Primal Carnage: Extinction News

[h3]A DECADE OF DINOSAUR ACTION[/h3]

October 2022 marks 10 years since the original Primal Carnage was officially released!



We here at Circle 5 have been stewards of the franchise for the last eight years. It's hard to believe we've been going this long - it's been quite a ride building Primal Carnage: Extinction into what it is today!



As a smaller indie team, we're incredibly proud of what we've been able to achieve. Nearly all of the current Primal Carnage developers are only able to work part-time, and you'd be able to count the live development crew on one hand since 2015... (we have a current team of five). Despite that, we have managed to pull off new game modes and even added new dinosaurs these last couple of years!



None of what we've done would have been possible without the support of our dedicated and incredibly creative community. We have worked hand in hand with fans, from the early years of Workshop right up to the present day, and continue to directly commission the best and brightest from the Primal Carnage community to help us create new content...



Players have become developers over time, the artists among you helping to design new character models, craft new animations, build new maps, imagine inventive skins, and draw up epic artwork.

Thankyou ALL for your support, we couldn't have done it without you!

Now, let's celebrate!




[h3]10 YEARS, 10 SALES[/h3]



The party's starting in-store NOW! Yes we're running a retro store sale every couple of days during October! Dozens upon dozens of classic looks are returning with limited-time discounts.



Each store rotation has its own little theme, from featured classes to mercenary memories, with the autumnal collection being a through-line that reappears. Check out the sales schedule below:

Tues 4th Oct --- Autumnal Revival Sale, Part 1

Thurs 6th Oct --- Featured Class Sale --- (Flyers)

Sat 8th Oct --- Mercenary Memories Sale --- (Humans)

Mon 10th Oct --- Featured Class Sale --- (Bruisers)

Wed 12th Oct --- Autumnal Revival Sale, Part 2

Fri 14th Oct --- Featured Class Sale --- (Raptors)

Sun 16th Oct --- Featured Class Sale --- (Tyrants)

Tues 18th Oct --- Autumnal Revival Sale, Part 3

Wed 20th Oct --- Featured Class Sale --- (Spitters)

Fri 21st Oct --- Autumnal Revival Sale, Part 4

Worried about missing featured items from the day before? Check the Specials tab!
All discounts will remain active until the Halloween update is live.



Additionally, we are now including a Paint Mixer Tool for applying dino skin changes when you buy a multi-pack of colours from the in-game store. Paint Mixers sold separately are now indefinitely discounted to $2.99. Look for more bundles and extra colours to pop up in future!


[h3]MERCH STORE MADNESS[/h3]



Keep an eye out for new additions to the Primal Carnage online store this month!

That's right, more merch is incoming! There are several new posters in the works, including a classic piece by veteran concept artist Trey Bishop...



These will appear over time as we near the franchise's 10th birthday, in addition to new shirts, mugs, stickers and more (including some of the runners-up in the recent merch design contest)!

But that's not all...

Receive 25% off your online order of posters, wearables or accessories by using the code Carnage10

*This special discount is limited to one use per customer and ends on November 4th!


[h3]Coming Soon: HALLOWEEN HORRORS[/h3]



The climax of our birthday celebrations is what you might call the "Halliversary" - our annual Halloween Horrors event starts around 0ctober 25th. That's barely four days before the launch date of the original Primal Carnage, which debuted just prior to Halloween 2012.

Expect a frighteningly good selection of horrific NEW looks, in addition to a sizable game update. Pyro is finally getting a new primary weapon this Halloween, and we have made significant improvements to dinosaur hit detection among other gameplay adjustments. Even more upgrades to core features will follow later with Update 3.0, though we can't give a date for that just yet.

Oh, and there will be freebies.

Certain codes may or may not be getting activated around Halloween, and we have a little box of goodies in the form of the 10th Anniversary Gift. That's a *personal* gift just for you. We hope you'll like it!


[h3]Coming Soon: CONSOLE EVOLUTION[/h3]



It's been a long road, but we are almost ready to officially announce the next phase for Primal Carnage on PlayStation platforms. The console side has been lingering in the dark ages for far too long, and we're working hard to make sure that it will have been worth the wait.

Right now our team is in the final stages of submitting a beta for certification on PS4, and with a little luck we will be revealing more details during our 10th anniversary celebrations this month.

Keep an eye on the official Discord and primalcarnage.com for more info!


[h3]HAPPY ANNIVERSARY![/h3]



Thanks again for being with us on this journey. We still have countless ideas for how to expand PCE and Primal Carnage in general, and hope you'll join us as we venture into the franchise's second decade.

Here's to many more years! -The Primal Carnage Team





Special thanks to community artists TerexTheMenace, BBQ and ChunkoHunko for creating these anniversary celebration doodles!

Although there is still a while until our next major update to Primal Carnage: Extinction, we have some news about what's coming up, and a collection of classic content returning. Check it out...


[h2]SENSATIONAL STORE EVENT![/h2]




Ssssserious savings can be found in-store for the month of September, with huge discounts on many classic items! We're focusing on the letter "S" as this month's theme, so of course there's a whole bunch of retro items returning for our favourite crocodile-snouted lizard.

We have half a dozen classic mutations for Spinosaurs, such as the sinister Synapsus and snappy Suchus, plus a collection of fan favourite skins for the big brute. It's not all about the sailback, though...





We've selected a large swathe of other skins and mutations to bring back! These range from the stompy Salmon Acro to the soaring Sand Swooper Ptera, with a sprinkling of Scientist items to top things off. In total, that's almost 50 classic items returning!


[h3]Summer Sendoff[/h3]



Meltdown is cooling off as of today. The old summer items are departing in order to make way for the September Spectacular. It's not over quite yet though! We gotta have an encore...



For the next few weeks, the featured items from Meltdown 2022 will still be hanging out in-store. If you didn't get around to picking up that one skin or mutation which caught your eye this summer, this is a last chance to grab it before they rotate out at the end of the month.


[h3]Merch Store Additions[/h3]



In case you missed it, the winners of the recent Merch Design Contest are now available on our shop! There are new shirts, posters and mugs emblazoned with the winning designs, with more on the way.


[h2]10th Anniversary Celebrations[/h2]


It still hasn't quite sunk in for us honestly, but the Primal Carnage franchise is nearly 10 years old!
As we get into October, we'll be ramping up celebrations to mark this momentous occasion...



Keep an eye out for a whole bunch of mega-sales, in addition to fresh new posters and more on the merch store. And this is all leading up to our annual Halloween Horrors festivities (coincidentally, the original Primal Carnage launched on Halloween...) which will be bigger than ever this year!



There has been a massive amount of incredibly creative and mildly terrifying submissions on Workshop, and we can't wait to bring this stuff in-game. There's a lot more than spooky skins coming up though!


[h2]VERSION 3.0[/h2]



With development being split between the refreshed console version and PC right now, we have to be careful about what's safe to port back and forth. This is a very busy time for us and will only get crazier as we enter a new beta period for the console side, but we're doing our best to continue supporting the Steam version.

Our hope is to have 3.0 out by the end of this year, with any luck sooner rather than later. This will be a massive update, featuring overhauls to fundamental systems such as dinosaur hit detection and movement. We've been spending a lot of time on polishing things and fixing numerous bugs for the console relaunch. Those changes will be included in the Steam version with the 3.0 update.



Open Testing is underway, verifying that issues such as being unable to pounce are fixed, checking overhauls to flight and a rework of the Pachy class currently (not to mention Pyro's new toy).

In fact the update may be so massive, that it may not come all at once. Maybe we'll have a 2.9.9 before we get to the truly massive overhauls. Either way, we'll have some serious improvements to the core experience in time for the franchise anniversary this October.



[h2]See You Soon.[/h2]

We hope you'll join us in celebrating 10 years of dinosaur themed mayhem!
-The Primal Carnage Team

A new game update is available for Primal Carnage: Extinction on Steam.
This update is the final phase of Meltdown 2022!

We conclude this summer's cavalcade of hot new looks with the first wave of Ultimate human skins and August's store rotation. Scroll on down for the highlights from Part 3, and view all of the new mutations, taunts, skins and more added over the course of the Meltdown event on Trello.


[h2]Featured Items[/h2]

Today's update brings the final set of Metldown items to the in-game store, adding on to the collections from Parts 1 & 2. Check them out below...

[h3]New Taunts[/h3]

Pyro "Fake" Thumbs Up Taunt



Pachy Dance Taunt



Pachy Yawn Taunt




[h3]Big Blazing Bundle 03[/h3]

A third bumper pack of dinosaur skins is now available!



Big Blazing Bundle 03 contains 8 sizzling new looks for several dinosaur classes at a bulk discount.


[h3]Summer Sunset Gift[/h3]



Reward up to 24 other players with special summer items by opening the Summer Sunset Gift in a server!



The gift giver receives the Black Hole Royal Dilo skin for their generosity...




[h2]NEW FREE DROPS[/h2]



We have a selection of new free items dropping from today, obtainable simply by playing the game...

[h3]Ultimate Centigrade Humans[/h3]

The first wave of Ultimate skins for humans has arrived.
With lava seemingly flowing through their veins, these mercs are really feeling the burn!



Each of the ultimate skins features unique textures and custom arm materials, and this is just the first collection. Similar to Ultimate dinosaur skins, we will be following up with Kilowatt humans later this year, with Cold Fusion and Thalassic following later on.

(Ultimate skins are obtainable either as ultra rare drops or by crafting 25 Legendary skins together)

[h3]More Freebies[/h3]

In addition to the newly introduced Ultimate human skins, there are a bunch of other free items added today. The DENTATIS Dilophosaurus mutation gives the dinosaur larger rounded crests and much more noticeable spiky teeth, and is among the new free drops...



Tortoisehell Feathered Acro and Nile Monitor Pachycephalosaurus head up the free skins today...



The Novaraptor Threaten Taunt is a new Uncommon drop...



3 new avatars / sprays are now dropping, including Annoyed Acro, Spino Rage and Primal Surprise..




Finally, several new weapon skins have also been added, such as the colour-changing RGB Netgun and the intricate Circuitry Burst Rifle.





[h2]PATCH NOTES[/h2]

As we've mentioned before, our programmers are currently occupied preparing for the relaunch of Primal on PlayStation. For that reason, most changes to the PC side will be fairly minor for now...


[h3]Version 2.9.5 Chaneglog[/h3]

• Heavy hit reactions for dinosaurs now play less often
  
• Tyrants now only play heavy hit reactions if instant hit damage received is 300 or more
  
  
• Added content for Meltdown Part 3
  
• Legendary human skins can now be crafted into Ultimate human skins
  
  
• Fixed laser sight alignment on red devil assault cannon
  
• Fixed glow map issue with Frost Fire Nova and Nightfall Oviraptor skins
  
• Fixed mismatched subsurface skin colour between head and body on a couple of Tyrannosaur skins
  
• Updated materials / textures for hornet scientist, hornet sniper rifle & catsuit scientist
  
• Tweaked 3rd person trapper sprint animation when using dual pistols
  
• Tweaked the Novaraptor sprint animation
  
  
• Various other texture and material updates
  
• Optimizations to shadowmaps
  

[h2]Join our official Discord...[/h2]

A new game update is available for Primal Carnage: Extinction on Steam!



This update introduces the second wave of Meltdown 2022 items, with dozens of new customizations available on the in-game store and as free drops. We have some other minor improvements here and there, but new looks are the star of the show.

Selected from the many amazing Steam Workshop submissions made by the Primal Carnage community, you can view all of the newest content on our freshly updated Special Event Trello...


Some of the highlights:
[h2]NEW STORE ROTATION[/h2]

[h3]Featured Items[/h3]

Today's update brings a fresh set of items to the Extinction Store!



There are 8 new dinosaur model mutations newly added this time round, ranging from the athletic Varanus Cerato to the knobbly Narmadensis Acro and hulking Frustrum Rex!



Take to the skies as Prodigis Tupa, which has a set of "feathers" (?!) on either side of its head, or grow some teeth with the oddly beaked Trimicrodon Ptera! All of these and more available now if you scroll down in-store...



Apart from all of the new taunts hitting the in-game store today, there are also three fresh new taunts in this rotation, with a real banger for the Pyro!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Sorry, punk rocker Pyro outfit sold separately.


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
It can backflip?! Where did it learn to backflip..?!


[h3]Big Blazing Bundle 02[/h3]

Want a great deal? A second bumper pack of dinosaur skins is available in-store today!



Big Blazing Bundle 02 is a pack that contains 8 scorching new looks for $8.99, including vivid skins for Bruisers and Tyrants, such as the bold Furore Carno and smouldering Wildfire Rex.

With so much new stuff, don't forget that all of the items that were added as part of Meltdown Part 1 and Summer Warmup are also still available on the store until the event is over!



[h2]NEW FREE ITEMS[/h2]

[h3]Feathered Novaraptor Upgrade[/h3]



Technically falls under this heading. We have another collaboration with community member and "honorary developer" Mr. Troodon. At long last, a custom model for feathered Novaraptors...



Featuring new 4K base textures and additional sculpted feather structures, this model and its overhauled texture set is now used by default when a feathered Nova skin is selected.



The update to feathered Novaraptors was designed with maximum compatibility in mind. To that end, the custom feathered model can be overridden by equipping a mutation, and there is a new default mutation, "Novaraptor Innatus," if you wish to apply the classic model when using a feathered skin.

Alignment with certain cosmetic attachments such as collars may not be 100% at the moment, so there might be some clipping or incorrect rotation when using attachments with the new feathered Nova model (depends on the item). We'll be doing a pass in a future update on cosmetic alignment in general, to fix some of the annoying offsets on a bunch of different characters.


[h2]New Drops[/h2]



We have a bunch of new free skins and extras dropping as of this update, obtainable simply by playing the game. Among the rarer items are new hats, aqua shackles and even two free mutations...


Above: Macronyx Oviraptor & Gracilus Pachy


In addition to character cosmetics, there are half a dozen new sprays now available and (nearly) all of the in-game sprays are now obtainable for use as player avatars. Spicy Rex seen below on the right also comes in Legendary flavour, with a fiery animated version!





[h2]PATCH NOTES[/h2]

We are currently focusing the majority of our time preparing for the relaunch of Primal on PlayStation, so most changes on the PC side will be fairly minor for now. The change log for today's patch is below:


[h3]Version 2.9.1[/h3]

• Added a custom model for feathered Novaraptor skins
  
• Added a new Novaraptor mutation to the default inventory, "Novaraptor Innatus"
  
• Fixed the Royal Acro eyes not glowing when equipping a collar
  
• Various other minor model fixes and compatibility updates
  
• Tweaked / fixed a number of small skin issues
  
• WIP optimizations to water shaders (may result in them appearing more wobbly than usual)
  

[h3]Arriving August:[/h3]
[h2]MELTDOWN PART 3[/h2]



Meltdown continues with its third and final phase in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for more mega deals and hot new looks headed your way soon...



Stay hydrated and have a great summer!
-The Primal Carnage Team



Join our official Discord...

Recently we opened the Official Primal Carnage Store, and simultaneously kicked off a community art contest focused on designs that could work well on merch such as T-shirts, mugs, posters, etc.

Today we're unveiling the winners of the art contest, but first let's visit the gallery to peruse all of the competition entries we received...

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

There was a nice variety of submissions, from full colour posters to sticker-style cutouts, in a whole bunch of different styles. As there was no specific theme other than something which might work well as merch, there's a wide range of subjects in the artwork too.


[h2]HONORABLE MENTIONS / RUNNERS UP[/h2]

It was difficult narrowing down the selection, keeping in mind both the requirements of assets that would be physically printed and considering the merits of each piece on its own terms. Here are a few that we really liked but didn't quite make the top spots...

"Airbase Poster" by ChunkoHunko

"Lightning Spino" by DiNoKiDz1441

"Water Spino" by Shockal

"Don't Fall Behind!" by Dead but delicious

"Summer Dilophosaurus" by Stardust Blur

"Fiery Novaraptor" by FeralViolet

"Serious Trapper" by Bad Plague


Some of these designs may yet become the basis of official merch in future, if we find time to work through some tweaks with their creators.





After much deliberation, we came up with the top three below. The following designs will appear on official merchandise in the Primal Carnage Store in future!


[h2]3RD PLACE -[/h2]
[h3]"You Are Spitacular" by BBQ [/h3]



This delightful piece made us smile, it'll be an excellent sticker. We love the colours and the art style in general (plus we're a sucker for puns). The expression on the cartoon Dilophosaur's face is just priceless.



[h2]2ND PLACE -[/h2]
[h3]"Primal Cornage" by jita23[/h3]




The in-joke that will just never die, we couldn't say no to a celebration of Primal Cornage - the world's greatest typo turned breakfast cereal. This is a great re-interpretation of the boxes that can be found as easter eggs in-game, with a nicely retro feeling vintage poster aesthetic.



[h2]1ST PLACE[/h2]
[h3]"For a Better Tomorrow" by Jacket [/h3]




Taking things to the next level, we have the first place design. The lighting and overall execution of this piece are top notch, with an ominous background glow and excellent use of masking to create a border that gives an impression of liquid. The vibe is a little darker than most of the other pieces and alludes to the concept of the dinosaurs being unnatural recreations of science.

It's going to make an epic T-shirt.


[h2]Prizes[/h2]



The three winning community artists will be receiving copies of their designs on products of their choosing, along with the other prizes mentioned in the Art Contest Announcement. We'll be reaching out via Discord to discuss the details soon.



[h2]Until Next Time...[/h2]

Thankyou to everyone who participated in the contest, it was lots of fun looking through all the artwork!

Even if you lost out, as mentioned above, there's still a chance some of those outside of the top three may yet be added to the official merchandise collection in future. We had a surplus of awesome entries honestly!

Looking ahead, we're definitely hoping to run more contests in future :)
If you want to get involved, be sure to join the official Discord server...