I would like to start this thread thanking the developers of Planet Zoo, and everyone associated with this magnificent game for the dedication you have shown in continuing to improve it.
As I find myself with a lot more time in my hands, I have managed to put together a number of suggestions associated with Foliage, an essential and much needed area within this simulation, and one that quite frankly has gone overlooked in this and other forums. While I'm very excited about the introduction of new zoo associated themes, and can not wait until new animal species are added to the game, foliage is the one aspect of the game that seems to be largely used by each player, yet not discussed to great lengths in these threads. The developers did a fantastic job in selecting plant species for this game, as they are highly detailed and realistic, I would like to point out however some areas that could be improved as well as expanded.
As we all know, the game has a large variety of African animal species, there is disproportion of species from this continent in comparison with others. This makes it possible to design zoo's that focused heavily on a lot African exhibits. The opposite can be said about the plants, there is a large variety of North American and European native trees, yet not enough African plants to match the animal diversity, and this takes away from the realism of the exhibits. I have well over 20 years of experience within the Zoo planning and design industry and during that time have come to understand that landscape architecture represents not only a very important area of modern zoo exhibit design, but it is also essential in promoting the conservation message that the Planet Zoo team has been so focus on creating within this game. Furthermore, plants are vital when designing guest areas, entrances and giving our zoos that realistic feel. I have watched many highly rated players design exhibits that all end up becoming very similar, mostly because of the restrictions on foliage, and while you can become very creative with it (I have pushed my imagination in every possible way to create unique designs) I would much rather have original created content from Planet Zoo in this area.
While you will not see me asking the team for any unicorns, dinosaurs or alien wildlife, (there is plenty of fantasy games out there) I would however ask you to please continue your efforts in making this game a realistic zoo simulation game and adding content that expands on that core mission. There is an immense variety of plants that can be added to the game, but since I'm not a game developer, and my knowledge in this area is limited, my recommendations will be based on what already exists within your world. I have worked with the tools and species already available in your industry while putting together this list of recommendations. It is my understanding that Planet Zoo works with speed tree as well as other programs, so the relationship is not exclusive, so I'm hoping that the foliage team can work with this already existing species and add them to the game. Since the plants are not animated, how difficult it is this process? Is there a restriction on how many plants can be added to the game? I ask this questions because I was always curious on the limited inclusion of species in the base game compared to building pieces for example, the diversity of species is somewhat limited.
I will be adding additional plant species to this thread covering other geographic areas, but though that Africa would be a great place to start, since we already have a number of animals species from this continent, and many of the exhibits being built by players are dedicated to African Species, any additions from this region would be welcomed.
As I find myself with a lot more time in my hands, I have managed to put together a number of suggestions associated with Foliage, an essential and much needed area within this simulation, and one that quite frankly has gone overlooked in this and other forums. While I'm very excited about the introduction of new zoo associated themes, and can not wait until new animal species are added to the game, foliage is the one aspect of the game that seems to be largely used by each player, yet not discussed to great lengths in these threads. The developers did a fantastic job in selecting plant species for this game, as they are highly detailed and realistic, I would like to point out however some areas that could be improved as well as expanded.
As we all know, the game has a large variety of African animal species, there is disproportion of species from this continent in comparison with others. This makes it possible to design zoo's that focused heavily on a lot African exhibits. The opposite can be said about the plants, there is a large variety of North American and European native trees, yet not enough African plants to match the animal diversity, and this takes away from the realism of the exhibits. I have well over 20 years of experience within the Zoo planning and design industry and during that time have come to understand that landscape architecture represents not only a very important area of modern zoo exhibit design, but it is also essential in promoting the conservation message that the Planet Zoo team has been so focus on creating within this game. Furthermore, plants are vital when designing guest areas, entrances and giving our zoos that realistic feel. I have watched many highly rated players design exhibits that all end up becoming very similar, mostly because of the restrictions on foliage, and while you can become very creative with it (I have pushed my imagination in every possible way to create unique designs) I would much rather have original created content from Planet Zoo in this area.
While you will not see me asking the team for any unicorns, dinosaurs or alien wildlife, (there is plenty of fantasy games out there) I would however ask you to please continue your efforts in making this game a realistic zoo simulation game and adding content that expands on that core mission. There is an immense variety of plants that can be added to the game, but since I'm not a game developer, and my knowledge in this area is limited, my recommendations will be based on what already exists within your world. I have worked with the tools and species already available in your industry while putting together this list of recommendations. It is my understanding that Planet Zoo works with speed tree as well as other programs, so the relationship is not exclusive, so I'm hoping that the foliage team can work with this already existing species and add them to the game. Since the plants are not animated, how difficult it is this process? Is there a restriction on how many plants can be added to the game? I ask this questions because I was always curious on the limited inclusion of species in the base game compared to building pieces for example, the diversity of species is somewhat limited.
I will be adding additional plant species to this thread covering other geographic areas, but though that Africa would be a great place to start, since we already have a number of animals species from this continent, and many of the exhibits being built by players are dedicated to African Species, any additions from this region would be welcomed.
