Hello Frontier & Planet Zoo team,
First off hope everyone is staying safe, and doing well in this crazy time. I'm super excited to immerse myself in this community!
I just reached 35 hours of playtime, and I just wanted to make this post to appreciate what a wonderful game this is. I've been having a ton of fun, and I also appreciate a lot of little things in this game that I'd love to just say "YOU GOT IT!" to, because I appreciate games like this being made, and I will forever continue to support it.
Here's my growing list:
On a last note, I know how difficult 3D modeling is, and how much work goes into making a simple animal. A lot of different talents have to come together in art and engineering (sound, animation, programming, 3D) to bring them to life and I think we can do ourselves a favor by reminding ourselves of that when we're shelling out money for DLC's. There are real people behind the scenes here, who are just as passionate as you are (why else would they be making it?) I keep this in mind every time I look at the price for a DLC. It's easily discernible what's clearly worth it and what isn't. When the genuineness is there, it shows pretty immediately. Got the arctic pack cause it looked great, the deluxe upgrade pack just to support the game.
Can't wait to see where Planet Zoo goes! Cheers and have a great week everyone!
First off hope everyone is staying safe, and doing well in this crazy time. I'm super excited to immerse myself in this community!
I just reached 35 hours of playtime, and I just wanted to make this post to appreciate what a wonderful game this is. I've been having a ton of fun, and I also appreciate a lot of little things in this game that I'd love to just say "YOU GOT IT!" to, because I appreciate games like this being made, and I will forever continue to support it.
Here's my growing list:
- Absolutely love the way the game is focused on the animals. The animals are just plain gorgeous. They have beautiful animations and textures, and they are a joy to watch. I think in terms of behavior alone, it's come far, and hope this isn't a bad comparison, but from playing Jurassic World Evolution, the behavior for animals in this game is just so much more interesting.
- Love, love, love the detailed information given about every animal in the Zoopedia, especially the endangerment level in the wild. I think games like this have a far bigger impact than most people realize. A lot of people can be quick to dismiss simulation games, but when I was little, playing Zoo Tycoon 2 gave me so much appreciation I think for animals and caring for the environment. I think a little goes a long way, and I just gleam in joy knowing there are probably kids out there playing this, learning all this wonderful information consciously or sub-consciously.
- On that note, I love the idea of conservation credits and bringing animals back into the wild. A couple of years ago, I suddenly had this big distaste towards zoos as I was researching and reading a lot into animal cruelty and a bunch of reveals about Marineland / SeaWorld (marine zoo's in particular and how they train animals for shows)... and it deeply saddened me. Seeing animals caged, especially marine animals who usually roam an incredibly vast ocean... it just all seemed so dark and inhumane. I've grown up a lot since then, and now I know what Zoos are really for. They are there to help the public learn more about the wonderful creatures that we share the planet with, see them, empathize with them and fall in love. They're there to bring the common person closer to these creatures that they normally would never get to see, so they can truly understand that the smallest thing they do to contribute to the conservation the planet, has the biggest impact on these creatures. Most importantly, they're there to care for animals that would otherwise be in danger in the wild, protect them from poachers, deforestation and whole lot of other factors. They're there to re-invogorate the population of a species through breeding and other methods. They're there to fund every other venture out there to help conserve and protect. Planet Zoo, put this essential idea right in the spotlight and I immensely appreciate it.
- Loving the UI in this game. It's simple, snappy (+ lots of visual and audio feedback) and most times never gets in the way and easy to find what you're looking for.
- Build system in this game is A+++. The asset placing system is just great. Offers so much freedom, yet if you need, you can always tap into some automated positioning. Love the move method + advanced move stuff. Love the align to surface feature. Mostly loving the grid system, there's a couple things that could use improvement. So many beautiful assets to play with and mix and match!
- Huge shout-out to the assets team. The foliage especially and every single asset in the game, is just so fun to discover and use creatively. I'm slowly getting there, but every time I play and visit the workshop, I'm amazed with what people are building and that's only because of the beautiful assets available. Love the special effects section as well.
- LOVE the implementation of traversable terrain tracking for the animals. This alone makes building experience so fun. It's so rewarding to see the animals using your unique terrain + asset creations.
- Terrain editing tools are brilliant.
- This game also delivered on the management front. Love all the things you get to manage as a zoo owner here. Love the staff panel, the way it's organized, the various staff facilities and how they work, workzones... there's a lot to do here, but at the same time it's simple. For example the keeper system, and the way you get to call them to a habitat, and get them to do whatever needs to get done snappily.... love it. It's simple, yet there's control. I think since this is still a game, there's a line where you need to be... when it comes to how close you want it to be to a 1:1 simulation of real life versus fun factor. For example, I don't want to call the Keeper to a habitat to feed my hungry Timber Wolves, and also tell them to throw some exact food mix on exactly this food tray in the exhibit, from that specific keeper hut. That's too much. What they've done here is give the player a lot of management options, with simplicity and control at the same time, which lends to some level of strategy. I can't wait for more here! (Walking Tour Guides? School programs? External conservation ventures (with other Planet Zoo players)? I have a lot of ideas steaming in my head, but that's for a different post)
- Love the idea of franchise zoos and trading animals. Again, this promotes that idea of zoos working together for the greater good. Wish there was the ability to actually visit other people's zoos though, but I'm hoping that's coming somewhere down the line.
On a last note, I know how difficult 3D modeling is, and how much work goes into making a simple animal. A lot of different talents have to come together in art and engineering (sound, animation, programming, 3D) to bring them to life and I think we can do ourselves a favor by reminding ourselves of that when we're shelling out money for DLC's. There are real people behind the scenes here, who are just as passionate as you are (why else would they be making it?) I keep this in mind every time I look at the price for a DLC. It's easily discernible what's clearly worth it and what isn't. When the genuineness is there, it shows pretty immediately. Got the arctic pack cause it looked great, the deluxe upgrade pack just to support the game.
Can't wait to see where Planet Zoo goes! Cheers and have a great week everyone!
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