A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Find out what we're doing and thinking as we develop WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition and the Tower Fall expansion!

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loboLoco
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A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by loboLoco » Thu Aug 06, 2020 1:46 pm



Along with good progress on core multiplayer functionality, we’ve also been adding other features to enhance everyone’s experience. Today’s devblog looks at several of these:

* Instead of private games, the multiplayer host can restrict access in three new ways: making the game available to all their friends (using the in-game Friends list), or selected friends, or one or more Packs (groups) that they belong to. Choosing one of these options will make their game appear only in the lobby for those selected players and no one else. We think this will be more efficient and user-friendly than the old private game-name and password method, and we hope it will greatly reduce the number of players who hold spots for friends in open games.

* Sometimes a player will leave the game (intentionally or not) but wish to return soon, so we now keep their wolf, resting quietly, in the game for five minutes. If they return in that time, they resume control of their wolf. If they don’t, then the wolf is removed. We hope this will smooth over some annoying but inevitable disconnections.

* The Pack Info panel shows basic information about all player-wolves in the game: health, stamina, wakefulness, along with their stats and their bio.

* The text chat panel is much more versatile: you can resize it, detach it from the corner and move it around, minimize it, and change the font size and opacity to suit your preferences.

* Pack Rally is back! Much like in the old game, players can howl together to boost their spirits and their stamina for a period of time. A new wrinkle: if any player-wolf dies while the rally is in effect, the rally is terminated. We added this after thinking about the big wolf fights that we’ve been testing in multiplayer, where NPC wolves behave rationally (preferring not to die), while player wolves find death a more acceptable option. By losing the rally boost, we hope to give players a bit more incentive to stay alive.

All these are coming soon in WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition multiplayer. We don’t have a release date, but it won’t be too much longer now.

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Thumbnail Screenshot Image by Sass
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We have released the first episode of WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition (Amethyst Mountain) for PC/Mac on Steam and itch.io, as Early Access. While in Early Access, we are updating the game frequently with more features, multiplayer, and ultimately the Slough Creek episode with pups. The mobile version will come after the game is completed on PC/Mac platforms. We’ll then resume development of the next episode, Tower Fall (DLC).
Dave/loboLoco
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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by elkhunter123456 » Thu Aug 06, 2020 1:51 pm

Great devlog as always, I liked that little clip of bison hunting at the end and RIP lobolocos wolf :lol: The new format looks much better than the old one as well.

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by SophieTheAiredale » Thu Aug 06, 2020 2:14 pm

Oohhh! I’m getting more and more excited for multiplayer with every new devblog! I’m also glad to see the new private game features, the old one was kinda messed up where anyone who had the game name and password could join.
This is more of a suggestion then a question, but will you be able to change your bio while in game?
In a lot of role plays, I like to change my character depending on what type of game it is. ie, Firefly In a pack may have a different personality then Firefly in a survival role play.

So I remember in a previous devblog you mentioned that you could change a public game to private and vice versa, is that still going to be a thing?

Also, is the phrase chat making a comeback? If so, will it be updated to have more things to say?

One more thing, maybe it could be added in host’s game settings where you can allow/Ban players to change wolves while in game? It would be very useful to be able to swap between wolves while in game, as long as the other players are notified.

Sorry about all the questions/suggestions , I’m just curious. Keep up the amazing work WQ team!

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by BlackMetal » Thu Aug 06, 2020 2:45 pm

Multiplayer will definitely be better than in the old game. I hope that I can find more friends to play with.

Keep up the good work and stay safe and healthy! :wink:

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by Phasoli » Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:39 pm

Can't wait for Multiplayer now. Sounds like i'll be better than ever!

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by Windstrider » Thu Aug 13, 2020 11:01 pm

I love the feature that allows players' wolves to stay in the game if they lose connection! Thank you a lot for that! The ability to make a game available to friends and packs is also pretty cool.

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by Neamara » Fri Aug 14, 2020 12:19 am

It's sad to see the end of private games as we knew them. Still, the friend/pack alternatives seem far more promising. Very nice!

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by DinoDogDude209 » Sun Aug 16, 2020 10:44 am

Like Neamara said, it is a little sad to see that the old private games system from WolfQuest 2.7 is being replaced and essentially "retired". However, the ability to restrict access to your multiplayer game on a far more person-by-person basis will definitely be a much more user-friendly system, and will make it a lot easier to create a server for only a few friends. It's good to see that the "saving spots" issue in 2.7 multiplayer games is being addressed here, as that issue has caused a lot of issues in multiplayer games in the past.
Multiplayer in the Anniversary Edition looks like it will definitely be a step up from 2.7! I can't wait to try it out when it is released.

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Re: A Medley of Multiplayer Matters

Post by Windstrider » Sun Aug 16, 2020 6:05 pm

The new game is beautiful and really fun - it'll be neat to try out the new hunting system with friends, and explore the revamped maps together!

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