020

NOTE: On some Mac computers, the pack territory overlay does not appear on the World Map. We have been unable to reproduce this so have added additional debug code to this patch. If you have this problem, please submit a bug report (F11 or via ESC - Options menu.)

IMPROVEMENTS:
* When client-player is leaving multiplayer game, we added explanatory text about wolf staying in limbo state for five minutes if the player is returning soon.
* When using a controller, controller icons appear now in mission intro panels instead of keyboard icons.
* When viewing a message from a pack, the Reply button now opens the Packs panel so the player can reply to everyone.

BUGS FIXED:
* Various connection issues when creating or joining a multiplayer game. (Fixes for several of these, along with better notifications. Quite possibly some similar bugs remain, so please submit reports if you experience them.)
* Players occasionally encounter enormous packs with 30 or more stranger wolves. (Possible fix in this beta, but if it happens to you, we need reports from host and other players.)
* In Accounts, Add Friend and Add to Pack input fields do not allow underscores or similar special characters.
* Occasionally players are unable to leave the game while sleeping because the "Are you sure" notification is not shown.
* When changing region in multiplayer lobby, the notification stays on longer than necessary.
* In Accounts: Add Friend, username remains in text field after sending the request.
* In Accounts: Packs: you can send a Pack message without a subject line.
* Some animals are missing snow after dying.
* Some unnecessary words removed from badwords filter.

After the excitement of releasing of multiplayer last week, it’s nice to get back to one of my favorite things: working on the terrain. While Mikko and Andrei work on bugfixes for multiplayer and Tommi is now deep in testing and tweaking the Slough Creek quests, I’ve spent some time on ice. Ice floes, that is. I realized that we needed a transitional state for McBride Lake and other water bodies in early spring, and that called for some new 3D models of ices floes and chunks. We brought in 3D artist Donovin Peterman to create these, and today’s devblog video looks at the process of setting them up in the game. Perhaps not as exciting as pups, but I think they add something to early spring in Slough Creek as you search for a den.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is available now for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. The game currently includes Episode 1: Amethyst Mountain, Lost River: Classic, and multiplayer mode in both maps. Slough Creek is in development! The mobile version will come after the game (including Slough Creek) is completed on PC/Mac platforms. The next episode, Tower Fall (DLC) will follow. We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready!