Saga Status Report

[loboLoco]

We are making good progress with the WolfQuest Saga -- which will have pups learning to hunt, growing into adulthood, and dispersing to try to find or form a pack of their own.

The Saga will be a free update to the game -- but many players are still under the impression that pups-growing-up is part of the Tower Fall DLC map (because that's what we said would be the case years ago). This will likely cause confusion and uncertaintly when the time comes to release the Saga update and Tower Fall, so we've decided to set the Tower Fall map aside, for now at least, to disconnect it entirely from the Saga. But we do rely on DLC revenues to help fund Saga development, so we have been working on another Yellowstone DLC map, centered around Hellroaring Mountain. We'll share more about it in future devblogs.

A key aspect of the Saga is that time passes continuously, year after year, as the player's family pack changes with new litters growing up and eventually dispersing. Rival packs should also change over time, and Raul has been working on a new persistent pack system. With this, rival packs will grow and shrink over time, sometimes dissolving if one of the pack leaders dies, and other packs can move in to claim empty territory on the game map. This will also allow players to move from one map to another again, and see how the pack territories on that map have changed since they were last there.

Finally, Tommi has been focused on developing pup AI and behaviors in the fall season, when they are about six months old and learning how to hunt big prey. In September they begin to follow the adults on hunts, hanging back to observe the proceedings. Though physically they look like slightly small, lanky adults, they're still pups and they go a little bonkers when they see the action close-up -- extremely excited but not really sure what to do. As they gain experience from watching, they'll move in closer for a better view of the action -- and eventually will dart in take a bite. These are dangerous moments for pups, who can suffer a mortal blow from an elk hoof -- but necessary for them to gain enough experience to become a true hunter. For the parents, it's exciting and terrifying.

We have plenty of work still to do on the Saga, so it'll be awhile before it's ready for release, but stay tuned for more previews!

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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.

[NotaNvmbr]

This excites me. I look forward to the Saga, and I'd really like to see the dynamic pack system.