Patch 1.0.7d released on 4 June 2021

Available for Windows now. Mac patch is delayed but should be available later today. Mac patch is now available as well.

* In Setup New Game, added text indicating whether or not the selected wolf is ready to advance in age on their birthday.
* On Wolf Customization, body size now changes based on male/female selection (to match that difference in wolves in the game).
* Reduced the odds of flooded den after rain or storm.
* Added better rules and feedback about marking near water's edge.
* More variations in aspen trees in Slough Creek.
* Some refinements to the Amethyst cliff rock appearance.
* Some refinements to snow appearance.
* Age Perks music begins before the black loading screen for Age Perks on your wolf's birthday.
* On Affinity meter on wolf badge, made it clearer where the max value is.
* Clearer feedback on multiplayer Quick Heal notification, based on health level.
* When making a pup into a grown wolf, clearer header txt on the "Make an Ironwolf?" dialog, should help prevent accidental ironwolves.
* Increased volume and frequency of birdsong.
* Dinner music will not keep playing whenever there's meat at the den.
* Wolf ears adjust a bit when running.
* Can now edit the bio of a dead wolf.

* In multiplayer, players get stuck sleeping and can't wake up.
* Sometimes dispersal and stranger wolf coats switch when moving closer or farther from player.
* June elk calf's rear right leg gets stuck at odd angle.
* Territory grid hexes are slightly misaligned vertically, especially at the southern end.
* When player is sleeping, rain or storm may occur without any precipitation, which can then potentially trigger den flooding unexpectedly.
* Game does not remember previous difficulty selection, always reverts to default Challenging in main menu.
* Occasionally, dust kicked up by fleeing prey is glitched (square shapes).
* In Photo Mode, when pressing right arrow key to advance time, it also also makes wolf move to the right.
* At age 8, Ironwolf term used in some cases when it should be Elder Wolf.
* Occasionally a snowshoe hare that spawned in an earlier season will survive to be killed in the next season, and its coat then is basd on the new season instead of the previous season.
* Bark is always wet and shiny on cottonwood trees in Amethyst.
* Some creek rocks are floating above the creekbed.
* Wolf Coat 859M has a black mark on the right hip.
* On low quality settings, part of the river near the Slough Creek spawn point is underground when viewed from the spawn point.
* When creating a multiplayer game, the game mode switches back to the default selection when changing the map selection.
* Approaching Elk Herd music plays when approaching other ungulates.
* Willow bushes switch to lower detail models when player is quite close.
* Game Pause/Options menu won't open on the Age Perks panel (on your birthday) so you are forced to make the stay/advance age choice.
* Lost River Learn to Hunt quest completion text mentions having pups in the future.
* Wolf freezes in odd pose if you pause the game while digging out a dirt den.
* Short Douglas-fir tree accumulates snow unevenly (at very top of tree).
* Occasionally a beaver leaves a branch floating in the air.
* Scent post color sometimes does not update immediately.
* Mate keeps feeding pups even when predators approach.
* Occasional glitches with the scrolling panel on the Load or Save Game panels.
* Occasionally the FPS warning gets stuck on screen even after clicking to close it.
* Occasional layout issues on Wolf Bio panel.
* In very specific circumstances, the DLC Coat info ? button appears when non-DLC coat is selected.
* Terrain and water issues.

There are more features still to come for WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition! Tommi and Mikko are working on some deep code overhauls that should improve quality and performance of several core systems including AI and pathfinding. The rest of us have been working on smaller improvements and bugfixes, as well as Achievements. Then we’ll get back into Slough Creek multiplayer, which we know many players are eager for. And of course, the bighorn sheep are still waiting patiently to move into their cliff homes.



Once we finish these remaining features of the game and exit Early Access, we will dig into mobile and start on the next episode,Tower Fall (DLC), which will continue the story of your family pack through the fall and beyond. By October, pups look like small adults as they start the long, hard lessons of hunting and surviving. Your family pack will move south into the valley of the Yellowstone River. There, on the banks of the Yellowstone, with Tower Fall thundering nearby, the pack will stake out a new territory, protect the family from danger, and raise a new generation of skilled hunters.

In addition to Tower Fall, a new, expanded version of Lost River (DLC) will be even more mysterious and intriguing than Lost River Classic (which will still be included in the main game purchase).

We don’t give release dates or estimates — we release new content when it’s ready!

UPDATE May 29th: There are a couple bad bugs in this beta, so we've pulled it and switched back to 107c. Sorry about that! We'll make it available again after fixing them.

This beta is for Windows only. Instructions on how to get the beta are at the bottom of this announcement.
_______________


* Reduced the odds of flooded den after rain or storm.
* Added better rules and feedback about marking near water's edge.
* More variations in aspen trees in Slough Creek.
* On Affinity meter on wolf badge, made it clearer where the max value is.
* Clearer feedback on multiplayer Quick Heal notification, based on health level.
* When making a pup into a grown wolf, clearer header txt on the "Make an Ironwolf?" dialog, should help prevent accidental ironwolves.
* Increased volume and frequency of birdsong.
* Dinner music will not keep playing whenever there's meat at the den.
* Wolf ears adjust a bit when running.
* Can now edit the bio of a dead wolf.

* Territory grid hexes are slightly misaligned vertically, especially at the southern end.
* When player is sleeping, rain or storm may occur without any precipitation, which can then potentially trigger den flooding unexpectedly.
* Occasionally, dust kicked up by fleeing prey is glitched (square shapes).
* Game Pause/Options menu won't open on the Age Perks panel (on your birthday) so you are forced to make the stay/advance age choice.
* Lost River Learn to Hunt quest completion text mentions having pups in the future.
* Wolf freezes in odd pose if you pause the game while digging out a dirt den.
* Short Douglas-fir tree accumulates snow unevenly (at very top of tree).
* Occasionally a beaver leaves a branch floating in the air.
* Scent post color sometimes does not update immediately.
* Mate keeps feeding pups even when predators approach.
* Occasional glitches with the scrolling panel on the Load or Save Game panels.
* Occasionally the FPS warning gets stuck on screen even after clicking to close it.
* Occasional layout issues on Wolf Bio panel.
* In very specific circumstances, the DLC Coat info ? button appears when non-DLC coat is selected.


* Player is stuck under the terrain at transitions from Find Den to Raise Pups, and from Raise Pups to Journey quests.



* Elk showdown music keeps playing after encounter ends.
* All music stops playing entirely for periods of time.
* Map zoom scrollbar input is reversed.
* Account registration key is marked as "used" when trying to register an account with an invalid email address.
* Bark is always wet and shiny on cottonwood trees in Amethyst.
* Terrain and water issues.



Added debug code for multiplayer sleep bug. If this bug happens in your game, we need a bug report (F11) from the host and all players!


* In multiplayer, players get stuck sleeping and can't wake up.
* Sometimes dispersal and stranger wolf coats switch when moving closer or farther from player.
* June elk calf's rear right leg gets stuck at odd angle.



* Age Perks music begins before the black loading screen for Age Perks on your wolf's birthday.
* On Wolf Customization, body size now changes based on male/female selection (to match that difference in wolves in the game).

* In Photo Mode, when pressing right arrow key to advance time, it also also makes wolf move to the right.
* At age 8, Ironwolf term used in some cases instead of Elder Wolf.
* Occasionally a snowshoe hare that spawned in an earlier season will survive to be killed in the next season, and its coat then is basd on the new season instead of the previous season.
* Some creek rocks are floating above the creekbed.
* Wolf Coat 859M has a black mark on the right hip.


* In Setup New Game, added text indicating whether or not the selected wolf is ready to advance in age on their birthday.
* Some refinements to the Amethyst cliff rock appearance.

* Meat chunks laying on a slope will incrementally move downhill.
* On low quality settings, part of the river near the Slough Creek spawn point is underground when viewed from the spawn point.
* When creating a multiplayer game, the game mode switches back to the default selection when changing the map selection.
* Approaching Elk Herd music plays when approaching other ungulates.
* Willow bushes switch to lower detail models when player is quite close.


* Enhanced vegetation is missing in Amethyst and Slough Creek.

__________________________________

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.

As part of Steam's Open World Sale this weekend, WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is 25% off! That brings the price down to US$14.99, so if you've got WolfQuest on your wish list, this is a rare opportunity to save a few bucks. Or if you already own the game, you might take advantage of the sale to buy it for a friend who'd enjoy it!

If that price is still too steep for you, you could try your luck with our monthly WolfQuest giveaway.

No devblog this week. We're still deep in some code overhauls that should bear fruit in the long-term. Thanks for all your ideas for Achievements! So many suggestions! We are working through them and choosing which to incorporate into our master plan.

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.