Water
Approach a reachable shallow bank, stop moving, and hold Eat / drink. Watch the water bar. Deep water is not a safe shortcut for every species.
Your first five minutes
- Open the game link. Use your browser on a PC, phone, tablet, or compatible VR headset. Let the island finish loading.
- Create an account or sign in. New players need a username, password, email, and accepted terms. Under 13? Ask a parent to follow the consent instructions before registering.
- Choose your island and dinosaur. Try a smaller plant-eater if you want to learn movement and foraging before hunting. Your saved dinosaurs belong to the island you chose.
- Learn to look, move, and stop. Stay near the starting area while you get comfortable. Try the repeatable First-life walkthrough in Menu.
- Find water and suitable food. Hold Sniff. Walk to a shallow bank and hold Eat / drink. Check your species' foods before eating.
- Rest before exploring farther. Keep some energy for an escape. Being large does not make a young dinosaur safe.
Controls that get you moving
These are the default controls. The in-game control settings are the best reference if you have changed your bindings.
PC: keyboard & mouse
Click the island to capture the mouse. Press Esc to release it and open Menu. You can choose click-and-drag look in Menu. Holding right mouse gives free look; on a climbing species it can also engage climbing.
| Action | Control |
|---|---|
| Move | W A S D |
| Look / zoom | Move mouse / scroll wheel |
| Sprint | Left Shift |
| Eat or drink | Hold E near food or water |
| Sniff | Hold Q |
| Attack / special ability | F / J |
| Block / dodge | B / Z |
| Grab or drop | G |
| Rest / stand | R |
| Jump, swim up, or flap | Space |
| Swim down | Left Ctrl |
| Map / camera view | M / V |
| Climb or aim a leap (when available) | Hold L |
| Nest / feed young | P / K |
| Chat / team / microphone | T / X / N |
| Roar / growl | C / H |
| Organs / whole carcass | 2 / 3 |
| Pack signal | 1 |
| Open Menu / release mouse | Esc |
Phone & tablet: touch controls
Use the left movement stick and drag on the right side to look. Hold the Eat, Sniff, Attack, or Special buttons when needed. Sprint is a toggle. Tap More for rest, nesting, chat, microphone, and extra actions. If controls do not appear, choose Use touch controls in Menu. Landscape orientation gives you more room.
VR headset: start gently
Open the game in a browser that supports immersive VR. Sign in and enable your microphone, if wanted, before entering VR. A headset's VR button may remain unavailable if its browser does not support the session.
With the default Quest-style controller layout: use the left stick to move and the right stick to turn. Right trigger attacks; left trigger eats or drinks; right grip sprints; left grip rests. A rises or jumps, X descends, and Y opens team actions. Hold left grip plus right trigger to sniff; left grip plus B uses Special. Press the right stick to leave VR. Read Menu's control guide for the remaining combinations or changed bindings.
Take short sessions while learning. Stop if movement feels uncomfortable. Touch and keyboard controls are different from headset controls.
Stay fed. Stay curious. Stay alive.
Food & nutrients
Food fills your stomach; the A, B, and Y nutrients improve your diet. Different species need different foods. Hold Sniff: water appears first, then food, nutrients, and nearby dinosaurs as the sniff builds. A close sniff can identify food sooner.
Growth & rest
Growth takes time. Good diet is the baseline; Perfect diet grows faster. Keep food, water, and energy healthy. Rest somewhere safe to recover. Injuries may require a longer rest.
Small dinosaurs can be carried by bigger animals. If caught, hold Attack or Grab to struggle. Choose your fights, watch your surroundings, and do not spend your last energy chasing food.
Check foods and growth times · Choose useful evolutionary traits
Raise the next generation
Nesting needs two consenting adults of the same species and opposite sex, close together. Either parent can help build the nest. Use Nest and follow the on-screen prompts.
- Choose a sheltered place and keep food nearby.
- The female must rest to incubate the eggs. Keep them at 95–104°F; warm or cool them as needed.
- Eggs need three minutes of safe, rested incubation. Unsafe temperature or standing pauses progress, so hatching may take longer.
- Feed young hatchlings and stay nearby. They begin self-feeding at 15% growth; parents can help until 25%.
Temperature matters: 85°F or 110°F is lethal to an egg. Unsafe temperatures also cause damage after prolonged exposure. Watch the nest status rather than leaving it unattended.
Egg-born players cannot manually Save & quit before hatching and reaching 15% growth. Automatic disconnect recovery still applies.
Give your next trip a purpose
Open Community & friends → Goals from the lobby, or Menu → Quests, weekly events & feedback while playing. You will find species goals, expeditions, and weekly quests. Expand a goal to read its instructions before heading out.
Expeditions are ordered adventures: finish the current step before the next counts. Watch the in-game progress and retry instructions. Weekly quests change; the weekly deadline is Sunday at noon, America/Chicago.
Progress and rewards belong to the island where you earned them. Some rewards last only for that dinosaur's life. A host-enabled practice life cannot earn new achievements or completion rewards, even if the extra abilities are later turned off.
Leaving safely is part of surviving
- Find a quiet place away from danger.
- Open Menu and choose Lie down to log out.
- Wait for the rest requirement and use Save & quit when it becomes available.
- Next time, sign into the same island and continue your saved dinosaur.
Closing the tab is not instant safety. After a disconnect, your dinosaur remains vulnerable for one minute, then saves and leaves if alive. If it dies during that minute, that life ends. Reconnecting in time resumes the same life.
Opening Menu does not pause a shared island. Save & quit before a long break. Reloading returns you to the lobby; it does not make a new account.
When something feels wrong
The game is slow or hard to control
Open Menu → Graphics and try Performance. Close extra busy tabs. Check touch mode or mouse-look settings. If the mouse feels trapped, press Esc.
I cannot find my dinosaur
Check your username and island first. Each island has its own saved lives. A death ends that life; it does not erase your account. See Rooms & Accounts before creating a second account.
I found a bug or need help with another player
Use Playtest Feedback for bugs and ideas. Include your device, what you tried, what you expected, and what happened. Use Menu → Report player for a private moderation report. Never put passwords or personal contact details in public feedback.
This is an alpha playtest. Features, balance, and visuals will change. Thanks for helping a father-and-son team learn and improve.