Franchise mode or Challenger mode?

[Wistala]

Greetings.

Right, so my questions is a little more complicated than the title would suggest, sorry about that. I know what the difference between the two are. Basically challenger mode is franchise mode just offline.
However, my issue isn't connective issues its more like features in terms of quality and long play time. Basically, the way the game is at the moment it is not currently possible to fill out a big map without lagging. A better PC can buy you some time but eventually you will lag as its a CPU thing. I have noticed that most of the CPU pressure seems to come from the guests.
This is where my issue comes in, while I can set a limit or close the Zoo in order to reduce the amount of guests my Zoo would go bankrupt as it needs the in-come all the guests are giving. My original plan was to convert the zoo into Sandbox mode so I could close the Zoo without having to worry about money, but that's not an option apparently. (Why I have no clue).

So basically I want to start over, but not sure which mode to go for. My plan is to build a smaller Zoo no matter the mode I pick, as to try and not end up with 20 FPS again. I was thinking about playing in challenger mode and should the lag appear then I would convert the Zoo into Sandbox and close the Zoo for guests. But I do like franchise mode options to take part in online challengers as well as access to the animal market. Better genetic animals as well as albinos. Sometimes for a ridicules price, I know. Franchise just feels a bit more challenging.
Challenger mode has the option to convert to sandbox but is missing everything else I just mentioned. Plus I am not quite sure how the animal market works, you seem to have to breed albinos unless you are stupidly lucky in the animal market. So far it sounds like the only challenge here is breeding the animals to higher genetic levels and get an albino if RNG is on your side. So yeah.

So basically my struggle is that if I were to choose franchise mode, I would be stuck if the lag appears as I wouldn't be able to convert it to sandbox, heck I can't even transfer my animals to the other modes (that one does make sense tho)
So do I take the chance and potentially have to abandon it later, hope Frontier adds the option to convert it, or do I go challenger mode? I prefer to both build and play the game, if that makes a difference.

Would love to hear your experience with either modes and how you see them.

 

[KinLaLa]

1st, go check the thread from others to see if any solution can help you to improve your FPS.
Example: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/low-fps-in-big-zoos-any-word-of-a-solution.553488/

I think if you only want to build a Zoo without any guests and still have a good finance, both Franchise Mode and Challenge Mode don't suit you, you should properly just directly go for the Sandbox Mode, even you close the Zoo and don't welcome guest your finance will be fine.

If you want guest coming to your park and have some trouble for the FPS, you may limit the Max. guest setting to a number that your PC can afford, and the finance dont corrupts (go for the easy mode and you need less guest to maintaine the balance).

To choose between Franchise Mode or Challenge Mode, just depends on how much time you are going to spend on breeding the animal you want. If you want to breed a good gene animal with less time, Franchise Mode will suit you since you can buy them from the Market, just forcus earning some C.C. before you start your Main Zoo.

Franchise Mode can have many Zoos, 100C.C. to open a new one, you can start different breeding programme in different Zoo to reduce the burden of your PC Preformence. If you have plenty of time and want to breed the best animal from the very begining, go for the Challenge Mode.

Since your target is a small Zoo, i think both modes are not that matter since the total guests amy not be that high to affect your performence, and personally i will suggest Franchis Mode since online market is really saving much time if you forcus on breeding good gene animals, and you CAN transfer your animals and bring them to the new Zoo with your animal storage in Franchise Mode if your current Zoo is too lag and you want to start a new one.

And don't forget the Community Challenge, co-op with all Zoo keepers around the whole world and share the joy with completing the challenge is awesome~


No matter what mode you choose, hope you can enjoy the game same as us, cheers~

 

[shirandhak]

You can build your zoo in sandbox and turn spending money and leaves "on" in the settings (you can even choose your starting capital). And if your guests have to be limited, you can turn money off, as long as you think it is needed.

 

[Wistala]

1st, go check the thread from others to see if any solution can help you to improve your FPS.
Example: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/low-fps-in-big-zoos-any-word-of-a-solution.553488/

I think if you only want to build a Zoo without any guests and still have a good finance, both Franchise Mode and Challenge Mode don't suit you, you should properly just directly go for the Sandbox Mode, even you close the Zoo and don't welcome guest your finance will be fine.

If you want guest coming to your park and have some trouble for the FPS, you may limit the Max. guest setting to a number that your PC can afford, and the finance dont corrupts (go for the easy mode and you need less guest to maintaine the balance).

To choose between Franchise Mode or Challenge Mode, just depends on how much time you are going to spend on breeding the animal you want. If you want to breed a good gene animal with less time, Franchise Mode will suit you since you can buy them from the Market, just forcus earning some C.C. before you start your Main Zoo.

Franchise Mode can have many Zoos, 100C.C. to open a new one, you can start different breeding programme in different Zoo to reduce the burden of your PC Preformence. If you have plenty of time and want to breed the best animal from the very begining, go for the Challenge Mode.

Since your target is a small Zoo, i think both modes are not that matter since the total guests amy not be that high to affect your performence, and personally i will suggest Franchis Mode since online market is really saving much time if you forcus on breeding good gene animals, and you CAN transfer your animals and bring them to the new Zoo with your animal storage in Franchise Mode if your current Zoo is too lag and you want to start a new one.

And don't forget the Community Challenge, co-op with all Zoo keepers around the whole world and share the joy with completing the challenge is awesome~


No matter what mode you choose, hope you can enjoy the game same as us, cheers~

Thanks for the link to my own post, I assure you I have tried everything plus more

Thanks for your written thoughts. As for sandbox mode I did consider it, but to be fair I want a challenge, while I can pretty much enable or disable most thing I still kind of feel that Sandbox just really doesn't have the challenge unless I create it, if that makes sense.

I do want guest to come to my zoo and while I can limit the amount of guest entering the Zoo the problems comes if those in my zoo are not generating enough money for me to run my zoo, so I'll have to let more people in, if I am playing in franchise mode that is. If I were to play challenger mode I would just convert it to sandbox and set "unlimited money"

I do agree that franchise mode saves times in terms of animal breeding and one of the reason I am having a bit hard deciding. I don't know how the market is run in challenger mode (or sandbox for that matter). I have read some post about animals not even showing up for you to buy or they take a long time before showing up, and if that's the case that sounds more frustrating than challenging. Those post were some months old so I have no idea how the market works now tho.
I do like the challenging of breeding a really good genetical animal but not if I don't have access to said animals due to the animal market not having the animals. At least with franchise I know how to works.

To be honest if a developer came in and told me that they are looking into allowing franchises mode to be converted to sandbox, so basically it is coming to the game. I would go franchises. But yeah so far no word.

You can build your zoo in sandbox and turn spending money and leaves "on" in the settings (you can even choose your starting capital). And if your guests have to be limited, you can turn money off, as long as you think it is needed.

I know and I did consider it, but I don't know how the animal market works, plus I don't feel like sandbox is very challenging, I would kind of have to create it myself.

 

[shirandhak]

The animal market in sandbox is very easily explained: There are 4 animals from Frontier, 2 male, 2 female, which change every 10 ingame minutes.

 

[Wistala]

The animal market in sandbox is very easily explained: There are 4 animals from Frontier, 2 male, 2 female, which change every 10 ingame minutes.

Per species or overall?

 

[shirandhak]

Each species: 2 male, 2 female

 

[Wistala]

Each species: 2 male, 2 female

Thanks for clearing that up.
A shame it doesn't work like that in Challenger mode.

 

[Indoraptor27]

I like franchise, although I know some people really hate it. While sometimes the prices are highway robbery, and far worse than "recommended", you can also get more generous ones, a benefit of playing with real people. To be honest, there's no point in playing challenge IMO, sandbox with money and CC on is fully superior. No worrying about obnoxious prices (like challenge), at the expense of not getting really cheap animals (also like challenge). However, the fact that you can change any settings that don't suit you makes it fully superior. Career is kind of nice if you really want more of a "challenge". I actually haven't really bothered with it, I used the first scenario to sort of learn how to play the game, but never touched it after.

 

[Wistala]

I like franchise, although I know some people really hate it. While sometimes the prices are highway robbery, and far worse than "recommended", you can also get more generous ones, a benefit of playing with real people. To be honest, there's no point in playing challenge IMO, sandbox with money and CC on is fully superior. No worrying about obnoxious prices (like challenge), at the expense of not getting really cheap animals (also like challenge). However, the fact that you can change any settings that don't suit you makes it fully superior. Career is kind of nice if you really want more of a "challenge". I actually haven't really bothered with it, I used the first scenario to sort of learn how to play the game, but never touched it after.

Oh yeah the prices in franchise can get quite ridicules, at some point all the Panda's cost the max allowed no matter the genetic makeup.
Franchise is my favourite mode but I just don't want to end up having to leave the zoo behind once it begins to lag as I won't be able to close the zoo, heck limiting guest might not generate enough money to run the zoo, and since I can't convert it has I have mentioned, I would have to leave the zoo

Sandbox definitely has its benefits with all those options that has been added and also just found out how the market works, which seems quite good imo. Checked the market in challenger and it seemed to be missing quite a lot of animals, tho some say they appear once you get higher rating, which I suppose make sense, but it does limit your creativity.
Basically I can create a challenger mode just by using the right toggles XD the only thing I can't change is how the animals are priced and how the market works.

 

[jcp011c]

It's funny because when the game came out I was wanting to play more sandbox and challenge mode, I didn't want to have other people's animal offerings affect my game. But I got into Franchise and enjoyed it, but still kept going back to challenge mode from time to time. Well, since the shared research update in Franchise back in April, I haven't gone back to challenge mode but once and I can't deal with it now. I really dislike having to research the building themes again so you're only starting out with basics. If they had a way to share that between challenge zoos I'd play it, because I wouldn't so much mind researching the animals each time but until that happens, which is probably never will, it's strictly franchise and sandbox for me.

 

[Wistala]

It's funny because when the game came out I was wanting to play more sandbox and challenge mode, I didn't want to have other people's animal offerings affect my game. But I got into Franchise and enjoyed it, but still kept going back to challenge mode from time to time. Well, since the shared research update in Franchise back in April, I haven't gone back to challenge mode but once and I can't deal with it now. I really dislike having to research the building themes again so you're only starting out with basics. If they had a way to share that between challenge zoos I'd play it, because I wouldn't so much mind researching the animals each time but until that happens, which is probably never will, it's strictly franchise and sandbox for me.

Wait, challenger mode doesn't have shared research?

 

[jcp011c]

Wait, challenger mode doesn't have shared research?

Unless they changed it with the last major update, which I haven't checked, no. It was dreadfully boring the last time I was in it, couldn't take it, didn't even save what I was working on.

 

[KinLaLa]

Wait, challenger mode doesn't have shared research?

Challenge Mode is focusing on a single Zoo, so you definitely not able to share anything from that Mod, every Zoo in Challenge Mode you gonna start from the very beginning, which is not attracting me when i have the Franchise Mode that can share everything except money. You know, it will be a big advantage when you have earned 1000k C.C. and want to start a new Zoo, you can buy every animal from the old Zoo, store them into the animal storage and start the new one will all those animals, even the valuable ones.

 

[Wistala]

Challenge Mode is focusing on a single Zoo, so you definitely not able to share anything from that Mod, every Zoo in Challenge Mode you gonna start from the very beginning, which is not attracting me when i have the Franchise Mode that can share everything except money. You know, it will be a big advantage when you have earned 1000k C.C. and want to start a new Zoo, you can buy every animal from the old Zoo, store them into the animal storage and start the new one will all those animals, even the valuable ones.

Franchise and Challenger mode do not share animals. I got plenty of animals in my franchise storage but they don't show up in challenger so yeah.


Also, I have decided to go with franchises mode, I might make a separate one in sandbox mode simply for the challenge of breeding, but yeah. Thanks for everyone's feedback