So this actually makes a nice transition to a new topic. If we were to get a Planet Zoo 2, what would it need to have for you consider its worth it? Doesn’t have to be one thing, it can be a list.
Fall DLC 2023 Speculation
- Thread starter Leaf Productions
- Start date
The game is just still not complete for me. It’s not even a case of adding animals it needs more gameplay mechanics. It needs new gameplay elements like zoo tycoon two challenges to keep your zoo, feeling alive, animal personalities/ variation, and it needs more diversity in the type of habitats so you can build (aviaries, aquariums etc) and I’m pretty sure this will not come until we get an eventual sequel, which is, of course, disappointing, but planet zoo has had a great run and once support does end which I hope won’t be until next year, I am going to go into the mods and explore what is available there and keep this game going for years and years to come.
- most (if not all) of the game's present roster. Like many have said, I don't want to re pay for animals.
- Smaller mammals (chinchilla, naked mole rat, Spiny Rat etc...)
- Birds
- Greater variety in exhibit animals
- Individual personalities
- Take care of animals mode (optional)
- More variation in animals
- Animal editor (you choose the color morph and size and pattern for example)
Mine:
- The most important one for me, keeper mode. To have the option to actually play as the staff would make a huge addition.
- All Animals from base game to sequel. I know there’s a 200 animal limit but I believe they’ll find a way around it.
- Advanced Weather Options. Mainly regarding the suns position. We need to be able to move the sun wherever we want.
- Exhibit Overhaul. New Sized Exhibits, More Exhibit animals, More WTE animals, WTE birds, and more custom design options.
- To add to the Exhibits, tanks. Fully Aquatics aren’t on my list because I know the controversy people will have when we get things like whales and dolphins. However I see no reason why we can’t get things like Jellyfish, Fish, Octopus, Eels, etc. Just fill the exhibits with water and label them as tanks. These animals would still have looped animations.
- 5-10 New Animals in the base game. Like JWE2 they didn’t focus too much on adding more land animals, they mainly focused on new features. Same thing here. A few new mammals get added serve as a nice refresher.
- Smaller features. Elevators, Animal Ambassadors, Classrooms, Tree top Trekking Attraction, More Animal Enrichment, Guest Animal Interactions, stuff like that to improve the game.
- Netting System; Either incorporating it into the barrier system or making a variety of pieces, or even making templates of mesh frames to use, or all 3. There needs to be an easier way to make netting enclosures, not just for birds but for things like big cats and other animals.
- Seasons. To add to the weather system, I don’t expect trees to change colour cause that’s ridiculous but it would be nice to see some signs of seasons, especially guests dressing appropriately in the winter.
- More Attractions; Ziplines, Carousel are the two big ones for me. Imagine being able to build an orangutans habitat and a zip line going through it.
- And finally the big one, free flying birds. Birds would obviously need to be the selling point of a sequel. I don’t think this would be through the WTE though, they would do actual free flying or at least complex point to point flying for habitat birds. This would need to be where all of the new creature slots would need to go.
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One thing?! ONE THING please I need a list of things before I even consider planet zoo 2.
- All original planet zoo animals included, dlcs should focus on what isn't in the first game to make it stand out
- Improved optimisation for large zoos
- New lighting , including the ability for hiding light indoors for nocturnal houses
- Overhaul to the pathing system, top of the list would be one way paths and zoo exits separate from entrances
- Functioning car parking lots with guest spanners attached
- Free flying birds within the same function of habitat animals, new aviary system to stop birds escaping
- True diving mechanics like animals jumping from rocks into water
- Aquatic only animals like manatees
- Impressive selection of birds both free flying ones and habitat ground birds
- American flamingo
- Exhibit overhaul to allow smaller animals be displayed in actual small boxes
- Integrated mod support or at least an animal creator toolkit
- Mesh nets - automated mesh roof placement
- Flexicolor options for almost all scenery pieces
- Musk ox
- Vastly improved simulation and management of running a zoo.
- Zoo keeper mode would be cool
- Kid playgrounds and other interactive items for guests to interact with to enhance the feel of a zoo , can't forget about a Carousel
- Curved roof pieces in different sizes so we can actually make round roofs
- Overhaul to guest pathfinding and animal priorities
- Staff paths tag to apply to normal paths
- Squirrel Monkey
- Multiple sign designs for every animal, again a toolkit that allows this would be fantastic
- Flowing water to create real waterfalls
- An actual realistic looking gondola and monorail. I guess it was too hard to port the planet coaster ones over.
- Bus tours and trams to transport guests long distances
- Staff carts for faster movement
- True herd and grazing for ungulates, probably include animal personalities here aswell.
- Distressing behaviours such as pacing and boredom
- Simulated Social media presence ingame to promote your zoo since you know its 2023. Include enhanced protester effects for bad zoos
- True seasons and timescale so it snows in December not August and last for the appropriate time.
- Changing color of foliage for seasons aswell
Am i asking for too much? Yeah probably
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- Covered displays - this replaces the walkthrough exhibit. While they can be walkthrough, it is not a prerequisite and does not spawn with a path running through it. This is primarily for the use of birds and current walkthrough species (butterflies, bats and two-toed sloths), but would also work for smaller mammals. Like the standard exhibits, these can have multiple different biome designs such as a forest, desert or aquatic display. Multiple covered displays can be connected to make larger displays, and the perimeter can be changed to any different fence design or removed altogether so that the animals could appear to be being displayed in a larger area.
- Terrariums - this replaces the standard exhibit. They include new sizes and shapes, the ability to stack them, the ability to replace the glass with null barriers and also includes an exhibit editor similar to the diorama feature. Also, an increase in diversity of exhibit species would be excellent, especially if some of the impossible species were replaced with ones actually able to be kept in captivity (titan beetles with an Old World stag beetle and goliath frog with mountain chicken frog). This display type would also include aquaria, with the base game having a variety of Indo-Pacific reef fish and subsequent habitats and species coming with DLC.
- Make certain species interchangable between display types - iguanas, for example, could be in either a habitat, covered display or smaller exhibit.
- Some covered display birds should be in the base game - even if it were just size and colour variations on a single parrot model, you could get three or four macaw species, a golden conure, an Old World parakeet, a lorikeet and an Australian parrot. A couple of these (one for parrots and the other, say, for owls) would be ideal for the base game. Other birds could then be added with DLC.
- Include at least a couple of fully aquatic animals in the base game, with further ones able to be added with DLC - it would be great to get some of the larger fish that are kept in moats or outdoor ponds in zoos, such as carp, sturgeon or (in tropical zoos) arapaima.
- Animal personalities - add a small set of four personalities (relaxed, curious, timid and assertive) which can each affect how an individual animal is displayed. Relaxed is the base personality, with each of the others having their own benefits and drawbacks. So, for example, an assertive animal is not suitable for mixed-species displays or walkthrough enclosures but has increased fertility, while a curious animal has lower shyness but is less suitable for reintroduction.
- Animal training - Goes hand-in-hand with personalities. Different kinds of training walls can be put up, depending on the species, and keepers then do basic training with the animals. Training animals can boost their happiness, move their personalities towards being more relaxed and reduces the need for animals to be removed to the vet centre when they suffer a minor injury.
- Reintroduction updates - The current Planet Zoo reintroductions are a lot like in Zoo Tycoon 2; simply press a button and off they go. I'd much rather more work be required to reintroduce animals to the wild, including the potential for a reintroduction to fail (this can be switched off in the sandbox mode).
- Nutrition customisation - I mentioned this in another thread earlier today, but having a new set of food buildings, a nutritionist staff member and an animal diet editor would be an excellent management addition. You have to source the right food and in the editor you could decide what each species eats, by adding foodstuffs and adjusting its quantity with a sliding scale. Get it right and you have the happiest and healthiest animals that are more than happy to breed; get it wrong and your animals can become extremely sick. There would be options to breed your own food insects and harvest browse from certain plants within the zoo. Bonus points if, in challenge mode, you receive a rescue animal that has been fed the wrong diet in its previous home and you have to get it back to the peak of health.
- First-person mode - Would enable you to walk around your own zoo, interact with your animals and allow you to check sightlines from the visitor's perspective.
- Increasing time scale - Now that the animals have more of a personality, I think that the sequel should have a longer time scale - I think making an in-game year around one real-world hour in length would be a good idea. That would mean that a hypothetical Tasmanian devil would have go from birth to death in 8 hours, rather than under 2.5 hours. It would also make the breeding of long-lived and slow-breeding species like elephants and orangutans feel like more of an achievement.
1. Animal personalities and interspecies interactions.
2. Guest / animals interactions - what zoo tycoon Xbox version had would be more than enough.
3. Keeper mode and buggy rides
4. Tracking released/traded/exchanged animals - species coordinator mode/functionality
5. Ability to collect poo and growing crops for herbivores to lower the maintenance costs
6. It should be really harder to obtain rare species like giant panda or Koala and then their ratings should be even higher.
7. Flying birds and fully aquatics.
8. More predesigned elements in habitats section.
9. Hotel and in-habitat lodges functionality - way to earn extra money.
10. More variants/subspecies of giraffes, zebras, tigers, leopards, bears, lions and so on.
Well it won’t sound original but here goes:
- Actually making subspecies distinguishable (or choosing actually distinguishable subs): I don’t oppose the idea of subs if it is done right. Like I don’t despise zt1s decision to include two tiger subs (the wolves are okay too but having the grey wolf still be grey wolf after adding two subs is a bit off.) However I have a problem if chosen subspecies are indistinguishable from one and another by looks and habitat type. I am looking at you HBB. I don’t even care about the “it’s rare in captivity” argument, that does not bother me about the HBB anymore. But the HBB should have at least look like it’s real life counterpart if it was going to take up what is going to be a limited roster.
- Do not have standalone subspecies: I know Frontier LOVES subspecies as seen in the ZT xbox games. But a stand alone subspecies makes no sense if we are going to have just one sib for a species. I am specifically talking about the West African lion and the Formosan black bear. I do sort of understand that a CR species may have been chosen for the lion to justify having ridiculous prices for what is otherwise a common zoo animal. But unless a species will get represented with multiple subs making it subspecific is unnecessary.
- Please do not DLC-lock “essential” animals: when the game first got out I didn’t get it due to personal circumstances along with my hesitancy to spend money. I was not happy to learn that what is basically a game that filled a hole left by Zoo Tycoon to not have “basic” animals such as kangaroos, polar bears, jaguars, and etc.. This pushed me further from buying the game for the longest time. DLCs, in my opinion, should be a neat optional addition to those who can afford it, not a necessity for everyone. Other than “essential” animals, there are also some species people do not want to pay extra for such as the raccoon which if the species is “basic” enough then why not have it in the base game as well?
- You got a license for that?: Licensing and paperwork are a very real (and tedious) part of zoo management. Players playing campaign and franchise (on hard mode) could have some extra challenges by having to pay for licenses to have permission to obtain or give away certain animals: dangerous animals, endangered animals, invasive animals, or any combination of them. The more permits you have the more they take away from your budget.
- Realistic terraria sizes: we shouldn’t have to use up space that could take over a restroom to house a few tarantulas or dart frogs. Speaking of terrariums…
- Go big or go home: I always thought that the terrariums opened a Pandora’s box. There is so much species kept in terrariums in real life making the number of them available in PZ feel like it will never be enough. So either we get an actually good amount of terraria species (I don’t even care about clones) or get what feels like a incomplete roster of terraria species.
- Plushies: it still baffles me how we still don’t have a plush gift shop in PZ.
- A better Australian and South American representation: I wouldn’t expect this from the base game but PZ 2 should definitely offer a good amount of animals (including birds) from these regions rather than giving players a limited choice when they want to make exhibits based on those regions.
More creativity and customization with exhibits. Modular, build your own type perhaps, or types that are different sizes, for both regular and walk through exhibits. Also different shapes, at least rounded exhibits. I could probably do with out other shapes if we just got a circular exhibit along with the squares/rectangles.
Birds and marine animals. I said I wouldn't want to move on to PZ just because of birds, but I know I would regardless. Though I might not be on it from the start. I'd definitely take advantage of sales because I am really happy with the PZ mammal roster. But I also feel strongly that a flying system should be done with PZ2 immediately, like with the base game.
Marine animals I don't really care so much if we don't get them in PZ, but would want them for a future game. If that's Planet Aquarium that's fine and I don't need them added to PZ2, but if there's no Planet Aquarium, then I'd certainly want them incorporated in PZ2.
A better global representation of the roster. I don't expect to get every DLC animal from PZ into base game PZ2, that's just unrealistic. Where would they go from there for putting out DLC? But there also shouldn't be a situation in the base like there was in PZ, with Oceania getting a single habitat animal and South American only having two. Africa and Asia would likely be the main focus and I don't have an issue with that, but it should be scaled back slightly to make room for the other 4 mainly habitable continents. What's essential will vary from person to person, but getting things like the King/Emperor Penguin, Kangaroo, Jaguar, Cougar, Moose, African Rhino, Emu and Meerkats, and possibly even the Sea Lion, Capybara, Ibex, Polar Bear, Reindeer, Leopard Przwalski's Horse and Koala. There's still plenty of other popular animals to choose from while taking 8 to 16 animals and putting them in the base game. That's along with all of the many very basic animals that Planet Zoo did include (Elephant, Giraffe, Lion etc)
Cohesive signs and statues. Every animal, or at least habitat animal, get a sign and a statue in a "basic" theme. If there's other signs and scenery that would be devoted to other animals in different themes that's fine, but there needs to be one set of a cohesive look. That's not just base game, that's the DLC habitat animals as well.
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The game is going to end, sure, but this zoo game has more lifespan than many others. Zoo Tycoon 1 only had 2 years of support: 2001-2003. Zoo Tycoon 2: 2004-2008 (If we count this year due they didnt release anything except the bundle of ultimate collection). Wildlife Park 1 only had one year of support. Wildlife Park 2 got more due the expansions but I wasand Im still not a fan why made separatable executables for expansion packs for game, the same happened to me with age of empires and many rts games. Planet Zoo is going to be 4 years, we got many stuff, yeah I preffered some animals and I still have hope for tazzies, kiwis, secretary birds, shoebills, lets wait till next year and enjoy this 4th year!
Fun question! Any of the below would make a sequel feel "fresh" to me. And TBH, I think implementing a lot of these would satisfy both builders and people calling out for more management.
- Scaling and texture swapping! Pretty self-explanatory.
- Improved exhibit system with different sizes (smaller and bigger than the one in-game presently; some being wider/shorter and others being taller and wider) and more freedom as far as customization is concerned. Add an "exhibit design mode." In this mode, the pieces would show you what parts the animals would be able to "pop-up" and move around in. It would also be centered/focused on smaller builds so your build would look "bigger" than it might appear in the zoo and you would have access to smaller pieces. Oh! And similar to the WTE these new exhibit boxes could have the glass turned on/off.
- Flighted birds and an aviary building system.
- Small mammals in exhibits. With the new exhibit design mode the way exhibits work in general would also be upgraded making it viable to have certain small mammals within exhibits (e.g., mice, gerbils, tamarins). Enrichment specific to these critters would also be added.
- Individual animal "personalities." Each individual animal would have a personality type and some specific "quirks" that would lead to welfare bonuses (and special animations) if accommodated. For example, an animal might like a specific type of enrichment item (and these would get used more frequently than the others). Or an animal who is a "ham" or whatever might play in front of guests more. Nothing too complicated.
- Fish! Able to be placed in exhibits and fairly limited as far as species go, but I would want them to be ones that are common in zoos. The new exhibit approach here would be pretty critical as you could turn off the glass, etc. for implied mixed habitats with other animals.
- Ambassador animals. Along with the new personalities, if an animal is born in your zoo you would be able to designate it as an "ambassador" animal that could be trained for certain activities (more mini-management) such as going for walks on-leash around the zoo, participating in animal shows, etc.
- Shooting in-game social media videos. A fun little mini-game where you try to capture videos of your animals, caption them, and post them online. Obviously this could be exported for actual social media videos.
- Revised approach to staff buildings. Remove the Trade Center and Quarantine buildings and instead allow these functions to be carried out by the vet (which would be re-named to "veterinary clinic"). The Research Center would also be removed and its function carried out by the Workshop and another new building - Administration!
- The Administration building would be modular with the ability to add a number of different "offices" (e.g., marketing, social media, conservation, fundraising, security, guest services, etc.) each with different functions and bonuses.
- An Animal Education/Classroom building that would allow for increased guest experiences, animal meet-ups, etc.
- Another new "staff" building would be "backstage shelters" that double as keeper huts for individual exhibits and provide animals with indoor shelter. This would be required for animals in certain climates (e.g., polar bears in tropical climates, tortoises in temperate climates).
- Improved lighting including the ability to move the sun wherever you'd like and to adjust the brightness/range of lights.
- More editable signs, billboards, and font pieces.
- Ability to add custom fonts
- Flexicolor paths
- Ability to trade animals with other players/zoos. It would be really fun (and promote community) if players could create "Associations" (similar to the "Guild" concept in other games) and work together on certain challenges.
- Scenarios centered on "zoos throughout the years." Basically, a new challenge mode where you start with an old school zoo/menagerie and you have to upgrade the habitats/exhibits over the years. So you start with concrete and bars with relatively small sized enclosures and have to adapt the zoo as time progresses. This would also mean the base game build sets are a little different because of the pieces you'd need for the different scenarios.
- Elevators
- More shop options! Increased stand offerings (e.g., pretzels, popcorn) and ability to customize/re-name all restaurant menu items. A gift shop and restaurant build set would also be included so people could include plushies, mugs, posters, and so on for gift shops, and add things like soda machines, coffee makers, fridges, etc.
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To be honest, basically I would at least need everything the current game has.
I would want the following:
- Proper guest/keeper mode - we can already do a 1st person node, but I'd love for it to be expanding and allow us to do things like open gates, clean animals, clean poop, feed animals, heal them, etc.
- Animal territories - I'd love it if certain species will establish territories in their enclosure. And also, maybe the interspecies enrichment means that they can tolerate those animals, but other animals not listed they won't. For example, let's say that the red river hog lives in the bottom right area of their enclosure, near the water source. The gorillas live in the top right, but sometimes venture with the hogs. The hogs are ok with them. But say that you have some bongos in the habitat in the left side; they will actively avoid the highs and gorillas and not set foot in their territory, and vice versa
- Modular exhibits - I'd love it where we can combine exhibits together, similar to how they work in JWE2. The more we have connected, the more animals we can fit inside
- Animal personalities - I'd love for different animals to have traits that can be like personalities. Maybe tiger A loves to sleep while tiger B prefers to swim, so they'll each be performing actions related to those traits. Tiger A prefers more shelter while tiger B wants more clean water
Although this has nothing to do with the topic of the fall dlc speculation, I would answer your question too: an Eurasian brown bear
What would I need to buy PZ2?
- Most DLC animals in base game. I understand if maybe the racoon or babirusa get left off, but no way am I paying twice for polar bears and kangaroos.
- Better challenge mode with actual interesting challenges like "four diseases gibbons have arrived at your zoo. You cannot release them. Time to build a habitat" rather than the current blah "adopt an animal" goals.
- Scenerio editor
- Better paths
- Exhibiy overhaul
- Saiga
whatever it takes to get to those 200 pages lol
I mean I was joking
I said slight relevance though, probably the last 10 pages has nothing to do with the thread topic.
What.Don't worry, this thread will blows up to 200 pages when both new update and DLC are announced
New update = more people commenting how disappointed they are about how new world monkeys didn't make it yet again
Or no birds again