Vivariums (or vivaria) are enclosures which are used to contain animals which cannot be accommodated in a normal exhibit, for reasons of either size, complex ontogeny or complex locomotion.
Before Update 16, these were known as Mini-Exhibits, with only the Mini-Aviary being available, only for Archaeopteryx and Microraptor.
There are three types of vivarium: Terrestrial, Arboreal and Amphibious. Each comes in four sizes: Box (4×4×4=64m3), Small (4×8×4=128m3), Medium (8×12×6=576m3) and Large (12×16×8=1536m3). Vivarium animals are largely similar to enclosure animals, being bred from nurseries, having individual variation and needing food. However, they are more simple in other aspects; for one, they do not move freely but use spline-based locomotion. Each animal sits on a spline, though it can switch between splines at certain intersections or when the player moves away, and stop or play an idle animation at any point. This is a partial change from the previous plan to have them free-roam, which was deemed too ambitious. In addition, vivarium animals have simplified needs and no ontogeny.
Vivariums are highly customizable. Though the player retains the ability to decorate them as they please with modular building, there is also the option to quickly add a seed-based distribution of plants and rocks, as well as various interactive enrichment items. A vivarium's walls and ceiling can be set to glass, mesh, cladding and façade styles, but can also be turned off (the 'null' option) in order to allow the player to place multiple instances together, create custom shells or to integrate them into environments or proper exhibits.
The addition of vivariums allowed the game's developers to add species that are too small (e.g. Diictodon) or locomote in too strange a way (Titanoboa) to play nice with the normal navigation system, or animals for whom the ontogeny system would not work due to e.g. larval stages (Diplocaulus).
Vivarium Types[]
Terrestrial[]
Description[]
Terrestrial vivariums house species suited to spending the majority of their time on the ground. When some animals like Peltephilus are added to a Terrestrial Vivarium, burrows will also appear.
Animals[]
| Species | Per Box | Per Small | Per Medium | Per Large |
| Compsognathus | - | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| Diictodon | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 |
| Mononykus | - | - | 3 | 6 |
| Peltephilus | - | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Simosuchus | - | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Titanoboa | - | - | - | 1 |
Images[]
Arboreal[]
Description[]
Arboreal vivariums are suited to species who spend most of their time above the ground, in the trees and skies.
Animals[]
| Species | Per Box | Per Small | Per Medium | Per Large |
| Archaeopteryx | 2 | 6 | 12 | 24 |
| Microraptor | 2 | 6 | 12 | 24 |
| Yi | 4 | 12 | 24 | 32 |
Images[]
Amphibious[]
Description[]
Amphibious vivariums house animals suited to spending time both on land and in the water.
Animals[]
| Species | Per Box | Per Small | Per Medium | Per Large |
| Diplocaulus | - | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| Sahonachelys | 4 | 9 | 14 | 24 |
| Tiktaalik | - | - | - | 4 |
Images[]
Trivia[]
- The Mini-Aviary was first confirmed during the Early Access announcement trailer instead of in any devlog.
- The reveal of the Mini-Aviary was a major surprise for the fanbase, as "Special Exhibits" was a previously unmet goal during the Kickstarter, leading many to believe that they would never end up seeing the light of day.
- Yi qi was originally planned for Early Access' starting roster, but was shelved until the Vivarium overhaul.
- The Amphibious Vivarium's water uses newer, prettier visuals that will be extended to water painted onto the terrain in a future update.
- The developers hope to add yet more functionality to vivariums in the future, like simple breeding mechanics and arboreal climbing. It's also been teased that more vivarium animals will be added at the end of the Early Access period (Updates 17-19).