Field Manual

Every general tip from the game, sorted, plus the rules behind the numbers.

Getting started

It is often a good idea to explore an area before you do much building.Game tip

Build your base camp close to supplies, that way your Explorers can collect them faster.Game tip

Build your base camp away from hunting trails to avoid the Hunters.Game tip

Double clicking on your base camp lets you add new Explorers to your team.Game tip

Once an Explorer has eggs or supplies in hand, he/she will automatically return to Base Camp.Game tip

Use the option menu to save the game when you are doing well. Then you can load your old game if you get in trouble.Game tip

If you want to look at game tips, select them by clicking on OPTIONS, then on GAME TIPS.Game tip

Your team

Each member of your team has a special strength. Double-click on them to find out more.Game tip

Double clicking on an Explorer or dinosaur will give you more information about it.Game tip

Your Explorers are important. Use your dinosaurs to walk with them and protect them.Game tip

Send wounded team members into tents or shelters to heal faster.Game tip

Double clicking on a tool shed lets you improve the skills of your Explorers.Game tip

Research Assistants cannot be given upgrades.Game tip

You can select several things at once by holding down the mouse button and dragging the mouse to form a box around them.Game tip

You can select more than one Explorer or dinosaur by holding down the shift key or control key as you click on them.Game tip

Traffic jams can occur when too many Explorers or dinosaurs try to get through a narrow pass or cross a bridge at the same time.Game tip

Dinosaurs

Use bigger, tougher dinosaurs to scare away smaller, weaker ones.Game tip

Wounded dinosaurs can become healthy again when they eat.Game tip

Wild dinosaurs can be a danger to you - or to your enemies!Game tip

Each dinosaur makes its own kind of nest. This can help you identify eggs in the wild.Game tip

The eggs you collect and save on one level will add to your score, and can be hatched in later levels.Game tip

Even though the Triceratops is a plant-eater, his horns make him a good fighter.Game tip

Stegosaurs are big and tough, but fairly slow, and wild ones are usually not too aggressive.Game tip

Raptors are both fast and dangerous, particularly when they hunt in packs.Game tip

The toughest dinosaur of all is the T-Rex, but the hunter's best weapons can still hurt him.Game tip

Plant-eating dinosaurs can be used to clear away trees that may block your way.Game tip

Compys are fast enough to be good scouts, but are easily killed.Game tip

Raptors are most deadly when attacking in packs of three or more.Game tip

Use the spitting Dilophosaurus to attack from a distance, even across barriers.Game tip

Remember this is Chaos Island. Don't count on dinosaurs to behave the same way every time you see them.Game tip

Fighting and sneaking

Sometimes you can sneak around dangerous enemies by keeping your distance.Game tip

It can be useful to watch the movement of hunters and wild dinosaurs, then use their patterns to your advantage.Game tip

Using a group to attack a single enemy works well, particularly if they all attack from different directions.Game tip

If a dinosaur is chasing you, try to distract it by running past some hunters.Game tip

Build fire barriers near your camp to keep wild dinosaurs away.Game tip

To cancel out of placing a building, click the right mouse buttonGame tip

How the game works

Hitting: an attack lands if a roll of 1-10 is at or below the attacker's accuracy. Damage is rolled between the attacker's two damage numbers, minus the target's armour. If that is 0 or less, nothing happens. So small dinosaurs can't hurt a tank (armour 4) much.
Healing: T-Rex, raptors, compys and dilos heal 1 HP each time they hit something that isn't a building. Wounded plant-eaters heal by grazing on trees and bushes (+2 HP a bite for yours, +1 for wild ones). People regain 1 HP every 500 ticks (about 2 minutes) in the open, every 100 in a Tent, 50 in a Shelter and 30 in a Hardened Shelter, and nobody can hurt them in there.
Carrying: picking anything up needs a Base Camp. A team member takes as many supplies as they can carry, or one egg, and walks it home automatically. It counts once they stop within 2 tiles of the camp.
Building: supplies are paid when the builder arrives, not when you click. If you run out on the way, nothing is built. Every tile of the site must be explored, walkable and empty: people, dinosaurs, crates and egg piles all block it. The one exception is your builder, when they are the only gatherer selected.
Map: unexplored ground is hidden under soft-edged shroud. Once explored it stays fully visible. The minimap shows every unit, building and item in its side's colour.
Score: (recruit points left + (eggs in inventory + 1) × 10) × 10. Eggs you find but don't hatch are worth the most.
Time: the game runs in ticks of about a quarter of a second at normal speed. Building, hatching and fighting all count in ticks.