The Isle DevBlog #73: Spinosaurus vs. Rex

Spinosaurus Is Set to Take on Even the Rex—Oviraptor Nearly Complete, Baryonyx Making Progress

For the first time, the developers are describing in fairly concrete terms where the new Apex Predator is supposed to fit within the Evrima roster: A fully grown Spinosaurus should even be able to take on an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex if necessary. Its true domain, however, remains the water.

And, as expected, this statement is sparking plenty of discussion on Reddit.

Oviraptor is nearing completion

A large portion of last month’s development work continued to focus on the Oviraptor.

Lead Programmer Filipe now describes the dino as nearly finished. At the same time, the team continued to refine the new migration rules, Entomb Saves, and bugs from the ongoing Horde Test. Once work on the Oviraptor is complete, the focus will increasingly shift to the Baryonyx.

The Oviraptor’s unique gameplay mechanics are also being further expanded.

The dino can sniff out nests, and the food and nutrient values of eggs have been revised. A new mechanic for cracking eggs has been added, which is intended to work similarly to opening clams. This, of course, fits perfectly with its intended role as a specialized egg thief.

HordeTest players want a faster Oviraptor

Things get interesting when we look at players’ experiences so far.

The Oviraptor has now arrived in the HordeTest, and its current stats are currently the subject of intense discussion on Reddit. Speed and weight are particularly common topics of discussion.

Several players argue that a dino whose gameplay is heavily based on finding nests, stealing eggs, and then disappearing as quickly as possible needs to be correspondingly agile. In its current HordeTest version, some players still find it too slow.

Opening and eating eggs also apparently caused problems during testing. Among other things, players report glitches in these interactions and discuss why an Oviraptor should even rely on a mechanic similar to that used for clams to open an egg.

At the same time, other users rightly point out that HordeTest stats shouldn’t be equated with the later final stats. Stats such as weight, speed, and damage were also significantly altered in earlier playable versions during the testing phase.

The fact that the developers explicitly mention further adjustments to these very Oviraptor mechanics in the latest DevBlog shows, in any case, that its gameplay is not yet finalized.

Baryonyx is getting a real defense mode

Details about the Baryonyx are also becoming increasingly concrete. We already learned more about its unique underwater movement in the last DevBlog. Now the developers are describing another core element of its gameplay: the Defensive Stance. When the player activates this stance, the Baryonyx automatically aligns itself toward the camera. From this position, various attacks can be executed.

Even more interesting: If the Baryonyx is attacked with certain abilities while in this stance, it can automatically respond with a counterattack. Other attacks remain manually controllable.

This is slowly making it clearer what role the Baryonyx might play: It apparently isn’t meant to be just a smaller Spinosaurus, but rather a comparatively defensive semi-aquatic creature that can hold its own on land and, when under too much pressure, has the option to retreat into the water.

This is exactly what Baryonyx fans had been hoping for

This mechanic should at least partially address some of the concerns raised in earlier Reddit discussions.
There, there had already been extensive discussion abouthow Baryonyx might hold its own in the current Evrima meta. A key point even back then was its planned Defensive Stance: If Baryonyx can punish attackers with its claws and retreat into the water when necessary, it wouldn’t have to win many fights on the offensive.
DevBlog #73 now confirms that this very mechanic will indeed be a central part of its gameplay.

Spinosaurus: The New King of the Waters

However, arguably the most important section of the entire DevBlog concerns the Spinosaurus.

The model now features a fully modernized rig, and the animation team is beginning work on initial poses and motion studies. The actual animations are set to be created from these in the coming weeks.
The recently released rig tests for the Spinosaurus also garnered a lot of attention in the community even before the DevBlog was published.
Even more interesting, however, is how Animation Supervisor KissenKitten describes the planned character of the creature.

The Evrima Spinosaurus is intended to appear heavier, more massive, and significantly more imposing than its Legacy counterpart. Visually, it should already be apparent that it is, in a sense, a precursor to the later Hyperendocrin Spinosaurus.
And in terms of gameplay, it’s also meant to live up to its appearance.

The developers describe it as strong enough to go head-to-head with a full-grown Tyrannosaurus rex if necessary.
This explicitly does not mean that Spinosaurus will automatically be the stronger fighter. But a Rex should obviously not be able to simply regard him as easy prey on land either.

In the water, Spinosaurus has little to fear

However, Spinosaurus is said to unleash its true power in and around the water.

There, the developers practically call him the king of his habitat. A healthy, fully grown Spinosaurus is said to have very few other species to fear in its preferred terrain. This points to an exciting apex predator dynamic:

Tyrannosaurus rex dominates primarily on land, Deinosuchus controls deeper waters, and Spinosaurus is apparently set to become a formidable semi-aquatic creature that bridges both worlds.

Exactly how this triangle will be balanced later on is likely to be one of the most interesting questions as the game develops.

Reddit: Enthusiasm for Spino—and, of course, jokes about the release

As expected, Spinosaurus is the big topic of the new DevBlog on Reddit.

In the current Reddit thread “Spino in new Devblog,” reactions range from genuine enthusiasm about the creature’s description to the typical The Isle humor regarding the development timeline.

For example, one player jokingly comments on the prospect of the upcoming animations with “4 more years,” while another, after reading the description of the Spinosaurus, says that the developers make the creature sound like a veritable nightmare—and can’t wait to play as it.

In any case, interest is enormous. The new images of the Spinosaurus released just a few days earlier already sparked numerous reactions. The juvenile, in particular, has been extremely well-received by many players.

At the same time, there’s still debate over whether the design should be more closely based on modern reconstructions of the real Spinosaurus, or whether the interpretation—which deliberately evokes Jurassic Park—is a better fit for The Isle.

How powerful can Spinosaurus become?

However, the discussion is likely to really get underway with DevBlog #73. Even before the latest announcement, there was intense debate on Reddit about how powerful Spinosaurus should be compared to Rex and Deinosuchus.

Some players want exactly the powerful semi-aquatic apex predator described here. Others fear that Spino might gain too many advantages if it can compete with the game’s strongest creatures both in the water and on land.

The relationship with Deinosuchus will be particularly interesting: If Spinosaurus is safer on land and has virtually no natural predators in the water, there must still be situations where a Deinosuchus remains a threat to it.

This question is already being discussed among the current Spinosaurus images. Some players explicitly want Deinosuchus to continue posing a real threat to Spino in deep water.

Ultimately, it will be the actual balancing—rather than the model or animation—that will be decisive here.

And what about Quetzalcoatlus (QWETZ)?

Amid all the Spinosaurus excitement, another reaction stands out on Reddit:

Where’s Quetzalcoatlus?

In the current Reddit thread about the new DevBlog, the question about Quetz is one of the most prominent reactions. Several players are hoping, above all, for more diversity in Evrima’s currently very sparsely populated airspace.

Quetz hasn’t disappeared entirely, though.

DevBlog #73 explicitly mentions that work is already underway on implementing its calls. The sound team is also experimenting with additional sounds to find out how far its vocal range can be expanded. At the same time, the animation team mentions that some Quetzalcoatlus animations are still pending.
However, this doesn’t automatically mean that a Horde Test is imminent.
Especially with The Isle, past experience has shown that a highly advanced model or animation set does not necessarily allow for a reliable prediction of a release date.

Parasaurolophus, Camarasaurus, and Avaceratops are still being worked on

In addition to the big names, several other projects are continuing in parallel. Parasaurolophus remains one of the animation team’s main focuses at the moment. At the same time, the final vocal animations for Camarasaurus and Avaceratops are being completed. For Avaceratops, the majority of the adult sounds are now finished. Next up are additional juvenile sounds, followed by the sounds for its sparring system.

Camarasaurus and Quetzalcoatlus are also already being prepared for their future audio implementation.
As a result, a striking number of future playable dinosaurs are now simultaneously in various stages of production.

Dinosaurs Are Getting More Color Variations

Work is also continuing on the new skin system. The art team is creating additional color gradients and palettes for the various dinosaurs. The goal is to offer players more visual variety without resulting in completely unrealistic color combinations.

Interestingly, this works very differently depending on the dinosaur. According to the developers, Austroraptor can handle nearly every color combination tested, while for the Allosaurus in particular, certain patterns only work with a relatively small selection of brown, gray, and olive tones.

In addition, specific palettes are now being created for individual skin patterns, along with additional default variants for each.

The Dome Gets Its Final Major Entrance

Gateway is also continuing to evolve. Over the past month, the Environment Team has focused on the last major entrance to the Dome complex.
Of particular interest is the access point via the water. This is intended to allow aquatic or semi-aquatic animals to enter the complex as well.

At the same time, the developers are trying to avoid so-called choke points. Lines of sight have been deliberately interrupted so that individual players cannot simply control an entrance later on and prevent everyone else from entering using ranged weapons. This design decision alone demonstrates once again that the facilities are not intended solely as decoration for dinosaurs in the long term.

Humans are moving a little closer again

This becomes even clearer elsewhere in the DevBlog. Animator Bryan Phillips shows off a new modern rig for a human character—jokingly referred to internally as “John Cakeman” —and mentions, at the same time, the work being done on that character’s gear and weapons.

At the end of the DevBlog, KissenKitten also confirms that planning for human animations is now underway. This is still a long way from an announcement about playable humans. But the individual building blocks are becoming increasingly visible: massive indoor areas, carefully planned lines of fire and cover, human character rigs, weapons, and now the planning of corresponding animations. In the long term, Gateway is thus evolving more and more toward the originally planned world, in which dinosaurs won’t be the island’s only inhabitants.

Rex and Deinosuchus are getting older mechanics fixed

Another positive development is that the team isn’t working exclusively on new playable characters. QA is currently reviewing various older mechanics that have developed issues due to new updates or engine changes.

For example, there was a bug with the Tyrannosaurus Rex that could make it immune to certain sparring attacks while using its Crush Ability. According to the developers, this bug has since been fixed and now functions as intended in the HordeTest.

The Deinosuchus Lunge is also being reworked: Over the course of development, the attack had lost some of its original impact—the animation and audio ended too abruptly, and what was once a jump scare had become a relatively unspectacular attack.
This is set to be improved again with an upcoming HordeTest update.

Dryosaurus Surprise

And then there’s a small announcement about which the developers are deliberately revealing very little. Filipe is working on a new feature that’s supposed to be of particular interest to Dryosaurus players —though apparently not exclusively for Dryo.

A first video teaser was shown in the Phase 3 section of the official Discord following the release of the DevBlog. The DevBlog doesn’t provide any further details yet. A new mechanic would be particularly welcome for Dryosaurus, though. The dino has long been one of the less frequently played creatures in Evrima. In a detailed Reddit discussion about the Dryosaurus, players cite, among other things, the absence of its previously planned burrow mechanic and a lack of unique gameplay utility as reasons for this.

Other players, however, disagree and describe precisely the ability to dodge attacks, annoy larger dinosaurs, and survive without a traditional PvP focus as the Dryosaurus’s unique appeal. For now, it remains to be seen what the new feature entails.

Community Sentiment: Spino Excites—But Patience Is Waning

Overall, the initial reaction to DevBlog #73 has been relatively positive.

This is mainly because, this time around, the developers aren’t just showing that they’re working on Spinosaurus—they’re also explaining for the first time in more detail how it’s supposed to play and feel later on. At the same time, the familiar skepticism toward long-term development plans persists. In the current Reddit thread, the tongue-in-cheek predictions range from “4 more years” to a possible release in 2030.

However, there are certainly voices defending the pace of development, pointing to the scope of the planned systems and the size of the development team.

The question about Quetzalcoatlus also highlights a fundamental problem: There are now so many announced dinosaurs in development at the same time that fans of individual creatures regularly feel as though their favorite has suddenly fallen out of the spotlight again.

The difference from some older DevBlogs is clear this time, though: Oviraptor is already in the HordeTest, Baryonyx is actively being tested, and actual animation production is now beginning for Spinosaurus. So, things are clearly moving forward.

Our take on DevBlog #73

DevBlog #73 makes one thing particularly clear: The era of the smaller Evrima playable creatures is slowly moving into its next phase.

Oviraptor is nearing completion, and Baryonyx is increasingly taking on a clearly recognizable gameplay profile with Defensive Stance, underwater movement, and counter-attacks. At the same time, work continues on Parasaurolophus, Camarasaurus, Avaceratops, and Quetzalcoatlus.

The real star of this DevBlog, however, is Spinosaurus. The developers aren’t planning a timid fish-eater that flees into the water at the sight of every larger opponent. Their Spinosaurus is meant to be a massive apex predator that doesn’t even have to fear a full-grown Rex and sits near the top of the food chain in its preferred habitat. It’s therefore hardly surprising that this very concept is already being intensely debated within the community.

Whether this concept will actually work in-game later on depends heavily on how it’s balanced against the Rex and Deinosuchus. But if the developers can truly deliver on the experience they’ve promised, the arrival of the Spinosaurus is likely to be one of the biggest changes to Evrima’s ecosystem in a long time.