Culture in Zoos: What We Need? What's Been Added?

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
Alrighty then, y'all, kinda different discussion, one not really involving animals and that kinda stuff.

All over the world, zoos are different, in architecture, in food, in animal selection, etc.

Now, in-game we can easily recreate different architectures for our zoos depending on where we wanna build them (although a Western theme wouldn't be too bad. Yeah, it grew on me, y'all)

Animal selection isn't TOO bad, but obviously it could use some work, you know. But we discuss animals a lot.

Food, though...
Look, I highly doubt that every single zoo all over the world serves tacos, cupcakes, and slushes. We could use some more variety, such as bratwurst, buodin, chicken, BBQ, salad, etc...

And also, what else would y'all say could be important to make one zoo completely different than another? Food was the main reason I stared this, but maybe y'all have some insights I never thought of
 

SibCDC

SibCDC
I think one of the major things lacking from the game in terms of culture are more animal statues. I'm recreating the Antwerp Zoo and it has a ton of artwork contained within it. Unfortunately I am limited to what I can do because I lack things like a camel statue in classical style. The camel statue is a trademark of the zoo as it sits atop the building at the zoo entrance. If I had time and more skills building statues, I would make it myself, but having more statues of the animals in classical style would be so helpful. I'm sure there's examples from other zoos for other big animals. The reward statues are so helpful but they represent only a small fraction of the animals in the game. It'd be interesting to do a sort of meta-analysis of all classical statues in zoos around the world to come up with a list of most frequent animals used in this type of artwork, so Frontier could base their choices and picks on that.
 

SalamAnders

SalamAnders
Playgrounds.
They play a bigger role in zoos than people realize, I think.

A good playground can make a family with children stay for another hour or more, meaning they might end up buying ice creams and coffees they otherwise wouldn't. Which can be very important for a zoo's economy. I know of at least one smaller zoo, which sells a lot of annual passes to people in the town they are located in, because of their playgrounds alone, since that area doesn't have much else to offer for children.

So not only can playgrounds bring life and realistic aesthetics to our zoos. If done right they could make the management aspect more fun.
 

Captain Callum

Captain Callum
FlameWizard492 said:
One big thing that I'd like to see that's a part of zoo culture is having zoo hospitals on display. I've been to a couple that allows guests to watch animals being treated and learn more about animal care and conservation.
Click to expand...
I may have unethically succeeded at having a zoo hospital with constant animal viewing 🤣
  1. Sandbox zoo with building disruption turned off
  2. Build hospital with vet building windows viewable from the outside
  3. Education items near the viewing areas , add vista point to attract guests
  4. Set animals settings so animals don't die , fire any keepers
  5. Have way too many vets hired and let nature do its job
 

Aramar

Aramar
  • Fire extinguishers, we don't want our zoo to burn down, do we?
  • More table styles for the restaurant tables
  • More food options. Is there any zoo in the world that doesn't sell sandwhiches?
  • More barrier types
  • Smaller exhibit boxes
  • Gravel and woodchip

And of course more statues and signs in the same sytle, not only for all the animals, but also for all the continents. We only have a huge Australia map.
 

Cocolori

Cocolori
I'm going to make a request for a) better and more varied fonts on the signs because the in-game ones always look squashed and awkward and b) editable signs that are invisible e.g. you can just see the text - I would love to be able to easily put decal style texts around my zoo on any structures I want. I currently do use custom billboards a lot but it would be so much easier if I could just type in game and stick it on a wall.
Related to that I would love more decal style objects - some of the leaves, flowers and wall art are great but more non-animal (and animal actually) pieces like that would be amazing and make it much easier to liven up and give a cultural flavour to areas of the zoo. We got some murals in the aquatic pack as well that I would love to see more of. Again I tend to use custom billboards and real life wallpapers coverted to in-game to add 'painted' backgrounds to some of my enclosues which is something you see all over the place in zoos. I especially like it for when I am building cheap zoos or rescue centres that might not be able to do fancy enclosures or where enclosures are primarily inside.
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
Absolutely agree we need some more food options. Every single one from Planet Coaster not already in the game and additional ones as well. And all of the animals need statues. I get they added the more iconic ones or the headliners for the DLC, but really all of at least the habitat animals should have one.

Architecture: With what we have we can make a lot of different types of looks as blueprints, such as Bavarian, Tudor, American Western/Prairie,. American Colonial, Middle Eastern and Central American themed building, but it would be great to actually have those as set building pieces rather than we the player having to do all the work even get the pieces together as blueprints.

We also need some Caribbean, Polynesian and Maori building items which could probably come with an Islands Pack, though likely we'd just get 1 and at most 2 of the three styles.

Various fonts as well, there are some fonts that do tie more closely to specific cultures than others, but I think a font I'd like to see most is something with more flair and style, such as a near-cursive font. I understand we won't have a completely cursive font just by nature of the letters being separate pieces so they wouldn't connect, but having lettering that somewhat fits this style would be fantastic.
 

TheYeti

TheYeti
I agree with most of the above. Most of all I think we need more things like generic statues as well as other decorative items.

In addition, I think we will need to represent some cultural themes better. While I appreciate that we have some Egyptian- and Inca-themed items, these are not per se required to make a realistic zoo in any area, including the geographic regions represented. At most, they're useful for a themed section. While this is very relevant (especially as zoos become more themed lately), I think there is especially a need for themed items that would be generic in certain regions. In that aspect, I believe that there is a great need for a Southeast-Asian theme as items like lava stone, certain types of statues and other elements are common throughout parks like the Bali Zoo, Phuket Zoo and others in the region.

Similarly, it may be nice to have more items based on European traditional styles or more modern North-American zoos. Many items from the Europe and Twilight pack represent general architecture in the region well, but not so much zoos in the region. Similarly, the New World theme has few items that are actually useful for realistic modern zoos. Instead, it would be great to have a number of new tile and other stone sets for variety.
 

XT

XT
I think I'd like to see a lot more of the stickers - the butterfly and etc. And not just various plant or animal images but ... basic flexicolor shapes: circles, squares, etc. That allows for abstract decorations, for people who do the hard work of making 'mosaics', and also for those of us who make fake signs still. Statues, of course, and it looks like they're moving towards making a somewhat unified animal sign selection with the semi-realistic signage that started with (I think?) the aquatic pack and has continued, more or less, since. They're generic enough to be used everywhere. I'd also like .. uh, generic functional signs: exit signs, 'open'/'closed' signs, detour signs for exhibits that are off display, etc.

I don't honestly care about the foods because if I want say ... a noodle shop, I just stick a random food stall there and decorate it like a noodle shop. I don't care what pixels the guests have in their hands, or what the imaginary menu says when you navigate to the tab.
 

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
jcp011c said:
We also need some Caribbean, Polynesian and Maori building items which could probably come with an Islands Pack, though likely we'd just get 1 and at most 2 of the three styles
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It could also be a mixed theme, kinda like how the East Asia theme is a mix of Japanese and Chinese culture
 

NegativeHeli

N
My suggestions

1) Playgrounds. No zoo is complete without a playground or water play area

2) Guests should be allowed to see how animals are treated in the vet clinic. Some zoos allow that

3) Token feeding sessions: For a small amount of money, guests can purchase food from zookeepers to feed certain animals like Giraffes and Elephants. But there has to be a feeding point set there with a keeper supervising
 

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
Let's revive this, especially after the Tropical pack released...

So, we now have a proper island theme (SE Asia and it can also work for Polynesian themes, too)

Now, I don't care much for new themes (except for a hypothetical Western or even Mexican theme), but something I've been thinking about is food (I love food)

Something that's gotten super popular are healthier foods, such as salads and wraps, right?
I've noticed that Mediterranean food is also very popular, so I'd love it to come into the game:
  • Falafels
  • Gyros
  • Couscous
  • Rice
  • Pita bread
  • Baklava
 

RightWhale

RightWhale
DarthQuell said:
Let's revive this, especially after the Tropical pack released...

So, we now have a proper island theme (SE Asia and it can also work for Polynesian themes, too)

Now, I don't care much for new themes (except for a hypothetical Western or even Mexican theme), but something I've been thinking about is food (I love food)

Something that's gotten super popular are healthier foods, such as salads and wraps, right?
I've noticed that Mediterranean food is also very popular, so I'd love it to come into the game:
  • Falafels
  • Gyros
  • Couscous
  • Rice
  • Pita bread
  • Baklava
Click to expand...
I’m always down for new food. I think a barbecue place would be nice, many zoos in the U.S.A will serve barbecue food. Also for themes there is only a couple more I would want:
  • Wild West theme (may have suggested this before), good for North America and deserts.
  • I know the last pack gave us the Indonesian theming, but I would like a Polynesian one for New Zealand/ Hawaii/ Islands.
  • A museum theme would be nice, especially for more educational pieces.
  • Give me some more South American pieces and building material.
  • Honestly just give me more props to represent different cultures, I just think they are cool to display in my zoo.
 

YesIndeed

YesIndeed
Just wanted to tap back on themes. I would really love one for fleshing out interior areas. Akin to a reptile house, tropical house or mabey even a museum like thing that I've seen people suggest. Reptile house would be great for new faux pieces though.

Besides that western theme in a desert sorta pack would be cool and I also wouldn't mind an italian/Spanish mediterranian theme or a himalayn theme in an Alpine pack. Finally, a treetops or aboreal pack could add some new south american inspired climbing pieces. Lots a climbing pieces please.

Being honest though, I don't really mind what we get with scenery now. Just want it to be versatile.
 
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