I had some ideas and thought they might be worth it to add. First off I love the game. Most survival games break down into just thriving games and I lose interest. So I only offer this feedback with the best intentions and I am not trying to take away from anyone.
These suggestions would all be server side toggles. Realism players, PvP players, and casual players all want different things. Forcing one playstyle on everyone creates conflict. Server toggles sidestep that entirely.
1. Energy System - Make Hunting Cost Something
Currently, the only cost of a failed hunt is time and stamina, and stamina regenerates for free. A Rex can sprint at everything, miss repeatedly, sit down for a minute, and do it again with zero consequence. This removes the decision-making pressure that makes predation interesting.
The Proposal: Add an "energy" mechanic alongside Stamina, or make sprinting and combat drain hunger directly:
Sprinting, attacking, and taking damage all drain energy (or hunger).
Energy only recovers through eating and resting.
As energy depletes, maximum stamina is reduced. A predator burning through failed hunts physically cannot perform at full capacity.
What This Fixes: Apex players don't terrorize endlessly. Mid-tiers become viable because a Rex that failed three chases is now vulnerable. Herbivores gain a real escape strategy. Patient, ambush-style predation becomes mechanically optimal, how real predators operate.
2. Carnivore Diet Rework - Prioritize the Food Chain
The current diet system can reward eating other carnivores more than herbivores, leading to constant carnivore-on-carnivore violence instead of a functional food chain.
The Proposal:
Equal or lesser carnivore: little food, little diet progress.
Larger carnivore: moderate food, little diet progress.
Herbivores: preferred - food AND full diet satisfaction, non-preferred: food AND some or specific diet satisfaction
Scavenging stays viable, but actively hunting carnivores should never be optimal.
What This Fixes: Carnivores orient toward prey instead of farming each other. Herbivores become essential. The food chain flows correctly.
3. Herbivore Gameplay - Give Them a Reason to Play
Herbivore gameplay is essentially a walking simulator with occasional panic. No agency, no social structure, not enough to retain herbivore players the ecosystem depends on.
Migration Bonuses: Reward traveling across the map. Creates dynamic prey patterns, prevents static herds. Could provide growth bonuses, diet completion, or mutation progress.
Longer Adult Lifespans: Rewards the time investment. An Elder Trike should feel like a server landmark.
Herd Hierarchy & Alpha System: Sparring within herds to establish an alpha. The alpha gets better nesting success, stamina and defensive buffs when defending the herd.
What This Fixes: Herbivore gameplay becomes engaging on its own terms. Migration creates a living ecosystem. The alpha system gives herbivores their own competitive layer.
Again this is in all respect. Love the game and will keep playing. These are just ideas to generate discussion, you may already have some in development. Thanks for reading through all this.