Spawning

## What is Spawning

Spawning in the context of a computer game is the act of making a character appear in a level or map.

In theHunter, 3D players and 3D animals spawn in the reserve that is loaded at the start of the game. When a hunting session is launched, your character 'spawns' in the reserve, i.e. it appears in the hunting environment. The same happens when a player joins a multiplayer game. He/she appears on the map and can start playing, and also becomes visible to other players.

## Animal Spawning Facts

All the animals on the map spawn at the start of the game. Below are some facts based on official statements in the forum about how animals spawn:

* Animal spawning only happens at the start of the game. [1]. The exception are species which spawn during the game:
	+ Waterfowl species
	+ Migration species
* The amount of animals spawned is always the same number for a certain reserve [2];[3] and does not change when another reserve is added.[4]
* Animals will not spawn within 150m of the tent or lodge where you start your hunt. [5]
* Whether or not you are signed up to a competition or have activated missions (with no specific animal/location required) does not have an influence on the animals that spawn. [6];[7];[8]
* However if you have signed up for a missions that requires a certain animal in a certain spot, the server tells the client (your computer) to spawn this/these animal(s) in addition. [9]
* The animals always spawn in fix areas (example), but never at fix coordinates. There are areas where the animals have a higher chance of spawning. [10]
* Animals zoom around for a certain amount of time before rendering. [11]; [12]
* There are slightly more females than males. [13]
* Bait sites increase the spawning of animals around them. [14]
* The time of day does not have an influence on the (fix) number of animals spawning, i.e. the number is always the same no matter what time you start. [15] (look for "spawning")

## Facts not supported by developer statements

* Spawn maps do not usually change (except when more animals are added), but the maps are flexible enough to avoid hot spots (i.e. where a specific animal would spawn every time).
* Spawn maps can be found on the reserve pages or in the forum: http://forum.thehunter.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36090
* The game will never spawn the same animals. Every game session is different and will spawn a set of animals with random score and weight values, which however still follow certain permanent distribution rules.
* When  fast traveling to a  tent or lodge, the animals on the map do not change. You can even go and pick up dead animals that you shot before you traveled.
* When retiring to a  tent or lodge at 19:00 hours (7:00 pm), the session continues at 05:00 hours (5:00 am) in the morning 'of the next day'. During this process, new animals are spawned. If you still had dead animals to collect they will have been removed in the process.
* Animals that are killed 'despawn', i.e. their 3D model is removed from the game. They are not replaced. It is theoretically possible to clear an entire map, but this is hard even for a multiplayer session with 8 players due to the limited time and the fact that animals keep running away from shooting.
* Playing single player vs. multiplayer has no influence on your chances to find better scores.