Any advice with null barriers

[Roxxsmom]

I just can't seem to get the hang of them. As I understand it, they are used when you want to use rocks or buildings or some other non barrier feature as the outer boundary of an enclosure. But when I've tried to use them this way, I get constant escape notices. I've even tried building normal barriers first, covering them with the rocks or whatever, then replacing them with the null barriers. It never seems to work, and I'll get repeated animal escape messages, even when they animals are actually still in the enclosures.

This is what I've been trying to do, but I'm clearly not doing it correctly. I've tried looking for step-by-step instructions on how to do this, but all I find are videos that seem to assume you know how to do it already.

 

[nutrit]

Try to place them outside the habitat. First the rocks next the null barrier

 

[Roxxsmom]

Maybe that's the issue. I try to bury the null barrier inside the rocks.Thanks.

But the problem I'm having with this particular habitat may not be due to the null barrier. Even after removing it and the rocks and simply using a normal barrier, I'm getting weird alerts over and over. Animals keep "escaping" while still being inside the enclosure. And these animals are wild dogs, not climbing animals, and the barriers are 3 meters high!

I am also getting alerts off and on that keepers or mechanics can't visit the habitat due to my work zone set up, but they are in fact visiting it (and they are feeding the animals and keeping the barriers mended). The alert will go away for a while on its own before coming back. The maintenance path is connected to the habitat gate, and the habitat is most definitely assigned to a work zone and the gate is right by the keeper hut, mechanic's hut, and staff room. The staff are assigned to that work zone. So I have no idea what's up with this habitat, and it's driving me nuts. I'm about to tear it apart and rebuild from scratch.

I vaguely remember getting "bugged" habitats when I first started playing, but the issue went away with one of the patches. So I've no idea why it's suddenly happening tonight with this particular zoo. I started it to experiment with more naturalistic looking habitats, but so far I've been frustrated.

 

[Urufu1997]

Try if it helps to let Steam verify the Game Files or also delete and replace the Gate too if you didn't do it already

 

[nutrit]

That’s why I wrote you should make null barriers outside the habitat. Don’t hide it in the rocks. Make it outside the habitat. First rocks, then outside the null barrier. It’s invisible it doesn’t have look good.
Also when you’re done you should also check for the escape points with filters and fix it.

 

[Roxxsmom]

Thanks.

How do I get steam to verify the game file?

I've tried completely re-doing the habitat barriers (no null barriers, just normal ones), and the wild dogs continue to "escape" without leaving their enclosures. It's really ticking me off, because as far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with it. And in any case, they aren't actually escaping, or even going anywhere near the barriers. They're always in the middle of the habitat when this happens.

And I am still getting the message about mechanics and keepers being unable to access certain habitats because of work group set up, even though they are actually accessing them just fine. I'm almost ready to scrap this zoo, which is a bummer after playing it for several hours. I don't know what I did wrong.

 

[Urufu1997]

How do I get steam to verify the game file?

Steam Support :: Verify Integrity of Game Files

support.steampowered.com

Don't know why they've written that you need to restart your Computer. This Part should be unnecessary

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Hmm... have you watched your dogs for a while to see where they are "escaping"? Sometimes they are just touching a tiny bit of the barrier, sometimes they jump on a rock that is considered outside of the habitat for the game, but can't go any further, so it still looks like they are in the habitat, but they are technixally not.

 

[Roxxsmom]

Yeah, I did that for a while last night. The problem area seems to be the observation gallery at the front of their habitat, where there is one-way glass for guests to view the animals. Every time the dogs move past this stretch of barrier, the alarm en route to the other side of the enclosure, the "escaped animal" alarm is triggered, even though they are still in the enclosure. Guests scream and run. I'm used to the occasional unexplained escape--a wolf that jumps over a barrier that is more than high enough, or a seal that occasionally swims through the glass, or even the occasional lemur that seems to jump from a tree or shelter to the edge of a "climb proof" barrier. But this is happening over and over again, and they are not actually escaping.

There was a bit of flower border that was clipping though the glass from outside the enclosure, and I thought that might be the issue. However, relocating the plants outside the barrier did not fix the issue, and it is still happening, even though the flowers are no longer poking through the glass.

And thanks, Urufu. I found the instructions for steam file verification after I asked here, and I was wondering the same thing about having to restart. Maybe it's in case something is open and running that would slow the process or something. Anyway, I ran the validation process, and nothing came up. Or rather, it said all the files were validated.

The gate area I am getting the messages about it not being accessible to keepers and mechanics (due to work zone set up) is this one, and it's baffling. They most definitely do access it and enter the enclosure when needed. In fact, I've had no issues with the keeper not feeding the animals in this enclosure or the mechanics not keeping the barriers repaired. When the message that they can't access it due to work zone set up comes, they aren't even attempting to. It's more of an annoyance than anything, but I'm getting tired of the constant alert message distracting me.

 

[PeppyPepp]

@Roxxsmom, I too get notifications about staff unable to reach a habitat because of the work zone setup (even though they obviously can). I don't really know what triggers it, it's like the game randomly decides it's going to mess with the notifications. It happens rarely, thankfully.

 

[Roxxsmom]

Hey PeppyPepp. I remember getting this with early zoos, then it went away after some patch or another. But this new zoo I started is giving the alert about mechanics and keepers (and occasionally vets) being unable to reach a habitat due to work zone set up, and it's frustrating. I've actually been very careful to have the staff rooms and keepers/workshop huts very close to the entrances of habitats in each workzone. This is the first zoo where I haven't had to constantly click the call button to "remind" keepers to feed animals and mechanics to fix things. But I'm being bugged by these constant alerts. Seems to happen sometimes when there is actually a mechanic or keeper in the habitat, so maybe they are blocking the other worker's access. So maybe it's similar to that annoying alert that a talk point is inaccessible when the educator is giving a talk.

The frequent escape of the wild dog pups is more of an annoyance. I ignore the alerts now, and each alert resolves itself within a few seconds, but there's always a bit of a drop in guest numbers as they run screaming from the scary, dangerous wild dog pup who gets too close to the viewing gallery window.

It does seem to mostly be the pups triggering this, as I may go a while with nothing, and I think the issue is fixed, but then it will start up again. Seems to be when there are juveniles in the enclosure. I tried putting all the dogs in the trade center and re-doing the entire enclosure. I've tried replacing the one way glass in the viewing gallery with the same concrete barrier as the rest of the habitat (but with windows). I've checked to make sure nothing is clipping through the barrier in front. Still, the issue persists. The heat maps don't indicate any issues with this enclosure either. So I'm stumped. It may be an issue with having a recessed viewing gallery (recessed off the main walkway), but I have a mirror image habitat with zebras, and there's no problem there.

I put in a ticket with an attached saved game file and all my specs. Looking at the issue on the issue tracker, it appears that many others will experience this with particular enclosures in their zoos, and usually with juvenile animals.

On a positive note, I created a lion habitat and an otter habitat with null barriers and haven't had any escapes (so far). So hopefully I've finally figured out how to use those. Now If I can figure out how to make my rock walls look as nice as the ones people make in the videos.