Things that could really benefit the future of planet zoo and my opinion on the current DLC.

[willdiamonds273]

To start with i think that planet zoo is an incredible game with a lot of potential, but unfortunately i feel that with the dlc we've received for planet zoo so far have been quite disappointing. Now i don't mean to be harsh when i say that and i'm sure that the devs have put in a lot of effort and i appreciate that . Now what i'm about to put on this wishlist include animals and features that may take quite a bit of time and effort to add in to the game and I think that most of the community would be happy to wait a bit longer for these things to be implemented into the game, i'm also not sure what people would think about this but i for one would be happy to pay maybe double the price for some of these things .

Firstly, I think an aquatic style type thing where we can build aquariums in our zoos using the underwater viewing feature already in the game.
This could include animals that are fully water based and animals that thrive in both water and land. I also think with this pack they should implement a system which allows you to build glass tunnels like seen at sea world where guests can walk through the enclosure.
These could include

-Different types of tropical fish
-Manta Rays
-Dolphins
-Sharks
-Otters
-Penguins (One of the ones i have seen highly requested and I think would fit into this pack)
-Octopuses
-Sea Turtles

Secondly, I think a pack including many types of tropical birds, and although they are smaller creatures I wouldn't like them to be part of the exhibit animals, instead i'd rather them implement a new system which allows the player to construct their own aviaries where guests can walk through these aviaries.

I do think that they would be better implementing packs that don't just include animals from one continent and although i'm sure that the devs have put a lot of effort in to the dlc although they have just not been up to standards that people have set, this is reflected in the steam reviews. I feel like this game has a lot of potential and we are just scratching the surface on what it could become.

 

[FrostLobster]

Unfortunately, I feel like aquariums and aviaries are unlikely. We don't even really have underwater swimming for habitat animals, so aquariums are unlikely. The exception would be smaller fish that could use a modified exhibit animal system. Aviaries are also unlikely for similar reasons; having to design and program an entirely new system where birds can freely navigate and be animated in a full 3D space is impractical. The only way we get birds is if they're part of an exhibit system.

I will agree with the part about not necessarily sticking to regional DLCs. Personally, I really want a primate centric pack.

 

[NZFanatic]

Unfortunately, I feel like aquariums and aviaries are unlikely. We don't even really have underwater swimming for habitat animals, so aquariums are unlikely. The exception would be smaller fish that could use a modified exhibit animal system. Aviaries are also unlikely for similar reasons; having to design and program an entirely new system where birds can freely navigate and be animated in a full 3D space is impractical. The only way we get birds is if they're part of an exhibit system.

I will agree with the part about not necessarily sticking to regional DLCs. Personally, I really want a primate centric pack.

I'm not sure that's entirely accurate regarding aquaria and birds.

With aquaria, I think the unlikely thing is getting big fish and cetaceans. Big fish belong in carefully managed aquariums with enclosed tanks where the water chemistry and temperature can't be affected by external contaminants such as urban rain, severe algae blooms, and sudden temperature change. Such a thing would be possible to achieve in Planet Zoo but I imagine they'll want to focus on zoo animals and zoo features in the two or three years of support we can expect. Cetaceans are a different bag, as there's a lot of controversy around that, but I won't restart that argument (it's a contentious subject here). In terms of actual marine animals, what I imagine we'll see, if anything, is the usual zoo suspects; pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, etc.), penguins, and otters. Frontier has said that implementing underwater swimming and diving is a tricky thing to do (this was on a Reddit Q&A), so that tells us they have at one point looked into it, or are currently looking into it. It's a popular request and opens it the possibility of including highly requested animals (penguins and otters are extremely popular requests).

As for aviaries, exhibit-style is my preference (purely because of game performance and optimisation), but it's definitely possible that they might do something entirely new. The biggest hindrance is the vertical axis of movement birds would require while in flight, and the constraints around breeding birds realistically (zoos don't usually allow natural nesting with a lot of popular species, preferring to maximise successful hatching by using incubators and hand-rearing (often with puppets to encourage natural imprinting)). My guess is that if we see birds it will be in some kind of exhibit/habitat hybrid system entirely different from anything we've currently got in the game.

As for the last point, I agree. Considering that Australia is really the only unrepresented region left in the game in terms of theming (and obviously animals) it seems likely they'll move away from those sorts of packs in the future. We already have a decent African theme, after all, yet we're still missing a ton of African animals. There's not a lot of point in doing a pure 'Africa Pack' with a new building set when we could cover African (and Asian, North American, and the myriad missing South American) animals as part of other packs (hoofstock, primates, carnivores, and so on).

In any event it's all a waiting game. We can guess and predict and assume and infer all we like, but we won't know until we know.

 

[Kaan]

To start with i think that planet zoo is an incredible game with a lot of potential, but unfortunately i feel that with the dlc we've received for planet zoo so far have been quite disappointing. Now i don't mean to be harsh when i say that and i'm sure that the devs have put in a lot of effort and i appreciate that . Now what i'm about to put on this wishlist include animals and features that may take quite a bit of time and effort to add in to the game and I think that most of the community would be happy to wait a bit longer for these things to be implemented into the game, i'm also not sure what people would think about this but i for one would be happy to pay maybe double the price for some of these things .

Firstly, I think an aquatic style type thing where we can build aquariums in our zoos using the underwater viewing feature already in the game.
This could include animals that are fully water based and animals that thrive in both water and land. I also think with this pack they should implement a system which allows you to build glass tunnels like seen at sea world where guests can walk through the enclosure.
These could include

-Different types of tropical fish
-Manta Rays
-Dolphins
-Sharks
-Otters
-Penguins (One of the ones i have seen highly requested and I think would fit into this pack)
-Octopuses
-Sea Turtles

Secondly, I think a pack including many types of tropical birds, and although they are smaller creatures I wouldn't like them to be part of the exhibit animals, instead i'd rather them implement a new system which allows the player to construct their own aviaries where guests can walk through these aviaries.

I do think that they would be better implementing packs that don't just include animals from one continent and although i'm sure that the devs have put a lot of effort in to the dlc although they have just not been up to standards that people have set, this is reflected in the steam reviews. I feel like this game has a lot of potential and we are just scratching the surface on what it could become.

What I think of birds is that I think they will add birds to the game with an exhibition-style system. I think this is true. because the movement system of birds is unlikely to be like the movement system of other animals. too many problems arise. Obviously if they let us keep the green iguana in the tiny exhibition, it wouldn't be fair if we were building a huge aviary for the birds. it will probably be an exhibition system for birds.

First of all, sea animals are also something I want very much. But we do not know anything about it. We do not know if the game engine supports it. There's already enough lagg in the game. they need to solve the optimization problem first. or a completely separate game would be better. Unnecessary discussions are taking place.

I'm not sure that's entirely accurate regarding aquaria and birds.

I agree. it would not be good for them to release such large DLC packages under regional names.

 

[willdiamonds273]

I'm not sure that's entirely accurate regarding aquaria and birds.

With aquaria, I think the unlikely thing is getting big fish and cetaceans. Big fish belong in carefully managed aquariums with enclosed tanks where the water chemistry and temperature can't be affected by external contaminants such as urban rain, severe algae blooms, and sudden temperature change. Such a thing would be possible to achieve in Planet Zoo but I imagine they'll want to focus on zoo animals and zoo features in the two or three years of support we can expect. Cetaceans are a different bag, as there's a lot of controversy around that, but I won't restart that argument (it's a contentious subject here). In terms of actual marine animals, what I imagine we'll see, if anything, is the usual zoo suspects; pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, etc.), penguins, and otters. Frontier has said that implementing underwater swimming and diving is a tricky thing to do (this was on a Reddit Q&A), so that tells us they have at one point looked into it, or are currently looking into it. It's a popular request and opens it the possibility of including highly requested animals (penguins and otters are extremely popular requests).

As for aviaries, exhibit-style is my preference (purely because of game performance and optimisation), but it's definitely possible that they might do something entirely new. The biggest hindrance is the vertical axis of movement birds would require while in flight, and the constraints around breeding birds realistically (zoos don't usually allow natural nesting with a lot of popular species, preferring to maximise successful hatching by using incubators and hand-rearing (often with puppets to encourage natural imprinting)). My guess is that if we see birds it will be in some kind of exhibit/habitat hybrid system entirely different from anything we've currently got in the game.

As for the last point, I agree. Considering that Australia is really the only unrepresented region left in the game in terms of theming (and obviously animals) it seems likely they'll move away from those sorts of packs in the future. We already have a decent African theme, after all, yet we're still missing a ton of African animals. There's not a lot of point in doing a pure 'Africa Pack' with a new building set when we could cover African (and Asian, North American, and the myriad missing South American) animals as part of other packs (hoofstock, primates, carnivores, and so on).

In any event it's all a waiting game. We can guess and predict and assume and infer all we like, but we won't know until we know.

I agree with the fact that large aquatic mammals might not really fit into the game maybe a system where we can use exhibit style for the smaller fish where we can just use the sliders that were for temperature and humidity as sliders for temperature and ph. I think a pack that highlights the animals you mentioned (seals, sea lions, penguins and otters) would be great for the game and the community would really like the pack. I think this would be the perfect use for the underwater viewing and be the games 'aquatic dlc', and although i'm not the biggest fan of the current dlc format this would fit in to it and I think be a likely addition to the game. As for the penguins i'd say that humboldt penguins would probably fit in to the pack the best.

As for the aviaries, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of an exhibit style as it would mean that they are just static animals and in real zoos we would see them having a much bigger space to fly around, but yes optimisation would be the most important factor for this.

 

[NZFanatic]

I agree with the fact that large aquatic mammals might not really fit into the game maybe a system where we can use exhibit style for the smaller fish where we can just use the sliders that were for temperature and humidity as sliders for temperature and ph. I think a pack that highlights the animals you mentioned (seals, sea lions, penguins and otters) would be great for the game and the community would really like the pack. I think this would be the perfect use for the underwater viewing and be the games 'aquatic dlc', and although i'm not the biggest fan of the current dlc format this would fit in to it and I think be a likely addition to the game. As for the penguins i'd say that humboldt penguins would probably fit in to the pack the best.

Exhibit-style aquariums would be fine, as they line up with what most zoos do in terms of aquaria; smaller, more easily-managed species. It's not unheard for zoos to go to a bigger aquarium scale, mind you, but those are the exceptions to the rule. We'd need scales for temperature, pH, and probably salinity as well if they did a mix of fresh and saltwater fish. In fact, salinity is also important for pinnipeds and penguins; freshwater can cause problems for their digestive systems, skin health, and vision, since their bodies are adapted to life in saltwater, so we would also need some kind of filtration system which allows us to turn their water into saltwater.

As for the aviaries, I wouldn't be the biggest fan of an exhibit style as it would mean that they are just static animals and in real zoos we would see them having a much bigger space to fly around, but yes optimisation would be the most important factor for this.

You misunderstand me; when I say 'exhibit-style', I don't mean "exactly like the current exhibits". Reptiles and invertebrates don't tend to move all that much in captivity (which is why I would also refer to @Kaan's comment about the green iguana - what we have in-game is actually fairly acceptable for that species), with a few exceptions (the giant centipede would probably move a lot more than it does), so the way they are now is fine. Birds, however, typically move a lot more, being warm-blooded. 'Exhibit-style' means "a system similar to the exhibits".

This is just conjecture, but what I'm imagining is five or six different preset aviaries of varying shapes and sizes that you plop down and populate with birds from an 'Aviary Market' separate from the current animal and exhibit markets. The birds would exist on a loop around the aviary, so they aren't static and move around, but the game isn't constantly calculating a new path for them to take whenever they go somewhere. This would be, in essence, basically the same as the aviary system in Jurassic World Evolution, which is another Frontier-made game.

I will add, before anyone else comes along to tell me what a bad idea this is (which has happened before), that this is purely my opinion on what I would prefer. Other people would apparently be fine with sacrificing optimisation for fully dynamic 'habitat-style' birds and aviaries. In any case we can't know what Frontier has planned for this feature if they even plan on including it. Building big, flashy custom aviaries would be fun, and such a system would also be useful for building realistic primate and big cat enclosures as well (which often have mesh tent roofs in modern zoos), but as I said, I don't want to have to choose between adding birds to my zoo or adding, as a random example, capuchins, if the game can't handle both.

 

[Kaan]

This would be, in essence, basically the same as the aviary system in Jurassic World Evolution

Yeah. that's what I mean. Probably they will give us a few different sizes of aviaries. this will result in less performance degradation.

@Kaan's comment about the green iguana - what we have in-game is actually fairly acceptable for that species), with a few exceptions (the giant centipede would probably move a lot more than it does), so the way they are now is fine. Birds, however, typically move a lot more, being warm-blooded

This is not exactly what I meant. There were people who felt sorry for not being able to create living spaces for exhibition animals. so I mean it wouldn't be fair.

 

[NZFanatic]

This is not exactly what I meant. There were people who felt sorry for not being able to create living spaces for exhibition animals. so I mean it wouldn't be fair.

Oh I see. That's frankly not a position I can really understand. The game is already difficult to play when your zoo reaches a certain size; imagine how much worse it would be if you added in a piece count for tiny custom-built exhibits along with dynamic exhibit animal movement?

 

[Kaan]

That's why I say an exhibition style system will be better for birds. our current game already has problems. As you said, zoos have a serious lagg problem after reaching a certain size. think that birds have artificial intelligence like other big animals? I think there would be very few people who could play the game. this also applies to sea animals. yes birds can be in this game with an exhibition style system. but you cannot make sea animals with an exhibition style system. they can only add small fish to the game with an exhibition-style system. so in most discussions, I now say that a separate game for sea animals would be better. but if they are going to add diving animations to animals (like bear, crocodile), there is no point in making a separate game for sea animals. Because the new diving system they brought will make the game lagging again. That's why I say an exhibition style system will be better for birds. our current game already has problems. As you said, zoos have a serious lagg problem after reaching a certain size. think that birds have artificial intelligence like other big animals? I think there would be very few people who could play the game. this also applies to sea animals. yes birds can be in this game with an exhibition style system. but you cannot make sea animals with an exhibition style system. they can only add small fish to the game with an exhibition-style system. so there are up to two marine animals they can add to PZ. I think these are penguins and sea lions. other sea animals belong to a separate game. in most discussions, I now say that a separate game for sea animals would be better. but if they are going to add diving animations to animals (bear, crocodile like), there is no point in making a separate game for sea animals. Because the new diving system they brought will make the game lagging again. don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to start a discussion about sea animals. I'm just talking about the technical part of the case.