Aviary Should be in game

[Hunterhawks]

I really espect the game to have aviary, almost every big zoo have it ? anyway, small or big

Like a cage

Or like a building

Made like the terrarium , just by adding bird standing in it, and made the interior we can custom

 

[mrEC]

The second picture is beautiful, a real walking-in dome... would be beautiful to have something like that.
I really hope that birds are not like the terrarium animals, because they don't move around, thay are simply animated. If that could be ok for a snake or an iguana, that don't move a lot even in real life, would be boring to see a bird, very active animal, repeating continuously the same movements.

Right...like if they cut corners on the birds flying abillity then Frontier would just turn out to be lazy and that would be a shame, sure they already did a lot of hard work on the rest of the zoo animals and their AI systems but still..we pay them money so they should make a good job also on the other type of animals, terrarium animals are stationary since they anyway barely move in reallife zoos ok fine..but at least please Frontier make your game super awesome and unforgetable by making an AI flying system for the birds so we would be able to build awesome aviaries for them to fly in.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

We have not heard anything about birds besides peafowls yet. Honestly, I think there won't be flying birds in the game. Maybe in a DLC. So far, no zoo game I know of ever had brids. Well, besides Zoo Tycoon ultimate animal collection, but as beautiful as the graphic of the game was, it was kind of a joke of a zoo game.

 

[reply671]

INB4 a flying bird's reveal (Peafowl fly but I mean a constant flyer): It won't. Chances are it will be yet another disappointment and they will be like the Terrarium animals.

 

[Whats0There]

Birds would be cool, I wouldn't mind if they're 'just' terrarium animals. What I do really hope for though is that terrarium animals are not just stuck in one single animation loop. Two or three loops, or a modular system would be really neat.

 

[nightcat]

Since I want to build big aviaries for birds, I really hope they won't be just terrarium animals.
I would rather wait for a DLC than having them right now without the ability to fly...

 

[Danny_zoo]

I really espect the game to have aviary, almost every big zoo have it ? anyway, small or big

Like a cage

Or like a building

Made like the terrarium , just by adding bird standing in it, and made the interior we can custom

Agreed, these are essential features of any zoo, i have visited hundreds of parks, and not once have i been to one without aviaries. While on the subject, It is my hope that we the players can fully design these aviaries and customize them, using the piece by piece built concept. If provided with sections of mesh, acrylic, wood panels, etc, these exhibits can be easily created, not only for birds, but primates, small mammals and even big cats that are known for climbing. A fully steel netted exhibit would for example work wonders, in creating a leopard exhibit. Additional fencing or barriers would be added of course so visitors can not get close to the mesh, but it would be realistic. In contrast an exhibit for leopards design with moats, ditches and so on, would not be realistic. Imagine having a clouded leopard, hornbills or even large birds of prey, we would need these sections of net/mesh/etc to create realistic enclosures. They could be combined with acrylic panels and other materials during the exhibit design, but they are a must.

 

[Danny_zoo]

I do understand that in your post you might be going deeper and referring to walk through bird aviaries, and i do think that these ones are a must as well, however since the developers recently mention certain limitations when it came to terrariums, I'm concern that they might be faced with the same obstacles when it comes to walk thru aviaries, but maybe not. At the very least the option for the players to build aviaries and other fully netted exhibits should be available.

 

[Danny_zoo]

We have not heard anything about birds besides peafowls yet. Honestly, I think there won't be flying birds in the game. Maybe in a DLC. So far, no zoo game I know of ever had brids. Well, besides Zoo Tycoon ultimate animal collection, but as beautiful as the graphic of the game was, it was kind of a joke of a zoo game.

I understand your points, and your observations are indeed valid, especially after the reveal in reference to the terrariums limitations. However i would like to add a few things, first off, Bo mentioned that the limitations were in part related to cost, so since the terrariums were already included, it does make sense that they would not poke deeper into this feature it was going to drain considerable resources, the same can not be said about birds or aviaries. First off, birds are at the center of every zoo, every type of zoo, big and small, old or new features them and aviaries. Some parks are entirely dedicated to birds, there are groups of people that visit these institutions for the single purpose of watching these birds. Your point about all other zoo games before lacking in this area is a valid one, yes, all of the zoo building games that came before did not include these features, however it is been years since these games were introduced and technology has since evolve tremendously. Let us take a look at Zoo Tycoon Ultimate animal collection, a game you mentioned, fairly recently developed, where a number of bird species are displayed. Yes, there are no aviaries, walk thru or even proper mesh exhibits, but that is in part, because that game's aim was never realism. Just look at the game as a whole, aside from the dramatic improved quality of graphics from the early Zoo Tycoon games, everything else was limited, and it is my opinion that on purpose if i might add.

Could the Planet Zoo team create walk thru aviaries and mesh exhibits sections that we could fully customize if they wanted too? Of course they can, will they? That is the real question, but they are advertising this game as a realistic zoo building enterprise, that pulls no stops, just look at some of the new technology they have implemented. The climbing structures that players can create and fully customize, the weather features (The Wildlife Park series offered a basic and limited version of this many years ago) the texture of the animal's skin and their age progression, the water effects (We have yet to be fully introduced to this feature) that will allow for players to build underwater viewing areas, and for animals to fully interact with it. So many other things that we can mention, so to think that they would stop at such a necessary and important part of zoo as birds and aviaries, would just not seem logical. I fully expect before the game is released, that this subject will be addressed by the developers, and furthermore several species of birds added to the game. To release a zoo game without bird species, would be the equivalent of releasing Planet Coaster without any coasters.

 

[reply671]

Could the Planet Zoo team create walk thru aviaries and mesh exhibits sections that we could fully customize if they wanted too? Of course they can, will they?

Most likely not. I hate to be Debbie Downer but considering the costs they cut with Terrariums, not even a simple transition animation between the fixed points was not implemented because of costs, do you really believe they'd actually implement a fully fleshed out Aviary system?

And if it's not in the game at launch, Frontier will do what they do and keep saying "We have no plans for item at this time" like they did with Jurassic World Evolution in regards to the Mosasaurus and Pterosaurs as opposed to giving a straight answer.

Chances are, it's just a slightly redesigned Terrarium with birds in it.

It's beginning to show the end of the Honeymoon phase. The cracks in the game are beginning to show.

 

[Danny_zoo]

Most likely not. I hate to be Debbie Downer but considering the costs they cut with Terrariums, not even a simple transition animation between the fixed points was not implemented because of costs, do you really believe they'd actually implement a fully fleshed out Aviary system?

And if it's not in the game at launch, Frontier will do what they do and keep saying "We have no plans for item at this time" like they did with Jurassic World Evolution in regards to the Mosasaurus and Pterosaurs as opposed to giving a straight answer.

Chances are, it's just a slightly redesigned Terrarium with birds in it.

It's beginning to show the end of the Honeymoon phase. The cracks in the game are beginning to show.

While you might be right, as far as the walk thru aviaries is concern, and your point of cost efficiency is a sound one, I would also suggest to give them a little more time, it is a bit early to write them off? would you not agree? Just think about what we have been shown so far, while exceptional quality in all the models, an upgrade i would even say from Planet Coaster renderings, it is still just a small percentage of what the game will offer. The majority of the animals are still yet to be revealed, and the same could be said about foliage, architectural components, scenery and amenity items as well as game features. As example of this, i made a thread pointing out the very small variety of plant species in the African map game footage that Planet Zoo released, and Bo answered by telling us that much more was to come, and gave me an indication that foliage was very important to them, as to expect much more than what had already been revealed. Who is to say that with time many other components of the game currently unknown to us will appear.

Also I'm far from an expert in Planet Coaster, since i have not played that game, but by the looks of it, even after the base game was launched, there were an immense amount of items and packs added and made available for purchase. And again, with Planet Zoo we are not talking about a roller coaster, amusement park game, that dealt with an endless possibility of rides and themes, this is a zoo game, birds and aviaries are fundamental in the story, so they are a must. Only time will tell what happens, maybe one of the developers or Bo would fill us in this area, but i do think that there is definitely hope. And let us just say, that the walk thru aviaries are not possible right away, ok, what about just aviaries and mesh exhibits that we can create piece by piece and let the animals do what they naturally would do, fly, leap, climb, jump, without this type of exhibits included, then i would agree that the game has a huge gap from reality.

 

[Danny_zoo]

I wanted to share with you a mesh enclosure i build in miniature 1:12 scale, using real mesh, wood and other materials, it was not made to contain birds, this one was created for lemurs, all the animals are made out of clay over wire skeletons, that are anatomically correct and in scale with one another. Some of the animals are fully flocked with alpaca fiber to recreate skin texture and son on. A very different process than what the artists of Planet Zoo have to work with, but it's been a passion of mine for many years. Next to the mesh exhibit, is a Terrarium/Monitor Lizard exhibit designed with a thematic approach. The brick cover comes off, to reveal the habitat's interior and it has working light features.

 

[reply671]

While you might be right, as far as the walk thru aviaries is concern, and your point of cost efficiency is a sound one, I would also suggest to give them a little more time, it is a bit early to write them off? would you not agree? Just think about what we have been shown so far, while exceptional quality in all the models, an upgrade i would even say from Planet Coaster renderings, it is still just a small percentage of what the game will offer. The majority of the animals are still yet to be revealed, and the same could be said about foliage, architectural components, scenery and amenity items as well as game features. As example of this, i made a thread pointing out the very small variety of plant species in the African map game footage that Planet Zoo released, and Bo answered by telling us that much more was to come, and gave me an indication that foliage was very important to them, as to expect much more than what had already been revealed. Who is to say that with time many other components of the game currently unknown to us will appear.

Also I'm far from an expert in Planet Coaster, since i have not played that game, but by the looks of it, even after the base game was launched, there were an immense amount of items and packs added and made available for purchase. And again, with Planet Zoo we are not talking about a roller coaster, amusement park game, that dealt with an endless possibility of rides and themes, this is a zoo game, birds and aviaries are fundamental in the story, so they are a must. Only time will tell what happens, maybe one of the developers or Bo would fill us in this area, but i do think that there is definitely hope. And let us just say, that the walk thru aviaries are not possible right away, ok, what about just aviaries and mesh exhibits that we can create piece by piece and let the animals do what they naturally would do, fly, leap, climb, jump, without this type of exhibits included, then i would agree that the game has a huge gap from reality.

Look, I've been playing Jurassic World Evolution since Launch and Planet Coaster since Launch (While not extensively but I followed it but I'm not an expert) one had little over one year of dev time after launch and the other has coming up to 3. Jurassic World Evolution took 1 year to get Terrain Tools, the ability to put rock and sand on the ground, with placeable rocks and trees, took 1 year (yeah it had complications but it was by and large one of the most requested features.).

A lesson I learned with JWE (Despite it being a game I love) is that looks aren't everything. Look at one of the dinosaurs and imagine 61 others with the exact same quality. Then play the game and learn how it really is. Night and Day. That's what Planet Zoo is starting to look like. All Glitz and Glamour on the surface, then you get the game and you realize the issues. They focused on the looks of the major animals that the lesser ones suffer. How the terrarium animals are being treated are a perfect example for how I think the game will be. The Devs will cut costs where able, the terrarium animals show this. And if this is how these supposedly contributors to the 50+ animal count are being treated, it makes you wonder 2 things, how many more terrarium animals will there be, and how will birds be treated?

Planet Coaster's DLC came over the span of 3 years and I don't think People want to wait that long for content that probably should've been in the base game. I'll accept the fact that Terrarium animals don't move often but if Aviary animals or birds in general get the short end of the stick, no holding back.

 

[Danny_zoo]

Look, I've been playing Jurassic World Evolution since Launch and Planet Coaster since Launch (While not extensively but I followed it but I'm not an expert) one had little over one year of dev time after launch and the other has coming up to 3. Jurassic World Evolution took 1 year to get Terrain Tools, the ability to put rock and sand on the ground, with placeable rocks and trees, took 1 year (yeah it had complications but it was by and large one of the most requested features.).

A lesson I learned with JWE (Despite it being a game I love) is that looks aren't everything. Look at one of the dinosaurs and imagine 61 others with the exact same quality. Then play the game and learn how it really is. Night and Day. That's what Planet Zoo is starting to look like. All Glitz and Glamour on the surface, then you get the game and you realize the issues. They focused on the looks of the major animals that the lesser ones suffer. How the terrarium animals are being treated are a perfect example for how I think the game will be. The Devs will cut costs where able, the terrarium animals show this. And if this is how these supposedly contributors to the 50+ animal count are being treated, it makes you wonder 2 things, how many more terrarium animals will there be, and how will birds be treated?

Planet Coaster's DLC came over the span of 3 years and I don't think People want to wait that long for content that probably should've been in the base game. I'll accept the fact that Terrarium animals don't move often but if Aviary animals or birds in general get the short end of the stick, no holding back.

I understand your points, and you might have much more inside into their business model than me. I have to admit that all my interest is in Planet Zoo, i have seen many videos of the two games you mention, and will agree that JWE as an example, is not a game that would hold my interest for long, the terrain, buildings and even foliage while it of high quality does look completely manufactured leaving no room for player design and creativity. My main interest in this game, is our ability as players to create unique and detailed zoos, if the Planet Zoo team just provides us with the elements needed and the birds, we can create the exhibits ourselves, again we will have to wait and see. I do have a feeling, or maybe it is just hope, that the team is a lot more focused and invested in this game than previous ones.

 

[reply671]

I understand your points, and you might have much more inside into their business model than me. I have to admit that all my interest is in Planet Zoo, i have seen many videos of the two games you mention, and will agree that JWE as an example, is not a game that would hold my interest for long, the terrain, buildings and even foliage while it of high quality does look completely manufactured leaving no room for player design and creativity. My main interest in this game, is our ability as players to create unique and detailed zoos, if the Planet Zoo team just provides us with the elements needed and the birds, we can create the exhibits ourselves, again we will have to wait and see. I do have a feeling, or maybe it is just hope, that the team is a lot more focused and invested in this game than previous ones.

While I do think it's hope, which is admirable, it's a bit too wishful thinking. The major stuff is mostly carried from Planet Coaster which is good because it worked there well, plus it's a sequel so there's no excuse why not, if it ain't broke. If you want to build a zoo in your own way, then don't fear, it looks like you'll get what you're asking for.

My issues are with the drip feeding of content. They did it with Jurassic World Evolution but at least we got new stuff after some point, but some things were misleading like the prospect of pack hunting. Here we rarely get new stuff to show off. Either they're waiting for the right moment or they plan to have the beta and the community be it's own marketing campaign. So how much is misleading? I don't know, I hope not much. But the Terrarium animals counting towards the 50+ and having limited movement (Even within their own terms) is disconcerting. Especially when we haven't seen the full roster yet.

For both our sakes I hope you're right.

 

[m2wester]

First off, birds are at the center of every zoo, every type of zoo, big and small, old or new features them and aviaries. Some parks are entirely dedicated to birds, there are groups of people that visit these institutions for the single purpose of watching these birds. Your point about all other zoo games before lacking in this area is a valid one, yes, all of the zoo building games that came before did not include these features, however it is been years since these games were introduced and technology has since evolve tremendously. Let us take a look at Zoo Tycoon Ultimate animal collection, a game you mentioned, fairly recently developed, where a number of bird species are displayed. Yes, there are no aviaries, walk thru or even proper mesh exhibits, but that is in part, because that game's aim was never realism. Just look at the game as a whole, aside from the dramatic improved quality of graphics from the early Zoo Tycoon games, everything else was limited, and it is my opinion that on purpose if i might add.

The safari park I know does not feature any aviary. And while pretty much all the other zoos I can remember do feature at least a couple of smaller aviaries, I wouldn't call them the "center" of pretty much any of them. And most zoos I know do not feature walk through aviaries, especially the smaller ones.

I think doing free moving flying animals and aviaries would be very difficult, even with technological improvements. I really doubt we'll see it happen on release. We might get something like the terrariums or Zoo Tycoon Ultimate exhibits with limited animations for flying birds.

And I would not consider flying birds to be particularly important. To me the primary issues that I want to get them right on release are landscaping tools and foliage, the terrestrial animals, water and - where appropriate - swimming and buildings and building tools. I kind of hope they put most of their effort into getting these things right, and at least at this point, it looks like they will to me.

 

[m2wester]

I will admit that prior to posting, I looked up a small local zoo that I thought didn't have aviaries and found that they actually have crows and several different kinds of owls, so yeah... while I personally do not consider birds to be particularly important and wouldn't have any issues with not having aviaries on release, I can see that other people might have different priorities.

And to be fair, I would like to have aviaries. I'd just rather have them focus on core gameplay and having a couple of great, unique and interesting animals to put into the zoo rather than checking off boxes for marketing purposes - we have aviaries, we have terrariums, we have 50+ animals - and the features not being as enjoyable as they should be. Cool aviaries can get added later, but it could be very hard to fix boring aviaries.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Honestly, I wouldn't call birds the centre of any zoo. I know most zoos have them, but they are in no way what I would call "big ticket animals". Especially most kids, who are one of the target groups for any zoo, could probably live without birds in a zoo.

While I still think they should be included into planet zoo at any time, base game or dlc, we have to take into consideration how detailed the game already is, How much research has put into all big animals that we know of so far. Yet it's still a game you can get for under 50 bucks. It's an awesome base I guess, but we have to draw a line somewhere as of what is still manageable and cost effective for frontier. I mean, maybe I'm naive, because I mainly play Sims and let me tell ya, EA is not knowen to give you much of a bang for the buck. Quite the opposite. But with Planet Zoo I feel we are aleady getting A LOT of worth for our money. We have to not only look at the animals but also at the management system, possibilitys of building our zoo, music and every other aspect of making a game.

If aviary really come in base game it's a plus, but for the sake of detailed aviarys with birds that are nice to look at and have kind of the same worth as big animals now, I think they are better off as a DLC. Considering that we might get +25 or so big, detailed animals to reveal still it's almost given to me that aviarys in a base game would be as - forgive me the word - "shallow" as the terrarium animals. (I can live with them being like they are, really. But I know some fans are quite disapointed).

 

[mrEC]

I am willing to wait for a free flying birds DLC with AI which I would gladly buy (even if its 2 years after PZ's release date).

 

[Hunterhawks]

I hope Frontier do like JWE they just update and add more thing with the time and devellopers like that are great, keeping they game fresh, i hope they do the same with planet zoo