Design a Nocturnal House Scenery Pack + Update

[Bearcat9948]

I have thought a lot about what the scenery pack in December will be and one of the most obvious remaining themes for building pieces would be a Nocturnal House-themed set. You can somewhat make them in-game but it comes with some real difficulties and is very finicky. So I picture this dlc would come with a free update that makes the actual creation of a Nocturnal House feasible for everyone, and then the dlc bolsters the theme with a dedicated roster of typical nocturnal house animals and a great building set for making awesome, nighttime atmospheric builds.

The Animals:

• Aye-aye (Flagship)
• Kiwi species
• Ocelot/Tayra/Margay/Jaguarundi/Fishing cat/Pallas's cat
• North American porcupine/Tamandua/Common genet/Quoll/Virgina Opossum
  • Tokay gecko

The Aye-aye seems like a good flagship choice as it's one of the most noticeable or striking animals that comes to mind when you hear "Nocturnal House". Casual people will be able to easily associate the two together and it fits the theme very well. I think this is a good spot to introduce a kiwi species as well. I'm operating under the assumption that the popular animal picks like the Tasmanian devil, wombat, tree kangaroo and crested porcupine (which could all fit this theme) will come in other animal packs, especailly because I think we will get at least 2-3 of those in the upcoming fall dlc.

I wanted to keep the roster consistent with animals commonly found in nocturnal houses around the world that would be good ambassadors for the concept, like how all of the animals chosen for the Conservation pack are for that theme. I think a South American cat is highly likely as it continues the theme of slowly but surely expanding that continent's represenation (see South America, Aquatic, Wetlands packs) and the kiwi does the same for Oceania (see Australia, Wetlands packs...probably the fall dlc too wink wink). The last spot could go to a number of unique animals and there's not a clear choice but the five I listed would all make a lot of sense.

The Tokay gecko is just a fun choice that adds a new type of exhibit animal and a pop of color, but there are countless opptions that make sense.

The Scenery

• Sleek and modern standard building set, mostly made of dark wood and steel objects.
• A new fuz carpet/rug floor and limited wall set that is black by deault but flexicolor (nighthouses and indoor areas in general typically use carpet flooring)
• Animal signs for the new animals plus some generic cricket signs, as well as generic eye and paw print signs that you might see in a themed area of a night house
• Flora that comes from areas native to where the animals are from, temperate leaf litter as well as mushrooms and bioluminescant mushrooms
• Dark and modern themed benches, trash cans etc
• "Dim lights" used to brighten guest areas but with a small radius so they don't shine into the habitats. Flexicolor so you can put them into habitats as red or blue lights if you wish.
• "Dim glass", perhaps that is one-way glass, that helps light from projecting through too much to help with immersion
• Broken tree hollow enrichment item that has an upper and lower level for relveant animals to use
  • Lower level: Kiwi, badger, pangolin
  • Upper level: Aye-aye, whatever else species are added in the dlc that can climb

The Update

The best way I can think to do this would be to somehow have the game recognize a certain building or object grouping as a "Nocturnal area" and then that allows the player-user to manually and permanently set the light level, or ingame "time" to be a specific point. Currently, we have to manually change the time of day from day to night on the entire map to use a Nocturnal house realsitically; if you go into a Nocturnal house during the day no matter what the player tries to do, it's still too bright from the light coming through.

Additionally, the free update would include some kind of "anti-light" objects that gets rid of the light made from the in-game sun, or even handplaced light sources, to help with creating darkness.

 

[FoxyDee]

I very much like this idea, I would love such DLC, specially for a Kiwi, but I like your other animal picks too. I would also like to see something like a Cuscus, I know they are rare in captivity, so there are probably better candidates, but they are such unique animals with at least some presence in zoos.

Also agree that some kind of system to make nigh houses would be neccessery, currently it is quite impossible to make a proper Nocturnal House because of the lighting, your solution would work wonders.

 

[Cocolori]

Sign me up! If flying is introduced then obviously bats would be obvious (or owls of course). I'd pay very good money for a genet ever since we got one on our wildlife camera near my parents house. Love the kiwi for more avian representation.

Sloth would be on my list as well. I'd love for frontier to figure out a way to do small mammal exhibits as that opens up a whole load in terms of mice, shrews, rats etc.

Oh and there are loris and potto options as well!

 

[AlexSea]

I think this is one of the strongest pack ideas that isn't focused around a continent or biome.

• Aye-Aye
• Kinkajou
• Tasmanian Devil
• North Island Brown Kiwi
• Tokay Gecko

The Aye-Aye, Tasmanian Devil and Kiwi are all well-known enough to attract attention to any pack they're included in, and and I went with the Kinkajou because it's a somewhat obscure animal that seems like the kind of out of left field pick that Frontier would include.

 

[becks474]

I am bad with scenery but a nocturnal house pack should allow us the possibility to have lights in buildings during the day.

My personal animal choices would be:
Kiwi
Armadillo
Aye-Aye
Tamandua
Any exhibit

The Tasmanian Devil can also be easily included within another pack. The headliner would be the Kiwi in my pack.

 

[DarthQuell]

There are just so many ideas.

Ok, let's assume we get a kiwi and aye-aye.

So, here are other potentials:

Gray fox - unique for it's tree climbing status
North American ringtail
Raccoon
Virginia opossum
Prehensile tailed porcupine
Echidna
Any coati species

(These are mostly from the Americas)


Yeah, I'd love a nocturnal pack

 

[NZFanatic]

I'd make the kiwi the flagship and swap the aye-aye out for a night monkey.

 

[ralphthestick]

Any pack that gets me an aye-aye is a win in my book. Sloths are a pretty common night house denizen too, so it could be an option here (though I assume it would have been the flagship for a forest/rainforest/tropical animal pack by the point this comes along). The scenery choices all seem sensible (though I wouldn't necessarily bet against some 'spooky' themed scenery...), and I would love the ability to designate areas of darkness.

Difficult to add anything else to your list without going into the realm of exhibit mammals - I can't really see a bushbaby feeling right without some sort of looped animations, for example. I suppose a loris of some kind could work, though if we're looking for variety, the primate slot has to go to the aye-aye!

 

[Angeł]

I would absolutely LOVE a nocturnal pack at any point in the game’s lifespan. I agree, it would suit well as a scenery pack (although I’d love to see it around halloween time). If I were to choose animals for a pack like this, I would choose:

•Aye Aye
•Striped Skunk
•North Island Brown Kiwi
•Two Toed Sloth
•Blind Cave Tetra (Exhibit)

I definitelt agree that the Aye Aye would make a fantastic flagship animal for this pack, being a very common night house animal. The Striped Skunk would provide us with a very common zoo animal that is closet associated with the autumn and winter time (and also our first member of the mephitidae family). The Kiwi I’ve included too because I think it is an essential part of night house builds, and brings us another bird that is unique to what we already have in game. The Sloth is a very highly requested animal, and absolutely one of my most wanted animals in game - I think if Frontier could pull this off, it’d be incredible. The Tetra would be a fantastic inclusion in a nocturnal pack, due to it’s uniquely creepy look. It’s also far from impossible, with the recently announced Axolotl being our first fully aquatic exhibit animal.

There is of course (hopefully) one more pack to go before the winter DLC is released, and ideally I’d love to see any one of these animals implemented sooner rather than later. But in any case, if I were to design a Nocturnal pack right now, these would be my top picks. It is certainly the pack I would most like to see in Planet Zoo!

 

[ralphthestick]

We needs it!

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

I would adore a nocturnal pack - it's probably my most-wanted theme now. Whenever I visit a zoo that has a nocturnal house, it is almost always my favourite thing there.

In terms of animals, my five choices would be (sometimes generalised):
1. A nocturnal primate: not especially fussed which one. Aye-ayes are probably the best-known, although both lorises and night monkeys are more commonly-kept. I have a real soft spot for the lesser bushbabies, but I think they might be pushing it size-wise. The lemur-sized greater galago may be a better option though.
2. The North Island brown kiwi: would be ideal both as a new bird and a representative of New Zealand. It is also kept in Europe and North America, with plans for them to be imported to Singapore fairly soon as well, so they have a strong global presence.
3. The Owston's civet: An endangered Southeast Asian carnivore that is able to be kept in both nocturnal and outdoor enclosures, is sufficiently docile to be kept in mixed-species enclosures and is considered by conservationists to be reliant on zoo breeding for its continued survival.
4. A wildcard species: This would depend on the chosen primate - if it is an African species like an aye-aye or bushbaby, I would go for the Linne's two-toed sloth. If it was a South American night monkey, I would go for the South African springhare.

Exhibit. Choosing the exhibit species is difficult. The most obvious option is the tokay gecko, which has been mentioned a few times, and would probably also be the most appreciated. At the same time, I would appreciate something really unique, so I might choose the headlight beetle Pyrophorus noctilucus. They are one of the largest of the click beetles, with two spots on their thorax that fluoresce at night (they are essentially a type of firefly). They are becoming increasingly common in the pet trade in America and are described as being similar in needs to goliath beetles, albeit hardier.

A little addition I would make to the update would be to add a new lighting option where a blue light is used - bonus points if using it makes the two in-game scorpion species glow. I have seen nocturnal displays in real zoos that do this.

 

[SpookDoc]

Can’t necessarily say that a Nocturnal Pack seems extremely likely, as right now I’m not sure there really are any DLC themes we can really expect from Frontier. They seem to be actively pursuing themes that aren’t exactly what the community is expecting now.

This said, I do think a Nocturnal Pack would make for a great scenery pack. And scenery-wise it would probably be one of the most multi-functional, yet easily cohesive scenery themes Frontier could still put together for PZ. Like the soon-to-come Conservation Pack, a Nocturnal Pack could provide additional pieces that are common in the backstage, indoor, and animal-holding areas of zoos. This would also likely include a greater assortment of lighting fixtures and glow-in-the-dark decals/signs. For natural items, Frontier could create a host of “cave” rock/stalagmite pieces, bio fluorescent mushrooms, night-blooming plant species, additional dead tree branches, and even some dead leaf piles. Heck, they could even lean into more “extreme” theming and create a host of items typically associated with underground mining.

If such a pack were to arise, I think a nocturnal primate species would be extremely likely, but there are many species that’d make for fine, likely well-recieved candidates. Owl monkeys, tarsiers, bush babies, lemurs, lorises - take your pick. The only way I could see Frontier avoiding a primate species is if they include some other aboreal, small mammal. Popular options could include a sloth, raccoon, coati, or possum species.

Other highly requested species that could easily fit into this theme and possibly function as “headliners” include the Tasmanian Devil and a Kiwi, Crested Porcupine, Echidna, or Armadillo species.

The true big contenders everyone thinks of when they consider night-time animals are bats and owls. But I don’t find members from either of these categories to be considered probable until PZ receives a flight-dedicated DLC (would love for Frontier to prove me wrong though)

As for exhibit species, there’s a whole host of nocturnal reptiles and invertebrates that could easily fill this slot. Highly requested options include geckos, cobras, moths, and bio fluorescent insects such as Fireflies.

 

[Bearcat9948]

Lots of great ideas everyone!

I would adore a nocturnal pack - it's probably my most-wanted theme now. Whenever I visit a zoo that has a nocturnal house, it is almost always my favourite thing there.

View attachment 311216

In terms of animals, my five choices would be (sometimes generalised):
1. A nocturnal primate: not especially fussed which one. Aye-ayes are probably the best-known, although both lorises and night monkeys are more commonly-kept. I have a real soft spot for the lesser bushbabies, but I think they might be pushing it size-wise. The lemur-sized greater galago may be a better option though.
2. The North Island brown kiwi: would be ideal both as a new bird and a representative of New Zealand. It is also kept in Europe and North America, with plans for them to be imported to Singapore fairly soon as well, so they have a strong global presence.
3. The Owston's civet: An endangered Southeast Asian carnivore that is able to be kept in both nocturnal and outdoor enclosures, is sufficiently docile to be kept in mixed-species enclosures and is considered by conservationists to be reliant on zoo breeding for its continued survival.
4. A wildcard species: This would depend on the chosen primate - if it is an African species like an aye-aye or bushbaby, I would go for the Linne's two-toed sloth. If it was a South American night monkey, I would go for the South African springhare.

Exhibit. Choosing the exhibit species is difficult. The most obvious option is the tokay gecko, which has been mentioned a few times, and would probably also be the most appreciated. At the same time, I would appreciate something really unique, so I might choose the headlight beetle Pyrophorus noctilucus. They are one of the largest of the click beetles, with two spots on their thorax that fluoresce at night (they are essentially a type of firefly). They are becoming increasingly common in the pet trade in America and are described as being similar in needs to goliath beetles, albeit hardier.
View attachment 311218

A little addition I would make to the update would be to add a new lighting option where a blue light is used - bonus points if using it makes the two in-game scorpion species glow. I have seen nocturnal displays in real zoos that do this.

What's the concept art from, it's really cool

 

[Doran]

What's the concept art from, it's really cool

With quick usage of google lens its part of allwetterzoo munster master plan.

Link​

 

[NachoB]

With quick usage of google lens its part of allwetterzoo munster master plan.

Link​

Lots of amazing ideas in that concept art

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I really like the idears in this thread, so i wanted to give it my own spin.
For the free update, i would add animals actually being diurnal, nocturnal or Cathernal (meaning no fixed preference).
This would make animals more likly to rest when its not their active time, aswell as a little less active in general.
With the nocturnal zones mentioned by bearcat, you can swap these behaviours, making nocturnal animals inside of them more active and diurnal ones more sleepy.

For the animals themself, there are a lot of good options, but i would prefer animals that explicitly profit from being indoors/are held more commonly indoor then outdoor.
Animals like the striped skunk or racoon might be nocturnal, but they really do not fit the house part as you generally see them in natural enclosures.
Also all animals should preferably be on the smaller side, as we need more of them anyways and this is a golden opportunity.

Im quite sure that the slots would be something like Kiwi as the Flagship, a primate, a member of the carnivora family and a wild card.

For continental spreads, i personally really like either 4 or 2 different continents in none regional packs.
In a 2+2, i would fit the kiwi with the eastern quoll.
The eastern Quoll is the most common and only EAZA Quoll species with just 2 Zoos in Germany holding them BUT Zoo Leipzig actually has an enormous success in breeding them, planning to slowly introduce them into more EAZA zoos.
Its a charismatic little carnivore from Australia that hopefully will be more prevelant in international collections.
They alsl got multiple distinct colormorphs, reaching from brown, over reddish to black, all with their iconic spots.

For the other continent, we got 3 options with 2 viable animals.
Africa, but more specificly madagascar with the aye-aye and Fossa, asia with a Lori and the owston civet/fishing cat and south america with the night monkey and either a small cat or the kinkajou.
All of these duos would be great additions to the game, filling open niches on their specific continents, but none is perfect.
I like the madagascar one, but its also very specific and stretches the definition, as the fossa isnt actually nocturnal but Cathernal.
On the other hand, it would neatly tie a bow on madagascar, making dedicated areas possible with only the radiated tortoise really missing from the island.
South America really needs some Animals, but if im honest it animal selection excites me the least.
While i do really like the animals, i dont think they actually will do that much for the game. The small cats, while being imo the most beautiful cats arnt really that different from other animals in the game, the night monkey, while being one of my more favoured ones, feels to specific. It would be great for nocturnal houses, but any other monkey would better fit into both south america sections and primate houses. A really cool animal, but rn south america needs more generic animals to cover wider usage. Finally the kinkajou, which in all honestly just is a really cool animal. Its unique in all senses and would propaply be most compareable to a south american binturong, which would be fantastic.
But sadly im also very sure that it would be the least likly pick.
For Asia the problem arnt the animals, they actually would be my favourite duo of the 3, but the fact that while they would be great additions, South East Asia really doesnt need more animals.

Its really pick your poison.

For the 4 different ones its easier, making something like Kiwi, Lori, Kinkajou and Fossa would be a good mix, but honestly less appealing then the 2+2 atleast to me.

So yeah, im pretty torn, but what would be you guys favourite combination?
Also note, that the sloth and tassie devil arnt in the pack, as i assume that they would be reserved for other packs, as this one allready would be quite strong

 

[PnGLINNyo]

I'm gonna go with

North Island Brown Kiwi
African Crested Porcupine
Javan Mouse Deer
Fishing Cat
Ex. Tokay Gecko

+ Black curtains, decorative broken branches, vine variants, fungi, more bromeliads, more ferns eg. sword fern, hollow logs feeder and larger variations etc.

 

[nutrit]

Love the idea of nocturnal pack.

Mine would probably contain:

Tasmanian devil
African civet
Bengal slow loris
Fossa
Ex: Tokay gecko

if animal pack also:
Any armadillo
Kinkajou
Kiwi or Tamandua

 

[DragonNTiger]

Meh... my experiences with nocturnal houses tell me there's nothing worth seeing in them... and I mean that literally; they're so dark you can't see anything. Making a whole pack around an environment where nothing can be seen isn't a good idea if you ask me... furthermore, I've seen a lot of the animals suggested here in normal enclosures, so it sounds kinda unnecessary as a game mechanic...

 

[TheYeti]

I think a Nocturnal pack would be nice as it can bring some more well-needed general zoo scenery. I'd love to see for instance:

• Dark or flexicolour glass pieces.
• Glow-in-the-dark signs.
• Items to make caves (stalagmites, stalagtites, etc.)
• Logs, broken trees, etc.
• Fully black wall stickers (birds, primates, leaves, etc.)
• Themed decorative items (mine carts, tents, campfire, etc.)
• Weathered wood building set
• Modern stone or tile set.

Animals could be:

• Caracal/Tasmanian Devil/Honey Badger/Red Fox
• Linnaeus' Two-Toed Sloth/Philippine Tarsier/Aye-Aye
• Red River Hog/Indian Crested Porcupine
• Northern Brown Kiwi
• Leaf-Tailed Gecko

The free update could come with:

• Changes to the light system, which is already great but far from perfect (i.e. shades are too strong and fully enclosed buildings are too bright in daytime).
• Options for 2m and 3m guest paths (which will be necessary in a nocturnal house).