Planet Zoo 2 or very long support for this beauty?

[NZFanatic]

Honestly imo, I think a sequel is unnecessary for a long time. They can definitely flesh this game out some more and provide long term support for it with free updates and paid DLC, like they're doing rn.

I think rather than a sequel, they should create a Planet 'Aquarium'. There's a lot of demand for a Marine expansion for this game, but also a lot of people against the idea, but doing a separate game that focuses on this portion of life would be a great compromise.

Though looking at Zoo Tycoon,(yes, I know we're in a different age and it's different companies) the sequel released 3 years after the original game, so we could potentially see something similar if Frontier wants to go that route. Again though, imo, I don't think they should abandon PZ after such a short time and announce a sequel. Plus, with the trend nowadays with most games providing longer term support for a single title,(Think Overwatch, Destiny, Fortnite, Apex Legends, etc...) I think a sequel isn't in the cards for at least a few years or so.

2-3 years support for PlanZo is about what I think we should expect in the modern age. A sequel, however, wouldn't be for a while after that, and how highly they prioritise it depends entirely on how popular the game remains. I still think Frontier has a few things up their sleeve with regards to content that will surprise us in the near future (hopefully not aquarium animals - I agree that a separate game would be better, and even then I'd sooner not see orca and dolphins included - but maybe birds). We kind of have to assume that in the sequel department, PlanCo will be the top priority as well, so that will come, then hopefully PlanZo. That said, Jurassic World Evolution is also a bit of a wildcard.

I get the impression that PlanZo isn't as popular as PlanCo was, as it's more niche, and less people seem to value or understand zoos for what they are (a considerable number of people, even in 2020, still think in 19th Century terms that zoos are merely there for entertainment and that the animals are miserable prisoners), so I'd expect them to prioritise PlanCo higher.

 

[Tuky]

Can I have both, please?

I really love PZ, its such a great game and pretty much has most features already I ever dreamed to have in a zoo game. And yet there is still so much more potential and options for it in the future. There are so many animals/things etc. they could add to make the game even better and more intresting
So far PZ also never got boring for me and I never stopped playing it (though of course there were weeks I couldnt play alot, but I would still play it, even if it was just 30 minutes a day or so).
So my dream would be to have PZ supported until 2025 or longer, but I am not sure how realistic that is But at the very least until 2023. Thinking next year could really be the last is really a nightmare


However, a Planet Zoo 2 could also add alot more features and possibilities which may not be options for PZ yet.
And then there is my personal desire for orcas in PZ. I still hope they will add them to PZ in the future, but if they dont I will put all my hope in a PZ2. And/or hope that, maybe, they may devolp the already mentioned "Planet Aquarium".
I have alot of faith in Frontier and I am sure they can add them in an awesome way, no matter if they would do it in PZ or PZ2 or Planet Aquarium (should the later ever be made, of course)

Thinking about that there is so much more "Planet" games Frontier could do - Planet Fantasy Zoo, Planet Farm Life, Planet Pets, Planet Dinosaur Park (if they can ever do their "own" dinosaur game again and not go on with JWE) and more. The options are endless

I agree that a separate game would be better, and even then I'd sooner not see orca and dolphins included

Eh, I hope you dont mean in a separte game, but in PZ. Because if you would want to deny them us even in a different game sepearted from PZ, then that is truly fanatic...

 

[NikolaP]

I could see that Frontier include diving to the Planet Zoo in future and after that some semi-aquatic animals like sea lions, otters maybe walruses and for sure penguins. Honestly I'm not sure why diving isn't part of the Planet Zoo already?

 

[NL_Mutso]

I could see that Frontier include diving to the Planet Zoo in future and after that some semi-aquatic animals like sea lions, otters maybe walruses and for sure penguins. Honestly I'm not sure why diving isn't part of the Planet Zoo already?

My guess (so an assumption) would be performance/bugs/glitches would be the reason or just simply wait to have a full DLC for this.

I get the impression that PlanZo isn't as popular as PlanCo was

Not the weirdest impression. I always thought that theme park based games were more popular.
The whole theme park games started in the 90s with Theme Park (loved the game when i was younger) and over 25 years had multiple successfull games (and still popular)
Not strange that we have a lot more "theme park/coaster" games than zoo games.

Thinking about that there is so much more "Planet" games Frontier could do - Planet Fantasy Zoo, Planet Farm Life, Planet Pets, Planet Dinosaur Park (if they can ever do their "own" dinosaur game again and not go on with JWE) and more. The options are endless

True, Planet insert name does allow for a lot of options.

 

[NZFanatic]

Eh, I hope you dont mean in a separte game, but in PZ. Because if you would want to deny them us even in a different game sepearted from PZ, then that is truly fanatic...

It's not up to me, and it's also not "fanatic". If they continue down an animal welfare/conservation path no matter what they call the game, then there's still no reasonable place for those animals. There simply isn't a facility on earth that can do them justice, unfortunately. That said, a separate game would simply be a case of me not buying it. I wouldn't protest it unless they tried to include those features in PlanZo.

I could see that Frontier include diving to the Planet Zoo in future and after that some semi-aquatic animals like sea lions, otters maybe walruses and for sure penguins. Honestly I'm not sure why diving isn't part of the Planet Zoo already?

Quite a while ago Frontier did a Q&A on Reddit (I think it was pre-launch) and someone asked them about diving animations. The answer was that they had attempted it (or were attempting it) and it was proving a more difficult hurdle to jump than the climbing animations. My theory is that it's because the water function of the Cobra Engine doesn't actually create a 3D space - it creates a 2D surface layer and an empty gap underneath. It works for the hippos because they pretty much just walk along the bottom of the water, and it works for surface-swimming because only the surface is a physical layer.

 

[Murray]

Cobra engine is trash. I think it also plays a role in why the male lion looks terrible. I remember it looking better in it’s early stages and had fur similar to the other big cats that look fine.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Cobra engine is trash. I think it also plays a role in why the male lion looks terrible.

Why should an engine be responsible for the graphics? That doesn't make sense to me. The lion simply is a design decision.

 

[Murray]

Why should an engine be responsible for the graphics? That doesn't make sense to me. The lion simply is a design decision.

There’s already a thread on this but it does have something to do with the graphics.

 

[NZFanatic]

Cobra engine is trash. I think it also plays a role in why the male lion looks terrible. I remember it looking better in it’s early stages and had fur similar to the other big cats that look fine.

The lion model looks fine. Nearly every animal could be tweaked in various ways to be more 'realistic' - there's nothing especially bad or important about the lion.

 

[Bobble2017]

I hope there is still a lot more that can be done with this version before shelling out for another version . There are still so many animals that can be added ,
I just hope it doesn't go the same way as Planet Coaster where they suddenly stopped doing stuff for that and just decided to do a console version ,
the worst thing would be if they just suddenly went quiet with no word if there was any more content to come or not

 

[NikolaP]

Quite a while ago Frontier did a Q&A on Reddit (I think it was pre-launch) and someone asked them about diving animations. The answer was that they had attempted it (or were attempting it) and it was proving a more difficult hurdle to jump than the climbing animations. My theory is that it's because the water function of the Cobra Engine doesn't actually create a 3D space - it creates a 2D surface layer and an empty gap underneath. It works for the hippos because they pretty much just walk along the bottom of the water, and it works for surface-swimming because only the surface is a physical layer.

If that's the case then we might not seeing nothing from semi aquatic animals in Planet Zoo, also penguins would be so strange to have without diving animations.

I was also reading on reddit about diving in Planet Zoo from some programmers and many of them said it is pretty easy to implement that feature also flying too. They were mentioning some x,y,z coordinates and explaining how to. Debate was after many people complaining why animals in terariums don't move. And that was easier to code diving and flying then moving inside box. Something like that.

 

[marcnesiumHH]

I was also reading on reddit about diving in Planet Zoo from some programmers and many of them said it is pretty easy to implement that feature also flying too.

surely, it can be done. The flagship game of Frontier, Elite, is based on the same engine, where spaceships and whole planets are included. The main question is will Frontier be willing to invest in such a mechanic post launch of a game and what sales they can achieve with this (e.g. aquatic DLC). I am still optmistic that we will see such an aquatic DLC within the next 6 months.

 

[NZFanatic]

If that's the case then we might not seeing nothing from semi aquatic animals in Planet Zoo, also penguins would be so strange to have without diving animations.

I was also reading on reddit about diving in Planet Zoo from some programmers and many of them said it is pretty easy to implement that feature also flying too. They were mentioning some x,y,z coordinates and explaining how to. Debate was after many people complaining why animals in terariums don't move. And that was easier to code diving and flying then moving inside box. Something like that.

I wouldn't trust the word of any miscellaneous programmers over that of Frontier, to be honest. If they say it's difficult, then that's what I believe. Cobra is their own engine that they developed, and I doubt it's open-source to anyone who wants mess around with it, so random programmers saying "it would be easy" probably have very little idea about the constraints of the engine.

The thing with flying and diving isn't just x-y-z coordination, it's a full spherical 360 degree axis and a hitbox that has to adapt for pathfinding. A bird flying through the air would need to figure out what's around it in every direction in order to avoid it, as opposed to land-based animals that only have to worry about things to the side or above so long as they are on a surface. Navigation underwater or in the air is a difficult thing to programme, I'm sure, but I think they would fundamentally be part of the same code - if my theory about the Cobra Engine water is correct, then underneath the surface is just 'empty space', just like air. So in theory if they can figure out one, they can figure out the other.

I don't think it's impossible, and I don't think Frontier would just give up on such a lucrative idea either. I just think they would have added it in at launch if it was really that easy.

 

[NikolaP]

I just think they would have added it in at launch if it was really that easy.

It's my opinion too.

Honestly Im pretty sure they will implement something of that in the future.

 

[NL_Mutso]

I was also reading on reddit about diving in Planet Zoo from some programmers and many of them said it is pretty easy to implement that feature also flying too. They were mentioning some x,y,z coordinates and explaining how to. Debate was after many people complaining why animals in terariums don't move. And that was easier to code diving and flying then moving inside box. Something like that

I think it would be a rare find to have a programmer on Reddit with experience with this engine.

I wouldn't be surprised if +50% commenters aren't programmers at all .. On the internet it's mostly used to silence an argument. (seen some animal "experts" on this forum as well)
1 of my close friends is a programmer too: Basically everything he claims it's either easy or the fault of the user
Until you confront him with the real problem - with the most used answer: If it can't be programmed - the basics should be changed. It's sad and laughable at the same time.

If it was easy - every game would be free of bugs/glitches. Basically meaning most programmers do a poor job, which they aren't because it's always difficult.
Especially for the pc, with basically every player has an unique setup.

If that's the case then we might not seeing nothing from semi aquatic animals in Planet Zoo, also penguins would be so strange to have without diving animations.

That's the worst case scenario (which is still an option). In the end I would settle with a penguin without diving. Still think we will be getting something - even if it's not perfect

 

[marcnesiumHH]

 

[Murray]

The lion model looks fine. Nearly every animal could be tweaked in various ways to be more 'realistic' - there's nothing especially bad or important about the lion.

The mane of the male lion makes it look like your playing a game from the early 2000s. It’s so cartoony and looks terrible.

 

[NikolaP]

Well terrible and this game I'm not sure if those two can go along

 

[KieranKD]

Frontier has never included aquatic DLCs in any similiar game; no water rides in PlanCo, no aquatic reptiles in JWE, and no fully aquatic animals in PZ. I think the most we could hope for is semi-aquatics; seals, penguins and the like. I truly do not believe we will ever get aquariums in PZ nor do I think we'll get birds to the extent people seem to want/assume we will. I think aviaries in the same vein of the exhibits is far more likely of the two, I personally believe 90% of aquatics are absolutely out of the question. The base game itself could use with diving animations for the crocodiles, bears and big cats so I am really hopeful that we will get those mechanics and therefor, some key semi-aquatic zoo species.


I would absolutely love to see this game supported for 5 more years. I'm not too fussed with the animal DLC sizes because I get excellent quality animals multiple times per year, though to be honest if we get aquatics (semi or full) or flighted birds I would really love to see big dlcs in a similar vein to what ZT2 did. I see absolutely no reason why we should have a completely seperate game for "planet aquarium" when many zoos in real life have large aquariums and many aquariums have zoo animals. Why not just make it a bigger DLC like the ZT2 aquatic disk? People who don't want that in their game simply don't have to buy it, it's not like all these animals are getting added for free. Just include the essentials, we don't need 300 new set pieces to be happy especially in such a large dlc who's focus is introducing entirely new mechanics and animals to the game.

I think large dlcs would be best for these type of major updates, with the smaller animal dlcs fine for expanding onto the base game and the mechanics already there. I would really love if PZ is supported for an extended period of time and most of all, I hope that once it reaches the end of its life that developers add more mod support to the game. They are no longer making dlc for money anyway and it would give people something to do while waiting on the next big zoo game.

Though like aquatics, if looking at frontier's past is any indication I also doubt end-of-life mod support would be added.

 

[NZFanatic]

The mane of the male lion makes it look like your playing a game from the early 2000s. It’s so cartoony and looks terrible.

Yes, and the bears' necks are too short, and the hyena's snout isn't long enough, and so on and so forth. None of that is game-breaking. If you really can't handle the way the lion looks, then play without the lion. Problem solved.