v2.0.4 - PUBLIC BETA
NOTE: Game saves are NOT backward compatible with v2.0.3d, so if you switch back to that version, any saves made with this beta will be hidden (until you switch back or until v2.0.4 is released). Multiplayer games are also NOT backward-compatible with that last patch, so you can only play with those who have this beta version.
See instructions at bottom of this page for opting into the public beta.
BETA 28
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Multiplayer: Reduced territory decay during homesite quests a bit.
* Set odds for recently-added coats to normal (had been a bit higher since they were added).
BUGS FIXED:
* Game can stall out in certain cases when moving maps.
* Amethyst Mountain Early Spring (Find Den) season: Rabbitbrush missing texture on Basic Grass mode.
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BETA 27
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Refinements to packmate decisions about eating meat chunks near bison.
* Refined LOD distances for bison and snow.
BUGS FIXED:
* Bison rear-left bite point is offset.
* Amethyst: A few areas have plants without textures.
* Bull bison float sometimes when lying down.
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BETA 26
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Multiplayer: Made bison move away from near-death players.
* Refinements to packmate movement at a bison carcass after a hunt.
* Prevent packmate from getting stuck on loop, dropping food for injured mate, then immediately picking it up.
BUGS FIXED:
* Packmates move back and forth between a carcass and the player while at home.
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BETA 25
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Reduced chances of rival wolves getting a critical hit from other wolves.
* Tweaked appearance of snow on bison.
BUGS FIXED:
* Notification when Eagle Raid ends does not appear.
* It's possible to cancel an Unknown Fate by triggering a home site move.
* Unknown Fate sometimes doesn't get triggered during Young Hunters when it should.
* Wolf Customization: Genetic Coat Color help button is not clickable in some situations.
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BETA 24
NEW:
* Wake-Up Raids option in Gameplay Settings: This allows rival wolves and other competitors to begin a raid while your wolf is sleeping, forcing you to wake up and respond. (Raiders will not wake you up if your health is below 45%.)
BUGS FIXED:
* Some texturing issues on fall bison carcass.
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BETA 23
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Made bison calves first appear in May (since they're actually born earlier than other ungulate babies). They are a bit smaller and weaker than in summertime. Also made bison calf coat's a bit darker in August.
* Made cougars avoid adult bison.
* Made emaciated adult bison a bit less common.
BUGS FIXED:
* Packmates littering with but not finishing meat chunks when bison are near.
* Snow appears on bison at some distance, and when fur is disabled, when it should not.
* Bull bison floats above ground when sleeping.
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BETA 22
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Killing an adult bison boosts territory strength.
* Foxes steer clear of bison herds.
* Tweaked size and positioning of Packmate Health display.
* Prevent "Hunting Bison" tutorial tip from appearing when approaching old bull bison groups.
* Made bisons aware of carcasses longer (so they won't wander over while you're still eating).
* Allow pups of the year to go to bison carcass even if bison are still somewhat close.
* Added bison herd names to individual bison scent readouts.
BUGS FIXED:
* Winter/early spring bison calf is labeled "Bison cow carcass" when dead.
* Packmates won't eat meat chunks when bison are nearby.
* Bison sometimes fail to go help each other.
* Sometimes bison walk into each other.
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BETA 21
BUGS FIXED:
* Packmates walk in circle around carcass holding meat chunks, not eating.
* Packmate won't help attack prey animal.
* Pack Rally very hard to complete.
* Pups often won't follow player during Move quests.
(All bad bugs introduced with in Beta 20 with new packmate sensitivity to player intentions during bison hunt, sorry!)
* Wrong texture on bison bull carcass at maximum consumption.
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BETA 20
IMPROVEMENTS:
* When hunting bison, made packmates more sensitive to which bison the player is attacking, and come help.
* Added Ctrl-N for Packmate Health to Keyboard Controls map graphic.
BUGS FIXED:
* Winter bison calf carcass says Bison Cow in scent view.
* Fall bison calf carcass has both summer and fall coats simultaneously.
* Some bison make surrounding grass disappear when they die.
* Rear leg bite points on cow bison are not aligned correctly with leg.
* Bison hair is blocky. (Apparently a shader glitch during build process, hopefully won't happen again!)
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BETA 19
NEW: Bison Herds
* Six somewhat large herds of bison are found on each map.
* Most herds have one or two emaciated adult bison, who are much weaker than healthy adults and are recognizable by their protruding ribs.
* To hunt bison: try to disrupt the herd to isolate calves or emaciated adults from the protection of others. Best done with large packs of eight or more wolves.
NEW: Unforgiving Difficulty Level. This is similar to Accurate, but:
* Damage dealt to every NPC (except pups) by every NPC (including pups) is increased.
* Modestly increases damage dealt to player's pups from competitors and prey.
* Slows NPC wolf health regeneration.
* Increases player's pups' food requirements.
* Increases chance of sickness among players' pups -- but also increases chances of recovery.
* Increases difficulty of chasing off eagle during pup raids.
* Increases initial competitors' Fight meters a bit, and decreases their Flight meter.
* Pup raid and hex invasion frequencies are same as in Accurate.
* Note: Ironwolf players can switch between Accurate and Unforgiving difficulty levels at any time.
* Note: All the Accurate achievements are also unlockable on Unforgiving.
ALSO NEW:
* New Gameplay Option in Game Settings: Critical Hits for Adult NPC Wolves. When enabled, all NPC wolves (packmates, rivals, dispersals) have a very small chance of receiving severe (potentially fatal) damage from prey or competitors during hunts and fights. Enable this if you don't like how your packmates are invulnerable once they survive their first year.
* New Packmate Health onscreen display: A column of pawprint icons showing the health of your packmates. Press Ctrl-N to toggle it on/off. (Remappable in Game Settings: Controls)
IMPROVEMENTS:
* Some measures to prevent rival pack names from being reused.
* Refinements to packmate positioning when gathering in a circle around the player.
* Full Saga Multiplayer: Automatically update family snapshot when a client player renames a packmate.
* Restored "You're Pregnant" notification after fixing bug which can break the game in rare circumstances in multiplayer games.
* Added a smooth camera movement to return to default position when getting kicked off prey. (Was an abrupt snap before.)
* Add a multi-day cooldown for rivals moving to different maps before being allowed to reemerge.
* Adjustments to frequency of several coats.
BUGS FIXED:
* Multiplayer: Client player (but only client player) can get the achievement "Me Time" during roaming quests.
* Multiplayer: Packmate can disappear or not acting fully as a packmate.
* Multiplayer: Pack Rally state not saved for clients.
* Age seven is a death sentence for many rival wolves.
* After joining a rival pack, some pups in that pack have weight of zero pounds.
* NPC wolves cannot eat carcass on a bridge.
* Survival of the Pack achievement can be unlocked after joining a rival pack midway through the year.
* Bull elk will bugle at each other but will not fight.
* If trying to court a wolf after being rejected, the trial fails instantly because Affinity is at zero. (Now will be set to 25%.)
* Wolves sometimes do Ferris Wheel rotation when in Photo Mode.
TO GET THE BETA BUILD
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.