Call Wheel

The **call wheel**, is a very useful feature throughout your gameplay. It is a feature aimed to access all the necessary requirements for the interactions you may have with other animals. Given that *Triceratops* is the only herd-living playable animal in the game, other playables, such as *Dakotaraptor*, have a smaller array of options in the call wheel.

To view and operate the call wheel, the player must press F, on the keyboard, which will give you access to the call wheel. There are five features that are shared by both playables in the game: the **threat call**, the **mating call**, the **social status menu**, the **nest placement icon** and the **compass**. A cross will be displayed at the lower right corner of the wheel, so that you can exit the call wheel menu.

The **threat call** tool is located at the top of the call wheel, and it is a useful tool to threaten certain animals. The threat call tool is directed to animals that may be a threat to you or your group members. You may be able to threat animals that are not a threat to you or your group, but that won't bring much benefit.

The **social status menu** tool is located at the bottom of the call wheel, and it is used to see the stats of your group. It is blocked from usage if you are not inserted in any group for you to see the stats. Once you have a group, you can select the social status menu. Once you do, the in-game time will freeze, and a table will list you with the number of groupmates, where you can see the names, sex, life stage, reputation, and hunger, thirst, health and stamina levels of your respective groupmates. You can also see your reputation and your name at the top of the stats list. The names of your groupmates are randomly generated and collected from a database of 2000 male and female ancient Greek names, inspired by naming conventions for dinosaurs. You can, however, rename your groupmates to names that are more appealing to you, by clicking on the text that says "Rename" at the left of your groupmate's name. Once you click on the name of your groupmate, its stats, such as reputation, sex, life stage, hunger, thirst, health and stamina will appear, the latter four in the form of excalamation marks. If your groupmate is hungry, thirsty, injured or tired, the exclamation mark will, respectively, pass from a natural neutral color, to a bright green, blue, red or white, to represent extreme conditions for your groupmate. If a lot of your groupmates are hungry, thirsty or tired, they may want to become temporarily resident in one spot, to fill their stomach with local food or drinkable water, or to just recover their stamina. On the right of this row of exclamation marks, an icon is found that, when selected, will turn the camera in the direction of the selected groupmate, and its model is going to be flashed in a yellow highlight, allowing you to know where your groupmate is located. The group usually moves around according to the general stats of the group, so if many members of the group are thirsty and/or hungry, the group will automatically move towards drinkable water and/or places with food. Straying away far enough from your group will eventually force the group to reject you, and you can no longer consult their stats.

The **compass** tool is a tool that is not in the call wheel proper, but it is accessed through the same means. It appears on the top right corner of the screen, alongside the call wheel. The compass tool is used to see the general moving direction of your group. You can see it at any life stage, except when you are not in any social group, and will point towards the general direction the group is moving to, which is dictated by their needs.

The **mating call** is an icon used to attract a suitable mate. It can only be used in the adult stage. The icon is selected to members of the opposite sex of the player, and the successfulness of the subsequent courtship display is dictated by the general fitness of the player. The mating call can also be used when there is no suitable mate around, allowing, however, for a suitable mate to spawn in nearby. After an unsuccessful mating attempt, the mating call icon will be blocked from usage for a while, until it becomes accessible again.

The **nest placement icon** is one that only appears once the player managed to secure a mate. Once the player has a mate, it not only can't use the mating call icon again (unless you divorce from your mate), but that icon is replaced by the nest placement icon, allowing the player to lay a nest. By pressing the icon, the player can select, with LMB, a suitable place to lay the nest, showing a nest blueprint that turns green when the terrain is deemed suitable. Once the nest is placed down and constructed, the player can't make another nest, until after the eggs have ceased their development.

## *Dakotaraptor* call wheel

*Dakotaraptor* don't have any unique call wheel icons, instead having all the basic five ones. The reputation system is unchangeable in your social status menu, and you cannot use the compass tool, instead being a purely informative tool. The threat call icon can be used in every life stage.

## *Triceratops* call wheel

Apart from the basic five tools, the *Triceratops* call wheel has an additional pair of call options: the **social call** and the **warning call**.

The **social call** tool is a tool that is available at any stage throughout the gameplay and is not blocked at any time. It can be utilized when you open the call wheel. You click in the social call icon on the left part of the call wheel, and then you are able to select a determined target on your screen to perform the social call. The call wheel tool is directed to other *Triceratops*, and it does not work if you direct it towards other species of animals. Once you select the tool on your target, your *Triceratops* will shake its head, displaying its horns and frill, and emitting a welcoming bellow. The tool may not necessarily work only if you select it in another *Triceratops*; if another *Triceratops* is around, you can just select the social call anywhere on the screen and the new members may respond. This tool is useful to strengthen bonds within your herd, or allow yourself to be accepted by a new herd. Juvenile and subadult *Triceratops* can join herds with new herds of juvenile and subadults. Adults can only join herds of other adults. If you have been rejected by a herd, you may not be able to rejoin the same herd. If you are accepted on a new herd, the member of the herd that you selected to perform social call, will greet you with the same display. There is also a limit of herd members that a herd can accept, and that limit usually fluctuates around a maximum of 10-15 herd members.

The **warning call** tool is located on the right side of the call wheel, and it serves the purpose of warning about the presence of certain threats. The warning call is not blocked from usage at any stage, even when you're herdless, though its primary purpose is to warn your herd of a certain threat. On a herd, warning your herdmates of a specific threat is benefitial if you feel threatened by a certain animal, and the herd might come to your aid. You may also warn the herd of a dangerous animal that is attacking another herdmate. Relevant warning calls raise your reputation, but making false warning calls will eventually decrease your reputation.

The threat call icon is blocked from usage as a hatchling *Triceratops*, mostly because you are hardly menacing to any dangerous creature in-game. Once you become a juvenile, your adult herd leaves you to live on your own, or with your siblings, and by then, the threat call is now an available tool, as you need it to defend yourself. Threatening relevant threats to your herd may raise your reputation. Threatening your herdmates, however, will lower your reputation. As an adult male, you may challenge another adult male, through the threat call tool.

If you are an adult male, leading a herd, if your herdmates stats are largely leaning towards an extreme hunger or thirst, they may be forced to not necessarily follow you, in favour of filling their needs. Your reputation can be monitored through this tool, and that's where you can take a serious look to how your reputation is to your herd, that way you may be able to anticipate the potential problem of being rejected by the herd, and correct your own mistakes, so to raise your reputation (or, if you want, to see what is required to just be rejected by your herd altogether). The reputation will lower or raise depending on the relevance of your actions. Low reputation meters will decrease the distance required to be left behind by the herd, while high reputation meters will allow you to stray away from the herd, while still not being left behind. Reputation has four different reputation slots: hated, neutral, trusted and esteemed. These reputations are in order from the worst to best reputation.

The compass tool is blocked from usage at any life stage, except when you are an adult male, leading your own herd. You can see it at any life stage, except when you are not in any social group, but given that hatchling, juvenile, subadult and female-only adult herds have no leader, the compass will point towards the general direction the herd is moving to, which is dictated by their needs. Adult male *Triceratops* that lead a herd will have the privilege of leading the herd towards a desired location, and that is achieved by clicking the compass tool. The compass will then move towards the top center of the screen and then the player only has to position the camera towards the direction you want the herd to go. Unless the herd, in general, is desperate to fill certain needs, your herdmates will largely follow you.