Multiplayer in Public Beta! v1.0.5 (UPDATED, MAC BETA ADDED)
v1.0.5 is ready for public beta testing! Please review the changelist below. (Beta is currently available only for Windows Mac beta is now available! See instructions at bottom of this post to get beta for either Mac or Windows.)
[h2]IMPORTANT: [/h2]
It wouldn't be WolfQuest without hitting some capacity issues on a launch day -- this time with text chat. We've greatly increased that capacity now in a new patch, v1.0.5 beta37a, so be sure to get it. The version number is shown in bottom-left corner of the main menu. (To force Steam to download it, right-click on the WolfQuest:AE name in your library left sidebar, click the Local Files tab, then click Verify Integrity of Game Files -- that should force the update. NOTE that everyone in a multiplayer game must be on this version, or future versions, in order for chat to work for everyone.)
[h2]NEW: MULTIPLAYER![/h2]
* Create a public game that anyone can see in the multiplayer lobby and join.
* Create a private game with restricted access: All friends, Selected friends, or (coming soon) Packs. Only the selected players will see the game in the multiplayer lobby.
* Choose from two modes: TerritoryQuest, where players try to claim and maintain territory, and Pack Life, where players have an enforced no-mans-land (much like in single-player) so they don't have to worry about holding territory.
* Choose text chat or no chat. (For players under age 13, text chat is available only in private games with friends and packs. We will be adding phrase chat soon, which will be an option for everyone in all types of games.)
[h3]MULTIPLAYER-ONLY FEATURES[/h3]
* If killed, you can revive yourself after ten seconds.
* If very low on health, use the new Quick Heal action, which converts some food in your stomach to health. Can only restore some health (capped at 40%). On keyboard, lay down, then press-hold the R key. On controller, lay down, then press-hold Y button and right trigger.
* Pack Rally: If most players howl simultaneously, everyone earns a stamina boost, which lasts for six minutes.
* On the World Map, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
* When a player leaves the game, they indicate if they are planning to return soon or not. If returning soon, their wolf is put into limbo for five minutes and if they return within that time, they can resume where they were. This also occurs if they leave abruptly without clicking the Quit or Main Menu buttons (such as if they are disconnected from the game.).
[h3]NOTE ABOUT GAME SIMULATION [/h3]
The game host runs the entire simulation, so more powerful CPUs can handle bigger simulations than weaker CPUs. The host's game runs a CPU benchmark test when starting a new game and uses that to set a cap on the number of spawned animals. If players mostly stay together, they should rarely be affected by this cap, but if there are a lot of players and they spread out, it's possible (especially if the host has a weaker CPU) to hit that cap. (The cap ranges from 50 animals for weak CPUs to 120 for powerful CPUs.)
[h2]IMPROVEMENTS[/h2]
* Player can send a friend request directly from another player's info panel in Pack Info.
* On the World Map, in Multiplayer, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
* In multiplayer, autosave enabled only for the host, not for clients.
* If client players clicks Quit or Main Menu buttons, they then indicate if they are returning soon or not. If they are, then their wolf is kept in the game, in limbo, for five minutes. If they are not, their wolf is removed from the game immediately.
[h2]BUGS FIXED[/h2]
* Mother (elk or mule deer cow) sometimes stands idle while player attacks calf/fawn.
[h2]FEATURES STILL TO COME[/h2]
We have many more features and refinements still to come in the next month, including:
* Many improvements and refinements to friends, multiplayer lobby, etc.
* Controller support for Accounts panels, add some missing controls for multiplayer creation.
* Refinements to wolf turning (headlook, etc)
* Add multiple spawn points and different territory config for each.
* Host can name their pack.
* Phrase Chat.
* MP Lobby filtering options.
* Improved sync precision (ongoing task over the coming months)
* Improve jumping and falling as seen by other players.
* Enable contact emotes.
* Add descriptive tags that host can select when creating MP game.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 38 - released 30 August 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENT: WASD keys will wake players from sleep, in addition to the spacebar key.
BUGS FIXED:
* Client player-wolves get stuck in "head kicked" animation after reviving, can't break out of it.
* Layout issues in Pack Info panels.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 39 - released 31 August 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENT:
* Added Asia as a region for multiplayer (servers are in Singapore).
* Killing a hare no longer boosts your territory strength.
BUG FIXED:
* Game gets stuck sending friend request.
* Game gets stuck with other notifications (should be better now, and ESC should close those if they don't have a Close button. Please report any remaining problems.)
* On account panel, in game level, multiplayer rules overlap account info.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 40 - released 1 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* In Amethyst, moved the Junction Butte pack's rendezvous site so their home hex does not include Fairies' Falls.
* Allow up to eight allcaps letters in a word before converting to lowercase.
* Adjusted multipliers for reaction time and damage dealt by a struggling animal to attacking animals when attacking in a group.
* Allow underscores and other such characters in account password
* Save the last-selected multiplayer Region to player prefs, so it's the default selection for that player until they change it
* Extra debug code to help analyze why some players stall out when joining a MP game.
* Added "Your" to Region selection in multiplayer, to hopefully make it clearer that you should choose your own region when hosting or joining a multiplayer game, for minimal latency and teleporting.
BUGS FIXED:
* MP Text Chat: If player minimizes the chat box, automatically exit from text input mode, so player has controls back
* Snowshoe hare in winter coat has brownish rim lighting.
* Terrain texturing discrepancies.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 41 - released 4 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Multiplayer rules are now displayed when you first create or join a multiplayer game, and after that they are displayed only on your Account panel.
* Removed some innocuous words from the badwords filter.
BUGS FIXED:
* If prey animal dies on top of you while you're dead, you're stuck underneath it and cannot get out.
* Corrupted save file on computer can prevent loading a multiplayer game.
* Various notifications occasionally get stuck onscreen. (Should be mostly fixed, possibly entirely fixed, but please submit a bug report if it happens).
* Wintertime hare is frozen in place.
* Revive button is occasionally unclickable.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 42 - released 5 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
BUGS FIXED:
* Game sometimes loses connection with multiplayer server, especially after returning to main menu from a MP session, with no alert about that, so multiplayer pulldown menu appears to work, but does not. (Game should now try to reconnect and show error if it fails.)
* Game stalls out when joining multiplayer game. (Added additional debugging to help diagnose the problem.)
[h3]1.0.5 beta 43 - released 8 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
NOTE: We've gotten a couple reports about a game that's restricted to friends at some point is displayed to non-friends in the lobby. We can't reproduce this, but we've added some debugging to help us understand what's going on. If it happens to you, we need a client player to return to main menu, then go to the multiplayer lobby and do an F11 bug report there, and in the report, tell us the name of the game that was supposed to be private.
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Overhaul of the notification alert system. This should fix some bugs (such as the first one listed below as well as others), and it should have no adverse effects, but if you notice a problem with notification alerts, please submit a bug report (F11 or in Options menu.)
* Alert now displays multiplayer lobby when switching regions.
* In multiplayer games, chime plays when text chat message arrives. (Can be disabled in Game Settings: Gameplay.)
* Difficulty multipliers no longer affect the stamina lost when first biting NPC animals. (Had a severe impact on Accurate difficulty.)
BUGS FIXED:
* Wolf frozen after joining game. (This is usually because the player was disconnected from the multiplayer server during the loading process, but that notification did not appear properly.)
* Game stalls out when joining multiplayer game. (Several bugs fixed for this, but usually occurs because game lost connection to server. Now it should recognize that situation and show error and/or return to main menu.)
* Notification alert about creating a scent post to boost territory claim above 25% appears when howling, even when there's already a scent post in that hex.
* MP text chat panel doesn't correctly follow new messages when scroll bar first appears.
* If you minimize MP text chat panel and someone else types two lines of text, then the layout is messed up when you expand the chat panel again.
* If, to sleep near host, player-wolf teleports while stranger wolves are biting them, the strangers come along for the ride.
* Some unnecessary words in the badwords list.
* It's darkest before the dawn.....too dark.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 45 - released 13 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
NOTE: We've gotten a couple reports about a game that's restricted to friends at some point is displayed to non-friends in the lobby. We can't reproduce this, but we've added some debugging to help us understand what's going on. If it happens to you, we need a client player to return to main menu, then go to the multiplayer lobby and do an F11 bug report there, and in the report, tell us the name of the game that was supposed to be private.
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Create new multiplayer game, Region pulldown shows latency (ping) from your computer to the multiplayer server in that region. Choose the region with the lowest ping to minimize teleporting and other issues in the game.
* Multiplayer lobby now shows total latency (ping), adding player's ping to host-to-server ping. This is more accurate and should be used as guidance when choosing a game to join.
BUGS FIXED:
* Winter season is not synched in multiplayer.
* Extreme lag (freezes the game for some seconds) for some players when the Accounts system checks the game server for new messages and friends (most noticeable when in main menu, especially the Accounts panel is open, but can also cause lag spikes during gameplay).
* Account panel is unclickable when opened in the main menu.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 45a - released 13 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
BUG FIXED: Boulders missing in Amethyst map.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 46 - released 14 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* In Accounts, create a Pack (group) and invite friends to join it. Send messages to pack members. When creating a new multiplayer game, select one or more packs to have private access to it.
BUG FIXED:
* Grizzlies don't have correct swim animation.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 47 - released 15 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Upon receiving a friend request, you can now choose to Decline it instead of Ignoring it. (Ignore simply closed the Friend Request window, to reappear next time you run the game. Decline deletes the friend request entirely so you will not see it again.)
* In multiplayer games, the host is indicated on the Pack Info panel.
* When the host clicks Quit or Main Menu in multiplayer game, a confirmation alert appears now.
* Dreams don't begin now until all players are sleeping. (This might fix a "stuck dreaming" bug, but please report if that happens to you.)
* When sending a message to others in a Pack, now you won't get that message in your Received inbox, only in your Sent box.
* In Game Controls: Keyboard Remapping, added "C" key for Chat panel, so that is now remappable to another key.
BUGS FIXED:
* If multiple friend requests await you, only one shows each time you run the game, instead of appearing one after another.
* Players from two games in different regions -- but which have the same game name -- will appear in each other's text chat (but not in the game itself, thus seeming to be invisible).
* If you load a saved multiplayer game that has access set to "All Friends," access is limited to players who were in your Friends list at the time of that game save, instead of all your current friends.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 48 - released 15 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Multiplayer host can choose the maximum number of players in the game, from two to eight.
* When creating a pack, the pack name is now filtered through the badword list, but can have spaces and punctuation.
* If multiplayer, if player is away from keyboard for five minutes, their wolf is put into limbo so they don't delay pack sleeping.
* Photo mode is not available in multiplayer games, and now an alert informs players of that if they try to activate it.
* Host is warned if they kick three players in a multiplayer game.
BUGS FIXED:
* The new Quit/End Session confirmation popup (for hosts in multiplayer) appears in singleplayer but should not.
* On some Mac computers, the Health and Hunger meters are empty when in Enhanced Sky & Vegetation mode. (Apparently some Mac systems do not support the new shine effect used during Quick Heal, so we have disabled that effect on all Macs, since there is no way to identify on which Macs it is a problem.)
* A player who has been blocked by another player can add that other player to their pack.
* A player who has been blocked by another player can see and join their games in the multiplayer lobby.
* Pack Rally interface panel doesn't respect Hide HUD command.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 49 - released 17 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* In Friend Request notification, default selection is now Accept instead of Decline.
* In multiplayer, new animation when reviving from death. (Note: This plus the bug fix below will make the wolf more vulnerable to dangerous prey or competitors who are within range.)
BUGS FIXED:
* In multiplayer, a dead player-wolf sometimes is unable to revive.
* Wrong header text when reporting a game name.
* Placeholder [playername] appears in some player death notifications.
[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.
[h2]IMPORTANT: [/h2]
It wouldn't be WolfQuest without hitting some capacity issues on a launch day -- this time with text chat. We've greatly increased that capacity now in a new patch, v1.0.5 beta37a, so be sure to get it. The version number is shown in bottom-left corner of the main menu. (To force Steam to download it, right-click on the WolfQuest:AE name in your library left sidebar, click the Local Files tab, then click Verify Integrity of Game Files -- that should force the update. NOTE that everyone in a multiplayer game must be on this version, or future versions, in order for chat to work for everyone.)
[h2]NEW: MULTIPLAYER![/h2]
* Create a public game that anyone can see in the multiplayer lobby and join.
* Create a private game with restricted access: All friends, Selected friends, or (coming soon) Packs. Only the selected players will see the game in the multiplayer lobby.
* Choose from two modes: TerritoryQuest, where players try to claim and maintain territory, and Pack Life, where players have an enforced no-mans-land (much like in single-player) so they don't have to worry about holding territory.
* Choose text chat or no chat. (For players under age 13, text chat is available only in private games with friends and packs. We will be adding phrase chat soon, which will be an option for everyone in all types of games.)
[h3]MULTIPLAYER-ONLY FEATURES[/h3]
* If killed, you can revive yourself after ten seconds.
* If very low on health, use the new Quick Heal action, which converts some food in your stomach to health. Can only restore some health (capped at 40%). On keyboard, lay down, then press-hold the R key. On controller, lay down, then press-hold Y button and right trigger.
* Pack Rally: If most players howl simultaneously, everyone earns a stamina boost, which lasts for six minutes.
* On the World Map, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
* When a player leaves the game, they indicate if they are planning to return soon or not. If returning soon, their wolf is put into limbo for five minutes and if they return within that time, they can resume where they were. This also occurs if they leave abruptly without clicking the Quit or Main Menu buttons (such as if they are disconnected from the game.).
[h3]NOTE ABOUT GAME SIMULATION [/h3]
The game host runs the entire simulation, so more powerful CPUs can handle bigger simulations than weaker CPUs. The host's game runs a CPU benchmark test when starting a new game and uses that to set a cap on the number of spawned animals. If players mostly stay together, they should rarely be affected by this cap, but if there are a lot of players and they spread out, it's possible (especially if the host has a weaker CPU) to hit that cap. (The cap ranges from 50 animals for weak CPUs to 120 for powerful CPUs.)
[h2]IMPROVEMENTS[/h2]
* Player can send a friend request directly from another player's info panel in Pack Info.
* On the World Map, in Multiplayer, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
* In multiplayer, autosave enabled only for the host, not for clients.
* If client players clicks Quit or Main Menu buttons, they then indicate if they are returning soon or not. If they are, then their wolf is kept in the game, in limbo, for five minutes. If they are not, their wolf is removed from the game immediately.
[h2]BUGS FIXED[/h2]
* Mother (elk or mule deer cow) sometimes stands idle while player attacks calf/fawn.
[h2]FEATURES STILL TO COME[/h2]
We have many more features and refinements still to come in the next month, including:
* Many improvements and refinements to friends, multiplayer lobby, etc.
* Controller support for Accounts panels, add some missing controls for multiplayer creation.
* Refinements to wolf turning (headlook, etc)
* Add multiple spawn points and different territory config for each.
* Host can name their pack.
* Phrase Chat.
* MP Lobby filtering options.
* Improved sync precision (ongoing task over the coming months)
* Improve jumping and falling as seen by other players.
* Enable contact emotes.
* Add descriptive tags that host can select when creating MP game.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 38 - released 30 August 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENT: WASD keys will wake players from sleep, in addition to the spacebar key.
BUGS FIXED:
* Client player-wolves get stuck in "head kicked" animation after reviving, can't break out of it.
* Layout issues in Pack Info panels.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 39 - released 31 August 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENT:
* Added Asia as a region for multiplayer (servers are in Singapore).
* Killing a hare no longer boosts your territory strength.
BUG FIXED:
* Game gets stuck sending friend request.
* Game gets stuck with other notifications (should be better now, and ESC should close those if they don't have a Close button. Please report any remaining problems.)
* On account panel, in game level, multiplayer rules overlap account info.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 40 - released 1 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* In Amethyst, moved the Junction Butte pack's rendezvous site so their home hex does not include Fairies' Falls.
* Allow up to eight allcaps letters in a word before converting to lowercase.
* Adjusted multipliers for reaction time and damage dealt by a struggling animal to attacking animals when attacking in a group.
* Allow underscores and other such characters in account password
* Save the last-selected multiplayer Region to player prefs, so it's the default selection for that player until they change it
* Extra debug code to help analyze why some players stall out when joining a MP game.
* Added "Your" to Region selection in multiplayer, to hopefully make it clearer that you should choose your own region when hosting or joining a multiplayer game, for minimal latency and teleporting.
BUGS FIXED:
* MP Text Chat: If player minimizes the chat box, automatically exit from text input mode, so player has controls back
* Snowshoe hare in winter coat has brownish rim lighting.
* Terrain texturing discrepancies.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 41 - released 4 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Multiplayer rules are now displayed when you first create or join a multiplayer game, and after that they are displayed only on your Account panel.
* Removed some innocuous words from the badwords filter.
BUGS FIXED:
* If prey animal dies on top of you while you're dead, you're stuck underneath it and cannot get out.
* Corrupted save file on computer can prevent loading a multiplayer game.
* Various notifications occasionally get stuck onscreen. (Should be mostly fixed, possibly entirely fixed, but please submit a bug report if it happens).
* Wintertime hare is frozen in place.
* Revive button is occasionally unclickable.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 42 - released 5 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
BUGS FIXED:
* Game sometimes loses connection with multiplayer server, especially after returning to main menu from a MP session, with no alert about that, so multiplayer pulldown menu appears to work, but does not. (Game should now try to reconnect and show error if it fails.)
* Game stalls out when joining multiplayer game. (Added additional debugging to help diagnose the problem.)
[h3]1.0.5 beta 43 - released 8 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
NOTE: We've gotten a couple reports about a game that's restricted to friends at some point is displayed to non-friends in the lobby. We can't reproduce this, but we've added some debugging to help us understand what's going on. If it happens to you, we need a client player to return to main menu, then go to the multiplayer lobby and do an F11 bug report there, and in the report, tell us the name of the game that was supposed to be private.
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Overhaul of the notification alert system. This should fix some bugs (such as the first one listed below as well as others), and it should have no adverse effects, but if you notice a problem with notification alerts, please submit a bug report (F11 or in Options menu.)
* Alert now displays multiplayer lobby when switching regions.
* In multiplayer games, chime plays when text chat message arrives. (Can be disabled in Game Settings: Gameplay.)
* Difficulty multipliers no longer affect the stamina lost when first biting NPC animals. (Had a severe impact on Accurate difficulty.)
BUGS FIXED:
* Wolf frozen after joining game. (This is usually because the player was disconnected from the multiplayer server during the loading process, but that notification did not appear properly.)
* Game stalls out when joining multiplayer game. (Several bugs fixed for this, but usually occurs because game lost connection to server. Now it should recognize that situation and show error and/or return to main menu.)
* Notification alert about creating a scent post to boost territory claim above 25% appears when howling, even when there's already a scent post in that hex.
* MP text chat panel doesn't correctly follow new messages when scroll bar first appears.
* If you minimize MP text chat panel and someone else types two lines of text, then the layout is messed up when you expand the chat panel again.
* If, to sleep near host, player-wolf teleports while stranger wolves are biting them, the strangers come along for the ride.
* Some unnecessary words in the badwords list.
* It's darkest before the dawn.....too dark.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 45 - released 13 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
NOTE: We've gotten a couple reports about a game that's restricted to friends at some point is displayed to non-friends in the lobby. We can't reproduce this, but we've added some debugging to help us understand what's going on. If it happens to you, we need a client player to return to main menu, then go to the multiplayer lobby and do an F11 bug report there, and in the report, tell us the name of the game that was supposed to be private.
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Create new multiplayer game, Region pulldown shows latency (ping) from your computer to the multiplayer server in that region. Choose the region with the lowest ping to minimize teleporting and other issues in the game.
* Multiplayer lobby now shows total latency (ping), adding player's ping to host-to-server ping. This is more accurate and should be used as guidance when choosing a game to join.
BUGS FIXED:
* Winter season is not synched in multiplayer.
* Extreme lag (freezes the game for some seconds) for some players when the Accounts system checks the game server for new messages and friends (most noticeable when in main menu, especially the Accounts panel is open, but can also cause lag spikes during gameplay).
* Account panel is unclickable when opened in the main menu.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 45a - released 13 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
BUG FIXED: Boulders missing in Amethyst map.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 46 - released 14 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* In Accounts, create a Pack (group) and invite friends to join it. Send messages to pack members. When creating a new multiplayer game, select one or more packs to have private access to it.
BUG FIXED:
* Grizzlies don't have correct swim animation.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 47 - released 15 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Upon receiving a friend request, you can now choose to Decline it instead of Ignoring it. (Ignore simply closed the Friend Request window, to reappear next time you run the game. Decline deletes the friend request entirely so you will not see it again.)
* In multiplayer games, the host is indicated on the Pack Info panel.
* When the host clicks Quit or Main Menu in multiplayer game, a confirmation alert appears now.
* Dreams don't begin now until all players are sleeping. (This might fix a "stuck dreaming" bug, but please report if that happens to you.)
* When sending a message to others in a Pack, now you won't get that message in your Received inbox, only in your Sent box.
* In Game Controls: Keyboard Remapping, added "C" key for Chat panel, so that is now remappable to another key.
BUGS FIXED:
* If multiple friend requests await you, only one shows each time you run the game, instead of appearing one after another.
* Players from two games in different regions -- but which have the same game name -- will appear in each other's text chat (but not in the game itself, thus seeming to be invisible).
* If you load a saved multiplayer game that has access set to "All Friends," access is limited to players who were in your Friends list at the time of that game save, instead of all your current friends.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 48 - released 15 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Multiplayer host can choose the maximum number of players in the game, from two to eight.
* When creating a pack, the pack name is now filtered through the badword list, but can have spaces and punctuation.
* If multiplayer, if player is away from keyboard for five minutes, their wolf is put into limbo so they don't delay pack sleeping.
* Photo mode is not available in multiplayer games, and now an alert informs players of that if they try to activate it.
* Host is warned if they kick three players in a multiplayer game.
BUGS FIXED:
* The new Quit/End Session confirmation popup (for hosts in multiplayer) appears in singleplayer but should not.
* On some Mac computers, the Health and Hunger meters are empty when in Enhanced Sky & Vegetation mode. (Apparently some Mac systems do not support the new shine effect used during Quick Heal, so we have disabled that effect on all Macs, since there is no way to identify on which Macs it is a problem.)
* A player who has been blocked by another player can add that other player to their pack.
* A player who has been blocked by another player can see and join their games in the multiplayer lobby.
* Pack Rally interface panel doesn't respect Hide HUD command.
[h3]1.0.5 beta 49 - released 17 September 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch[/h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:
* In Friend Request notification, default selection is now Accept instead of Decline.
* In multiplayer, new animation when reviving from death. (Note: This plus the bug fix below will make the wolf more vulnerable to dangerous prey or competitors who are within range.)
BUGS FIXED:
* In multiplayer, a dead player-wolf sometimes is unable to revive.
* Wrong header text when reporting a game name.
* Placeholder [playername] appears in some player death notifications.
[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.
