The Unsung Hero of the Africa Pack: Scarab Beetle

MissySanchez

MissySanchez
This might sound a little absurd to some of you, but I think the choice to add the sacred scarab beetle to the Africa pack is probably the best choice they could have gone with for the single exhibit animal spot. Not only does it fit in with the desert theme (a veiled chameleon or Egyptian cobra would have served the same purpose), but it is also an amazing pick for the conservation and circle of life themes the game has. Dung beetles have a very unique niche among beetles that helps shape the environment they are in.

I can already imagine how well they will go with major megafauna sections of our parks, say being incorporated into viewing areas of elephant and rhino habitats. On top of that they will have the dung rolling animations which will give the illusion that the dung was collected from the habitat next door, +1 in terms of immersion. The only thing I would love to see added is a conservation education board talking specifically about dung beetles and their role in the environment, so that I can use it in place of the one for bees.
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
MissySanchez said:
This might sound a little absurd to some of you, but I think the choice to add the sacred scarab beetle to the Africa pack is probably the best choice they could have gone with for the single exhibit animal spot. Not only does it fit in with the desert theme (a veiled chameleon or Egyptian cobra would have served the same purpose), but it is also an amazing pick for the conservation and circle of life themes the game has. Dung beetles have a very unique niche among beetles that helps shape the environment they are in.

I can already imagine how well they will go with major megafauna sections of our parks, say being incorporated into viewing areas of elephant and rhino habitats. On top of that they will have the dung rolling animations which will give the illusion that the dung was collected from the habitat next door, +1 in terms of immersion. The only thing I would love to see added is a conservation education board talking specifically about dung beetles and their role in the environment, so that I can use it in place of the one for bees.
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Unfortunately it seems that the billboards were intended to be Frontier's answer to more educational material. "Do it yourself!" Not ideal for people like me who a) don't want to, b) aren't that artistically inclined, or c) don't have access to Photoshop or whatever.

I agree about the beetle itself though, that's a good idea and a good point you've got there. Still can't say I wouldn't have preferred something else, but it has grown on me now.
 

FoxyDee

FoxyDee
I would still prefer a chameleon, but its indeed a nice choice.
I really like the scarab for what it is, unfortunately the insects in this game dies and breeds too quickly so you have to constantly sell/manage them which can be a chore. So I probably wont use them as much I would like to. Also, I might give the insect a try if there were smaller exhibits for them, at this state, I mostly use the exhibit reptiles and frogs.

The unsung hero is the penguin for me this time. :p
 

ElectricMonk

ElectricMonk
MissySanchez said:
This might sound a little absurd to some of you, but I think the choice to add the sacred scarab beetle to the Africa pack is probably the best choice they could have gone with for the single exhibit animal spot. Not only does it fit in with the desert theme (a veiled chameleon or Egyptian cobra would have served the same purpose), but it is also an amazing pick for the conservation and circle of life themes the game has. Dung beetles have a very unique niche among beetles that helps shape the environment they are in.

I can already imagine how well they will go with major megafauna sections of our parks, say being incorporated into viewing areas of elephant and rhino habitats. On top of that they will have the dung rolling animations which will give the illusion that the dung was collected from the habitat next door, +1 in terms of immersion. The only thing I would love to see added is a conservation education board talking specifically about dung beetles and their role in the environment, so that I can use it in place of the one for bees.
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Great points - I still prefer the meerkat, simply because, got me, they’re zoo essentials but yep, scarab has some great possibilities.
 

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
I think it's an awesome choice. I was already looking forward to having them in my zoos.

NZFanatic said:
don't have access to Photoshop or whatever.
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Try Canva app. It's free, and you get tons of creativity. Plus, there's all these templates you can use and you can import photos. I use the free version and y'all have seen some of my signs; some have said they're great, so maybe it'll work for you
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
darthquell said:
I think it's an awesome choice. I was already looking forward to having them in my zoos.


Try Canva app. It's free, and you get tons of creativity. Plus, there's all these templates you can use and you can import photos. I use the free version and y'all have seen some of my signs; some have said they're great, so maybe it'll work for you
Click to expand...
I had a play around on Canva but a lot of the good material there is watermarked or hidden unless you pay for it, which I don't want to do or have the means to do.

@ElectricMonk I have played with GIMP in the past for map-making but I always found it very user unfriendly.

Anyway as I've said before I think the billboards are a useful tool, but I still think Frontier should add more educational material from their own art team as well. Even if it was just a second set of habitat information images that can be applied to the existing billboards.
 
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