Help Icons

Across the course of the game, various **help icons** allow the player to gain important information over the following gameplay. These icons appear at the upper left corner of the screen and provide information over the controls required for normal gameplay and often over the behaviour of the environment around it. Some help icons won't appear in every gameplay, as some are specifically relevant to just one species of playable dinosaur.

## Help Icons

### ***Palaeosaniwa* bite**

   *"Palaeosaniwa have venomous bites. When poisoned, your health meter will **pulse**. The frequency of the pulse indicates how much the venom is hurting you -- stay **well-fed** and **hydrated** to counteract it!"*

This icon appears when the player is poisoned by a *Palaeosaniwa*. This lizard is the only venomous animal in the game. The venom will deteriorate the health of the player and may kill it if its too young, too weak, too malnourished or has been bitten by the *Palaeosaniwa* too many times. The health meter will pulse if the player is poisoned, and if the frequency of the pulse is higher the more health it is losing.

### ***Dakotaraptor* parental care**

*"Dakotaraptor are **not** good parents. They will tolerate you as a hatchling, but once you become a juvenile they will start to see you as **food**."*

This is the first icon to appear in the *Dakotaraptor* gameplay, right after the player loads a new game. It does not appear in *Triceratops* gameplay. When the player spawns, it is usually surrounded by one or two parents as well as its siblings, in a typical *Dakotaraptor* family. The icon comes as a warning that you cannot stay with your parents for too long, because, once you enter into the juvenile stage at age 1, your parents will start to see you as a food source and as a competitor to their estabilished hunting grounds.

### **Health Bar**

*"The **red bar** on the HUD represents your **health**, when this is empty you will die. **Health** can be lost from injury, or by extreme **thirst** or **hunger**."*

The red bar on the HUD (located in the lower right corner of the screen) represents the general health of the player. It is naturally preferrable to keep the health bar full, to avoid any setbacks. Reasons for why the health can go down vary from animal attack, trample, poison, fall, extreme thirst and extreme hunger. When your thirst bar and/or hunger bar are empty you'll start to lose health gradually. Poison is also responsible for gradually taking health away. If the player does not have, or no longer has, the thirst and hunger bar empty, or his not, or no longer, poisoned, the health bar will slowly fill up. After the player suffered injuries from fall damage, animal attacks or trample damage, the health bar will slowly fill up, as you slowly heal. If the health bar goes down until it goes empty, the player instantly dies.

### **Stamina**

*"The white circle is your **stamina**, the smaller the inner circle, the **less stamina** you have. When your **stamina** is empty you will be unable to run or jump. Press **C** to rest, which will regain stamina faster."*

The circle that exists in the HUD represents the stamina. When the player is running, the inner circle will start to decrease in size. When it gets too small it will start to glow red and will eventually prevent the player form running anymore, until you regain stamina again by resting. *Dakotaraptor* are able to jump and that takes large amounts of stamina as well. Trotting allows the player to move around but will keep the same level of stamina it had before, and will not increase nor decrease it. By pressing Q you activate the trot toggle everytime you walk, and can be turned off by clicking Q again. Walking will allow the player to move around and save some energy. Running will continually decrease the stamina. Pressing C to rest will allow your stamina to recover faster than standing. In *Dakotaraptor*, during RPR, flapping the wings will take away stamina as well, as well as climbing trees, specially when climbing it very fast, and when the stamina is too low, the player is forced to climb slower. When jumping off a tree or a cliff, the *Dakotaraptor* may be unable to glide temporarily if the jump took away too much stamina. *Triceratops* charge also costs stamina.

### **Thirst Bar**

*"The **blue bar** on the HUD represents your **thirst**. Press LMB over water to drink and refill this stat. If your thirst bar is empty you will begin to lose **health**."*

The blue bar in the HUD represents the thirst. If the blue bar is low, it means the player will need water. If the blue bar is empty it will start to lose health, and, to avoid death, the player must refill its thirst bar to recover it. The blue bar will decrease gradually as time passes without drinking. However, drinking saltwater, located in the sea and in salt marshes, will greatly increase your thirst. Saltwater has a bright cristaline blue colour in comparison to the darker, murkier freshwater, the latter of which is perfectly drinkable. Pressing LMB with the player standing in a water source will make it consume water. Sometimes, biting and eating in the water also makes the player drink.

### **Hunger Bar**

*"The **green bar** represents your hunger, the darker overlay on this bar represents **stomach fullness**. Press **LMB** over food to eat and fill your stomach. As your stomach empties (digestion) your hunger bar will refill. If your hunger bar is empty you will begin to **lose health**."*

The green bar represents the hunger bar. Just like the health, stamina and thirst bar, it appears full when the player starts the game, and the respective information icons come right after the gameplay starts. The hunger bar is represented by a green colour, although when the player eats food, the stomach will fill up and a darker yellowish overlay will appear over the green bar. As the stomach contents are digested, and the stomach slowly empties, the green bar will increase indicating the player is digesting and no longer getting hungry. Once the green bar is empty, health decreases, so to avoid death, the player may want to eat again and refill its hunger bar. The bar will decrease overtime between intervals in which the player doesn't eat. In *Dakotaraptor* gameplay, pressing LMB close to a carcass will make the player rip off a piece of meat (or, in the case of a small carcass, hold it whole in its mouth) and subsequently swallowing it. The same principle works for *Triceratops*, if it is standing close to a clutch of edible plants. By holding LMB, the player will hold the food on its mouth without eating and it can now carry it away. By pressing V, while still holding LMB, the player can drop the food out of its mouth. *Triceratops* may fill its stomach with more effectiveness depending on the plants it feeds on, as some are more nutritious than others, and therefore some fill the stomach more than others. For example, plants like the *Equisetum*, are among the most nutritious, filling more space in the stomach, while, for example, *Zingiberopsis* are less nutritious, and fill less space in the stomach.

### **Attack**

*"**Left click** performs a basic attack. When in **combat** you must break the skin to deal proper **damage** to an animal, continue to attack the same place for the best effect. Aiming for the **throat** wil result in a faster kill."*

By pressing LMB the player will bite. Depending on where the player is localized and what are the elements nearby it, the player will drink, eat or bite a living animal (the latter of which decreases said animal's health). The head of the player is programmed to aim to living and dead animals so to direct the bite to the desired spot. When the bite is on the range of an animal it will cause injury on the latter and, according to the number of bites vs the time the creature needs to heal from them, the animal in cause might die due to the injuries caused by the player. The game provides a mechanism in which the player might want to bite to specific spots in the animal's body to deal the most damage. When an animal hurts another, it will release blood drops on the floor and will generate wounds on the animal. The wounds are a mild indication of a wounded area in an animal's model, even though the wounds currently generate in a symmetrical manner across the model. Note that turning off wounds is an option for your gameplay, in the cases where that damages game performance. Usually biting the throat deals the most damage, but biting the same region various times creates more efficiency in the killing. Attacking an agressive animal can encourage the animal in question to fight back, although, if the health of that animal is low, it might give up on the fight and run away from you.

### **Scent**

*"Predators can detect other animals by **scent**. Press and **hold E** to **sniff** the air and make **scent** particles visible to you."*

Scent is a mechanic that allows the player to locate other animals. By pressing and holding E, the player will be able to sense scent particles around it. When doing so, the screen becomes desaturated and the player will be able to see scent particles rising up from scent sources, like footprints, blood drops and faeces, and, in some small animals, blue outlines can also envolve an animal's model (that is the case in terrestrial lizards, mammals, turtles and avialans). Scent nodes disappear over time, with the height and quantity of scent particles decreasing with time, to represent scent wearing down, so the player might know if a determined animal was around this spot recently. The scent particles are usually white, but by clicking LMB when over a scent node, the scent particles will turn blue and any other track left by the animal who left that same scent node will also turn blue, allowing the player to track the animal in question. Carcasses will release yellowish scent particles, in their natural state. You cannot smell while you're swimming.

### **Sleep**

*"Press and hold **C** to sleep. This will save your game and cause 8 hours to pass at the cost of a quarter of your current **hunger** and **thirst** stats. Time passed while sleeping will not contribute to your animals's age."*

Pressing and holding C will make the player sleep. This can only happen, however, after some time, that is, you cannot right away sleep when the game starts or right after you woke up from a previous sleep. Pressing C makes the player sit down and rest, and for the player to get up again it will have to press C again. By pressing and then holding C, the player will sit and then sleep. In normal gameplay, this will cause 8 hours in-game to pass and the player will lose a quarter of the general hunger and thirst stats, at the cost of saving the game. No animal can disturb you while you're sleeping, in fact you cannot die during sleep. Sleeping will make animals around you to despawn from their previous position to reflect their real-life movement as time would have passed by, though members solidly inserted on your own social group will retain their original positions. If you are being chased or threatened by some animal, you cannot sleep, due to the stress, and the game will only allow you to sleep once it recognizes you are not in danger from any animal. Sleep can only be performed on the ground, and not in trees (in the case of *Dakotaraptor*) or in the water. When sleeping, the player, as a *Dakotaraptor*, will surround its tail around its body and duck its head under its wing in a simillar fashion to how modern birds sleep and how it is believed extinct paravian dinosaurs like these slept. *Triceratops* lay down with their belly touching the ground and lay their head on the ground as well, closing their eyes to sleep. Sleep can occur at any time of the day, there are no restrictions to any exact day hours for sleep. Sleep also happens when the player desires to pass to the next growth stage. This will warn the player that it can now grow beyond the current life stage and that is possible by pressing and holding C to sleep again. Life-stage transitions do not make time pass, do not take away hunger or thirst and do not reset the AI animals around it, it only allows the player to grow beyond into the next growth stage. The player is notified of the possibility of transition to the next growth stage by a small pulsing white-lettered text at the upper right corner of the screen. When pausing the game, the upper right corner of the screen also displays a bar showing the age of the player and how much its left to finish that age and pass to a potential next growth stage.

### **Raptor Prey Restraint (RPR)**

*"Dakotaraptor can take down larger prey with Raptor Prey Restraint. **Jump** onto an animal to initiate RPR. Once mounted, **flap** to maintain your balance by clicking **RMB** and **damage** your prey by clicking **LMB**."*

Raptor Prey Restraint (RPR) is an exclusive feature of *Dakotaraptor* gameplay. It is the only information icon that can only appear out of the hatchling stage and only in the juvenile stage. RPR is achieved by juveniles, subadults and adults, and it consists of jumping onto the back of an animal, and using RMB to flap the player's wings to maintain balance while on its back and LMB to bite and deal damage on the animal. All dinosaurs (except the DePalma's Ornithuran, *Tyrannosaurus*, *Dakotaraptor* and the *Acheroraptor* and hatchling *Triceratops*, the latter two onlyincapable of RPR if the player is in adult stage or subadult and adult stage respectively) and crocodylomorphs can be taken down with RPR. RPR starts as well with a bar that is displayed at the lower center of the screen. That bar has a cursor that moves along that bar. When the cursor is in the center, the bar will remain with a white colour, meaning the player is balanced. If the cursor moves to the sides, the bar will become red and the player will have to compensate with flapping its wings, by pressing RMB, in a way it can move the cursor more to the center. If the cursor moves out of the bar, the player will jump out of the animal, as it lost balance. If the player kills the animal, the RPR ceases and the player jumps off the animal, that is now dead.

### **Non-player animal behaviour**

*"Non-player animals get hungry, thirsty, and tired too. Their stats impact their behaviour, so keep an eye out for hungry carnivores."*

Most non-player animals have the same types of stats that the player does: hunger, thirst, health and stamina. Different levels of these will dictate how an animal reacts to you. Hungry predators will more likely go after prey or go after smaller prey than usual too, and therefore be more aggressive towards other animals, in their quest for meat. Extreme thirst will naturally drive animals for water. Non-player animals health will also contribute for their behaviour towards the player and other non-player animals, for example, very injured animals may run away from other animals that, in normal conditions, would be easy to take down, like a injured *Pachycephalosaurus* running away from a *Dakotaraptor*. Non-player animals also have stamina, and they can get tired after running a long time. The general status of the player's health influences the dynamic spawning system in the game. If the player is highly stressed, the dynamic spawn system will usually lead to unusual arrangements of animals unaware of the player's existence at first, but if the player is low stressed and having an easy time filling its needs, the dynamic spawn system may apply a higher chance for the presence of a predator that fits your size and weight.

### **Charging**

*"Triceratops could use its horns as weapons. Hold **LMB** then release to do a horn attack. If you're charging, your velocity will add to your attack power; try to release at the moment of impact for extra damage!"*

Charging with your horns is an exclusive feature of *Triceratops* gameplay. It is consisted by using your horns as weapons. By holding LMB, your head will lower to expose the horns forwards. When LMB is released, the head will swiftly move back, creating a strong blow with your horns. When used in another animal, this will result in a more accentuated damage than a simple bite. You can increase the effects of the horn attack by charging. As you run, while holding LMB, your horns will be lowered down, creating a stronger power when you hit a target. By releasing LMB, while charging, exactly at the point of collision, the damage will be even greater. Failed charges that are not properly aimed at the target, will create less damage than well aimed attacks.

### **Age-segregated herds**

*"Triceratops live in age-segregated herds. Adults and hatchlings can coexist in the same herd, as can juveniles and subadults, but other combinations of age groups cannot herd together. If an animal grows too old for their current group, they will be automatically removed and moved into a new group if possible."*

This help icon is exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. It mentions the nature of age-segregated herds in *Triceratops*. Hatchlings live with their original adult herd, up until they turn into juveniles. Once they become juveniles, they are abandoned by their adult herd and are forced to move on to a new herd if they want. Siblings will grow with you, and that will allow you to form a herd with them, right as you and your siblings pass to juvenile stage. You can also join herds of other juveniles and/or subadults, when on the juvenile and subadult stage. Once you move to the adult stage, you will be kicked out of the juvenile/subadult herd you once belonged to (if you were a part of one), and the only herds that you can join now are other adult herds. Female *Triceratops* can join any adult herds, but males may have to compete with the local male (if it exists) to gain the control of the female herd.

### **Call Wheel**

*"Press **F** to show the **call wheel**. Click on an icon and select an animal onscreen with the cursor to call at. **Threat calls** try to intimidate other animals, **social calls** try and join or create new herds with other conspecifics, and **warning calls** alert your herdmates to threats."*

The call wheel is a gameplay feature exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. You can access it by pressing F, which will give you access to four different icons: the social calls, the threat calls, the warning calls and the social status menu. The social call is a call that only works properly towards other *Triceratops*, used to join yourself into a herd, join a lonely *Triceratops* to your herd, or even merge herds. The social call may not work if the age and sexual segregation rules aren't favoured, or if you have no good reputation towards the herd you seek to join. Threat calls are calls used to intimidate targets. You can intimidate predators or intruders with this call, whether or not you live in a herd. Warning calls are used to alert the herd of incoming threats. False warning calls, however, will be seen with a decrease in your reputation.

### **Social status menu**

*"Select the **social status menu** from the **call wheel** to see information about your social group. Here, you can see the names, reputation, stats, and locations of your groupmates. You can also rename your herdmates."*

The social status menu is located in the *Triceratops* call wheel, and its therefore a feature exclusive to this animal's gameplay. Once you open the social status menu, you are able to observe your reputation, alongside a list of your herdmates names, age, sex, reputation, hunger, thirst, health and stamina stats, as well as their locations. Hunger, thirst, health and stamina stats will be represented by exclamation points, that will be brightly colored with their respective colors from the HUD, when that determined stat is at a very low level (i.e., the thirst stats excalamation point will be painted in bright blue, when that individual is at an extreme thirst). There is an option to locate a certain herdmate on your screen, with the screen then positioning to the direction around the player where the selected herdmate is encountered, and it will flash with a yellow color, to tell the player that's the selected herdmate.

### **Reputation**

*"Every member of a herd has a reputation value which reflects how helpful they are to the herd through actions such as threat warnings (or false alarms). **Herdmates are more likely to help animals with high reputations, and vice versa.** If your reputation gets too low, you will be **excommunicated** from the herd."*

The reputation is a feature exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. It is a feature that determines if *Triceratops* is more or less accepted by the herd. *Triceratops* with high reputations are more prefered by other members of the herd. Other members of the herd will more likely help individuals with higher reputations, and vice-versa, than members with low reputations. Making false threats, or hurting members of your own herds, will result in a decrease in reputation. If the reputation is too low, your herd may excommunicate you, that is, kick you out of the herd.

### **Compass**

*"As they search for resources, herds travel in general directions that change periodically. To see your herd's current direction, look at the **compass** icon in the top right of the **call wheel** screen. If you are your herd's leader, the compass becomes a button that sets the herd directions."*

The compass is a feature exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay, for it is only accessed through the call wheel. This feature is located at the top right corner of the call wheel, when this is accessed, and informs the player of the direction the herd is going, or the direction of where they are located. The direction of the herd's movement will vary depending on their stats and needs. If most of the herd is hungry or thirsty, they will move to grounds where food or water are present. Adult male *Triceratops* have the abbility of leading a herd. If you're the leader of a herd, you can use the compass as a button, by clicking on it. Then you define the direction you want for your herd by pointing the screen towards the desired direction. The females will openly follow your orders, unless their stats are compromised by this decision.

### **Herd distancing**

*"You are beginning to distance yourself from your herd-mates. If you continue too far you may be left behind."*

This icon appears only in *Triceratops* gameplay, and it is a warning for the player, informing it that you are straying away a bit too far from your herd. This warning assumes that, if you continue moving away, your herd will be in conditions to leave you behind, and you can no longer rejoin that herd. Therefore, this warning is useful if you want to preserve the bonds you have with your herd, and therefore you can now know you must move closer to your herd-mates.

### **Herd member**

*"You are now a member of a herd."*

This icon is exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. It is consisted with the simplistic information that you are now part of a herd. This is the first icon that appears when you start a *Triceratops* gameplay, informing you that you are now part of a *Triceratops* herd upon birth. This icon will also appear once you join new herds throughout your journey.

### **Herdless member**

*"You are no longer a member of a herd."*

This icon is exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. It appears when you are no longer a member of a pre-estabilished herd, meaning you have been excommunicated. This may occur after passing to a new life stage, by distancing yourself too much from your old herd, or by just lowering your reputation so much to the point of excommunication.

### **Territorial challenging**

*"Attention! Your leadership is under challenge from a rival male! Square up and defend your position or relinquish control of your herd."*

This help icon is exlusive to adult male *Triceratops* gameplay. This icon appears when another male challenges you for the control of your herd. Usually that leads to a territorial dispute between the two males, in which only one can win.

### **Herd Leadership**

*"You are now the leader of this herd. You can now set the direction of the herd, drive off rival males from your territory or they may challenge you for control."*

This help icon is exclusive to adult male *Triceratops* gameplay. This icon appears when you are successfully elected the leader of a herd. Once this icon appears you are now able to practicing all the perks about being the leader of a herd, such as set the direction of your herd and defend your herd from rival males.

### **Mating Call**

*"You are now **eligible to mate**. You can search for a mate, or use [mating call icon] from the call wheel to call for one. Make sure you're **healthy and sated**, or you may get rejected and have to wait to try again!"*

This icon appears right after the player turns into an adult. It tells the player the mating call is now available to be used (it can only be used in the adult stage, and is locked from usage in the previous growth stages). It can be selected onto any suitable mate you find, or it can be selected when no suitable mate is around, allowing for one to spawn in nearby. A successful mating occurs best when the player is healthy and has been healthy throughout his gameplay. If a courtship is rejected, the mating call icon is locked from usage for a while, before it can be used again.

### **Mated Pair**

*"You are now in a mated pair. Use the [nest placement icon] from the call wheel to choose a spot for your nest."*

This icon pops up right after you successfully attract a mate. It informs the player that the nest placement icon is now available to be used, and thanks to that, the player can now lay a nest in a proper spot, by selecting the respective icon in the call wheel.

### **Rejected Courtship**

*"Your courtship attempt has been rejected."*

This icon pops up when your courthsip attempt towards a suitable mate is rejected. This can usually happen if the player in question is injured, unsated, or has had an uneven health throughout its gameplay, which helps decrease the chances of a successful mating later on. The courtship icon will remain locked from usage for a while, after this icon's appearance, before you can use it again and give another try at courtship towards another suitable mate.

### ***Dakotaraptor* nest building**

*"Your species **digs** their nests out of dirt in the ground. To dig it out, approach the nest and use the **interact** button."*

This help icon is exclusive to *Dakotaraptor* gameplay. It describes how *Dakotaraptor* build their nests. As a *Dakotaraptor*, after you place down a nest, you must stay on top of the nest and click LMB to dig and build up dirt. Do it a few times, and the nest will be complete. *Triceratops* also have to dig up their nest, but they also need to complete the nest formation by putting down leaves.

### ***Dakotaraptor* roosting**

*"Dirt mound nests need to be actively **roosted** on for warmth. You can keep your nest **warm** by sitting on it."*

This help icon is exclusive to *Dakotaraptor* gameplay. It describes how *Dakotaraptor* engage in keeping the eggs warm. *Dakotaraptor* need to sit on their nest to keep the eggs warm.

### ***Triceratops* nest building**

*"Your species creates their nests out of vegetation scavenged from the environment. To complete your nest, drop pieces of vegetation on it until it's full."*

This icon is exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. Right after the player lays down a nest, this icon appears describing how one finalizes the construction of the nest. After standing on top of the nest and clicking LMB, to dig out the nest, the player will then need to move towards an edible plant cluster, click and hold LMB to grab a plant leaf, then move over to the nest, and drop it with RMB, while LMB is still being held. Do this a few times, and the nest will be complete with a commendable layer of leaves.

### ***Triceratops* nest rearing**

*"Plant nests require plant coverage for **warmth**. To keep them warm. continue **dropping vegetation** on them. The plants you supply will decay over time, so make sure to periodically drop new ones!"*

This icon is exclusive to *Triceratops* gameplay. Right after the nest is complete with eggs, this icon appears describing how to keep the eggs warm. The leaves in *Triceratops* nest will decay over time, and so the player must keep replenishing the stock of leaves in the nest, over time, to keep the eggs at a favourable temperature for incubation.

### **Egg health**

*"Make sure to keep your eggs **warm and healthy**. You can check on the health of your eggs and the warmth of your nest by using scent mode, where healthy eggs will appear **white**, and dead ones will appear **gray**."*

This icon shows up once your nest is complete with eggs of your own. It describes how you can monitor your eggs health. By pressing 'E' for scent view, you can check the temperature of your nest. If the nest is cold, the eggs will flash is scent mode, indicating they're not in a favourable temperature, and must therefore be roosted (as a *Dakotaraptor*) or the nest needs to be replenished with leaves (as a *Triceratops*). Healthy eggs will appear white in scent view, while dead eggs will appear in a duller gray color. Beyond unfavourable temperature gradients, flooding and predators can also factor in as dangers to the eggs.