Challenge Mode No Longer Playable

[SuzieSky]

Hello!
I typically like playing offline in challenge mode (franchise tends to mess with my computer), but it takes WAY too long for animals to appear. A recent example to illustrate many similar experiences: I was waiting 5 in-game years for a male flamingo, and I only got a single female. There are usually only a small handful of species that you can purchase at the beginning with a viable pair. If you miss that window, your odds of setting up a good habitat are very slim. Could you expand the number of animals available in the animal market, or create a system to request or increase the frequency of certain species? With all of the wonderful new animals, I don't think that the old system is working anymore. Thank you!

 

[SuzieSky]

Maybe a keeper could sit in the trade center and find a mate for a specific animal like vet research?

 

[Existentialist Knight]

Yes, I'm so onboard with this critique.
The problem is that the market tries not to have more than two pages of specimens, regardless of the umber of DLCs you own.
In the base game, this total capacity was completely fine. However, with the addition of more and more DLCs, this capacity has never been increased.
To back this up with numbers: the base game had 50 habitat animals. With all the DLCs, you would add in 52 more animals. Hence, the availability of animals is halfed compared to the base game.

I have already posted this issue in several threads, so far with little resonance, therefore I'd very much appreciate if other players who have the same issue might share their opinions here.

 

[Cocolori]

Agreed, I actually like having a very limited market because I hate having it be too easy and like that it adds a random element to the way I need to progress my zoo so I wouldn't want to see it expanded too much but I think it needs updating

 

[SuzieSky]

We could also spend money to refresh the whole market. That would keep the number of animals small without constantly getting stuck waiting for a viable pair. If people like the random element with the currently ridiculous, no longer at all fun for me small market, they could simply not refresh the market and just use what becomes available.
Having a staff member sit at a computer and browse/contact fellow zoos for potential mates for zoo animals seems like a realistic assignment.

 

[Existentialist Knight]

Agreed, I actually like having a very limited market because I hate having it be too easy and like that it adds a random element to the way I need to progress my zoo so I wouldn't want to see it expanded too much but I think it needs updating

I am completely on your side!
The limitations and randomness of challenge mode are the reasons I prefer it over the others, that includes having to wait for a particular species for some time, or having to accept specimens with less optimal genes.
The problem with this system is, that it was well balanced for the base game, but has never been updated to account for the DLC animals.
Therefore, my suggestion to the developers would be increasing the total market capacity to the number of additional animals a player added through DLC purchases. I would consider this a rather easy to implement solution that does not require additional game mechanisms, and it could return the game to it's original balance, when challenge mode was both challenging and enjoyable.