Oh my goodness! You're pictures look real. Like someone took them with an old disposable camera. Great job!
What did you do in Planet Zoo today?
- Thread starter Indoraptor27
- Start date
Thank you so much!
I'm so dumb. I thought you had a flying chicken, but it's a sign. Yay, I get a gold star of being dumbSince I have no idea how I want to put the roof on the Madagascar house, I played with the farm animals
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I thought your Madagascar house looked pretty dope without a roof so maybe glass, or just beams and framework to keep it open and airy?Since I have no idea how I want to put the roof on the Madagascar house, I played with the farm animals
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Having a bit of "writer's block" (so to speak), but I'm building a low-medium budget zoo (Moonshine Ranch, y'all), and besides the decorations and overall scenery, I already finished 2 sections (the petting zoo and the Local Critters section). What do y'all suggest I do next?
For context, the zoo is set in Longview, TX, which is on the edge of the Piney Woods, a temperate coniferous ecoregion in the South. So, considering the budget of the zoo and combining it with the environment, what direction should I move next for the following (and potentially last) section of zoo?
For context, the zoo is set in Longview, TX, which is on the edge of the Piney Woods, a temperate coniferous ecoregion in the South. So, considering the budget of the zoo and combining it with the environment, what direction should I move next for the following (and potentially last) section of zoo?
Section of rescues, e.g. customs seizures, pet trade rescues, farm rescues, etc.?
Guess I'll do some research on that kinda subject and see what's common for the area
Spent something like 90 minutes building a rainforest just to take pictures of my static birds, I hope the 10 or so people who look at my bird pictures on steam appreciate the effort 
Got 30 plus birds to picture so it's quite a big rainforest with a waterfall, murky river and all the foliage suitable for an oceania rainforest.
Got 30 plus birds to picture so it's quite a big rainforest with a waterfall, murky river and all the foliage suitable for an oceania rainforest.
Low budget zoos can still keep big ticket species (to an extent). I wouldn't expect to see giant pandas or a breeding herd of elephants, but you can do low budget lions, tigers, and such. Use chain-link fences, basic habitat interiors, simple climbing frames, and keep foliage not very dense.
Love the look on how you captured these shots.
Thank you so much
I have a lot of fun playing around with the lighting. They really did a fantastic job making it appear real.
Today I did I remade my petting zoo section of my NA zoo.
One of the entrances was getting overwhelmed by guests and I didn’t like that. I made separate habitats for my alpacas, donkeys and chickens within the petting zoo habitat. All other animals are free for my guests to interact with.
I know it’s just a game but I noted somethings. I would imagine animals would get very stress with too many people around even if they are barnyard animals. alpacas generally don’t approach anyone unless food is offered and Highland cattle seem too small.
I note the guests pet and offer their hands for the animals to sniff, it would be nice to have an addition for animal feed/treats.
I’m struggling to build Scenary pieces, every day I’m checking the steam workshop everyday for inspiration.
One of the entrances was getting overwhelmed by guests and I didn’t like that. I made separate habitats for my alpacas, donkeys and chickens within the petting zoo habitat. All other animals are free for my guests to interact with.
I know it’s just a game but I noted somethings. I would imagine animals would get very stress with too many people around even if they are barnyard animals. alpacas generally don’t approach anyone unless food is offered and Highland cattle seem too small.
I note the guests pet and offer their hands for the animals to sniff, it would be nice to have an addition for animal feed/treats.
I’m struggling to build Scenary pieces, every day I’m checking the steam workshop everyday for inspiration.
Starting the second part of the Petting zoo, this last area will include all Petting Zoo species that we had prior to the Barnyard Pack - Capybara, Armadillo, Skunks, Guinea Pigs (baby prairie dogs) and the peafowl as the starters, then we'll see how much time I have left after those are done. Starting off with none of those and making an implied Ferret enclosure as well as a small bird enclosure for god knows what lol, I just really wanted to make a cage area at the entrance
Just 2 iguanas chilling out in an exhibit, except one is a prop! I'm expanding my blueprints into reptiles as I need a good looking iguana for my upcoming area for the houston zoo. So why not expand just one iguana model into a hopeful 30+ lizards pack. I feel like that thanos "Fine, i'll do it myself" meme is great for this as frontier doesn't care about exhibit reptiles that much and I'm not downloading dozens of exhibit mods just to fill up a realistic reptile house.
I really like your use of decals to emulate mortar ! Well done !Since I have no idea how I want to put the roof on the Madagascar house, I played with the farm animals
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You know, due to the fact that keepers can't reach islands without a bridge, it's actually quite difficult to build convinving island habitats for primates. Most of the ones I'm familiar with that are true islands (as opposed to half-islands/moated habitats) have a rope/wooden beam extending from the island to the backstage shelter that the animals can reach easily. Zookeepers either wade through the water to reach the island (with appropriate gear) or cross it in a dinghy. I wish there was some way to make this happen in the game. Or a way to set it so zookeepers can refill feeders remotely (unrealistic but better than nothing) so they can just enter the habitat via wherever the gate is (backstage shelter, for example), then magically refill the feeders that are out of reach. Such a system would be great for more complex habitat builds, too, with features such as rocky cliffsides or raised feeders.
Edit: This thought was prompted by an attempt to do a gibbon island based off the one at Wellington Zoo. A simple circular island with dense foliage and a ring of ropes. The gibbons have a tree hut for rainy days and a rope extends across the water to the backstage area. To replicate it I had to extend the backstage building into the water to block off 'access' to the land and use the long, skinny climbing platform as a bridge. Of course for the most part the gibbons prefer using said bridge instead of the rope going to the upper level of their shelter so the effect is lost.
Edit: This thought was prompted by an attempt to do a gibbon island based off the one at Wellington Zoo. A simple circular island with dense foliage and a ring of ropes. The gibbons have a tree hut for rainy days and a rope extends across the water to the backstage area. To replicate it I had to extend the backstage building into the water to block off 'access' to the land and use the long, skinny climbing platform as a bridge. Of course for the most part the gibbons prefer using said bridge instead of the rope going to the upper level of their shelter so the effect is lost.
Just for fun here is a layout I planned on following. It went out the window pretty quickly but I traced it over the Wellington Zoo map. It's not pretty, but I thought you guys might get a kick out of it.
Naturally the species here are different to Wellington Zoo, for a couple of reasons:
1. We don't have all the animals Wellington Zoo has, such as New World monkeys.
2. My version isn't based in New Zealand because the temperate map is on those awful islands, or requires pre-flattening a height map.
3. Some species I just find easier to deal with, such as using gorillas instead of chimpanzees (less complex climbing needs to be realistic).
4. Some species I just like using, such as hyenas and Indian rhinos (in the real zoo, the rhinos are ruffed lemurs and the hyenas are capybara, and the ibex are ring-tailed lemurs).
Naturally the species here are different to Wellington Zoo, for a couple of reasons:
1. We don't have all the animals Wellington Zoo has, such as New World monkeys.
2. My version isn't based in New Zealand because the temperate map is on those awful islands, or requires pre-flattening a height map.
3. Some species I just find easier to deal with, such as using gorillas instead of chimpanzees (less complex climbing needs to be realistic).
4. Some species I just like using, such as hyenas and Indian rhinos (in the real zoo, the rhinos are ruffed lemurs and the hyenas are capybara, and the ibex are ring-tailed lemurs).
Yeah I've struggled with this. Or for any species, where you want different areas of the habitat cut off by water. I've tried to have a zoo based around a river with a boat ride running around it. The boats go through habitat barriers so that wasn't an issue, but I wanted some variety in layout, so I had a couple of habitats where the land was on either side and the animals could swim across it to bask on either bank (pygmy hippos, caiman). The problem was making a bridge for the keeper that was high enough to go over the boat ride - everything I tried looked ridiculous. I guess I could have done an underwater tunnel but I needed to be able to empty and refill the water when I needed to make adjustments to the riverbank terrain anywhere, so that wasn't practical. Had to abandon the idea and make all the habitats one-sided.
Any of these options would fix the issue:
- null bridges (so at least we can make smaller ones)
- secondary habitat gates
- keepers can clean up and refill food from whatever distance within the habitat. Or at least clean up and there can be one land area used for feeding.
I might raise this in the feedback area actually as it would be a QoL game changer for aquatic builds.