1.0.5 beta 37 - released 29 August 2020 on Steam Public Beta Branch
The beta build of the 1.0.5 update is ready for public beta testing! Please review the changelist below. (Beta is currently available only for Windows; see instructions at bottom of this post to get it.)
NEW: MULTIPLAYER!
* Create a public game that anyone can see in the multiplayer lobby and join.
* Create a private game with restricted access: All friends, Selected friends, or (coming soon) Packs. Only the selected players will see the game in the multiplayer lobby.
* Choose from two modes: TerritoryQuest, where players try to claim and maintain territory, and Pack Life, where players have an enforced no-mans-land (much like in single-player) so they don't have to worry about holding territory.
* Choose text chat or no chat. (For players under age 13, text chat is available only in private games with friends and packs. We will be adding phrase chat soon, which will be an option for everyone in all types of games.)
MULTIPLAYER-ONLY FEATURES
* If killed, you can revive yourself after ten seconds.
* If very low on health, use the new Quick Heal action, which converts some food in your stomach to health. Can only restore some health (capped at 40%). On keyboard, lay down, then press-hold the R key. On controller, lay down, then press-hold Y button and right trigger.
* Pack Rally: If most players howl simultaneously, everyone earns a stamina boost, which lasts
* On the World Map, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
* When a player leaves the game, they indicate if they are planning to return soon or not. If returning soon, their wolf is put into limbo for five minutes and if they return within that time, they can resume where they were. This also occurs if they leave abruptly without clicking the Quit or Main Menu buttons (such as if they are disconnected from the game.).
NOTE ABOUT GAME SIMULATION
The game host runs the entire simulation, so more powerful CPUs can handle bigger simulations than weaker CPUs. The host's game runs a CPU benchmark test when starting a new game and uses that to set a cap on the number of spawned animals. If players mostly stay together, they should rarely be affected by this cap, but if there are a lot of players and they spread out, it's possible (especially if the host has a weaker CPU) to hit that cap. (The cap ranges from 50 animals for weak CPUs to 120 for powerful CPUs.)
IMPROVEMENTS
* Player can send a friend request directly from another player's info panel in Pack Info.
* On the World Map, in Multiplayer, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
* In multiplayer, autosave enabled only for the host, not for clients.
* If client players clicks Quit or Main Menu buttons, they then indicate if they are returning soon or not. If they are, then their wolf is kept in the game, in limbo, for five minutes. If they are not, their wolf is removed from the game immediately.
BUGS FIXED
* Mother (elk or mule deer cow) sometimes stands idle while player attacks calf/fawn.
FEATURES STILL TO COME
We have many more features and refinements still to come in the next month, including:
* Many improvements and refinements to friends, multiplayer lobby, etc.
* Controller support for Accounts panels, add some missing controls for multiplayer creation.
* Refinements to wolf turning (headlook, etc)
* Add multiple spawn points and different territory config for each.
* Host can name their pack.
* Phrase Chat.
* MP Lobby filtering options.
* Improved sync precision (ongoing task over the coming months)
* Improve jumping and falling as seen by other players.
* Enable contact emotes.
* Add descriptive tags that host can select when creating MP game.
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.
To get the Steam version if you purchased the game on WolfQuest.org or itch.io, follow instructions here:
https://support.wolfquest.org/help/gett ... o-purchase