Digging Mechanic and Burrows
Currently, the only playable creature able to create burrows and make use of the digging mechanic is the Oryctodromeus.
Burrows
Currently, burrows can only be created by the Oryctodromeus.
Burrows can be detected in various ways:
- Looking for areas where piles of dirt have collected.
- By use of the scent key (Default C) if the burrow has a magenta scent it's a sign that the burrow has been used recently.
Entering the burrowing can be done by going to a burrow entrance and pressing the use key (Default E), a creature can't enter a burrow unless the space that the burrow enters into is large enough to accommodate the creature, this isn't true for the Velociraptor, and Oryctodromeus as they will fit into a burrow regardless of creature size.
While inside of a burrow vision is limited by a black shroud, the vigilance talent is required to expand the range of visibility while in a burrow, this shroud can not be worked around by the use of gamma.
Non-burrowing creatures also suffer from the claustrophobia debuff which greatly discomforts the creature and reduces the damage done by the creature by 50% while inside a burrow, these penalties can be reduced by points invested in the vigilance talent.
Various decorative items can be found while exploring the inside of burrow:
- Stones (Decorative)
- Logs (Decorative)
- Bones (Decorative)
- Ruins (Decorative) (Very Rare)
- Apatosaurus Skull (Decorative) (Very Rare)
- Pots (Decorative)
- Crystals (Decorative)
- Fog (Decorative)
- Water Droplets (Decorative)
- Tubers (Edible)
- Mushrooms (Edible)
- Comfort Crystals (Edible)
While inside of a burrow a creature is under the effects of 100% shelter and is protected from the danger of the elements, rising floodwaters still pose a dangerous risk to creatures inside of a burrow and can forcefully eject creatures out of a burrow if the water gets too high.
If a player logs out while inside of a burrow the next time they log in they will appear outside of the burrow near where they entered the burrow.
Burrows can be a dangerous place and easy to get lost or stuck in, to escape a burrow when unable to find an exit open up the escape menu and press the leave burrow option.
A burrowing creature can make a number of entrances into a burrow, by default, this number is two entrance per chunk, this number can be increased by taking levels in the Burrow Master talent.
If a burrow is exceptionally large it may take a moment before being able to enter the burrow system.
Digging Mechanic
Currently, only the Oryctodromeus is able to use the digging mechanic.
Being inside of a burrow is required to make use of the digging mechanic.
A burrowing creature is put into digging mode by default when entering a burrow, to swap into attack mode use the creature special key (Default X).
While in burrow mode the player is able to use the left and right mouse button to interact with the burrow:
- Clicking the left mouse button can be used to dig a hole.
- Clicking the right mouse button can be used to fill in space with dirt.
- Holding the left mouse button can be used to show a preview of where you're able to dig, pressing the right mouse button cancels the preview.
- Holding the right mouse button can be used to show a preview of where you're able to fill in space with dirt, pressing the left mouse button cancels the preview.
There are a few things that you're not able to dig into and will display an error message when attempting to dig there.
- The dirt here is too wet to dig through, this error appears when attempting to dig into a body of water.
- The dirt here is too close to sea level.
- The dirt here is too hard to dig through, This error appears when attempting to dig into either a cave, rock, tree, or hill that is too steep to make a burrow entrance.
It's possible to hunt for specific items to fill burrows with, this is possible by digging and filling in an area till the specific items are found, with this it is possible to make things such as tuber farms.
While digging a dirt gauge is filled with every block of dirty removed, the ratio being 2 dirt added to the gauge for every 1 dirt dug, this can be empty by returning to the surface.
Talents also interact with the digging system improving the gameplay experience.
