Magic Wolf Spawns

[BIGwooly]

I was crossing the ice from the log sort to Jackrabbit island and knew there had been a wolf in the area just before the island, so I was moving carefully and scanning constantly.  Weather was good, not foggy or snowing, so I should have been able to see a wolf pretty easily.  I was about fifty meters from the island when I happened to scan back to my right and boom, the wolf was there about 30-40 meters on my flank.  Now keep in mind I had been scanning this area CONSTANTLY to avoid any sort of surprise encounter.

I've had previous questionable wolf sightings but this one, without a doubt, solidifies that there is an issue with either the spawning or the draw-in.  There is no way I would have missed a wolf that close.  As it was I could still see wolves from a pack that were back near the log sort ... easily 100 meters away.

Anyone else notice this issue of wolves being able to spawn in an area the moment you're not looking there?

[Pillock]

Yes. I've had it with the bears as well.

It seems to be particularly noticeable on Coastal Highway, perhaps because of the wide open spaces, but I've also had it happen to me on Mystery lake. I was walking from the Camp Office to the fishing huts once and there were a group of wolves over by the river access; I proceeded with caution, hugging the opposite side of the lake, and then suddenly the wolves weren't there any more when I looked over to where they'd been. "Great," I thought, but then they reappeared again suddenly, this time just to my left, as I was strolling casually over the hut and I had to bolt.

This was a couple of game-versions ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same issue as you're describing.

Another time I was walking to Misanthrope's from the Townsite, and I discovered that the bear would spawn as soon as I looked away from the cave. I repeated the walk several times by reloading the game, and it was definitely a pattern: if you're looking at the spawn-point, the bear won't appear, but if you're close enough to 'activate' that spawn and you look in another direction, he will suddenly appear and be there when you look back. It seems that you can avoid having them appear by fixing your gaze on their spawn location and never looking away until you've reached a safe place - this is obviously easier to do with bears than with wolves, because they have more obvious spawn-in locations; but I have come to suspect that - especially on Coastal Highway - scanning diligently around you for wolves might actually be a sure-fire method of encouraging wolves to spawn around you.

[Miniwizard]

@Pillock So wolves do actually magically despawn too?

I had always wondered if they actually despawned in heavy blizzards etc or if it was just that visibility (and their detection ranges) was just so small that they were easily missed and/or avoided.

[BIGwooly]

7 hours ago, Pillock said:

scanning diligently around you for wolves might actually be a sure-fire method of encouraging wolves to spawn around you.

THIS! lol ... this is exactly what I have noticed.

[BIGwooly]

4 hours ago, Miniwizard said:

@Pillock So wolves do actually magically despawn too?

I had always wondered if they actually despawned in heavy blizzards etc or if it was just that visibility (and their detection ranges) was just so small that they were easily missed and/or avoided.

I believe so.  I was headed past the little island with the rabbits up to Misanthrope's once and looked away from Misanthrope's island for a second and then suddenly heard a bark and looked back to see a wolf coming down the hill towards me.  There was no way I could have missed the wolf as I had been staring at the island while walking.

So I backtracked and used the little rabbit island to block the wolf's line of sight and was hoping that it would be distracted by one of the rabbits.  I maintained a position where I could see the hill up to Misanthrope's as well as to either side of the little rabbit island.  This way I could see which way the wolf decided to go and thus avoid it.  After several minutes no wolf had appeared, so I slowly walked back around the little island.

Sure enough there was a dead rabbit on the ice but no wolf.  The wolf had literally vanished.  There is no way it could have left without me seeing it leave.  Essentially, it must have despawned.

[Miniwizard]

@BIGwooly So it's either some kind of Canadian voodoo magic or it's related to the carkeys phenomenon... when you're trying to find them, you never will. Only when you stop looking will they reveal themselves!

[JAFO]

11 hours ago, Miniwizard said:

I had always wondered if they actually despawned in heavy blizzards etc or if it was just that visibility (and their detection ranges) was just so small that they were easily missed and/or avoided.

According to Hinterland, any wolves that had spawned before the blizzard blew up, will still be there. But no new wolves will spawn until the blizzard ends. So if you exit an interior location after a blizzard starts, you shouldn't encounter any wolves for the duration of the blizzard. My experience to date seems to confirm this.

[Carbon]

7 hours ago, BIGwooly said:

THIS! lol ... this is exactly what I have noticed.

 Yep...maintain eye contact with a spot on the horizon because they don't spawn in front of you. Turn away and viola! Wolves.

[vimrich]

23 hours ago, Carbon said:

 Yep...maintain eye contact with a spot on the horizon because they don't spawn in front of you. Turn away and viola! Wolves.

It's SCP-173. Remember not to blink.

[JoE Smash]

This is one of the aspects I included in my post about why the wolves make me nervous. Losing a run because an invisible wolf appeared in a place the wolf wasn't moments ago is the game cheating. Death due to invisible wolves is not a fair game mechanic.

[Carbon]

33 minutes ago, JoE Smash said:

This is one of the aspects I included in my post about why the wolves make me nervous. Losing a run because an invisible wolf appeared in a place the wolf wasn't moments ago is the game cheating. Death due to invisible wolves is not a fair game mechanic.

 That has never once happened to me Joe in 300 hours of playing. They do spawn in, but I have never been surprised by a wolf that wasn't visible to me previously, so never within your field of vision will they magically appear. Stop looking around so much!  

 Also remember that when a wolf barks and starts tailing you, you can just keep on walking for a long time, so long as you have no scent. They don't attack until within a certain range, so if you maintain a fair distance, you can actually get to safety. I often just ignore them altogether and try to break line of sight, then sprint a bit.

 Yes, I know you aren't asking for advice...I'm just talking here.

[Samsonguy920]

On 7/7/2017 at 9:07 AM, Carbon said:

 That has never once happened to me Joe in 300 hours of playing. They do spawn in, but I have never been surprised by a wolf that wasn't visible to me previously, so never within your field of vision will they magically appear. Stop looking around so much!  

 Also remember that when a wolf barks and starts tailing you, you can just keep on walking for a long time, so long as you have no scent. They don't attack until within a certain range, so if you maintain a fair distance, you can actually get to safety. I often just ignore them altogether and try to break line of sight, then sprint a bit.

 Yes, I know you aren't asking for advice...I'm just talking here.

The first time I discovered that a wolf can lose interest helped me feel a lot better about them. When scent mechanics were added, it felt to me like wolves were everywhere and out to get me. But after some time paying attention to their habits and finding lots of areas they were not, I learned they are not everywhere and there are lots of ways to avoid them and discourage them.

During my current playthrough with my character well-equipped, I avoid them more out of not wanting to kill any unless I need the meat and hide.  That moment when you realize you actually went up a ladder of the food chain in the game is rather nice. But those rungs are fragile.  One bad day or a poor choice and you will find yourself at the bottom real quick.

I've had a couple of moments where I was sure I saw a wolf just spawn in, but both times I dismissed it due to terrain. Snow-covered hills in the distance tend to look like snow-covered flatland, which makes concealing what is beyond them all the easier.

If you are seeing spawning happening fairly often, I would recommend raising your distance sliders in your options. It might not be so much a case of spawning as more rendering distance spooking you.  I lost count of the number of times I got bit in the butt by having my settings set so low that spawned mobs could actually sneak up on me merely because they weren't rendered.