Jan 3, 2020

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition - loboLoco

A new build of the public beta for WQ:AE v1.0.2 is available now. If you've opted into the beta channel, it should update automatically. We do now have the Mac beta available as well, sorry for the delay on that.

If you haven't (or missed last week's announcement about the public beta), please go see that announcement here.

We're glad that so many players have opted into the beta -- your bug reports are invaluable! Keep it up!

v1.0.2. public beta 9

IMPROVEMENTS:

* Fish dropped by eagles now function like other meat chunks: carryable and with food value.
* Main camera view adjusted so player-wolf is lower on screen, showing more of landscape ahead.
* If you activate Photo Mode (Shift-P) while bite-holding an animal, bite-hold will continue if you use right-arrow key to step forward in time.
* Reduced mule deer maximum speed a bit.
* Reduced aggressiveness of bull elk and moose a bit.
* Reduced spawning frequency of grizzly bears.
* Golden eagles sometimes feed on carcasses now.
* Mate is sometimes too selfish about hunting hares.

BUGS FIXED:

* Mule deer occasionally spawn right in front of player.
* Two instances of same stranger or dispersal wolf.
* Dispersals are frozen sometimes.
* In certain situations, ungulate prey don't react to attacks on themselves or a calf or fawn.
* Some trees make camera snap closer or farther from wolf, especially in free cam movement.
* Gray vignette and/or wavy dream effect from sleeptime don't disappear after waking up.
* Invisible obstacles.
* Rim light is too bright on some wolves at night.
* Snow dust effect appears under wolf when on cliff rocks.
* Wolf head occasionally doesn't play howl animation when howling.
* Drinking water repeatedly stops playing animation, but still plays sound.
* When waking up from sleep, mate stands up to do an emote, then lays down, then stands up again.
* In Customization, can't select certain howls in certain situations.
* In Customization panel, the "modify wolf" button becomes highlighted when toggling through wolves.
* In Customization panel, wWhen modifying a wolf that has a radio collar on, customizer loads wolf without the collar.
* Y Axis incorrectly inverted in Scentview and related issues.
* "Hide name in HUD" setting isn't saved in saved game.
* Eagles and ravens let predators get too close.
* Grass is floating above a cliff rock.
* Snow on some cliff rocks is black.
* Two bull elk herds congregate in the valley.
* Various terrain tweaks and improvements.

CONTROLLER SUPPORT IMPROVEMENTS:

* Enabled right/left bumpers to navigate on Map/Quests/Pack Info panels.
* Added easier way to navigate to Reset button on Remap Controller panel.
* Added onscreen keyboard for bug reporter panel.
* Added a deadzone slider in Game Settings: Controls

CONTROLLER BUGS FIXED:

* Can't do Stalk gait with controller.
* Controller sometimes isn't recognized after disconnecting and reconnecting it.
* Onscreen keyboard can appear on Name Mate popup even if controller is disabled.

Dec 28, 2019

Public Beta Testing!

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition - loboLoco

A lot of players have asked over the years how they can become beta testers -- and now they can! We’ve been working for the past two months on a couple substantial new features, and we’re ready now to open this new version, v1.0.2, to public beta testing. Anyone on Steam who want to try these new features can do so. Those who prefer to stick to the official released version can stay on that until the beta period is over and we release this version as the official current release.

This beta is currently for Windows only, but we should have the Mac beta out in a few days. The beta is available only on Steam, because it has a very easy-to-use method of switching between beta builds and the released build.

Watch the video to see what’s in this new version, and for some tips on submitting useful bug reports:

YT VIDEO

To get the beta build:

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.

Please use the F11 Bug Reporter to submit bug reports, but you can also discuss issues on the new Public Beta discussion forum on Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/app/926990/discussions/2/

This beta build has the following changes:

New AI Pathfinding System

This replaces the pathfinding and obstacle avoidance system in the game. It's much more robust for both large-scale topography (like steep cliffs) and small objects like trees and boulders.

Controller Support

We have complete support now for the Xbox controller (PS4 and Steam Controller support will be added in the final release of v1.0.2.). Please refer to the Controller diagram in Game Settings: Controls for guidance, as we have not yet added controller icons to the game tutorials and help screens. Remapping should generally work, though not well tested yet.

Other Improvements

* Refined the lighting intensity and effects, especially at dawn/dusk and nighttime, with and without moonlight.
* Revised the cliff rocks with new shader for better realism and dynamic snow.
* Tweaked grizzly bear run-animation speed.
* Improved general appearance of snow on ground
* Removed white haze in sky when rain/storm clears.
In Glorious quality level, grass and shadow distance is increased, for better visuals and slightly worse performance.
* Grizzly bears should be a bit less common now.

Bugs Fixed

* Missing guitar-emote music during courtship.
* Can get stuck on rocks or trees when sliding down steep slope.
* Can skate on pond surface if you jump onto pond from land.
* Duplicate bull herds.
* Too many bulls in one place (won't be fixed in saves)
* Terrain tweaks and fixes.
* Clouds evolve shape too quickly.
* Snow on gnarly white bark pine was too extensive.
* Problems with invert camera toggles.
* Pink mule deer carcass.
* Placement problems with snow on grizzlies
* Wolf skull in Fossil Forest is too small.
* Areas where you can get stuck in cliff rocks.
* Sometimes prey run too slowly when you are chasing them.
* Mismatched coat texture on one dispersal wolf in Courtship popup.
* When playing on Fastest quality, eagle wings have holes.
* Some nature sounds don't respect audio slider settings.
* Shadows are too jiggly sometimes.
* Various terrain tweaks and refinements

Dec 13, 2019

I'm Dreaming of a White Cliff Rock...

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition - loboLoco

One of my favorite elements in WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is the dynamic snow, which accumulates everywhere….except for the rocks on the cliffs overlooking the Lamar Valley. But no longer! The shader we’ve been using for those rocks didn’t support dynamic snow, but we’re switching to a different shader now which does. It’s a spin-off of the amazing MicroSplat shader that we’re using for the terrain, so the snow and other rendering effects will match the terrain quite nicely. Today’s video shows that new shader in action. It’s been a lot of setup and tweaking (and in a couple of those shots, the cliff rocks are a bit dark still), but it’s coming together.

This isn’t available yet — it’ll be in the next update. (No date on that yet, still wrangling with a couple other things). But do you know what IS available? The updated WolfQuest Soundtrack with all the new music from WQ: Anniversary Edition! All sales revenue helps support further development of the game.

Watch our video about it.

Buy it here on Steam!

Already have the WolfQuest Soundtrack but still want to support the game with a direct donation?

Dec 10, 2019

Soundtrack for WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition Released!

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition - loboLoco

The WolfQuest Original Soundtrack & Music Extras pack includes the soundtrack to WolfQuest Classic and new music of WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, composed and performed by Tim Buzza and Ben Woolman, plus a 25-minute video featuring Tim Buzza talking about how he created the signature sound of WolfQuest and many memorable tracks in the game. The soundtrack currently has nearly two hours of music, and we will be adding more tracks as we continue to develop the game! All sales revenue helps support further development of the game.

NOTE: This pack is identical to the one as sold as DLC for the old WolfQuest game. (Steam doesn't allow us to share DLC across multiple game products, so this is a duplicate of that one.)

Buy it here on Steam! (If you already purchased the Music Extras for the old game, you'll get the new tracks as a free update.)

TRACK LIST

WOLFQUEST (CLASSIC)
Composed & performed by Tim Buzza

1. Title Theme
2. Exploration
3. The Chase
4. Danger!
5. Low Hunt
6. High Hunt
7. Death
8. Foreboding
9. Into the Woods
10. Wary of Strangers
11. Attack
12. Sleeptime
13, Waking Up
14. Bear Attack
15. Satisfaction

SLOUGH CREEK
1. Slough Creek Exploration
2. The Creek
3. Mission Completed
4. Pups
5. Playing with Pups
6. Death of a Pup
7. Defending the Den
8. You've Got Pups! 9. Freeplay
10. The Ranch
11. The Journey
12. Danger at the Creek
13. Rendezvous

LOST RIVER
1. Lost River Main Theme
2. Lost River Exploration
3. Neighborhoods
4. Lost River Chase
5. Low Danger
6. Danger–Lost River
7. Low Hunt–Lost River
8. High Hunt–Lost River
9. In the City
10. Bear Attack–Lost River
11. Dying
12. Dying Extended
13. Bonus Piano Theme

WOLFQUEST: ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Composed & performed by Tim Buzza & Ben Woolman

1. Exploration Unplugged
2. Roaming
3. Herd Ahead
4. Flight of the Wapiti
5. Elk Showdown
6. Dinner Music
7. Sweet Dreams 8. Rumble
9. Sunny Meanders
10. Chilling
11. Exploration (Fingerstyle)
12. Lazy Day
13. Courtship Conversation
14. Maybe-Mate Melody
15. Chasing Meals
16. Idyll Idle
17. Menu Music
18. Food Fight
19. Night Ramble
20. My Mate and Me
21. Ungulate Hunt (Fingerstyle)
22. Wild and Free

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is in early access. We will be adding new tracks as we release the new versions of Slough Creek, Lost River and, eventually, Tower Fall.

Nov 21, 2019

November Progress Update

WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition - loboLoco

One of the top questions we have been getting lately (other than When is mobile?) is: which will we release first, Slough Creek or multiplayer? And WHEN? Even with our small team, we have been working on both multiplayer and Slough Creek simultaneously, and we’ll release whichever is ready first! Since we have proven over and over that we are terrible at predicting release dates, we are are not announcing any specific dates — but we are making lots of progress! Here’s what the core WolfQuest team has been working on this month:

Our lead developer Tommi is spending several weeks on an overhaul of the pathfinding system. We have a pretty good system in the game now, but it doesn’t handle all situations well — which would become a bigger problem in Slough Creek if we didn’t tackle it now. The bighorn sheep will also need it to find their way around on the cliffs.

Tommi’s update:
“The new pathfinding system will make NPCs more aware of the lay of the land, so they know where they can walk easily, where it's going to be harder, and where they just can't go. For example, mates will now be able to walk around normally near cliff edges without accidentally jumping to their doom. And on the other hand, animals will not mysteriously run in circles when trying to attack you because they think you're standing in difficult territory (even though you're nowhere near that). They will also be able to, when necessary, find paths up the cliffs despite the many impassable areas.

“This has been challenging because we want the above-mentioned precision without creating too much memory or CPU load. So I've been trying out various methods to detect where we need a lot of precision (complicated areas like cliffs) and where we can do with very broad strokes (open areas). I also decided to treat impassable areas separately from the waypoint grid, unlike before, because it's much more important to know where exactly the cliff starts than where exactly the quickest path up a slope is. Next I'm going to zoom from representing the terrain to how individual animals navigate it. The new method should be simpler but more accurate in finding ways around trees, bigger rocks, other animals, and the den, addressing issues such as the mate often running in a weirdly oscillating way when following you.”

Andrei, our developer who handles most of the secondary game systems, has been focusing on controller support.

Andrei’s update:
“WolfQuest gameplay fits well with a joystick (e.g. XBox, PS joysticks). We just need to better map special and fine tune sensitivity. In the current state, the main actions are already mapped (except Emotes) for controllers but some shortcuts we have on keyboard are still to come. So I have been linking UI elements for the player to navigate from one element to the other in an intuitive way. I am also creating the various "highlighted" states for the different UI elements so they are selectable. For UI, everything is already working, but we need a way to access every part with joystick, which don't have a visual cue like cursor for mouse.”

Mikko joined the team earlier this year to take over multiplayer, though we also dumped quadruped IK (inverse kinematics) on him. We are thrilled to add his expertise to the team.

Mikko’s update:
“I have been working on multiplayer since I joined the WolfQuest team in August, taking over from another developer who built the prototype code. Most recently I have focused on improving the logic of spawning animals, especially when a player first connects to the game. By enforcing an ordering between spawn and update messages, I am eliminating log errors about unknown objects that, while relatively harmless during development, made the logs difficult to read. I am also making sure that animal properties get synced properly at spawn time - which was glossed over during the prototyping stage.”

Part of Susan’s work is content research. Lately, she has been spending time studying and locating wolf pup vocalizations for the upcoming Slough Creek episode.

Susan’s update:

“Accurate wolf pup recordings are quite challenging to find and decipher. I am hunting for audio clips that can approximate wolf pup communication. In general, matching game sounds to animations always requires a lot of simplification of extremely complex vocalizations. The challenge of game sfx is that they need to sound realistic and not be too unique or intrusive (or they become annoying when repeated). Quality wolf pup recording are rare as scientists rarely disturb denning areas and observations are most often made from far away through long lenses. Also, outdoor recordings are often filled with ambient noise that won’t work in the game. Most wolf organizations that have captive wolves have not systematically recorded/catalogued individual pup sounds so it takes some digging to locate appropriate audio for our animations. To further complicate matters, many of the sounds pups make are made when socializing in groups so individual vocalizations are hard to find. The upside is that I get to watch lots of cute pup videos!”

And for myself, Dave (loboLoco), I’ve been working on the Slough Creek map — it's a great place to spend time on gray November days!

___________________

The first episode, Amethyst Mountain, is available as Early Access for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, . 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.