How Much Work Goes Into Exhibit Animals?

[NZFanatic]

I'm talking in terms of making them for the game.

I only ask because with the recent announcement of the Australia Pack, I'm surprised we're only getting a single exhibit animal from a country that has so many famous reptile and invertebrate species. I have to assume exhibit animals are at their core easier to make than habitat animals, since they only have to slot in to a single prefabricated habitat and be animated based on a set number of positions within the habitat which are cycled through randomly. On top of that, it's a matter of adding values for their ideal temperature/humidity range.

I don't think the pack is undervalued. This isn't a nonsense rant about getting "ripped off". I'm more genuinely curious about this subject.

I know a lot of folks here aren't especially enamoured by exhibit animals, but for me they're very important to building a realistic zoo, so I want as many as I can get. My hope is that we might see more exhibit animals added in their own DLC somewhere down the line, with options covering every region in the game (maybe three from each continent - South America, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia). I'd happily pay the same price we're currently paying for it, or even a little more, even if it didn't come with content aside from the animals themselves.

The choice of the eastern blue-tongued skink surprised me. Like many, I have one as a pet. I would agree that they are a good ambassador species from Australia, but there are several others I think are better; the frill-necked lizard and thorny devil are obvious, as is the social huntsman, but there are others, too; the goliath stick insect, the golden bellfrog, the Lord Howe Island giant stick insect, the whistling tree frog, the taipan, or even the shingleback lizard if you wanted to go down the skink route so badly. I'm of course also forgetting the bearded dragon and the water dragon.

This might have also been a good opportunity to do something completely different - a freshwater turtle. The Australian painted turtle, or more famously the eastern long-necked turtle, would have been amazing. Of course this would require making a new exhibit environment which is mostly water, but even so.

 

[Indoraptor27]

I really agree that more would be beneficial. We only have one Asian exhibit animal, and not many from other continents. Whenever there's empty space I love sticking in an exhibit. My biggest wishes would be bearded dragons, leopard geckos, basilisks lizards, thorny devils, Sydney funnelweb spiders, tutara, gopher tortoise, weta, but there are so many more that would be great. Fish would also be nice, electric eels can be kept in captivity as far as I know, and compared to most fish, they're pretty sluggish, meaning it would make sense for them to remain stationary. Any other fish that might work? And if they designed water-based exhibits, it would make sense to get a turtle also. I would pay for a pack of them, maybe if it cost half as much as the regular ones.

 

[NZFanatic]

I would pay for a pack of them, maybe if it cost half as much as the regular ones.

Well that would depend, in my opinion, on how many we got, and what value one would place on an exhibit animal compared to a habitat animal. For example, a pack with say ten exhibit animals would likely cost at least the same as a regular DLC, assuming nothing else came with it.

 

[NZFanatic]

On the subject, I'd be happy to see a whole pack of poison dart frogs as well. The game is missing some of the more commonly held species, such as the blue, green, yellow-banded, or phantasmal, and I know a lot of zoos keep many species for comparison.

 

[Jester Day]

I would love more exhibits, but also an option to automate some of their function, since they can become quite tedious. A form of "autosell offspring" or along those lines would be grand.

 

[Firestar97]

the frill-necked lizard and thorny devil

I would've really loved it if they've included them in the DLC. I was really surprised that we didn't got the Frill necked Lizard

electric eels can be kept in captivity as far as I know, and compared to most fish, they're pretty sluggish, meaning it would make sense for them to remain stationary.

That's exactly the Species I already thought about being a cool Exhibit Animal but I don't know what the Tank Requirements for them are in Real life and how big the Exhibits are exactly. I still hope for a Exhibit that is 2 Times the Size and one or two that is 4 Times the Size of the Exhibit that is currently in the Game

 

[Barje]

While im actually not that surprised, since after thorny devil and frill necked lizard, blue tongue skink was my third choice, id like to see more and more exhibit Animals. As mentioned above, theyre essential to make a realistic zoo. having around 6-18 (depend on continent) exhibit Animals would make it possibile. but exhibits as an objects lack diversity in size and biomes, however.. how do you think, is skink gonna have new biome in his exhibit? Australian Red rocks?

 

[NZFanatic]

While im actually not that surprised, since after thorny devil and frill necked lizard, blue tongue skink was my third choice, id like to see more and more exhibit Animals. As mentioned above, theyre essential to make a realistic zoo. having around 6-18 (depend on continent) exhibit Animals would make it possibile. but exhibits as an objects lack diversity in size and biomes, however.. how do you think, is skink gonna have new biome in his exhibit? Australian Red rocks?

Based on the trailer, no. You can see the blue-tongue exhibit in the left corner as the camera pans over the start of the Australia section. Just the regular desert exhibit layout I'm afraid.

Diversity in exhibit sizes and layouts would be nice, however I don't think it will happen yet. Frontier has surely heard our feedback on that subject by now, I would hope, so perhaps in the future they'll implement some new shapes and sizes to exhibits (a lot of people want to go larger - frankly I want to go smaller. I want tiny exhibits we can keep invertebrates and tiny frogs in).

 

[onk]

I would prefer a mostly plain layout (as option) for most species and decorate it myself, which I do anyway with a couple of exhibits.
It really looks odd if you have two or three times this large tree in the middle....

You can see the blue-tongue exhibit in the left corner as the camera pans over the start of the Australia section.

After watching it 4 times in a row, I still have no clue. Could you give me the time-code , I'm curios.

 

[Iben]

I believe @NZFanatic is referring to this screen. It wasn't in the video, but it was in the announcement post ^^

 

[hudsonbear]

I would like to see a greater number and variety of exhibit animals in the game. I am a huge lover of reptiles and have kept them irl for many years, so for me a reptile house in my zoo is a must and one of my favourite aspects of the game. But only 24 exhibit animals (now 25 with the DLC) isn't a great deal of exhibits to have if you intend to build a large rep house, or at least want to make them look different to each other from one zoo to the next, for example with themes. I agree that I would be happy to buy a DLC that just focuses on expanding the exhibit section of the game.
I've said this before, but I also think we need variety in exhibit sizes. It's crazy to me that the green iguana, which can grow up to six feet long can be kept in the same size exhibit as a tiny frog or a cockroach.

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

I would also like to see both a greater number and more variety in exhibit animals - they can really make a difference in distinguishing an overarching zoo area. I would particularly like to see some more amphibians, as they are currently in the grip of a global extinction crisis and many zoos are increasingly creating specialist amphibian areas - I remember Paignton Zoo in the UK having one that was absolutely brilliant.

In terms of fish, one species that immediately jumps to mind as being an animal that could fit into the current exhibit display is a species of mudskipper - I would choose the Atlantic mudskipper, which is one of the larger and more commonly-kept species here in the UK. In terms of some features (general posture, tapering body form and eyes positioned at the top of the head), they have some similarity to terrestrial salamanders and so the model could be cosmetically changed (changing fins to legs) and reused for another species.

As has been mentioned before, some additional biomes would be good - a temperate woodland-type biome particularly could allow more species from Europe (such as fire salamanders and vipers), most of North America (scarlet kingsnakes, box turtles and stag beetles), areas of Australia that do not fall within either tropical or desert habitats (the frilled lizard would probably work in such a biome) and South America (Darwin's frog).

I do wonder whether some of the species choices have been made because of ease of implementation - the titan beetle, despite never being kept in captivity and probably unable to be bred, does have the advantage of lacking any sexual dimorphism which are found in more regularly-kept species such as Hercules and stag beetles.

Also mentioned - some diversity in size or shape of the exhibits themselves would also really aid creativity. I have seen threads on here before about having exhibits double and half the current sizes for different species but something else I would like to see are some varieties in shape. I have personally seen several terrariums that are cylindrical in shape, housing more arboreal species such as tree and poison-dart frogs and geckos. I have also seen wedge-shaped tanks for invertebrates such as tarantulas and cockroaches. The cylindrical design especially is one I would love to see implemented at some point.

 

[NL_Mutso]

I've said this before, but I also think we need variety in exhibit sizes. It's crazy to me that the green iguana, which can grow up to six feet long can be kept in the same size exhibit as a tiny frog or a cockroac

I think this should be changed before a exhibit animals DLC. I'm not the biggest fan of how this work in PZ so I'm not that excited about exhibit animals.
I think more variation in exhibit sizes would work me.

Judging from the limited movement in exhibit animals - i'm guessing it isn't that much work. We have a variety of species (spider/snakes/reptiles/bugs/frogs) and their are not that different. Not discrediting Frontier's effort or anything like that.

 

[NZFanatic]

I've said this before, but I also think we need variety in exhibit sizes. It's crazy to me that the green iguana, which can grow up to six feet long can be kept in the same size exhibit as a tiny frog or a cockroach.

People are often making this mistake - the issue there isn't that the iguana is in an enclosure too small, it's that the poison frogs and invertebrates are in enclosures that are far too big. I wouldn't object to larger exhibit sizes for the sake of variety, but IMO smaller ones, even perhaps stackable ones, are really what we need. Comparing the exhibit size to guests in the game and other human characters, I'd say the size is roughly standard for a green iguana at a basic level. Many zoos do indeed go larger, so no objections there, but it isn't too small.

On the other hand most zoos keep tarantula in tiny little enclosures that are perfectly suitable for them. I'd really like to see, say, an exhibit with four separate enclosures contained within the one unit.

 

[NL_Mutso]

On the other hand most zoos keep tarantula in tiny little enclosures that are perfectly suitable for them. I'd really like to see, say, an exhibit with four separate enclosures contained within the one unit.

Great that you mentioned this. Bit more experienced with T's and they really need little space. I'd even say almost 8 times in that exhibit size (slightly depends on species) but 4 times is a great size for this game as well. (You'd have to zoom in too much)

Different sizes would be nice

 

[NZFanatic]

Great that you mentioned this. Bit more experienced with T's and they really need little space. I'd even say almost 8 times in that exhibit size (slightly depends on species) but 4 times is a great size for this game as well. (You'd have to zoom in too much)

Different sizes would be nice

Indeed, my local museum has tarantula (they were supposed to go the local zoo - never actually found out what happened there) in the same tanks that I have at home for my newts (ExoTerra brand). You can pick them up in both arms and carry them around, so they're definitely small, and the size they use I'd say is probably even larger than they need.

Eight would be nice, but you are right that visibility becomes an issue if we go too small. In saying that I have seen some players literally just throw a shell down as a reptile house (walls and a cieling) and toss the exhibits in there without worrying about the interior, so maybe it wouldn't matter too much.

 

[hudsonbear]

People are often making this mistake - the issue there isn't that the iguana is in an enclosure too small, it's that the poison frogs and invertebrates are in enclosures that are far too big. I wouldn't object to larger exhibit sizes for the sake of variety, but IMO smaller ones, even perhaps stackable ones, are really what we need. Comparing the exhibit size to guests in the game and other human characters, I'd say the size is roughly standard for a green iguana at a basic level. Many zoos do indeed go larger, so no objections there, but it isn't too small.

My point wasn't really that the iguana exhibit is too small, just that in comparison to the much smaller exhibit animals, it doesn't make sense for all species to live in the same size enclosure. I actually don't much mind whether exhibits get bigger or smaller, I just feel some variety is desperately needed.

 

[VioletGrey]

I'd buy an entire pack with just exhibit animals in it. I'd expect it to be cheaper than the other packs, though, since less work goes into making it. I enjoy putting them in my zoo, though.

I want kingsnakes most of all (scarlet king, or california king), and hope they include one with a North American DLC pack.

 

[NZFanatic]

I'd buy an entire pack with just exhibit animals in it. I'd expect it to be cheaper than the other packs, though, since less work goes into making it. I enjoy putting them in my zoo, though.

As I said, price would depend on how many exhibit animals the pack contains and what their value is compared to habitat animals. In terms of making them, we can assume that the same amount of work goes into their design, rig, and skins as goes into habitat animals. That is a given, as the exhibit animals clearly have the same level of detail applied to them in that respect. The animators and programmers of course wouldn't have to do as much work, since the exhibit animals do not move around their exhibits and instead "spawn" in randomly cycled locations, and their movement is limited to those singular spots.

It's also extremely difficult to quantify how much an animal is worth in the game, as the DLC packs also come with all the other stuff - scenery, foliage, scenarios, campaigns, building pieces, and so on.

To put it another way, if the pack exclusively contained exhibit animals, and literally nothing else, then I would expect it to be cheaper. However, if the pack contained exhibit animals, new exhibits, new exhibit biomes, and new scenery items/building pieces relating to exhibit animals, then I would probably be willing to pay the same as for a regular DLC.

 

[VioletGrey]

As I said, price would depend on how many exhibit animals the pack contains and what their value is compared to habitat animals. In terms of making them, we can assume that the same amount of work goes into their design, rig, and skins as goes into habitat animals. That is a given, as the exhibit animals clearly have the same level of detail applied to them in that respect. The animators and programmers of course wouldn't have to do as much work, since the exhibit animals do not move around their exhibits and instead "spawn" in randomly cycled locations, and their movement is limited to those singular spots.

It's also extremely difficult to quantify how much an animal is worth in the game, as the DLC packs also come with all the other stuff - scenery, foliage, scenarios, campaigns, building pieces, and so on.

To put it another way, if the pack exclusively contained exhibit animals, and literally nothing else, then I would expect it to be cheaper. However, if the pack contained exhibit animals, new exhibits, new exhibit biomes, and new scenery items/building pieces relating to exhibit animals, then I would probably be willing to pay the same as for a regular DLC.

Yes, I agree ... the skins would take just as much work, but the animations wouldn't, because exhibit animals wouldn't need animations for fighting, interacting with other animals, drinking and eating, etc. ....