Herding guide

How to herd a flock in Sheepdog Sim

The flock follows a few simple rules. Once you know them, moving 200 sheep stops being a chase and becomes a question of where you stand. The numbers here are the game's own.

What a sheep pays attention to

• Its neighbors. A sheep senses others within 5 meters. It keeps some space from them, turns the way they are moving and stays with the group.
• The dog. Inside 8 meters of any dog, it runs directly away.
• The fence. It turns aside as it nears the fence, and the fence holds it in.

Left alone, the flock grazes and drifts. You can't lose a sheep, and one that has reached the pen stays there.

Stand on the far side

Sheep move away from you, so the line you want is dog, then flock, then gate. Get into that position before you press. If you are in the wrong place, circle around the flock with more than 8 meters to spare, so you don't push it the wrong way while you travel.

Steer by moving sideways behind the flock. A small step left or right changes which sheep feel you, and the rest follow their neighbors. Running through the middle does the opposite: sheep flee to both sides, and a large group breaks apart.

Use your speed for position

The dog runs at about twice a sheep's top speed and sprints at about three and a half times it. So you can always get ahead of a sheep. The question is whether you should. Speed is for getting into position. Pressing a flock is usually slower work.

• Sprint drains stamina fast. A full bar lasts about 3 seconds.
• Stamina comes back in 5 seconds while you keep moving, or 2.5 seconds standing still. After it runs out, release sprint and press it again.
• Walk at 4.5 meters per second by holding V, or push the stick part of the way. Sheep react the same at any speed, but they can outrun a walking dog, so they keep their distance.

Bark on purpose

A bark reaches 40 meters in a cone 60 degrees either side of where the dog faces, and 10 meters all around it. It pushes sheep partly the way you are facing and partly straight away from you. The push is strongest nearby and fades over a little more than a second.

Sheep within 6 meters of one you hit get a smaller startle a moment later, so a bark can spread through a tight group. It never pushes a sheep past its top speed. After a bark you wait 1.5 seconds for the next, and pressing during that wait does nothing.

That makes it a tool for stragglers and for nudging a group that has stalled. Face what you want to move, then bark once. Barking on every cooldown just scatters the flock.

Bring them through the gate

The gate is 8 meters wide, in the fence at the far end of the field. In the Classic camera it is straight up the screen. The opening is narrow against a whole flock, so get the sheep lined up in front of it before you push.

The gate helps you, under one condition. Within 30 meters of it, a sheep you are pressing from the far side is pulled toward the opening. That needs you within about 12 meters of the sheep, and on the side away from the gate. Get between the sheep and the gate and the pull switches off.

Flock size changes the job

Every size starts in the same circle, about 50 meters across, far wider than the 8 meters at which a sheep reacts to the dog. So no single position moves everyone, at any size. What changes is how the sheep group up.

• 25 sheep. Start here. They start scattered, alone or in small groups, so you can see single sheep react and you fetch a few at a time.
• 75 sheep. A main group forms, with smaller groups around it. Move the main group, then go back for the rest.
• 200 sheep. Nearly all of them start as one large group, which drifts apart into a few groups. Bring one to the gate, then go back for the next. It also asks the most of your device, so if movement is slow, try 25 sheep or Low quality in Settings.

Pick a camera

Classic looks down the field from a fixed angle, and up always means toward the gate. It shows the shape of the flock best, so it is a good place to start. Follow sits behind the dog and turns with it, and your controls turn with it too. Settings has a Follow camera turning option with Off, Gentle and Quick. Press C, gamepad Y or the Camera button to switch at any time.

Going for a time

Your time stops while the game is paused. Press T or the clock button to see it during a run. Each flock size keeps its own personal best on your device. The Times button on the title screen shows the online solo boards for 25, 75 and 200 sheep, all-time and by week.

How this compares with a real sheepdog

Shepherds talk about a sheep's flight zone, the distance at which it moves away, and the point of balance, the place a dog stands to turn the flock. The game uses the same idea in a simpler form, with one fixed distance for every sheep. Real sheep and real working dogs are far more varied than that, and a real handler has whistle commands where you have a stick. Still, standing on the far side and giving the flock room to turn holds in both.