* Multiplayer lobby: Game preview panel updates now if you use arrow keys to move up or down the list.
* Multiplayer lobby: Now you can click on a header to sort the list alphabetically.
* Carcass Markers (created by howling at a carcass) are now created only for large carcasses (those that can't be carried). Also added tutorial tip about this.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Refined the genetics logic when all parents have black coats (Kk genes) so their litters will be on the small side.
* Multiplayer: When one player submits a bug report in multiplayer games, other players are prompted to submit a report as well, to help bugfixing.
* Multiplayer: Adjusted some values for territory claiming and decay with 2-3 players in game.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Reduced chances of den flooding in Accelerated Time mode.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Reduced frequency of predator den attacks in Normal Time mode.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Made territory claiming a bit easier when 2-3 players are in game.
* Setup New Game panel now remembers if you are loading a MP game and exit to create or edit a wolf.
* More debugging added for certain multiplayer issues.
* Minor text edits and improvements.

* Achievements No More Bull and We'll Eat Like Kings can be earned even if player-wolves die while making the kill.
* Slough Creek multiplayer: Player can get stuck at beginning or end of Establish Territory quest if they switch to free camera immediately when joining the game.
* The Grinch is hoarding holiday decorations in Lost River.
* Pups get stuck in den if they were exiting to greet a player and that player logged out in that very moment.
* Multiple pups can get sick at the same time when reaching the rendezvous site. (They were trying so hard to not get sick while traveling...)
* A bold mate can prevent pups from sleeping by howling too much.
* Error when trying to log into game account in Slough Creek quest.
* A very specific sequence can cause no music to be playing.
* Single-player: The den attack icon disappears if you move away from the homesite.
* Sometimes the hex readouts are not visible on the World Map.
* Wrong action icon on Pup Found notification.
* If game is windowed, it goes to fullscreen if player tabs out and returns.
* Friend Request notifications don't appear during gameplay.
* Terrain and boulder tweaks.

This beta is available in the Steam Public Beta branch (see instructions below) for Windows and Mac computers.

NOTE: Multiplayer IS compatible with the last released version, 1.0.8 so you can play MP games with those on that version.


* Carcass Markers (created by howling at a carcass) are now created only for large carcasses (those that can't be carried).
* Multiplayer lobby: Now you can click on a header to sort the list alphabetically.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Reduced chances of den flooding in Accelerated Time mode.
* Multiplayer: Adjusted some values for territory claiming and decay with 2-3 players in game.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Reduced frequency of predator den attacks in Normal Time mode.
* Slough Creek Multiplayer: Made territory claiming a bit easier when 2-3 players are in game.
* Setup New Game panel now remembers if you are loading a MP game and exit to create or edit a wolf.
* More debugging added for certain multiplayer issues.
* Minor text edits and improvements.

* Multiple pups can get sick at the same time when reaching the rendezvous site. (They were trying so hard to not get sick while traveling...)
* A bold mate can prevent pups from sleeping by howling too much.
* Error when trying to log into game account in Slough Creek quest.
* A very specific sequence can cause no music to be playing.
* Single-player: The den attack icon disappears if you move away from the homesite.
* Sometimes the hex readouts are not visible on the World Map.
* Wrong action icon on Pup Found notification.
* If game is windowed, it goes to fullscreen if player tabs out and returns.
* Friend Request notifications don't appear during gameplay.
* Terrain and boulder tweaks.

____________


* Game broken if you load a save with a small (carryable) carcass marked on map.
* Pups get stuck in den if they were exiting to greet a player and that player logged out in that very moment.
____________


* Refined the genetics logic when all parents have black coats (Kk genes) so their litters will be on the small side.
___________________________________

* Refined the genetics logic when all parents have black coats (Kk genes) so their litters will be on the small side.
___________________________________


* In multiplayer lobby, game preview panel updates now if you use arrow keys to move up or down the list.
* Tutorial tip added if you howl near a small carcass (which you can carry, so does not add carcass marker to map and compass).

* In Slough Creek multiplayer, eagles can attack pups at rendezvous site (broke in beta 1).
___________________________________


* When one player submits a bug report in multiplayer games, other players are prompted to submit a report as well, to help bugfixing.

* Achievements No More Bull and We'll Eat Like Kings can be earned even if player-wolves die while making the kill.
* Slough Creek multiplayer: Player can get stuck at beginning or end of Establish Territory quest if they switch to free camera immediately when joining the game.
* Player cannot place Carcass Markers at fall and winter elk and moose calves.
* Scrooge is hoarding holiday decorations in Lost River.

___________________________________

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.

UPDATE 2: The server upgrade is done now. So hopefully this will eliminate the connection problems that some players have been having.

UPDATE: The server is going to get a memory upgrade shortly. During the upgrade, it will be offline, which means you cannot log into your WolfQuest account -- which means you cannot play multiplayer games. We're very sorry for this interruption but the upgrade should eliminate the connection issues that many players have been experiencing. It may take an hour or so to do the upgrade. We will update this post once it's done and the server is back online.
_______________________

The WolfQuest server is having trouble keeping up with the extra load from so many players since the release of Slough Creek multiplayer. This is causing problems with logging in, syncing, files, and maintaining a connection during games. We're very very sorry about this. We're working to increase server capacity, but it may take a few days, unfortunately. If you have trouble connecting, please quit the game and try again a bit later.

Yes, you can finally raise pups with old or new friends online. Can you believe it? We would not have gotten here without the diligent playtesting by our private and public beta testers, so thanks to all of you!



When creating a multiplayer game in Slough Creek, you can choose Story mode (establish a territory and raise pups in multiplayer, just as in single-player) or Pack Life or Territory Quest, which are the same as in other maps. In Story mode, all gameplay is generally the same as in singleplayer, with some new multiplayer-only options:
* Two decision-making options: Host Decides (when choosing den and rendezvous site, and deciding when to move to a new den or rendezvous site) and Majority Rules (all players vote on homesites and when to move).
* Two time-speed options: Normal (same as single-player) and Accelerated (pups grow faster, resulting in game duration of roughly two hours, give or take).

There's a special new feature -- Pup Favorites -- just for Slough Creek Story mode. Each pup has a favorite adult wolf (initially the player who named them), whom they will socialize with more often, and follow when traveling to a new den or rendezvous site. Feed and socialize with this pup to maintain your status (but the more pups who consider you their favorite, the harder it will be to maintain that status.).

This update, v1.0.8, also features several other improvements:
* Carcass Markers: Carcasses often provide more food than you can eat in one sitting. When at a carcass, howl to mark its location on the compass and World Map until it has been consumed. (In multiplayer, this will also share the carcass's location with all current members of your pack.) Also, the carcass icon (in airborne scents and on map and compass) is now an X.
* Pup health and hunger: Late summer is a challenging time because prey are healthier and pups are growing faster, so pups are now a bit hungrier in May and June, and noticeably hungrier later in the summer. Pups also lose health when very hungry, raising the threat of death from malnutrition if players don't keep them well-fed -- this is also greater for the summer pups, who also have a somewhat larger appetite.
* Ten new multiplayer achievements, featuring more beautiful icons by Jessie Clarey (Loach on Discord and Steam).

So rally the pack! Those pups aren't going to raise themselves!
________________________________________


In Story mode, establish a territory, choose a den, and raise pups in multiplayer, just as in single-player! All gameplay is the same, with some new multiplayer-only features:
* Two decision-making options: Host Decides (when choosing den and rendezvous site, and deciding when to move to a new den or rendezvous site) and Majority Rules (all players vote on homesites and when to move).
* Two time-speed options: Normal (same as single-player) and Accelerated (pups grow faster, resulting in game duration of roughly two hours, give or take).
* Pup Favorites: Each pup has a favorite adult wolf (initially the player who named them), whom they will socialize with more often, and follow when traveling to a new den or rendezvous site. Feed and socialize with this pup to maintain your status (but the more pups who consider you their favorite, the harder it will be to maintain that status.).

* Two other Slough Creek Multiplayer modes: Pack Life (live and hunt in an area which stranger wolves cannot claim) and Territory Acquisition (compete with stranger wolves for territory).
* Four territory configurations to choose from in each mode.
* Ten new achievements to earn, mainly in Slough Creek Story mode.

* Carcass markers: Carcasses often provide more food than you can eat in one sitting. When at a carcass, howl to mark its location on the compass and World Map until it has been consumed. (In multiplayer, this will also share the carcass's location with all current members of your pack.) Also, the carcass icon (in airborne scents and on map and compass) is now an X.
* Pup health and hunger: Late summer is a challenging time because prey are healthier and pups are growing faster, so pups are now a bit hungrier in May and June, and noticeably hungrier later in the summer. Pups also lose health when very hungry, raising the threat of death from malnutrition if players don't keep them well-fed -- this is also greater for the summer pups. Summer pups also have a somewhat larger appetite.
* Eagle attacks at the den are more exciting now.
* Pup AI: Pups will often take a nap after filling their tummies, and they will always move away from the carcass so other pups can reach it.
* Pup sickness: Pups won't get sick until a few game-hours into Raise Pups quest. Reduced the duration of sickness, and minor tweaks to make kk pups more likely to get sick compared to Kk pups. Reduced odds of dying some. Reduced the chances of a pup getting sick for a second time.
* Lost pups: Reduced the period of time that pups can be lost before dying in the wilderness.
* Increased pup eating speed (somewhat faster in spring, more in summer).
* When pups are clustered around a carcass, it can be hard for player to target the carcass, so now you can target it more easily if you walk up close to it.
* Mate: Reduced the distance from the den that the mate will feed pups at.
* Age Perks: Reduced Youthful Prowess effects on competitors.
* Made grizzlies and cougars a bit more persistent during den raids.
* Multiplayer: Now you can rename game when loading a save (and if there is already an active MP game with that name, you are prompted to change the name of your game).
* Multiplayer: Players joining a game are invulnerable to damage for 20 seconds (so they can get away from dangerous NPCs if they happen to spawn right by one).
* Multiplayer: Players do not lose control of their wolf now when notifications appear onscreen, and can use X key (or Enter key) to close the notification, instead of using mouse. Notifications now show key input to continue or make selection. (X and Enter also work in singleplayer games, but these other change to notifications do not affect singleplayer.)

We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready.

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, December 13, 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.

Slough Creek multiplayer beta is now available for Windows and Mac computers in the WQ:AE Public Beta branch! (See instructions at bottom of this post on how to access the beta.)

NOTE: Multiplayer is not compatible with the last released patch, 1.0.7n, so you can only play MP games with others who have this beta. You can switch back and forth between this beta and 1.0.7n anytime, game saves are compatible.

IMPORTANT: When reporting multiplayer bugs, we need a report from both the host and any other player who is having the problem. Without the host's report, we cannot try to reproduce and fix the bug.

If the game crashes, please email the Player.log and Player-prev.log files to bugs@wolfquest.org:

• On Windows: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\LocalLow\eduweb\WolfQuestAE\Player.log
  
• On MacOS: ~/Library/Logs/eduweb/WolfQuestAE/Player.log (You can open the Library folder via the Go pulldown menu.)

In Story mode, establish a territory, choose a den, and raise pups in multiplayer, just as in single-player! All gameplay is the same, with some new multiplayer-only features:
* Two decision-making options: Host Decides (when choosing den and rendezvous site, and deciding when to move to a new den or rendezvous site) and Majority Rules (all players vote on homesites and when to move).
* Two time-speed options: Normal (same as single-player) and Accelerated (pups grow faster, resulting in game duration of roughly two hours, give or take).
* Pup Favorites: Each pup has a favorite adult wolf (initially the player who named them), whom they will socialize with more often, and follow when traveling to a new den or rendezvous site. Feed and socialize with this pup to maintain your status (but the more pups who consider you their favorite, the harder it will be to maintain that status.).

* Two other Slough Creek Multiplayer modes: Pack Life (live and hunt in an area which stranger wolves cannot claim) and Territory Acquisition (compete with stranger wolves for territory).
* Four territory configurations to choose from in each mode.
* Ten new achievements to earn, mainly in Slough Creek Story mode.


* Carcass markers: Carcasses often provide more food than you can eat in one sitting. When at a carcass, howl to mark its location on the compass and World Map until it has been consumed. (In multiplayer, this will also share the carcass's location with all current members of your pack.) Also, the carcass icon (in airborne scents and on map and compass) is now an X.
* Pup health and hunger: Late summer is a challenging time because prey are healthier and pups are growing faster, so pups are now a bit hungrier in May and June, and noticeably hungrier later in the summer. Pups also lose health when very hungry, raising the threat of death from malnutrition if players don't keep them well-fed -- this is also greater for the summer pups. Summer pups also have a somewhat larger appetite.
* Pup AI: Pups will often take a nap after filling their tummies, and they will always move away from the carcass so other pups can reach it.
* Pup sickness: Pups won't get sick until a few game-hours into Raise Pups quest. Reduced the duration of sickness, and minor tweaks to make kk pups more likely to get sick compared to Kk pups. Reduced odds of dying some. Reduced the chances of a pup getting sick for a second time.
* Lost pups: Reduced the period of time that pups can be lost before dying in the wilderness.
* Increased pup eating speed (somewhat faster in spring, more in summer).
* When pups are clustered around a carcass, it can be hard for player to target the carcass, so now you can target it more easily if you walk up close to it.
* Mate: Reduced the distance from the den that the mate will feed pups at.
* Age Perks: Reduced Youthful Prowess effects on competitors.
* Made grizzlies and cougars a bit more persistent during den raids.
* Multiplayer: Now you can rename game when loading a save (and if there is already an active MP game with that name, you are prompted to change the name of your game.)
* Changed time of Newborn Ungulate subquest popup from 6am to 1am on June 1st, so people will stop bugging me about finding newborns in those six hours before the popup appears.* Prey carcasses emit airborne scents more frequently.
* Scent posts emit airborne scents less frequently.
* NPC obstacle avoidance code is now multi-threaded, which should have minor performance improvement.
* Increased stamina drain when carrying a pup (now you can carry it for 100 seconds, previously was about 130s).
* Modest reduction in coyote aggressiveness during den raids. (Not too much though, since coyote pups are the most vulnerable of all competitors to wolves, so coyotes would be pretty fierce to protect them.)
* Mate will regurgitate more when pups are very hungry.
* Increased the min/max distance that carcasses can spawn (because now with the carcass markers, we don't need as many carcasses out there).
* Loaf at Rendezvous Site quest intro texts modified to mention risk of malnutrition.
* Added a note in Lost River intro dialog about not being able to have pups there.
* Tweaks to the NPC spawning reductions based on CPU benchmarking (less reduction when fewer animals are spawned, more reductions when a lot of animals are spawned). These reductions are now applied in single-player as well as multiplayer, to prevent CPU-based performance issues.
* Reduced grass density at maximum graphics settings to eliminate micropauses on GTX 20XX-generation GPUs.
* Douglas-fir trees in Amethyst look a bit better, not as dark.

* Multiplayer: Nametags don't appear on other players in certain circumstances.
* Pathfinding: Mate stuck on top of rock den (and animal long distance pathfinding in general).
* Pathfinding: Mate does not come to player after secondary howl.
* Pup is running in place near parent when it should be sleeping. (Why? Because it's a social pup and wants to closer to the parent before sleeping, but can't get there.)
* Sometimes mate stops moving when carrying pup.
* Wolf panting sound effect is much too quiet.
* Sometimes wolf cannot pick up beaver, fawn, or calf carcass.
* Birds sometimes fly just above ground and/or move with jittery, slow animations.
* In SC winter, some tree stumps are missing, but their colliders are not.
* Terrain issues.
_______________________


* Players joining a MP game are invulnerable to damage for 20 seconds (so they can get away from dangerous NPCs if they happen to spawn right by one).

* SCMP: At end of Establish Territory, can get stuck or delayed completing the quest.
* Sickness readouts flicker on Easy difficulty.
* Mate sometimes wobbles back and forth, and sometimes stutters, when running.
* SCMP: When inside den, player-marker is at corner of the World Map.
* LR: Birds and distant animal audio does not play.
* Long distance navigation problem can cause unexpected NPC movements.
* MP: Wolf's mouth remains open if it was carrying something when going offline.
* If game resolution is set to something lower than monitor's native resolution, tabbing away from game and returning can make game switch to native resolution.

_______________________


* SCMP: Reduced the maximum number of stranger wolves who can attack the den (based on number of players at den).
* SCMP: Increased affinity boosts when two players in game.
* Eagle attacks at the den are more exciting now.

* SCMP: Can get stuck in Newborn Pups screen in certain situations, and if some players have laggy computers.
* SCMP: Somtimes a fight with competitor doesn't fully end after it's over.
* SCMP: Pups don't respond to Fun Parent if other players put them over the Affinity cap
* Game freezes or crashes after launch in certain rare situations.
* No wolf preview in Family Tree.
* Fearful Snarl emote gives speed boost when running.
* Stranger wolves don't have correct stranger-wolf airborne scent icon.
* Male ungulates can do glitchy multiple frontal attacks in a very short period of time.
* Mate can't catch hare.
_______________________


* More refinements to adjust the number of strangers attacking players at den and elsewhere.

* SCMP: Pups float or glitch out of two players try to pick it up at the same time.
* Eagle can grab a pup out of player-wolf's mouth (if player picked pup up while eagle was already diving for it).
_______________________


* MP games: Players do not lose control of their wolf now when notifications appear onscreen, and can use X key (or Enter key) to close the notification, instead of using mouse. Notifications now show key input to continue or make selection. (X and Enter also work in singleplayer games, but these other change to notifications do not affect singleplayer.)
* SCMP: Improvements to pup behavior when traveling to new den or rendezvous site, to eliminate bugs where pups would not come out of tall grass patch if greatly separated from other pups. Please note that pups should be kept together in a group, not split into separate and widely-separated groups during these journeys.

* Enter key does not open chat input.
* Pups still can get sick immediately at start of Raise Pups quest.
* Competitors can attack during the Loat at Rendezvous site conclusion howl/spiral camera.
* Fearful Snarl emote does only head animation, not crouch movement.
______________________________


* Nobody can enter the den (bug in beta 8, which was up only briefly).
* SCMP: Pups switch to new Favorite adult at start of Journey quest.
* SCMP: Fun Parent gets cooldown notification.
* MP games: If cursor is already unlocked, then keyboard inputs are not recognized.
______________________________


* Newborn pups start disappearing immediately when naming them. (regression in beta 8).
* SCMP: Moving to New Den subquest is not completed properly, which can also cause subsequent bugs, particularly preventing the Raise Pups quest from completing when pups reach 15 lbs,
* New keyboard-input glyphs on MP quest and notification UI panels appear in single-player games as well.
* Lost River Multiplayer: Howls and other animal and natural audio are muted.
* Pups panic when golden eagles land near den but are not hunting pups -- they just want to eat a meat chunk or carcass.
______________________________


* SCMP Accelerated mode: Reduced rate of flea increase a bit.
* SCMP: Move to New Den/RS quest dialogs appear a second time when World Map is opened.
* MP: Reduced maximum distance between players when adjusting size of stranger patrols.
* Controller: Added correct glyphs for controller input in Multiplayer quest dialogs and notifications.

* SCMP: Eagle attack doesn't trigger red predator icon or music.
* SCMP Accelerated: Pups grow too much before newborn ungulates are born.
* SCMP: Occasionally pup health readout says 101%.
* SCMP: During den votes, AFK players can hold up progress.
* SCMP: Pup keeps running off toward another player after moving to a new den.
* MP: When host closes the game, clients don't get notified for 8-10 seconds.
* Two achievements -- Home Is Where the Heart Is and Den Memory -- are broken (since beta early this week).
* Mate can get stuck when trying to carry meat out of water.
* Meat chunks don't have new "X" airborne scent icon.
* Data not saved correctly to earn Den Memory or Home Is Where the Heart Is achievements.
* Mate can get stuck at certain water locations.
______________________________


* SCMP: Pup nametags are now tan, to be visually distinct from player nametags.
* Added a 60-second timer on the Vote for New Den/Rendezvous Site poll, so no player can hold up progress.

* SCMP: The "Strength of the Wolf" (both difficulties) and "Favorite Forever" achievements don't unlock when they should. Sorry about that!
* SCMP: The "Nobody Messes with Us" achievement doesn't unlock when it should, but NOTE: in this build, you'll earn it even if pups die in the attack. We'll get that part fixed tomorrow.
* SCMP: In specific circumstances, players can get stuck with a black screen when going from Find Den to Newborn Pups.
* SCMP: If a player joins just as a quest is ending, they can get into a buggy state.
* SCMP: Move to New Den button appears on Pack Info during Establish Territory quest.
* SCMP: Name Your Pack dialog text mentions your mate (text from singleplayer).
* SC: Elk calves in winter are a bit too small.
______________________________


* SCMP: Pup weight sometimes is not synced properly between host and other players, which can also prevent finishing the Raise Pups quest.
* SCMP: Nobody Messes With Us achievement can be earned even if pups are killed by strangers.
* SCMP: Favorite Forever achievement sometimes isn't unlocked when earned.
______________________________


* SCMP: When traveling to new den or rendezvous site, stranger wolf attacks will show the red predator icon only when the strangers are attacking the core group with the pups. (Previously the red icon would appear in territorial fights with any player-wolf anywhere on the map.)
* SCMP: When players close quest-conclusion popups, a "Waiting for Others" notification appears until all players have closed the popup, or the countdown timer ends, to provide clarity about situation.
* MP: Keyboard icons switched from light to dark style.

* SCMP: If moving dens near the end of the Raise Pups quest, the vote texts refer to rendezvous sites instead of dens.
* SCMP: Problems ensue if a player-wolf dies at the very end of a quest, during the fade-out.
* SCMP: When still naming pups when timer finishes, players end up stuck at the start of Raise Pups.
* On Easy difficulty level, pups can remain sick for a very long time.
* Hare airborne scents use old icon. (Regurgitants still use the old icon since they are not carcasses.)
* Terrain issues.
______________________________


* SCMP: Den attack music now plays for players inside the den during an attack.
* SCMP: Added countdown timer on Newborn Pup naming in Host Decides mode, so no player can hold up the game by not naming their pup(s).

* SCMP: Game can get stuck at end of Establish Territory with no way to proceed (occurs if a player switches to scent view or headcam immediately upon joining, before Quest intro dialogs have appeared).
* SCMP: Some pup death and other important notifications don't always appear when they should.
* MP: DIsconnected notification does not appear if player is disconnected while joining a game.
* Game fails to load properly (stuck on aerial view of map) if player had previously quit the game during dreams.
______________________________


* Added Carcass Marker icon to World Map legend.
* Added Carcass Markers to game saves.
* Adjusted grass and bush placement on main menu on Glorious.

* Dinner (carcass) music plays when there is no carcass nearby.
* Lost River main exploration music never plays.
* SCMP: Wrong notification text if you go to a den before the pack has begun voting on a den.
* File Syncing alert flashes repeatedly.
* Occasionally territory chime sfx doesn't play.
* SCMP: Occasionally pups make no sound when howling or vocalizing.
* SCMP: Occasionally other player-wolves' nametags are missing.
* SCMP: No targeting arrow over other player-wolves.
* SC Pack Life and Territory Quest: Dens glow in scent view and trigger den radar below compass.
______________________________


* SCMP: Quests do not complete properly if a player joins in the final moments.
* SCMP: "Waiting for Others" could be closed by sleeping and incorrectly never come back.
* Rock den in northeast Slough Creek does not glow in scent view.
* Find a Den quest music only plays once, at start of quest, never again.
* Merch popup has wrong title text.
* Family Tree wolf preview doesn't work (again).
______________________________________________

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.

IMPROVEMENTS:
* Stamina drain added when carrying a pup. Added to deter players from doing companionship with sick pup while marking territory, and looking ahead, to somewhat deter malicious players in SCMP from taking pups far from homesite.
* Adjusted max speed when catching up to prey, should make it slightly easier for players to bite mule deer, and noticeably easier for mates.
* Increased chances of pup death from sickness if player doesn't spend time with them, and refined pup sickness odds to vary the timing of sickness and make second sickness less likely.
* Feeding pups now gives a small boost to pack affinity (and why wouldn't it?)
* Douglas-fir trees in Amethyst look a bit better, not as dark.
* Improved pace of snow accumulation on trees in Amethyst.
* Added note on Slough Creek World Map indicated hex diameter.
* On Family Tree panel, moved Delete button to avoid accidental clicking (though there is a confirmation dialog too).
* Added more waypoint-paths at northwest rock den for entering and exiting den.
* Adjusted meat chunk collider so wolves don't float above it when lying down.
* Slightly increased the allowed duration of single spacebar taps (to make it more forgiving when trying to eat).

BUGS FIXED:
* Airborne scents stop moving and spawning in certain situations (probably fixed).
* When creating new Amethyst MP game, some options for SC MP (coming soon) are displayed.
* Mate frozen at edge of Lost River map.
* When mates attempt to help in a beaver ambush when bison (better prey) are nearby, they wiggle and won't bite beaver.
* Beaver does twitchy in-place turn instead of spin turn when attacked.
* Beaver carcass is missing fur on both sides when partially consumed.
* In certain situations, game freezes while sleeping.
* Sometimes beavers get stuck on lodge.
* Beavers sometimes get stuck going in circles.
* Pups pile around the same food chunk even if there are others more easily accessible.
* NPC animals can get stuck where boulders or trees are very close together.
* If you do secondary howl to call mate to your location, it will eat any food it comes upon, rather than leaving some for pups.
* Pup gets stuck running in circles near beaver dam.
* Pup going in circles trying to cross river (and other similar cases, no doubt).
* Cow elk freezes when health drops and cannot find another action to do.
* Yellowstone features boneless mule deer carcasses.
* Ambient blowing snow particles aren't visible.
* Wolf Bio: can't select text in bottom rows of text.
* Wrong eye color if you switch from Basic to Enhanced graphics mode during Photo Mode.
* MP game name appears in top-left corner of Perks panel.
* Odd object in lower left corner in Newborn den scene.
* Sometimes no music plays when the Hide & Snack music should play.
* Airborne scents move too slowly in high winds.
* Increased odds of pup dying from sickness (but no change to odds if player stays with pup).
* Mule deer don't respect fur setting in Graphics Quality.
* Snow accumulates on sides of animals sometimes.
* Grizzly rubs against den if all pups are inside.
* Pups don't follow player when moving to new den or rendezvous site.
* Dead tree in Lamar Valley has striped bark.
* Problems ensue if player goes to sleep while Den Discovered alert is onscreen, just before Name Your Pack appears.
* Beavers can get stuck by beaver dam when trying to flee.
* Beavers sometimes cross overland instead of following a trail.
* Beavers behave erratically if spawned while player-wolf is sleeping.
* No wolf or pup preview in Family Tree panel.
* Eagles get stuck on ground or in rocks.
* Order of perks is inconsistent from one age subpanel to the next.
* Lost River: Van Winkle scent posts are floating above ground and beyond map's edge.
* Some remaining issues with Hide & Snack music triggers.
* Photo Mode camera icon doesn't appear.
* One den does not glow in wintertime in scent view.
* Typos.
* Terrain and water issues.

Testing, tuning, tweaking, and fixing are continuing apace on the upcoming Slough Creek multiplayer mode for WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition. Today's devblog looks at a couple features along with the ongoing task of tuning and balancing the game for multiplayer.



For example, we've built a new voting system for choosing dens and rendezvous sites, where all players have two minutes to vote for their preferred location, and then the host ratifies the vote (breaking a tie if necessary). We've also finalized the way that pup genetics works in multiplayer. This is a tricky matter indeed, with technical, usability, and social concerns that need to be satisfied. The dev team pondered it for many months until Tommi realized that, with the pack being a family, they share a common gene pool. The two parents obviously (or at least hopefully) have different genes, but offspring share their parents' DNA in various combinations. So we can simply draw on everyone's genes when calculating the pups' genes. This is by no means a perfect solution if you think about it real hard, and it doesn't capture the complexity of some Yellowstone packs, but for our purposes its a pretty good solution that meets our needs.

We've also been working on game balance for 4- or 5-person multiplayer games, increasing the frequency of competitor attacks on the den, increasing the wolves' hunger rate, among other things, to create sufficient challenge with a larger pack than you have in single-player.

So it's coming along! Not ready to release yet, but we are making excellent progress.

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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,.) Once the game is completed on PC/Mac, we will turn our attention to other platforms. The next episode, Tower Fall (DLC) will follow. We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready!

This beta is now available for Windows computers in the WQ:AE Public Beta branch (see instructions at bottom of this post.)

In this beta, game saves and wolves are backward-compatible with the last released version (1.0.7j3), so switch back and forth without any problems, but Multiplayer is NOT compatible with 1.0.7m so players can only see games hosted by others on the same version.


* Stamina drain added when carrying a pup. Added to deter players from doing companionship with sick pup while marking territory, and looking ahead, to somewhat deter malicious players in SCMP from taking pups far from homesite.
* Adjusted max speed when catching up to prey, should make it slightly easier for players to bite mule deer, and noticeably easier for mates.
* Increased chances of pup death from sickness if player doesn't spend time with them, and refined pup sickness odds to vary the timing of sickness and make second sickness less likely.
* Douglas-fir trees in Amethyst look a bit better, not as dark.
* Improved pace of snow accumulation on trees in Amethyst.
* Added note on World Map indicated hex diameter.
* On Family Tree panel, moved Delete button to avoid accidental clicking (though there is a confirmation dialog too).
* Added more waypoint-paths at northwest rock den for entering and exiting den.
* Adjusted meat chunk collider so wolves don't float above it when lying down.
* Slightly increased the allowed duration of single spacebar taps (to make it more forgiving when trying to eat).

* Airborne scents stop moving and spawning in certain situations (probably fixed).
* When creating new Amethyst MP game, some options for SC MP (coming soon) are displayed.
* Mate frozen at edge of Lost River map.
* When mates attempt to help in a beaver ambush when bison (better prey) are nearby, they wiggle and won't bite beaver.
* Beaver does twitchy in-place turn instead of spin turn when attacked.
* Beaver carcass is missing fur on both sides when partially consumed.
* Sometimes beavers get stuck on lodge.
* Beavers sometimes get stuck going in circles.
* Pups pile around the same food chunk even if there are others more easily accessible.
* NPC animals can get stuck where boulders or trees are very close together.
* If you do secondary howl to call mate to your location, it will eat any food it comes upon, rather than leaving some for pups.
* In certain situations, game freezes while sleeping.
* Pup gets stuck running in circles near beaver dam.
* Pup going in circles trying to cross river (and other similar cases, no doubt).
* Cow elk freezes when health drops and it cannot find another action to do.
* Yellowstone features boneless mule deer carcasses.
* Ambient blowing snow particles aren't visible.
* Wolf Bio: can't select text in bottom rows of text.
* Wrong eye color if you switch from Basic to Enhanced graphics mode during Photo Mode.
* MP game name appears in top-left corner of Perks panel.
* Odd object in lower left corner in Newborn den scene.
* Sometimes no music plays when the Hide & Snack music should play.
* Airborne scents move too slowly in high winds.
* Adjusted meat chunk collider so wolves don't float above it when lying down.
* Increased odds of pup dying from sickness (but no change to odds if player stays with pup).
* Mule deer don't respect fur setting in Graphics Quality.
* Snow accumulates on sides of animals sometimes.
* Grizzly rubs against den if all pups are inside.
* Typos.
* Terrain and water issues.


Feeding pups now gives a small boost to pack affinity (and why wouldn't it?)

* Pups don't follow player when moving to new den or rendezvous site.
* Dead tree in Lamar Valley has striped bark.
* Problems ensue if player goes to sleep while Den Discovered alert is onscreen, just before Name Your Pack appears.
* Beavers can get stuck by beaver dam when trying to flee.
* Beavers sometimes cross overland instead of following a trail.
* Beavers behave erratically if spawned while player-wolf is sleeping.
* No wolf or pup preview in Family Tree panel.
* Eagles get stuck on ground or in rocks.


* Order of perks is inconsistent from one age subpanel to the next.
* Lost River: Van Winkle scent posts are floating above ground and beyond map's edge.
* Some remaining issues with Hide & Snack music triggers.
* Photo Mode camera icon doesn't appear.
______________________________________________


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.

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 Tuesday, November 23, 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.