The Isle DevBlog #71: Entomb Save, migration rework, Austroraptor

The Isle's DevBlog #71 landed on August 1, 2026, with significant new details on survival systems, creature development, and upcoming testing. The headline items: a new Entomb Save feature, Migration System changes, and continued Austroraptor Horde Testing, alongside sound, skin, and animation updates.

Lead programmer Filipe says Entomb Save is a new feature that lets players store a character after entombing it in a special save "slot," allowing them to play a different animal without losing that character's progress. Using the same species as the entombed character will override it and lose the non-replicated animal — though the game warns first.

The director's commentary is direct about the limit: this is not an RPG or MMO logout-to-switch feature. Entomb Save only works through normal entombment, and the current creature's life must end through entombment or other means. Death is required.

The Migration System is being updated rather than replaced. Most of the system is changing in both code and player mechanics, keeping the good parts and dropping what hasn't worked. Migrations now move players on an individual level instead of a persistent species-wide migration that calls everyone to one location. Herbivores and omnivores still have specific diets not dictated by migration, but being inside their migration zone directly affects nutrition intake/conversion when eating food on their diet. Group members can share their leader's migration location rather than being forced apart by individual migrations. Patrol Zones are also part of the work, always meant to be more than just another food location. More details will be revealed after remaining exploits are fixed.

Elsewhere, Filipe has been working on security and bug fixes, and Footsteps VFX are moving from Cascade to Niagara — one master VFX that adapts scale and weight per animal instead of multiple effects per size and species.

Austroraptor continues through Horde Testing. QA lead hypno notes that new playables must be checked against balancing, object interaction and carrying, diets, abilities, mutations, animation, sound, VFX, edge cases, and crash risks on clients and servers. Austroraptor's new ability to jump from the water's surface has created entirely new interaction cases — for example, a Deinosuchus lunging at it mid-jump doesn't always grab it seamlessly.

Hill sliding is progressing well, but testing found players could still activate certain abilities while sliding, including resting and charged abilities like Tyrannosaurus crush. Those unintended interactions are being addressed before the feature reaches the live branch.

Audio work is closing in on Camarasaurus and Avaceratops call suites. Baryonyx's subadult sounds are complete, and preliminary Spinosaurus call work has begun, including recording and sourcing material for the starting sound palette.

Camarasaurus now has a finalized vocal set: Broadcast and Attract use soothing, song-like sounds; danger is a short siren-like bird wail with a deep grunt; threaten layers whale groans, processed prop and friction sources, and a crow call through viscous liquid; generic calls reuse the crow call with elephant purrs softening the tone. Avaceratops' threaten, broadcast, and generic calls are in final polish, with danger's initial design done and attract to follow. Reverb, delay, and spatialization work is also being prepped ahead of Camarasaurus' eventual introduction and will be evaluated across all creatures before implementation.

Artist Fred says legacy skins are returning, including Four-Eyed Triceratops and Python Omniraptor, alongside a set of "simpler" skins planned for each animal.

On animation, Avaceratops sparring is nearly wrapped, Parasaurolophus work continues, and Austroraptor can now jump out of water, turn more smoothly on the surface, and make more use of its killing claws. Triceratops is getting directional rear-defensive attacks, Diabloceratops attacks recover faster, and Oviraptor plus sliding animations are being revised. Next month's review list includes oviraptor, baryonyx, camarasaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, and avaceratops, with possible human animation work later. Spinosaurus is noted as the next playable after Parasaurolophus, with rig work underway.

QA has been restructured, and hypno is looking for voluntary QA testers in EU and AU timezones to test new characters and mechanics before they reach the Horde Testing branch. Applications go through the QA Applications form.