Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur
| “ | A hidden valley shrouded in snow, mist and an intense cold. | ” |
— Star Stable Online | ||
The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, also known informally as The Dino Valley, is an eternally snow-covered crater north of Valedale. The explorer Nic Stoneground and his team from the A.A.E. is currently on an expedition in the valley.
Pre-release
World of Horsecraft confirmed in an interview in 2012-12-18 that they were working on the area. In the update 2014-10-22, almost two years later, it was finally confirmed that the area would open later that same year. The release date was finally confirmed in 2014-11-14, and it was revealed that the area would open the following Wednesday (2014-11-19). Seven Swedish players got the opportunity to explore the area in advance.
History
In prologues made by Nic Stoneground, he tells the player about the history of the valley.
We know that an asteroid hit the bottom of the ocean approximately 22,000 years ago. It was then that the poor dinosaur creature that we see remnants of out on the ice was killed. The asteroid struck with such tremendous force that land mass rose up out of the earth's crust. The parts forced up above sea level is the island we today call Jorvik.
It's said that the land masses only consisted of lifeless rock and that life didn't come to the island until much later, which sounds rather logical. Everyone mixes in legends and myths about the origin of life on Jorvik, but this is where I share A.A.E.'s view that life came naturally and gradually to the island, even though I'm a big supporter of the Keepers of Aideen.
Well, anyway. We've never been able to drill down to the asteroid and have no real answer as to what it may have consisted of. We also don't know if it was smashed in the impact or whether it's lying there in one piece. All the Kallstone found around the crater could almost certainly be the materials left behind from the asteroid, but we don't know for sure.
The player also learns that the crater in the valley was completely filled with water, which created an enormous lake of ice in the cold. The water level later decreased, which created an enormous ice cave under the ice. After a winter storm in 1912, the ice collapsed, which contributed to the researchers in the area leaving the valley. Nic Stoneground refers to this event as 'The Great Collapse'.
The Great Collapse
The Winter of 1912 was a tough one.
The expedition in The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur were in full swing, but that winter was so harsh that they had to suspend their adventures due to snowstorms and heavy snowfall. The snow was thick and heavy and covered the crater's already delicate roof of ice. The reinforced ice-beams started to moan under the weight of the mass of snow that had fallen on the roof.
It became increasingly obvious that the roof wasn't going to be able to support the weight of all that snow for much longer, and the expeditions made the decision to evacuate the great hall of ice. Sadly, not every adventurer understood how serious the problem was and some didn't even get the message that they had to evacuate. They sounded the alarms, but they hadn't been used for a long time and didn't make a single sound because they'd filled up with ice.
In the end, the roof gave way with an almighty crash that was heard all the way to the Jorvik Stables and disappeared into the crater. The explorers left inside the crater never made it out...
That relentless winter continued and snow covered the valley again, making the path that led there totally unusable. No explorers dared to go there after news broke of The Great Collapse, and the valley was no longer an attractive target for exploration. In part, it was because it was much harder to get here, but in reality it was because people were too afraid of all the unstable ice after the collapse.
The valley was then all but forgotten, and has lay here untouched until now.
Climate
The climate in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur colder than the rest of Jorvik. The cold is so harsh that some horses used to be much slower when entering the area. A horse that couldn't withstand the cold of the valley didn't go faster than canter/collected gallop when a blue snowflake appeared on the player's screen. However, the performance of a cold tolerant horse would not be affected by the cold.
Horses that used to be cold tolerant were: Brinicle, Clydesdale, Dorcha, Erinys, Fawncy, Finnhorse, Fjord horse, Gotland Pony, Haflinger, Heidrun, Icelandic Horse, Irish Cob (Gen 3), Jorvik Friesian, Jorvik Wild Horse, North Swedish horse, Pepita, Petra, Rune Runner, Solas and the Woodear.
As of 2021-05-19, the cold tolerance attribute has been removed from the game. The player will not suffer a speed reduction regardless of the breed of the horse they bring into the valley. Star Stable Online explained the decision like this; "We want all of your horses to explore Dino Valley at full capacity, instead of punishing them for not having cold-tolerant coats".
Additionally, it is not possible to ride in the water in the Valley, because it is too cold. If the player rides down in the water they will be sent back up on land again with a warning text.
Quests
The player will have to complete over 200 quests to get to the area. To be able to enter in to the valley the player has to be at level 15 and have they reputation level "Liked" with Valedale. The player must have met Nic Stoneground in the Everwind Fields and finished the quests with him.
When the player is far enough in the game, Elizabeth Sunbeam will ask them to go and check if the snow has melted, and if it's possible to go through the entrance to the valley. The player discovers that the entrance is open, and Elizabeth sends the player to explore the valley. They will find an elevator which is broken and race down the mountain road to an empty area with a shed. The player has to fix the elevator, and after fixing it, bring Elizabeth to the valley. There she will use her Soul Rider powers to open the road which is covered by snow.
After opening up the road, the player will have to ride to an area called Nic Stoneground's camp, and help him set up the camp. They will also meet the Kallters and get to search for dinosaur fossils.
Before the player had access the area, they had to help Nic Stoneground in the Everwind fields with his hot air balloon, which takes him into to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur.
Races
Trivia
- The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur appeared on the map in the update 2014-11-12, and the area was released 2014-11-19.
- It's the first large area in Star Stable Online that does not have a home stable or a village.
- After completing a mission with Elsa Einstein in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaurs, where the player must repair Nic Stoneground's broken hot air balloon. When repaired, the player can use the hot air balloon as transportation.
- There is a secret quest, where you have to find a frozen veterinarian, bring her to the camp and thaw her. Many players call this vet the Frozen Lady. This quest is found in the Valley of Frozen Mist.
- Despite being called 'The Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur', the 'dinosaur' skeleton more closely resembles the skeleton of a marine reptile from either Mosasauridae or Pliosauroidea, neither group being classed as dinosaurs.