Planet Zoo: Oceania Pack and Free Update 1.15 Out Now! 🐧

[zizzle8383]

That's just cultural ignorance. The grouping of east-asian names feels right to you as an outsider, that's used to the region "feeling asian" as you said.

So take that perspective, and see that to the Frontier developers in the UK all Oceanian cultures are equally far away from there and "feel right" lumped together.

I for one would love them to add proper maori name catalogue, but I also think it's not as big an issue as is being made of it. It's not like animals actually care for which human culture destroyed their habitat.

Again, I'm tired, so do forgive me, I realised quite soon after I said it how dumb/ignorant that was.

Per your "Not as big an issue part" that also boils down to cultural ignorance in my eyes. Kiwi are such a large part of both NZ's Pakeha and Maori culture, You have to understand how it makes us feel. Imagine something of your culture being FINALLY after all this time put into a large game, and then they butcher it like that by making it so that it only has names from another country, (said country being our rivals but that isn't really the gripe). Even in the few Zoos in America that were graced with permission to have kiwi gifted to them named them after Maori words or even famous Maori Figures.

We are VERY protective of our native species, if anything is even SLIGHTLY wrong, (say... I dunno, the whole zoo miami situation) we'll be on their butts, thats just how it is, and while this isnt as important, it is still, just... very wanted. (for lack of better wording, again, tired).

I guess when it really comes to it, we kiwis finally get recognition, but it isn't the full extent of what was truly needed. Maori is such an underappreciated culture that literally anything, even them just adding it to the language pool, would go miles (er, kilometres?)



Overall, I also think it's important for folks to not speak for other cultures, or say something isnt needed. It is up to us to speak out and people just going "it isn't that important" do not understand how important culture is to people.


PS (not tryna be rude myself), your final comment is very... snarky and comes off as rude. Sure Pakeha in the past destroyed plenty of Kiwi habitats, but we're really trying to counter that. Conservation is such an important thing to kiwis of all races, so for someone to say that all we did is destroy their habitat is a bit of a kick in the b.u.t.t? yknow?

 

[zizzle8383]

All i'm asking for is what Aramar said, just being added to the pool would be really appreciated by all in the New Zealand-Planzoo community.

 

[NZFanatic]

I think that what some people are trying to say is that Frontier can add Maori names to the Oceanian pool of names, but then we can get a dingo with a maori name and a kiwi with an Australian name because the names are assigned to the animals in base of their continent, not their region, and this is happening with all other cultures too.

If that's how it has to be, then it's better than nothing at all, and adding more names to the pool statistically reduces the odds of inappropriate names being used. There should be a range of names for the Oceania pool now that we have more than just Australian animals.

 

[hudsonbear]

I actually love the new smaller map. The giant ones are always a bit daunting with all that empty space - unless you have a computer made by NASA you've got no chance of filling it.

Frontier, just a quick note to let you know there's a bug with guests saying they've been inside the viewing domes when they haven't. See screencap attached. This guest has just entered the zoo but as you can see the dome she's talking about is miles away - she hadn't been anywhere near it when this capture was taken.

 

[zizzle8383]

I hate it because I suck at scale, for some reason I feel the default maps are too small even though I never use like 1/2 of it, autistic brain :C

 

[NZFanatic]

I actually love the new smaller map. The giant ones are always a bit daunting with all that empty space - unless you have a computer made by NASA you've got no chance of filling it.

I hate feeling boxed in when I'm building. I never use even half the map I'd say, but I prefer to know I can if I need to, instead of having a great idea but nowhere to put it.

 

[hudsonbear]

I hate feeling boxed in when I'm building. I never use even half the map I'd say, but I prefer to know I can if I need to, instead of having a great idea but nowhere to put it.

I know what you mean. I just get a touch of "blank canvas syndrome" sometimes faced with this huge empty map. It's nice to have the option of smaller maps and larger ones.

 

[Chuditch]

I think that what some people are trying to say is that Frontier can add Maori names to the Oceanian pool of names, but then we can get a dingo with a maori name and a kiwi with an Australian name because the names are assigned to the animals in base of their continent, not their region, and this is happening with all other cultures too.

Are we sure that the naming pool is tied to the continent tags? From what I can remember in regards to Australian animals, there’s one pool used by animals like the kangaroo, cassowary and Tasmanian devil that uses Aboriginal Australian names and another including animals like the koala and dingo that use more Anglicised names.

Of course the optimal thing would be to get a new set of Maori names, but if that’s not possible I think the best option would be to make it so the kiwi takes names from the Anglicised pool instead, given while the indigenous cultures of Australia and New Zealand couldn’t be more different, the immigrant populations are a lot more similar. Just a potential workaround that would make their names less jarring.

(and I acknowledge this is an issue for a lot of animals besides just the kiwi, I’m just adding my input here)

 

[Aramar]

Are we sure that the naming pool is tied to the continent tags?

Being honest, I don't know. I just tried to make a summary of what people were saying because I had the feeling that there was some misunderstanding and there was some tension in the air.

Personally I don't pay attention to the automatic names of the animals and Frontier has given us the option to rename all of them, so I'm happy. Imagine the chaos in Europe with all the languages we have here. I'm Spain, red foxes are given certain names, but in Finland they are given other names, and in Greece they will get other names, and in Russia more different names... and don't forget that names for red foxes in Japanese zoos will be very different, as well as in Canadian zoos, which will be different from USA zoos...

Sometimes trying that the game gives culturally accurate names for all the animals is impossible, although for some animals with small range is easier than for other animals.

In any case, since this is the Oceania pack launch thread, I don't want to derail the thread and I'm just saying that I support the petition to add more Maori names to the pool of names by default of the game.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I want a world where i can look at the red foxes and have their names generated as Nobunaga, Washington, James and Arthur, thank you

 

[yoav_r]

PS (not tryna be rude myself), your final comment is very... snarky and comes off as rude. Sure Pakeha in the past destroyed plenty of Kiwi habitats, but we're really trying to counter that. Conservation is such an important thing to kiwis of all races, so for someone to say that all we did is destroy their habitat is a bit of a kick in the b.u.t.t? yknow?

My comment was not aimed specifically at Maori culture. Anywhere outside of east africa where humans arrived they decimated the local ecosystem, especially on islands and the continents not part of Afroeurasia.

My point is that I don't have much sympathy for honouring "native" human cultures in relation to native fauna, as humans are only truly native to africa, and everywhere else our arrival spelt doom for the local ecosystem.

Just for New Zealand specifically, dozens of local species, including the famous Moa, were hunted to extinction before europeans ever set foot in New Zealand. There is something very cynical about announcing the surviving species as belonging to this new culture that decimated the ecosystem they belong to, especially as recently as it happened in NZ.

So yeah while I support adding maori names, I just don't have that much care for connecting animals and the human cultures that hapoen to be surrounding them.

 

[DarthQuell]

I personally could see it. I actually wished that we'd get different name pools depending on where our zoo is located. Like, for example, we get American, native American, Spanish, and Aztec/Mayan names in North America, we get Australian and Maori in Oceania, we get Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Italian in Europe, etc.

So, instead of the animal getting a name pools, it's the location that gets it

 

[yoav_r]

So, instead of the animal getting a name pools, it's the location that gets it

This is brilliant

 

[markun]

Of course there are important principles of cultural sensitivity, linguistic appropriateness and so on but the key fact here is that we can change the names of the animals ourselves.

Another point to bear in mind is that there are a number of voices opposed to the practice of naming individual animals and see it as anthropomorphising and causing problems when an animal needs to be euthanised or moves on.

On the other it can be argued that the sense of connection the public has with individual animals is an important part of building relationships between zoos, their visitors (especially regulars) and the wider community.

 

[DarthQuell]

On the other it can be argued that the sense of connection the public has with individual animals is an important part of building relationships between zoos, their visitors (especially regulars) and the wider community.

I'd also say that if guests can connect with an animal, it can help towards its conservation. They'd wanna see that animal and then try to learn about it

 

[DarthQuell]

I do have a question for name pools, though.

I once jokingly put my name (Lucas. There, I said it. That's my name) as the name of an animal, and since then I've seen my name in the name pool, but not before. Is this just a crazy coincidence or did my name get added to the name pool?

 

[Cocolori]

I do have a question for name pools, though.

I once jokingly put my name (Lucas. There, I said it. That's my name) as the name of an animal, and since then I've seen my name in the name pool, but not before. Is this just a crazy coincidence or did my name get added to the name pool?

I'm afraid it is a coincidence - I think I just had a King Penguin named Lucas. This feature would be good although I guess it would get annoying if you were naming certain animals very specific names. Question for any in the modding community though - are there mods out there currently to expand the list of names? I guess it is more complicated than just adding them to a file somewhere?

 

[markun]

The rock wall blocks work quite well as path borders if you sink them into the ground.

 

[NachoB]

The rock wall blocks work quite well as path borders if you sink them into the ground.

View attachment 368190
View attachment 368191

That looks so good!

Also i just placed the viewing domes in my giant otter exhibit and i'm so so so happy with them. They are so cool! I love that we got a camera mode as well.

 

[Milurian]

Are we sure that the naming pool is tied to the continent tags? From what I can remember in regards to Australian animals, there’s one pool used by animals like the kangaroo, cassowary and Tasmanian devil that uses Aboriginal Australian names and another including animals like the koala and dingo that use more Anglicised names.

Of course the optimal thing would be to get a new set of Maori names, but if that’s not possible I think the best option would be to make it so the kiwi takes names from the Anglicised pool instead, given while the indigenous cultures of Australia and New Zealand couldn’t be more different, the immigrant populations are a lot more similar. Just a potential workaround that would make their names less jarring.

(and I acknowledge this is an issue for a lot of animals besides just the kiwi, I’m just adding my input here)

I dont think its connected to the continent tag names but it is definitely region based for things like panda seeming have more east asian names than the dhole which seemingly have more south asian inspired names that's just my experience and could be purely anecdotal.