I posted this over on the JWE subreddit, and people said I should cross-post it here too. So, here we go.
Whooooboy. Prepare for a long read. Devs at Frontier, this one's for you guys.
As we all know, the community isn't particularly satisfied with the sizing of some of the dinosaurs in game. The Trex/Giganoto/Spino debacle is a stand out example, but they are not the only problems. In fact, many animals in game are either oversized or undersized compared to their overall on-screen appearances or (if they lack screen appearances) the fossil record.
People even consistently ask the question "where's all the small dinosaurs?". The answer? Well, they're in the game. They're just oversized.
But, why does size matter?
Well, size is another factor in animal diversity. Sure, the animals may look different, but if they're all similar in size, then that basically makes them clones of one another with different models rather than completely unique animals. Dinosaurs that may physically look similar to other dinosaurs suddenly have their own little niche to fill in the park if they have their own unique size. Some dinosaurs are even well known simply for their size alone; it's important to get it right.
As such, about a week ago, I started a little photoshop project looking to correct the sizing issue; I sought to make a size chart.
Now, couple things about the chart:
1. The faded images represent what size the particular animal is at the present time. The non-faded images represent the proposed change.
2. The primary basis of the new sizes are a combination of A) Screen Accuracy, B) Scientific Accuracy, and C) Visual Aesthetic. Usually in that order.
3. Unless stated otherwise, I primarily judged animals not by their length or the height of their heads, but the height of their hip. There are a few exceptions of course, but the hip height was the primary measurement used.
4. Some of the animal images are not perfectly at a side angle; it's very hard to accumulate images of these dinosaurs that are accurate to the game while being in stagnate poses. As such, some tails and heads may seem shorter/longer than usual; a major reason as to why I focused on hip height rather than length or head height.
5. I may be slightly off on some of the old sizes on a select few examples. I certainly tried my best to get every one perfect, but then again, this is over 40 animals we're talking about here. I'm bound to flub one up somewhere. Comment below and I'll fix it. Nonetheless, the important size in the proposal is the new size.
That all being said, here is the size chart I came up with (last updated July 12th):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m8YdhCL_Pt6crjtxQeSC4kXj-Jed93P7
And here is the explanation from animal to animal (so I don't eat up a huge page with such long explanations):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dQfRrucAnei2fY3Eje7fYlZWwsbysEEu
(Apologies for using google drive; the files are so big, it's the only sharing method I could manage.)
And I'll wrap up with one more proposal regarding size:
A Size Gene
Much like other modifying genes in the game, a size gene would modify the creature being made, only this time increasing or decreasing an animal's size by a certain few percentage stages (-15%, -10%, -5%, +5%, +10%, +15%). That way, if people want a bigger Tyrannosaur than the standard size, they can have it. If people want a smaller Spinosaurus than the standard size (can't imagine why; but whatever), they can have it. Plus, it would add even more variety to the game to help these creatures truly feel real.
Nonetheless, that all being said, I hope the folks over at Frontier take this into consideration and I hope you guys here on the forum enjoy it as well.
Feel free to comment below on any changes you'd personally make, and I'll go ahead and make them if the community majority agrees. There's a reason why the date is labeled on the files.
Have a nice day.
Whooooboy. Prepare for a long read. Devs at Frontier, this one's for you guys.
As we all know, the community isn't particularly satisfied with the sizing of some of the dinosaurs in game. The Trex/Giganoto/Spino debacle is a stand out example, but they are not the only problems. In fact, many animals in game are either oversized or undersized compared to their overall on-screen appearances or (if they lack screen appearances) the fossil record.
People even consistently ask the question "where's all the small dinosaurs?". The answer? Well, they're in the game. They're just oversized.
But, why does size matter?
Well, size is another factor in animal diversity. Sure, the animals may look different, but if they're all similar in size, then that basically makes them clones of one another with different models rather than completely unique animals. Dinosaurs that may physically look similar to other dinosaurs suddenly have their own little niche to fill in the park if they have their own unique size. Some dinosaurs are even well known simply for their size alone; it's important to get it right.
As such, about a week ago, I started a little photoshop project looking to correct the sizing issue; I sought to make a size chart.
Now, couple things about the chart:
1. The faded images represent what size the particular animal is at the present time. The non-faded images represent the proposed change.
2. The primary basis of the new sizes are a combination of A) Screen Accuracy, B) Scientific Accuracy, and C) Visual Aesthetic. Usually in that order.
3. Unless stated otherwise, I primarily judged animals not by their length or the height of their heads, but the height of their hip. There are a few exceptions of course, but the hip height was the primary measurement used.
4. Some of the animal images are not perfectly at a side angle; it's very hard to accumulate images of these dinosaurs that are accurate to the game while being in stagnate poses. As such, some tails and heads may seem shorter/longer than usual; a major reason as to why I focused on hip height rather than length or head height.
5. I may be slightly off on some of the old sizes on a select few examples. I certainly tried my best to get every one perfect, but then again, this is over 40 animals we're talking about here. I'm bound to flub one up somewhere. Comment below and I'll fix it. Nonetheless, the important size in the proposal is the new size.
That all being said, here is the size chart I came up with (last updated July 12th):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1m8YdhCL_Pt6crjtxQeSC4kXj-Jed93P7
And here is the explanation from animal to animal (so I don't eat up a huge page with such long explanations):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dQfRrucAnei2fY3Eje7fYlZWwsbysEEu
(Apologies for using google drive; the files are so big, it's the only sharing method I could manage.)
And I'll wrap up with one more proposal regarding size:
A Size Gene
Much like other modifying genes in the game, a size gene would modify the creature being made, only this time increasing or decreasing an animal's size by a certain few percentage stages (-15%, -10%, -5%, +5%, +10%, +15%). That way, if people want a bigger Tyrannosaur than the standard size, they can have it. If people want a smaller Spinosaurus than the standard size (can't imagine why; but whatever), they can have it. Plus, it would add even more variety to the game to help these creatures truly feel real.
Nonetheless, that all being said, I hope the folks over at Frontier take this into consideration and I hope you guys here on the forum enjoy it as well.
Feel free to comment below on any changes you'd personally make, and I'll go ahead and make them if the community majority agrees. There's a reason why the date is labeled on the files.
Have a nice day.
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