That’s No Velociraptor!

[x4000]

Original: http://arcengames.com/thats-no-velociraptor/



Very true!  The dinosaurs in our upcoming game In Case Of Emergency, Release Raptor are not actually velociraptors, despite our claims.  Neither are the raptors in Jurassic Park, though.  Look carefully at #4 down there, bottom-center (yeah... tiny.  You may need to click the image to see it larger):

By Durbed - http://durbed.deviantart.com/art/Dromaeosaur-parade-300881541, CC BY-SA 3.0

Apparently, Michael Crichton based his raptors mostly on Deinonychus.  And boy, do I love those guys as depicted in his books and the movies.

But the real-life raptors are still a bit on the small side for what I'm looking for (and smaller than what is shown in the movies, I think?).  Utahraptor is probably the other most famous dromaeosaurid, and we actually featured that one in our game A Valley Without Wind (you could play as a Utahraptor, and they were enemies).  Still, the Utahraptor is far too large, and just doesn't feel right.

I'm told by an even bigger dinosaur nut on our forums that Achillobator is the one I'm looking for, size-wise (halfway between deinonychus and utahraptor).  (Incidentally, that dinosaur nut -- Draco18s -- is the guy behind the second expansion to The Last Federation).  "In Case of Emergency, Release Achillobator" doesn't exactly have a great ring to it, though -- and I think it's perfectly acceptable to lump dromaeosauridae in general under the name "raptor."  Not "velociraptor," mind -- but raptor, sure.

Why No Feathers?

This is what Achillobator probably looked like:

By Durbed, line drawing by Pilsator - http://durbed.deviantart.com/art/Achillobator-collab-with-pilsator-317177768, CC BY-SA 3.0,

So what gives, why don't we have feathers on our dino?  Well... a couple of reasons:

1. Feathers are hard to do right, and use a ton of polygons.


2. A lot of people have a lot more fondness for the movie-style raptors.


3. There are not existing feathered 3D models of high enough quality that are ready for purchase anywhere.  Not at any price.

We talked to a couple of firms about doing a feathered model for us, but those didn't really go anywhere even before we got into discussions of price.  It's a rather hard job, evidently.  If the game is popular, then I'd love to add a feathered raptor option later on.  No promises, but on a personal level I would enjoy it, so there is that.

[Draco18s]

   There are not existing feathered 3D models of high enough quality that are ready for purchase anywhere.  Not at any price.

Indeed, I even poked around a bit and was unable to find anything.
(Hmm, I didn't ask Nargus...I'll ask Nargus; he's got feathered dinos on Second Life, but I am unsure if the model(s) would work in Unity easily)

[Pumpkin]

My two bits of thoughts.

Feathered dinosaurs may be more accurate, but this is a game. And dinosaurs in games and movies must convey a sense of danger (well, at least for the carnivorous part). They must feel like predators. What does more convey a sense of danger and predator: a bird or a saurian? Let's take a good "predator" in each category. Let say eagle and alligator. However, while eagle and other birds of prey are "cool", our dinos walk. And the rare birds that walk are... quite ridiculous, aren't they?

If technical accuracy isn't absolutely required, I prefer scaly dinosaurs by a large, large margin.

Thanks for not making that game:
"In case of emergency, release chickens"

[x4000]

Either way it would be an option, ideally. Feathered or not.

[Draco18s]

Thanks for not making that game:
"In case of emergency, release chickens"

It wouldn't have been chickens, it would have been cassowaries.

http://dontmesswithdinosaurs.com/?p=879
http://nerdist.com/the-public-is-ready-to-see-dinosaurs-with-feathers/

[x4000]

I finally saw one in real life, and was so happy.  In South Carolina of all places.  The one at the national zoo in DC was away for the day when I was there, and I was super bummed to miss it.

[Draco18s]

Neat! I've never seen one, but I have riden on an elephant. And not one at a fair where it goes around in a big circle. Nope, got a good hour+ tromping around the jungle.

[x4000]

Oh awesome!  Yeah, I've never been on an elephant outside of a fair-like setting.  That sounds like fun.

[Draco18s]

Oh awesome!  Yeah, I've never been on an elephant outside of a fair-like setting.  That sounds like fun.

To be fair and honest, it was Thailand.

[x4000]

I know their elephants are smaller, but doesn't seem like it would be any less fun.  My dad has been to Malaysia a number of times on business, and he remarked on all the elephants in the markets, etc.

[Draco18s]

Mhm.  Which that, is an unfortunate side effect of a couple things:
1) Elephants bond with a human, sort of like a parent. You can't just hand them over to an animal shelter when it becomes inconvenient.
2) Elephants have a life expectancy of 50-70 years.
3) Elephants were used for hard manual labor, all of which has been replaced by machines, so there's now rampant elephantium unemployment.


A couple have jobs in the tourism industry (as were the ones I rode on), but not all of them.

[x4000]

Yikes -- that got depressing fast. 

[Draco18s]

Sorry about that.  But yeah, it's a big problem that's largely invisible. An "elephant in the room," if you will.

[x4000]

Oh, I'm never sorry that people share information.  It's definitely a tragedy, though, for sure. I had no idea.

[Draco18s]

I meant "sorry for making the thread depressing," heh. I'm not sorry for being informative!