Scent

Scent is a gameplay mechanic of Saurian. Currently, the scent is practiced while pressing and holding 'E' in the computer's keyboard. When that key is pressed and held, the player will start to see bright sparkles of light emanating from sources of scent, as the rest of the screen become desaturated. The sparkles represent the odor that some animals leave behind and that can be manifested by footprints, faeces or blood drops.

Scent particles vary in size and intensity, depending on how recent a track is. Tracks with more particles that rise far up, are more recent than the ones with less particles that rise up until a lower height. By clicking LMB on a scent node, that scent node will turn its originally whitish particles into a blue color, and any scent node that corresponds to the same origin as the one that was clicked, will change into blue, allowing the player to track the scent of a determined animal. This way one can track down the footprints of a determined animal, or the blood trail of a wounded creature. Carcasses, in their natural state, release yellowish particles. Small animals do not have sensible scent particles, like Chamops, Palaeosaniwa, Didelphodon, Basilemys and ornithurans, but are seen in a blue outline that reveals their presence. Some animals, when alive, do not release sensible scent particles or blue outline when in scent view, like crocodylomorphs, Quetzalcoatlus, Mosasaurus, Lepisosteus and Champsosaurus.

Scent particles are only visible to a certain range. The player may have to press and hold 'E' several times as you change position, so that you can see the scent clouds of the new position you have moved to.

The scent system is currently being worked on for future updates. This will allow players to sense scent particles from plants, in the case of herbivorous gameplay.