Sandbox Mode Preview
Our deep dive series on Primal Carnage: Evolution continues!
So far we’ve shown upgrades to Gameplay, Visuals, Sound & Optimization!
This time the focus is on how Freeroam mode is evolving - welcome to SANDBOX.
What's in a Name?
Sandbox Mode is the upcoming replacement for Freeroam - it is a much more user-friendly and customizable mode. The new name ties into this rework, with the notion of it being a creative and easy place to mess around in.
The FR gametype was included as a bit of an afterthought originally in PCE, because we wanted to prevent the odd “friendly” dinosaurs that would disrupt deathmatches in the first game. It’s never been the main focus of Primal Carnage, but there are many players who love to just chill. Aside from that, it's a good place to experiment with and get used to the game's mechanics.
We’ve also heard a lot of confused PlayStation players over the years wondering why they can’t drive a dirtbike as a Novaraptor! To that end, we've been working on a slightly more robust experience..
The Sandbox Quickmenu
Previously, most all of the fun features in Freeroam would need to be accessed through the developer console window (which obviously doesn't exist on PS4). Features such as vehicles and item summoning would require typing out long awkward strings of text or hacking in keybinds to trigger events. Not anymore!
A new and easy to use Sandbox quick menu will now let you do this hassle-free...
In normal gameplay, hold the Use key for half a second to activate the Sandbox quick menu. Tapping right into one of the main categories shows options to choose from. Tap left to go back, and keep tapping left to exit the Sandbox menu completely. Your character can continue moving around and even attacking while interacting with the Sandbox options.
Quick Menu Features
Enter Cheats
Finding cheat codes will add them to the Sandbox cheats list, where you can quickly activate them. These range from Change Size to Godmode, and are found by entering random button sequences when playing Custom matches on PlayStation.
Summoning
This offers multiple categories to choose from such as Vehicles, AI bots (both human and dino), and soon in-game items (health kits, ammo kits, etc.). We are still prototyping these features currently, so there may be differences between PS4 and PC. The number of spawnable items / AI will be limited to prevent server crashes.
Passive Mode
Going passive means that you won’t receive damage, but while active you cannot deal damage to others either. This is useful for when you want to go AFK, or if you don’t want to run a fully no-damage server.
Change Map / Vote Map
For server owners / admins, a change map list will be available from the Sandbox menu. If voting is enabled on the server, the option to vote for a new map appears in place of this.
Subject to Change!
We’re still developing Sandbox Mode and some of these features may change or be removed, particularly on PS4. For example, testing in the beta will determine how many AI are safe to spawn on console, and certain vehicles may be prohibited on PS4 due to their unpredictability.
Outside of the quick menu, an additional option when selecting someone on the scoreboard in Sandbox will let you to teleport to that player's location.
Expanded Class Selection
When playing Sandbox, there will now be additional classes listed in the menu. These include several former “NPCs” that have been given a little extra TLC for Sandbox!
From the humble little Compy to the mighty Iguanodon, a new range of Sandbox-only dinoswill be playable soon. Iguanodon actually has a completely new model, as it was only ever a corpse before. Sandbox dinos support all the usual playable features such as shoulder cam and have their own roars.
The playable Iguanodon / Stegosaurus / Parasaurolophus are all omnivorous - able to heal by both grazing and eating corpses. Aside from the Iggy glow up, other former NPCs like Compy, Stego and Para have received texture / model adjustments and bonus animations.
Iguanodon has its own thumb spike attack, but for the most part Sandbox dinos repurpose existing dino abilities. Tail swiping is popular among both Para and Stego, although the little baby "Steglings" cannot defend themselves. Adult Stegosaurs also have a familiar stomp attack similar to the Acro’s special attack...
Each of the Sandbox classes will have several free skins at launch, and we're looking at proper Workshop support for them in future, so that you can make your own. They also have new inner skeletons for being shocked or melted (and halloween)!
Other bonus playable creatures are already in the works for future updates to Sandbox, such as Kaprosuchus, Baby Brachi, The Veteran, and Dog.
Don't get too hyped up at the mention of baby Stego, we are NOT going to do anything like growth for dinosaurs (it's simply a class to select) and there are NO arduous "survival" mechanics planned currently. You won’t need to eat just to exist, or wait ages watching bars go higher before you can do anything fun.
We do have emotes for drinking, which is something that might refill your stamina in future, but we'd rather not waste people's time unneccessarily.
Looking Ahead: CUSTOM MATCHES
Currently the bonus classes are confined to Sandbox mode. However, we’re in the planning phases of adding Custom gametype variants of other modes like TDM. These allow PlayStation players to modify options not previously available outside of the Steam game, while adding a bunch of new ones too.
Custom matches will be added sometime after 3.0 on PC, with advanced tweak options including individual class limit adjustments, tweaking respawn timers, toggling spawn waves, allowing cheats, and yes - enabling Sandbox dinos in other game modes.
Running a Custom match will disable EXP gain, but allow a lot of flexibility for those who want to experiment with mechanics and are more interested in fun than progression. Want to play a match that has an infinite time limit with all Iguanodons versus all Pyros and low gravity? Knock yourselves out.
Coming Soon…ish
Sandbox Mode will debut first on PlayStation with Primal Carnage: Evolution when it launches, it's quite a large overhaul and we're developing it on the console platform first. This means that for our PC players, you’ll have to wait just a tiny bit longer for it to be ported across.
As we close in on a release date for Evolution, we’re looking forward to road testing our new playable dinos in the closed beta. Currently our goal is to fix any last annoying bugs and finalize the game’s content going into November (sandbox being amongst the last additions to be tested).
The hope is that within about a month we’ll be sending our final build to Sony for approval. We’ve never shipped a title on PlayStation before ourselves, so please bear with us as we navigate our first in-house console launch.
JOIN THE BETA
Our final wave of PS4 beta invites will be going out soon, so if you’re on PlayStation and haven’t signed up... what are you waiting for?
We’re on Discord.
Take part in our regular community contests, fan polls, and get more sneak peeks by joining the Official Primal Carnage Discord!
