Cleverer Coyotes

[loboLoco]

[youtube]b6aEloi7xD0[/youtube]
Video link:

Coyotes have always been a wolf’s nemesis in WolfQuest, but so far they’ve been minor hassles and not particularly clever. That’s going to change in WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition. We’ve been putting extra time and effort into the coyote AI to make the true competitors, smarter and more persistent in their efforts to get some of that tasty carcass. Coyotes will often travel in family packs, just like wolves (though no coyote pups yet, maybe someday!). We’ve created a power ratio between wolves and every other animal, so in this case, if the coyotes outnumber the wolves, they won’t simply flee when the wolf approaches the carcass. They’ll hang around, still hoping to get a bite to eat. They may even harass the wolf, darting in to bite its tail, in hopes of persuading the wolf to go find another meal and leave the carcass to them. Today’s video shows some of these behaviors in action. (The terrain is a low-quality mesh that we use for faster iterative development — the real terrain will look much nicer. And we’re still polishing some of the animations and transitions for both wolf and coyote.)

This is another good example of why it’s taking sooo long to finish WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition, but we think the final product will be worth the wait.

[CanisLatransCoyote]

This change of the coyote's AI is absolutely amazing, and really captures the cleverness and witty behaviour coyotes have in the real world, and I also love how it's based on real life behavior and observations!
The wait is well worth it indeed, and I'm looking very forward to seeing more updates and progress!

-CanisLatrans

[Silverheart98]

Wow amazing! The coyotes look nice! And I can't help but see how fluffy the wolf is that's just cute cx

This makes so much more realism into the game! Also it'll be much more challenging this way! It's gonna be more like real wildlife x3 I love it! The coding must be pretty much job to do! I understand why it's taking longer but I won't complain, something this amazing is worth waiting for! Keep working up on this, everyone! Good job, good job!

The carcass looks so much more realistic, too! Great video, seeing the development is always exiting!

~Silver

[Weylenn]

I wasn't able to listen to any dialogue yet but-- this is entirely awesome. I wonder how much of a pain it was to make the code seem more "english" than machine. The carcass looks fantastic too, and I love how the coyote looks. Can we maybe see the rigging/topology of the model?

Overall you guys are doing fantastic, and adding in the technical aspects was fun for the curious of us to read. Thank you Dave!

[Keyyva]

Very cool! Great job you guys! I love how the coyotes will surround the player at the carcass while waiting. And I love the leg/rear bite.
This will make us think more about whether we should approach a carcass or not since if there are too many coyotes, it may not be worth it. It's also nice that NPC will actively be eating the carcasses so there is less food just sitting around; making the gameplay much harder and realistic!
Just out of curiosity, is the AI using fuzzy logic to decide on their actions?

And awesome job! I'm very excited for this game!

[ForeverEverest]

I love the new graphics, they look awesome. The coyotes look amazing, there's so much more detail, especially facially. The elk carcass also looks cool, the way the ears seem to droop, and the position of the legs. I look forward to seeing what other awesome features you add. I definitely like what you've done with the coyotes. They still look like they'd be annoying, but I guess that's a good thing. It's realistic, and that'll just make killing them more fun. I'm okay with the wait, but I hope things run smoothly for a while. I can imagine constant complications would become pretty annoying. Either way, you're still managing to create amazing new things for WolfQuest. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.

[Zikura22]

ITS AMAZING! AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! ^-^

I've also seen the scent and spores in the video. They were not green though. Why? Is it just temporary?
Will coyotes be able to eat the whole carcass if they spawn in bigger numbers? Will they also harrass cougars and bears?

Uhh.. i can't imagine what a challenge it is going to be when protecting the pups! Hopefully they wont bite our tails/rear or run at us (when i am alone with the pups) :0

But everytime I see a new video/post I feel like screaming out of joy Good job!

[paperpaws]

Seemingly small touches like these add so much to the immersion and realistic dynamic of the game. I also love how surreal these videos continue to look to me; I think that by the time WolfQuest 3 will come around I will experience it as if it is a whole new game entirely.

The models look really nice, too!

[SnowSprite]

Whoa! Those coyotes look as fast as foxes! That's gonna be so frustrating for me... I've killed hundreds in the game, and that's just from ONE of my wolves. Still, real life is challenging I guess XD Great work here!

[Matryoshka524]

This looks amazing! The models look great and this is definitely going to add more challenge to the game.

[MysteryFoxSpirt]

Omg! It will definitely be worth the wait. It would also be fun to sneak up on a coyote den with pups in it some day! Will you add this one day, maybe in Wolf Quest 3.7? (Or 4, it depends, hehe!) I love how everything in WolfQuest 3 will be based off of real life, and observations the wolf quest team has seen. Keep up the great work!

It's probably so hard to be a game creator (Or in this case, a game creating team like u guys!) Because of all of the pressure that is put on you!

[Black Burn]

This is Amazing! I love how realistic the coyotes and wolf and cacass looks,
It'll be AWSOME to get ganged up on by the coyotes, instead of them just running away and then dumbly coming back just to run again!
Oh, I've got a question, when the coyotes bite you, will your health go down a little bit?
They look really fast too, I'm going to be able to imagine myself as the wolf and practically live in this amazing WolfQuest world! It'll definitely be worth the wait!
Thank you WolfQuest Team! And keep up the Great work!

[Neamara]

Heh, I will certainly be looking forward to the challenge imposed by a smarter coyote (or pack of coyotes!) in the future. Very nice to see those updated 'yote models up close, too!

Oh, I've got a question, when the coyotes bite you, will your health go down a little bit?

Based on Dave's commentary in the video, yes, their bites will inflict a small amount of damage.

[Arcturus221B]

This is amazing! The world looks so much more alive and dynamic already, even though this isn't even finished yet. The bigger maps definitely helps with immersion, but so does the new AI. I love the way the coyotes look and behave. I can't wait to face them myself :'D Keep up the great work!

[Phasoli]

Beautiful work! I love how these coyotes are coming together. It's going to be so much fun to interact with them now! At this rate, it'll feel something like I'm immersed in the wolf-documentaries I've come to love and re-watch over the years, and the thought of it is just amazing! Can't wait for this game to be released. It will definitely be worth the wait.