Development Timeline
From Grouse House Wiki
One of the charms of Wolvden is the ability to take a break and come back to your pack being exactly how you left it! However, just because your pack is how you left it doesn't mean the game is. Wolvden is an ever-developing site, and things change frequently. After a long break, it can be hard to figure out everything you've missed!
This page is a complete timeline of Wolvden's development, but also a handy aid for getting caught up on what you've missed since you've been gone.
To get started, select the date below which is closest to when you stopped playing, and you'll instantly jump to what happened during that time period! Then, you can scroll your way forwards to catch up on everything that's happened since.
Where do you want to start?
- Pre-release (March 16, 2020 and earlier)
- Beta Testing (March 16, 2020 - September 24, 2020)
- Early Access (September 2020 - October 2020)
- Early Public Launch (October 2020 - December 2020)
- January - March 2021
- April - June 2021
- July - September 2021
- October - December 2021
- January - March 2022
- April - July 2022
- August - October 2022
- November 2022 - January 2023
- February 2023
Wolvden's Pre-release Hype
Wolvden's Pre-release Hype
The Wolvden domain is registered and sketch concepts were made! However, Lioden grew so fast that development on any more games under the "den" umbrella was forgotten until things settled.
Wolvden's social medias launch.
First posts are made on multiple platforms; Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. For the next few months, teasers are released every Thursday and lots and lots of asks are answered on Tumblr!
These first posts showcase a background which has yet to be released!
The first puppy artwork is revealed on Wolvden's social medias. Following this, major revisions to the art were made based on feedback received.
A poll is put out regarding lethal mutations! All mutations in the poll will be released at one point, but followers voted on which they wanted to see first. Of this poll, the winners, Conjoined Twins, Polymelia, Polycephaly, and Brachycephaly, were the first lethal mutations in game. Sirenomelia, another poll option, was released at the end of 2023.
A few more mutations were included in the poll and will be released at some point in the future! These include Cyclopia, Lipomatosis, Diprosopus, and Cleft Palette.
The registration customiser demo is released, allowing interested players to view all of the options they'll get to experiment with when creating their first wolf. The demo is no longer accessible, but including what is now available in the wolf creator you'll see when you start playing.
Applications for Wolvden's closed beta testing open. Many applicants agonized over the secret hidden message mentioned in the form, but could never find it (it could only be found if you inspected the page source).
Beta Testing is announced to begin on March 19, 2020. As of February 24, 2020, 1851 beta tester applications were sent in. After applications closed, 700 beta testers were selected to participate.
A first look at Wolvden is streamed live on Twitch! Supposedly, a VOD of this stream was saved, but it was never uploaded anywhere and is probably lost to time. Luckily, remnants of an important Wolvden figure from this stream remain: Vulgar Egg (who you can now find as the vulgar wolf in explore!)!
During the first look stream, Abbey demonstrated the process of creating your first wolf and showed viewers around the site. Viewers contributed to a wolf she was creating, lovingly dubbing her "Egg", and giving her the personality "Vulgar". Head artist Xylax later contributed information about Egg's exact genetics.
Beta testing begins! 700 testers were sorted into 7 different groups: Alligators, Bears, Whitetails, Elk, Pronghorns, Porcupines, and Beavers.
Pre-release Image Gallery
Pre-release Image Gallery
Below is a gallery of images shared before Wolvden's release, which may be fun to look at, different than current features, or reflect currently unreleased content! Clicking on an image will take you to the post it was shared in.
| Unreleased Content |
|---|
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| This background has not yet been released, and may never become available. |
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This early screenshot of Raccoon Wares shows two unreleased items: Cleansing Ichor and Reroll Wolf.  |
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| This background compilation features thumbnails for some backgrounds which haven't been released yet. |
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| Sectoral eye colors were teased and are supposedly planned for release in the future. |
| Changed Features and Art |
|---|
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| Early pup art. |
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| Early art of herbalist bear Herbert. The adornments were removed and later community poll results suggest they will be replaced with multi-colored flowers at some point in the future. |
| Behind-the-Scenes Content and Art |
|---|
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| Very early sketches for a wolf version of Lioden, from 2013! |
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| Moon-moonden |
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| Sketches and progress shots for some animals. |
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| Progress being made on new pup artwork. |
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| A doodled teaser explaining how secondary mutations work. |
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| A compilation of sketches and doodles. |
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| Bison carcass art progression. |
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| Elk art progression. |
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| Beta testing announcement doodle. |
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| Tala introduction art. |
Closed Beta Testing
Closed Beta Testing
Wolvden's beta testing officially begins. All 700 testers are sorted into 7 groups- Alligators, Bears, Whitetails, Elk, Pronghorns, Porcupines, and Beavers- and given a few days to get used to the site.
Wolvden is further teased on Lioden with the a Wolvden-themed April Fool's prank! Every lion was turned into a wolf for the day, with their appearance being changed according to their base genetics.
Meanwhile, Wolvden is now Moon-MoonDen.
After working on it privately for a little while, a small group of data-minded folks unveil an Unofficial Wiki Spreadsheet for beta testers to use while testing. Initially a document for making newly befriendable wolf encounters easier to win, an information document for Wolvden was started by Raksha (#1349). Shared among the Elk testing group as a means of sharing game information, Valentine (#2873) and creamyjam (#24858) spear headed this document into more than just wolf befriending, adding more befriending information, as well as details on hunting and prey items; soon this document was shared from the Elk group to a Bear, where the similarly data-focused fridaySnack (#1729) joined in file and data collection, organisation and document/form moderation, as well as adding herb information, the remaining prey items, battle encounters, and the first ideations of guides for new members.
The Grouse House was born!
Testing of breeding mechanics begins. Each beta testing group is given a separate objective to test the mechanics of breeding. Alligators tested recessive genes/mutations, Bears tested heritage, Whitetails tested claws, skin, and noses, Elk and Pronghorns tested breeding items and markings, Porcupines tested bases, and Beavers tested eyes.
While most of the breeding items testing during this phase were released with the 2024 Matchmaker event, Ochre Saltlick has not yet been released. Chromatic Saltlick and Labradorite Saltlick were retired entirely due to confusion, and it is unclear if they will return in any capacity.
| Breeding Items | ||
|---|---|---|
| Item | Obention | Effect |
 Chromatic Saltlick |
Currently unobtainable and potentially retired permanently | Guaranteed a marking shape would pass to one pup in the litter. If the other wolf's marking in the chosen slot did not have a color that is compatible with the chosen shape, the marking of the parent the item was given to would be passed identically (color and shape both) |
 Flint Saltlick |
Purchase from the Boutique of Delights during the February Matchmaker event | Pass the wolf's claw color onto all pups in their next litter |
 Labradorite Saltlick |
Currently unobtainable and potentially retired permanently | Guaranteed a marking color would pass to one pup in the litter. If the other wolf's marking in the chosen slot does not have a shape that is compatible with the chosen color, the marking of the parent the item was given to will be passed identically (color and shape both) |
 Opal Saltlick |
Currently unavailable | Guaranteed an exact marking would pass to one pup in the litter |
 Opal Saltlick |
Purchase from the Boutique of Delights during the February Matchmaker event | Pass the wolf's eye color onto one random pup in their next litter |
 Rock Salt |
Purchase from the Boutique of Delights during the February Matchmaker event | Pass the wolf's nose color onto all pups in their next litter |
 Sea Salt |
Purchase from the Boutique of Delights during the February Matchmaker event | Pass the wolf's skin color onto all pups in their next litter |
It's revealed that Wolvden's early access will open on September 25, 2020.
Early access sales launch on September 10 with four purchasable tiers. Players purchasing certain tiers could choose their own ID numbers on a first-come-first-served basis. Others would be randomly assigned an ID upon registration, within a certain range of numbers. Within the first 30 seconds, every Full Moon package was purchased, with the remaining limited packages following in the next few minutes.
A second wave of early access sales was available on September 11, and a third wave was available on September 14. Every player who purchased early access would receive a Founder badge on their profile upon registration.
Beta testing officially ends.
Early Access
Early Access
Early access officially opens. People who purchased any Early Access package could register and begin playing. Due to server stress from all of the accounts being created, the site was almost completely inoperable for the first few hours after launch. For the duration of Early Access, there was a 10% discount on every Gold Cone purchase to make up for issues during the Early Access Sales. This is the only discount that has ever been applied to Gold Cone purchases.
Due to some pretty serious bugs which came to light during Early Access, including befriended wolves not properly loading and befriending not loading completely, puppy stages not working, energy not regenerating properly, and more, it's announced that the public release will be delayed. It's assumed that the bugs arose from server stress. However, a small number of beta testers were still very active at the end of testing, so it's likely some bugs slipped through the cracks.
This group of bugs is the origin of the fan-favorite "Nobaby", who appeared from the befriended wolves who did not load in properly, and were thus defaulted to a brown pup. Nobaby is a name you'll see pop up relatively often in the community. The name refers to this pup, a very broken wolf who first appeared during beta testing (under the name Broken), but grew in prominence during Early Access.
It is the result of a new befriended wolf not loading in properly, thus defaulting to a brown-based pup with no features. The phenomenon was so well-known during Early Access that it spawned a Lunar Event encounter, based off of this comic page by Kiaz #7002. If you look closely, you'll also find nobaby haunting this news post.
A Blue Moon background is announced in celebration of a calendar Blue Moon, available from October 19 to October 31. It returned to the shop in August 2023 for another calendar Blue Moon. The next calendar Blue Moon is not expected until December 2028, but the background may return for a different, but similar event in the future.
A lot of fixes and small updates were made during Early Access.
- Claw Changer is finished and added to the game.
- Skin Changer is finished and added to the game.
- Nose Changer is finished and added to the game.
- Eyes Changer is finished and added to the game.
- Base Changer is finished and added to the game.
- Marking Opacity Changer is finished and added to the game.
- Marking Applicator is finished and added to the game.
- Wolves can now be chased or sold after 2 hours of entering the pack, instead of one rollover.
- Admins can now be more easily identified on their den pages, profile pages and on the Members Online list.
- You can now click on your wolves' images to regenerate them if their stages are not showing properly.
- Thoughtless personality has been renamed to Scatterbrained.
- New, easier combo selects for selling to Raccoon Wares to sell multiple items or stacks at once.
- Tala's Archive has been added to the Help section of the game. This lists all of the quest steps of the quests you've completed, for reference.
- Mutations can now be searched in Crossroads and the Trading Center.
- Mutations now display in the wardrobe!
- Friends list now ordered by name instead of ID.
- Added notifications about breeding male cooldowns where applicable on the retirement page, removing a breeding male and setting a new one.
- Tweaked the personality breeding rates - 90% chance of a puppy to be born with a personality out of its parents group, 10% chance for a fully random personality.
- The Customiser page has been updated to be more clear when you are customising a New Wolf versus an Existing wolf.
- Forums have been updated to hide posts from users you have blocked, and vice versa.
- A bump post button has been added. If someone hasn't replied or bumped to a post in the last 5 minutes, it can be bumped. This won't send out subscription notifications.
- Prairie Chicken encounter has been tweaked to give fewer large carcasses, and instead gives a small carcass.
- Herb Exchange now remembers your previous selection after the page loads of which herb you traded in (if you have any of that herb remaining) and which herb you're trading for.
- To prepare for launch, Moonlit Mines background added to Raccoon Wares, all biomes - available only at night time.
- To prepare for launch, added new markings: Tamaskan Unders (RMA exclusive), Shepherd Heavy (breed deviation only), Butcher (custom), Smudge (custom) and Smudge Heavy (custom + breed deviation)
- Very minor and subtle tweaks to linearts - Adult wolf had extra strokes added to limb and throat areas, Adolescent had a gentle lineart thinning overall, especially head area. Visible on existing wolves only after image update.
Public Launch
Public Launch
Wolvden launches for free to the public. Anyone is now able to make an account, and thousands of people register.
Wolvden's first Development Update is posted, announcing the release of lethal mutations and immortality.
- Lethal mutations Brachycephaly, Conjoined Twins, Polycephaly, and Polymelia are released.
- You can now make your wolves Immortal with the use of a Jellyfish.
- You can now buy immortal territory slots for your pack at the bottom of your Den page.
- An item which permanently removes mutations, Osha, is added to Raccoon Wares.
The Game Development board is added, where players can submit feedback and provide suggestions for the game!
The second Development update is posted, adding more important game mechanics!
- Three new marking shapes are added: Cover (custom), Half Cover (custom), and Points (special NBW).
- Crafting is introduced! You can now find recipes through a variety of means and craft new decors and backgrounds from them.
- The first explore-bound decoration is added, Expression: Pfflrp, which you can get from licking the Rocky Mountain Toad.
- You can now receive scars from winning battles against Level 5+ opponents, as long as your lead wolf is Level 10+.
- Two new rare encounters were added, Egg and Tala.