Howdy hunters,

Here is your weekly piece of news from the EW headquarters.

What’s being worked on

As our team members gradually return from vacation, the office is starting to feel unusually packed and the work has been picking up. For example, we’ve been working on a number of minor tweaks and fixes that we think you’re going to enjoy. Our deployable hunting towers have received some long overdue attention. Two of the less popular ammo calibers have undergone a revamp which will allow you to rediscover a couple of rifles, plus we’ve applied some tweaks to address the rangefinder vs. shot distance discrepancy. All these fixes will be included in the next game update, scheduled for release next week.

Another big thing that we’ve been working on for a while, which we hinted to in our last status update, is a brand new species! Our latest added (huntable) species was the red kangaroo and this time we’ve decided to do a full 180. No clues yet, sorry folks, but we can tell you it’s going to be something very different from what you’re used to seeing in the EHR. Feel free to speculate, we’re looking forward to your ideas and guesses, more details on this wicked animal coming soon!

Tobii Eye Tracking coming to theHunter

As our producer Dan Thornström announced at the GDC Europe 2015 in Cologne this Tuesday, we’ve partnered with another Sweden-based company, Tobii, to bring state-of-the-art eye tracking to theHunter. We implemented it in theHunter: Primal and the response was great. Right now Tobii are in the process of setting everything up and testing the implementation, with the plan to release it at the end of August. What will it mean for you as a theHunter player? Well, if you choose to buy Tobii SteelSeries Sentry eye-tracker, you’ll be able to orient the game’s scene camera with your eyes, so your hunting experience could be even more immersive. We’ll keep you updated on the progress, and we’ll let you know when this feature is due for release.

And a couple of short reminders for the road …

Summer Fiesta Tier 2 is finishing very, very soon. You have just a couple of days left to fight for those silver tickets, which are needed to activate Tier 3 competitions. This battle is not for the weak hearted, but you all know what waits at the end – that amazing 7mm Break Action “Bouquetin”.

There’s also less than one day left to vote for your favourite reserve load outs. So far the amount of votes has been underwhelming to say the least, something we blame on summer, but still – go and tell us which ones you like, we need your votes to make the right choice.

• Vote for best Hemmeldal Load Out
• Vote for best Bushrangers Run Load Out
• Vote for best Redfeather Falls Load Out
• Vote for best Hirschfelden Load Out
• Vote for best Val-des-Bois Load Out
• Vote for best Settler Creeks Load Out
• Vote for best Logger’s Point Load Out
• Vote for best Rougarou Bayou Load Out
• Vote for best Whitehart island Load Out

You seem to love the new face scarves for Hemmeldal and Bushrangers Run and based on the feedback we’ve collected, we’ll probably be expanding the line-up. Last but not the least, don’t forget to check out our badass Wild West inspired premium version of  the .30-30 Lever-Action Rifle, the lucid and luminous “Lone Star ”– it’s available in the store NOW. Aw, there is also a bundle with it up for grabs!
Happy hunting!

Discussion

Hi there hunters,

Here is our weekly status update with some bits and pieces from the EW headquarters. It’s still rather quiet here due to the ongoing vacations, but the work is humming as usual as we are working on something new (more details later on).

Dog player survey

Two weeks ago we launched a small survey focused on the release of dogs. About 2000 hunters have completed it and we would like to share with you some results, because we know that you like numbers as much as we do.

First, we asked you how happy you were with the introduction of Labradors, and 60% of respondents said that they were extremely happy, 30%  were pretty happy but would like dogs be done better, and only some 9% are either not happy for different reasons or don’t care. We let the numbers speak for themselves:

Then we asked you to rate different aspects of the lab release from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Although all the aspects received the weighted average of above 3 (ok – good), the winner is the model (oh hey Oskar!)

Almost everyone who have completed the survey (94%) either have already bought the dog or are going to buy one:

The post-release issues with game crashes and bugs didn’t seem to spoil the enjoyment for too many players, with 12% stating that this was the case.

We are going to leave out results about the requested features, dog breeds and types, not to breed any speculations, but we did take every single suggestions into account.

Here are the lucky winners of our em$ draw, congratulations guys! You will be added 1000 em$ each.

Tbone5543

Mikaeldude

LadyBambi

We also chose our favourite answer to the question: “What feature would you like to be added for your dog?” and the winner is EthanZ with this answer: “I’d like him to go mental and start barking at trees when I say the word ‘squirrels’.” EthanZ receives a medium pack of dog treats for his wit.

3D Camo vests for your dogs

One of the popular features asked for in the survey was camouflage for dogs in form of vests – well, as luck would have it, we have a couple of those for you. Dog’s vests in 3D Summer Field, Summer Swamp and Fall Field camo are now available in the store. They have the same camo characteristics as our good ol’ hunting 3D camo outfits and will conceal your buddy from the most prying eyes. They’ll also look awesome with the matching collar, see it for yourself – here’s Daniel’s dog Gorgonzola rocking her all new Summer Swamp vest right after retrieving a Mallard.

You can buy vests separately in the store, or all together (plus some more dog goodies) in this bundle (available until Tuesday evening).

Important security reminder

I’ve posted it on the forums, but thought I’d mention it here as well: Yesterday we detected a range of unauthorized log in attempts to players’ accounts. (This usually happens when some site’s database gets hacked / leaked and usernames and passwords become available to culprits who then try to log in to other sites using the acquired login details.)

Hence, an important security reminder: if you use the same login email and password on theHunter and other sites, please change both (and make passwords different!). Always remember to use unique passwords on different sites to avoid losing your accounts – you can use special software to manage your passwords, Keepass is free, has good reviews, used by many and seems to be reliable.

Stay safe and happy hunting!

Discussion

Hello hunters,

Here is a short status update from us.

Summer Fiesta

The first tier is almost over and the amount of participants has been incredible. So far 8 669 unique players joined the competitions, they’ve used 184 863 attempts in which they harvested 157 793 animals with a total score 13 204 448. Looks like despite summer doldrums the competing spirit is strong with the hunters of EHR 😉 The competitions of the second tier start tomorrow and in order to be able to enroll in those, you need a bronze ticket, one per activation. You can get two for completing one of the “hard” Fiesta missions, one for placing 1 – 4 in any of the competitions in the Tier 1 or buying it in the store. You can check all the rules of the tournament here.

There has been a lot of discussion about the Bushrangers Runners mission, most of you still find it extremely difficult, even after we’ve removed the same hunt condition. Well, those missions have been designed to be extra-challenging, so only very determined hardcore hunters will complete them. Having said that, to spice it up a notch, we’ve decided to introduce a special prize that will be given to the first person completing the Bushrangers Runner mission (and posting about it in the Summer Fiesta forum thread) – they’ll be able to pick any item in the store, including premium but excluding non-released items, and get it for free.

Dog trophy shot contest – Winners

There have been lots and lots of really nice trophy shots submitted for our contest. All dogs were just beautiful, but here are our favourites:

Category Yellow Labrador – Mrmr123 & Abood

Category Chocolate Labrador – baluuto & Shiva

Category Black Labrador – Magnayen & Socke

Category Fox Red Labrador – ArchMaster & Easy

Runners-up are Sqwee, Beren666, SeelenfresserMiles, InSani7y, HooCairs, Villkatta, Mungo667, Pittie, alborith, TrophySeekerFilms, Gostwind, invisibleinsect, they’ll receive a medium pack of dog treats for their buddies.

Congratulations to the winners, please send me a PM and tell me a prize of your choice.

Load outs are published – time to vote!

We’ve finally came to the final voting phase of our load-out competition announced back in spring. Man, this has taken me a while to go through over 60 submissions, plus the dog release and holidays got in the middle, sorry about that. Anyway, the qualifying load outs are now published and ready for you pick the best of the best. To remind you of the rules, the winners will be chosen for each of the 9 reserves and they will be featured in our store alongside their creators’ names, similarly to the winning set-ups. You can find the polls (one per reserve) here. Please note that the voting is anonymous and soliciting votes is not allowed. Let’s make it fair. Good luck to everyone!

That’s it from us for today.

Happy hunting!

Discussion

Howdy hunters,

Welcome to our weekly status update! Let’s start with some doggie news, shall we?

Community Choice Lab

Today we are releasing an all new variation of our Labrador retriever – Fox Red. This variation has not been our first choice, because it is not that common in real life, although it’s hands down stunning. We received several requests for it and thought – why not? So here you go – the Fox Red Labrador is now in the store. You can buy it separately or in a special bundle, together with a bunch of dog goodies, including a pack of hot new Dog Treats (more on this further down)! This bundle offers a 30% discount and will be available until July 21st midnight CEST.

With the Fox Red Labrador we’re also introducing a new item category in the store – Community Choice. This category contains content inspired by or exclusively requested by community members.

Treat ‘em good!

Dog Treats, in different variations, have been brought up consistently since the release of the Labs. No wonder. There is nothing more common when training a dog than praising them with yummy bites when they perform well, and we’ve always wanted to have this interaction in theHunter as well. Now you can find different sized packs of dog treats in the store (both for em$ and gm$) and here is how they work:

Dog Treats are a means to reward your dog after performing a command successfully. They work similarly to camping supplies in the way that you equip them by placing in your backpack (not in an equipment slot). After your dog performs the command, you can give them a treat by using the middle selection in the dog command menu. The dog will eat the treat and get a small XP bonus based on a percentage of the XP awarded for the successful command performed.

The “Give treat” option is only available:

• When you have treats in your backpack
• After a successful command has been performed by the dog (but not TOO long after)
• When you are close to your dog

Dogs in trophy shots

Another addition that many of you have been looking forward to is the elaborate functionality for having dogs in trophy shots. Before now, when entering into a trophy shot mode, you had to wait for your dog to come around and then hurry up to take that picture before they changed their mind. Those times are over. Now you can grab your buddy when in the Edit mode (although they might get slightly confused), change their stance, place them wherever and however you feel like next to your downed animal – give them the place in your trophy shots that they deserve.

When trying out the new function, you may want to take part in our special competition – Trophy Shot Competition – Dog Edition. The rules are simple – take a trophy shot with your dog on it and post it in this thread. One winner will be chosen in each lab coat category (including the new Fox Red one) and they will receive a hefty prize of their choice (you can find the details in this post). When picking the winner, we’ll be looking at the composition, general aesthetics, but also the quality of the trophy animal. (Tip: If you want to brush up your trophy shot skills, check this super valuable video by HooCairs on how to take better shots).

Dogs’ spooking revised

After you’ve updated the game with today’s patch you’ll also see some changes in the way different animals react to your dog. Dog spooking has been reworked so that its effect can be different depending on the species. Generally, the retriever is less spooky when it comes to the species it is specialized for, while other species, such as Turkey, are much more easily spooked by dogs. When in a blind, the dog is near to invisible to all animals.

These changes do not completely nullify the spooking effect introduced in the last patch. You still have to use the dog strategically, learn to give them the right commands to control them when out on a hunt. Though discipline comes with experience, any dog has a potential to behave unruly and naughty, no matter how high their level is. So, learn to use the commands right and you can bring your dog with you on any hunt.

What are your thoughts on the dogs?

It’s been one month since we released the Labs and we are eager to hear what you think. We of course have gathered some great feedback via forums and social media, but we are looking to hear thoughts and opinions from more of you, when it comes both to the evaluation of the existing dog but also in regards to the future breeds and features you would like us to introduce. So, we’ve prepared a short Dog Survey (shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes). It will be open until 25 July noon and we’ll randomly pick 3 people who will receive 1000 em$ from us (don’t forget to add your theHunter name in you want to participate in the draw.)

Take the survey

Fiesta update

The Fiesta event has exploded and is in full swing. We are really happy to see such an amazing response. There was a problem with non-typical Whitetail and Mule Deer counting for competitions of Tier 1 which has now been corrected, and a bunch of people have found the Bushrangers Runners mission incredibly difficult, so we’ve decided to change the requirements a bit to make it easier. Now you don’t have to complete all of the objectives in the same hunt.

That’s all from us for today, see you in the woods and happy hunting!

Discussion

Hello hunters,

I am back, and so are our weekly status updates and newsletter (coming right into your inbox starting with next week onwards). Phil and Pär have been doing a great job keeping you in the loop about new releases and patches (and even a competition of a questionable quality), sweet, but now back to serious business! 😉

In the last week we had some server issues, which affected people trying to join each other’s multiplayer games, plus trophy shots were not getting uploaded to the gallery. Those were fixed on Wednesday. The current bug which makes guests’ dogs visible in a ground blind is also resolved and we’re releasing a patch with a fix for it, alongside more bug fixes and goodies, next week.

After the last patch some people got upset that their dogs barking started spooking animals which hadn’t been the case before (this was a bug). It was our bad for not being able to fix it right at the release and for that we apologize, however, we said in the release notes that the dogs would have a spooking effect, as this is the only realistic way to go with handling a hunting dog in a game such as theHunter. Having said that, we’ve listened to your feedback and will continue tweaking and fine-tuning dog’s visibility and noise effect on different animals to find an appropriate balance.

Summer Fiesta 2015

It’s today that our last year’s favourite Summer Fiesta is making a comeback! We’ve taken the inspiration for this year’s event from the idea of the Ultimate theHunter championship by our community member and acclaimed competition creator caledonianblues. When first announced, it was highly anticipated by the community but unfortunately never took place, so, with the permission of caledonianblues, we have taken the idea and Pär has elaborated it into something truly grand. This will be the largest official event we’ve ever had, by the time period, the amount of missions, competitions, trophies and prize pool (over 36,000 em$). We’ve tried to cater to both competitive and non-competitive hunting souls by dividing the event into a tournament and missions, so we hope you’ll be able to join! The three tournament winners, alongside some pretty awesome prizes, will become happy owners of the new, yet unreleased, premium weapon – 7mm break-action rifle “Bouquetin”. You can find all the rules and rewards in this forum post and if you have any questions – ask away!

The Fiesta starts today and we are kicking it off with a free species hunt for all the animals featured in the competitions of the first tier (Roosevelt Elk, Moose, Whitetail Deer, Brown Bear, Feral Hog, Canada Goose, Pheasant, Red Fox, Mallard Duck, Mule Deer). They will be free to hunt for all guests until Monday morning, July 13th.

That’s it for today, in the next weeks’ status updates you can expect to hear more about our loadout competition, great debate and the dog survey.

Happy hunting!

Discussion

Hello hunters,

One week has passed since the dogs were released and it’s time for a postflight analysis. All in all, our labs have been a huge success. Both the devs and the community love them and we feel that we’ve achieved something very unique and special. Having said that, persistent game crashes following the release rained a bit on the dog parade, but from what we’ve seen and heard, people have still managed to spend some quality time with their hunting buddies. All major game crashes were fixed on Monday and, to compensate you for lost game time and membership money, we’ve decided to prolong all the events, sales, missions and memberships respectively. Here are the adjusted deadlines:

• Bird fest (free Pheasant, Mallard and Goose hunt + bird equipment bundles) – until 22 June 21:00 CEST
• Dog 20% discount + dog / founder collar bundles – until 19 June 21:00 CEST
• Dog missions – until June 24
• Non-typical Mule Deer missions – until June 24
• Non-typical Blacktail missions – until June 25
• Extra membership days – 5 will be added to all existing memberships

Our apologies to those of you whose weekends were affected by the crashes. We’ve discussed the matter internally, learned some valuable lessons and we’ll take measures to avoid a repeat of this incident.

Naming your dog

We’ve been monitoring dog naming stats and wanted to share with you some interesting stats on the most popular names. The good ol’ Rex is topping the charts with 88 labs having been called this name. Here are the top 10 most popular names:

1. Rex 88
2. Max 53
3. Rocky 44
4. Jack 43
5. Buddy 39
6. Bella 37
7. Duke 36
8. Lucky 30
9. Charlie 29
10. Sam 27

We’ve also started to receive reports of offensive or inappropriately named dogs, so we wanted to remind everyone that dog names should be in compliance with our terms and conditions, paragraph 3, which means you may not use sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive language when naming your dog, otherwise we’ll have to rename it and you will be prompted to pick a more appropriate name.

Our awesome voice artists

Tomas Sibo, sound designer, with the voice artists

Voice artists

We thought it’d be cool to introduce you to our three exceptionally talented voice artists who gave their voices to all the labs in theHunter. Please meet Oskar (yellow), Smilla (black) and Sacke (black). We met these three guys during a field recording in the north of Stockholm with the help of Marilois, who works in the working dogs society. With a wireless microphone attached to the dog’s head and with shotgun overhead mics (like this) we recorded audio material such as navigation, commands, barking, searching and many different presence sounds.

“Own limit” for items

After releasing bird equipment bundles last week we’ve been getting a lot of requests to remove the “own limit” for items, which was preventing people from buying bundles if they already owned one of the included items in their inventory. We’ve had an internal discussion about this and decided to take some action. So, starting from next week, you will be able to buy multiple items in the store, be it in a bundle or otherwise. Next to each item you’ll see the quantity you own highlighted in red. Please note that with the “own limit” removed you will now be responsible for taking conscious decisions about what to buy and in which quantity, since we don’t provide refunds for multiple items bought. We’re looking into the possibility to manage duplicate items.

Great debate – Let’s take it to the polls

Our first stab at a community debate with the topic “Realism vs. Fun” is over and it has been a blast! The contenders Knut and TundraPuppy have fought all the way through and the community contributed immensely. Great job, everyone! There is an ongoing poll right now to judge who is the winner – so, go cast your vote! I am going to prepare a short recap for everyone later, but you can always read the full debate here. We are planning to hold more debates in the future, so if you have a good suggestion for a topic or want to become involved, give me a shout.

Pim for president

Last week EW’s own Pim Holfve was appointed CEO of Avalanche Studios! You can find an official announcement here. As Pim will be moving to his new role heading up the whole studio, our producer Hannes will take over production at theHunter. We’re planning to organize an AMA with Hannes in the next months, so you will get a chance to get to know him better.

Summer break

On a final note, several team members, including me, are leaving tomorrow for summer holidays. The weekly status updates and newsletter will be taking a two-week break also, and will be resumed week commencing July 6. In the meantime the remaining team members will keep you posted about eventual game updates and releases via this blog, banner images in the launcher and the website, and our official Facebook and Twitter.

See you in two weeks and happy hunting!
Discussion