My thoughts on Exhibit Animals

[Masteradstriker]

Hello guys.

I want to discuss the Exhibit Feature, i.e. the terrarium/vivarium which holds small herptiles and arthropods. They seem to be an interesting feature that no other zoo game had before. Allow me to share my views on this.

1.The terrariums, which currently look like giant cubic tanks (technically they are), look rather identical. What I meant is, it's all like 4x4x4. I kinda hoped for more size variety. Those Exhibits, for me at least, are a bit too big for the arthropods. If they're shy by nature, good on them, but I don't think most people would like to stare at a box for a while just to find a forest scorpion hiding in the logs. To solve this, I believe a doable solution is to add two more sizes for the Exhibits, thus making it Small, Medium, and Large. Small are for the arthropods and the dart frogs, Medium is the current one we have, and a large (perhaps rectangular) is for the larger reptiles like iguanas and anacondas. I dunno if restricting a species to a certain Exhibit size is a good idea, tho.

2. It's been mentioned that Exhibit animals remain still when you see them and will 'teleport' to a different location once you turn your backs. Some say that it needs to be changed, like at least make the animals move. I kinda disagree tho. Arthropods and herptiles aren't really active movers. Most are ambush hunters, they'll spend hours in one spot waiting for prey to come to them. Plus, they're cold blooded, which means they get their energy by gaining heat. That's why terrariums have bright lights. Move too much, and they'll be quickly exhausted. I personally never saw a tarantula wandering about actively or a snake slithering back and forth like a bored tiger, so it's kinda open for debate. It would be nice tho if we had at least looped animation, kinda like the ZT2013's mini exhibit animals. At least the snakes slither and the monitors play.

3. I'm sure some of you would agree that little mammalian critters and birdies should be added into Exhibits. I'm not sure what my thoughts are about this tho..

Anyway, these are opinions. Feel free to give your thoughts or correct my views. Just don't make it hostile, okay?

Thank you.

 

[markun]

I definitely agree that different sizes would be a good idea, even if it’s just square and rectangular.

 

[bamber]

On your first point you are basing assumptions on a 3 week old now expired beta - all the beta needed to prove was that terraniums worked and that's it - didn't really matter about size much the same as research - what we did in research was use one vet to research all of a levels that might include three or 4 subitems in a way we did research large. of food, learning and toys all at the same time - so I would say stay patient and see what is released next week

point 2 how they move around doesn't bother me too much in all honesty part of the fun was like it is a real zoo - spotting them in the first place I rarely hang about long enough to see them move im onto spotting the next creature

Point 3 nah not bothered again - to me this is about making a small underground snake house or spider shack and that's about it. Though I would like a small avery vut its no where near a game breaker and wont impact me - would just fill a gap by my train station

 

[Barje]

Imo,there should be definitely few sizes of terrariums and propably will be(otherwise there would be no sense for existance of separate overlap for "viviariums" idk how big could be Big terrqrium,but itll be Perfect if we could have 10x10x10m thing for parrots/bats.For mammalian in viviariums-yes,id love to have mole rat or marsupial mole viviariums

 

[LN]

They are 4x4x4

 

[[VR] Deggial]

Ad 1. I think, other exhibit types (e.g. desert biome) were mentioned to be in the launched game.

Regarding exhibit sizes, I do agree. They definitely would add quite a bit of additional development work, but it would be mostly 3D modeling time. The underlying game code would be similar - at least for smaller exhibits. I don't know, if this also would be true for large ones, though. Maybe "static" animals (your point 2.) wouldn't be feasable in large exhibits. Maybe we would need a full-blown animal AI for them. But (also) maybe, future DLCs with aquariums or aviaries might feature an enclousure size between "full habitats" and exhibits anyway. MAYBE.

Ad 2. I agree. For me, the static animals are fine. Loop animations do already exist, IIRC. Animals moving "for real" would add a lot of additional development work and increase the CPU load so much for so little gain, I don't think it would be worth the effort.

 

[AndyZoos]

1.The terrariums, which currently look like giant cubic tanks (technically they are), look rather identical. What I meant is, it's all like 3x3x3. I kinda hoped for more size variety. Those Exhibits, for me at least, are a bit too big for the arthropods. If they're shy by nature, good on them, but I don't think most people would like to stare at a box for a while just to find a forest scorpion hiding in the logs. To solve this, I believe a doable solution is to add two more sizes for the Exhibits, thus making it Small, Medium, and Large. Small are for the arthropods and the dart frogs, Medium is the current one we have, and a large (perhaps rectangular) is for the larger reptiles like iguanas and anacondas. I dunno if restricting a species to a certain Exhibit size is a good idea, tho.

Regarding exhibit sizes, I do agree. They definitely would add quite a bit of additional development work, but it would be mostly 3D modeling time. The underlying game code would be similar - at least for smaller exhibits. I don't know, if this also would be true for large ones, though. Maybe "static" animals (your point 2.) wouldn't be feasable in large exhibits. Maybe we would need a full-blown animal AI for them. But (also) maybe, future DLCs with aquariums or aviaries might feature an enclousure size between "full habitats" and exhibits anyway. MAYBE.

I'd be all for making the exhibit sizes a bit more customizable (and actually just posted something about this in my own "Wishlist" thread). It would make since to allow for larger exhibits for the snakes and the iguana, but allow for smaller exhibits for the dart frogs and arthropods. It would be really cool if the the smaller ones were stackable too! It just feels a little odd to have the size be the same for each species...

Who knows what they change post-beta. Maybe this is already accounted for, but I'd like it as an option eventually if it's not in the base game.

And, really, I know it would probably take quite a bit of time to do this from a programming or modeling or whatever perspective but hey... Dream big, right?

2. It's been mentioned that Exhibit animals remain still when you see them and will 'teleport' to a different location once you turn your backs. Some say that it needs to be changed, like at least make the animals move. I kinda disagree tho. Arthropods and herptiles aren't really active movers. Most are ambush hunters, they'll spend hours in one spot waiting for prey to come to them. Plus, they're cold blooded, which means they get their energy by gaining heat. That's why terrariums have bright lights. Move too much, and they'll be quickly exhausted. I personally never saw a tarantula wandering about actively or a snake slithering back and forth like a bored tiger, so it's kinda open for debate. It would be nice tho if we had at least looped animation, kinda like the ZT2013's mini exhibit animals. At least the snakes slither and the monitors play.

I'm not so sure that I "need" this for animals like frogs, arthropods, etc. They don't move around very much from what I've seen in zoos as you said.

3. I'm sure some of you would agree that little mammalian critters and birdies should be added into Exhibits. I'm not sure what my thoughts are about this tho..

For me, the static animals are fine. Loop animations do already exist, IIRC. Animals moving "for real" would add a lot of additional development work and increase the CPU load so much for so little gain, I don't think it would be worth the effort.

I go back and forth on this. I could see adding really small mammals (various mice/rat species) into smaller exhibits. But personally, I'd like to have a bit more ability to customize the exhibits when they get larger (like, say the size that you would want/need for something like a slow loris). I think it would make since, assuming the size of the animal matches it.

I understand the concern about the way the current exhibit animals move. But I do think there's some sort of middle-ground resolution that could be reached via looped animations, pre-designed exhibits with a handful of customization options, etc. It wouldn't have the same level of AI or functionality that the larger, habitat animals have--but it would be something. And many of those animals aren't quite as "interesting" to watch, anyway, in terms of playing, etc.

 

[random goat]

I'm pretty sure we won't be able to customize the size of the exhibits but there are several hints that indicate we'll have at least 3 preset ones: Small, Medium, Big. If we ever get something in between exhibits and habitats that will come (if it ever does) later on in an aviary-ish DLC pack.

 

[AndyZoos]

I'm pretty sure we won't be able to customize the size of the exhibits but there are several hints that indicate we'll have at least 3 preset ones: Small, Medium, Big. If we ever get something in between exhibits and habitats that will come (if it ever does) later on in an aviary-ish DLC pack.

Yeah, I'm definitely not expecting this to be in the base game. But I am really hoping we get something in-between exhibits and habitats at some point (via DLC).

Out of curiosity, what are the hints you're referring to that we'll get different sized exhibits?

 

[ElectricMonk]

I, too, am curious as to what hints you're referring to?

 

[Masteradstriker]

To bamber: I am merely an observant, but it appears that some people's views on terrarium size is coincidentally similar to my view, as that it's too similar in size. An addition to size change is a bit unlikely at this stage, but that doesn't mean they won't add it in the future. You may enjoy playing 'Where's the Wandering Spider' or 'Find the Forest Scorpion', but some others don't, myself included. Adding loop animations ain't much of a big deal, just giving those creatures some more energy.

To Barje: 10x10x10 is a bit too much. I think it''s more for an aquatic tank than some terrestrial terrarium. Naked mole rats sound feasible, tho.

To Deggial: I understand the technical side of the issue. It adds a bit more work for the Devs, and we don't want em to overwork. My last sentence to Bamber might answer your opinion on my second point.

To Alkaline Andy: Towards your view on my second point-Yeah, we agree that these critters don't move a lot, and we sorta agree that movement animations aren't really needed (for both of us, at least). Some people do, though. My post is a combination of both my own opinions and an observation from others in the PZ forum. Hence my words 'some people'.

<Discuss the post not the poster please>

 

[Cile]

The creatures in the exhibits actually animate, they are not static, the frogs breath, the snake lifts its head up and looks around and flicks the tongue, they have various resting poses too, they are not all in the same pose, the snakes can be found in various resting positions ontop of the anims they already do idley, if you look at the planet zoo twitter and what not, they have showed off various animated gifs and what not of the exhibit animals not being static, they certainly give the impression that they are lively, they even have gifs of the lizards yawning or blinking and moving their heads, they have a variety of idle animations, since they are mostly idle creatures anyways.

I do agree that it would be nice to have a few varieties of exhibit sizes, but more so id like various shaped ones, like one that is a circle or a semi circle, and maybe a corner shaped one to fit in various angles and what not, i think that would be neat.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1151144657432326145

 

[random goat]

To random goat: Where's the evidence? You've got three users asking you. Don't spread false information.

Ehm, please don’t overreact. I never said nor meant ‘evidence’ and neither I spread false information (or information of any kind, really). It was just me speculating based on some stuff from beta. Less than a week for launch anyway and we’ll find out. Let’s all be a bit patient!

 

[AndyZoos]

Ehm, please don’t overreact. I never said nor meant ‘evidence’ and neither I spread false information (or information of any kind, really). It was just me speculating based on some stuff from beta. Less than a week for launch anyway and we’ll find out. Let’s all be a bit patient!

What things in the beta, though? I think people are just feeling like you picked up on something that the rest of us might have missed. I didn't see anything in the beta that indicated that we would wind up with multiple terrarium sizes (beyond how hard it was to find the spiders and scorpions in those big tanks).

 

[random goat]

What things in the beta, though? I think people are just feeling like you picked up on something that the rest of us might have missed.

Well, I have no intention of ‘spreading’ something that might be misleading or spoils someone’s desire to keep everything related to the game secret. My speculation is based on something that is within everyone who installed beta’s reach. As I said, launch is just a few days away anyway! So we’ll soon find out if there are different exhibits size-wise.

 

[Masteradstriker]

We'll see about that, random goat. I could wait for a few days...

 

[Pteronura]

I believe it was confirmed we're only getting one terrarium size.

Maybe in the future though... it has been requested a lot so perhaps we'll get some different sized/shaped exhibits at some point.

 

[Eewrie]

I'm quite content with the size for launch but I would love if we could eventually link boxes together to make larger sizes so we can house more of a certain species.

 

[[VR] Deggial]

... so we can house more of a certain species.

For some exhibits (especially of the tiny animals), I found that the size of "acceptable" population could be increased anyway, before overpopulation is reached. This would make it also easier to spot at least one of those little critters!

But I guess, there are simply not enough "alternative places" reserved for them to make this possible.

 

[Masteradstriker]

I'm quite content with the size for launch but I would love if we could eventually link boxes together to make larger sizes so we can house more of a certain species.

I'm not sure how'd they input exhibit linkings, and I don't think putting multiple species in a terrarium is a good idea. I mean, you don't put a boa with an iguana or a bird eater with a titan beetle.