Ankylodocus Defence Capability and Fighting Animation

[Gondrasia]

This has been something that's been bugging me ever since the release of the Secrets of Dr. Wu. Can we please have defence and fighting animations for Ankylodocus against the Indominus rex?

It's really lame that despite having Ankylosaurus DNA in its genetic structure, and being covered in bony osteoderms, spikes and a massive club at the end of its tail; Ankylodocus doesn't put up a fight against the Indominus rex. It is, embarrassingly, both the only hybrid that is completely defenceless and the only herbivore with a spiked/clubbed tail that can't defend itself!

It also flies in the face of Ankylodocus' Hybrid Profile, where it states that it's "An InGen hybrid, combining the defence capabilities of the Ankylosaurus and the larger size of the Diplodocus".

Please can it be possible in a future update to make Ankylodocus live up to its namesake, and when players improve its defence and attack statistics to put up a fight against the Indominus rex?

 

[MarkyB83]

I agree with this... I'm no expert but shouldn't ALL of the sauropods sort of whip/swoosh their tails as defence versus the large carnivores? I mean Ankylodocus would obviously do the most damage but I think they all should to a certain extent?

 

[Gondrasia]

I agree with this... I'm no expert but shouldn't ALL of the sauropods sort of whip/swoosh their tails as defence versus the large carnivores? I mean Ankylodocus would obviously do the most damage but I think they all should to a certain extent?

Whilst it's true for the real animals, InGen's sauropods are rather different. From the way they're depicted in the films; the sauropods are engineered to be the sweet, gentle giants of the park, they're safe and approachable for people and wouldn't harm a fly. This is most apparent in Jurassic World, where visitors can get up close to full-grown Apatosaurus in Cretaceous Cruise and Gyrosphere Valley, and how the Indominus rex easily slaughtered 6 of them just next to each other.

For Jurassic World Evolution, the sauropods are the hardest herbivores to look after with their requirement for large, forested enclosures. But they are easily the most popular herbivores to have in our parks, having a similar rating to the large carnivores or even exceeding it. eg. My Dreadnoughtus has rating of more than 400, and I have 3 of them in a Gyrosphere enclosure with a herd of Muttaburrasaurus. It's the most popular and profitable attraction on the island. In terms of gameplay, I believe the natural sauropods have more than enough to provide an engaging game experience for JWE. The only additional sauropod animation that I would like to see make it to the game would be Brachiosaurus rearing on its hind legs and feeding from the very top of the sauropod feeder.

Making Ankylodocus be able to defend itself would provide something truly unique to JWE, an additional selling point for the Secrets of Dr. Wu and extra love for the hybrid as a whole. All of the other dinosaurs and hybrids in this DLC have provided something that added to the game; Troodon is the smallest dinosaur in the game and the only one to envenomate their prey, Olorotitan has an impressive collection of skins, Spinoraptor has the most intense and exciting mission and Stegoceratops uses a combination of both Triceratops and Stegosaurus animations and is a canonical hybrid for the films.

Whereas Ankylodocus has nothing really going for it, the mission for this hybrid is easily the dullest one of them all for the Tacaño Research Facility. Unlike the missions for Stegoceratops and Spinoraptor, where they showcase their new animations and force you to think outside of the box. All we do for Ankylodocus is take a couple of pictures of the sauropod, send it away for research, and cure it's illness when it gets back. It's essentially a repeat of the Security mission for Isla Pena. The only thing going for it is that it's the only other herbivore hybrid in the game, but even so it still pales in comparison to Stegoceratops, which is both more visually impressive compared to Ankylodocus' rather conservative design and more enjoyable to play around with because there is nothing else like it in the game. Whereas Ankylodocus is like all the other sauropods, it's currently a hybrid in name only.

 

[MarkyB83]

Like the explanation - makes sense!

 

[Panon]

For game purposes I think it's ok for them not to fight back, just be slaughtered by the I-Rex... With the exception of the ankylodocus, of course. It's a huge mistake that she's not capable of fighting back against the indominous, being so clearly a hibrid made for combat!

I belive frontier didn't had the time to make the fighting animations in time to release the DLC, but they should change it in a free update as they did with the pachycephalosaurids. And it would be a cool nod to the fact that ankylossaur was the first dinossaur we saw the Indominous fight in the movie hehe