I’m a bit late to the conversation, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the Apatosaurus design in Jurassic World Evolution. Lately, there has been a lot of renewed interest from the community around updating this sauropod, and I think it’s a conversation worth having.
Apatosaurus has always felt a little off to me in both JWE1 and JWE2. Even though it received some updates in the second game, the model still doesn’t quite match the film version. It looks overly plump and sits in this strange in-between state. It isn’t fully accurate to the Jurassic World design, yet it passes as a generic sauropod well enough that many of us just accepted it.
Recently, I’ve seen more people calling for a redesign. Posts like the one by Kacper on Reddit and the breakdown by Regalius on YouTube really highlight how much potential there is for improvement.
Reddit post
YouTube video by Regalius
After looking into the discussion more, I fully agree that Apatosaurus deserves a proper redesign in JWE3. The neck feels too stiff and upright, the tail is short and wide, and the legs are elephant like with the large inner toe claw not being as distinct as it is in the movie version. It seems like these design choices were meant to make it stand apart from Diplodocus. But honestly, I think the two would benefit from sharing more features since Apatosaurus is a diplodocid too.
That brings me to Ankylodocus.
In JWE2, Ankylodocus got a major visual upgrade and now looks like a much better blend of Diplodocus and Ankylosaurus. I think it works really well as a hybrid. Earlier this year, I built an enclosure where Apatosaurus and Ankylodocus lived together as they both shared a preference for tall leaf paleobotany.
When I saw them side by side in that enclosure, it becomes obvious how much of the Ankylodocus model is based on Apatosaurus, which I have to emphasize that’s not a bad thing. Reusing assets is smart, and the end result looks phenomenal for the hybrid. But when the two are placed next to each other, the ankylodocus looks more like an apatosaurus than a diplodocus due to sharing the same rig and body portions.
If both dinosaurs are going to appear in JWE3, I think Apatosaurus should get a proper design refresh. That way, it can better reflect its movie appearance and feel distinct from Ankylodocus should the hybrid return. Updating Apatosaurus wouldn’t just improve movie accuracy and solidify the cannon roster, it would also give Ankylodocus a more distinct identity by making its current rig and design feel exclusive to the hybrid.
Apatosaurus has always felt a little off to me in both JWE1 and JWE2. Even though it received some updates in the second game, the model still doesn’t quite match the film version. It looks overly plump and sits in this strange in-between state. It isn’t fully accurate to the Jurassic World design, yet it passes as a generic sauropod well enough that many of us just accepted it.
Recently, I’ve seen more people calling for a redesign. Posts like the one by Kacper on Reddit and the breakdown by Regalius on YouTube really highlight how much potential there is for improvement.
Reddit post
YouTube video by Regalius
After looking into the discussion more, I fully agree that Apatosaurus deserves a proper redesign in JWE3. The neck feels too stiff and upright, the tail is short and wide, and the legs are elephant like with the large inner toe claw not being as distinct as it is in the movie version. It seems like these design choices were meant to make it stand apart from Diplodocus. But honestly, I think the two would benefit from sharing more features since Apatosaurus is a diplodocid too.
That brings me to Ankylodocus.
In JWE2, Ankylodocus got a major visual upgrade and now looks like a much better blend of Diplodocus and Ankylosaurus. I think it works really well as a hybrid. Earlier this year, I built an enclosure where Apatosaurus and Ankylodocus lived together as they both shared a preference for tall leaf paleobotany.
When I saw them side by side in that enclosure, it becomes obvious how much of the Ankylodocus model is based on Apatosaurus, which I have to emphasize that’s not a bad thing. Reusing assets is smart, and the end result looks phenomenal for the hybrid. But when the two are placed next to each other, the ankylodocus looks more like an apatosaurus than a diplodocus due to sharing the same rig and body portions.
If both dinosaurs are going to appear in JWE3, I think Apatosaurus should get a proper design refresh. That way, it can better reflect its movie appearance and feel distinct from Ankylodocus should the hybrid return. Updating Apatosaurus wouldn’t just improve movie accuracy and solidify the cannon roster, it would also give Ankylodocus a more distinct identity by making its current rig and design feel exclusive to the hybrid.
