Saurian has released a new update. I recently had the opportunity of trying out the patch 2.1, even though I haven't played too much of it. In part, that was responsible for a bug that made a normal gameplay impossible, but after notifying the developers, an hotfix was later made and the bug in question was fixed, and I can now play it properly. The disadvantages of EA.

However, from the little I experienced I took a little bit of a superficial exploration of the things that were added in the next patch. I can't say all of them necessarily improve the game, but they don't show themselves as outright downgrades. The most notable feature of change, in this new patch, was the change in the scent system. The change in the scent system was sufficiently radical. Instead of covering the landscape with colorful clouds, the scent system is instead manifested by just a few faint bright particles that emanate from a determined source. This makes scent more discrete and less visually crowded when in scent mode. I like the inclusion of footprints, droppings and blood decals as indicatives of the presence of animals, so even without the scent mode on, you can still guess their presence. The system now allows for scent tracking, turning the bright white particles into a bright blue. So, I personally feel this new scent system adds up to more realism, and the difficulties it presents, when compared to the old system, are great to serve that same realism. Animals can have a good sense of smell, but usually they just feel small hints of scent, that suggest the presence of an animal. However, I believe that, visually, the scent particles could get an amplification in terms of density. More particles emanating from a fresh source would be a good thing, because at a far away distance it gets a bit complicated to see them, and specially in the gameplays where the resolution is low (in my case I put my resolution to the lows, as my computer can't withstand the graphics at its max). So I would like to see the scent system getting a rework to accomodate this, but they are in the right track (no pun intended).

The weather system was also updated. Although I haven't had enough hours of gameplay to get a good sense on its manifestation, I did noticed that the weather is somewhat more dynamic, and that is very great. The soundscape has also changed, if you are attentive, and that gives a good small hint of immersion into the game. A new AI, Pectinodon, was added, though unfortunetly I haven't found any in my gameplays, maybe next time. Wounds in animals were also added. Personally I think that's a cool feature, not a very necessary feature, if you ask me, but it helps give realism and a sense of character to a certain animal. A dead one will surely be covered in blood, and an injured one will have wound markings on where it was attacked. For the time being, wounds have only proved to be an aesthetic complement, and I don't mind it.

Another notes about the gameplay that I would like to mention, pertain specifically to Dakotaraptor. As far as I am aware, pretty much no gameplay mechanic for Triceratops was compromised with this update, but in the case of Dakotaraptor it was. Given the scent system is different now, tracking prey is more complicated. You can still see the blue outline of small animals however. The spawning rate for small animals has also changed, making hunting more difficult. In my own take, it is an improvement, because hunting as a Dakotaraptor was super easy, but by reducing the abundance of small prey, it makes hunting as a young raptor, more challenging. Special mention to the change in spawning rate of Didelphodon, as of now, I don't recall having seen any after this patch, having relied myself mostly on the Chamops, which are more agile and less easy to catch.