Hello everyone!
Once again, it's been a while since I checked in with you all. I'm very aware that around now is when I had hoped to have this update finished, but I've been working an actual job, which has relegated Into the Wild's development to something I can only do in my free time. Nonetheless, I have been working away when I can find the time, and whilst sadly I'm not delivering this update to you all today, I can at least talk more about what will be in it and when you can expect it.
So! Animals, the most exciting feature coming to this update and the thing I'm personally most excited about having in the game. Well, the good news is, they're basically done! Coming in this update are 2 animals which will inhabit the valley of Jegersdal, and you've probably already spotted one of them from this update's thumbnail: wolves. Wolves will be a new threat that players have to deal with, as they will roam the valley seeking out food, and given that food is already somewhat rare in the region, that could very well mean you! In real life wolves are very good hunters with keen vision and a strong sense of smell, and the wolves that are coming to Into the Wild are no different, with them being able to detect players from fairly long distances by sight and even by smell alone in situations where visibility is less than ideal. Wolves will stalk you and try and stay out of your line of sight to let them get as close as possible before they begin the charge to try and take you down, and if you let them get close enough then they can do that fairly easily, with wolf attacks often being fatal without means to fight back.
But, it wouldn't be very much fun if you actually couldn't fight back at all! Being added along with the wolves is the ability to finally pick up and use the rifle that already exists in the game, as well as adding ammunition for it in a few places. Players will need to aim carefully, as their character has little to no weapon skills and handles the rifle accordingly, but thankfully the rifle is powerful enough to bring down a wolf in a single hit. Managing to take down a wolf can be quite rewarding, as you can harvest the dead corpse for it's meat to sustain yourself that little bit longer. That being said, if you're really too scared to go up against them, hostile wildlife can be turned off through a toggle when starting a new game, and this can be used to have them either active or inactive on both difficulty settings.
However, not all wildlife coming in this update is hostile, because in addition to wolves, rabbits are also being added to the game! Acting as a source of food for both you and the wolves, you'll often find rabbits wandering the more forested areas of the valley. You'll be able to use the rifle to hunt the rabbits for food to keep yourself going past the point that was possible with just the base game food items, although with their small size and their tendency to run away from the slightest noise or movement, you may find them even harder to hit than the wolves!
So, those are the big features of this update! I am working on some smaller quality of life additions as well. As mentioned in my last post, this update should come with improvements to the fall damage system, as well as some retexturing to make the game look a bit nicer. These improvements are somewhat secondary to getting the wildlife done and added to the game though, and may actually end up arriving either only partially in this update or even get completely pushed back.
Lastly, the big question: when is this update coming? Well, as mentioned, most of the core systems for both the wolves and the addition of the rifle are finished and I'm in the polishing stages for that. There are, of course, some glitches, and I've been really struggling with animations for the rifle (although the animals animations are actually finished), which need to be sorted out prior to release, but this content is definitely on the home stretch now. My plan is to release this update, regardless of how much of the extra stuff is finished, at the start of January 2025.
This means that the animals and the rifle will, unless some unforeseen disaster takes place, definitely be coming on that date. What remains up in the air is how much of the other stuff get's thrown in there and how much is delayed for a later date. The optional stuff is: full and complete animations for the rifle, the retexturing, and the fall damage overhaul. If the fall damage isn't in there, then that will be top priority for me, then after that the retexturing, and finally an update that will add not only animations to the rifle but to the other items as well. But for now, I'm going to focus on getting everything that I can shipped with this update and then look at a plan for the other content afterwards.
I'm really excited to deliver this all to you at the start of the new year!
Seph