This has come up in some other threads: Deserts are arid by definition, but they aren't always hot (and may even get dusted with snow upon occasion); temperate zones and grasslands vary greatly in terms of snowfall, winter temperatures and so on. Even the tropics, tundra, and taiga aren't monolithic. It also seems strange that the default vegetation in my North American grassland zoo are African tree species instead of (say) cottonwood, oak, and sycamore. Side note--wish we had cottonwood in the game.
Individually programming different biome temps and vegetation for each possible continent, let alone microclimate within a continent, would be cumbersome, though. An alternative might be some kind of slider during the biome selection process that allows one to choose a seasonal temperature range (from realistic possibilities). So you could get a grassland where it snows but doesn't have the same kind of heat waves that make my bison and wolves wilt like daisies or, you could maybe have a temperate zone where it rarely snows in winter, and a cooler desert. Being able to independently select vegetation by continent would be nice too, but the temp selection could make zoos more realistic and appropriate to their actual continents and remove the need to "cheat" and spam heaters or coolers in outdoor habitats that wouldn't actually need them in a given locale.
I have no idea if this is something the current program/engine would allow--temp and weather independent of a specific biome model--or not, but it would be fun.
Individually programming different biome temps and vegetation for each possible continent, let alone microclimate within a continent, would be cumbersome, though. An alternative might be some kind of slider during the biome selection process that allows one to choose a seasonal temperature range (from realistic possibilities). So you could get a grassland where it snows but doesn't have the same kind of heat waves that make my bison and wolves wilt like daisies or, you could maybe have a temperate zone where it rarely snows in winter, and a cooler desert. Being able to independently select vegetation by continent would be nice too, but the temp selection could make zoos more realistic and appropriate to their actual continents and remove the need to "cheat" and spam heaters or coolers in outdoor habitats that wouldn't actually need them in a given locale.
I have no idea if this is something the current program/engine would allow--temp and weather independent of a specific biome model--or not, but it would be fun.
