Development Update #23
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Posted 2023-07-07 10:11:29
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 Kenny ⦻ It/Its/Itself #10694 |
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Posted 2023-07-07 13:36:54
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Twigpaw123 #124457 |
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Posted 2023-07-07 14:30:15
If you care about stats, you are now severely restricted on which personalities your wolves can have. If I want my hunting parties to get along and receive the optimal stat boosts then my Stalkers all have to have the same exact personality, the Chasers all the same as each other, and the Finishers all the same. Many of the personalities have strange stat boost combos that are not applicable to any roles currently in the game; for example, boosts in speed and smarts or wisdom and strength. This makes these personalities completely obsolete and useless if you play to min-max stats. If more of the personalities had useful stat combos for current roles then we could still have some variety in the personalities on our hunting teams. But instead, for optimum stats and synergy, we are forced into having a Stepford Wolves pack where everyone is a cookie-cutter replica in personality based on their role. It's a good GC sink though, I guess. 5 hunting parties with each member needing a personality changer to correct the stat boost/penalty, at 3 GC each, is 75 GC. And then continuing on the cost with up and coming pups that need to be rotated into parties as they age up, new wolves brought into the pack, etc. |
 KiloNiner #1020 |
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Posted 2023-07-07 22:04:30
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 otterbells #4284 |
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Posted 2023-07-08 16:12:12
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 An Altercation of Nature #921 |
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Posted 2023-07-08 16:15:56
The wolves have returned, excitedly chatting and being warm with one another. It looks like it went well! (13) What does the number at the end mean? It changes with each socialization. I've had 5, 13, 15 among others. |
 WillowRose #31674 |
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Posted 2023-07-08 17:04:15 (edited)
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 spotpc #9204 |
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Posted 2023-07-08 17:22:38 (edited)
As a lore-based player, I take the socialising feature with a grain of salt. I may use it as inspiration but it's not something I pictured in my mind when it came to socialising wolves. I don't like that the game decides for you if your wolves get along or not, and I'm not sure what it's based on (in hunting teams vulgar would get along with reliable but not so in a social situation). That being said, I do like that the two mortal enemies in my pack - King Kyllikke & Prince Mikke - also dislike each other in the social mini-game lol. Some of the interactions are cute and interesting, but overall this is a feature that I look at in a similar way I do with traveling wolves. I will participate in it every now and then, but I'm thankful I can opt out of it whenever I want. I'm not generally a fan of any mutations (except maybe polymelia because it looks so interesting and makes me the most emotional), so I can't comment on the upcoming addition. But I agree with what others have said about the uselessness of blind wolves seeming unfair in a game where wolves can make complex medicines and tie ropes. A blind wolf would have developed above-average hearing, sense of smell and even feeling the earth with their paw pads - its subtle vibrations and temperatures. They should at least be allowed to forage for herbs. Why not invent an item that can help blind & deaf wolves navigate their environment? This reminds me, does anyone know if blind & deaf wolves can participate in the social activity? I'm curious to know. All that being said, I'm excited when they'll let adolescents and puppies socialise as well, it can really help with character creation (and I already rely a fair bit on puppy lesson end text). |
 β¨ππππππππβ¨ #51433 |
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Posted 2023-07-08 18:58:17
My blind wolf can socialise |
Styx [SemiHaitus] L-Off #95159 |
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Posted 2023-07-08 19:52:05 (edited)
To start, correlating stats to personalities is absolutely wrong and makes no sense, not to mention incredibly offensive if you look deeper. Some personalities are being very blatantly stereotyped once you look at them. For instance, being Conceited (Aggressive) makes you stronger by far and a little more agile, but is apparently a sign of lower intelligence. Being Reliable (Romantic) makes you stronger and more agile, but not as fast. How does it make sense? From where are these stat buffs and debuffs being drawn? Why is there a debuff at all, rather than boosts to stats supposedly relevant to that personality? But making these assumptions on personality is not okay and needs to be removed, regardless if it is intentional or not. It is deeply hurtful and should not be included to further complicate matters. Personally, I think Wolvden's personality system is fine as it stands, where some personalties clash and others don't, especially in group activities like hunting. Leading into this, I've seen others comment how much of a GC cost it would be to optimize hunting parties to perfect personalities to adapt to these changes. Personality-based stat-changes are terribly imbalanced. To start, we've got four base personality groups, those being: Romantic, Stoic, Friendly, and Aggressive. Some personalities work with others, and some don't, and this is especially important in hunting. But considering some personalities will get boosts in stats that aren't critical to hunting and other will get critical stat increases, it feels like it's trying to force players to change personalities wildly to compensate, if they want a perfect hunting team, as I expect some stat-based players will do. While I think a lead getting a special boon for specific personalities is an interesting concept that can be expanded upon after more thought, it still ties into stereotyping personalities which isn't something I'd like to see necessarily, which is why I think more consideration needs to be put into it and how it can be viewed as something very narrow-minded and offensive. Additionally, as a more personal upset, my lead started at very low stats in comparison to my regular leads' levels. As a result, every stat point is an accomplishment to be celebrated. But after this update, his Strength was dropped by three points, which has resulted in noticeable changes in his ability to fight even lower level opponents. I don't have enough time to explore and fight more to "compensate" for this loss to one of his core stats, and I will not be spending SC/GC or items to adapt to this system. I'll be honest, though I usually like flavor text as a concept, it isn't very dynamic from my perspective. As it stands, it feels like personality is being forced upon both my lead and his wolves as they interact, which is really upsetting for me as a I move about my den and through my wolves. While getting a critter carcass or a toy is very nice and a concept that is very enjoyable, especially for newer players who might find it hard to get food and amusement, it feels too forced and detracts from player enjoyment in thinking about how a wolf behaves rather than having it stated to them. Additionally, flavor text makes no sense attached to some wolves. I mean, how is a blind and helpless newborn puppy supposed to get up, find a carcass or feather, and bring it to you? More consideration is needed on that front. To explain what I'm trying to say, let's use my lead as an example. Pax has a Sarcastic (Aggressive) personality, but also has traits I've determined as a character. Pax is paranoid and suspicious of outsiders, but even toward his pack-mates, he can be hostile and very difficult to engage until time is taken to understand his position. As a result, imagine how upsetting it is for me to see his interactions to wolves in his pack stated in ways that are completely contradictory to how he's supposed to behave canonically. I would imagine other players feel similarly, especially those who are running more lore-based packs and specifically think about each wolf's personalities and interactions. As a side note on Socialization, though I haven't and I don't intend to try it, seems to serve as an extra complication and something to manage than something fun. Additionally, punishing a player for matching wolves incorrectly by penalizing a wolf's mood can be crippling to players who can't reliably find amusement to even take care of wolves under normal circumstances. Also, while I very much appreciate additional tabs on den pages and separation of nesting and pupsitting, new art pieces for these sections is a little jarring to look at next to older art pieces. It would be nice to get those older piece redone in newer styles for a more organized look.  Lastly, while I think lethal mutations are very cool and something to look forward to breeding, this one isn't. A lethal mutation with a spinal deformity or defect (I think that's what it is, at least) can be extremely triggering and emotionally distressing to some users, myself included. Seeing that image brought some memories I didn't want to remember again, and completely threw off my day as I spiraled into a depressive episode. In addition, Wolvden has five or so lethal mutations at present, all very hard to get, excluding brachycephaly, as it is a genetic vs. random mutation. I don't think we need a new one yet, especially one as upsetting as this one. I'd also like to add that teasing of a lethal mutation addition feels like an attempt to distract from how these personality-related stat changes will affect wolves and how players will see and play Wolvden; to bribe players into accepting something that isn't working.  I've tried to see this update from a better perspective, but as I've observed it in action, it isn't working as a benefit to Wolvden, but rather a bane. I would deeply appreciate and highly recommend that it be removed, redone, and perhaps introduced again at a later date after more thought and testing. Otherwise, an option to toggle this personality update on or off would be acceptable, as I find I don't enjoy Wolvden nearly as much after this update and would like it removed from play. Regards, Ageno |
 α΄Ι’α΄Ι΄α΄α΄ΚΚα΄α΄ #15976 |