Birds that can actually fly and require aviaries?
- Thread starter abdulla3
- Start date
Probably too hard to code. If we see birds, I think they'll function like exhibit animals - one or more types of aviary, get your bird(s) from the market, place them in, and they're on an animation loop. For a good example, wait and see how the pterosaurs work in Jurassic World Evolution: Return to Jurassic Park. They've added an aviary and a pteranodon for that one, which would be a good indicator of how birds might function in Planet Zoo.
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Hmmm. Maybe.
I am hoping for more, though.
If we get diving animals, an AI able to navigate in a 3D space will be necessary. My theory is, that the basis for such a navigation is already laid out with the volumetric water system.
Once such a code exists, wouldn’t it be feasible to use it for the 3D navigation in the air as well? I should be basically the same. Aviaries would equal bodies of water, the accessible space calculated when (for example) roofing it.
The dense branches of trees might be an issue, though, and I bet us players will want to plaster the hypothetical aviaries with lush green.
But small twigs and leaves either might be ignored and birds will clip through them like ground animals clip through low scrubs, or they might act like rocks and block movement entirely. Landing then might be only possible on dead, defoliated trunks.
Visualizing the accessible area might be a challenge in both cases, though.
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Logically, what you're putting forward is correct I think. If they can make water navigable, they should be able to make air navigable as well. I would be okay with there being spots where the birds would walk/move and just being able to fly back and forth between those specific points (such as a branch on a tree, top of a platform, etc). They could define it in the way they've defined "climbable" objects and scenery.
I think you're right, though - they would need to be careful with the amount of space allowed for vegetation in certain exhibits (and probably provide additional, artificial perching options beyond what can be constructed using the existing pieces). I would be comfortable with clipping to make that happen effectively.
As far as flying birds go, I would honestly be fine with aviaries in the same vein as exhibits. Most aviaries provide more of a scenic buff in real zoos than actual exhibits (not that I personally see it that way - I have a few pet birds at home and I think birds are amazing, but I also have pet reptiles/amphibians and don't think they should all be habitat animals). Plus, making them more like exhibits is probably the simplest and fastest way to implement them.
There's also the breeding factor to consider. Exhibit animals produce new adults because adding babies is simply too much of a big job. Birds are even worse - they aren't just smaller versions of adults like many baby reptiles or other animals. Baby birds are typically featherless and nestbound, fully dependent on their parents. Even at the juvenile level they are still raggedly plumaged and can't fly properly. They mature quickly, but between "juvenile" and "adult" there isn't anything resembling say a giraffe, whose baby can run around. Baby birds would be stuck in one location until they're basically adults.
So let's just make them like exhibit animals. They move via an animation loop, are low maintenance, but they provide some much-needed expansion to our zoos.
There's also the breeding factor to consider. Exhibit animals produce new adults because adding babies is simply too much of a big job. Birds are even worse - they aren't just smaller versions of adults like many baby reptiles or other animals. Baby birds are typically featherless and nestbound, fully dependent on their parents. Even at the juvenile level they are still raggedly plumaged and can't fly properly. They mature quickly, but between "juvenile" and "adult" there isn't anything resembling say a giraffe, whose baby can run around. Baby birds would be stuck in one location until they're basically adults.
So let's just make them like exhibit animals. They move via an animation loop, are low maintenance, but they provide some much-needed expansion to our zoos.
I suppose it depends on why you want the animals added into the game, haha. I'd really like to develop an aviary-type exhibit that incorporates lemurs along with tropical parrots, maybe a pygmy hippo with some African parrots and the like...
I still kinda wish I could design a unique iguana exhibit. But I don't feel like it detracts from the game the way I initially thought it would. I could get behind an aviary-type system similar to exhibits if they increased the size substantially and allowed for just a bit more flexibility in design.
FWIW too, in terms of "breeding"? We already have ostriches and flamingos. So, to some degree, that's already in the game. But for smaller birds? I think it would be viable to have a requirement for a "nesting space" of a certain height/size (birds could build them themselves if given materials--or one could place a nesting box or artificial nest in an exhibit/habitat) and the eggs could be laid in the nest, hatched--and then you could have the babies in the nest, then "mature" to a stage in life where they are "exhibit-ready." It's a bit unrealistic, but I would rather have that than be limited for all bird species that fly.
But that's just me, where it's more about exhibit design and watching the animals interact than needing realistic life cycles or what-have-you.
I don't know of any zoo that does that in real life. The closest I've heard of has free-flying birds within the guest area, but not sharing the animal space due to the chance of salmonella or other disease contamination due to bird poo.
Oh I am totally on board with more flexibility and more size differences in exhibits. I made a thread recently about how it bugs me that the snails and spiders and other invertebrates require the same space as iguanas and boa constrictors (it is kind of dumb).
Come on now - there is a vast difference between a baby ostrich or flamingo and a baby parrot, for example.
Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with animal life cycles as they are (though I think a few of the baby animals could be smaller/more "babyish", and more numerous) but anyone would say that birds are a whole different ball game in terms of how they grow.
Those were random examples, and two that are probably not realistic. Hah. In short, though, I would like to mix these hypothetical "aviary" birds with other habitat animals where appropriate.
I feel like I've talked about this to death since before the game even came around, but I am really hoping that (eventually) we get multiple sizes for the exhibits, with one being 1/2 as tall as the current iteration for the invertebrates that can be stacked on top of one another. I definitely agree that it feels silly having to build something so large for a tarantula.
There's definitely a difference in size, and I guess that's where I was coming from with my second point there (sorry if that wasn't clear). The size difference could be accommodated by skipping a life cycle or two. It wouldn't be quite as charming, but it would be a work-around. You could see them in the nest, then as something halfway between nestling and adult outside of it.
Brookfield Zoo's Tropic House just outside Chicago keeps a variety of primates with free flying birds inside their indoor rainforest. They also house otters and a giant anteater in the same area (and used to have a tapir), though there may be some invisible barriers in play. Walk through aviaries and giant buildings with free flying birds mixed in with various other small critters are pretty standard fare at the big zoos here in the states.
Bald Eagle, Harpy Eagle, Golden Eagle, Steller's Sea Eagle, California Condor, Andean Condor, Hawks, Toucans, Parrots, Owls.
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That's interesting. I would think having birds share space with primates might be counterproductive to conservation, since most primates are opportunistic feeders and wouldn't shy away from getting into nest boxes to eat eggs. Looking into it I have heard of zoos keeping birds with larger animals (I believe there's a zoo in America that has black rhino and bee-eaters in the same habitat, for example), but it seems needlessly risky to do it with primates.
Also, I remembered that I've been to a zoo that has a mix of Australian birds sharing a habitat with long-necked turtles and water dragons. So I guess there must be measures in place to prevent too much contamination.
The nest boxes are kept in a small visibly fenced off area up above the primates with keeper access, I suspect the birds are locked in for safety at night time. This particular exhibit makes heavy use of water features, so each primate species kind of has their own indoor mini island. If you ever have a chance to visit, it's a really clever design. For human visitors it feels almost barrierless, but there seem to be clever natural obstacles and hidden barriers beneath bridges for the different species built into the structure. I'd love to see it recreated in game someday.
There are quite a few examples of birds in large mixed species enclosures. A couple of examples I really like are in Doué-la-Fontaine in France and Blijdorp in Rotterdam which have okapi in aviary style enclosures. The enclosure in Doué is a huge netted naturalistic forest in a former quarry with okapi, duiker, monkeys and various bird species together.
I think we need an aviary building system - even if it’s just mesh fences and roofs - regardless of what they might have lined up in terms of birds. Building a realistic zoo is really limited without it. Animals we have now including orang utans, mandrills, lemurs, Japanese macaques, pangolins and snow leopards could all be housed in covered aviary style enclosures so I hope aviaries won’t be limited to exhibit style boxes.
In the future I’d love to see a clouded leopard for the game but it wouldn’t be realistic to have them in the open topped enclosures we are limited to at the moment.
I think we need an aviary building system - even if it’s just mesh fences and roofs - regardless of what they might have lined up in terms of birds. Building a realistic zoo is really limited without it. Animals we have now including orang utans, mandrills, lemurs, Japanese macaques, pangolins and snow leopards could all be housed in covered aviary style enclosures so I hope aviaries won’t be limited to exhibit style boxes.
In the future I’d love to see a clouded leopard for the game but it wouldn’t be realistic to have them in the open topped enclosures we are limited to at the moment.
The obvious difference is that Planet Zoo requires a lot more in terms of coding for the constant movement of live animals.
If we get aviary birds, they'll just use looped animations, but hey, better than none at all