The number of dinos in the game seems to increase almost weekly.
This page asks a really crazy question. Can we find a formula to predict the number of dinos at any particular point in the game's history without actually opening the game or viewing the contents of the game files? The details will only be of interest to those few players who enjoy statistics, curve fitting data and working with computer files.
But hey - that's the kind of inquisitive person for whom TV-Uncut exists!
You are not afraid to get under the hood and ask the really interesting questions.
This would make a great educational activity for students.
Size Really Does Matter![]
It turns out that a formula can be found and it is based solely on the size in KB of the file DinoEvolution.xyz
So you see, size really does matter! Let's collect some raw data into the table below.
Note that Dino #55 is the Doppel-Ganger for the Black Water Lizard described elsewhere.
It is not a new dino, just a band-aid solution for the Invalid Dino Bug.
| Date | KB | Number of Dinos |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-03-04 | 7.54 | 55 |
| 2013-02-28 | 7.43 | 54 |
| 2013-02-20 | 7.32 | 53 |
| 2013-02-11 & 2013-02-08 | 7.20 | 52 |
| 2013-01-25 | 7.08 | 51 |
| 2013-01-22 | 6.97 | 50 |
| 2013-01-03 | 6.84 | 49 |
| 2012-12-28 | 6.83 | 49 |
| 2012-12-21 | 6.70 | 48 |
| 2012-12-18 | 6.59 |
47 |
You can already see by inspection, that each additional dino adds about 0.12 KB to the DinoEvolution file.
Let's plop these data points into Excel and find the best-fitting line.
Formula for # of Dinos[]
This produces the following best-fit formula for the number of Dinos.
Let x be the size of the DinoEvolution file in KB.
Then the number of Dinos N can be estimated at a glance using the formula:
N = a*x +b where a = 8.3388 and b = – 7.9886
This formula will be improved by adding data for the files further back in time.
The formula is clearer to interpret when cast in the form
N = a*(x-xo) where xo = 0.9580
This gives the equivalent (but clearer) formula:
Number of Dinos = 8.3388 * ( fileSize – 0.9580 )
So xo KBs are needed to store some basic unchanging information and each additional KB can store 8.3388 dinos on average.
Interpretation[]
It takes about 120 bytes for each new dino and about a constant 958 bytes for some other general information, that does not change as dinos are added. As a test of these two predictions we performed two experiments.
Starting with the March4th DinoEvolution file, we deleted all 55 dinos, leaving the json maessages not dealing with the individual dinos. This file contains three Json arrays containing data for the DinoEvolution:[stages 1-10] , the DinoSpecies:[] and RandomDinoPrice:[]
Removing all the 55 dinos inside DinoSpecies:[] leaves a text file of size 1194 bytes This ZeroDinos.xyz file should have size xo = 958 bytes which is very close given the computer grabs bytes in chunks.
A typical Json entry for a dino inside the DinoSpecies:[] looks like this:
{"eggImageFile": "unaysaurus_egg.png", "rarityGroupID": "shiny", "biomeID": "primordia", "species": "Unaysaurus"},
That's the 120 bytes we have identified that signal a new dino. We are not quite sure how the field rarityGroupID is used in the game.
As a second experiment we isolated the Json entrees for the last 10 dinos and saved in a plain text file. We expect their size would be 1200 Bytes, and indeed the file size is 1208.
These examples give a nice interpretation for the slope and intercept of the above best-fit line. The intercept holds the two Json arrays DinoEvolution:[stages 1-10] and RandomDinoPrice:[], while the slope charts the progress as dinos are added to the array DinoSpecies:[].
Challenge to Earn a Unique Badge[]
There exists a similar DinoNumber formula working with the much more massive files Dinosaurs.xyz
Can you find this formula? Earn a special badge if you can!
I will personally design this badge and post it on your User page. That may take a few days - so be patient please.