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WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

Patch 1.0.7g Released!

Patch 1.0.7g - Released 22 July 2021

[h2]NEW:[/h2]
* Cloud syncing of user game files (saves, wolves, and family snapshots). These user files will be uploaded to the game server automatically when you first run the game. Subsequently, local and server versions of all files will be compared when starting the game, and if conflicts are found the player can choose from options to merge, push local versions, or pull server versions. Saves are also synced during gameplay.

[h2]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h2]
* A new alert (envelope icon) appears in lower-left corner of screen for a few seconds when you launch the game and there's an unread message, and if a message arrives while playing the game.
* Added the wagon trail that runs through Slough Creek from west to east (in real world, runs from trailhead to a ranch outside the park boundary).
* Stranger packs' home hexes in the territory map are now marked with a small dot. (These hexes cannot be taken from those packs.)
* Hex icon on compass now indicates if you are in a strongly-claimed hex (above 50%).
* Alert popup about marking a strong hex has improved language (basically clarifying that you should always mark a hex if you're passing through, but don't make a special trip when hexes are still strong), made this alert pause the game to give players time to read it, and it only appears once per game session (instead of twice).
* New struggle animation for July mule deer fawn, when standing still and being attacked.
* Bison have finally learned how to swim properly (correct animation).

[h2]BUGS FIXED:[/h2]
* Mate will feed pups when predator is attacking. (Regression from last fix.)
* Sometimes mate will regurgitate when there's a carcass available for pups to eat.
* Sometimes mate can kill prey with one bite.
* When hunting alone, mate does not avoid dangerous prey animals in it's patch, including bison, which can lead to inadvertant death. (Mate now will behave more intelligently, either hunting or avoiding the prey.)
* If mate is killed by dangerous prey, it freezes in place (sometimes running in place) and won't fall over dead.
* Pup bark audio plays before mouth moves.
* The front paws of summer pups are angled oddly (probably fixed).
* Repeating pattern in Slough Creek large rocky outcrops.
* Scrolling the wolf bio panel on Pack Info makes the game camera zoom in or out.
* Dead bull moose cuts a long swath in grass.
* Sometimes wolf is way too obsessed with scratching and licking itself when sitting.
* Some music glitches.
* Occasionally unable to delete an ironwolf.
* Summer pup tail wag distorts the body at the base of the tail.
* Elder ironwolf savename is incorrect.
* In My Wolves, controller right thumbstick doesn't work to rotate wolf.
* In Slough Creek, the nighttime aurora borealis are angled severely, making them look very narrow.
* If player changes graphics quality to a level that requires more VRAM than computer has, an alert appears -- but cannot be closed, so player must force quit the game.
* When using controller, if wolf is sleeping very near to a pup, tapping A to wake up will also trigger regurgitation.
* Player-wolf can get stuck in hole in rocks just below the Slough Creek spawn point.
* Lost River: No distant animal voices in the night after midnight. * Incorrect information in alert about waiting four hours to turn marking into scent post (should be about reinforcing scent post you just created).
* Typos.
* Terrain, rock, and vegetation issues.

Public Beta for Patch 1.0.7g Now Available -- Updated with Beta 7

In this beta, game saves and wolves are backward-compatible with the last released version (1.0.7f), so you can switch back and forth without any problems. Multiplayer is backward compatible as well, so you can create and join games with players who are still on 1.0.7f.

This beta is available for Windows only. Instructions on getting the beta are at the bottom of this post.

[h2]1.0.7g beta 2, released 17 July[/h2]

IMPORTANT: Please make a backup of your User Files folder (in Documents/Wolf Quest Anniversary\User Files) before running this beta build. The new file syncing should work well, but make a backup just in case something goes wrong.

[h3]NEW:[/h3]
* Cloud syncing of user game files (saves, wolves, and family snapshots). These user files will be uploaded to the game server automatically when you first run the game. Subsequently, local and server versions of all files will be compared when starting the game, and if conflicts are found the player can choose from options to merge, push local versions, or pull server versions. Saves are also synced during gameplay.

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* A new alert (envelope icon) appears in lower-left corner of screen for a few seconds whenever you go to the main menu and there's an unread message, and if a message arrives while playing the game.
* Added the wagon trail that runs through Slough Creek from west to east (in real world, runs from trailhead to a ranch outside the park boundary).
* Stranger packs' home hexes in the territory map are now marked with a small dot. (These hexes cannot be taken from those packs.)
* Hex icon on compass now indicates if you are in a strongly-claimed hex (above 50%).

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Mate will feed pups when predator is attacking. (Regression from last fix.)
* Sometimes mate will regurgitate when there's a carcass available for pups to eat.
* Sometimes mate can kill prey with one bite.
* Pup bark audio plays before mouth moves.
* The front paws of summer pups are angled oddly (probably fixed).
* Repeating pattern in Slough Creek large rocky outcrops.
* Scrolling the wolf bio panel on Pack Info makes the game camera zoom in or out.
* Some music glitches.
* Elder ironwolf savename is incorrect.
* In Slough Creek, the nighttime aurora borealis are angled severely, making them look very narrow.
* If player changes graphics quality to a level that requires more VRAM than computer has, an alert appears -- but cannot be closed, so player must force quit the game.
* When using controller, if wolf is sleeping very near to a pup, tapping A to wake up will also trigger regurgitation.
* Player-wolf can get stuck in hole in rocks just below the Slough Creek spawn point.
* Terrain and water tweaks.


[h2]1.0.7g beta 3, released 17 July[/h2]

BUGS FIXED:
* Several large rocky outcrops moved themselves about 20 meters without permission.
* Rock den interior is redecorated in hot pink.

[h2]1.0.7g beta 4, released 18 July[/h2]

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Joining a multiplayer game hosted by someone on 1.0.7f fails.
* A few large rocky outcrops are floating.


[h2]1.0.7g beta 5, released 19 July[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Alert popup about marking a strong hex has improved language (basically clarifying that you should always mark a hex if you're passing through, but don't make a special trip when hexes are still strong), made this alert pause the game to give players time to read it, and it only appears once per game session (instead of twice).

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Errors during file cloud sync.
* Duplicate files after file cloud sync.
* New home-hex icon only has "strong" version, no regular version.
* Mate still sometimes feeds pups during a predator attack.
* If mate is killed by dangerous prey, it freezes in place (sometimes running in place) and won't fall over dead.
* Lost River: No distant animal voices in the night after midnight. * Incorrect information in alert about waiting four hours to turn marking into scent post (should be about reinforcing scent post you just created).
* Typos.
* Terrain, rock, and vegetation issues.

[h2]1.0.7g beta 6, released 20 July[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Made file syncing process more time-efficient, so both the initial check as well as merging should be noticeably faster now.
* Various refinements to file syncing.
* New struggle animation for July mule deer fawn, when standing still and being attacked.

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* When hunting alone, mate does not avoid dangerous prey animals in it's patch, including bison, which can lead to inadvertent death. (Mate now will behave more intelligently, either hunting or avoiding the prey.)

[h2]1.0.7g beta 7, released 21 July[/h2]

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Improvements to could file syncing, especially if connection keeps timing out.
* Bison have finally learned how to swim properly (correct animation).

[h3]BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Wolf carousel is empty after syncing files.
* Occasionally unable to delete an ironwolf.
* Music issues with hunting bull elk.
* Dead bull moose cuts a long swath in grass.
* Sometimes wolf is way too obsessed with scratching and licking itself when sitting.
* Big rocky outcrop is showing its unmentionables.


[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.

WolfQuest GiveAway - July 2021



It's time for another chance to win a free copy of WolfQuest! Lucky winners will receive a free copy of WolfQuest 2.7 (and PC/Mac users will also get WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition Early Access for PC and Mac)! Winners can choose to get any version of the game (Mac/Windows, Android, iOS, Kindle).

If you prefer, you can choose the new Yellowstone Wolf Coat DLC (only for WolfQuest: AE for PC/Mac) or the WolfQuest Soundtrack and Music Extras.

[h2]How to Enter[/h2]
Email your username (any username is fine, we just have to know what to call the winners) and your answer to the question: "What are three interesting facts about wolves?" to the email address [email protected]

[h2]Deadline[/h2]
All entries must be received before midnight (Eastern Daylight Time) on Thursday, July 22, 2021..

[h2]Random Drawing[/h2]
Winners are selected randomly from complete entries. Please enter only once in each monthly contest. Each complete entry will be assigned a number. We will then use a random-number generator to generate three numbers. The entries bearing those numbers will each win a free copy of the game.

Better Late Than Never

Next week's patch (v1.0.7g) will have a handful of features that perhaps should have been in the game from the start, but better late than never...

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

1) We've finally added cloud saves for user files (game saves, wolves, and family snapshots). Each time you launch WolfQuest, the game will compare the files on your computer to those on the game server and if there are any discrepancies, it will give you several options on how to sync them: merge the latest versions in each location, or push all location files to the server, or pull all server files down to your computer. This is a helpful backup in general, and useful if you switch to a new computer, and should also help in the rare cases when local game saves get deleted or corrupted. (We don't know how that happens, but most likely due to some interference from some players' antivirus software or another cloud sync service like OneDrive.)

2) A wagon trail cuts through the real Slough Creek, and now finally there's one in the game map as well. In real life, this trail is used by a guest ranch beyond Yellowstone's northern border -- with no road access, this is the only way to bring supplies to the ranch. It's also used by hikers, but no, you won't see any wagons or hikers in the game. (Yellowstone wolves mostly avoid people so we haven't included them in the game. But, since there are a lot of people in the park, we do include signs of humans.)

3) In-game message notifications: A small mail icon will appear in the lower left corner for several seconds if you have unread mail when you launch the game, or if messages arrive while playing the game.

4) Each stranger pack has a home hex, which you can degrade but cannot claim. This has caused some confusion among some players, so now, those home hexes have a small dot on the territory map so you can know it’s not worth bothering about.

There's also the usual variety of other tweaks and bugfixes in the patch. We expect to release it as a public beta in a few days, and full release in a week.

_______________

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, Episode 2: Slough Creek, Lost River: Classic, and multiplayer mode in Amethyst and Lost River. (Slough Creek multiplayer is coming soon,.) 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!

Patch 1.0.7f Released

This beta has two significant changes: we have overhauled the AI code to make it more efficient in terms of memory, so loading times and RAM memory usage during gameplay are noticeably improved. And we fixed a bug with the AI that can hurt performance, sometime a little, sometimes a lot. This has been most noticeable at times during Raise Pups and Rendezvous Site quests, but also can occur during elk hunts and other gameplay.

[h3]NEW OPTIONS IN GRAPHICS QUALITY: [/h3]
In Game Settings> Graphics Quality, two new options for customizing your graphics quality:
* Mid-Distance Terrains are disabled on low quality settings, but you can now override this to make them appear. This will substantially improve the game scenery, especially when looking out over a vista, but will reduce performance on integrated graphics. Also, by making this terrain appear, there won't be large rocks floating in the distance above the basic terrain.
* Scent Glow on Animals and Dens: This is also disabled by default on lower quality settings, but you can now enable it separately. When enabled, animals and dens will glow in scent view when you are close to them.
[h3]
IMPROVEMENTS:[/h3]
* Overhaul of AI code, now has smaller memory footprint (for shorter loading times and less total memory usage when playing the game).
* In multiplayer territory games, boosted player marking effectiveness, especially in games with more players.
* In multiplayer, host can give their pack a name to replace "Your Pack" in left column header.
* In multiplayer, there is now an option to cancel when the Quit/Leave Game panel is open.
* Sky at night is incorrect (lags actual star positions by a few months).
* Added tutorial tip when wolf drops carcass in water, to clarify that this is not a bug.
* Some improvements to distant tree appearances in Amethyst.
* Mate will not feed pups now if a predator is lurking nearby (indicated by the red predator alert icon).
* Tweaks to nighttime lighting and brightness.
* Improved clarity of some text in multiplayer sleep alerts.
[h3]
BUGS FIXED:[/h3]
* Sometimes the AI logic gets in a loop and slows down the overall game performance.
* Mate won't hunt summer mule deer fawns.
* Sometimes snow accumulates on the ground before snow begins to fall from the sky.
* Various music glitches.
* In multiplayer Fixed Sleep Schedule mode, problems ensue if player is standing in water with something in its mouth when the next sleep period arrives.
* In Fixed Sleep Schedule mode, when one minute remains until sleep, readout in Pack Info does not have correct tense.
* Grizzly cub in springtime does not have scent glow.
* A particular issue with wolf eye coloration in Wolf customizer when on Basic Sky & Veg mode.
* Occasionally the previous year's elk calves persist into spring and summer.
* Flooded oxbox ponds are white in May, when seen at a distance.
* Through circuitous effort, player can create an Ironwolf game on Easy difficulty.
* Stranger wolves often don't return to their own territory after a fight.
* Ponds in First Meadow are white, when viewed at a distance.
* Occasionally a duplicate Family Snapshot is generated by mistake.
* Scent posts are visible at long distances.
* When at rendezvous site, pupcam music does not play when in pupcam mode.
* In Lost River, when sun is low near the horizon, the terrain does not always block light and shadow.
* Wolf does not adjust its footing if standing or lying on a carcass when the carcass sinks into the ground.
* If wolf is looking to the side when Photo Mode is enabled, the right-arrow key moves the wolf's head rightward.
* In the main menu, territory config and sleep mode selections are not remembered for subsequent sessions.
* Some creeks in Slough Creek winter have vegetation when they should not.
* Terrain and water tweaks.