Hayo zookeepers!
Welcome to our February Catch Up! We've had a fun month of cute content, livestreams and getting to hang out with our community, so we'd like to give a big thank you for all the love, support and feedback we received in February!
Only a few days ago, we released our most recent update, Update 1.1.6! This minor update focused on staff and guests, as with thanks to your Issue Tracker reports we've been able to identify some issues and remedy them. This was also similar to Update 1.1.5 that released earlier in the month, as thanks to the informative Issue Tracker reports members of our community have been creating and contributing to, we have been able to fix some small but troublesome bugs! Please continue to file your Issue Tracker reports, they are a great help to our team when it comes to identifying the problems and working on resolving them. If you make an Issue Tracker report and follow it up with a forum post on the issue, please ensure you link your fellow community members to the report so they can contribute! The more contributions, the more information you provide to our team so they can work on resolving the issue sooner.
Were you able to tune in to our 24 hour livestream in support of Gameblast and SpecialEffect? We loved seeing so many members on the PlanCo and PlanZo fam in the chat! On the topic of livestreams, we will be changing our livestream format beginning in March and would love to hear feedback on it! Next month, we will continue to have our weekly Wednesday evening Planet Zoo livestreams, but we will also be hosting a livestream on a Tuesday! This livestream will be dedicated to looking at community content such as screenshots or videos, talking to a developer and having fun playing the game and answering questions! Please drop by and say hello if you have the time, and of course please feel free to send your creations to community@frontier.co.uk! We'd love to show off your builds!
We hope you've enjoyed fuzzing up all of your animals with the MeggieB cheat, but did you see the MontseC cheat too? On Valentine's Day, we announced a cheat that would really help you feel the love; name one animal in your zoo MontseC, after Senior UI Designer Montse Carne, and your animals will spawn love hearts when mating! This sweet cheat really captures the love that's in the air around Valentine's Day, but don't worry! This cheat is sticking around, likewise with our MeggieB cheat, so please continue to enjoy it!
Thanks to all the wonderful support from our community, we won not one, not two but three awards in February! Our community banded together and voted for us to win Dreamhack's The Dreamies 'Painfully Cute' award, so we'd like to give a big thank you to all of the people who voted for us! Planet Zoo also won in the 'Best Simulation' category at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviews (NAVGTR), which was voted on by members of the United States gaming press, and the 'Best Management/Strategy Game' at the Gameblog Awards. It's an honour for the team to win these awards, and it's made even more special when our community votes for us as it really makes us feel the love!
February held two important days we think Planet Zoo players should be aware of: World Pangolin Day and International Polar Bear Day. Sadly, Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, and all eight species are threatened with extinction. Similarly, Polar Bears are currently classified as vulnerable due to climate change, as their natural habitats are melting. In honour of these magnificent creatures, why not spend some time researching how to help these animals and what we could all do to improve the conservation statuses of many animals from all across the globe!
We shared some insight into how the New World Theme was created on our social media, but we have some more information from Art Director Marc Cox: "The main inspiration for the New World Theme comes straight from nature, and in particular the common geometric patterns we see in plants and animal patterns. The beauty and familiarity of something like honeycomb, or hexagons, is not only pleasing to the eye but a wonder of construction that we can see in modern structures like geodesics. Those particular forms are echoed in some of the planters and larger building pieces. It was important for this set to provide the player with a recognisable architecture, elegant but understated and an ideal canvas to underpin their ambitions with simple, striking silhouettes like the arch leaves collection. Nature again features in the combination of material choices where natural wood panelling works together with human-made surfaces like glass and metal. Clean lines and high quality finish could feel harsh and sterile but when used in patterns and forms that refer back to our initial motivation we are able to re-connect to the natural world. There is a North American flavour to the theme with regard to choices in decorative scenery. Their design and surfaces are in keeping with the modern architectural theme and in the case of the sculptures the spirit of the subject is represented in the choice of materials. The bears inspire ideas of ruggedness and strength, depicted in rough-hewn timber and armoured plates while the bison a mood of ethereal elegance in a modern light filled mold. In essence we probably owe a debt of gratitude to the humble honey bee who’s timeless and beautiful designs have given us so much to work from in this particular theme."
Throughout this month, we took to social media to remind you of some tips that can keep your zoos running in an orderly fashion. Here are some bite size pieces of information that can help any player:
As always, let's finish off this catch up with some Zoopedia facts:
Welcome to our February Catch Up! We've had a fun month of cute content, livestreams and getting to hang out with our community, so we'd like to give a big thank you for all the love, support and feedback we received in February!
Only a few days ago, we released our most recent update, Update 1.1.6! This minor update focused on staff and guests, as with thanks to your Issue Tracker reports we've been able to identify some issues and remedy them. This was also similar to Update 1.1.5 that released earlier in the month, as thanks to the informative Issue Tracker reports members of our community have been creating and contributing to, we have been able to fix some small but troublesome bugs! Please continue to file your Issue Tracker reports, they are a great help to our team when it comes to identifying the problems and working on resolving them. If you make an Issue Tracker report and follow it up with a forum post on the issue, please ensure you link your fellow community members to the report so they can contribute! The more contributions, the more information you provide to our team so they can work on resolving the issue sooner.
Were you able to tune in to our 24 hour livestream in support of Gameblast and SpecialEffect? We loved seeing so many members on the PlanCo and PlanZo fam in the chat! On the topic of livestreams, we will be changing our livestream format beginning in March and would love to hear feedback on it! Next month, we will continue to have our weekly Wednesday evening Planet Zoo livestreams, but we will also be hosting a livestream on a Tuesday! This livestream will be dedicated to looking at community content such as screenshots or videos, talking to a developer and having fun playing the game and answering questions! Please drop by and say hello if you have the time, and of course please feel free to send your creations to community@frontier.co.uk! We'd love to show off your builds!
We hope you've enjoyed fuzzing up all of your animals with the MeggieB cheat, but did you see the MontseC cheat too? On Valentine's Day, we announced a cheat that would really help you feel the love; name one animal in your zoo MontseC, after Senior UI Designer Montse Carne, and your animals will spawn love hearts when mating! This sweet cheat really captures the love that's in the air around Valentine's Day, but don't worry! This cheat is sticking around, likewise with our MeggieB cheat, so please continue to enjoy it!
Thanks to all the wonderful support from our community, we won not one, not two but three awards in February! Our community banded together and voted for us to win Dreamhack's The Dreamies 'Painfully Cute' award, so we'd like to give a big thank you to all of the people who voted for us! Planet Zoo also won in the 'Best Simulation' category at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviews (NAVGTR), which was voted on by members of the United States gaming press, and the 'Best Management/Strategy Game' at the Gameblog Awards. It's an honour for the team to win these awards, and it's made even more special when our community votes for us as it really makes us feel the love!
February held two important days we think Planet Zoo players should be aware of: World Pangolin Day and International Polar Bear Day. Sadly, Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, and all eight species are threatened with extinction. Similarly, Polar Bears are currently classified as vulnerable due to climate change, as their natural habitats are melting. In honour of these magnificent creatures, why not spend some time researching how to help these animals and what we could all do to improve the conservation statuses of many animals from all across the globe!
We shared some insight into how the New World Theme was created on our social media, but we have some more information from Art Director Marc Cox: "The main inspiration for the New World Theme comes straight from nature, and in particular the common geometric patterns we see in plants and animal patterns. The beauty and familiarity of something like honeycomb, or hexagons, is not only pleasing to the eye but a wonder of construction that we can see in modern structures like geodesics. Those particular forms are echoed in some of the planters and larger building pieces. It was important for this set to provide the player with a recognisable architecture, elegant but understated and an ideal canvas to underpin their ambitions with simple, striking silhouettes like the arch leaves collection. Nature again features in the combination of material choices where natural wood panelling works together with human-made surfaces like glass and metal. Clean lines and high quality finish could feel harsh and sterile but when used in patterns and forms that refer back to our initial motivation we are able to re-connect to the natural world. There is a North American flavour to the theme with regard to choices in decorative scenery. Their design and surfaces are in keeping with the modern architectural theme and in the case of the sculptures the spirit of the subject is represented in the choice of materials. The bears inspire ideas of ruggedness and strength, depicted in rough-hewn timber and armoured plates while the bison a mood of ethereal elegance in a modern light filled mold. In essence we probably owe a debt of gratitude to the humble honey bee who’s timeless and beautiful designs have given us so much to work from in this particular theme."
Throughout this month, we took to social media to remind you of some tips that can keep your zoos running in an orderly fashion. Here are some bite size pieces of information that can help any player:
- Mechanics are absolutely vital in keeping your zoo in tip-top condition. They perform research that helps unlock facilities and objects, as well as ensuring that any damage as a result of breakdowns, vandalism or dilapidation is fixed.
- Planet Zoo's Heat Maps are the best way to locate any issues in your zoos. You can detect problems with animal welfare, crime, guest needs and staff happiness, plus much more. To open the Heat Maps, press H while in game.
- Don't underestimate the importance of your Caretakers! Not only do they ensure your zoo is clean and tidy by sweeping rubbish, cleaning toilets and emptying bins, they also help transport your animals between facilities and habitats.
As always, let's finish off this catch up with some Zoopedia facts:
- The movement of Formosan Black Bears can appear clumsy and slow, but they can run at 25MPH when they want to.
- Did you know it's #WorldPangolinDay? Chinese Pangolins do not have teeth. Instead, they swallow small stones that remain in their stomach and help grind their food after ingestion!
- Giant Galapagos Tortoises are found on many different islands in the Galapagos chain. It is believed that they travelled to various islands by passively floating there; their shells are buoyant and their long necks allow tortoises to breathe air as they float.
- In the wild, Sable Antelopes chew bones to gain minerals from them.
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