It’s been around a month since Jurassic World Evolution 2 debuted at Summer Games Fest, and now Frontier Developments are back with the debut of their first Developer Diary exploring the brand new game. In the diary we hear from Rich Newbold (Game Director), Adam Woods (Executive Producer) and also Jim Stimpson (Lead Designer).
We’ve embedded the video above if you haven’t seen it yet – make sure to check it out!
One of the more interesting details here is the inclusion of unique weather within the unique environments we have in the game. Adam references the inclusion of sandstorms in the more barren environments we have access to, and also snowstorms in the more arctic environments we will be playing in. This will presumably be complimented by the return of rain and storms from the first game – meaning that we will have a much more diverse set of environmental factors to fight against. I am keen to see the depths in which this will impact upon the gameplay present in the sequel. Could a sandstorm disrupt a power station, for example? If so, the risks of breakouts and other chaos unfolding is certainly increased – something which is bound to build into the replay-ability value this time around.
Another interesting note here is the focussed on improved behaviours across the dinosaurs. This is something which we have heard the team talk about before, but it is nice to get a visual look at them in the diary – with a pair of Triceratops interacting with each other, alongside enhanced behaviours for a pair of Coelophysis. It’s exciting to see how these behaviours will enhance the natural feel of the animals as this was something which was certainly an area for improvement in the initial Jurassic World Evolution. Whilst herding mechanics did tackle this to some extent, having more organic behaviours like those we see on show here should really help to immerse fans in the dinosaurs they are building their parks for. Another part of this is the focus on hunting and fighting – with group attacks prevalent in the game. This is very exciting as it means that Velociraptors and other pack animals will be able to hunt and tackle larger herbivores – something which, again, feeds back into the more natural feeling dinosaurs in the sequel.
A big deviation from the previous title in this game is Jurassic World Evolution 2’s introduction of individual scientists who you will have to manage as a part of your dinosaur creation journey. This obviously has additional costs on your continued expenditure from your park, and will also enable you to have access to different traits which you can modify your dinosaurs with depending on which scientists you hire. It is mentioned that you need to manage the stress levels of your Scientists, however, as if they become burnt out then this may lead to them sabotaging your operations – meaning they are going to become more of a hindrance than a help. This is a cool mechanic as it adds more depth to the sabotage mechanic then in the first game, and also gives you greater control over the individual personnel who form your park.
The team also took the opportunity to discuss the territory and herbivore feeding systems – explaining how different animals can co-exist, but some animals will have to fight for dominance of a territory should their territories overlap. This is an interesting dynamic which may lead to bigger enclosures being necessary to better manage multiple territories overlapping. It is also interesting to note that herbivore feeders are essentially replaced with the palaeobotany feature from the Claire’s Sanctuary DLC in the first game – meaning you will have to carefully place plants and other elements in enclosures for animals to eat. The big deviation here is that rather than placing these plant combinations in feeders, they will just be placed naturally in enclosures – hopefully contributing to the visual distinction between your different paddocks, too.
The four different visitor types in this game were also explained to a greater extent – and as we can see, each guest has different things which they will want to access to satisfy their visit and increase the percentage of that guest type who are generating revenue for your park. The team emphasised how amenities can be tailored to the specific guest categories too, allowing you to delve deeper into the systems so that you can better generate a return on your investments. This means that the management of individual shops and smaller attractions will be much more relevant than it was with Jurassic World Evolution – again contributing to that more enriched management play pattern, and hopefully adding more dynamic options which will encourage further replay ability.
Lastly, the team were keen to talk cosmetics. As we have seen in the past, there are now more building customisations available – providing you with options to change up the appearances of shops and other attractions to add even more unique themeing across your park. This combines with the return of individual terrain elements and textures being placeable across the game, alongside the continued dinosaur customisation which we had across the previous title. I am interested to see how much the creativity tools expand upon the previous title as it looks as though there is a lot more depth from the menus and UI which we have seen alone in this diary.
It’s safe to say we’re very excited for the upcoming sequel to Jurassic World Evolution. It looks like a real, for lack of a better word, evolution upon the previous title, and has a lot more mechanics and functionality baked into the core of the game. We cannot wait to get our hands on it.
With that said – we’d love to know your thoughts, too! Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to The Jurassic Park Podcast for the latest Jurassic news.
Written by: Tom Jurassic