Dev Diary: March 2026
Welcome to the March Development Diary!
Today, we’ll be talking about the status of U17 and providing insight into the current progress of combat. We’ve also got a couple of surprises in store, so let’s get into it!
In case you missed it, we put a support patch out for U16 on the Public Test Branch! This release aims to rebalance diseases across the board and make elderly animals much more likely to pass away. There are also new vivarium animations, amphibious support for Titanoboa and the ability to change a vivarium’s water into something more tannin-rich.
In April, we will also be releasing an early version of U17 to the PTB! While it will not feature combat, players will be able to access the management overhaul, updated Scrubland biome and both species of Stegosaurus. While the Stego’s implementation will be quite limited, it’ll have its basic animations and ontogeny included!
Update 17
Combat
Since handling most of the new management features in February, we’ve spent the last few weeks focusing on combat, experimenting with different ideas and refining our vision.
Currently, we’re able to make the T. rex fight with basic attacks and use a new movement mode that allows them to strafe or walk slowly during a battle. Since the combat encounters are dynamic, things like backing off or circling around each other can occur naturally as animals exhaust themselves.
The current progress is already very promising but we’re not ready to show extensive footage just yet. Things continue to change every day and we’d prefer to give a deeper look when more parts have been polished or added (especially when it comes to movement and hit reactions). With that said, there are certainly some things to talk about!
Our first official screenshot of animal’s fighting on their own!
The way combat works is that animals have a core set of attacks they can perform contextually. Depending on the species, this typically involves a bite, tail swipe or headbutt that gets layered on top of locomotion if their aggressor is too close. This makes sure that almost every animal has a way to fight back in some capacity when moving around.
If there’s enough space between an animal and their target, however, they can do a bluff charge or perform a lunge attack to launch themselves forward. For example, a T. rex will leap and chomp, a raptor will kick its claws and a Stegosaurus will throw its tail towards the target.
To show how this works with locomotion, we’ve recorded some test footage triggering the animations manually. Things will look a lot more cohesive when there are actually two animals fighting dynamically!
Exactly how an animal responds to aggression comes down to their combat profile. These databases are where we create rules like “become aggressive during mating season” or “chase threats away from your nest.” The various conditions and filters allow us to build a comprehensive set of scenarios where we might want animals to behave in a particular way.
For each of these conditions we can choose the likelihood of certain reactions (e.g. 10% chance to run away, 30% chance to attack). This makes sure that encounters are varied whilst staying true to the core identity of an animal or family group. We’ve been using these combat profiles to power threat displays since U15 and will continue to expand them as we take the next step in Prehistoric Kingdom’s animal behavior.
Speaking of, you can actually bring up the animal debug menu (press Shift + B) to see what animals are trying to do! In the case of combat encounters, it’s cool to take a peak behind the curtain and see what they’re choosing to prioritise.
Scrubland Foliage
The Scrubland foliage revealed last month has made its way into the game! With 46 new plant assets coming in U17, there’s a huge variety of landscapes that players will be able to make. There are just too many options to pick a favorite, so here are three screenshots to show off the Scrubland biome’s improved variety and versatility. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Water Update
We’re pleased to reveal that the terrain water overhaul has come EARLY! In the U17 PTB, players will be able to paint up to 6 types of water that all benefit from massive rendering improvements.
Some of the more noticable improvements include water caustics, modular piece visibility and new underwater rendering that makes watching animals like Spinosaurus feel much more immersive! In the future, we’d love to have dynamic particle effects for splashing and swimming.
On top of this, we’ve made a couple improvements to the water brush that should make it more stable than before. You’ll also be able to replace a body of water by selecting a new type and clicking within the desired area. It’s a lot easier to try out different aesthetics!
With all the new water types included in U17, the team’s had so much fun creating new wetlands, rivers and even “oceans”.
New Genus
To close out this Dev Diary, let’s reveal the last genus coming to U17! This thick-headed lizard is none other than Pachycephalosaurus, a herbivorous dinosaur from the Hell Creek Formation. Their bony-dome allows the species to engage in a unique ramming behavior, fighting off threats or competitive males during the breeding season.
This dinosaur will also be joined by an alternate species, Pachycephalosaurus spinifer! Previously known as Stygimoloch to many guests, P. spinifer features more extreme cranial horns and an extra rugose head. Please look forward to the reveal once our scientists complete its genome!
Created by OOFerBoi
Created by W3
Created by JustGoji
Thank you for reading March’s dev diary!
We hope you enjoyed this look at U17’s development and are looking forward to seeing more from combat. There’s a lot more work to be done before it’s properly presentable, but we’re excited by what we’ve seen and will continue to make steady progress in April.
- The PK Team
