5 Star Dinosaur

Winterwalker · Dec 4, 2018

Welcome

Here at the privately operated Tacano Research Facility we decided to feed up our first experimental carnivore, Ida (Indominus Rex) on a diet of purest raw Ceratosaur and - so she didn't get bored - the occasional Indoraptor vitamin supplement (which handlers always feed under armed supervision btw) to get our facility to five stars with a single dinosaur only.

Here are the results. (Sorry for the ultra low settings!!)

Park Stats

Dino Stats

Feeding time! (Ida looking very pleased with herself)

Ida was 5 star for approximately 15 years before she left for the research facility in the sky! Meanwhile, a number of improvements have been made to the facility, which I'll try to share here and a new experiment has begun ... more to follow. For now, visitors are still advised to stay in range of signposted secure areas and not to go wandering off by themselves.

JohnMiller1132 · Dec 5, 2018

My sibling-eater I-Rex is totally outmatched comparing with Ida. Her rating is only 1500… [sad]

Steggs · Dec 5, 2018

Haha! Brilliant work!

Winterwalker · Dec 5, 2018

JohnMiller1132 said:
My sibling-eater I-Rex .. rating 1500

Still one mean animal! [up] [up] [up]

Cainism/Siblicide is a problem when investing high dollars in captive incubation I think! After preliminary experiments on the tendency, the science division - interested in all high rated dinosaurs - is keen to see social research already carried out for Dr Wu made flesh, so to speak.

Facility Map (classified)

Security feels two specimens in one enclosure make it easier to keep an eye on. Ents say it's cheaper.

Cabot Finch isn't so sure, Indoraptor sandwiches make feeding time expensive .. and risky!

Winterwalker · Dec 5, 2018

Steggs said:
Haha! Brilliant work!

Likewise!

Lora Craft69 · Dec 5, 2018

Very nice.
Ida surely has a very high rating.

Winterwalker · Dec 5, 2018

Lora Craft69 said:
Very nice.
Ida surely has a very high rating.

Thanks Lora. The entire facility on Tacano isn't very big (supportable by one animal) and I fit only one hotel inside the existing fences. I'm sure larger parks, Tacano main, even Muerta, with higher income will do better. I like the compactness of the map though and have plans afoot. One is to take the pressure off the research subject, which is obviously a dangerous beast who can't be released into the island - and I do have another park on Tacano - so unless there's an extreme emergency she stays in!

That emergency could be the specimen dying of old age, being eaten by her own lunch or being killed during restocking of parkland, outside. A big effect on dinosaur visibility, income and on the park's ability to recover, park animals help to stablilise income but can make a mess of the test subject, not because they're predators (none are allowed outside the perimeter unless "Operation Wildfire" is in effect) but because the Indominus is housed with up to three Velociraptors. These provide stimulus, enrichment to stop her either getting bored, getting boring or as a possible infamy bonus to Ida's food. That is even though Rangers do their best, to keep Raptors - who are named - alive at Ida feeding time.

Anyone who's worked with Indoraptors will tell you they don't put up with Velociraptors and that they're not to be trifled with! Especially as the Wildfire protocol (restocking of main park) means putting the Indominus into isolation (top right of map above) for sedation and away from her companion raptors. As a result of adding this space the laboratory enclosure is too small to house an Indoraptor properly though (using genetics is disadvantageous to ratings/vitamin content iirc, certainly to costs and viability!). So if the Indominus isn't hungry at feeding time, this is what her FOOD does to the facility!

What is Operation Wildfire? These are question that keep the overpaid* management at HQ busy.

*A science building doesn't bring you income, when the Science Division doesn't even know it exists! Widlfire comes from another book by Michael Crichton (who wrote Jurassic Park);
The Andromeda Strain.

Luckily for us - on the Ranger team - ours is not to reason why ...

There's time for a nice cup o' tea.

[up]

Winterwalker · Dec 6, 2018

Line of Succession

^ Pictured above is China; Cloned Indominus Rex, aged 75 months.
(Keep looking, she's shy .. like Tiger!)

Once an animal reaches maturity - but critically before old age kicks in - time to take a DNA sample and start the process of recloning. Darts are administered by rifle. Once they fall out they're retrieved and delivered to the Genetics Lab for analysis;

China - second generation clone - has shown even higher aggression than her genetic mother Ida did!
With a combat infamy of 6730, China's overall chromasome has hit 7349.

A new record for this facility!

After a party, Science has decided financial and biosecurity risks must still be taken with the gene strand. Keeping as much aggression and resilience as possible, a long life gives more time to absorb calories in lifespan. Physical security is beefed, before a more jittery animal is introduced!

Operation Line Of Succession, has been cleared by Security and is ready to be put into effect.
After three incubation fails a new animal is ready to be released but a viable embryo is not enough ... Physical defects can't be seen until the animal's heart has been assessed, so before China can retire the young must prove strength, in a battle of supersedure.

Those of a nervous disposition look away now!

Success!

Operations are happy to report that Subject IND-005 has passed health tests. China has succeeded in producing a new test subject, her daughter has a rating of 4324 at birth!

* Though no problems with space in the enclosure, after battle with her mother, the young animal damaged the fence in two places. Settling down again, no alert was issued but ACU is condition orange.

Feeding can begin, soon but rangers have reported park animals reaching old age, this needs attention. IND-005 must be secured, the Wildfire Protocol is now in effect ...

China (on the right) with her daughter IND-005.

Can you see me now? (China)

Winterwalker · Dec 7, 2018

Operation Wildfire

People will know gate management as a fairly standard part of operating a Jurassic World island and every park is different. This one, is just (ours) mine. At this facility the ranger team is faced with a couple of pressure problems though. A low monthly park income and the prospect that if the test subject - by now a 3rd Gen, 5000 rating clone - is killed, YEARS of research will be lost!

For this reason the Wildfire Protocol is a set procedure that must be followed to the letter. IND-005, Etna (above) must be separated from her companion Velociraptors (Nettle, Belladonna and Nightshade) in such a way that none of these predators come into contact with the other (while one species is sedated) and all of these animals must be kept from the main population for similar reasons! We also don't have a huge number of paddocks to work with.

MAP

Etna - test subject Indominus - will be separated from the Raptors. The holding pen (in yellow) is situated next to our single Incubation Centre and the DNA observationlaboratory. Feeders in the high secure area are powered off and a carnivore feeder activated in the isolation unit as a lure. Belladonna and Nettle were first to visit and while they are feeding the enclosure gate is closed, to prevent the Indominus from entering and panicking the Raptors.

Last to feed this time was Nightshade;

By the time Nightshade was ready to be released from the holding area, Etna was already waiting at the gate, ready to use the feeder. After confirmation no Raptors remain, the gate is closed and ACU called to sedate. A veterinary ranger jeep is then stationed next to the Indominus to give medical assistance once the animal is sedated. The gates are locked by Construction Services, adding a light fence across access gates.

Now Wildfire is in effect. The blue cross on map above shows another lure and a gate, the companion Velociraptors are released into the park population! They must be sedated quickly before they kill everything. ACU cannot however be dispatched until the Raptors are confirmed clear of the secure area and the gate locked, in case they panic back in again.

ACU have 2 x accuracy 3.0 and 2 x reload speed 3.0 and can handle only 3 orders at a time. It's enough for this operation and they're skilled but the Velociraptors STILL made it to the Park Gate (Red X) .. the opposite side of the facility .. before they were downed!

Raptor Vet care is assigned to Ranger Team Beta, from the main ranger station situated just inside the Park Gate. With predators secure sedated the Stock Gates (Green X) can now be opened.

New herbivores are released to the Park, getting there under their own steam.

Ranger Team Alpha carries out any herding out of stragglers, encouraging herbivores to vacate the secure area quickly, so the sedated (5000 rated) Indominus can be revived as soon as possible!

Wihile this is happening any outer gates left open during the operation (to save ranger time in entering paddocks) are closed and with the Indominus back in the secure area, her companions returned to her.

Finally a headcount and new herbivores inspected by Veterinary while Rangers A and B restock and close lure feeders. (Ground vehicles also have a maximum of three orders per jeep in this facility).

Wildfire is designed to cause as little disruption to the park as possible, eg. via stress in the use of helicopter lifting overhead and this is the Vet report from the new stock animals, as dusk fell at Tacano Research. Hope you enjoy.

And soon they melt into the woods.

Winterwalker · Dec 8, 2018

A Dragon sleeps beneath the mountain.

Etna dreaming of a predatory paradise, just outside the wall.

Now then, what's for second breakfast?

Winterwalker · Dec 8, 2018

Fences

I've seen quite a few request threads for decorative items to make parks individual with. That's a fair enough request but maybe it's also worth a mention that if you put fences around buildings (nowhere near dinosaurs) I reckon you can create quite a bit of interest around the park with what we have; Routes for rangers, break up the artistic impression of your park and make it individual at the same time.

Inspired by the Lost World, Isla Sorna (Island 5 in the main campaign), which has the remnants of an old park to build out from. Where you can put these fences totally depends on how your buildings are distributed but here's one view of how my my effort turned out.

While doing this I discovered you can do some quote funky things with the fences, especially if you build in sections of shortest length (looks to me like about 3 metres). You can overdraw them? Here are combination examples (from left to right) of (1) 2 x heavy fence (2) 1 x heavy, 1 x light fence (3) 1 x concrete, 1 x light, (4) 1 x concrete, 1 x heavy (5) concrete only, and so on, built over each other.

I think it gives some really cool effects, even around paddocks ...

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But how well do they function? Is 2 x light fence, TWICE as effective as 1 x light fence?? Time for a test?

Get me a candidate dinosaur!

To cut a long story short the answer is yes, overdrawn fences are more effective. Biscuit needed almost twice as many tail swipes to make enough of a hole to get through a 2 x light wire fence than she needed to breach 1 x light. This means you can build fences as strong as concrete, without using concrete, givng some flexibility in aesthetic fence styling.

Tail hit number 2. One light fence is about to breach but the other is holding.

Hit number 3. On a single wire Biscuit would be out after 3 hits but this gap is too small

Hit number 4. A mess of tangled wires. Not pretty to look at but still an effective stock barrier.

The ranger reported a 2 x light wire gave approximately 160% barrier of a single light wire line. Park managers will be able to do the math, to decide if this suits their parks and pockets.

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Etna the Indominus has recorded a new record rating but that's classified for now, in honour of the Ranger who oversaw the Biscuit fence experiment above.

He is expected to recover. Eventually ...

Winterwalker · Dec 9, 2018

Fancy Gates.

I like to use double gates - especially into Carnivore areas. I'd be really interested to see other people's gates, whether you go for pure function or flair, or both.

As Etna approaches succession - another 20 months to go - and since several of the Indominus food animals have had a crack at some of the fences, ACU has requested a review of facility. Two red alerts have had to be issued in the last few months so ACU is hereby inviting a few chosen guests, to tour the facility from the air and review the gates.

First off is the top level, secure access to the Indominus pen.
Hopefully this will sets scientists' minds at ease.

That allows access for Ranger Team Alpha and the Veterinary vehicle ONLY unless the Indominus is in secure isolation ...

Secure Paddock --> Isolation Area.

With Indominus securely sedated, construction teams are able to access the secure area ..

The Isolation pen can also be accessed from Incubation/ Genetics, via back door.

To access the lower security Herbivore Park, Ranger Team Bravo has a double gate (inner door usually left open unless Wildfire is in effect) to give quick access to the forest.

There's also a Construction Crew Park Access.

The Wildfire Gate

And lastly the Stock Gate. Used during restocking of the Forest Park and opened only if the Test Subject Indominus is in secure lockdown.

Rangers should be able to update the Test Subject Ratings soon.

Winterwalker · Dec 10, 2018

12K Dinosaur

Research subject Indominus, ETNA at 90 months, has now passed on her DNA to her successor. This isn't a perfect process (DNA degrades) but the juvenile has already - at hatching - a higher overall rating than the first animal in opening post (1 dinosaur that sustained a 5 Star Park) had in old age!

Combat Rating is used to classify Etna, as this facility's first 12K animal.

New high 12,781 dinosaur rating, vital statistics;

If it doesn't kill you ....
Therapod Carnivore Etna teaching her offspring (on left) that you need to fight if you want the crown.

Chris Simon · Dec 10, 2018

How did I miss this thread? This is epic!

Good job, WW.

Lora Craft69 · Dec 10, 2018

I agree, looking awesome, a 12K dino... amazing.

JoaquinZaba · Dec 11, 2018

I love this thread. It's both a story and has some useful tips for players.

Thank you, WinterWalker!