Small Prey for Small Wolves
Small Prey for Small Wolves
The core of the upcoming WolfQuest Saga* is the new AI system that we first showed in a devblog a year ago, with very young pups walking a bit wobbly when they first emerge from the den. Since then, we've been building on that XP system, most significantly when the pups are learning how to hunt elk late in their first year. But pups are learning and gaining experience every month as they grow.
Drawing on biologists' understanding of wolf pup development, we've created several tiers of hunting interest and experience. Pups reach the first of these tiers – the Early Predatory Drive – in June (when they're about ready to abandon the den). This is when they begin tracking scents, stalking, and pouncing on interesting things, real or imagined.
The pups keep gaining experience from these behaviors and, in July (generally during the Loaf at Rendezvous Site quest), they'll reach the next tier: High Predator Drive. This is when they start noticing small prey around the homesite, such as toads and voles. These summer pups become very interested in these little critters, following them, pouncing on them, and playing with them -- the exciting new toys of the season.
Pups will keep gaining XP as they practice their hunting skills with the toads and voles, which will come in handy later in the summer…
Stay tuned to learn more about the Saga in upcoming devblogs!
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Western Toad by Phillip Guerrero and Steve Adamson
Montane Vole by Stynsour Throne
* The upcoming WolfQuest Saga is "the rest of the game." Your pups will continue to grow into the fall and beyond, learning to hunt under your supervision, and then becoming yearlings when next year's pups are born. Time will continue progressing through the years until you die. The Saga is currently in development but we do not have a release date for it.
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The WolfQuest saga will continue! Stay tuned for more news in upcoming devblogs about it and other new features!
We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready.
Dave/loboLoco
WolfQuest Game Producer
WolfQuest Game Producer
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DinoDogDude209
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Re: Small Prey for Small Wolves
I'm loving how the new WolfQuest Saga is coming along! I have a feeling that there's still quite a bit of development to go before the Saga is going to be finished, but I'm really glad that it's coming along well.
It's going to be so cool to see our pups start hunting! It's nice that the toads are finally being added, along with those tiny little voles too! They should make for great hunting practice for our pups. I also saw the teaser video of the Uinta Ground Squirrel on Discord and that one looks great too! When I was in Yellowstone back in summer of 2020 (that was almost 4 years ago, wow!) I went hiking in Slough Creek with my dad and three of my uncles, and we came across a few Uinta Ground Squirrels along the Slough Creek trail. They're such cute and curious little critters, and it will be so awesome to be able to find them there in the game.
I hope we'll be able to encounter the toads, voles and ground squirrels just randomly while roaming around the game map and not just at the rendezvous site, because small little animals like that do so much to make the game world feel more alive and immersive. I know that the adult wolves in the game would realistically care the most about the bigger prey animals like elk and bison, but those also obviously aren't the only animals in Yellowstone. Like any ecosystem, there's a lot of smaller animals that have their own niches and roles in the wider environment.
When it comes to small animals, there's plenty of others that I think would be great additions to the game, both for pups to hunt and for the sake of immersion. Another lovely rodent I encountered on my trip to Yellowstone in 2020 was the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel. These ground squirrels look a lot like Chipmunks, but they live in mountain meadows, forest openings, and alpine tundra. When we were driving through Beartooth Pass on our way into the Yellowstone area, I met some of these critters at a little vista next to a parking lot, and they're such cute gentle little guys. I would love to see these adorable little animals in WolfQuest as well in the future.
Suggestions and personal thoughts aside, I want to thank the team for all of their hard work! It's so amazing to see how far this game has come since it was first released! I still love this game and really appreciate all of the work that has gone into it, despite the fact that I'm very busy nowadays and often don't have much time to play it! Keep up the great work, WolfQuest team.
It's going to be so cool to see our pups start hunting! It's nice that the toads are finally being added, along with those tiny little voles too! They should make for great hunting practice for our pups. I also saw the teaser video of the Uinta Ground Squirrel on Discord and that one looks great too! When I was in Yellowstone back in summer of 2020 (that was almost 4 years ago, wow!) I went hiking in Slough Creek with my dad and three of my uncles, and we came across a few Uinta Ground Squirrels along the Slough Creek trail. They're such cute and curious little critters, and it will be so awesome to be able to find them there in the game.
I hope we'll be able to encounter the toads, voles and ground squirrels just randomly while roaming around the game map and not just at the rendezvous site, because small little animals like that do so much to make the game world feel more alive and immersive. I know that the adult wolves in the game would realistically care the most about the bigger prey animals like elk and bison, but those also obviously aren't the only animals in Yellowstone. Like any ecosystem, there's a lot of smaller animals that have their own niches and roles in the wider environment.
When it comes to small animals, there's plenty of others that I think would be great additions to the game, both for pups to hunt and for the sake of immersion. Another lovely rodent I encountered on my trip to Yellowstone in 2020 was the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel. These ground squirrels look a lot like Chipmunks, but they live in mountain meadows, forest openings, and alpine tundra. When we were driving through Beartooth Pass on our way into the Yellowstone area, I met some of these critters at a little vista next to a parking lot, and they're such cute gentle little guys. I would love to see these adorable little animals in WolfQuest as well in the future.
Suggestions and personal thoughts aside, I want to thank the team for all of their hard work! It's so amazing to see how far this game has come since it was first released! I still love this game and really appreciate all of the work that has gone into it, despite the fact that I'm very busy nowadays and often don't have much time to play it! Keep up the great work, WolfQuest team.