Poor Pachycephalosaurus will get the short end of the stick
When your options for a player character include Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops and Dakotaraptor, then poor Pachycephalosaurus will inevitably be the least picked player character in the bunch.- Possibly jossed depending on which animals are chosen for the two new playables. The candidates we've seen so far are Ankylosaurus, Anatosaurus/Edmontosaurus, Anzu, and Ornithomimus.
- Since the new playables have been selected, it seems the short stick might be between Pachycephalosaurus and Ankylosaurus.
The game will feature Early Game Hell.
All four of the playable dinosaurs' hatchling forms are extremely tiny, and there are tons of predators here, including, but not limited to, Quetzalcoatlus, Palaeosaniwa, Borealosuchus, Acheroraptor, Didelphodon, and of course, the playable Dakotaraptor and Tyrannosaurus rex. (And yes, the game devs have confirmed the latter two will be cannibalistic.) Someone will make a Barney & Friends mod that colors the Tyrannosaurus bright purple and green.
As impractical as those colors are for a stealth predator, you can't deny it would be hilarious. There will be an Easter Egg implying time-traveling humans
There will be a broken-down time travel device and/or human remains in some well-hidden corner of the map, suggesting that at some point prior to the birth of your dinosaur character a group of time travelers from our future ended up in the latest Cretaceous for one reason or another and never got home.- Possible, but unlikely. The game devs said they wanted the game to feel realistic and serious, and they felt easter eggs would ruin that tone.
- A valid point. Never said it was likely, it just popped into my head so I decided I'd post it as a WMG.
If the game proves successful, there will be at least one sequel taking place in a different formation
My personal favorite idea mentioned by another fan would be something to the effect of "Saurian II: Morrison".- And who says they have to be limited to the Mesozoic? There could be sequels/spinoffs set in various formations from the Paleozoic and Cenozoic as well. Imagine playing as a Smilodon, dire wolf, or Columbian mammoth in the La Brea Tar Pits, for instance. Or a Thylacoleo or Megalania in Pleistocene Australia.
- Aw, what the heck. As a community moderator for the Discord, let me throw you a little bone. A few formations have been mentioned as possible sequel sites on the Discord: Morrison, Chinle, and the Western Interior Seaway (known in the Discord as "Oceans of Kansas"); the Wessex Formation is mentioned as a contender as well. Notably, the Kem Kem fromation is NOT on the table because it is too incomplete to work with. Basically, key rules for speculation are: Does the site have good preservation? How well is it studied? How complete a picture of the ecosystem do we think we have? All speculation, of course- whether or not a sequel happens does indeed depend on how well Saurian does. Other than that, go wild with WMG!
- What about Bahariya? It's basically the Kem Kem but without the local fossil furtives and 100 years worth of professional Paleontology.
Building on what was mentioned in the above WMG, possible playables for these hypothetical sequels
Feel free to add more if you like.- Meyer Desert Formation
- Snail
- Morrison Formation:
- Allosaurus fragilis: Possibly the largest predator in the area (unless Saurophaganax is its own genus) and the Morrison's answer to T. rex.
- Allosaurus jimmadseni: A rare variant of Allosaurus, distinguished by its longer snout, larger crests and slightly smaller build.
- Apatosaurus ajax: One of the most well known sauropods.
- Brachiosaurus altithorax: One of the most recognizable sauropods, and the tallest animal in the Morrison.
- Brontosaurus excelsus: A close relative of Apatosaurus, long considered a species of Apatosaurus but recently split back into its own genus.
- Camarasaurus lentus: The most common sauropod in the region, thus a good fit for a playable dinosaur.
- Camptosaurus dispar: The Morrison's equivalent to Pachycephalosaurus and Anatosaurus.
- Ceratosaurus nascicornis: As a smaller rival to Allosaurus.
- Diplodocus carnegii: A longer, slimmer relative of Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus with a very long whiplike tail.
- Marshosaurus bicentesimus: A medium-sized megalosauroid similar in size to Ceratosaurus.
- Ornitholestes hermanni: A small coelurosaur, perhaps the most familiar small predator from the Morrison.
- Saurophaganax (Allosaurus?) maximus: A 40-foot giant allosaur, and undisputed king of the Morrison.
- Stegosaurus stenops: An iconic herbivore with a spiked tail, and the Morrison's equivalent to Ankylosaurus and Denversaurus.
- Stokesosaurus clevelandi: An early tyrannosaur that lived in the shadows of larger predators.
- Torvosaurus tanneri: A megalosaurid theropod that rivaled Allosaurus in size.
- Oceans of Kansas:
- Dolichorhynchops osborni: A smaller plesiosaur with a short neck and long snout.
- Elasmosaurus platyurus: The largest plesiosaur in the area.
- Pteranodon longiceps: Likely the first playable pterosaur of the bunch.
- Tylosaurus proriger: The ocean's biggest predator, at 40 feet long.
- Cretoxyrhina mantelli: A large 25-foot lamniform shark sharing the apex predator niche with Tylosaurus.
- Chinle Formation:
- Coelophysis bauri: The quintessential "early dinosaur".
- Placerias hesternus: The most common large herbivore.
- Desmatosuchus spurensis: Another large herbivore.
- Postosuchus kirkpatricki: A rauisuchid and the region's top predator.
- Wessex Formation
- Iguanodon bernissartensis: An early relative of the hadrosaurs, famous for its thumb spike.
- Baryonyx walkeri: A piscivorous, long-legged spinosaurid.
- Polacanthus foxii: An early nodosaurid.
- Neovenator salerii: A large theropod closely related to the carcharodontosaurs.
- Eotyrannus lengi: A primitive tyrannosauroid.
- Hypsilophodon foxii: A small ornithopod.
- Candeleros Formation:
- Giganotosaurus carolinii: A large carcharodontosaurid theropod and an apex predator of the region.
- Priosphenodon avelasi: A species of reptile closely related to the tuatara.
- Najash rionegrina: A basal snake possessing well-developed hind-legs.
- Limaysaurus tessonei: A rebbachisaurid sauropod.
- Andesaurus delgadoi: A large titanosaurian sauropod.
- Ekrixinatosaurus novasi: A large Abelisaurid ceratosaur, and an apex predator of the region.
- Buitreraptor gonzalezorum: A small dromaeosaurid theropod.
- Alnashetri cerropoliciensis: A small coelurosaurian theropod.
- Cedar Mountain Formation:
- Utahraptor ostrommaysorum: A large dromaeosaurid theropod.
- Yurgovuchia doellingi: A mid-sized dromaeosaur.
- Gastonia burgei: A polacanthine nodosaur.
- Falcarius utahensis: A therizinosaur.
- Nedcolbertia justinhoffmanmi: A ornithomimosaur.
- Iguanacolossus fortis: An iguanodont.
- Dinosaur Park Formation:
- Daspletosaurus torosus: A tyrannosaurid, larger and bulkier than the more numerous Gorgosaurus.
- Dromaeosaurus albertensis: A small dromaeosaurid.
- Edmontonia rugosidens: A nodosaurid, similar to Denversaurus.
- Euoplocephalus tutus: An ankylosaurid.
- Gorgosaurus libratus: One of the most common tyrannosaurids.
- Latenivenatrix mcmasterae: The largest known troodontid.
- Parasaurolophus walkeri: A well-known lambeosaurine hadrosaur with a trombone-like crest.
- Stegoceras validum: A small pachycephalosaurid.
- Stenonychosaurus inequalis: A small troodontid.
- Styracosaurus albertensis: A ceratopsian with prominent spikes extending back from its neck frill.
- Prince Creek Formation:
- Nanuqsaurus hoglundi: A dwarf tyrannosaur native to the high Arctic.
- Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum: The youngest of the Pachyrhinosaurus line, equivalent to Triceratops.
- Saurornitholestes langstoni: A dromaeosaurid.
- Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis: A hadrosaur closely related to Anatosaurus.
- Iren Dabasu Formation:
- Gigantoraptor erlianensis: A massive oviraptorosaur.
- Alectrosaurus olseni: A fairly small tyrannosaur.
- Erliansaurus bellamanus: A therizinosaur.
- Sonidosaurus saihangaobeinsis: A small titanosaur.
- Archaeornithomimus asiaticus: An ornithomimosaur.
- Bactrosaurus johnsoni: A hadrosaur.
- Gilmoreosaurus mongoliensis: An iguanodont.
- Velociraptor indet.: A small dromaeosaur.
- Cloverly Formation:
- Deinonychus antirrhopus: A pack-hunting dromaeosaur. May not actually be implemented due to its rarity in the area.
- Acrocanthosaurus atokensis: A carcharodontosaur.
- Sauropelta edwardsorum: An ankylosaur.
- Microvenator celer: A small oviraptorosaur. Again, may not be implemented due to its rarity.
- Tenontosaurus tilleti: An iguanodont. This could be the media's chance to avert the conventional status of this species.
- Sauroposeidon proteles: A massive somphospondyl sauropod.
- Unidentified ornithomimosaur.
- Djadochta Formation:
- Citipati osmolskae: A large oviraptorid.
- Oviraptor philoceratops: A small oviraptorid.
- Pinacosaurus grangeri: A medium-sized ankylosaur.
- Protoceratops andrewsi: A small ceratopsian
- Saurornithoides mongoliensis: A troodontid
- Shuvuuia deserti: An alvarezsaurid.
- Udanoceratops tschizhovi: The largest known leptoceratopsid.
- Velociraptor mongoliensis: A small dromaeosaurid.
- Nemegt Formation:
- Alioramus remotus: A small tyrannosaurid.
- Avimimus portentosus: A small oviraptorid.
- Deinocheirus mirificus: A very large, wonderfully strange-looking humpbacked, duck-billed ornithomimosaur.
- Gallimimus bullatus: Although considerably smaller than its distant relative Deinocheirus, Gallimimus remains the largest known ornithomimid.
- Mononykus olecranus: An alvarezsaurid.
- Tarbosaurus bataar: A very close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, only slightly smaller than its North American cousin.
- Therizinosaurus cheloniformis: A very large therizinosaur.
- Yixian Formation:
- Yutyrannus huali-size tyrannosaur and the region’s apex predator
- ‘’Beipiaosaurus inexpectus’’: A therizinosaur
- ‘’Sinornithosaurus millenii’’: A gliding dromaeosaur
- ‘’Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis’’: A small, primitive ceratopsian, an unnamed species of this genus is one of the best-reconstructed dinosaurs in the world
- ‘’Repenomamus giganteus’’: A badger-sized carnivorous mammal, the largest known Mesozoic mammal
- Mammoth Steppe (first Cenozoic suggestion! It contains mostly modern animals, though, due to it being reasonably close to us in time):
- Woolly Mammoth (‘’Mammuthus primigenius’’): The most iconic of all the mammoth species
- Woolly Rhinoceros (‘’Coelodonta antiquitatis’’): An iconic Ice Age animal
- ‘’Megaloceros giganteus’’: A giant deer
- Cave Lion (‘’Panthera spelaea’’): A big cat closely related to the modern lion
- I was tempted to include the Cave Bear too, but its need to hibernate would probably make it a poor playable character (especially with how accurate Saurian is). However, it could make a very interesting NPC, perhaps changing behaviour at different times of the year (peaceful most of the time, becomes very aggressive during the run-up to winter due to a need to gather more food which forces it to compete with other creatures or hunt and kill them, not present during the winter).
- La Brea Tar Pits (again, mostly modern animals here):
- Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus columbii): A less famous but far larger relative of the woolly mammoth
- Smilodon fatalis: The most famous of the sabre-toothed cats
- Harlan’s Ground Sloth (Paramylodon harlani): A fairly small ground sloth capable of burrowing
- Arctodus simus: A giant, long-limbed bear capable of running down prey. Like modern bears, it was omnivorous
- Dire Wolf (Aenocyon dirus) A large wolf-like canid specialized in tackling large megafauna, hunts in packs of up to 20 individuals.
- Lujan Formation (again, a few modern species here, but not as many as the above two):
- ‘’Smilodon populator’’: The larger species of the most famous sabre-toothed cat genus
- ‘’Megatherium americanum’’: A giant ground sloth and one of the earliest described prehistoric creatures
- ‘’Macrauchenia patachonica’’: A strange, trunked, llama-like creature that lived in herds
- ‘’Glyptodon clavipes’’: A glyptodont
- Hateg Island:
- ‘’Magyarosaurus dacus’’: A dwarf sauropod
- ‘’Hatzegopteryx thambema’’: A giant short-necked azhdarchid and the region’s dinosaur-eating apex predator
- ‘’Balaur bondoc’’: A bird that has evolved to resemble a dromaeosaur but with two toe claws on each foot
- ‘’Gargantuavis sp.’’: A large, ostrich-like bird
- Upper Elliot Formation:
- ‘’Massospondylus carinatus’’: A reasonably large, bipedal prosauropod
- ‘’Dracovenator regenti’’: A large dilophosaurid and the region’s apex predator
- ‘’Heterodontosaurus tucki’’: The archetypal heterodontosaurid, theories about how it used its tusk could be used in an interesting intimidation mechanic
- ‘’Megazostrodon rudnerae’’: The archetypal Mesozoic mammal
- Bahariya Formation, Egypt (taking cues from a suggestion in the above WMG, I do think there are enough species from this formation to work but the focus would have to be mostly on the aquatic life):
- ‘’Spinosaurus aegyptiacus’’: A bizarre and iconic giant theropod dinosaur, primarily a hunter of fish
- ‘’Carcharodontosaurus saharicus’’: A giant carcharodontosaur and the region’s apex predator, feeds mainly on young sauropods
- ‘’Squalicorax baharijensis’’: A large shark
- ‘’Bawitius bartheli’’: A giant bichir
- Abrahamskraal Formation (first Palaeozoic suggestion!):
- ‘’Moschops capensis’’: One of the more iconic Palaeozoic creatures, a small dinocephalian
- ‘’Anteosaurus magnificus’’: A large, carnivorous dinocephalian, the region’s apex predator
- ‘’Bradysaurus baini’’: A large, primitive pareiasaur
- ‘’Hipposaurus boonstrai’’: A small biarmosuchian
- Tendaguru Formation:
- ’’Kentrosaurus aethiopicus’’: A small stegosaur
- ‘’Giraffatitan brancai’’: The dinosaur which is the true identity of the Brachiosaurus from [Jurassic Park]
- ‘’Elaphrosaurus bambergi’’: An elaphrosaur
- ‘’Veterupristisaurus milneri’’: A primitive carcharodontosaur
Voice Changeling Anzu will become a new paleomeme in pop culture.
Every single oviraptorosaur in movies, documentaries, video games, etc., afterwards will be given the ability to mimic sounds (and maybe even speak English), despite no fossil evidence of this. (Sort of a repeat of the frilled venom-spitting Dilophosaurus popularized by Jurassic Park.) Certain species in the ecosystem will end up as Goddamned Bats
Palaeosaniwa and Quetzalcoatlus in particular seem likely candidates for the hatchling stage, and Ornithomimus and Anzu will probably be an annoyance throughout all the game's life stages thanks to their respective abilities. This game will make Dakotaraptor a Stock Dinosaur
After all, it has most of the traits people have come to expect of pop-culture raptors (particularly its large size and co-existence with other Late Cretaceous stock like Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex). The public will inevitably eat it up! Bonus points if every subsequent depiction in media copycats Saurian's basic design and colour scheme for it (similar to what happened to Liopleurodon after Walking with Dinosaurs made it famous).- As a bonus, it'll likely be the first non-avian stock dinosaur to have all its feathers instantly accepted—an important milestone for Dinosaur Media.
- Now that Dakotaraptor has appeared in the fifth Ice Age movie, I think we can potentially call this confirmed. And it did have feathers!
Palaeosaniwa will be venomous, and it will play a huge part in the game.
If your dinosaur is bitten by one, its health will slowly decline until the dinosaur dies. Whether your dinosaur survives will depend on how large it is. (For instance, it's unlikely any bitten hatchlings will survive.) This ability could very likely make Palaeosaniwa a Demonic Spider for the hatchling stage. Leptoceratops and the alvarezsaurid will make some sort of cameo despite being removed from the game.
Maybe in the form of bones or something. It will be possible to reach the end of the sea, just very unlikely
