S.G.S Basics: Featured Gun Dogs
- Jul 26, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
Bird hunting simulation without a gun dog feels incomplete. From the moment I confirmed that the flushed bird mechanics—for Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcock—were working as intended in the prototype, I naturally turned to the next essential element on my backlog: the pointer. Later, when the prototype expanded to include other species and destinations—like driven pheasants—the Labrador Retriever became an obvious addition to support that classic hunt scenario.
In the Small Game Seasons (S.G.S) prototype, the two featured dogs are available only at select destinations. The German Shorthaired Pointer is used at the Bois-Mulé Wildlife Reserve for Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock, while the Labrador Retriever appears exclusively in the driven pheasant destination at Brakenwood Glades Estate. Both can be enabled or disabled in the simulation settings of each of these locations.
German Shorthaired Pointer
I’ll admit—I initially hoped to use a Brittany Spaniel as the pointer breed. While I’ve never owned one, I’ve always had a soft spot for that dog. But as with many features in S.G.S, I had to adapt the concept to the assets commercially available for Unreal Engine.
No suitable Brittany Spaniel model with proper animations was available at the time. However, I did find a German Shorthaired Pointer asset pack, which—despite its modest quality—allowed me to begin exploring the core pointing mechanics.
I focused on function over form, knowing I could eventually replace the visuals with better assets. The goal was to simulate basic but functional pointing behavior, including a simplified beeper collar system.
Pointer Behavior in the Prototype
The player can command the dog to "Find the birds", initiating a hunting pattern:
It searches the area in front of the player—aligned with the viewing direction—within a range set in the simulation settings.
The direction is based on where the player is looking, to keep interaction simple.
While searching, the collar emits a double intermittent beep.
When scent is detected (via UE's perception system):
The pointer begins sniffing the ground and moves toward the estimated bird location.
The collar emits a stuttering beep to indicate tracking.
Upon locating the bird:
The dog stops and enters a pointing position.
A visual marker appears above the dog (if this option is enabled).
The HUD dog tracker shows a red icon marked 'P' for 'Pointing' with a distance readout.
The collar switches to a series of long beeps.
The pointer will also respond to a Fetch command to retrieve the closest dropped bird.
Labrador Retriever
In contrast to the Pointer, the Labrador Retriever benefits from a higher-quality model and animation kit. The asset package I integrated offers smoother interactions and greater visual fidelity, which helped create a more polished in-game retriever experience.
Labradors are synonymous with classic driven pheasant shoots, making them an obvious choice for Brakenwood Glades Estate in the prototype. Their calm demeanor and skill in retrieving make them ideal companions for this type of controlled hunt.
Retriever Behavior in the Prototype
The Labrador stays near the hunter by default, unlike the roaming Pointer.
On command, it retrieves fallen pheasants in order of proximity to the player.
Supports classic commands like “Fetch,” “Go,” and “Dead Bird,” as well as basic ones like “Heel,” “Sit,” and “Come.”
Dogs vs. Hunter Interaction
Both dogs can be tracked using an icon on the HUD, which moves laterally to indicate the dog’s position relative to the player. The icon includes distance info and updates dynamically. When the pointer is on point, the icon changes accordingly.
Using keyboard shortcuts (Shift + 1, 2, 3, etc.), the player can give classic commands to their dog:
For the Pointer: Heel, Find the bird, Stay, Whoa, Dead bird, etc.
For the Labrador: Commands include Fetch, Go, Dead bird, along with Heel, Sit, and Come.
If the dogs go out of range, a whistle command can bring it back (Shift + 0).
Birds are retrieved from the dog's mouth with the E key (the same used to collect birds directly from the ground), and the dog is automatically praised afterward.
Dogs vs. Water Interaction
At this stage of the prototype, neither dog currently features true swimming or buoyancy-based behavior.
The German Shorthaired Pointer, used at Bois-Mulé Wildlife Reserve, can traverse water surfaces such as lakes and streams using a basic animation-based technique that gives the impression of swimming—without involving any dynamic buoyancy simulation.
As for the Labrador Retriever, its current destination at Brakenwood Glades Estate does not include significant water elements, so no swimming behavior has been implemented yet.
However, because Labradors are strong water retrievers, a more advanced swimming system may be considered if the prototype expands to include scenarios like a waterfall hunt or flooded timber environment.
Conclusion
In the S.G.S prototype, these dogs were implemented to showcase the fundamental mechanics of pointing and retrieving in bird hunting.
As mentioned in the Beyond the POC section of this website, the vision for a full game would take dog interaction much further:
More breed choices,
Training and reward systems affecting performance,
Gear customization such as collars and GPS trackers,
And deeper simulation of the bond between hunter and dog.
References & Guidelines
Disclaimer: The following resources, links, and references are shared for context and inspiration. They are unrelated to the S.G.S prototype, which is entirely fictional and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representing any real organizations, brands, or publications.