Trike vs. Stego: Why did they end up where they are?

[[KR-X] Tarbtano]

Now I know accuracy isn't a focus of the game. Creative freedom and development to make stuff fun and challenging is an obvious and perfectly reasonable goal. However there is one arrangement of species that always kinda confused me.

Why is it the Triceratops is the low tier herbivore and the Stegosaurus the mid-tier one, and why is the latter much bigger than the former? Why wasn't it the other way around?

To give a bit of information here, I'll give you the generalist size for both animals.

Triceratops prorsus
-7.9 to 9.3 meters long (about 25-31 feet)
-average of 9 tonnes though some estimates go up to 12t

Stegosaurus stenops
-7.3 to 9 meters long (about 24-29 feet)
-average of about 2-3 tonnes, with very large individuals getting up to 4

While the length may seem comparable, this is a bit scewed since Stegosaurus has a preportionally much longer tail. It's core body and head were much smaller, as reflected in the mass. On average, Triceratops weighed as little as twice and as much as four or five times as much as Stegosaurus. And arguably, it was much better armed. Yes, Stegosaurus had its thagomizer tail spikes; but Triceratop had sheer bulk, a facial shield, and functional horns. And I do mean functional as we have evidence on both Tyrannosaurus rex and other Triceratops these horns were used in combat beyond just display or intimidation*.

So honestly I'm kinda confused. How did the bigger, arguably more famous, and for lack of better terms "More easily made into a badass" dinosaur end up lower on the totem pole than the other? In-game the Triceratops is both smaller and outclassed by the Stego in every regard but speed. Eh?



*study awhile back on Ceratopsians found that the two families in the ground likely used their horns for different reasons. Centrosauriane, which have very large nasal horns, likely used the for display chiefly. Conversely, those in Chasmosauriane, like Triceratops, used them for physical confrontation as well as display.

[Spacedoge[C]]

The stego has a wider area of damage, can gather more berry than the trike. This is why it's mid-tier. They make lots of differences in game. Dilo's have never been proven to spit it was totally creative choice made by Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park novel. The game is sci-fi fantasy not simulator.

The dossier says that stegos are used by tribes to transport goods between their armour plates. I think they wanted stego to have more weight and more armour and it just fits with the dossier and I guess the lore they want to make. It would be intersting maybe to see it the other way around though sure.