I will start with the positives, the scenery and construction pieces are absolutely amazing, and exactly what we needed in this game. The amount of flexibility with these pieces is something that was currently missed with the previous DLCs. All of the scenery pieces truly complement the zoo vibe Planet Zoo should always have been after. The animals were beautifully done, they just keep on getting better with each DLC. Their animations are superb as well, very smooth transitions, both in land and water for each species. Animal movement is another area of improvement with this DLC. Excellent job.
Now comes the heartbreaking part at least for me, because it is truly a deal breaker. Many have complained about the murky new glass barriers, and yes that definitely should be improved, but is not the biggest issue for me. The depth requirements for the deep swimming animations are extremely disappointing. Basically all of the new animations are useless to me, because there is no way that I will built exhibits with that much depth, even for the Seals and Penguins. The Giant otter and Caiman are the two biggest disappointments, I have designed exhibits for both species in real life and the requirements in the game are beyond comprehension. There is nothing in the zoo world like that, so not clear where did Frontier got their reference from. An optimal design for both of these species, will have the top water mark to be at the visitor's eye level, maybe a little higher depending on the exhibit. The maximum depth of the habitat's pool should not extend more than two feet below the bottom of the Plexiglas barrier. Ideally it should be at the same level as where the visitors are standing.
So now I'm forced to choose between being able to enjoy swimming animations and realistic animal behavior in the game, against having a zoo that is aesthetically pleasing, in scale and is not cartoonish. I can not compromise on the feeling of realism that building in scale provides me, since I would no longer enjoy the game, so I'm now forced to opt out of the swimming animations. Hope at some point in the future this is addressed, because as it stands it is very unfortunate.
Now comes the heartbreaking part at least for me, because it is truly a deal breaker. Many have complained about the murky new glass barriers, and yes that definitely should be improved, but is not the biggest issue for me. The depth requirements for the deep swimming animations are extremely disappointing. Basically all of the new animations are useless to me, because there is no way that I will built exhibits with that much depth, even for the Seals and Penguins. The Giant otter and Caiman are the two biggest disappointments, I have designed exhibits for both species in real life and the requirements in the game are beyond comprehension. There is nothing in the zoo world like that, so not clear where did Frontier got their reference from. An optimal design for both of these species, will have the top water mark to be at the visitor's eye level, maybe a little higher depending on the exhibit. The maximum depth of the habitat's pool should not extend more than two feet below the bottom of the Plexiglas barrier. Ideally it should be at the same level as where the visitors are standing.
So now I'm forced to choose between being able to enjoy swimming animations and realistic animal behavior in the game, against having a zoo that is aesthetically pleasing, in scale and is not cartoonish. I can not compromise on the feeling of realism that building in scale provides me, since I would no longer enjoy the game, so I'm now forced to opt out of the swimming animations. Hope at some point in the future this is addressed, because as it stands it is very unfortunate.
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