A Little Elk Music

[loboLoco]

[youtube]NcGUgk2POLk[/youtube]
Video link:

A few months ago, WolfQuest composer Tim Buzza and I were talking about new music tracks for WolfQuest 3: Anniversary Edition, and I realized that we really needed new elk hunting music. The bigger herds, the better herding behaviors, and the vast new grasslands to chase elk across — they all called for an epic new track that captured the energy and exhilaration of an elk hunt — something like Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyrie that we used in the blog video last year about elk herding behaviors. So…no pressure, Tim.

Tim of course came back with an amazing, epic piece of music (actually, a set of tracks to use in our adaptive music system) that, as usual, lifts the gameplay to the next level. And now we’ve got all the elements of the elk hunt working well enough to show how they all come together (though the usual caveats about “still tweaking and refining” apply). Here my mate and I are hunting elk together. My mate is pretty social, so she likes to keep an eye on me as we run together — and she does indeed bite elk too, though that’s not shown in any of these shots. How bold your mate is about selecting and attacking elk will depend upon their personality. In multiplayer games, several wolves can attack the same elk, biting the front and rear legs during the chase.

This video has the HUD hidden for cinematic impact, but you may notice that the elk don’t have healthbars when you approach. Instead, you have to bite them to learn their health level (shown by the small red dot). We’ll talk more about the new hunting mechanics in a future blog post.

EDIT: Oops, a couple things on the wolf (head position and gallop animation) got set incorrectly last week, when we had to rebuild the wolf model after it blew up. Those''ll be fixed in future videos.

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[chickiefoo]

Love the new music! The elk herding behavior and hunting mechanics are great as well! And your mate checking up on you was super cute. What I'm not too sure on is the wolf running animation... The hind legs kick up too high I think. Or is that more realistic?

[IceaPlayzPC]

I absolutely adore the new music and run cycle! Every Dev Blog makes me more excited for WQ 3 and Tower Fall! Keep up the good work, WQ Team!

(Might i mention that Tim does an amazing job on the music?? I just love the WQ music... it has it's special wildlife charm and feel)

[Sunnystar1000]

Love the music!

I really like that your mate is staying next to or behind you instead of running way ahead. It always bugged me that even at max speed, my mates would manage to run ahead of me and it sometimes felt like they would leave me behind. It may be a small edition, but I love it

[sophiaww]

This music is amazing!!! I love how beautiful the environment is. The music really fits in with the hunt and I like how the music is a joyful, in the old version the music was intense but now it's joyful!! Keep up the good work WolfQuest

[SolitaryHowl]

I love the music, Tim always does such a great job. It certainly fits - as soon as he started strumming I felt like I needed to go for a run, haha. I love how your mate checked in on you, and how she looked over to you a couple of times...super cute & it adds to the realism!

[MysteryFoxSpirt]

The music made my day. Stuff is happening here at my house, and no matter how bad this “things” are, your videos make my day. I will probably break the replay button. I’m also probably going to put the video on loop, just I can listen to the music forever.

I can’t wait for Single Player, Multiplayer, And PvP. It’s going to be awesome hunting elk with this new music. Also, even if the elk are technically Fleeing, it’s fun to run with the herd. Or should I say flee with the herd.

I can’t wait. No matter what year this comes out in, I will be happy either way. Late 2018 or early 2019. Let’s do this!

[airbones]

Love Tim's work! Music updates are up there on my list of favorites - it's awesome seeing Tim explain his process and thoughts behind the music. I'm hoping we'll get more behind-the-scenes content available for purchase when the game comes out.

[PearlyReborn]

Ooh, this sounds wonderful!

[sophiaww]

Will you be able to to change the camera view like in this video?

[loboLoco]

The only thing that concerns me is the run animation? It seems different from previous videos, like it is a little stiff? Or is that the IK system trying to work with all the hills?

NOTE: Oops, a couple things (head position and gallop animation) got set incorrectly last week, when we had to rebuild the wolf model after it blew up. Those''ll be fixed in future videos.

[xc92u3]

The music is beautiful, Tim Buzza's fantastic at this!!
The new running animation seems to be coming along nicely, since the last video (How To Bite an Elk) showed a very.. jumpy wolf (gotta shake that one off ).
The WQ Team is doing such a wonderful job, keep it up, Dave!

[loboLoco]

Will you be able to to change the camera view like in this video?

Yes, I'm using the new wolf/camera controller. Still refining it (you might notice some jerky turns), but it gives you a much nicer free-cam option.

[SolitaryHowl]

The only thing that concerns me is the run animation? It seems different from previous videos, like it is a little stiff? Or is that the IK system trying to work with all the hills?

NOTE: Oops, a couple things (head position and gallop animation) got set incorrectly last week, when we had to rebuild the wolf model after it blew up. Those''ll be fixed in future videos.

Oh, okay. Glad that was cleared up.

[roguemoon]

Aaaah the music is fantastic! I love how grand the elk chase is, the music adds to the adventurous and exciting atmosphere. My jaw honestly dropped at those massive landscapes as well, I can't believe how beautiful the map looks.

The wolf models look great in action, and I agree with everyone that your mate checking up on you is quite cute. A very nice touch. Overall it's really cool to have a glimpse as to what the final product will look like!