Dog Days

[loboLoco]

We've got a few new things coming in the next patch. While Tommi makes good progress with the Saga AI (pups learning to hunt), we've also been working on more variations of elk antlers, to better reflect the actual diversity of antlers in nature. Bull elk will sport these antlers in fall and winter, though some distinct styles start appearing over the summer too. Spike elk antlers are also getting an upgrade: yearlings have merely a single spike as the double-spike is reserved for two-year-olds.

Bull elk shed their antlers in late winter -- and now you can find these sheds when exploring the map. Bulls tend to congretate in isolated areas -- for example, in Amethyst, those low ridges overlooking the Lamar Valley. That's where you'll have the best luck finding an antler or two, which you can collect (unlocking an achievement after you find eight of them) and bring back to your pups. But most antlers are too heavy (10 pounds or three kilograms) for pups to pick up, so they'll have to content themselves with spike antlers -- and also some animal skulls, which you'll also now find scattered around the maps. Collect all six to earn another achievement!

We are also adding some mutts to the the feral dog packs roaming Lost River. They will join the breeds already in the game, adding a more realistic variety to challenge you at carcasses and raid your dens.

These new features aren't quite ready yet, but we expect to have a public beta, and then the patch release, soon! So stay tuned!

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The WolfQuest saga will continue! Stay tuned for more news in upcoming devblogs about it and other new features!

Once the game is completed on PC/Mac, we will turn our attention to other platforms.

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

[Wind_Shadow]

I’m very excited about the antlers and skulls! More antler variations will make gameplay more fun and engaging, and more realistic! I love how the spike elk now have either one or two spikes that indicate their age, and I’m hoping the bull elk will have a variation in their number of points too. As for fallen antlers, it will be so cool to bring them home for the pups to play with (even if they can’t pick up all of them). I am also glad about the addition of animal skulls- it makes sense that some remnant of certain dead animals are left behind. It reminds me slightly of the Fossil Forest wolf skull in 2.7, only now it is collectible and with different animals!

For the dogs, I agree that it makes much more realistic sense that they would interbreed. It seemed that there were only a few specific breeds, sometimes traveling with other breeds of dogs. The mutts I’ve seen so far from this dev blog look beautiful, and add even more variety and realism! And I will indeed be keeping an eye out for certain, unique mutts…

This update certainly adds a great deal of variety and excitement. It once again takes the player a step deeper into the engaging gameplay of WolfQuest! I am eager to see what other exciting features will come in this and future updates!

[NotaNvmbr]

This video was surprising. I would have never thought that there would be more antler types in the game. Well, that'll make the game a bit less plain! (not to mention more realistic)

I don't have the Lost River DLC and don't plan to get it, but once I think about it, it's just weird for there to be only purebreds in an abandoned town. Interbreeding would be very much a thing when there are no humans to control breeding, after all.

I like the new models.

[GalaxyMoon16]

The amount of detail y'all put into this is amazing. Would this mean we get to see the process of shedding antlers and regrowing them?