Free Update Meta-Wishlist

[Milurian]

I really don't want this to come off as snarky but is there any way of down-voting some options. I agree with almost everything people are suggesting but there are a few that I think would either be incredibly resource intensive for no gain or that I would actively dislike to see implemented. I know this might cause chaos (sorry!) and I'm happy for others to say I should just ignore them as for many I could 'just not use them' etc. That is a fair criticism but I do think some would change the way is game is played.
I know a lot of people in the forums are sandbox, creative types who don't really play for the management aspects of the game but I do and I don't want some things that would completely break the management side even more than it already is. There are some things in some of the free updates that I think have already bordered on doing that although I've loved almost all of it.

Maybe rather than a downvote it could be registered as a concern to note that implementation would need to be done carefully?

I should probably give an example - Zookeeper mode. I hated it in Zoo tycoon, it was essentially a cheat code to avoid paying for staff. I also really don't want development time spent on it but I do appreciate I am in a minority of voices here. I would at least want the option to completely turn it off.

Eggs is another one that I almost actively dislike the idea of - I don't see how it would work with the timing and having worked with birds in captivity it isn't really realistic unless you have a separate incubation facility

I agree with the idea of disliking ideas because we are ultimately running a popularity contest here and negative opinions are still opinions especially for the more game altering and unavoidable changes.

Some points I would like to make about keeper mode is that it is not unknown that keepers sometimes just refuse to do their job and check a habitat and leave even though the animals are dying of starvation I would love the ability to just go in an temporarily at least fix the issue and you know its based because on of the in game tips is like taking the animals to quarantine feeds them how inept do the keepers need to be for that to be a common occurrence. Or another case and this was primarily what I used the keeper ability in zt2 for was what if I make an exhibit that has an island or has a sunken, section or even just a shelter that's got a low entrance that the animals are fully capable of using but the keepers cant reach because they have giant hitboxes. This inability to navigate habitats has resulted in me cramming all the refillable items into a small section of a habitat before and I would just like the option to go the keepers cant do it so I will. I totally understand how it would ruin the early stages of the game for people but for me I actually like the idea of running a small zoo with doing everything myself.

Also since I mostly play with ageing either set to max or turned off I have no real perspective on in game lifecylces so ill leave its assessing viability up to people who actually use the breeding system. It just feels goofy that all the birds and reptile just give live birth like even if it isn't like a nest item in the habitat make it so the vets take the eggs and care for them or something and bring back babies. I am all for an incubation facility just anything but the current system.

 

[Milurian]

- Smaller Exhibits, I can't tell you enough how much I need this, it's just would make the exhibits more realistic and more fun and more useable, because i don't think a lot of people's enjoying with the size of the exhibit. also Null option for the exhibits.

- Way to control the direction of the sun, because I just hate when the sun isn't in the direction of habitat/building and so on and it makes it looks very dark.

- Guests and animals interactions just think how cool it would be if guests would be able to buy food for animals like giraffe and they would be able to feed and to interact with them

- Interactions between staff and animals, I don't know but I wish they were more interactions between for examples educators or keepers and animals like it's so common when there are for example feeding show or something that keeper or educator going to give food for animal and doing speech about the animal and ect.. it could be so cool

- rework for animals like Malayan Tapir, African Lion, Warthog, Koala, Timber Wolf, Both Bears, Orangutan, Giant Anteater, Bengal Tiger and Reindeer.

- Nocturnal Houses: it so sad that we can't make a proper nocturnal house, I think PC has a way to create dark rides and it's still day outside and inside it's fully dark. I'm really hoping to get something like this or maybe a wall set that somehow making the houses dark.

- One, Two, Three way paths I need this.

- Multiple Gates for one Habitat

- City Map, we just got a island map but I really need city map, it's just weird when you have a zoo that located in nowhere.

- Playgrounds and Splash pads

- different shapes and sizes of billboards

- Null Elevated Path & Null Staff Path

- Signs and statues for all the animals in PZ

13 wishes for update features that I would really love to see in PZ

on the topic of animal staff interactions its annoys me that the only animals the educators handle are the small exhibit animals like the lemurs are right there let the educators call one over and put in on their shoulders or something.

 

[Milurian]

Alright I'm curious to start this controversial suggestion category for the wishlist. What do we all think about a zookeeper mode , and the idea of eggs as a working birth mechanic?

I like both. For eggs specifically I want a clear distinction between egg laying animal births and live animal birth whether that be the animals build nests and lay eggs in them or more realistically the eggs are taken by keepers or vets and incubated separately so they essentially get two births one a short period after mating where an egg laying animation happens and a keepers takes the eggs (they will break and become unviable if unattended) to either a new centre or just to the vet surgery eventually bringing the live animals back into the habitat once hatched after the rest of the breeding period.

 

[Milurian]

Honesty I don't think that should be added in the free update. The free update is small and only meant to add an animal and a few building pieces and maybe a few changes to the base game.

It isn't a dlc.

so where would you place bigger game changing editions because if it is behind dlc what if in future dlc they want to use this addition do they re add it in that dlc on top of what they are adding with the dlc. Or do you expect the game to essentially stay the same forever and never make more than small improvements.
One thing I like about how frontier does dlc is they dont lock major gameplay feature behind dlc everything is either an animal choice or a scenery piece. What your saying is that instead of making deep diving a base game feature it should have been exclusive to the aquatic pack and you would need to buy that pack to have the salt water crocodile tigers or like the polar bear deep dive.

 

[Milurian]

I went through the list and added green to ones I agree and can see as something that would happen in a free update.

The ones I highlighted red are ones I just don't see being done in free updates and instead in dlcs or potentially not at all (or in the case of model updates never (in the history of PZ I don't recall any animal getting a model rework post dlc release)) or are things I know just will never happen given the years of requests.

Anything with a ** are things I would love to see in the anniversary pack free update.

I have some questions about some of the choices you seem to have marked most of the ui changes like adding the ability to favourite zoopedia entires is that because you think altering the ui is too hard.
also how are you going to say adding eggs and a zoo keeper mode are dlc worthy additions but think that a complete exhibit rehaul which depending on the extent will alter every map ever made by frontier is not dlc worthy.
I agree with most of your choices especially the animal remake which are likely never going to happen.

 

[Khaidu]

I have some questions about some of the choices you seem to have marked most of the ui changes like adding the ability to favourite zoopedia entires is that because you think altering the ui is too hard.
also how are you going to say adding eggs and a zoo keeper mode are dlc worthy additions but think that a complete exhibit rehaul which depending on the extent will alter every map ever made by frontier is not dlc worthy.
I agree with most of your choices especially the animal remake which are likely never going to happen.

These are fair questions.

• favouriting zoopedia entries is something I would see as less likely to be added as a whole.
• Zookeeper mode- I just don't see that happening sorry. Too much new code, too much money. You are asking for a completely new gameplay option.
• Adding egg hatching - At the time I mentioned this I misinterpreted this thread as being for the anniversary pack only. However, I would still mark it as red if it was added in the wish list. The reason being people have been requesting it since the beginning of the game, and I am sure Frontier would have already done it if they could by now, so there must be a conflict with the base game birthing mechanic. Thus I doubt it would ever get added. Adding new mechanics is harder than overhauling existing mechanics.
• An exhibit rehaul is much more likely as a free patch as it would affect the base game exhibits. Generally speaking, already existing mechanics in the base game that get a tlc are going to be released as a free patch. Examples of complete overhauls that affected basegame were the diving mechanics, Shop overhaul with a restaraunt addition, climbing mechanics and animal sociality.

 

[sumcherish82]

Thanks. this thread is very useful for us

 

[Milurian]

These are fair questions.

• favouriting zoopedia entries is something I would see as less likely to be added as a whole.
• Zookeeper mode- I just don't see that happening sorry. Too much new code, too much money. You are asking for a completely new gameplay option.
• Adding egg hatching - At the time I mentioned this I misinterpreted this thread as being for the anniversary pack only. However, I would still mark it as red if it was added in the wish list. The reason being people have been requesting it since the beginning of the game, and I am sure Frontier would have already done it if they could by now, so there must be a conflict with the base game birthing mechanic. Thus I doubt it would ever get added. Adding new mechanics is harder than overhauling existing mechanics.
• An exhibit rehaul is much more likely as a free patch as it would affect the base game exhibits. Generally speaking, already existing mechanics in the base game that get a tlc are going to be released as a free patch. Examples of complete overhauls that affected basegame were the diving mechanics, Shop overhaul with a restaraunt addition, climbing mechanics and animal sociality.

I honestly think an exhibit rehaul depending on what it does will be just as hard as a birthing rehaul that adds eggs. Redoing exhibits means that models of every exhibit animal would have to be changed if the are allowed lopped movement all of that will need to be done for modular exhibits it will require a whole set of props and was of determining if you expanding or adding an second exhibit. I would mark both as possible but very unlikely.

I agree that zookeeper mode will be too hard for what its worth just hopeful speculation and favouriting zoopedia entires just isn't popular enough for frontier to bother adding but some of the other ui changes definitely seem doable and have reasoning.

 

[Utahraptor104]

Thought i would put mine wishlist here:

A truRACS system.
Rename some animals to be more generic (Examples include the West african lion ---> lion) and some other's become more specific ( African buffalo ---> cape buffalo).
A exhibit rework, and i'm not refering to new size exhibit, and indeed a full rework on the system.
decrease the ammount of space and the food price for hippos, making then more viable.
addition of missing colormorphs, like the albinos cougar, beaver and taz, melanistic maned wolf and more conventional morphos like the markless devil.
A proper way to build nocturnal house.
Nocturnal, diurnal and cathemeral behaviours on the proper animals
Pre existing system being added for more animals (Bathing for elephants, bears, birds and canines
More feeders, mainly more realistically feeders
foliage brush.
Better guest overall, make they act more realistacally and naturally.

 

[Captain Callum]

Zookeeper mode- I just don't see that happening sorry. Too much new code, too much money. You are asking for a completely new gameplay option.

Feedback like this is what I was aiming for, it helps understand each person's stance on a controversial suggestion. Since I am trying to not use my own personal bias in the wishlist, I can't just willingly choose one suggestion and not the other because I feel it doesn't feel right.

A discussion on what we feel each suggestion is the best way, I'm hoping to leave a week to gather the feedback of the zookeeper mode and eggs before deciding whether they remain on the main wishlist or move into this new category.

 

[NZFanatic]

I went through the list and added green to ones I agree and can see as something that would happen in a free update.

You kept playgrounds in green. Was that a mistake? There's no way playgrounds can happen. They'd have to somehow separate children from adults, which is impossible, because guests don't actually exist in that way in the game. They're generated by the spawner and tied to the paths. Groups exist as a lump and can't be split apart. So either all guests, including adults, play on playgrounds, or no guests do.

 

[NZFanatic]

and I am sure Frontier would have already done it if they could by now, so there must be a conflict with the base game birthing mechanic. Thus I doubt it would ever get added. Adding new mechanics is harder than overhauling existing mechanics.

They can do it - they have said as much. They just said they weren't going to, years ago, because it was a totally pointless addition (in so many words). It adds nothing to the game and isn't even realistic in a zoo context.

 

[Doran]

so where would you place bigger game changing editions because if it is behind dlc what if in future dlc they want to use this addition do they re add it in that dlc on top of what they are adding with the dlc

In a sequel lol.

 

[Khaidu]

You kept playgrounds in green. Was that a mistake? There's no way playgrounds can happen. They'd have to somehow separate children from adults, which is impossible, because guests don't actually exist in that way in the game. They're generated by the spawner and tied to the paths. Groups exist as a lump and can't be split apart. So either all guests, including adults, play on playgrounds, or no guests do.

I might have glossed over that one, I assumed it was playground pieces, I agree, I don't see them adding the function for guests to use the playgrounds, it offers no real benefit to the game apart for a visual effect (unlike the education pieces which do impact the guests education and rating for your zoo).

I changed it to red thanks

I honestly think an exhibit rehaul depending on what it does will be just as hard as a birthing rehaul that adds eggs. Redoing exhibits means that models of every exhibit animal would have to be changed if the are allowed lopped movement all of that will need to be done for modular exhibits it will require a whole set of props and was of determining if you expanding or adding an second exhibit. I would mark both as possible but very unlikely.

I agree that zookeeper mode will be too hard for what its worth just hopeful speculation and favouriting zoopedia entires just isn't popular enough for frontier to bother adding but some of the other ui changes definitely seem doable and have reasoning.

My impression of the exhibit overhaul would be adding smaller exhibits (doable, they have already proven this by adding a larger exhibit), allowing null options of the exhibit walls, removing the path creation on placement and fixing the genetics and breeding in the exhibits (currently animals born in an exhibit when bred do not retain any genetic history from their parents on game restart). These are all things that are well within the ability and scope of what Planet zoo's engine is capable of.

For birthing we need to look at the following - animals currently give birth after a gestation period. Adding an animation when an animal gives birth is easier than transferring the gestation of an animal after breeding onto an egg (which would have to be made as an animal to be able to retain the genetics and gestation information of the species) and for that egg to remain static, and upon completion have a birthing animation for the baby. If we get this far, people will want an incubation facility, or a way to move the eggs. So now we need to think ok, I need to add for the egg animal to be moveable, but because it is an egg, it cannot be moved in a box as players want to see the keeper move the egg. And now we need the keepers to have a new function to care for the eggs in the new facility to incubate the eggs, but then what happens when the animal is born? Now we need to incorporate new code to allow animals to give birth in a facility, which right now animals gestation does not. And now we need to ensure that animals don't just give birth in ANY facility.

I could keep going with all the things to consider adding eggs, but even the above is a LOT of new mechanics and code which will take a lot of time, money and resources.

 

[NZFanatic]

I could keep going with all the things to consider adding eggs, but even the above is a LOT of new mechanics and code which will take a lot of time, money and resources.

Exactly. Plus, all it adds is more wait time for an animal to be born.

In real zoos, most of the time (barring certain specific circumstances) the eggs of birds and reptiles are taken from the nest, hatched in an incubator, and then raised to a certain point before being either introduced to a microhabitat (reptiles) to grow, or returned to the parents (birds) to finish raising them, or simply hand-reared to adulthood.

The game actually already mimics this process - when reptiles and birds are born, they are at an age where they would be returned to their parents anyway. It just cuts out all the waiting around for that to happen.

The whole "eggs" thing completely hinges on Zoo Tycoon 2 nostalgia, I think, but it ignores that it was kind of stupid back then.

Edit: and the fact that it keeps coming up ignores that Frontier's only official word on the matter was that it was never going to happen anyway.

 

[Captain Callum]

and the fact that it keeps coming up ignores that Frontier's only official word on the matter was that it was never going to happen anyway.

Isn't that like the iguanas in habitats aswell? Frontier gave their opinion on it but most people just ignored it so they can continue to desire for iguanas to leave the box.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Isn't that like the iguanas in habitats aswell? Frontier gave their opinion on it but most people just ignored it so they can continue to desire for iguanas to leave the box.

Yeah but thats cause frontier doesnt want to make them, not because its impossible or a huge waste of time and money.
Most of the assests are allready there so if theyd ever release another fitting rigg like the rhinoceros igunana with the needed animations its not hard to repurpose them at all.
When we can get new brachiachtion animations for the orang utan, i dont see why we cant have free iguanas at some point

 

[Cocolori]

Just as a point of info that I think might inform the DLC versus free update issue. As a long term player of Planco and Planzoo from the beginning I can say that Frontier seem to have a very admirable stance that new gameplay mechanics should never be locked behind DLC. It never happened in Planco, it has never happend in Planzoo. They have definitely introduced mechancis that are clearly designed to go alongside the DLC and that make much more sense if you buy the DLC but they've always ensured base game players get some kind of access.

This is one of the reasons I heavily support their version of paid DLCs - I know some people want larger expansion packs but that would mean that realistically the mechanics would have to be expansion only and people who aren't as fortunate as I am to have the disposable income would miss out.

 

[NZFanatic]

Isn't that like the iguanas in habitats aswell? Frontier gave their opinion on it but most people just ignored it so they can continue to desire for iguanas to leave the box.

I can see it from two points of view regarding the iguana - as Konig says, it's possible to do it (Frontier probably doesn't want to because A: it would mean adding an animal already in the game into the game again and B: it would open a can of worms regarding exhibit animals), but I also think the issue should rest since Frontier's word on the matter was very recent and fairly final.

Edit: One thing I badly want is a completely remake of the orangutan from the ground up, but it would be the same thing; basically putting the animal into the game again while taking up development time that could be put towards something new. So, I know it's a pipe dream and not really worth mentioning.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I can see it from two points of view regarding the iguana - as Konig says, it's possible to do it (Frontier probably doesn't want to because A: it would mean adding an animal already in the game into the game again and B: it would open a can of worms regarding exhibit animals), but I also think the issue should rest since Frontier's word on the matter was very recent and fairly final.

Edit: One thing I badly want is a completely remake of the orangutan from the ground up, but it would be the same thing; basically putting the animal into the game again while taking up development time that could be put towards something new. So, I know it's a pipe dream and not really worth mentioning.

I think thats a fair perspective, but for the purposes of this thread aslong as we dont know its impossible i dont see why we shouldnt mention it.
After all things like keeper mode are also listed and id bet money that they are never gonna add that, as its the most literall waste of ressources for whats essentially a minigame