WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition News

UPDATE: We've rolling out a hotfix for a bad bug in patch 1.0t, so the additional fixes in patch 1.0u are indicated below with double asterisk (**).

KNOWN ISSUE:
* On Basic graphics mode, some trees are missing, especially in the Burn.

NEW:
* The cliff area has been reworked for better accuracy, and to eliminate problems with wolves sliding into spots that they can't get out of.
* Added Fairies' Fall, a twin waterfall on lower Amethyst Creek.
* Added two music tracks: the original "Exploration" music and new fingerstyle version of that track.
* Some visual improvements to the Low and Medium terrain quality options.
* Added a "Very Low" terrain quality option, for maximum performance.

CHANGED:
* Mission info added to Game Help panels.
* Wolf moves more slowly when wading in water.
* New mission popups now wait a few seconds to appear after completing previous mission.
* Reduced size of Tutorial Tip for Photo Mode. (You can also hide it by turning off tutorial tips in Game Settings.)
* Tweak to distant trees to reduce shininess when sun is behind them. (Foreground trees still have that, still working on that.)


BUGS FIXED:
** Some animals disappear when killed rather than remaining as carcass.
** Some glitches when walking on rocky surfaces around Fairies' Fall.
** Performance drops in certain areas when sun is low and near horizon.
* Mate not eating a carcass if there's more prey nearby to hunt
* Some animals do not disappear from the game when they should.
* Carcass spawns underground (better fix than last patch).
* Trees in Basic graphics mode are too bright when shadows are disabled.
* Wolf bio text panel allows more text than can fit.
* Sagebrush partially blocks view of wolf customization when grass density is at maximum.
* Ambient Occlusion (in Game Graphics settings) isn't saved, resets each time.
* Jumping does not incur energy cost.
* If the mate falls off a cliff, it may respawn in air, falling and respawning ad infinitum.
* Mate walks into player-wolf when latter is sleeping
* Cannot growl with tail up.
* Gnarly old whitebark pine trees are mostly black.
* Physical emotes with mates only generating affinity/hearts in the first phase of courtship.
* Bear cub runs too far from mother (better fix than last patch).
* Various issues with saved games (not displaying, or deleted ones appear, or wrong wolf name displayed).
* Various errors that cause problems.
* Error when screenshot folder is open prevents saving the game.
* Meat chunks don't decay (lose food value) over time.
* Wolf or NPC animal walks in circles when standing on meat chunk and trying to eat it.
* Snow on animals is inconsistent.
* Minor visual improvements to aspen trees in Basic graphics mode. (All aspens are still placeholders.)

https://youtu.be/fGdgxBHzoM4

The cliffs of Amethyst Mountain have been troublesome from the start of the project. I’ve made several attempts over the past two years but have never been that satisfied with the results — including the version that we released into Early Access, which was something of a last-minute effort to make them look acceptable. That version, which relied on very large meshes, created a lot of problems for players as they explored the cliffs — and weren’t even very accurate, as I realized when we returned to Yellowstone last month. So now I’ve made another go at it, using some new terrain carving tools that allow more control and naturalistic effects.  Third (or was it fourth or fifth?) time was the charm, and I’m much happier with this new version of the cliffs It’ll be in the next patch (v1.0t, coming next week). 

And along with the cliff work, I took a few hours to create a sweet little spot on lower Amethyst Creek — a twin waterfall that we found on our hike last month. (Check out last week’s devblog if you missed it: WolfQuest Returns to Yellowstone: Amethyst Creek).

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). Note: WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is not yet available for mobile.


Send your WolfQuest forum 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.


All entries must be received by midnight (Eastern Daylight Time) on Sunday, September 22, 2019.


Valid entries must include:
• Your email address.
• Your WolfQuest forum username (Required! If you haven't registered for the WolfQuest forum, now's the time!) Register at WolfQuest.org/community
• Answer to the question: "What are three interesting facts about wolves?"


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.

https://youtu.be/9JacCZp7egA

We returned to Yellowstone National Park last month for another round of on-site exploration of the areas we depict in the game.

Today’s video follows our hike into the northern edge of the Amethyst game map, as we ford the Lamar River and follow Amethyst Creek into the highlands. Along the way, we saw a plenty of wildlife — birds, bison, pronghorn, and even a toad in the Lamar River — and plenty of discarded elk antlers. We also took note of many things to improve in the game, as we try to make the game world match the real world of Yellowstone as closely as we can. Little things like how much the grass and sage moves in the wind, and bigger things like the density of trees and grass along the creeks. Plus ground textures, rock forms and textures, and all sorts of things that we’ll try to incorporate in the coming months.

We saw no wolves on this hike, but the very next day — after a terrific meeting with one of our science advisors, YNP wolf biologist Dan Stahler, — we watched a black wolf trot a mile or two up the Lamar Valley, eventually crossing our route before turning and heading into the hills. (We got amazing views through binoculars but no photos or videos, alas.)

In the coming months, we’ll share more videos of our explorations of the Slough Creek and Tower Fall maps, so stay tuned!
_______________

We have released the first episode, Amethyst Mountain for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. While in Early Access, we will be 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).s we can. Little things like how much the grass and sage moves in the wind, and bigger things like the density of trees and grass along the creeks. Plus ground textures, rock forms and textures, and all sorts of things that we’ll try to incorporate in the coming months. We saw no wolves on this hike, but the very next day — after a terrific meeting with one of our science advisors, YNP wolf biologist Dan Stahler, — we watched a black wolf trot a mile or two up the Lamar Valley, eventually crossing our route before turning and heading into the hills. (We got amazing views through binoculars but no photos or videos, alas.)

BUGS:
* Game can get stuck on the "Crash Detected" screen.
* Bold mates often leap off cliffs.
* Hare and Meat Chunks move out of mouth when switching to Photo Mode while sprinting.
* Grizzly Sow freezes sometimes.
* Raven is missing feathers on underside of wings.
* Mule Deer Buck carcass has blank eyes and teeth.
* Fight and Flight meters don't display in certain situations.
* Grizzly cub can get too far away from mother.
* Some scent readout text is too long for interface panel. (Elk ground scents with long herd names)
* Grizzly cub carcass misaligned after death.

NEW:
* Tutorial Tips now available for browsing in Game Help panel. (More help info still to be added.)
* New alert if your mate is starving and needs to eat.
* New alert text when you reach the border of the map across the Lamar River.

EDT: Patch released for Windows and Mac now.