What do you want to do in Planet Zoo

[Iben]

Right, but you also can't edit terrain around paths, yet I've seen people sink enrichment feeders like the forage box into the ground to hide the wooden edges.

Yeah a lot of people do the terrain work first, then put a path on it, then put the enrichment item and then remove the path afterwards.

The terrain work you did earlier is then not reversed, because of the path, because that prevents the enrichment item from resetting the terrain.

 

[Hugo98]

I mean you could certainly get all these to come together. Yeah City zoos usually dont have the biggest enclosure due to space problems, but you could go the route of the zoos reducing their animal collection over the years and combining enclosure together for one species in recent years. Like maybe the old predator building previously had all sorts of big cats, but now its just lions and perhaps one or two small species like sandcat and meerkat. Or an old ape house which in the past was home to gorillas, chimps and orangs but the zoo deceided to focus only on one species these days
Im a really big fan of historic buildings being renovated, i just really like the contrast of a super old classical building with a modern habitat attatched. So id for sure include some of those, the giraffe/antelope house at zoo Berlin and the south america house at cologne are some of my favorite examples, although there the new stuff is mostly indoor.
Another thing typical for city zoos i feel like is repurposing old habitats for different, smaller species. So mabye you could include a historic elephant house which now has pygmy hippo or tapir maybe.

Another thing, i feel the PZ community as a whole has a tendency to build in super clean, clear cut sections, which is fine ofcourse. But imo a city zoo especially if you make it intentionally not perfect, and have the animals not neatly ordered. Maybe you could see the zoo is trying to get thematic areas and then there is a random asian animal in whats for the most part a south american area, because they havent gotten around to building a new enclosure for them in whats supposed to the asian area yet. Like idk old primate house is now a south american rainforest house for capuchin, saki, sloth and ocelot but there is a random group of lion tailed macaques vibing there because their new enclosure hasnt been build yet or its a senior group living out their days there and once they have passed a new, fitting specis will move in.

And man, im really in the mood to also start a city zoo now. I feel there is so much potential with implying lore and worldbuilding there

That's exactly why I'm building a classical city zoo. I love their vibes, too, and it gives me so much more freedom in building. I don't need a specific concept and can spontanously decide to build for a different animal without thinking about if the surrounding animals fit to it.

 

[Fabian]

Yeah a lot of people do the terrain work first, then put a path on it, then put the enrichment item and then remove the path afterwards.

The terrain work you did earlier is then not reversed, because of the path, because that prevents the enrichment item from resetting the terrain.

Is that also the case when the path is placed on an angle, i.e. not on flat terrain? I'm thinking of items like the mud bath that always flattens its surroundings. Doesn't that collide with the path?

 

[Iben]

Is that also the case when the path is placed on an angle, i.e. not on flat terrain? I'm thinking of items like the mud bath that always flattens its surroundings. Doesn't that collide with the path?

Paths will always prevent terrain from being edited, whether it's by the user or by the game itself; so it still works. I'm in the game right now and I did a bunch of tests and it all still works the way we've been using it for a long while.

 

[Fabian]

Paths will always prevent terrain from being edited, whether it's by the user or by the game itself; so it still works. I'm in the game right now and I did a bunch of tests and it all still works the way we've been using it for a long while.

Cool, good to know! Thank you.

 

[Fabian]

Jumped back into my main zoo to finally plan how I want to finish it. I made the following map to outline what still needs to be done. The parts highlighted in red are yet to be built, which isn't as much as I feared it would be! I have the entire African section ahead of me (45-53, the numbers are a bit compressed for space reasons but I should have plenty of space for the big savannah habitats), where the good news is that I already built the African Mammal House on a different map and just need to figure out a way to insert the blueprint in here. And then there'll be a lot of tidying up to do afterwards. I'm starting to feel really proud of this project.

Any suggestions on how to organize my two African Savannah habitats? I always struggle to decide which animals to put with each other. The only thing I know is that I want zebras and giraffes to be the respective stars of their habitats and that they should have 2-3 species to accompany them. At the moment I based my roster for those two habitats on the way the Zoom Erlebniswelt in Gelsenkirchen organized their two savannahs.

 

[FlameWizard492]

Jumped back into my main zoo to finally plan how I want to finish it. I made the following map to outline what still needs to be done. The parts highlighted in red are yet to be built, which isn't as much as I feared it would be! I have the entire African section ahead of me (45-53, the numbers are a bit compressed for space reasons but I should have plenty of space for the big savannah habitats), where the good news is that I already built the African Mammal House on a different map and just need to figure out a way to insert the blueprint in here. And then there'll be a lot of tidying up to do afterwards. I'm starting to feel really proud of this project.
View attachment 433597

Any suggestions on how to organize my two African Savannah habitats? I always struggle to decide which animals to put with each other. The only thing I know is that I want zebras and giraffes to be the respective stars of their habitats and that they should have 2-3 species to accompany them. At the moment I based my roster for those two habitats on the way the Zoom Erlebniswelt in Gelsenkirchen organized their two savannahs.

Whoa. Your frame rate must be abysmal.

 

[Fabian]

Whoa. Your frame rate must be abysmal.

It's actually still doing fine. I have no visitors, minmal staff, have disabled climbing for almost all the pieces (which makes a MASSIVE difference) and have only a bare minimum of animals per habitat, so 62 enclosures with 279 animals total at the moment. I also don't have many bodies of water. I'm able to build at ~15-20 FPS in paused mode, which I think is pretty solid for a such a large map.

 

[DarthQuell]

Once I finish Montego Bay Zoo, I wanted to.give a cracked at making a more classic zoo. Since I associate classic with Europe and/or late 1800s/early 1900s USA, I decoded to go with Europe for a change.

I call it the Foxdal Zoological Gardens, and my plan is to make a zoo that has typical animals, nothing particularly exotic. Here's my roster:

• Walk in the Park
  • Mute swan
  • Red deer
  • European badger
  • Red fox
  • Old World swallowtail
  • European peacock
• Across the Pond
  • Raccoon
  • Striped skunk
  • American alligator
  • Grizzly bear
• The Japanese Garden
  • Japanese macaque
  • Japanese raccoon dog
  • Red crowned crane
• Sub-Saharan Safari
  • African lion
  • Common zebra
  • Common ostrich
  • Reticulated giraffe
  • African elephant (?)

 

[Marvinb]

and my plan is to make a zoo that has typical animals, nothing particularly exotic.

You might want to rethink the grizzly bear in that case, they are almost entirely abscent over here. Maybe bison instead?

 

[DarthQuell]

You might want to rethink the grizzly bear in that case, they are almost entirely abscent over here. Maybe bison instead?

Oh really? Maybe then. Would you recommend bison or another animal?
For context, the zoo is supposed to be on the Isle of Man, near a town/place called Foxdale (I chose it because it sounded nice. Any players that know the area, please gimme some feedback and tips)

 

[Marvinb]

Oh really? Maybe then. Would you recommend bison or another animal?
For context, the zoo is supposed to be on the Isle of Man, near a town/place called Foxdale (I chose it because it sounded nice. Any players that know the area, please gimme some feedback and tips)

If you plan for animal which are common sights in eu zoos then bison, sea lion or cougar are probably your best bets as alternatives to the bear.

 

[yoav_r]

Jumped back into my main zoo to finally plan how I want to finish it. I made the following map to outline what still needs to be done. The parts highlighted in red are yet to be built, which isn't as much as I feared it would be! I have the entire African section ahead of me (45-53, the numbers are a bit compressed for space reasons but I should have plenty of space for the big savannah habitats), where the good news is that I already built the African Mammal House on a different map and just need to figure out a way to insert the blueprint in here. And then there'll be a lot of tidying up to do afterwards. I'm starting to feel really proud of this project.
View attachment 433597

Any suggestions on how to organize my two African Savannah habitats? I always struggle to decide which animals to put with each other. The only thing I know is that I want zebras and giraffes to be the respective stars of their habitats and that they should have 2-3 species to accompany them. At the moment I based my roster for those two habitats on the way the Zoom Erlebniswelt in Gelsenkirchen organized their two savannahs.

How detailed are your habitats?

I'd do Giraffe-dikdik-ostrich (I saw that mix in zoos often), and zebra-wildebeest-thomson gazelle

 

[Fabian]

How detailed are your habitats?

I'd do Giraffe-dikdik-ostrich (I saw that mix in zoos often), and zebra-wildebeest-thomson gazelle

I'd say they're pretty detailed across the board. There's multiple houses (the reptile dome, the asian cat house, the penguin house and the oceania house) that I can't even blueprint because they have too many pieces, so...

Didn't think of mixing giraffes with dik-diks (I only saw them in small filler enclosures so far), but it's a fun idea to go for size variety.

 

[markun]

Oh really? Maybe then. Would you recommend bison or another animal?
For context, the zoo is supposed to be on the Isle of Man, near a town/place called Foxdale (I chose it because it sounded nice. Any players that know the area, please gimme some feedback and tips)

Depending on how realistic you want to be, it’s worth remembering that the Isle of Man is tiny - it only has about 85,000 people and already has a small (and I get the impression, getting smaller) zoo.

It’s worth bearing in mind also that themed and named sections of a zoo are less of a thing in traditional European zoos than they are in the USA. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but not to the same degree or way.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I mean you could certainly get all these to come together. Yeah City zoos usually dont have the biggest enclosure due to space problems, but you could go the route of the zoos reducing their animal collection over the years and combining enclosure together for one species in recent years. Like maybe the old predator building previously had all sorts of big cats, but now its just lions and perhaps one or two small species like sandcat and meerkat. Or an old ape house which in the past was home to gorillas, chimps and orangs but the zoo deceided to focus only on one species these days
Im a really big fan of historic buildings being renovated, i just really like the contrast of a super old classical building with a modern habitat attatched. So id for sure include some of those, the giraffe/antelope house at zoo Berlin and the south america house at cologne are some of my favorite examples, although there the new stuff is mostly indoor.
Another thing typical for city zoos i feel like is repurposing old habitats for different, smaller species. So mabye you could include a historic elephant house which now has pygmy hippo or tapir maybe.

Another thing, i feel the PZ community as a whole has a tendency to build in super clean, clear cut sections, which is fine ofcourse. But imo a city zoo especially if you make it intentionally not perfect, and have the animals not neatly ordered. Maybe you could see the zoo is trying to get thematic areas and then there is a random asian animal in whats for the most part a south american area, because they havent gotten around to building a new enclosure for them in whats supposed to the asian area yet. Like idk old primate house is now a south american rainforest house for capuchin, saki, sloth and ocelot but there is a random group of lion tailed macaques vibing there because their new enclosure hasnt been build yet or its a senior group living out their days there and once they have passed a new, fitting specis will move in.

And man, im really in the mood to also start a city zoo now. I feel there is so much potential with implying lore and worldbuilding there

dont make me wanna play my guy, thats literally my tiny zoo (atleast in concept)

 

[Marvinb]

dont make me wanna play my guy, thats literally my tiny zoo (atleast in concept)

Yeah i got myself in the mood to play the game again aswell with that

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Yeah i got myself in the mood to play the game again aswell with that

Had a small session lately and this game is sadly just to fun when your in the flow. Didnt do much, just some minor planting, rockwork and detailing in my tropical house but something as basic as putting down a pattern of faux rocks just felt good. Thing is the whole finishing touches and also basic ground work both tend to be rather draining

 

[DarthQuell]

Depending on how realistic you want to be, it’s worth remembering that the Isle of Man is tiny - it only has about 85,000 people and already has a small (and I get the impression, getting smaller) zoo.

It’s worth bearing in mind also that themed and named sections of a zoo are less of a thing in traditional European zoos than they are in the USA. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but not to the same degree or way.

I see. Ok, so how do Euro zoos divide their collection? In general, I mean

 

[markun]

I see. Ok, so how do Euro zoos divide their collection? In general, I mean

I’m thinking this might be a good topic for a thread of its own with maps and pictures but for now here’s a quick summary.

Many of the more established city zoos until quite recently - and sometimes still - were based on houses by species. So a cat house, primate house, a row of ungulate enclosures etc.

Some are moving towards specific groupings of exhibits around a theme which might still be species based or it could be geographical or based on habitat.

The older zoos generally don’t have the flexibility to go to strictly themed zones or geographical areas.

Some, notably a couple of German zoos, completely re-invented themselves as adventure or experience zoos with extensive theming and geographic zones. These are arguably the most American-style zoos in Europe. These are an exception to the rule that in general European zoos slowly evolve rather than radically change.

In the UK, budgets are generally much lower than in the USA and in American eyes the zoos could be seen as lacking ambition. Perhaps in continental European eyes they’d be seen as lacking polish or finesse. So that’s worth bearing in mind too.

Here are a couple of examples of significant zoos and their contrasting organisation. There are some major omissions but it’s just what I can do now on my break at work and from my own experience. I could write for ages otherwise!

Berlin Zoo

Extremely significant with a very large collection in a city centre location. It doesn’t have zones or themed areas as such but has specific animal houses and areas some of which are named. I have listed them using the English names from the latest map:

World of Birds - a large bird house with internal walkthroughs and external aviaries

Hippo Bay - internal and external enclosures for both hippo species and an antelope (possibly sitatunga?) including underwater viewing. I just think of it as the hippo house as it’s not like it’s approached via an immersive trail or anything.

Rhino Pagoda - this is new and I haven’t seen it in person. Has Asian greater one-horned rhino, visayan warty pig and Malayan tapir I think.

Eagle Canyon - a series of bird of prey aviaries recently renovated with walkthroughs.

Elephant House - just that.

Antelope House - ornate historic building also housing giraffes and soon to be okapi too.

Primate House - monkeys and apes in a variety of enclosures. Not themed, quite old fashioned without being historically impressive.

Panda Garden - just giant pandas in a themed enclosure.

Empire of Cats - recently renovated predator house with nocturnal house.

Aquarium - separate entrance fee also reptiles and amphibians.

There is a children’s petting zoo and many areas of enclosures with for example, various cattle species (with some interesting examples of historic cultural themes for the animal shelters) deer, seals and penguins, ungulate paddocks, mixed South America paddock and others.

Edinburgh Zoo
Just over a hundred years old and situated on a hillside on a main road leading to the city centre, mostly residential area. Not many animal houses and no zoning or themed areas beyond specific enclosures which are randomly mixed up. Pygmy hippos next cassowary for example. The chimp house is called Budongo Trail but it isn’t a trail, it’s just an animal house with internal (creatively done with light and temperature representing different forest levels) and an external enclosure.

Hannover Zoo

This is a very American-style so-called experience or adventure zoo with heavily themed zones for African animals, primates, polar and North American animals (Yukon Bay), a jungle palace with elephants, tigers and other Asian animals, outback and a very well created local style farm.

London Zoo
Has three colour-coded zones but I think (not 100% sure) this came about under covid plans for movement of visitors around the zoo.

Traditionally this was a zoo divided up with animal houses divided on species line. This has evolved so where they had primates in one area is now focussed on gorillas and called Gorilla Kingdom. The cat terraces are now Land of the Lions and this is heavily themed with a focus on India and Asian lions. The ungulate terraces are now Into Africa with giraffe, zebra, okapi, pygmy hippo (temporarily capybara too) and wild dogs.

Munich Zoo

Hellabrun Zoo in Munich describes itself as the first GeoZoo in the world with animals arranged by continent. This lapsed for a while but is being brought back. However they aren’t zoned with theming or particular names and the zoo feels like a cohesive whole.