Population Distribution and Population Changes

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This chapter is part of our “the hunter call of the wild cheats” guide. The tool provides read-only save analysis and does not offer cheats or modify game data.

Feature Objective

• Examine the current species' structure by trophy rating, difficulty, score, and weight;
• Compare distributions for all animals, males, and females separately;
• Use two successful snapshots to inspect added and removed records;
• Establish a baseline for comparisons before and after the next hunt.

1. Open Population Analysis

1. Go to Map.
2. Select a reserve.
3. Select the target species.
4. Find Population Distribution and Recent Population Changes in the map intelligence area.

Both sections change with the current selection after you switch reserves or species.

2. View the Distribution by Trophy Rating

1. Select Trophy Rating in the population distribution.
2. Select All for sex.
3. Inspect the number of animals at each trophy tier.
4. Click a bar to inspect the detailed count and sex composition for that tier.
5. Click it again to deselect it.

Trophy ratings are estimated from the mapping thresholds for the current species and the save score. They are not equivalent to the actual finalized harvest result.

Recommended Uses

• Quickly examine the number of animals with high trophy potential;
• Compare the male and female structure;
• Recheck changes in trophy tiers after updating the mapping.

3. View the Distribution by Hunting Difficulty

1. Select Hunting Difficulty.
2. Select all, male, or female.
3. Inspect the counts in the different difficulty tiers.
4. Click a bar to read its detailed explanation.

Difficulty is estimated by the app. Animals with missing mappings may be assigned to an unknown tier.

4. View the Distribution by Score

1. Select Score.
2. The chart automatically creates bins across the current population's score range.
3. Click a score range to inspect its count.
4. Switch sex to compare the composition of high-score ranges.

Recommended Process: Identify High-Score Outliers

1. First inspect the score distribution for all animals;
2. Then switch to male;
3. Find the rightmost high-score range;
4. Select Score ↓ in Animal Records;
5. Open the first few records and verify their individual records and percentiles.

5. View the Distribution by Weight

1. Select Weight.
2. Inspect the automatically divided weight ranges.
3. Switch to male or female to prevent sex-based weight differences from interfering with interpretation.
4. Click the highest weight range to read its count.
5. Verify weight rank in the animal's individual record.

Weight distribution is useful for identifying large individuals, but cannot by itself confirm trophy rating or a Great One.

6. Switch the Sex Dimension

The top of Population Distribution provides:

• All;
• Male;
• Female.

Changing sex affects only the distribution chart. It does not automatically change the animal-record filter on the right. To inspect the corresponding records, select the same sex again in the Animal Records area.

7. Establish a Population-Change Baseline

Recent population changes are derived by comparing two successful reads.

Establish the First Baseline

1. Wait for the game to finish saving.
2. Click Refresh Now at the top of the desktop app.
3. Confirm that the refresh succeeds.
4. This data becomes the baseline for the next comparison.

On first use, “Waiting for the next save refresh” may appear. This is normal.

Produce the Next Comparison

1. Return to the game to hunt or play normally.
2. Wait for the game to save again.
3. Return to the desktop app and click Refresh Now.
4. Inspect the comparison time and counts under Recent Population Changes.

8. View Presumed Births and Deaths

Recent Population Changes provides three filters:

Each change may display its species, sex, score, weight, fur, and comparison time. Fur or classification information may be incomplete when the mapping does not cover it.

9. Understand “Presumed” Correctly

The app does not read the game's internal birth/death event log. It compares animal records from two snapshots.

Absent previously + present now = Presumed birth
Present previously + absent now = Presumed death

Consequently, these situations may also cause record differences:

• Switching to a save for another Steam ID;
• Restoring an old backup;
• A game update rebuilding the population file;
• Replacing save files;
• The two refreshes representing different reserve data states.

If a very large number of unusual changes appears, first check the save path and profile information at the top left. Do not immediately interpret every result as a normal birth or hunting death.

10. View Historical Storage

The desktop app stores population-comparison information in the local application-data directory:

%USERPROFILE%\.cotw-map-analyzer\population-changes.json

This file is not a game save. Deleting it removes the population-comparison history saved by the tool but does not affect the game.

11. Standard Before-and-After Hunt Comparison

Before the Hunt

1. Confirm the current save path;
2. Wait for the game to save;
3. Refresh manually;
4. Record the target species' total population, number of high-scoring animals, and target animal number;
5. If necessary, take a screenshot of the current distribution chart.

After the Hunt

1. Complete the harvest and wait for the game to save;
2. Refresh manually;
3. Inspect presumed deaths;
4. Verify species, sex, score, and fur;
5. Check whether any new presumed births appear;
6. Return to Animal Records and confirm the current population structure.

12. Handle Empty or Unusual Results

No Changes

• Confirm that both refreshes succeeded;
• Confirm that the game actually saved between the two refreshes;
• Confirm that you are viewing the correct reserve;
• The population may genuinely have remained unchanged during this period.

Unusually Large Number of Changes

• Check whether the save directory changed;
• Check whether a backup was restored;
• Check whether the game updated or reset the population;
• Establish a new baseline before comparing again.

Missing Classification or Fur

• Check the current mapping version;
• Import the latest trusted mapping package;
• Refresh again and inspect the new comparison results.