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 Monday, May 31, 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.

1.0.7c - Released on 21 May 2021

* If an ironwolf dies while raising pups, the game will save a Family Snapshot with the mate and surviving pups (same as when Elder Wolf dies).
* Visual improvements to Flat Clouds (used in Basic Sky mode, and option in Enhanced Sky mode).
* Precipitation will not fall out of a clear blue sky now.
* Thunder only happens when it's raining.
* Some improvements to fall aspen and cottonwood appearance.
* In Wolf Customization and Pack Info, long wolf bios now force scrollbars.
* In multiplayer games, each player's Age Perks are now listed in Pack Info.
* Mate and pup names are now filtered through badname filter (since they can become playable wolves in multiplayer games eventually.)
* Made the sleeping death of Elder Wolf (player) a bit slower and more poignant.
* Moved "Age" readout in Family Tree higher, for better visibility.
* Improvements to snow dust kicked up by running wolves.
* Some minor optimizations to disable distant objects so they don't require rendering, might help a bit on low-end computers.

* Sleep/teleporting bug in multiplayer.
* Various music bugs (Scent chimes play when not in scent view, Beaver ambush music doesn't stop playing, Food and fight music overlap, etc.)
* Various bugs with scent posts (they have wrong color initially, confusing feedback about territory quality, etc.)
* After player adjusts certain graphics quality settings, water bodies levitate when player runs toward them.
* In Pack Info, mate's name is often truncated.
* When creating a wolf, you can save it without giving it a name.
* Winter ambient sounds continue into early morning in Slough Creek.
* In Amethyst, grizzly cub shrinks when it dies.
* In Slough Creek with Basic Sky & Vegetation, one type of tree is missing, creating invisible obstacles.
* Pup howling can be heard from much too far away.
* Dust kicked up by wolf pups looks odd.
* Cow moose doesn't swim appropriately.
* In multiplayer, the territory chime plays only for host, not other players.
* Game interface does not adapt well to very widescreen monitors.
* When starting new game in Slough Creek, player-wolf falls a meter to the ground.
* Beavers won't flee if they are trying to place a branch on their lodge or dam.
* Foxes can get stuck going back and forth between two points, leaving a large number of scent tracks.
* Pup's scent track readout does not show recent change to pup name.
* Sometimes rendezvous rocks have dark lines.
* If mate has bent ear, in the den it also has a second, undamaged ear.
* Quick-fingered players can get an ironwolf into multiplayer games.
* Water and terrain issues.

Achievements are one of the remaining features still to be added to WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, and we will be focusing on them soon. We’ve been working on our plans for achievements, on and off, for quite awhile. We are going to avoid the kind of grindy achievements (Kill 10 Elk! Kill 25 Elk!) that we had in WolfQuest 2.7/Classic, instead focusing on three kinds:

* Achievements that you earn while completing the main game quests.
* Achievements that are related to the main quests but require some extra effort.
* Achievements that are more exploratory, such as finding some collectable objects.



But we know that many players have ideas for achievements too! If you’re one of those players, now is the time to share your ideas!

Describe your ideas for achievements below or submit them as a feedback report (press F11 in game). We’ll review them as we refine our list and create the final set of achievements to build into the game.

_______________

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!

Available for Windows and Mac only, but Mac version coming soon.

NOTE: We are investigating reports about too-frequent den flooding and have added some debug code to help track what's happening prior to flooding. If your den floods when you don't think it should, please submit a bug report. (It should only flood after heavy rain or storm, though those can occur while you're sleeping.)

* If an ironwolf dies while raising pups, the game will save a Family Snapshot with the mate and surviving pups (same as when Elder Wolf dies).
* Visual improvements to 2D Clouds (used in Basic Sky mode, and option in Enhanced Sky mode).
* Precipitation will not fall out of a clear blue sky now.
* Some improvements to fall aspen and cottonwood appearance.
* In multiplayer games, each player's Age Perks are now listed in Pack Info.
* Mate and pup names are now filtered through badname filter (since they can become playable wolves in multiplayer games eventually.)
* Moved "Age" readout in Family Tree higher, for better visibility.
* Improvements to snow dust kicked up by running wolves.
* Some minor optimizations to disable distant objects so they don't require rendering, might help a bit on low-end computers.

* Sleep/teleporting bug in multiplayer.
* Various music bugs (Scent chimes play when not in scent view, Beaver ambush music doesn't stop playing, Food and fight music overlap, etc.)
* After player adjusts certain graphics quality settings, water bodies levitate when player runs toward them.
* In Pack Info, mate's name is often truncated.
* When creating a wolf, you can save it without giving it a name.
* Winter ambient sounds continue into early morning in Slough Creek.
* In Amethyst, grizzly cub shrinks when it dies.
* In Basic Sky & Vegetation, in Slough Creek, one type of tree is missing, creating invisible obstacles.
* Various bugs with scent posts (they have wrong color initially, confusing feedback about territory quality, etc.)
* Pup howling can be heard from much too far away.
* Dust kicked up by wolf pups looks odd.
* When starting new game in Slough Creek, player-wolf falls a meter to the ground.
* Beavers won't flee if they are trying to place a branch on their lodge or dam.
* Foxes can get stuck going back and forth between two points, leaving a large number of scent tracks.
* Pup's scent track readout does not show recent change to pup name.
* Sometimes rendezvous rocks have dark lines.
* If mate has bent ear, in the den it also has a second, undamaged ear.
* Quick-fingered players can get an ironwolf into multiplayer games.
* Water and terrain issues.


Updated for Windows, Mac beta is still beta 4.

* When sending a message to a pack, "From" now shows the sender's username rather than the pack name.
* In Pack Info, long wolf bios now force scrollbars.
* Tweaked snow kicked up when wolves run in snow.
* Reduced volume of Health Perception detection sfx.
* Thunder only happens when it's raining.

* On Enhanced Sky & Veg mode, there's no grass or ground clutter in Amethyst map.
* Some odd artifacting around wolves in the Family Tree.
* In multiplayer, the territory chime plays only for host, not other players.
* Game interface does not adapt well to very widescreen monitors.



* In Wolf Customization, long wolf bios now force scrollbars.
* Made the sleeping death of Elder Wolf (player) a bit slower and more poignant.

* Overlapping music in certain situations.
* One burrow den is invisible in winter.
* Rain sound effect is not controlled by audio sliders.
* Cow moose doesn't swim appropriately.



Updated for WIndows, Mac beta is still beta 4.

* Sometimes snow begins to accumulate on ground and trees before snow begins falling.

* Optimization to physics when many animals are spawned.
* Optimization of territory update code.
* On low graphics quality settings, adjusted brightness during wintertime.
* Snowfall on trees melts at seasonally-appropriate rates now.
* Beaver Trail tutorial tip appears more reliably now (before was lower priority than other prey alerts, so could get suppressed by mule deer etc.)
* Added "Elder Ironwolf" term on the Age 7 Perks text.
* Got the couple remaining music tracks working again with the new music system.
* Improved the dust kicked up when animals run.

* Player-wolf "look at" movement is lost when going into Photo Mode.
* Ripples around swimming beaver are sometimes displayed in grid instead of animation.
* Some animations during wolf - beaver hunt are not synced in multiplayer.
* In Slough Creek, distant animal sounds sometimes don't play properly.
* In Den/In Grass label is sometimes incorrect or inconsistent.
* Den status label persists in pup names sometimes.
* Bite sound effect keeps playing after releasing bite.
* Wrong music plays during predator attack on den.
* Pressing ESC when game is transitioning to next season can cause problems.

We released the big update 1.0.7 with Age Perks, Ironwolf and Beavers on Tuesday! If you missed it, watch the video: Life and Death and Beavers (v1.0.7 Released!) https://youtu.be/nzyPsq0fKvs

For the next month or so, things might seem a bit quieter as we deep dive into some core code overhauls which we hope will have broad benefits but not any particular exciting new features. We are also really looking forward some time camping, recharging, and seeing some much missed family!

Still to come while WolfQuest: Anniversary is in Early Access:
• Achievements
• Bighorn sheep
• Slough Creek multiplayer
• Lots and lots of tweaks, improvements, and bug fixes as we go!

The mobile version of WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition is going to take awhile. The mobile version will come after the game is completed on PC/Mac platforms. We will share more about mobile when we are focusing on those versions.

Public Beta for patch 1.0.7b is now available, for Windows only.

* On low graphics quality settings, adjusted brightness during wintertime.
* Snowfall on trees melts at seasonally-appropriate rates now.
* Beaver Trail tutorial tip appears more reliably now (before was lower priority than other prey alerts, so could get surpressed by mule deer etc.)
* Added "Elder Ironwolf" term on the Age 7 Perks text.
* Got the couple remaining music tracks working again with the new music system.

* Pressing ESC when game is transitioning to next season can cause problems.
* Distant wolf, coyote, and other animal sounds do not play properly.
* Den status label persists in pup names sometimes.


* Refined start/end times for ambient distant sounds, per season.
* Improved the dust kicked up when animals run.

* In Slough Creek, distant animal sounds sometimes don't play properly.
* In Den/In Grass label is sometimes incorrect or inconsistent.
* Bite sound effect keeps playing after releasing bite.
* Wrong music plays during predator attack on den.


* Modest optimization to physics when many animals are spawned.
* Modest optimization of territory update code.

* Player-wolf "look at" movement is lost when going into Photo Mode.
* Ripples around swimming beaver are sometimes displayed in grid instead of animation.


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.

Rolling this out....it's out for Windows now, Mac coming soon -- and Mac patch is available now as well.

* Water missing in beaver side pond on Slough Creek.
* Amethyst map is missing much of the ground clutter (downed logs etc).
* Willows in Lost River glow at night.
* Terrain and water issues.

Today we are releasing the next big update of WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, with three new features — Age Perks, Ironwolf, and Beavers — plus dozens of smaller improvements and bugfixes. Get an overview in the devblog video and then dive in and try them for yourself! Many thanks to all the beta testers who provided essential feedback over the past weeks. We really appreciate your help!



Learn more about these new features in the WolfQuest Knowledge Base:
* Age Perks: https://support.wolfquest.org/help/age-perks
* Ironwolf: https://support.wolfquest.org/help/ironwolf
* Beavers: https://support.wolfquest.org/help/hunting-tips


* Beavers now live along the Lamar River, Slough Creek, and in the Lost River beaver pond. They are most active at dawn and dusk. When you find a beaver trail, follow the tutorial tip to lie in wait and (hopefully) ambush one. (More info in Game Help: Hunting Beavers)
* Age Perks system offers a selection of physical, clout, and wisdom bonuses for each year of your wolf's life. Once a year, you have the option to advance your wolf in age by one year and select from a new set of perks. On your birthday (in April, just before your pups are born) you will be presented with the Age Perks menu, where you can view all of the Age Perks available at each age. You can select up to three new Age Perks if you wish to advance to the next age. If you advance through the years, your final choice will be whether to advance to age eight, which will make your wolf an Elder Wolf who, at some point, will die. (More info in Game Help: Age Perks)
* Ironwolf mode: In the real world, wolves are one false move or unlucky kick away from death. Now you too can live life on the edge by choosing Ironwolf mode when creating a wolf. This is a hardcore mode for players who really want to live the life of a wild wolf. Ironwolves have only one save, and upon dying will be permanently dead. (More info in Game Help: Ironwolf)
* New "Reminisce" mode: After an Elder Wolf dies, older saved games (from before age eight) use this mode so you can revisit your mate and pups and relive memories, but you cannot save your game.

* Scents: New system for floating scents and ground scent tracks. This should look just like the old scent system, but without some problems that the old system caused (slow performance on Intel integrated graphics; on some newer GPUs, after several hours of playing, screen sometimes would go black, or possibly white, or screwy in some way).
* Revised adaptive music system: Eliminates bugs with out-of-sync tracks. Also modest reduction in memory load from music tracks.
* Enabled headlook when wolf is sitting and lying down (latter only in initial pose).
* Trees in Basic Sky & Vegetation mode move more appropriately with the wind.
* Tweaks to snow coverage on trees (Enhanced mode only).
* Aspen trees in LR now have fall colors, as they did in WQ Classic.
* Scent tracks now disappear quickly when the source dies. (The way they persisted longer was a feature of the new scent system, but it is understandably frustrating, so now they fade at a faster rate. We don't want to remove them instantly or you get the "scent tracks disappear suddenly" bug which is also annoying.)
* New Amethyst episode intro text when starting a new game with an experienced wolf.
* New shader on big glacial erratics (boulders) that eliminates occasional harsh look to them.
* Distant views of landscape are nicer (smoother and softer ground cover, using linear blends instead of heightmap blends).
* Added bite-sfx when biting beaver, fox, and coyote.
* Music ducks (lowers in volume) when alert sounds play.
* Eliminated areas with stretched or discordant texturing in Slough Creek (the creek itself) and the McBride feeder creek.
* Better water effects when wolf is swimming.
* In Amethyst, Very Large Objects (mainly the cliff rocks) now get dynamic snow even on Very Low quality level.
* In Setup New Game, moved Lost River Classic below Slough Creek.
* Updated version of vegetation renderer (for Enhanced Vegetation mode) generally makes trees look better at a distance, but there are a few quirks to refine.
* Enabled Right Ctrl key input for Walk/Stalk (was only Left Ctrl).
* Added music stingers when killing beaver, fox, and coyote.
* Increased moose swimming speed.

* Multiplayer: Client wolf in stranger territory is not teleported to host when host forces sleep.
* Multiplayer: Host-triggered sleep fails if a client wolf has a meat chunk in mouth.
* When loading MP save, sometimes you get the SP Setup options instead of the MP options.
* Renaming a wolf by only changing the case will result in wolf name being "NPC wolf" in-game.
* Sometimes the family snapshot prompts can appear incorrectly while playing.
* Pups can get stuck, motionless, when swimming against the current.
* Sometimes pups follow mate when the "Raise pups" quest starts.
* Sometimes pups will go into flooded den on their own accord, even when they refuse if so commanded.
* Invisible wolf attacks player-wolf.
* In certain spots, scent posts get destroyed soon after they were created.
* Can't claim territory when competitors are preparing an attack.
* Elder Wolves will have smaller litters than they did when younger.
* Grizzly cub carcass lacks a name.
* Pup icon does not appear on map when moving to a new rendezvous site.
* During the journey quests, dispersal wolves stalk wolf pups and are considered a dangerous predators, and are confused about their purpose.
* Sometimes the mate heads off on a hunting excursion immediately after the pups leave the den for the first time. (Also, some mates go hunting too frequently, so we have set a minimum time at home.)
* Pups gradually increase in size as they grow older, but this size increase was applied only when loading a save, not incrementally during gameplay
* In Basic Sky & Veg mode, in main menu, when in Eye Customization, scene color and brightness are incorrect.
* In Pack Stats, mate's age is truncated if pack name is longish.
* Mate doesn't catch hares anymore.
* In certain situations, camera gets stuck circling above the pack after the end of Journey to Rendezvous Site quest.
* Increased hunger threshold on mate so they will eat even if not very hungry.
* DLC coats are somewhat more likely, instead of very more likely, to be assigned to dispersal wolves and pups.
* Permanent bull elk carcass near LR spawn point.
* One meat chunk floats out in front of the wolf's mouth.
* Water clips in headcam and scent view.
* No grass or sage on Lamar River island.
* Many terrain and water issues.

_______________

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!

We are getting close to releasing the next game update v1.0.7, featuring Age Perks, Ironwolf, and Beavers! But we hit a few snags so it’s not quite ready yet and will remain in public beta for a few more days. In the meantime, enjoy this beaver, whose day is also not going as planned.




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!