2022 was a great year for JWE2, not only passing the first-year anniversary of the game, but also introducing a slew of new content and updates that have made the game much more varied and engaging with new campaign levels, challenge scenarios, maps, building sets, sandbox settings, and plenty of prehistoric beasts to shake a stick at. With update 6 launching a month ago, sandbox mode has been getting a lot of love with multiple new large square and expanded maps, a sandbox setting to enable tax, access to placeable vegetation from all biomes, new remote attractions, and support for the latest PDLC: The Feathered Species Pack.
These additions have gotten me eager to jump back into the game again, as I spend most of my time in sandbox mode and would love access to all of the new content added as well as the promise of an experience that better prioritizes the economy of this business sim game. So far? This has been my favorite update to Jurassic World Evolution 2.
THE NEW SQUARE MAPS ARE OUTSTANDING
One of the newest additions to the game comes in the form of the new large square maps. Estimated to be more than 6km² in size, these square maps are the largest play space the game has to offer. These square maps come in 9 flavors, covering the base game biome options as well as 3 biomes from the Dominon-themed PDLCs. They are about three times the size of Nublar 2015, and after some time with these maps, they are really massive.
One thing I loved about these maps is how they made me want to experiment with the terrain tools. Ironically enough, I would often flatten the base game maps so that I could make the most of the terrain space provided, but considering how massive these new maps were, I felt way more experimental and wanted to build the terrain in sandbox mode before starting the park. I would often spend a good hour or two sculpting the land with pseudo mountains, dead volcanoes, valleys, forests, lakes, rivers, craters, and whatever else comes to mind.
This would take a few hours of my time, but it not only gets me looking forward to building on these curated maps but also to jump into the ranger vehicle and explore the map I have settled up. Since the terrain is different for each playthrough, I get to look forward to building parks that are on uneven terrain with no worries of reaching the borders so quickly, making it so that each sandbox game feels unique from the last. One favorite map I made was for the recreation of Jurassic World, where I created large mountains to divide the main park from the entrance and facility sector, which each of these areas is connected by a dedicated monorail system. This then brings about some great seclusions to house the backstage of the park and have it be hidden from guest view, as well as a mini resort guest could enjoy before grabbing the next monorail ride to get to visit the park's dinosaurs.
While not as expansive as the square maps, the new expanded maps are also a welcoming inclusion, one that brings a new and less restricted experience to some of the existing maps in the game, with some maps such as the Southwest US and San Marie Bay feeling completely different with their new expanded play area. All in all, the square and expanded maps really deliver some great options for the player to choose from in sandbox mode, and greatly supports replayability thanks to the large build spaces and variety.
MORE FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY IN SANDBOX MODE
Taxes are a factor again.
Upon reading how the player could set taxes as a sandbox option way back when update 6 was announced, I was very eager to play sandbox mode once the update launched. I love the sense of progression in most management sim games, and I like many others was vocal in this forum on how sandbox mode could do with some additional setting options and inclusions to recapture the sense of progression that could be experienced in the game's chaos theory and challenge mode. I love the sheer freedom of variety presented in sandbox mode thanks to the many buildable items, map options, and access to the game's entire dinosaur roster, I just want to play with those items with a set of rules similar to how players could build their parks in Chaos theory and Challenge modes.
Alongside the access to research and send out expeditions, the ability to set taxes in sandbox games has brought this vision of a custom and challenging sandbox closer to fruition! I have really enjoyed playing the game in sandbox mode with taxes enabled, as I actually need to prioritize the economy when it comes to managing these dinosaur parks in sandbox mode. I have to take into consideration which dinosaurs to incubate, who I should hire, and make sure I am always earning a steady income in order to grow my park and reinforce that income. I had to take in contracts, take multiple pictures of dinosaurs, invest in guest attractions, make sure my staff are well-skilled and not draining my savings, and revisit the stores to make sure I satisfy my guests with products catering to those who are in my parks. Having tax enabled would help make sure I am not getting a profit beyond $300,000 per minute, and that helps me make more crucial decisions to help the park's overall growth, such as lowering the costs of facilities and tasks as much as possible, and really commit to an end goal of incubating my star attractions.
Not only do taxes limit the money I earn per minute, but it also helps that it is raised as the appeal of the park grows, but never lowers once the appeal starts to plummet. At first, I had a park scenario where I was basically growing a farm of struthiomimus in order to milk out the contracts of growing the dinosaur population, as it was great earning more than a million dollars by incubating a few more struthiomimus to add to the population, to which I ended up with a flock of 50+ individuals in a dedicated enclosure. What I didn't take into consideration was the abysmal lifespan struthiomimus had, and as soon as one of them died, it was a sign that the flock was going away real soon, and it became a race to either refill the struthiomimus farm or invest in dinosaurs with a higher appeal or longer lifespans. Needless to say, I actually reached a financial crisis where I was close to bankruptcy multiple times, which I was only ever able to recover from thanks to photography, new contracts, and incubating dinosaurs with a focus on greater appeal and variety.
And that felt so good!
The satisfaction of overcoming the issue I inadvertently set up was one that I was looking for in JWE2, and I did learn from that mistake when making new parks. I would focus on cutting costs, making sure research and expeditions are much more profitable, and aim to grow a large roster of dinosaurs in a park for the long-term reward instead of digging my own grave with the population contracts. This had me take in a new strategy to earn the best money could buy in the cheapest means necessary, where end game dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex or Alamosaurus become attainable much sooner with little worries of financial risk. Seeing such late-game dinosaurs leave the hatchery after so much time investing in the park to afford them was such a rewarding experience every single time.
PARK BUILDING IS JUST AS ENJOYABLE
Building the parks has also been a highlight in sandbox mode. Thanks to the large maps that invite terrain modifications, the new attractions, the slew of decorations, and access to placeable vegetation from multiple biomes, building these parks have been an overall blast.
Every time I have some downtime and some money to spare, I would get down to the details of the park and see how I could spruce up the place. Be it lavish downtown areas and entrances, storage sections for facilities and incubation areas, or the occasional campsite and botanical garden, decorating has become a new favorite pastime in sandbox mode. Initially, it was a means to pass the time waiting for research, incubation, and such long tasks to complete, but now I have to remind myself to pause the game because I end up using up more time decorating my parks than managing them.
The new attractions and placeable vegetation have also helped in planning out unique enclosures in my parks. I could set up temperate or boreal forests in the middle of Isla Nublar to add some variety to my enclosures, and the ability to create secluded enclosures to construct underground viewing galleries has been a treat, as it delivers a great first-person experience of visiting my park and be teleported to a remote world to observe these dinosaurs thanks to how far we could place the entrances for the underground attractions.
The new zipline variants have also been a great touch. I really liked how I could access the JP zipline in sandbox mode with all buildings enabled, as I could utilize the JP buildings to create a camp cretaceous-like section of my park, and the wooden rustic look of the JP zipline helps give off a more outdoorsy feel.
Overall, park building in sandbox mode has been a treat, not only because of the larger maps that could allow for more to be built, but to have access to so many assets to get creative in the new space.
AREAS IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT
As with any new update, some flaws are bound to make themselves present within the game, which I have to admit, are not that many this time around.
Aside from the expected bugs to find and squish, the game has overall been a blast to play this past month, and there are only a few areas I observed that are in need of improvement. This could be anything from changes to additions to solve these issues. Most of them would focus on sandbox mode, as that mode by far has been the most replayable mode in JWE2 and could do with additional TLC in order to solidify the replayability of this game.
MORE ECONOMY TWEAKS IN SANDBOX MODE
The inclusion of taxes has been a great addition in sandbox mode to better adjust the economy for a more challenging level of progression but is by far not the only inclusion needed to solidify the experience.
The first is the ability to adjust ticket prices, as some maps are still way too generous when it comes to the value of a ticket that players could easily reach new star levels with the inclusion of a few low-appealing dinosaurs, sometimes even exceeding two stars with the release of the first batch of dinosaurs.
The second is the rather low appeal rating needed to cover Jurassic levels in sandbox mode, with some maps such as the square and expanded maps needing only 7000 total appeal despite the maps rather large sizes.
Both of these issues have been discussed here and here by the community in the forums. Most ticket and appeal rating issues often stem from new maps included via the Dominion Biosyn and Malta expansion packs, as well as the new maps introduced via updates. If those maps get revised, the gameplay should fair a lot better with a more gradual sense of progression. As is, it is way too easy to get stars in those maps that players that enjoy the sense of park growth could find those maps to be very unsatisfying.
ENABLE CHALLENGE CONDITIONS IN SANDBOX MODE
Challenge mode has a slew of features that could work in sandbox mode. I would love the ability to enable said features to create a more challenging ruleset to abide by when building parks. Let me get the occasional message that would require me to make an ultimatum then and there, have my scientists demand more and get agitated with each new task assigned, let my dinosaurs adopt the fussy and intelligent traits, or have it where incubating dinosaurs with certain negative traits would greatly hinder their lifespan. These are some challenge mode conditions I would love to enable to play with in sandbox mode, as they could add much-needed chaos to the game, and really test the player's skills in managing the park with a bigger chance of a monkey wrench being thrown at the park every now and then.
THE BUILDING SETS ADDITIONS
Building sets in Jurassic World Evolution 2 would often share assets such as level 2 and 3 'World' fencing, paths, drones, and gates. While I definitely see the resourcefulness of this direction, the delivery of these building sets feels rather incomplete in some cases, as most parks I have built almost feel the same in the early stages of development. I think more assets could be introduced to better define these sets from one another and deliver a more immersive experience, one that should be better tailored to the set selected.
ERA-THEMED CAST OF CHARACTERS
Playing in sandbox mode, I find myself enjoying the Jurassic World Building set the most due to how the overall experience feels catered to the Jurassic World Era. Outside of the Building set, the cast of characters is what sells me in the Jurassic World era, and what takes my immersion away from using any of the other building sets.
Let us have the option to swap between the cast of characters to match the building set. DFW could work with the default cast of characters, and a more dedicated Jurassic World set could be made with Ian Malcolm removed from the cast and Simon Masarani making an appearance, as well as Claire Dearing having her picture outfitted with her park operations getup and hairdo like how it was in Jurassic World Chaos Theory.
Jurassic Park, Biosyn, and Malta could use the more defined cast of characters players have experienced from the game's other modes of play. While they do not comment on the dinosaurs released from the hatcheries, they should at least be able to communicate to the player when it comes to park progression and contracts.
ERA-THEMED MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH PAGES
The management and research pages are the windows I see the most when playing in sandbox mode. I wrote dedicated threads about the Management and Research pages, but the TLDR is that by having them visually match the era selected, combined with the option to choose a cast of characters appropriate to the era, we could have a fully immersive sandbox experience where everything is focused on the building set the park is focused on.
The research page adjusting to the era selected is also just as important as it should help in delivering research paths that grow similarly to the Biosyn and Malta Campaign games, where there are no awkward gaps where the small power stations and hotels should have been in. This should allow for sandbox games with a focus on Biosyn Genetics and Malta to have a better sense of progress when it comes to research and development.
ALL DECORATION AND FENCE SANDBOX OPTIONS
Sandbox has this option for current-gen consoles and PC users where we could have an all-buildings set, as that allows us to access every buildable asset in the game.
While I do enjoy that set in sandbox mode for a more open Jurassic World-themed sandbox scenario, I do find more value in utilizing the more dedicated building set options. Depending on the option selected, transportation may not be a factor to manage in the park, the ACU helicopters are thematically appropriate to the selected building set's operations, contracts are more in tune with the building set, and you do not need to clutter yourself with the guest and facility buildings from other sets.
With that said, I do see myself wanting to still have access to all decorations and fences despite not using the all-building set. It would be a happy compromise of the two, having a more dedicated building set to focus on, but still utilizing the decorations and fences to add just a bit more flair to the parks. For example, I love the DFW spotlights for my facility sectors, but they are only available in the DFW pack, and I want to provide my DFW park with level 5 fencing but the concrete and heavy metal fencing are only available from any other set.
Being able to access all decoration and fence options regardless of what building set I commit to would be grand, as most decorations and fencing are unbranded and could work for any other building set.
-- NEW ADDITIONS 6th MAY 2023 --
SANDBOX SETTING TO DISABLE GUEST MANAGEMENT
This is a sandbox setting that is useful for players wanting to make parks that do not want to deal with guests. This could be great for parks built to be like nature reserves, DFW operations, Research facilities, or Biosyn Genetics. Park progression would simply focus on dinosaur variety and contracts and not have to cater to guests with hotels, restrooms, or amenities.
SANDBOX SETTING TO DISABLE DIG SITES AND DINOSAUR RESEARCH
Players attempting to do a park where research is enabled, but do not want to acquire dinosaurs via research or dig sites could benefit from this setting. This is so that when the park progresses, you would not have to deal with a clutter of notifications that mentions access to new dig sites.
So if you want to do a game mode that is primarily focused on capturing wild dinosaurs, you could select those live captures without having to see the expedition screen full of unlocked dig sites. Likewise, when doing a Malta/black market-focused game mode, you could remove the option to research dinosaurs so as to not be notified of available research to dig sites you otherwise would not access.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE
Things are gonna get exciting this year, as not only are we getting closer to the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park, but we are also approaching the 5th anniversary of Jurassic World Evolution!
I still remember sitting down in my first class of senior year at university, when I was waiting for class to start and saw a trailer for Jurassic World Evolution on youtube. Needless to say, I was sold on the premise alone and was excited to try out Jurassic World Evolution when it launches summer of 2018. It has been nearly 15 years since Jurassic Park Operation Genesis, and I was definitely looking forward to building and managing new prehistoric parks all over again, this time on the PS4 instead of the PS2!
The game launched and it was honestly a mixed experience with a lot of lacking content, odd design choices, and bugs abound, which is not to say I didn't love Jurassic World Evolution. I was hooked on that game and was looking forward to each new update and DLC that would come to the game, discussing them here in the forums and on Reddit, and being up to date with the latest news from both Frontier and supporting content creators on Youtube and Twitter. Evolution definitely got a good sum of support post-release, and the decision to develop the sequel, Evolution 2, was a good call.
By having a more solid foundation to work on, Jurassic World Evolution 2 bloomed with so much variety that it is hard to imagine that a game of this caliber exists. 4 game modes, 5 building sets, 28+ maps to choose from covering variations of 6 biomes, and over 100 prehistoric animals to populate our parks with, including dinosaurs from both the Park and World trilogies, flying pterosaurs, marine reptiles, hybrids, synapsids, and animals new to the franchise altogether, all of which is quickly accessible from my PS5.
If it ain't apparent, I love this game. It is up there with other games of its ilk such as RollerCoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon as one of my favorite sim management games of all time. I really love how well this game grew, and how much I could do with what is available to me. The effort that went to the locations, dinosaurs, buildings, management, QOL, graphics, animation, lighting, music, and sound effects works really well together in delivering a sim management game that not only celebrates the history of the Jurassic Park franchise but makes it fun as well!
I am very much looking forward to the upcoming update that coincides with Jurassic Park's 30th Anniversary which contains new decorations to celebrate the occasion, as well as any other surprises waiting down the line. I am hoping the game would get more support in the future, and even if support does not last as long beyond 2023, I am certain that I would be coming back and enjoying this game for many years to come.
Thank you Frontier Developments for collaborating with Universal Pictures in creating some of my favorite games of all time, and thank you everyone here in the Frontier Forums for having me be a part of the community and bearing with my many posts, photos, and suggestions. I wish you all the best and that we could all look forward to an exciting period celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park.
Take care!
- Pixelated Sparkster
These additions have gotten me eager to jump back into the game again, as I spend most of my time in sandbox mode and would love access to all of the new content added as well as the promise of an experience that better prioritizes the economy of this business sim game. So far? This has been my favorite update to Jurassic World Evolution 2.
THE NEW SQUARE MAPS ARE OUTSTANDING
One of the newest additions to the game comes in the form of the new large square maps. Estimated to be more than 6km² in size, these square maps are the largest play space the game has to offer. These square maps come in 9 flavors, covering the base game biome options as well as 3 biomes from the Dominon-themed PDLCs. They are about three times the size of Nublar 2015, and after some time with these maps, they are really massive.
One thing I loved about these maps is how they made me want to experiment with the terrain tools. Ironically enough, I would often flatten the base game maps so that I could make the most of the terrain space provided, but considering how massive these new maps were, I felt way more experimental and wanted to build the terrain in sandbox mode before starting the park. I would often spend a good hour or two sculpting the land with pseudo mountains, dead volcanoes, valleys, forests, lakes, rivers, craters, and whatever else comes to mind.
This would take a few hours of my time, but it not only gets me looking forward to building on these curated maps but also to jump into the ranger vehicle and explore the map I have settled up. Since the terrain is different for each playthrough, I get to look forward to building parks that are on uneven terrain with no worries of reaching the borders so quickly, making it so that each sandbox game feels unique from the last. One favorite map I made was for the recreation of Jurassic World, where I created large mountains to divide the main park from the entrance and facility sector, which each of these areas is connected by a dedicated monorail system. This then brings about some great seclusions to house the backstage of the park and have it be hidden from guest view, as well as a mini resort guest could enjoy before grabbing the next monorail ride to get to visit the park's dinosaurs.
While not as expansive as the square maps, the new expanded maps are also a welcoming inclusion, one that brings a new and less restricted experience to some of the existing maps in the game, with some maps such as the Southwest US and San Marie Bay feeling completely different with their new expanded play area. All in all, the square and expanded maps really deliver some great options for the player to choose from in sandbox mode, and greatly supports replayability thanks to the large build spaces and variety.
MORE FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY IN SANDBOX MODE
Taxes are a factor again.
Upon reading how the player could set taxes as a sandbox option way back when update 6 was announced, I was very eager to play sandbox mode once the update launched. I love the sense of progression in most management sim games, and I like many others was vocal in this forum on how sandbox mode could do with some additional setting options and inclusions to recapture the sense of progression that could be experienced in the game's chaos theory and challenge mode. I love the sheer freedom of variety presented in sandbox mode thanks to the many buildable items, map options, and access to the game's entire dinosaur roster, I just want to play with those items with a set of rules similar to how players could build their parks in Chaos theory and Challenge modes.
Alongside the access to research and send out expeditions, the ability to set taxes in sandbox games has brought this vision of a custom and challenging sandbox closer to fruition! I have really enjoyed playing the game in sandbox mode with taxes enabled, as I actually need to prioritize the economy when it comes to managing these dinosaur parks in sandbox mode. I have to take into consideration which dinosaurs to incubate, who I should hire, and make sure I am always earning a steady income in order to grow my park and reinforce that income. I had to take in contracts, take multiple pictures of dinosaurs, invest in guest attractions, make sure my staff are well-skilled and not draining my savings, and revisit the stores to make sure I satisfy my guests with products catering to those who are in my parks. Having tax enabled would help make sure I am not getting a profit beyond $300,000 per minute, and that helps me make more crucial decisions to help the park's overall growth, such as lowering the costs of facilities and tasks as much as possible, and really commit to an end goal of incubating my star attractions.
Not only do taxes limit the money I earn per minute, but it also helps that it is raised as the appeal of the park grows, but never lowers once the appeal starts to plummet. At first, I had a park scenario where I was basically growing a farm of struthiomimus in order to milk out the contracts of growing the dinosaur population, as it was great earning more than a million dollars by incubating a few more struthiomimus to add to the population, to which I ended up with a flock of 50+ individuals in a dedicated enclosure. What I didn't take into consideration was the abysmal lifespan struthiomimus had, and as soon as one of them died, it was a sign that the flock was going away real soon, and it became a race to either refill the struthiomimus farm or invest in dinosaurs with a higher appeal or longer lifespans. Needless to say, I actually reached a financial crisis where I was close to bankruptcy multiple times, which I was only ever able to recover from thanks to photography, new contracts, and incubating dinosaurs with a focus on greater appeal and variety.
And that felt so good!
The satisfaction of overcoming the issue I inadvertently set up was one that I was looking for in JWE2, and I did learn from that mistake when making new parks. I would focus on cutting costs, making sure research and expeditions are much more profitable, and aim to grow a large roster of dinosaurs in a park for the long-term reward instead of digging my own grave with the population contracts. This had me take in a new strategy to earn the best money could buy in the cheapest means necessary, where end game dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex or Alamosaurus become attainable much sooner with little worries of financial risk. Seeing such late-game dinosaurs leave the hatchery after so much time investing in the park to afford them was such a rewarding experience every single time.
PARK BUILDING IS JUST AS ENJOYABLE
Building the parks has also been a highlight in sandbox mode. Thanks to the large maps that invite terrain modifications, the new attractions, the slew of decorations, and access to placeable vegetation from multiple biomes, building these parks have been an overall blast.
Every time I have some downtime and some money to spare, I would get down to the details of the park and see how I could spruce up the place. Be it lavish downtown areas and entrances, storage sections for facilities and incubation areas, or the occasional campsite and botanical garden, decorating has become a new favorite pastime in sandbox mode. Initially, it was a means to pass the time waiting for research, incubation, and such long tasks to complete, but now I have to remind myself to pause the game because I end up using up more time decorating my parks than managing them.
The new attractions and placeable vegetation have also helped in planning out unique enclosures in my parks. I could set up temperate or boreal forests in the middle of Isla Nublar to add some variety to my enclosures, and the ability to create secluded enclosures to construct underground viewing galleries has been a treat, as it delivers a great first-person experience of visiting my park and be teleported to a remote world to observe these dinosaurs thanks to how far we could place the entrances for the underground attractions.
The new zipline variants have also been a great touch. I really liked how I could access the JP zipline in sandbox mode with all buildings enabled, as I could utilize the JP buildings to create a camp cretaceous-like section of my park, and the wooden rustic look of the JP zipline helps give off a more outdoorsy feel.
Overall, park building in sandbox mode has been a treat, not only because of the larger maps that could allow for more to be built, but to have access to so many assets to get creative in the new space.
AREAS IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT
As with any new update, some flaws are bound to make themselves present within the game, which I have to admit, are not that many this time around.
Aside from the expected bugs to find and squish, the game has overall been a blast to play this past month, and there are only a few areas I observed that are in need of improvement. This could be anything from changes to additions to solve these issues. Most of them would focus on sandbox mode, as that mode by far has been the most replayable mode in JWE2 and could do with additional TLC in order to solidify the replayability of this game.
MORE ECONOMY TWEAKS IN SANDBOX MODE
The inclusion of taxes has been a great addition in sandbox mode to better adjust the economy for a more challenging level of progression but is by far not the only inclusion needed to solidify the experience.
The first is the ability to adjust ticket prices, as some maps are still way too generous when it comes to the value of a ticket that players could easily reach new star levels with the inclusion of a few low-appealing dinosaurs, sometimes even exceeding two stars with the release of the first batch of dinosaurs.
The second is the rather low appeal rating needed to cover Jurassic levels in sandbox mode, with some maps such as the square and expanded maps needing only 7000 total appeal despite the maps rather large sizes.
Both of these issues have been discussed here and here by the community in the forums. Most ticket and appeal rating issues often stem from new maps included via the Dominion Biosyn and Malta expansion packs, as well as the new maps introduced via updates. If those maps get revised, the gameplay should fair a lot better with a more gradual sense of progression. As is, it is way too easy to get stars in those maps that players that enjoy the sense of park growth could find those maps to be very unsatisfying.
ENABLE CHALLENGE CONDITIONS IN SANDBOX MODE
Challenge mode has a slew of features that could work in sandbox mode. I would love the ability to enable said features to create a more challenging ruleset to abide by when building parks. Let me get the occasional message that would require me to make an ultimatum then and there, have my scientists demand more and get agitated with each new task assigned, let my dinosaurs adopt the fussy and intelligent traits, or have it where incubating dinosaurs with certain negative traits would greatly hinder their lifespan. These are some challenge mode conditions I would love to enable to play with in sandbox mode, as they could add much-needed chaos to the game, and really test the player's skills in managing the park with a bigger chance of a monkey wrench being thrown at the park every now and then.
THE BUILDING SETS ADDITIONS
Building sets in Jurassic World Evolution 2 would often share assets such as level 2 and 3 'World' fencing, paths, drones, and gates. While I definitely see the resourcefulness of this direction, the delivery of these building sets feels rather incomplete in some cases, as most parks I have built almost feel the same in the early stages of development. I think more assets could be introduced to better define these sets from one another and deliver a more immersive experience, one that should be better tailored to the set selected.
JURASSIC WORLD
Honestly, this set alongside the DFW set feels very complete. The Jurassic World set from what I have observed, acts as a template for the other sets to utilize, where the early fencing, paths, aviary & lagoon drones, and pylons look to properly fit this set. If I were to make a suggestion, I think this building set should have fence gates that have the brand's stronger hue of blue like how it did in JWE1, and it should also allow for the option to use JPIII's chaos theory buildings for players to have the option to aesthetically build parks that are more focused on research facilities than guest appeal.
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
This set also feels complete. The level 5 cement fencing could be included here as it is not available in sandbox mode, as well as drones that better match the DFW theme.
JURASSIC PARK
This Reddit post does a great job highlighting how Jurassic Park's building set could do with additional content to separate it from Jurassic World.
I may be spoiled from RTJP from JWE1, but that expansion pack really goes all out in delivering a building set that is unique to its own. I dislike how this set uses the pylons, early fencing, gates, and drones of Jurassic World as those assets are very modern looking and clashed with the retro and rustic approach of Jurassic Park. It also doesn't help that the shared assets actually make Jurassic Park feel like I was building Jurassic World at times in the early stages of park development if it were not for the guest and facility buildings. If assets could be made to cover these areas, as well as more path options, then we have a Jurassic Park building set that should be as complete as it did back in RTJP.
BIOSYN GENETICS
This pack is a mix of both Biosyn and DFW and as a result, it feels unfinished.
While I could imagine the use of some of the DFW assets as they look unbranded and industrial, some items clash greatly such as the use of the DFW arrival point, DFW guided tour, and hotels comprising of tents, which feels off for a company as technologically advanced as Biosyn Genetics.
If new buildings are to be added, at least let them be:
• Arrival point
• Hotel
• Restroom
• Guided Tour*
If the arrival point, hotel, and restroom are made in a similar fashion to the Malta pack, then I would honestly use the Biosyn Genetics building set more often as those three are the main building assets that I had the most issue with. I could forgo the DFW galleries if I only wanted to use the Hyperloop system, so it should at least feel mostly Biosyn.
*The Guided tour however may require a Biosyn-themed version as it is way too branded with DFW logos and writing that it would look out of place if it is decided to be included in the park. It is not essential as the hyperloop gallery acts as the main form of observing your dinosaurs, but if tours are expected to be built from contracts, at least a tour asset that is more dedicated to Biosyn Genetics would be more fitting.
The aviary could work in this set, especially now that we have an underground viewing dome that could allow for distant aviaries to be built. One thing many fans have been asking however is for is the ability to house pterosaurs inside enclosures made with invisible fencing, so as to construct ecosystems that merge the terrestrial and avian prehistoric animals. Provided we could connect aviary incubation labs to invisible fencing, and utilize the new feature to transport pterosaurs to locations outside of the aviary, the ability to house them in invisible fencing would be a solid feature, boosting the appeal of invisible fencing to double as a custom aviary.
One last suggestion is to have the research compound be a peaceable asset for this building set, as that building is by far the most iconic structure of Biosyn Genetics and could act as an alternative arrival point and research center combo, where a player could place it on any map in the game and fully establish the visual impact of Biosyn genetics on any map.
- MALTA
The Malta building set only needs additions in two areas.
The first are the attractions: So far this set lacks a viewing platform, zipline, and a themed entrance for the remote viewing galleries. Those are the only additions I see for it to be functioning identically to the other sets in the game.
The second is the addition of some assets to match with Malta set aesthetically. If Jurassic Park is to ever get the rustic-looking gates and pylons, those could work in the DFW set as well, as the default gates and pylons look too clean to match the Malta set. Drones for the aviary and lagoon could also be updated to match the Malta brand of vehicles. The fencing could work as is, but I think it would be just as interesting to have fencing that is more worn down and partially rusted to give off an unofficial feel to their enclosures, with the level 5 fencing to utilize the yellow stone bricks that have been used for the Malta buildings and decor.
Honestly, this set alongside the DFW set feels very complete. The Jurassic World set from what I have observed, acts as a template for the other sets to utilize, where the early fencing, paths, aviary & lagoon drones, and pylons look to properly fit this set. If I were to make a suggestion, I think this building set should have fence gates that have the brand's stronger hue of blue like how it did in JWE1, and it should also allow for the option to use JPIII's chaos theory buildings for players to have the option to aesthetically build parks that are more focused on research facilities than guest appeal.
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
This set also feels complete. The level 5 cement fencing could be included here as it is not available in sandbox mode, as well as drones that better match the DFW theme.
JURASSIC PARK
This Reddit post does a great job highlighting how Jurassic Park's building set could do with additional content to separate it from Jurassic World.
I may be spoiled from RTJP from JWE1, but that expansion pack really goes all out in delivering a building set that is unique to its own. I dislike how this set uses the pylons, early fencing, gates, and drones of Jurassic World as those assets are very modern looking and clashed with the retro and rustic approach of Jurassic Park. It also doesn't help that the shared assets actually make Jurassic Park feel like I was building Jurassic World at times in the early stages of park development if it were not for the guest and facility buildings. If assets could be made to cover these areas, as well as more path options, then we have a Jurassic Park building set that should be as complete as it did back in RTJP.
BIOSYN GENETICS
This pack is a mix of both Biosyn and DFW and as a result, it feels unfinished.
While I could imagine the use of some of the DFW assets as they look unbranded and industrial, some items clash greatly such as the use of the DFW arrival point, DFW guided tour, and hotels comprising of tents, which feels off for a company as technologically advanced as Biosyn Genetics.
If new buildings are to be added, at least let them be:
• Arrival point
• Hotel
• Restroom
• Guided Tour*
If the arrival point, hotel, and restroom are made in a similar fashion to the Malta pack, then I would honestly use the Biosyn Genetics building set more often as those three are the main building assets that I had the most issue with. I could forgo the DFW galleries if I only wanted to use the Hyperloop system, so it should at least feel mostly Biosyn.
*The Guided tour however may require a Biosyn-themed version as it is way too branded with DFW logos and writing that it would look out of place if it is decided to be included in the park. It is not essential as the hyperloop gallery acts as the main form of observing your dinosaurs, but if tours are expected to be built from contracts, at least a tour asset that is more dedicated to Biosyn Genetics would be more fitting.
The aviary could work in this set, especially now that we have an underground viewing dome that could allow for distant aviaries to be built. One thing many fans have been asking however is for is the ability to house pterosaurs inside enclosures made with invisible fencing, so as to construct ecosystems that merge the terrestrial and avian prehistoric animals. Provided we could connect aviary incubation labs to invisible fencing, and utilize the new feature to transport pterosaurs to locations outside of the aviary, the ability to house them in invisible fencing would be a solid feature, boosting the appeal of invisible fencing to double as a custom aviary.
One last suggestion is to have the research compound be a peaceable asset for this building set, as that building is by far the most iconic structure of Biosyn Genetics and could act as an alternative arrival point and research center combo, where a player could place it on any map in the game and fully establish the visual impact of Biosyn genetics on any map.
- MALTA
The Malta building set only needs additions in two areas.
The first are the attractions: So far this set lacks a viewing platform, zipline, and a themed entrance for the remote viewing galleries. Those are the only additions I see for it to be functioning identically to the other sets in the game.
The second is the addition of some assets to match with Malta set aesthetically. If Jurassic Park is to ever get the rustic-looking gates and pylons, those could work in the DFW set as well, as the default gates and pylons look too clean to match the Malta set. Drones for the aviary and lagoon could also be updated to match the Malta brand of vehicles. The fencing could work as is, but I think it would be just as interesting to have fencing that is more worn down and partially rusted to give off an unofficial feel to their enclosures, with the level 5 fencing to utilize the yellow stone bricks that have been used for the Malta buildings and decor.
ERA-THEMED CAST OF CHARACTERS
Playing in sandbox mode, I find myself enjoying the Jurassic World Building set the most due to how the overall experience feels catered to the Jurassic World Era. Outside of the Building set, the cast of characters is what sells me in the Jurassic World era, and what takes my immersion away from using any of the other building sets.
Let us have the option to swap between the cast of characters to match the building set. DFW could work with the default cast of characters, and a more dedicated Jurassic World set could be made with Ian Malcolm removed from the cast and Simon Masarani making an appearance, as well as Claire Dearing having her picture outfitted with her park operations getup and hairdo like how it was in Jurassic World Chaos Theory.
Jurassic Park, Biosyn, and Malta could use the more defined cast of characters players have experienced from the game's other modes of play. While they do not comment on the dinosaurs released from the hatcheries, they should at least be able to communicate to the player when it comes to park progression and contracts.
ERA-THEMED MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH PAGES
The management and research pages are the windows I see the most when playing in sandbox mode. I wrote dedicated threads about the Management and Research pages, but the TLDR is that by having them visually match the era selected, combined with the option to choose a cast of characters appropriate to the era, we could have a fully immersive sandbox experience where everything is focused on the building set the park is focused on.
The research page adjusting to the era selected is also just as important as it should help in delivering research paths that grow similarly to the Biosyn and Malta Campaign games, where there are no awkward gaps where the small power stations and hotels should have been in. This should allow for sandbox games with a focus on Biosyn Genetics and Malta to have a better sense of progress when it comes to research and development.
ALL DECORATION AND FENCE SANDBOX OPTIONS
Sandbox has this option for current-gen consoles and PC users where we could have an all-buildings set, as that allows us to access every buildable asset in the game.
While I do enjoy that set in sandbox mode for a more open Jurassic World-themed sandbox scenario, I do find more value in utilizing the more dedicated building set options. Depending on the option selected, transportation may not be a factor to manage in the park, the ACU helicopters are thematically appropriate to the selected building set's operations, contracts are more in tune with the building set, and you do not need to clutter yourself with the guest and facility buildings from other sets.
With that said, I do see myself wanting to still have access to all decorations and fences despite not using the all-building set. It would be a happy compromise of the two, having a more dedicated building set to focus on, but still utilizing the decorations and fences to add just a bit more flair to the parks. For example, I love the DFW spotlights for my facility sectors, but they are only available in the DFW pack, and I want to provide my DFW park with level 5 fencing but the concrete and heavy metal fencing are only available from any other set.
Being able to access all decoration and fence options regardless of what building set I commit to would be grand, as most decorations and fencing are unbranded and could work for any other building set.
-- NEW ADDITIONS 6th MAY 2023 --
SANDBOX SETTING TO DISABLE GUEST MANAGEMENT
This is a sandbox setting that is useful for players wanting to make parks that do not want to deal with guests. This could be great for parks built to be like nature reserves, DFW operations, Research facilities, or Biosyn Genetics. Park progression would simply focus on dinosaur variety and contracts and not have to cater to guests with hotels, restrooms, or amenities.
SANDBOX SETTING TO DISABLE DIG SITES AND DINOSAUR RESEARCH
Players attempting to do a park where research is enabled, but do not want to acquire dinosaurs via research or dig sites could benefit from this setting. This is so that when the park progresses, you would not have to deal with a clutter of notifications that mentions access to new dig sites.
So if you want to do a game mode that is primarily focused on capturing wild dinosaurs, you could select those live captures without having to see the expedition screen full of unlocked dig sites. Likewise, when doing a Malta/black market-focused game mode, you could remove the option to research dinosaurs so as to not be notified of available research to dig sites you otherwise would not access.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE
Things are gonna get exciting this year, as not only are we getting closer to the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park, but we are also approaching the 5th anniversary of Jurassic World Evolution!
I still remember sitting down in my first class of senior year at university, when I was waiting for class to start and saw a trailer for Jurassic World Evolution on youtube. Needless to say, I was sold on the premise alone and was excited to try out Jurassic World Evolution when it launches summer of 2018. It has been nearly 15 years since Jurassic Park Operation Genesis, and I was definitely looking forward to building and managing new prehistoric parks all over again, this time on the PS4 instead of the PS2!
The game launched and it was honestly a mixed experience with a lot of lacking content, odd design choices, and bugs abound, which is not to say I didn't love Jurassic World Evolution. I was hooked on that game and was looking forward to each new update and DLC that would come to the game, discussing them here in the forums and on Reddit, and being up to date with the latest news from both Frontier and supporting content creators on Youtube and Twitter. Evolution definitely got a good sum of support post-release, and the decision to develop the sequel, Evolution 2, was a good call.
By having a more solid foundation to work on, Jurassic World Evolution 2 bloomed with so much variety that it is hard to imagine that a game of this caliber exists. 4 game modes, 5 building sets, 28+ maps to choose from covering variations of 6 biomes, and over 100 prehistoric animals to populate our parks with, including dinosaurs from both the Park and World trilogies, flying pterosaurs, marine reptiles, hybrids, synapsids, and animals new to the franchise altogether, all of which is quickly accessible from my PS5.
If it ain't apparent, I love this game. It is up there with other games of its ilk such as RollerCoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon as one of my favorite sim management games of all time. I really love how well this game grew, and how much I could do with what is available to me. The effort that went to the locations, dinosaurs, buildings, management, QOL, graphics, animation, lighting, music, and sound effects works really well together in delivering a sim management game that not only celebrates the history of the Jurassic Park franchise but makes it fun as well!
I am very much looking forward to the upcoming update that coincides with Jurassic Park's 30th Anniversary which contains new decorations to celebrate the occasion, as well as any other surprises waiting down the line. I am hoping the game would get more support in the future, and even if support does not last as long beyond 2023, I am certain that I would be coming back and enjoying this game for many years to come.
Thank you Frontier Developments for collaborating with Universal Pictures in creating some of my favorite games of all time, and thank you everyone here in the Frontier Forums for having me be a part of the community and bearing with my many posts, photos, and suggestions. I wish you all the best and that we could all look forward to an exciting period celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park.
Take care!
- Pixelated Sparkster
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