Avuxeni Hunters!
We are excited to announce that today marks the release of our latest addition to Vurhonga Savanna, the Lion!
The efforts you've made under Grandfather Njabulo's guidance have borne fruit once again after the gemsbok, as Vurhonga now gets its lions back. In addition to being Vurhonga's first carnivore, it is also Call of the Wild's first ever Apex Predator. They're nomadic, prideless African lions that have been introduced into the savanna to mark their territory and give players a new challenge in the open plains of central Vurhonga. The lions of Vurhonga, much like real lions, are curious animals. They haven't been exposed to humans and don't see them as prey but as invaders. Occasionally, when a lion senses you as a threat to its life or territory, it will approach and confront you. During a confrontation, its objective is to either scare you off or kill you and your actions will determine the odds of your survival...
This update also contains a long list of bug fixes as well as a rework of spinal cords.
Given that some animals (like buffalo and bison) have very large vertebrae (spinal cord), spine shots were the easiest way to down them. With this update, the spinal cord is separated out as an own “organ” to come closer to a realistic and ethical hunting experience. Vertebrae shots are higher damage shots than other bones, but they are no longer instant kills. Also, to make vital organs more viable, such as double lung shots, we have increased the time threshold for Quick Kill Bonus from 5 to 8 seconds.
You can read more about the Lion on our Steam Store page, or find the full Lion update content summary and the patch notes below:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1011280/theHunter_Call_of_the_Wild__New_Species_2019/
Patch Notes New Animal - Lion (free)
New Features:
- New Species - Lion on Vurhonga Savanna
- New Feature - Confrontation with Apex Predator
- Spinal Cord rework - tweaked and balanced damage values for spinal cord organ
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements:
- Reduced Puma population
- Fixed an issue where Pumas entered the chasing state with no target
- Fixed an issue with the mission "Duck Decoys" in Parque Fernando where players could not place duck decoys at the specified location
- Fixed achievement/trophy for Paleontology 101 (Medved-Taiga). We have a fix for players who have been blocked from completing this achievement. Unfortunately, there was an issue with collectibles being unintentionally half-collected and not having the correct data saved. In order to make this fix work retroactively for our blocked players, we needed to do a soft reset of progress for all players. Players do not need to recollect fossils they have already found, they simply need to be within 450m of the location of a collected fossil for it to be counted. We're very sorry for any hassle. We know this is not the ideal solution, but we are happy to be able to fix this long-standing issue for our players.
- Fixed Shot-For-Shot Achievement, Carolina's Greatest Hits We also have a fix for players blocked from completing this achievement. In short, players who completed targets in multiplayer would not receive credit for their completion of a target challenge and would be blocked from completing the achievement. Similar to the Paleontology 101 fix, in order to make this fix work retroactively for our blocked players, we needed to do a soft reset of progress for all players. Players do not need to redo challenge they have already completed, they simply need to be within 450m of the completed challenge target.
- Fixed issue with Patagonian unlocks for .44 and .338 going invisible after a player quits the game
- Rebalanced spawning of rare animal variations for animals in Parque Fernando
- Puma trophy is now showing the correct color variation
- Fixed an issue with game crashes when harvesting a puma
- The cabinet in the Parque Fernando hunting lodge outpost building no longer lacks collision
Gameplay
- Improved mechanics for pathfinding
- Fixed an issue with not being able to dismantle portable structures in multiplayer
- Players no longer lose XP and money when a new game is started and quit after completing missions
- Players can no longer buy items of the same category with insufficient funds
- Updated mallard need zones and spawn zones
- Fixed an issue with the mallard caller occasionally not making any sound when used
- Fixed an issue with the poachers' traps in Vurhonga Savanna being difficult to interact with
- Deers in Parque Fernando now react appropriately to a puma’s presence
- Fixed an issue with a very special puma's attack behavior being broken - will only attack when the player is close
- Blackbuck targets now unlock correctly on the Archery Range in Parque Fernando
- Fixed an issue with players not being able to complete the “Best-In-Class" mission
- Fixed an issue with Tracked Animal Info not disappearing from the map even if a New Game has been started
- Players no longer lose XP and money after restarting a game if saved at a tent
- Fixed an issue with geese sometimes not landing in Petershain cornfields
- Fixed an issue with Players getting stuck in the meat shed in the mission “Be Our Guests”
- Fixed an issue with the hunter being launched into the air after being killed
- Fixed issue with the Player's position not being saved at Müllerwald Western Outpost
- Fixed a rare crash that occurred when an animal died
- Player no longer needs to have 5000 cash to change outfit or equip/remove backpack
- Fixed an issue for the Side Mission “Legal Sources” - Mission objective incorrectly directed players to Dzonga instead of Vuxa, it now correctly directs to Vuxa
- Fixed an issue with the “Call of the Wild" achievement not unlocking
- Fixed an issue with ‘A Sample of Parque Fernando’s Finest’ achievement not unlocking
- The Deer "Bleat" Caller is now listed as recommended for Mule Deer
Multiplayer
- The Host’s name in the list of multiplayer games will now update correctly when the host leaves a game
- Hosts will share need zones and hunting pressure with all players in a multiplayer game correctly. This doesn’t, however, migrate to a new host if the original host leaves
- Fixed an issue for Deployable items placed not returning to the backpack/case when a player leaves a multiplayer session
- Fixed an issue with ATVs being playable in multiplayer sessions, even if ATV settings are set to off
- Fix for Cinnamon Teal being stuck in air after host leaves multiplayer session
- All players in a multiplayer session are no longer informed when a remote player discovers a need zone
- Fixed issues with navigating the list of multiplayer lobbies with a controller
- The saving of need zones in multiplayer should now work as intended
- An issue for double numbers of portable structures that clients have deployed in multiplayer sessions has been fixed
User Interface
- Fixed an issue with the HUD showing a doubled amount of consumables and deployable items in Quick Access
- Fixed an issue when resetting skill points, the message instead warns about reallocation of perk points (should now refer to skill points)
- Fixed an issue with Decoys not showing on the map if the player moves far enough away from them
- Fixed an issue with the wrong order of reserves when scrolling using a gamepad in the reserve selection screen
- Menu scrollbar behavior is now consistent when clicking and dragging with a mouse
- The “Downloadable Content” text in the main menu is now fully highlighted
- Fixed an issue with Disabling POI icons hiding Need Zone icons and player's waypoints
- Fixed an issue with “Compatible Items" button text changing to placeholder text when the store menu opened below the weapons category
- Fixed an issue where text in the 'Affected Species' section for the buck caller was truncated.
- Fixed an issue with the Inventory UI: now displaying a message instead of categories if the player’s backpack contains no items
- Fixed an issue with the placed decoy icon sometimes not appearing on the map until the player restarts the game
- Text is no longer truncated from reserve descriptions on the world map
- Fixed an issue with the Shooting Range overlay not disappearing when switching reserve
- The Contextual Help box for Axis Deer is now the correct size and the text is no longer cut off
- Skill/perk reset cost is now displayed even when a player can't afford it
- Fixed issues with assigning an item to Quick Access if that item is moved to backpack when other items are also moved to storage
- "Compatible items" button is no longer shown in item categories that are not relevant
- Unlocked regions in the codex will no longer be skipped over when navigating the codex with a controller
- Fixed an issue with difficulty in determining where the current highlight is when navigating the multiplayer menu with a controller
- Deploying the last instance of a tent, blind or other portable structure will no longer cause the inventory menu to become blank
- Fixed issue for hidden "Ghost" button in the in-game settings, that will exit the player to the Main Menu when clicked on
- Fixed an issue for shots hit/missed tallies in hunting profile not incrementing
- Inventory item subcategory no longer changes to text when the item is dragged from quick access and back
- Fixed an issue with the counter in "Everybody Loves Ducks!" mission Huntermate objective being misleading
- Fixed misleading description for the mission "Night Tracker". The mission description now correctly directs the player to spot 3 axis deer at night as opposed to photographing one
- Fixed an issue with landmarks in Parque Fernando not displaying names
Audio
- Improved ambient sounds in Vurhonga Savanna
- Deers no longer snort repeatedly on detecting the player, and function as intended
Miscellaneous
- Updated the Hair Shader, resulting in higher quality hair on animals (for example, better quality lion mane, and hair inside the ear of certain animals).
- Poachers' car no longer disappears the moment the player completes the mission “The Last Rhino”
- Parque Fernando Trophy Collection becomes active if the player gets a diamond
- PC: Fixed crash issue when entering the initial loading screen
- Fixed: Shots on Challenge Targets count as “Missed”
- Fixed issue for Settings not saving and reverting to default when continuing game
- Animals are no longer spawning on the unplayable side of the river in Vurhonga Savanna
- Fixed issue which sometimes made it impossible to turn off the camera overlay if it was brought up via Quick Access
- Spanish translation of Red Deer is now correct
- Fixed issue with the different Puma behavior states for not working properly
- Fixed issue with animals sometimes not grazing when eating
- Minor improvements to Chinese localization
- Fixes for hunting structure issues
- Fixed an issue with inaccurate collision on lookout towers
- Fixed an issue where the parachute dropped in the mission“The Last Hangup” could be heard before and after completing the mission
- Fixed an issue where players could block progress in the mission “Shot for Shot” by shooting a target before it becomes an objective
- The "Scouting Certification" mission is no longer completed automatically
- Vurhonga Savanna’s dialogue has been adapted to the reintroduction of Lions
- Water Buffalo has now a correct translation in French
- Fix for Puma footprints left during the chase are labeled “Run”
- Fixed the description for the "Resting Behaviour" mission asking players to spot a resting axis deer but the mission only required player to spot any resting animal.
- Fixed an issue where codex incorrectly listed Weapon Class 4 as recommended equipment for Fallow Deer in Portuguese
We really hope that you'll enjoy this most recent update to Vurhonga Savanna! Happy hunting!
// theHunter: Call of the Wild team