A little help?

[ajmcspursfan]

I am absolutely loving the game, got it for Christmas and cant stop playing! Sometimes its just enjoyable watching the animals behave and interact with the surroundings or each other.

I just have a couple of questions which i admit are not totally related but i didn't think clogging up the forum with separate threads was a good idea.

My first question is how do you make a multi level building? For example if i want a viewing area looking down onto an indoor area or steps or a ramp going up a level in a tropical house?

Secondly is it possible to get paths to join with floor pieces? Or have i been getting the wrong impression with both?

Finally, this is not as important but just interested in any tips for how to build decorative fences or barriers along paths?

I'm sorry to ask so many unrelated questions but hopefully there is more then enough wisdom out there!

Many thanks

 

[Imagin]

First of all - welcome aboard! There is a learning curve but it's well worth the effort! Planet Zoo is amazing fun once you get the hang of it. You'll find this community very helpful.

Paths will not join with floor pieces, floor pieces are pretty much just for decoration. Paths will join with facilities - shops, staff buildings, habitat gates.

This should help you with your building questions:

Source: https://youtu.be/M4cPE32dFuY


There are a lot of great YouTubers who are doing tutorials for this game.

 

[ajmcspursfan]

I have seen that video, its incredibly helpful! I have no idea how people make zoo's look so good, mine look so poor in comparison!

I had this really big idea for a realistic European style zoo but i am struggling to work out how to actually go about creating it.

I'm much happier with my wildlife park but I feel i would be embarrassed compared to other incredible creators!

 

[Imagin]

I have seen that video, its incredibly helpful! I have no idea how people make zoo's look so good, mine look so poor in comparison!

I had this really big idea for a realistic European style zoo but i am struggling to work out how to actually go about creating it.

I'm much happier with my wildlife park but I feel i would be embarrassed compared to other incredible creators!

I know how that is! You shouldn't compare yourself to the You Tubers who pretty much do this for a living though. Many of their zoos aren't even functional - meaning they aren't profitable and/or don't have guests going to all areas. And building is not for everyone. You can create a beautiful zoo using other people's buildings and habitats on Steam Workshop if it isn't for you.

 

[P3NGU1N]

You got the game for Christmas while a lot of the creators have put in hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of hours into creating. Some creators started in Planet Coaster and already had knowledge of the build mode coming into Planet Zoo.

Watching tutorials and just keeping it up will help. Even downloading items from the Steam Workshop and placing them will give you the ability to first hand look at them in the edit mode. There you can see the ideas of others and how they use things that shouldn't be turn into something that works.

 

[ajmcspursfan]

I know how that is! You shouldn't compare yourself to the You Tubers who pretty much do this for a living though. Many of their zoos aren't even functional. And building is not for everyone. You can create a beautiful zoo using other people's buildings and habitats on Steam Workshop if it isn't for you.

Yeah this is true, i watched so much on youtube since the game was released and perhaps i try to run before i can walk! Using items from the workshop seems a bit like cheating but actually it is helpful seeing how pieces work together!

You got the game for Christmas while a lot of the creators have put in hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of hours into creating. Some creators started in Planet Coaster and already had knowledge of the build mode coming into Planet Zoo.

Watching tutorials and just keeping it up will help. Even downloading items from the Steam Workshop and placing them will give you the ability to first hand look at them in the edit mode. There you can see the ideas of others and how they use things that shouldn't be turn into something that works.

Thanks guys, just needed a bit of encouragement! One day i will get my zoo ive been planning right and how i want it Building large buildings to scale and making them look interesting is something i really want to get the hang of!

 

[Imagin]

Thanks guys, just needed a bit of encouragement! One day i will get my zoo ive been planning right and how i want it Building large buildings to scale and making them look interesting is something i really want to get the hang of!

There is definitely a learning curve involved, but that's not a bad thing, it means the game has depth and, for those who take the time to learn, we won't get bored of it easily Keep in mind that building is only one aspect of this game and not the most important one. The terraforming is my favorite thing to do in this game right now. A lot can be done with that to make habitats more natural. Landscaping with lots of stuff in the Nature window will make any zoo look better! There is so much to learn for a new person you really shouldn't bog yourself down with creating new buildings right away. Take it a step at a time and move on when you're comfortable. If you try and do everything at once you can get overwhelmed and frustrated pretty fast

 

[Xrystal]

Yep, keep building up .. start simple and progress ..

I started with just putting outside walls on the buildings... now I can make a large building with the pieces and the small buildings inside with paths to the main entrance. What puts me off uploading to the workshop is the fact that paths aren't stored with the object uploaded. Even ones I have re-used from a blueprint have never looked the same as the original due to the pathing differences.

 

[Chante Goodman]

Some great advice in this thread, and a wonderful video from Geekism. It is 110% worth remembering that a lot of videos and amazing Steam blueprints that you see, are usually made by Planet Coaster veterans who are now playing Planet Zoo. They've had years of practice and experience in creating blueprints, to the point where it can look very easy. Everyone starts from somewhere; you're doing just fine!

 

[ajmcspursfan]

Some great advice in this thread, and a wonderful video from Geekism. It is 110% worth remembering that a lot of videos and amazing Steam blueprints that you see, are usually made by Planet Coaster veterans who are now playing Planet Zoo. They've had years of practice and experience in creating blueprints, to the point where it can look very easy. Everyone starts from somewhere; you're doing just fine!

Thanks for the support Sorry only just seen this!

 

[ajmcspursfan]

Another quick question, i have a polar bear stuck in my trade centre and i cant seem to do anything with it? I thought i had built an enclosure big enough but obv they need the biggest size of any animal so i was not able to house it. Is there something i can do to get rid of it as it were?

 

[Imagin]

If you can't release it to the wild or do a quick sale it means the polar bear is injured. Move him to a Quarantine and get the vet to fix him, then you will be able to take him back into the Trade Center and, once he's fixed, you'll be able to get rid of him.

 

[Averalorax]

My advise, as a still newbie creator, i s to try to choose one aspect to get comfortable with and then move on to a different aspect. I started with making acceptable habitats for the animals, then a cave "den" for my African Wild Dogs that I am very happy with. Climbing apparatus is also challenging, for me, to get looking right and usable. Next I went to making coverings for path observation points (included an elevated observation deck.

Basically small, easily obtainable goals that I can build upon. My next goal is to construct a ride, and then maybe a building.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

My advise, as a still newbie creator, i s to try to choose one aspect to get comfortable with and then move on to a different aspect. I started with making acceptable habitats for the animals, then a cave "den" for my African Wild Dogs that I am very happy with. Climbing apparatus is also challenging, for me, to get looking right and usable. Next I went to making coverings for path observation points (included an elevated observation deck.

Basically small, easily obtainable goals that I can build upon. My next goal is to construct a ride, and then maybe a building.

That is actually a good advise. I worked like that as well. Build easy habitats first, thenchallenged myself with better foliage, then build my first indoor enclosure, soon working on my first vivarium-building. I plan to finish that zoo to have it as my "just play and relax zoo", to have even more patience with my next project, because I have the oldder one to mess around with. My nemesis currently is terrain formation. All my zoos are flat. I struggle with terrain building in every game. So yeah, that's my next level.

I guess you not only have to learn to build with this game, but also lose the fear of taking your time. You worked three days just on the entrance building? That's fine! A month to finish up your arctic section? Cool!

 

[ajmcspursfan]

The advice you have all given me has been brilliant, thank you so much!

I didn't want to ask as i have enjoyed finding out my things on my own but is there a way to drop or raise paths on the grid? I'm probably being either silly or expecting way too much of the program!

 

[MissUnderstood]

The advice you have all given me has been brilliant, thank you so much!

I didn't want to ask as i have enjoyed finding out my things on my own but is there a way to drop or raise paths on the grid? I'm probably being either silly or expecting way too much of the program!

You can raise paths on the grid, not sure about lowering, just hold the left mouse button then move the mouse forward or back. You cant do stairs on the grid.

Or if that's a bit fiddly use a wall and lower or heighten it, split it from the grid if needed and then select the path to use that walls grid. Sorry, hard to explain

 

[ajmcspursfan]

You can raise paths on the grid, not sure about lowering, just hold the left mouse button then move the mouse forward or back. You cant do stairs on the grid.

Or if that's a bit fiddly use a wall and lower or heighten it, split it from the grid if needed and then select the path to use that walls grid. Sorry, hard to explain

No its totally ok, thank you for explaining. Unfortunate i cant seem to get it to work for me

I want to have a restaurant a bit off the ground so they can look down into an enclosure but i cant seem to make it work sadly

 

[Lea_G]

I hope I can explain it in an understandable way: Build the path on the ground level along the grid the way you like. Then place one path section where you want to have your stairs to go up. Un-select the path grid. Go over the path section that you just placed, hold the mouse key to move it upwars, this creates your stair. On top of the stairs, place another path section where you want your platform to be. Then select path-grid again and chose the platform section to create an aligned platform. Does that work for you?

 

[Averalorax]

The advice you have all given me has been brilliant, thank you so much!

I didn't want to ask as i have enjoyed finding out my things on my own but is there a way to drop or raise paths on the grid? I'm probably being either silly or expecting way too much of the program!

DeLadysigner has a tutorial video on Youtube that helped me figure out paths a bit easier:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI7tdfNVMEw


There are other videos out there, but hers was the easiest for me to follow for paths

 

[ajmcspursfan]

I hope I can explain it in an understandable way: Build the path on the ground level along the grid the way you like. Then place one path section where you want to have your stairs to go up. Un-select the path grid. Go over the path section that you just placed, hold the mouse key to move it upwars, this creates your stair. On top of the stairs, place another path section where you want your platform to be. Then select path-grid again and chose the platform section to create an aligned platform. Does that work for you?

DeLadysigner has a tutorial video on Youtube that helped me figure out paths a bit easier:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI7tdfNVMEw


There are other videos out there, but hers was the easiest for me to follow for paths

Thanks guys, I have finally been able to do it. Took me quite a long time to figure out exactly what i was doing

Such a wonderful community to be a part of, everyone helping each other!