Which mode have you built your main zoo in?

Rickcb

R
Just a curious newbie question: which mode did you choose to build your main zoo in - Career, Challenge, Franchise or Sandbox?

I'm still working through career tutorials but already thinking about what my first will look like and where it will be. Some idea of what experienced players choose will always be welcome.
 

Moorwiesen

M
If I want to breed and improve animals, I go to franchise mode. If it is about building and constructing "my dream zoo" I go to sandbox mode.
 

lala2021

L
I like Challenge mode. I enjoy the added challenge of limited finances and having to do research. I find Sandbox too overwhelming!

Edit: I love the career mode! Not the timed ones though. Wish there were more scenarios! But I am in the minority for this!
 
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FoxyDee

FoxyDee
I only play challenge mode. But it completely depends on what kind of person are you. Is the building aspect the most important for you? Then you cant go wrong with sanbox. And if you like management you will probably want to play either challenge mode or franchise mode (franchise has players driven animal market).
 

Laura_91

L
Franchise mainly. I like the market better and once you know how to make money it doesn't become and issue. You just need to start slow.

I occasionally use sandbox if I want to test something
 

KönigDerKaffeebohnen

K
The question now is your priority, but overall you cant go wrong with franchise mode for your first zoo.
You only start to appreciate all the options in sandbox mode if you to deal with them turned on before, but personally im a builder, guests are distracting and ugly, management isnt challenging, just tedious and research is just an arbitary limitation on what you can pop down.
I really dont see the appeal of planet zoo as a management game, so i turn everything of in sandbox mode and just keep to my building in peace, but i can also totally get when you do like the management aspects, tastes are different after all.
But some other starting tips if you do start in franchise:
1. Reptiles are the best cc farms
2. The arctic wood pieces, especally the beams can elovate many builds, so if you have that pack maybe try to decorate your wooden stables with them!
3. With G you can remove the hud for better views and screenshots, something i wished to know earlier :)
 

Rickcb

R
KönigDerKaffeebohnen said:
The question now is your priority, but overall you cant go wrong with franchise mode for your first zoo.
You only start to appreciate all the options in sandbox mode if you to deal with them turned on before, but personally im a builder, guests are distracting and ugly, management isnt challenging, just tedious and research is just an arbitary limitation on what you can pop down.
I really dont see the appeal of planet zoo as a management game, so i turn everything of in sandbox mode and just keep to my building in peace, but i can also totally get when you do like the management aspects, tastes are different after all.
But some other starting tips if you do start in franchise:
1. Reptiles are the best cc farms
2. The arctic wood pieces, especally the beams can elovate many builds, so if you have that pack maybe try to decorate your wooden stables with them!
3. With G you can remove the hud for better views and screenshots, something i wished to know earlier :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips. Very useful.
 

Aramar

Aramar
Normally I play sandbox and I have everything activated (money, requirements, etc) except death and stress. When you have a zoo with 200+ animals, every second someone dies, so it's not fun managing all that, especially the exhibits. Also, if I turn on stress, I end up making all the habitats with glass barriers. That's why I turn off those 2 things only.
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
Franchise, though I have a lot of sandbox zoos as well. but my main zoo, Jamestown Zoo, is in franchise. I would call it my flagship zoo but it was only started last summer, so I'm not sure that really would count for a flagship.
 

Imagin

Imagin
Sandbox only with everything turned off so everyone and every animal is always happy - no escapes - no predation - no deaths. No money, everything powered, all water always clean - no pooping! For me, it's all about creativity. I don't like the management aspect myself, there is nothing wrong with it, it's just not why I play. When I finish my current zoo I'm considering doing one without guests, like a wildlife sanctuary with just staff to feed them.
 

Aidan635

Aidan635
Sandbox, but with a Franchise mentality. I have certain welfare functions turned off such as habitat space requirements, hard shelter requirements, and social group requirements. I still have to manage food, stress (I think), enrichment is a big one, and I play on hard mode, so I still have to make sure my guests are educated and all of that. It's worked out pretty well so far!
 

abigenius

abigenius
I think I'm both, In sandbox I have one that I'm very proud of it , and in Franchise are my main zoo but I don't play too much in it because my PC isn't too much power for a lot of people in the zoo
 

iloveyourzoos

I
Mostly Franchise for me. I enjoy the management and especially the market with other players, and I actually try to play it as a franchise of multiple zoos, meaning that I'll take animals from one of my franchise zoos and move them to another to maintain a breeding pool, or if a species in one of my zoos is starting to get crowded, I'll build them a second habitat in one of my other zoos to move the extras to.

For me, the diversity of possible tasks has been key for my enjoyment. So if I'm tired of building or just don't have any inspired ideas, I can focus on guests or animals for a while. The balancing of these different elements is part of what keeps me coming back, and keeps any one of those tasks from becoming too repetitive.

But in another sense, the mode I play on the most is "Pause". With so many things going on, "P" is probably the key that I use the most, to stop things and see what needs taken care of.
 
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