The Isle Evrima — Dev Diary #68: new dinos, biomes and hill slides (May 2026)

Dev Diary #68 — where Evrima stands

Afterthought released Developer Diary #68 on May 4, 2026. It's the most complete progress update since the start of the year for Evrima, the modern branch of The Isle — the one we run on our community server. On the menu: three species moving toward playable, a rework of all the island's biomes, a new slope-movement system, and continued work on the Dome.

Three species in the works — Kentrosaurus, Austroraptor, Oviraptor

• Kentrosaurus: a defensive stance that reflects part of the damage back to attackers hitting its spikes, a stability gain and a weight boost to avoid being free-pinned.
• Austroraptor: planned for HordeTest, lighter and more fragile than Omniraptor, able to spearfish, swim and hunt fish underwater, with a basic pounce and latch.
• Oviraptor: a small opportunistic omnivore, mostly herbivorous, with an egg-thief mechanic — it scents other species' active nests, and parents can recover stolen eggs.

On the flying side, Pteranodon gets ground and aerial adjustments to become a real threat to small animals, and Quetzalcoatlus is in development with dedicated animations. The sound team, meanwhile, is finishing Avaceratops, Camarasaurus and Parasaurolophus.

Hill slides and the Elder system

The most structural change in the diary is 'hill slides'. Animals now lose momentum going uphill and slide down slopes that are too steep. In practice, it closes off some abusive vertical escape routes and forces players to read the terrain better — a detail that will change quite a few duels and hunts on our server.

The Elder system is also adjusted to extend the period during which a dino reaches its peak physical condition. This rewards long survivals a bit more, without making old individuals untouchable.

The whole island reworked — jungles, redwoods, mangroves

Afterthought announces a full island revision: forests, jungles, redwood groves and mangroves were reworked to better differentiate the feel of each area. Mangroves become full semi-aquatic environments, and redwoods are confirmed as a permanent fixture of the map.

Small fauna is also expanded with minor AI creatures — rats, lizards, snails, insects — that serve as small snacks and bring more life to the environments. Nothing spectacular, but it strengthens the ecosystem players move through.

The Dome progresses, the skin system evolves

The Dome — Evrima's large interior structure — has its exterior shell nearly complete, with four main entrances and side paths (pipes, service rooms) designed to let the largest creatures through while offering route alternatives. The skin system gains new color options and palette blends, with customizable eyes arriving after the testing phase.

What it changes for our server

For our community, two things really matter in this diary: hill slides, which will rebalance escapes and ambushes on terrain we know by heart, and the gradual arrival of Austroraptor and Oviraptor, which open different playstyles (fishing, egg theft) for players bored with the current roster. We'll watch closely as these species move through HordeTest before reaching official servers.