WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

Another progress report on the upcoming Slough Creek episode, focusing this time on everybody’s favorite…ROCKS! While perhaps not as popular as pups, rocks are the foundation of the Slough Creek landscape. The beautiful granite outcrops are what makes Slough Creek so distinctive and so they an essential element in our 3D recreation of the place.

It’s been a struggle to create granite outcrops that look good both close-up and from afar. Today’s video looks at that process. Fortunately, it has a happy ending, after we starting using a new shader in the MicroSplat family. This shader lets us to mix multiple textures for high-resolution close-up views along with overlay textures, which give these large formations the necessary color and definition from a distance. In combination, the effect is amazing and will really help bring Slough Creek to life.

If rock shaders aren’t your thing, just skip to the end for some Slough Creek beauty shots.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If your question is WHEN, the answer is:

* We are not announcing specific release dates — but we are making lots of progress.
* 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).

Learn more at https://wolfquest.org/

We have been busy working on dens for WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition’s expanded Slough Creek map. As before, there will be three types of den: Underground, under boulders, and under trees, and today’s devblog video takes a first look at the first type: basically a hole in the ground.

Many many people have asked, “Can we go into the den?” and we always reply, “Dens are tricky technically. And very cramped and dark. But maybe someday.” But we agree, it would be nice to be able to interact with dens  more than in WolfQuest 2.7. We’re still investigating to see exactly what is feasible so don’t have any specific announcements about it yet — but it will be more than the old game had (which which was nothing… so we feel safe predicting that).

[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).

Here’s a quick peek at WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition’s next map/episode Slough Creek, now in development. It is sure nice to spend some time running around in spring greenery (since we are in the dead of snowy winter, here in Minnesota)! We are very excited about all new places our bigger maps allow! Check out our research videos to see some of the new spots coming to the game.

As many of you know, Slough Creek is where you and your mate set up home to raise a family. With many of the core systems built, Slough Creek is going to go much faster than Amethyst Mountain — but we still do have lots and lots of work to do on it, of course. We won’t be setting a release date because it puts unnecessary pressure on our team, but we will keep sharing updates about terrain, vegetation, dens, pups, and little babies for some of the other animals too.  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

What else are we working on now?
* Tommi is revising some core game functionality to support seasonal patterns for animals, including migration: from highlands to valleys in the fall, and vice versa in the spring.
* Mikko has been making progress with multiplayer.
* Andrei has been working with Mikko on multiplayer interfaces, along with additional refinements to controller support and key remapping.
* Susan has been researching additional pup behavior and other aspects of Slough Creek missions.

What are you most excited about in Slough Creek?

_________________

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 1.0.2b

[h3]KNOWN ISSUES[/h3]
* On certain computers (Mac using Intel integrated graphics, certain old Windows dedicated GPUs) in Basic Sky & Veg mode, distant trees are sometimes multicolored, and sky may have similar discoloration. This seems to be a Unity game tool bug but we are still investigating.
* On very old (2012-2014) AMD GPUs, terrain may have white patches. Try upgrading your graphics drivers and submit a bug report if that helps. If it doesn't, please test different Terrain Quality settings and submit bug reports.

[h3]IMPROVEMENTS[/h3]
* New animal AI behaviors around water: Animals won't do things in water that they shouldn't (e.g. graze, fight, attack); animals will seek out the bank if they decide to do something that they can't do in the water; birds will fly over water and land on shore; prospective mates will follow player if player is in shallow water, and will follow the player across the river; animals will avoid going into water unless necessary to reach their intended destination.

[h3]BUGS FIXED[/h3]
* Buck mule deer and bull elk sometimes run backwards after fighting.
* On some computers, some animal models and carcasses are exploded/distorted.
* Animals sometimes take flight.
* World map is broken if your wolf is killed before you open the map in a game session.
* Some issues with remapping controls. (If you have trouble, try resetting them.)
* Minor issues with NPC pathfinding in cliff slopes.
* Better controller support in Wolf Customization (bumpers to navigate tabs, right stick to rotate wolf, clearer navigation in customization panel). Note that this requires resetting custom remapping of joystick to default settings.
* Biting fox's rear legs pushes wolf underground.
* On Basic Sky & Veg mode, fossil forest objects aren't affected by fog.
* On Basic Sky & Veg mode, there's an obvious hole in the distant terrain when in upper Chalcedony area.
* NPC animals can get stuck on some trees, especially in the Burn area and old certain old dead trees.
* Birds fly very very slowly.
* Occasionally there are too many grizzlies at a carcass.
* Large grass monoliths rise above terrain near Chalcedony Creek. (But no Strauss music plays.)
* Can get stuck when jumping into a boulder.
* Ravens are missing part of underside of wing when seen at close range.
* Eagles have small holes in underside of wings when seen at medium range.
* Camera is too jittery on rough ground.
* Patches of shiny ground in valley floor on Medium Terrain Quality.
* Way too many wolf carcasses spawn in cliff area.
* Possibly fixed: On rare occasions, the terrain does not load underneath your wolf, breaking the game.
* In scent view, if you stand idle for some time, your wolf sits down and you have to trot or run before the camera controls work again.
* Minor animation glitches at end of growl and bark emotes.
* Occasionally elk calf doesn't run back to join herd after being attacked.
* Occasionally a prospective mate is frozen.
* In rare situations, if you reach the border and are forced to turn around, you are walked into a tree and get stuck.

It's time for the monthly contest 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). Or you can also choose the WolfQuest Soundtrack and Music Extras if you already own the game.

[h2]This Month's Contest[/h2]
Send your username, email, and your answer to the question: "What are three interesting facts about wolves?" to [email protected]. Winners are selected randomly from complete entries. Please enter only once in each monthly contest.

[h2]Deadline[/h2]
All entries must be received by midnight (Eastern Daylight Time) on Monday, January 27, 2020.

[h2]Random Drawing[/h2]
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.