WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

1.0.5c - released 11 October 2020

IMPROVEMENTS:
* In multiplayer, you can now mute another player in Pack Info, so their text chat is hidden until you unmute them.
* In multiplayer, lockon arrow now appears over other player-wolves, so you can lock on and autorun to follow them.
* In multiplayer, when loading a saved game, the max number of players from the save is preserved.
* Added controller support for a few UI panels that were missing it (Load, Save, Game Settings, Account, My Wolves/Edit Wolf, Setup New Game, Lobby, Login and Register).
* Added controller support for World Map pan and zoom.
* Onscreen Keyboard now has an input field above that displays the text.
* Scent post active marking area is larger now, to make it easier to reinforce the post rather than accidentally create a new one.
* Multiplayer autosaves now have a -MP tag in name.

BUGS FIXED:
* Distant winter landscapes in Amethyst become oddly patterned if you switch to Basic Sky & Veg mode and then back to Enhanced.
* In multiplayer, animals, including players, sometimes end up deep underground and becoming invisible (probably fixed).
* In multiplayer, players may spawn at edge of map if host is near impassible areas or structures (especially common in Lost River due to all the buildings).
* Overlapping text in the "Time to Sleep" notification in multiplayer.
* Wolf sometimes floats in air when standing on mule deer carcass.
* If you click New Game, then Join Multiplayer, the map pulldown disappears (correctly), but does not reappear if you switch back to Single-player.
* In multiplayer, in rare circumstances, wolf can get stuck half underground, half above ground.

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.