We could have called Hyaenodon a "good doggy", however that would be incorrect for several reasons. He still is cool with gnawing on your bones, though.
A freeware, stand-alone mod for the 1999 Carnivores series created by Ophious (with some help from Poharex and the dedicated community), Far North expands upon the canon established by the original trilogy and adds an entirely new region to the alien planet of FMM UV-32 with its own unique animals and challenges. If you're a fan of the series or just looking for a hunting simulator with a unique twist (Cenozoic animals instead of Mesozoic), it's well worth your spare time.
Due to the author of the mod being very busy with real life work and Poharex retiring from the Carnivores modding community for his personal reasons (which also leaves Mandibles (2017) incomplete), progress on this video game mod is quite slow.
This game provides examples of:
- Acrofatic: Several of the huntable animals can run quite fast despite their portly appearance. Standout examples include Diprotodon, Chalicotherium and Megatherium. Singular exception is the Arsinoitherium, which barely moves due to being a large ambient using the Brachiosaurus AI from Carnivores 2.
- Anachronism Stew: In series' tradition, this game lumps together multiple species from a long range of geological time in a common setting that relies on a theme (in this case, polar north and cold) instead of paleontological accuracy. Carnivores: Far North has mammals and birds from almost the entire Cenozoic era, plus a few Mesozoic reptiles and birds. Justified, since the series takes place on an extraterrestrial planet instead.
- Art Evolution: As Ophious' modding skills improve and his ideas about everything ingame change, the animals' designs and models also change. As just one example, here are the changes of his Dinocrocuta
. - Artistic License – Paleontology: Plenty of animals have some artistic license in their designs, handwaved by multiple reasons: they aren't real Earth animals but aliens on a distant planet, having evolved adaptations to survive in the cold, being inspired by vintage paleoart, retro stylized graphics and so on. See their entries on the characters page above for more details.
- Creepy Hairless Animal: The Daeodon and the DLC Andrewsarchus are portrayed as lacking hair, instead they survive the cold by having a reserve of blubber fat under their skin. Coincidentally, they are close relatives and they share this anatomical trait with their closest living relatives- hippos and cetaceans.
- Crossover: Granted with file modification you can place any custom animal in any game (regardless if it clashes with that game's theme), however Ophious has allowed other people to include their creations in this game. They are not considered part of the game's "canon" per se, however users have created many Cenozoic animal mods then included them in Far North. Among the most important are prehistoric species from long abandoned mods like Carnivores: Outposts and Carnivores: Grazenlands.
- Cruel Elephant: Platybelodon is a DLC animal which shall gladly chase you down and kill you quickly upon seeing you. Other users have also created a Deinotherium and Mastodon mod.
- Demoted to Extra: The mammals are this region's most prominent animal type, with a few birds thrown in for good measure. There are only 2 non-avian dinosaurs (one of which is DLC) and 1 ambient pterosaur. Enforced, since the author wants to make a game focusing on Cenozoic fauna instead and Far North is the only mod which follows Carnivores: Ice Age's theme of (mostly) having no Mesozoic or Paleozoic animals.
- Denser and Wackier: The ingame text in the original version was barely serious at all, containing multiple jokes written by Ophious. When the other fans complained, the humor was dialed back in Version 2.1. That said however, there are still a few jokes remaining scattered here and there.
"Yep, what a hilarious name. If you don't get it, we don't blame you. A moraine is the trail of a glacier, and since this area is just the floodplain carved by a glacier... You know what? You get the point. Funny joke. Haha. Nobody cares about your freshman Earth Science class, Jerry.
—The ingame description of Moraine Domain (the first playable area).
"The undisputed King of the Far North. Actually not really, but Marketing says what Marketing says. While being a ferocious killer, the Far North is extremely competitive, so comparatively it's not especially considered "apex," at least not yet. Other sectors have an unmistakable, top dog, but we've yet to find one. Either something big is lying in wait, or this is just another ****** arctic tour.'
—The ingame description of Yutyrannus.
- DLC: Like all Carnivores mods, this game features multiple additional species made by the modders which you can download and place in your game. However, you first have to replace a pre-existing species in the game's data files (just make sure to have a backup of the original files placed somewhere).
- Doofy Dodo: A dodo bird is made as DLC addon by Poharex himself, it's about as threating as the regular dodos in ARK: Survival Evolved.
- Excuse Plot: Adhering to the spirit of the original Carnivores games, the plot is the same, only with the additional part of DinoHunt discovering and opening the Arctic Sector to its clients about a decade after opening additional areas for Carnivores 2, Ice Age, Triassic and Mandibles.
- Feathered Fiend: The Brontornis terror bird and the Yutyrannus. Avarted with the Moa bird and the Ichthyornis, both of which are harmless ambients.
- Final Boss: Averted, the closest animal to this is the Yutyrannus however
Word of God says it won't be the ultimate huntable animal. The secret species' identity remains unknown currently, however if you feel the urge to have one, just download the Dry Nodus Lake Wendigo mod and be prepared to get scared of this abomination. - Full-Boar Action: Daeodon, the so-called "terminator pig from Hell", is a powerful carnivorous animal. That said however, it would be more accurate to call it an example of Angry, Angry Hippos, given that entelodonts are close relatives of hippos.
- Fun with Acronyms: The Short-Range Shotgun is called the "M.O.A." shotgun, after the ambient bird species.
- Game Mod: Carnivores Far North was built on the Carnivores 2 engine. Fortunately, you don't need the original game to play!
- The Goomba: Macrauchenia and Diprotodon are both cheap plus relatively simple and easy to hunt. Mind you, the former can run away very fast, while the latter can accidentally trample you when running.
- Grim Up North: Carnivores: Far North takes place on FMM-UV 32's north pole, with the Arctic Sector being an exceptionally hostile natural environment for all creatures (regardless if they are mammals or not).
- Heinous Hyena: Subverted with the Hyaenodon, which despite its name isn't related to hyenas at all. The actual prehistoric hyena species Dinocrocuta is a DLC addon however, it replaces the Hyaenodon.
- Lightning Bruiser: The Yutyrannus can quickly run up towards you as soon as it detects you and it runs in a zig-zag pattern, making it harder to accurately shoot. And of course, it has a crapton of health.
- Mammoths Mean Ice Age: Defied actually, mammoths and saber-toothed cats don't appear in this mod. While Ophious has made a Platybelodon, with a Deinotherium and Mastodon mods also created by other users; all these extinct proboscidean are DLC. Hilariously, this gets lampshaded in one of the weapons' descriptions.
"Earlier versions of this design were dubbed the imposing "Mammoth Gun," evoking its superior firepower to the popular weapons on Earth used for poaching African Elephants. However, since there are no proper mammoths on the Far North tour, Hiemal Heater was dubbed by the Thesaurus Department.
—The ingame description of Hiemal Heater sniper rifle.
- Mascot Mook: The Hyaenodon has been chosen as the posterboy for the game, as it appears on the main menu screen. Which is odd seeing as it's a Canon Foreigner taken from the mobile ports of Carnivores: Ice Age.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Like Anachronism Stew above, it's a staple of the Carnivores game series to have multiple animals from several geographic regions in Earth's prehistory inhabiting the same area. Justified since it doesn't take place on our planet but an alien world instead. Carnivores: Far North just for example has Macrauchenia (South America), Ichthyornis (North America), Leptictidium (Europe), Arsinoitherium (Africa), Diprotodon (Australia) and Yutyrannus (East Asia) living together in the same ingame location.
- More Dakka: The "Kalashnitherium" automatic submachine gun has continuous firing rate. Because of this, it quickly depletes the health of even the strongest enemies however it also chews up ammunition very quickly.
-
Nintendo Hard: The animals in this game are considerably harder to kill than in the official trilogy due to the more advanced AI, increased health and the lack of instant-death weak spots. - North Is Cold, South Is Hot: Another enforced trope, with the first map being located on the south border with the temperate regions. It's a taiga forest on the bottom half of Moraine Domain, while the upper half is an icy glacier. Beyond that is the planet's Artic Sector and north pole which is even colder.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Defied, all the animals get called by their scientific name ingame. The moa bird is called such on this website, however in the game proper it's referred to as Dinornis. Granted, there is one fictional species of animal in the game- the pterosaur "Aurora" (there is an actual species of pterosaur in real life called Aurorazhdarcho, however the Far North "Aurora" is based after Tapejara instead).
- Palette Swap: The ambient Ichthyornis is a recolor of the Archaeopteryx from Carnivores: Ice Age, while the Aurora (ficitonal species of pterosaur) is a recolor of the Tapejara from Carnivores: Cityscape. The latter one defies (like all pterosaurs in this game series) the usual Terror-dactyl stereotype of acting like a bird of prey.
- Patchwork Map: The first (and so far only available/functional) map is 1/3 coniferous taiga forest, 1/3 tundra swamp and 1/3 arctic polar ice. The maps in this mod are stated to be more complex than the mainline series.
- Perpetual Beta: The game's development began in 2016, as of 2024 it still remains in Beta Version 2.1.
- Platform Hell: The forest part of Moraine Domain has a canyon with steep walls. If you fall inside, you are permanently stuck. Likewise, the iceberg part of the map has multiple trenches and cliffs where the player can easily fall into with little or no way out. Assuming they don't use debug mode cheats, of course.
- Raptor Attack: The Cryolophosaurus DLC serves the same gameplay purpose as the Velociraptor and Allosaurus from Carnivores 2 (the latter is mentioned here because it's inaccurately depicted as a dromaeosaurid).
- Rhino Rampage: Averted with the ambient Arsinoitherium, in more ways than one. It's a harmless Gentle Giant which spends its time foraging while swimming and it's not related to rhinos despite its physical appearance.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: The Amphicyon (bear-dog) is a small harmless ambient which resembles a puppy dog that even makes adorable barking sounds. It's cuteness is to the point that killing even just one will make you seem like a psychopathic heartless monster. Also, the Leptictidium is another small cute mammal.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: Castoroides is a DLC species of giant beaver which is depicted as an omnivore that will eat any players which anger it. And by the way, it will chase after you by swimming.
- Ruder and Cruder: The ingame text in the original version was barely formal at all, containing multiple profanities written by Ophious. When the other fans complained, the vulgar language was dialed back in Version 2.1. That said however, there are still a few cuss words remaining scattered here and there.
"Despite the name, they're not actually related to hyenas. What more of a description do you want, you can see the picture right there. Just don't pet the damn thing and you'll be fine. Probably.
—The ingame description of Hyaenodon.
"Colloquially called a "Hell Pig", Daeodon and its evolutionary constituents are not actually related to pigs very much at all. Infact, they're more related to other big and blubbery animals like whales, hippos, and your mother.
—The ingame description of Daeodon.
- Scenery Porn: All of the maps in Carnivores Far North are highly-acclaimed in the Carnivores modding community. Each map is unique and stands out from the rest, especially when compared to the relatively monotonous maps of Carnivores 2 and Ice Age.
- Shout-Out: A few noticeable examples.
- The animal roster is mostly made up of species appearing in Ice Age, Ludia's Jurassic Park mobile app tie-ins, Walking with Beasts and Zoo Tycoon. There are some exceptions, like the ambient Moa bird.
- The ambient Leptictidium has the same coloration as the one from Jimmy Neutron, which in turn got inspired by the one in BBC's Walking with… series.
- The Castoroides DLC animal internally is called '"Bobr" and "Bober", after the Polish swearing beaver meme.
- The "Halestorm" DLC shotgun resembles the "Panic Attack" gun from Team Fortress 2.
- Shown Their Work: A handful of the animals get more scientifically accurate designs.
- The Yutyrannus is covered in feathers, being the only large theropod 100% confirmed to have plumage.
- The Andrewsarchus DLC looks more like a carnivorous entelodont or hippo with a long tail instead of the outdated wolf/civet design based on mesonychids. While the only remains we have of this mammal is the upper half of a singular skull (therefore any reconstruction is based on speculation), isotope analysis reveals that it's closest relatives are hippos, cetaceans and entelodonts.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: With the game taking place in FMM UV-32's Arctic Sector, this is a given. The first map is a partial exception, as it's located on the border between the planet's temperate regions and the north pole.
- Sluggish Sloths: Subverted, the Megatherium is actually quite fast moving.
- Sorting Algorithm of Weapon Effectiveness: The game has (in order from weakest to strongest) a revolver, a Sawed-Off Shotgun, a Desert Eagle pistol, a Short-Range Shotgun, a submachine gun, a sniper rifle and lastly a crossbow. There's also the "Halestorm" DLC shotgun, which is better than the other 2 types of shotguns available.
- Spiritual Successor: To both Carnivores: Triassic, Mandibles and the original trilogy (particularly Ice Age).
- Standard FPS Guns: Averted. While the official trilogy gave its weapons generic names, all weapons in Far North are named after specific models.
- Stone Wall: The DLC Glyptodon is very slow and has a short range of attack, but has alot of health. Because of its movement speed being supbar, it's also an example of Mighty Glacier. Granted, because the player is a One-Hit-Point Wonder, they will instantly die from touching anything (the only nonlethal thing is falling from high places).
- Strong Flesh, Weak Steel: All of the top-tier predators can take quite a bit of punishment before they die.
- Super-Persistent Predator: Par of the course for this game series. Barring the ambients and 2 starter animals, every species will chase you to the ends of the map as soon as they detect you with little getting in their way.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Most of the animals in this mod are gameplay counterparts of the animals in Carnivores 2 because they share the same AI slots.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: The penultimate (currently the final one, as the proper last animal hasn't been implemented yet) huntable species is Yutyrannus. This large feathered theropod isn't invulnerable like its more famous cousin, but it still is nonetheless extremely dangerous.
