Herding Still Not Implemented - Without it the Game feels unrealistic and animals and their behaviour falls 2nd to buildings

[DrGrant99]

Dear PZ development team,
Now as much as I love Planet Zoo, still the animals feel empty with their behaviour and there is no clear herding behaviour. I really could care less about the creative abilities I have in the game despite enjoying that but for me - a gamer who plays the game for the animals - I don’t enjoy the game . The animals don’t act realistically even to Zoo standards. If the point of this game is to have good welfare and release animals back into the wild I would SUGGEST for sure for there to be herding and clear pack behaviour added. I would love to be able to create a big nature rescue reserve where the animals act like animals . Even in captivity such behaviours are present and that is why I don’t understand why this is still not implemented. The game as of now has its main focus on building pieces and with all due respect if I wanted a building game I would stick to Planet Coaster.



We are not asking for more realistic kill animations, we are not asking for hyper realism. All we are asking as players that focus on the animals and not the plaster panels is just enough realism to be able to sit back and really enjoy the animals. I don’t understand how this can’t be implemented when Frontier well did that with JWE 6 months post release. All we ask is for animals to actually stick to their group so we can enjoy the game when we make big exhibits. I honestly began to hate making large enclosures because my herbivores and pack animals spread out to the enclosure all looking awkward and singled out.

I beg you do something about this. As of now, I hate to say this but Zoo Tycoon 2 has more realism - in many behavioural aspects- than this game does with the way that the animals behaved.

As a side note, what I loved about ZT2 was the fact that some animals such as crocodilians, and birds would make nests after their pregnancy, lay eggs and protect those eggs until they hatched. For a game that is supposed to be the successor and the most realistic Zoo game, for babies to pop out of egg laying animals without any nesting system is also ridiculous and to me shows that the game developers care less about making the animals the stars of the game but rather the plaster pieces. At least it makes a good portion of us that want to just enjoy a realistic Zoo game with animals in focus feel unheard and ignored. Because thus far, every update has ever made builders happy, not animal lovers. Please PLEASE answer in some form to this. This is why implementing some behavioural changes would make such a big difference to gameplay. I was really excited for this game because of its promises but as of now, all we have are bland animals with bad AI and very little realistic behaviour. They feel less alive and more like robots trying to act like animals.

I also have to note that not having kill animations also takes away from the realism as hunting behaviour is a real life occurrence even in captivity. This game has an audience old enough to handle some gore but this is not even something we as those who focus on the animals really even want. Please just respond, will there be any updates on these suggestions?

 

[Karen F]

I can live without hunting and nesting animations, but i agree that they should add herding and pack behaviour. This would make the game so much more realistic and a pleasure to look at. I have a huge safari enclosure. Imagine that the zebras and wildebeast would move together as a group. It would be amazing.

 

[Kolikokoli]

Dear PZ development team,
Now as much as I love Planet Zoo, still the animals feel empty with their behaviour and there is no clear herding behaviour. I really could care less about the creative abilities I have in the game despite enjoying that but for me - a gamer who plays the game for the animals - I don’t enjoy the game . The animals don’t act realistically even to Zoo standards. If the point of this game is to have good welfare and release animals back into the wild I would SUGGEST for sure for there to be herding and clear pack behaviour added. I would love to be able to create a big nature rescue reserve where the animals act like animals . Even in captivity such behaviours are present and that is why I don’t understand why this is still not implemented. The game as of now has its main focus on building pieces and with all due respect if I wanted a building game I would stick to Planet Coaster.



We are not asking for more realistic kill animations, we are not asking for hyper realism. All we are asking as players that focus on the animals and not the plaster panels is just enough realism to be able to sit back and really enjoy the animals. I don’t understand how this can’t be implemented when Frontier well did that with JWE 6 months post release. All we ask is for animals to actually stick to their group so we can enjoy the game when we make big exhibits. I honestly began to hate making large enclosures because my herbivores and pack animals spread out to the enclosure all looking awkward and singled out.

I beg you do something about this. As of now, I hate to say this but Zoo Tycoon 2 has more realism - in many behavioural aspects- than this game does with the way that the animals behaved.

As a side note, what I loved about ZT2 was the fact that some animals such as crocodilians, and birds would make nests after their pregnancy, lay eggs and protect those eggs until they hatched. For a game that is supposed to be the successor and the most realistic Zoo game, for babies to pop out of egg laying animals without any nesting system is also ridiculous and to me shows that the game developers care less about making the animals the stars of the game but rather the plaster pieces. At least it makes a good portion of us that want to just enjoy a realistic Zoo game with animals in focus feel unheard and ignored. Because thus far, every update has ever made builders happy, not animal lovers. Please PLEASE answer in some form to this. This is why implementing some behavioural changes would make such a big difference to gameplay. I was really excited for this game because of its promises but as of now, all we have are bland animals with bad AI and very little realistic behaviour. They feel less alive and more like robots trying to act like animals.

I also have to note that not having kill animations also takes away from the realism as hunting behaviour is a real life occurrence even in captivity. This game has an audience old enough to handle some gore but this is not even something we as those who focus on the animals really even want. Please just respond, will there be any updates on these suggestions?

Herding, that's something I support.

But the rest... isn't it UNrealistic to lay and nest eggs in the ZOOs? I thought that they usually take the eggs and keep them in controled environment but not directly in the habitat.
ZT2 is a diffrenent game, different engine. A lot of nostalgia is talking here.
I rather not be answering the killing thing. This is game even for children not National Geographic.

 

[LindaBroer]

I too would like herding, but other than that I think the game is fine concerning animal behavior. It would be nice of course if juveniles stick close to their parents in species where multiple animals breed (e.g., penguins, zebra), but it isn't ruining my game not to have this included. Especially if they herd together which would also have most juveniles be close to their parents.

 

[XT]

Most of the time, eggs are removed from captive animals' nests - replaced by dummies or not, depending on the species needs. Especially for rarer animals or those who are being kept in an environment not ideal for the animal - the zoo doesn't want the eggs to be abandoned, or eaten by rats or the various other natural hazards. Exceptions are made if we've not really gotten a good handle on artificially raising the eggs ourselves.

 

[Jeminyne]

Yeah it's kinda ridiculous we don't even have proper herding yet, to be honest. Savanna habitats look so silly with the animals scattered everywhere and randomly running in all directions. Lower the frequency of running and replace it with a high(er) frequency of herding, playing, wading in water, chewing on toys, reacting to things in the distance, etc.

 

[Dienstbier]

Hello, I miss the more realistic behavior since the beginning, I agree that there should be more of it in the game.
PZ is great, but the game is still missing a lot. But the development is not yet stopped and I pray that much will be added.

I myself find it ridiculous that the killing animation and also the love game have been so simplified.
But for me it is bad that there are no eggs and the young animals do not need milk (if they are mammals).
Whereby there are also cute animations for the animals, but clearly too few.

Also that the plant always remain untouched is a pity and the clones... well, in the meantime it was worked on a little bit, but many animals just still look the same, only from the size there is a difference.

I really like PZ, I think it's nice that you can build so much.

But I had expected after the initial statements just clearly more from PZ, especially what the animals. Watching animals here is quite boring.

In WildlifePark, there were also killing animations (fighting), animals did not kill each other with one blow, but you could also get an injured animal out of the enclosure.
This game was NOT just for adults.
Young animals drank at female animals, even if it was not the mother.
Eggs could also be sold directly, it was just nice that the eggs lay around for a while until cubs spawned from them.

The lion continues to be a thorn in my side, that mane.... cruel.

It would also be nice if some species could be trained, but maybe this will come with a future water package.

But I hope that also the vivarium animals get more attention.
So that the animals move more in the vivariums, depending on the species.
That a snake might also meander from one place to another..and then back again.

Even if the movement is repetitive, but a slightly larger time loop would be funnier than these so far only "head wiggle" actions.
Or that a frog also hops somewhere and of course these "head-wiggle" actions may still be present.
But not only.

It's not the end of the day yet, a lot of stuff has been added and we're still working on it.

Maybe this is already on Frontier's list with the behavior.

 

[Maru Maru]

Honestly i wish they impement soon herding and pack behavior, alongside more interactions between animals, actual personalities and overall make them feel more alive. Also less group limitations, there are lion prides for example that have up to 3 males...it would be nice if the game allowed certain groups within the proper teritory size and animal personality and what not.
I love the game and what you can do build wise, but i came mostly for the animals and i really hope they shift their focus on them. We dont even have a subadult model. Alot of animals dont just wait for their offspring to mature before breeding again and its an annoying problem in PZ.

 

[Roxxsmom]

I can live without hunting and nesting animations, but i agree that they should add herding and pack behaviour. This would make the game so much more realistic and a pleasure to look at. I have a huge safari enclosure. Imagine that the zebras and wildebeast would move together as a group. It would be amazing.

How often do zoos actually allow their animals to hunt one another anyway? The only time it's happened in the game for me was when I accidentally placed a wolf cub in the snow leopard enclosure (they were next to one another and the habitats looked similar). I hope this wouldn't happen in a real zoo!

I still feel bad about the death of a virtual animal in a game! The predation is occurring alert is like the about to inbreed alert. By the time you get it, it's usually too late to stop it.

It would be cool to see more of the social behaviors one observes in different species. I get that they are so varied that it would be challenging, but the behavior of herding species has certain patterns that could be implemented in game I would think. They do have some cute interactions between juveniles and adults, such as the lion cubs pouncing on the adults' tails and so on, but the interactions between adults are more limited to the fighting and mating animations. I do see some mutual grooming behaviors with the primates.

I also wish the hippos would do that thing where they hang out in the water with just the top of their heads out and their ears do that little wriggle. Like the images in this article. Note that the hippo family is hanging out together too, not just walking around randomly in the water.

It would be great to have a subadult model too, at least for species that have a prolonged subadult phase of development where they are close to adult size but maybe not as filled out and are not ready to breed yet. Many of the animals in the game stay in the baby model for a very long time, then within a few moments they are all grown up.

Of course in many species, this is when the young males would form bachelor herds or groups, while others (like wolves) juveniles may stay with their natal groups until fully mature. And in a zoo it would always be hard for animals to follow their normal dispersal patterns on maturity in an enclosure, unless it is simply huge.

In the game the animals go from being babies to challenging the dominant male or female in their habitat within seconds (or attacking the opposite sex adults, which is more confusing). Some animals do mature very quickly, though, and it makes more sense for them to just go from baby to adult. I love the foxes in the game, but I turn my back on them and two have become fifteen in a habitat within minutes it seems. A subadult phase would probably be wasteful with the foxes, meerkats etc.

Just as well we don't have rabbits in the game.

 

[Planet zoo ‘The Netherlands’]

Laying eggs is a thing that I would like a lot. I know pinguïns are able to hatch their own eggs in a lot of zoo’s. The same counts for flamingos and peacocks.
though from a development point of view I would introduce that in a update as a part of a aviary pack.
I mean I can complain about peacocks that don’t lay eggs but not flying is like bigger thing for me for sure.

The herding and pack behaviour is kinda there I guess (animals do join a pack or a herd and you get a note of that). Though it might be nice if it’s more visual when walking trough my zoos indeed. I would definitely line that a lot.
That said, in most real zoos al the animals are all over the place aswel, as I‘ve seen in africa aswel to my suprise.
Usually lions and heyenas are al over the place (except when feeding) and also herd animals are definitely not always in close proximity to one another. Except when they feel treated, witch they are not so often in my zoos. So it’s not a huge thing for me after alI, I guess.

I’m glad the hunting is not included, it’s a zoo game not a wildpark game.
Letting animals hunt each other down does not belong in a zoo game and in my opinion should not be encouraged in any form.

 

[Anthracite_Impreza]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I feel like herd and pack animals do congregate to some extent. I often see my gemsbok and wildebeest all following each other for no obvious reason anyway, and I often see my doggos hanging out a lot especially to sleep. I don't see the same of my reindeer or dall sheep though, so it seems hit or miss.

I would support more realistic hunting behaviour; not everyone has to play the same way and the way they act now is blatantly unrealistic. There'd actually be less death if animals were coded more realistically, plus it would teach a valuable lesson that predators are not insatiable killing machines who always get their own way, nor are herbivores just walking snacks at the mercy of predators.