No video this week but enjoy this lovely vista by Defnemia. Speaking of screenshots, we’ve added some of our contest winners’ screenshots to the Steam and Itch.io stores. They look great! Thanks again, everyone who sent in screenshots.

And thank you to everyone who purchased the new Yellowstone Wolf Coats DLC and also the folks who bought the WolfQuest Soundtrack and Music Extras! Proceeds go right back into supporting game development.

If you haven’t had a chance to write a Steam review for the game or for any DLC you have purchased, good reviews make a huge difference to WolfQuest.

We just posted this month’s WolfQuest Giveaway. If you already have the game, you can enter the drawing for a chance to win free DLC! Or you could win and then gift something to a friend. Look for the contest details and how to enter on various social media.

So, what are we up to this week? Tommi has been working on beaver AI, drawing on the latest research by the Voyageur Wolf Project about wolf predation on beavers. Mikko has fixed some multiplayer bugs but mostly has focused on a new, improved system for rendering scent particles, which should solve a number of problems caused by the old system. Andrei fixed a bunch of bugs and is now working on a very cool, unannounced feature that we hope to release within a month. He also figured out a solution for the out-of-sync music bug, which meant Dave had to spend a bunch of time re-exporting music files to match the new method. George has been testing and tuning variables in that unannounced new feature. Susan’s highlights this week: getting the word out about the new Yellowstone Wolf Coats DLC and researching meat chunk textures (and before breakfast, too!).

We have a public beta about to go up with some important bug fixes. So that’s always good!

NOTE: This beta IS compatible with saved games and wolves, and with multiplayer in the last release, 1.0.6o, so you can switch back to that version if you want, and you can play on this beta with others who have 1.0.6o.

This beta is only for Windows.


* In multiplayer, chat settings are saved and used in future sessions.
* Cougars are now sometimes a bit harder to chase away when stalking pups.
* Switched Amethyst winter creeks to have ice texture matching those in Slough Creek.

* Multiplayer game saves sometimes fail to load. (Two causes of this are now fixed.)
* Saving game fails, shows error> (One cause of this is now fixed.)
* Pups in Family Tree preview sometimes are deformed.
* When elk are alarmed (head held high), their tongue pokes through lower jaw slightly.
* As seen from the ridge, Lamar Valley in winter has some poor texturing.
* In summertime, Slough Creek creek audio can have odd audio effects.
* There's a paucity of cow moose in May.
* One meat chunk on buck mule deer carcass depletes carcass food too much.
* Elk float too high in the water when swimming.
* When player goes into den and sees mate already in there, mate has some excess/overlapping meshes.
* Adjusted placement of one meat chunk in the mouth.
* Removed some excessively-cautious words from the badwords list.
* Correction to Learn to Hunt game help text.
* Wolf Customization has DLC "?" button on other panels besides Coat.
* Water and terrain issues.


BUGS FIXED:
* Save Game button sometimes is not displayed in Options menu (gets stuck when Qust Completion popup is blocked).
* Big Blaze has miscolored claw.
* Water issue.

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.

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 contest1@wolfquest.org

All entries must be received before midnight (Eastern Daylight Time) on Thursday, March 18, 2021..

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.

Patch v1.0.6o - Released 5 March 2021

IMPROVEMENTS:
* Increased the odds that, if you have purchased the Coat DLC, some of those coats will be assigned to dispersal wolves. (Will only be effective in new games.)

BUGS FIXED:
* Spitfire is misclassified as a genetically gray coat.
* Dispersals with one DLC coat have wrong image on courtship panel.
* In 106n2, DLC coats can be assigned to dispersals for players who have not purchased the DLC pack. (Side-effect of last night's hotfix. If you started a new game and found a mate with a DLC coat, lucky you!)
* Mysterious cube floating above rocky slope in Slough Creek.

We are rolling this hotfix out as quickly as we can. Currently available for Windows. Mac coming soon. Mac is out now too.
* Dispersals and grown pups do not get DLC coats even if player has purchased them. This fix will only be effective in new games. Sorry about that!
* F11 does not open bug reporter in main menu.

* Yellowstone Wolf Pack DLC now available! Go to My Wolves, then Coat Customization and scroll down to preview the new coats (Founders, Hall of Fame, and Cool Coats) on your wolf. Click the Buy button to go to Steam or itch.io to purchase the coats. They will immediately be available for your wolves. They will also be eligible to appear on dispersal wolves and grown pups in any new game that you start after purchasing this DLC. (Note that if you have the game from Steam, your purchase is tied to your Steam account. If you have the game from itch.io, you must have a WolfQuest game account, as that is where your purchase is recorded.)

* When in Endless Summer quest, you can now regenerate your family snapshot in the Pack Info panel. This will replace the snapshot that was taken previously when completing the Loaf at Rendezvous Site quest. (Useful if you change a mate or pup name, or if a pup dies and you want to be honest about it.)
* On Apple Silicon computers, wolf feet now touch ground, and alert appears in main menu about bugs.

* Female wolf does not appear pregnant in Slough Creek until you save and reload the save.
* If your wolf is female and save your game in Slough Creek before having pups, then start a new game in Amethyst, your wolf will be pregnant there.
* Moose calf in August grew up too fast.
* In Slough Creek, on Basic Sky & Veg mode, audio controls do not affect rain and snow sounds.
* Tall grass patches disappear in August.
* Snow does not accumulate on distant landscape in spring and summer in Slough Creek.
* Player gets stuck if notification appears while dreaming.
* In Wolf Customization, can't click drag to rotate wolf.
* New Mate quest (sometimes) appears after game over when a pregnant mate dies.
* Scent tracks sometimes stop abruptly.
* Scent tracks get suddenly older.
* All stranger wolves are interested in courtship. (Bug introduced in February -- Valentine's Day Special! -- and fixed now in new games but will persist in saved games from the past several weeks.)
* All dispersals and stranger wolves have the same level of interest at the start of courtship (should be vary some).
* World Map does not remember state of Show Dens button during Raise Pups quest.
* Regurgitated meat does not glow in scent view.
* Errors loading a save with carcass scent tracks spawned.
* Water and terrain issues.

This beta is backward-compatible with saved games and wolves, so you can switch between this and the last release (1.0.6m) without any problems. However, multiplayer is not compatible with that release.

This beta is for Windows only.


* Revised how vegetation is updated during season changes. This should look the same as before during gameplay, but it's possible that something isn't set up quite right, so please report if you notice anything different about vegetation compared to previous patches.
* When the final "Explore Lost River" quest begins on that map, switched the music track from Journey to Slough Creek since you can't actually journey from Lost River to Slough Creek.

* Dying elk remove long stripe of grass near them.
* One section of Slough Creek has no current when flooded in May.
* Ears bend back too far when howling while lying down.
* Prey Killed music can play repeatedly after killing prey.
* Cougar carries pup under chin instead of in mouth.
* Saving fails if player somehow manages to use special characters in mate and pup names.
* NPC wolves can sometimes change coats.
* One meat chunk sits too high in the mouth.
* Terrain and water issues.


* Female wolf does not appear pregnant in Slough Creek until you save and reload the save.
* If your wolf is female and save your game in Slough Creek before having pups, then start a new game in Amethyst, your wolf will be pregnant there.
Moose calf in August grew up too fast.
* In Slough Creek, on Basic Sky & Veg mode, audio controls do not affect rain and snow sounds.
* Tall grass patches disappear in August
* Snow does not accumulate on distant landscape in spring and summer in Slough Creek.
* Player gets stuck if notification appears while dreaming.
* In Wolf Customization, can't click drag to rotate wolf.
* New Mate quest (sometimes) appears after game over when a pregnant mate dies
* Scent tracks sometimes stop abruptly.
* Scent tracks get suddenly older.


* When in Endless Summer quest, you can now regenerate your family snapshot in the Pack Info panel. This will replace the snapshot that was taken previously when completing the Loaf at Rendezvous Site quest. (Useful if you change a mate or pup name, or if a pup dies and you want to be honest about it.)

* Multiplayer is broken since beta 1.
* Distant landscape is pink after proceeding from one quest in Slough Creek to the next.
* All stranger wolves are interested in courtship. (Bug introduced in February -- Valentine's Day Special! and fixed now in new games but will persist in saved games from the past several weeks.)
* All dispersals and stranger wolves have the same level of interest at the start of courtship (should be vary some).
* World Map does not remember state of Show Dens button during Raise Pups quest.
* Regurgitated meat does not glow in scent view.
* Errors loading a save with carcass scent tracks spawned.


IMPROVEMENTS:
* For Apple Silicon computers, wolf feet now touch ground, and alert appears in main menu about bugs.

BUGS FIXED:
* Extra "Abandoned Den" lines appear in Pack Info.
* Water and terrain issues.

__________________________________

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.

We got a suggestion from a player that it would be cool to add a special animation for the way elk sometimes pull their heads up and back when they are alarmed and fleeing wolves. We were perplexed because this is already included in the game. But no, it turns out that this animation stopped working sometime ago and no one had caught that. So, it’s back in the game now…. And now we are getting bug reports that the elk look weird when they run! So, that’s not a bug.



But why do elk hold their heads that way sometimes? As Dr. Dan Stahler, one of our game advisors, explains:

“Elk head position during wolf pursuit probably serves a couple purposes - although these are somewhat speculative because I don't think there's any real data per se. One, due to position of their eyes on the sides of their head, it's thought to provide a little better vision on the field of view behind them when they tilt their head back. This may help with tracking the pursuing predator to anticipate evasive maneuvers or need to kick.

"When the head tilt is exaggerated, it usually accompanies a high stepping prance. This is more akin to the honest signaling you see in stotting mule deer, or the African ungulates like springbok, gazelle, etc. These are energetically costly movements for these animals, but the ability to do it is thought to be an advertisement of body condition that may cause a pursuing predator to gauge probability of capture (and risks associated with trying to do so).”

This week also released Patch v1.0.6m with lots of improvements and bug fixes. You can see all the patch notes and updates here: https://support.wolfquest.org/help/patches-wolfquest-anniversary-edition

Finally, we love all the WolfQuest screenshots people post on social media!  Most people turn off the HUD for better pictures. But we actually need some shots showing gameplay with the HUD displayed. We will select our favorites to promote the game — and those players will get a free DLC pack (WQ soundtrack or the upcoming Yellowstone coat pack) in appreciation. We are looking for screenshots in Fantastic or Glorious graphics quality, 1920x1080 resolution. Please email them to info@wolfquest.org— and thanks!

EDIT: I totally forgot that we hide the HUD in Photo Mode screenshots. Ack! So with Steam, just press F12 instead of spacebar when in photo mode and you'll get the HUD in the screenshot. Sorry about that!

_______________

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 v1.0.6m is now available for Windows and Mac.

* Refactored scent system to make it more robust. This should reduce or eliminate bugs with disappearing scent tracks and pups leaving tracks when carried, along with improvements to how the scents are laid down when the animal makes sharp turns, and what happens when a pup enters and exits a den.
* Notably faster loading times when starting new game or loading saved game.
* Spring flood ponds in First Meadow retain their shapes when seen from far away.
* Better creek sound effects.
* Switched to new rocky-ground terrain texture in Amethyst with much better tiling.
* Improvements to terrain texturing in Amethyst and Slough Creek.
* Improvements to June elk calf limb movements when being carried.
* In Wolf Customization, the Coats panel is taller to show more rows, and clicking and scrolling is more intuitive.

* When fleeing predators, elk should often pull their heads back, but don't. (This was in the game originally but broke at some point, probably a long time ago.)
* Predator music bugs (same clip plays repeatedly, wrong clip plays).
* Female wolf sometimes does not have pregnant belly in winter and early spring.
* Game accepts keyboard inputs when another app has focus. (Really fixed time!)
* Game sometimes pauses during courtship in Lost River.
* Quest music doesn't play reliably at start of each quest.
* Terrain switches back to previous season in certain situations.
* In Lost River, game sometimes pauses for some seconds during courtship.
* One stick rides too high in the pup's mouth.
* In multiplayer, buggy behavior after clicking Exit Game or Main Menu buttons.
* Lost River music keeps playing when returning to main menu.
* Wolf ears do not fold back when howling while lying down.
* Mate is unable to enter tree stump den.
* Pup carcass oddities when carried by parent.
* Some save game errors and failures.
* Pups won't exit tall grass if parent is inside as well.
* Pups will follow player far from the den or rendezvous site if trying to respond to a social emote.
* If terrain quality is low or very low, but Enhanced Sky & Vegetation mode is enabled, dirt dens do not have holes in ground.
* When adding a player to a pack, can't click OK button to continue adding more players but must click Done and then reopen Packs panel.
* In main menu, wolves in the My Wolves carousel are floating a bit off the ground.
* Map labels for two ponds are in wrong spot.
* Grizzly cub and elk calf can get stuck in turning animation.
* In very particular circumstances, a litter can have zero pups.
* Winter can rudely interrupt Endless Summer in Slough Creek.
* Fish sits a bit high in the mouth.
* Text edits and corrections.
* Terrain and water issues.

No dev blog video this week. The furnace is out at WQ HQ in Minnesota – brrrrr! We still are working in our long johns and extra wool socks waiting for the repair crew so this great screenshot by Ominous Odyssey suits our mood today. The team is working on bugs and boring necessary things. Susan is prepping for tax time (again, see comment about screenshot mood).

Cheer us up by telling us about other games you like to play and why!