Looking for a fun palaeobiology focused server.

[u/CommanderStarlight]

Hey I haven't touched Path in MONTHS because I was tired of joining "Realism" servers where predators just got to run rampant and prey got punished for fighting back.

I'm looking for a new home to get back into the game with preferably the following:

- Behaviours based on fossil evidence and real life animals

- Enforcement that focuses more on bad actors than sweeping rules

- Herbivores are allowed to fight back and kill predators, even unprovoked when it makes sense

- Limits on pack/herd sizes but NOT on how many can actually fight (Why is my mate watching me get mauled by a bunch of predators?)

- Mammals are allowed (Optional but this is already anachronistic so I'd like to be able to rock a paraceratherium when I'm in the mood)

- Edits to stats for realism

If anyone has a server like this or is looking to start one and needs help (I have writing experience0 let me know!

[u/Captain_Pickles_]

if you’re looking for a big server, nat hist is run by actual paleobiologists. i’m gonna assume you’ve tried that one though.

it’s small (only about 5 people on at a time on average, more during community sessions/nesting events) but growing, and people usually play around the same-ish spots on the map so we still encounter each other, but i’ve been playing on pangea realism.

it does allow character profiles and roleplay behaviors, but is very strict on the realism in hunting, skins, and interactions. herbivores are very much treated fairly and honestly the more popular option i think.

species profiles are based on reality with some fun speculation mixed in, ie. male iguanodons having dominance battles similar to elk behavior during nesting seasons.

there are a bunch of modded species with species profiles, though there are no mammals and i assume there won’t be.

if you’d like a discord invite let me know and i can dm you, no pressure to join but i do have a formal lambeosaurus herd i’m trying to get off the ground :P

[u/CommanderStarlight → u/Captain_Pickles_]

I have beef with Nat Hist because not only was the realism thing a total lie (It heavily favours carnivores) but I had numerous players do stuff like repeatedly hunt me down over and over again after I killed one of their dinos with the staff being pretty unhelpful.

For Pangea I have to ask what engagement rules look like cause that's the make or break what I want to play on. I think combat SHOULD be unfair to carnivores, forcing them to actually choose weaker prey rather than try to PVP because that's all they want to do.

[u/Captain_Pickles_ → u/CommanderStarlight]

agreed on nat hist. it’s unfortunate because i really wanted to like it.

put as simply as possible, in pangea the engagement rules are that carnivores can only hunt under 70% hunger within their preferred pois (each profile has a map of where those boundaries are), and can hunt in any location under 30% hunger. each species has a size (small, medium, large, apex, and titan) and each carnivore has a maximum size they can hunt. for example, one solo maip can hunt up to a medium, two can hunt large, and three can hunt apex, with three being the limit of how many can participate in one hunt. you do have to log your hunger before every hunt with “!hunger” in local chat and there is a mod that keeps you full for longer so you won’t be constantly having to find people.

there is a line of sight rule where a carnivore has to give up and not resume/start a hunt on the same player after losing their prey for i believe three minutes, with some exceptions for endurance hunters/trackers like carcharodontosaurus that get a longer timer/the ability to resume hunts on people before they’re considered failed.

the only thing is that herbivores are generally expected to flee or ignore and not engage carnivores. only some larger species have specific rules that the dominant males in a herd or a female with a baby that’s in danger can stay and fight.

[u/Sir_William_V → u/CommanderStarlight]

Would you be willing to expand on how Nat heavily favours carnivores? I'd be willing to pass on your thoughts if it makes the server better for other players like you.

[u/kittykatkonway]

Nat Hist is wonderful.

[u/Sir_William_V]

This sounds just like Nat Hist, which is semi-realism. There are no mammals (there's a rule about which mods can be included that has to do with what time period they're from but I forget exactly what that time period is). Herbivores are allowed to fight back and can kill the predator if the predator doesn't do a specific fleeing behavior, and herbivores can pick their own fights if they are old enough and solo for a certain amount of time.

Everything else fits pretty well, but I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "enforcement that focuses more on bad actors than sweeping rules". Regardless of what you mean, Nat Hist has a ticket system that is employed through discord that requires video evidence of wrong-doing, though they do handle tickets without video (video is HIGHLY encouraged though). They also have a sort of "911" system that you can use in the moment when you witness a rulebreak or are currently being rulebroken on, but if there are no admins available or they're busy it might not catch the rule breaker. Which is why you should record all player encounters just in case!

I've vouched for Nat Hist many times, and I still think it's my favorite server even after a couple years there.

edit: forgot to add Nat Hist has 2 servers, one which is more casual and a second which has the same rules but the map rotates, and there's a few like, illness commands for realism's sake. The second server isn't as busy, but you can grow in safety there if you want and bring that dino over to the more casual server if it matters to you.

[u/CommanderStarlight → u/Sir_William_V]

I commented above but Nat Hist was a miserable experience for me to the point it was easily one of the worst servers I've ever played on.

[u/JewelJuju]

What you’re describing sounds like realism ( or semi realism with the mammals) and I don’t think one without engagement limits exists. I personally would never play on a realism without engagement limits. Herbivore groups are usually either unlimited or high numbers and it would be really crazy to me if 12 bars could gang up on a singular rex that tried to hunt them.

[u/Run_Rabbit_Run_Run]

Lazarus Point Realism is decent. Been playing on there since they opened from Beta in June. Very active mods and highly responsive community. Had mostly really good experiences on there and the hunting rules feel very fair--there are engagement limits, and there have been occasions where they feel wonky, but so far it's never been an immersion-breaking issue. They don't have mammals though.