What do exhibits and aviaries have in common, and why might Frontier have decided to create a huge walkthrough exhibit for a bat? Answer: They're figuring out proper roofs, roof collision, flight mechanics, and flight animations. We've all seen climbing/swimming/diving critters glitch through walls and the tops of our tropical halls. That needs to be resolved for custom aviaries to work. It's much easier to work the kinks out of the system in a controlled environment - a single pre-determined walkthrough exhibit shape - than to let players create whatever they want while you're still building and testing and debugging the system. I'm also guessing that bats hanging from things upside down is easier to get to from the existing jumping, hanging, and brachiation mechanics already in the game than a bird perching perfectly on top of a branch from free flight. We're building up to the future, but we're still working out the bugs. Custom aviaries and fully flighted habitat animals are coming, but there are technical details to work out first. System refinements, upgrades, revamps. Think existing exhibit animals outside of the terrarium glass, in mixed species roofed enclosures, the green iguana set free. Think small primates running freely along vines and branches. Yes, think about the first flighted birds overhead. Think about large fully enclosed environments, and the possibilities therein. Even if the walls and roof are set in stone for the time being, if the interior is customizable, how much can be done?
South American Tropical Hall, a winter getaway DLC.
Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth
Black Howler
Golden Lion Tamarin
Ocelot
Geoffroy's Spider Monkey
Scarlet Macaw
Keel-billed Toucan
Green Anaconda