Beginner’s Guide – Jurassic World Evolution
Since attending the E3 launch for Jurassic World Evolution, I’ve been a little bit in love with this dino-sized bag of building strategy. It can be tricky to get into though, and even today I’ve seen newcomers to the title asking for hints and tips in the various groups over on facebook. If you’re stuck on your first steps, and wat to know what to do first in this jurassic title, you’ve come to the right place
After spending a few hundred hours in game, and with a fair bit of experience over the various game modes, I wanted to share some of my top tips with you here. If you have any which aren’t included, get them in the comments. So again in no particular order, here are my top tips to starting (and sticking with) Jurassic World Evolution.
Start small and start slow
Your first visit to Isla Matanceros will provide a nice tutorial to get you started. It’s important that you pay attention here as the dulcet tones of Jeff Goldblum will guide you through the very basics of dino creation, and the various facilities you’ll need to use along the way.
However as well as with your continued work here, starting slow and small becomes critical when you start advancing to later islands. Often hamstrung by low finances and crippled infrastructure, it’s important that you don’t burn through your available budget straight away.
Even the lowly Struthiomimus can play a big part here. While it’s not going to have any parades in its name, the Struth will still bring people into the park, and allow a small but steady stream of income.
You’ll need to work on your business continuity. In Jurassic World Evolution this will mean ensuring that rather than spending your available cash on new dinos, you’re making sure that you have the budget to excavate and research new dinos. This approach may slow down your advancement, but for me it’s a critical step in ensuring steady progress.
Keep an eye on the park ratings
The management briefs can be really handy in letting you know exactly what your park needs in order to rake in more cash, and obtain a five-star rating for each of the Five Deaths. Your management view will show your current balance and income, as well as any fees which the Hammond Foundation may be s̶t̶e̶a̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ charging.
It’ll also give you your dinosaur and park ratings, and you’ll need to do well in both areas here in order to hit the top levels for your overall island rating. These are broken down well in game to show you exactly where your park needs work.
DLCs are absolutely worth it
It’s definitely worth grabbing the main DLCs for the title, as well as the smaller dino packs if you’re looking for a little more variety. Each of the DLCs brings a good range of different content, most of which can be used within the main game after you complete the separate DLC campaigns.
Secrets of Dr Wu
OK, so we all know that Wu can be a bit of an arse, but this first DLC was a great entry, bringing some brilliant new features to Jurassic World Evolution. You’ll find a new campaign as well as new genetic modifications. The new modifications come in amazingly handy during the main game, especially those based around habitat comfort and stress levels (I now have velociraptors who don’t bat an eye at storms).
The Secrets of Dr Wu DLC for Jurassic World Evolution brings;
Claire’s Sanctuary
This is a cracking campaign, which runs separately to your main game mode. New buildings and features from the Claire’s Sanctuary DLC are available in your main game after completing the new story.
Over on Isla Nublar, time is running out, and the once dorman Mount Sibo volcano is looking to erupt at any moment. You’ll need to save the creatures you can, and ensure their welfare is tip top with new plants and buildings. With other things the Clair’s Sanctuary DLC brings;
Return to Jurassic Park
You’ll return to where it all began, with all new building designs and two new (and entirely different) dinosaurs. With the original film cast returning (minus Richard Attenborough mayherestinpeace) and an all new story based campaign around the rebuilding of the iconic location. This DLC runs entirely separately to the main game mode, and you should note that you can’t mix contemporary and retro style buildings.
All in all the Return to Jurassic Park DLC brings with it;
Boost your dino stats by having different and high-rated healthy dinos
The dinosaur rating of your park hinges on a small number of important aspects. To start with, you’ll want to look at having a variety of different dinosaur breeds. Within the management view you’ll be able to see a target number of different breeds for the island, and fulfilling this is a good step at getting a great dinosaur rating.
As well as different breeds however, it’s also important to have a good star rating. Again the management view will show you a target rating for each island, and meeting this will be important. Interestingly this star rating is an overall sum of each dinosaur’s star rating. Because of this, it’s not hugely important to make each dinosaur’s rating very high, as you can simply make more of them.
The last really critical aspect of the dinosaur rating system is welfare. As well as having varied and high-level dinosaur breeds, it’s important to make sure they are healthy. This covers sickness of course, but also food and water requirements, and comfort in the dinosaur’s habitat too. Tranquilised dinosaurs will also cause a negative impact here, so ensuring that you move or otherwise deal with these sleeping giants can mean the difference in obtaining that extra star.
Facility management covers a wide range of needs
While the dinos are the true stars of the show, the guests are important too. After all, they’re the ones bringing in the cash to let you send out dig teams to get more dinosaurs. Their needs can be a little trickier to fill, but again are covered well within the management view in game.
Make sure guests have somewhere to sleep
It’s essential of course, that you mitigate any park overcrowding by having enough hotels to cater to the number of guests in your park. I like having them in different areas for aesthetics, but it’s not strictly vital.
Keep them safe
You’ll also need to make sure your guests are safe. You’ll do this by providing emergency bunkers to escape to when, inevitably, a storm hits or a dino escapes (or both happen at the same time, we’ve all seen the films). With bunkers, while it’s not always possible you should try and have as little overlap as possible, to cater to guests through as much of the park as possible.
Make sure shops have enough staff
Your guests will have various needs for things like food, drink, gift shopping and fun times. It’s easy to miss the staffing options for these, which won’t be so important early on, but grow increasingly critical as your park grows.
Guests’ needs are satisfied when they’re within range of a shop which satisfies their requirements. You’ll need to have a good range of the various restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and more to meet each need. Increase staff numbers as soon as the service limits are hit, to allow more guests to use the facility. It’s possible to do this as soon as stores are built, but you would be losing potential revenue by hiring staff which you just don’t need (yet).
Guests won’t be happy if they can’t see dinosaurs
This one way should really go unsaid, but it won’t. If dinosaur visibility is low, this will have a real impact on the facility rating. Boost this by adding viewing towers and galleries, as well as gyrospheres and Jurassic tours if you have them. You’ll also find a little visibility provided by hotels.
Both for the ratings and for the narrative feel, I generally put viewing galleries and towers overlooking the enclosure’s water and food supply, and include gyrosphere or tour vehicles which wind around them. If guests can’t see a dino in every area, make sure you fix it
Transport is important
Make sure your guests can easily access all areas of the mark. The best way to do this (sing it with me) is Monorail, Monorail, Monorail! Importantly, make sure you have your first internal monorail station as close as possible to the park’s entrance.
If you have spare cash when starting, or when inevitably rebuilding your park, it’s a great idea to place monorails first, and then the attractions and facilities around them. Planning ahead is important for the travel stat, as especially on the later islands it can be tough to fit everything in.
Make sure you have consistent Contracts
In addition to missions, contracts with the three park divisions are critical to making money and unlocking items early on.
That said, you shouldn’t be afraid of turning down a contract which you can’t complete in the immediate future. You have limited space for contracts, and these can be absolutely vital for your income as you start each island. If you have a contract which you know you won’t be able to complete within the next 10 minutes or so, give it the heave ho. This will allow more room for contracts which you can complete now, bringing in that additional cash sooner.
In addition, each contract will have an effect on your relationship with the three divisions. Try and work on one of these at a time, as boosting that division relationship will unlock new items which can include upgrades as well as entirely new dinosaurs and infrastructure. To find out what unlocks what, head over to the Pixel Bandits unlock guide just here
Save before every storm
This one is a little save-scummy, but if you have a recent save from just before a storm hits, it’ll give you something to go back to if the midden properly hits the windmill. This can be especially important if you are working on a challenge mode, as even the smallest slip up can be the difference between victory, and losing hours of hard work.
Storms are randomised, and this means that if you have a particularly bad event, you are able to reload and try again, potentially missing out on the nasty outcome of the last attempt.
Check out our other Pixel Bandits guides, and the helpful communities
I’ve already written two guides for Jurassic World Evolution, one covering the achievements and trophies over on console, and one covering the items you can unlock and how to unlock them. There’s a lot of detail over on the pages and it’s worth checking out if there’s a specific dino or building you’re looking for.
In addition, the communities over on Facebook can be a great place to share your screenshots, videos and stories, as well as ask for help if you need it. I’d recommend taking a look at;
Theme Park and Simulation Games
Jurassic World Games
Jurassic World: Evolution
The Jurassic World Evolution Group
Use the blueprint maps to find trouble
The blueprint map has been beautifully designed, and I truly love the aesthetic behind it. In addition, it can be supremely helpful when you’re looking to find the cause of trouble in your park. Whether it’s a dangerous dino you can’t quite see from the skies or a feeder in need of a refill before occupants find an… alternative… food source, you’ll see it here in red.
Don’t move on straight away
On each island in the chain, achieving a three-star overall rating will be enough to unlock the next island and the next step of your campaign journey. However, I would say to get as far as you can on each island before moving along. Completing missions, and raising your relationships with the three divisions, will unlock new items on your jurassic journey. As you move towards the later and much harder islands, you’ll want and even need these items unlocked right from the start,
You will absolutely need to move on at some point, and will hopefully return to the earlier islands after unlocking more buildings and dig sites with missions and ratings on the later levels. I would say it’s worth spending time on the earlier islands especially to ensure you’ve got a handle on mechanics, and build your library of island resources.
Keep a close eye on dino stats
Comfortable and happy dinos are dinos who stay in their enclosures. If you don’t keep an eye on the comfort ratings for your decidedly un-feathered inhabitants the inevitable conclusion is escape attempts, and dead guests. There’s also a chance of dinosaur fights but that sounds too cool and I’m trying to promote animal welfare here.
There are a number of things you should keep an eye on when looking at your dinosaurs’ overall comfort rating;
Food and water – Each enclosure needs a watering hole, as well as the right type of foot source for the dino inhabitants. Carnivores will need a meat diet, and herbivores are split between low level plant feeders and the tall tree-like dispensers favoured by sauropods. Make sure you get this right as without an appropriate food source your inhabitants will look for sustenance elsewhere. Some dinosaurs also have fish based diets. You can easily see which dino requires which food source by keeping an eye on the icons within your dino library.
Grassland and Forest – You’ll need to balance the various requirements for open grassland and forest. Here, I tend to ensure that the animal’s forestry needs are met first, and then add or remove enclosure space outside that to account for grassland. It’s worth bearing in mind here that even trees planted using the scenery options count towards forest requirement, allowing you to fine tune this where required.
Wetland – Some creatures such as the Spinosaurus also have wetland needs. Satisfy them by literally adding more water to the enclosure until they are happy. Dinos with wetland needs are generally also the types to have a fish-based diet, so it’s worth ensuring pools deep and wide enough to contain a fish feeder, which requires a deceptively large amount of space.
Population and Social – Overall, these cover dinosaur numbers within the enclosure, but while similar there is a distinct difference between the two. The population stat is based on the overall population of the enclosure, counting all dinosaurs of every species. The social stat on the other hand is based on the number of dinosaurs within the enclosure of the same species. A dino who is at the edge of their social limit may be able to still live with new creatures, as long as they are of a different species
Making money
There are many ways you can get cash in your account through the game. Of course having more facilities and more guests is your ultimate aim, as these will bring in the brunt of the park’s cash flow. But other than that, there are a number of ways you can build extra finances for your Jurassic World(s), including;
Completing missions and contracts
Taking photographs with the ranger team
Selling fossils and artifacts unearthed by expeditions
Ensuring shops have capacity for guests
Taking photos with the ranger team can be a real help if your park is in financial dire straits. While the cash generated isn’t huge, totalling maybe $10,000 for a standard photo, it can help with you’re in an emergency situation.
When you’re really pushing it, don’t forget that even though it’s generally not advisable, you can sell buildings to generate quick cash in the here and now. It’s vital when doing this however, to ensure that you have the capacity to keep growing. Essentially, try not to sell your Hammond Creation Lab, and definitely do not leave yourself without both a ranger and an ACU team.
Leave space for mission-specific enclosures
With thanks to Dylan
One which I hadn’t initially thought of, gathered through one of the very helpful Facebook groups. Within each island, and especially the DLC locations, it’s much easier to complete missions if you leave yourself with either a specific and separate enclosure, or the space to make one.
Mission critical dinosaurs are as vital as they sound, and if you lose them you’ll fail the mission. Having a separate space somewhere on your island will help you to easily track and care for these important creatures.
It’ll also help in the case of more violent missions, if you create a separate area with an ACU and Ranger team nearby, as well as with double fencing for added security. For a number of missions you’ll benefit from having the options to quickly tranquilise or heal dinos as required, as well as having the additional security for the rest of the island.
Don’t be afraid to mix dinos where compatible
This is especially important when moving on to later islands such as Isla Pena, where your space will be restricted to the extremes. On these islands mixing dinosaur breeds is not just a good idea, it’s essential to hit an overall five-star rating.
Most herbivores are absolutely fine with each other, and the main worry is regarding the social and population requirements of each species to ensure comfort levels remain high. Larger herbivores are also able to share an enclosure with some carnivores, though it’s important to read up further on compatible species, or do some testing of your own.
Build resiliency into your network
If you’re anything like me, you have a park facilities section all the way at the back of your islands. This separate area for facilities such as power generation, research and expeditions can look really good, and feels a little more real than mixing with the general park buildings.
When doing this, or even when building from a more central park location, it can be easy to forget to diversify when it comes to your power lines. Storms can play havoc by destroying substations around your park, but even worse can often cripple the power lines leading to them. If this happens to a non-diversified power line, all of your substations will become useless.
Make sure when building, to create resilience within your power network make sure you are building separate connections, so that if one line gets taken out, you still have power reaching through.
Also remember that all power stations and facilities in general must be connected to a path, and that the path must itself be connected to the main gates of your Jurassic World. It’s quite easy to get confused at messages that your facilities are not connected, ignoring a break in the path close to the entrance.
Play around with customisation
In fairness, this one won’t earn you any more money, but I do think it’s a way to make your parks truly shine. For me, flat grid-based formations are out, and undulating and highly-customised enclosures are 100% in. Using the terrain and texture tools, play around until you find a style which works for you, and make your dinos’ homes look the very best.
Ultimately though, remember that you have to go with whatever works for you. The above tips and tricks are just that, and they aren’t the be all and end all. Whatever you do, make sure that you’re loving the game, and hopefully you’ll see more Pixel Bandits streaming for Jurassic World Evolution in the near future.
