Hot takes for planet zoo

TremendousTimAllen

TremendousTimAllen
Milurian said:
I know im probably in the minority here but I actually have no problem with clone heavy packs because as long as its not a timber wolf vs arctic wolf situation where they are literally the same animal I genuinely think clones can add alot to the game with many requested animals still being clones anyways like deer. Also our definition of clones is so lose that there is still alot of wiggle room for what can be added and slowly we will get more complex animals that can then be cloned.

Also hot take but after planet coaster 2 I dont see a sequel for planet zoo being a guaranteed upgrade. A sequel for me would have to have 4 things for me to actually want it over just continued support. Aquatics, free flying birds, a complete removal of the exhibit system in favour of something similar to habitats and a return of every animal from the first game.
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My must-haves for Planet Zoo 2, loosely ranked from most to least important:

1. Every species from Planet Zoo is available (except maybe a change to the whole Arctic/Timber wolf fiasco). Most can be straight up ports, some (such as the Lion) should be updated graphically, some (such as Donkey) should have updated sound effects, etc
2. Engine work to allow for multi-threading and other general improvements. It's really dumb to have access to 195+ species but realistically being confined to <100 because computers can't handle it
3. Aviaries with at minimum 15 flying bird/bat species available in the base game
4. Changes to pathing and terrain modifications to be much closer to the freebuild mod
5. Rework exhibits, as you've said, to at minimum allow us to create 0.5x, normal, 1.5x, and 2x sized exhibits
6. Rework construction to some degree. There should be, for example, a single "Wall" that can then be retextured to any of the available textures. On that note, every current texture should exist along with at least 10 more.
7. Aquariums. Low on my priorities as most (maybe every) zoos I can think of haven't had a dedicated aquarium with fully aquatic species beyond ones that would fit more into the aforementioned exhibits
8. Automated habitat management. I want to be able to set it so that if my animals have too many babies, they automatically go on contraceptives, and once the babies grow up, they are automatically released/sold. Sick of dealing with constant fighting and inbreeding in larger zoos
 

FoxyDee

FoxyDee
caninesrock said:
only want a sequel if they will have all the animals from the first one since I'm afraid they will remove and never add animals I liked in the first one for the sequel.
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Pretty much this. I fear that we will miss some animals/building items/features in the sequel. I am fine if they would be missing at the start to be improved and added later, but if they would never add them back then I would certainly not be happy about that. And it seems that is exactly what happened to PC2. I do not understand why there are so many missing objects and features in the sequel. Seems like a step back to be honest.
 

Iben

Iben
DarthQuell said:
Hot take: clones add a lot of value as long as they're a niche not yet explored.
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My even hotter take: "clones" are unavoidable when it comes making a profitable zoo game and they're not a bad thing to begin with if you plan to play the game long term.

Sure, on a short term basis you might get an animal you can't use in your current zoo because you already used the "original", but long term "clones" allow you to switch things up. Tigers are in every zoo, but if I had to use the same tiger species every single time that'd get boring. Same goes for flamingos, wolfs, bears, etc. etc. Having "clones" means you have variety in the long term of the game.

Mjmannella said:
I'd prefer a sequel any day of the week. I want a zoo sim that puts animals over building. I don't give a rat's rump about modular building, and I think it just hurts the experience of running a zoo. I want management over architecture, fun over monotony, and simplicity over tedium.
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Pretty cold take here but a sequel obviously isn't going to deviate from the current approach that Frontier has; they are into the creative management sims genre after all and their Planet series is firmly tied to the modular building they have. Hoping that will change is a guaranteed disappointment really.

In terms of games that are in development Zoofari and Simplizoo seem to be pretty much what you are looking for, in terms of games that are out I've heard that Let's Build A Zoo scratches the itch for people who long for more management and less building. Like, I don't want to tell you what to do, but the zoo game niche like any other game niche has different subgenres and Planet Zoo seems to sit into a different subgenre than the one you like, so why would you not branch out to the other zoo games that give you what you like? Instead of hoping/trying to push the game into a direction the developers themselves don't really have interest going in?

NachoB said:
Hot take question: Would you rather...
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I am going to say that we're often focusing on these two options but forget there's other options too. I'd say you actually have a third option, the Sims 4 route.

Anyone will agree that for the Planet Zoo brand itself to survive Frontier has to introduce birds and fish at one point. This can be done with a sequel, but that comes with risks. You risk a PC2 scenario, you risk a scenario where the players think there's not enough in the sequel to move on, etc. There's bunch of risks that you don't really have control over and that you'll have to hope that they'll turn out alright.

An other approach would be to say "alright, we continue and enhance the game, one pack at a time until we can get there". This also comes with risks obviously, as whilst this costs as much as making a new game, you don't get to go all big bang on your players and instead have to release these wanted features over time. Slowly. Which might get people to give up on your game. But on the other hand, you might have more people stick around because they won't lose their progress they've made so far.

We don't have enough information on Frontier's financial status, the risks they see in developing a sequel or continuing the game, etc. But it's not unheard of that a developer comes to the conclusion that they're better of enhancing their current game than to release a sequel. So I do see this as a legitimate option for the game's future, especially given how PC2 went.

So in an ideal scenario, with good communication and clear roadmaps, I go for the secret option 3 that is the Sims 4 route.
 

Milurian

Milurian
Iben said:
My even hotter take: "clones" are unavoidable when it comes making a profitable zoo game and they're not a bad thing to begin with if you plan to play the game long term.

Sure, on a short term basis you might get an animal you can't use in your current zoo because you already used the "original", but long term "clones" allow you to switch things up. Tigers are in every zoo, but if I had to use the same tiger species every single time that'd get boring. Same goes for flamingos, wolfs, bears, etc. etc. Having "clones" means you have variety in the long term of the game.


Pretty cold take here but a sequel obviously isn't going to deviate from the current approach that Frontier has; they are into the creative management sims genre after all and their Planet series is firmly tied to the modular building they have. Hoping that will change is a guaranteed disappointment really.

In terms of games that are in development Zoofari and Simplizoo seem to be pretty much what you are looking for, in terms of games that are out I've heard that Let's Build A Zoo scratches the itch for people who long for more management and less building. Like, I don't want to tell you what to do, but the zoo game niche like any other game niche has different subgenres and Planet Zoo seems to sit into a different subgenre than the one you like, so why would you not branch out to the other zoo games that give you what you like? Instead of hoping/trying to push the game into a direction the developers themselves don't really have interest going in?


I am going to say that we're often focusing on these two options but forget there's other options too. I'd say you actually have a third option, the Sims 4 route.

Anyone will agree that for the Planet Zoo brand itself to survive Frontier has to introduce birds and fish at one point. This can be done with a sequel, but that comes with risks. You risk a PC2 scenario, you risk a scenario where the players think there's not enough in the sequel to move on, etc. There's bunch of risks that you don't really have control over and that you'll have to hope that they'll turn out alright.

An other approach would be to say "alright, we continue and enhance the game, one pack at a time until we can get there". This also comes with risks obviously, as whilst this costs as much as making a new game, you don't get to go all big bang on your players and instead have to release these wanted features over time. Slowly. Which might get people to give up on your game. But on the other hand, you might have more people stick around because they won't lose their progress they've made so far.

We don't have enough information on Frontier's financial status, the risks they see in developing a sequel or continuing the game, etc. But it's not unheard of that a developer comes to the conclusion that they're better of enhancing their current game than to release a sequel. So I do see this as a legitimate option for the game's future, especially given how PC2 went.

So in an ideal scenario, with good communication and clear roadmaps, I go for the secret option 3 that is the Sims 4 route.
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I would love for the game to go the sims 4 route and keep going for 10 plus years with all the key sequel selling features coming with time.
 

SanRazo

SanRazo
Iben said:
My even hotter take: "clones" are unavoidable when it comes making a profitable zoo game and they're not a bad thing to begin with if you plan to play the game long term.

Sure, on a short term basis you might get an animal you can't use in your current zoo because you already used the "original", but long term "clones" allow you to switch things up. Tigers are in every zoo, but if I had to use the same tiger species every single time that'd get boring. Same goes for flamingos, wolfs, bears, etc. etc. Having "clones" means you have variety in the long term of the game.


Pretty cold take here but a sequel obviously isn't going to deviate from the current approach that Frontier has; they are into the creative management sims genre after all and their Planet series is firmly tied to the modular building they have. Hoping that will change is a guaranteed disappointment really.

In terms of games that are in development Zoofari and Simplizoo seem to be pretty much what you are looking for, in terms of games that are out I've heard that Let's Build A Zoo scratches the itch for people who long for more management and less building. Like, I don't want to tell you what to do, but the zoo game niche like any other game niche has different subgenres and Planet Zoo seems to sit into a different subgenre than the one you like, so why would you not branch out to the other zoo games that give you what you like? Instead of hoping/trying to push the game into a direction the developers themselves don't really have interest going in?


I am going to say that we're often focusing on these two options but forget there's other options too. I'd say you actually have a third option, the Sims 4 route.

Anyone will agree that for the Planet Zoo brand itself to survive Frontier has to introduce birds and fish at one point. This can be done with a sequel, but that comes with risks. You risk a PC2 scenario, you risk a scenario where the players think there's not enough in the sequel to move on, etc. There's bunch of risks that you don't really have control over and that you'll have to hope that they'll turn out alright.

An other approach would be to say "alright, we continue and enhance the game, one pack at a time until we can get there". This also comes with risks obviously, as whilst this costs as much as making a new game, you don't get to go all big bang on your players and instead have to release these wanted features over time. Slowly. Which might get people to give up on your game. But on the other hand, you might have more people stick around because they won't lose their progress they've made so far.

We don't have enough information on Frontier's financial status, the risks they see in developing a sequel or continuing the game, etc. But it's not unheard of that a developer comes to the conclusion that they're better of enhancing their current game than to release a sequel. So I do see this as a legitimate option for the game's future, especially given how PC2 went.

So in an ideal scenario, with good communication and clear roadmaps, I go for the secret option 3 that is the Sims 4 route.
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My dream scenario is that they make it a sims4/ paradox games scenario of decade long support to the point people wouldn’t then mind a sequel with less stuff even after all the “sequel” improvements have been added. But in those scenarios of course there is still a waiting period where people play the old game until the new one catches up. I think personally that’s a decent alternative but only after a decade plus of support.

I don’t think/ know if frontier has the man power or funds for that though
 

synthetase

synthetase
RightWhale said:
Almost every animal is a clone at this point, even the Swan is based off the flamingo rig (edited a bit if I remember right)

But yeah the biggest issue with anything begins and ends with the odd choices by Frontier. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, there are no bad animals but there are certainly bad pack placements. Especially as other players feel the burn from missing out on animals they want. For a couple years we have now got: multiple pigs, multiple antelope, and multiple caprines. We also are close to finishing the bears off.

While I feel bad for the people who may really want (insert animal here) it’s really hard for me to want that animal when we got (insert animal here) very recently! What we really need is (insert animal here) which we haven’t had a new one since (insert passage of time here).

I also think this is a tough pill to swallow: in the end of the day this is a video game. While every animal matters in real life, up to a certain point there will be too many animals that provide similar gameplay options. I would love a grey crowned crane, and a whooping crane for Africa and North America. But if we would now have three crane species there would get to a certain point where another crane would be too much, and the pack slot would be better spent on something else.
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I agree! Its a good perspective... I also hope for a Crane for Africa and North America! TWO Cranes for, Africa, would be a bit much. With the announcement I mean, tease, of the Coyote I also don't expect a favorite animal, Bat-eared Fox, to show up. 12 canids would be too much when there are only ~200 species in game...
However, I would argue that the longer support goes on the more you could revisit groups. I also think, that Bears are just a bit overrepresented. That's my hot take right now.
 

synthetase

synthetase
FoxyDee said:
Raccoon Dog, I still hope you have a chance.
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I'm actually hopeful too! They are way more highly requested than Coyotes and they are so adorable and unique I will make an exception for them ❤️
So, no more canids* UNLESS its Raccoon Dog (or maybe Gray Fox for Quell...)
*Or support continues so long that we want another canid.
 

Mr-Hyrax 2

Mr-Hyrax 2
🐺Weekly Hot Take🐺
with the the new dlc to be revealed in a week I decided to base this week on the pack. With the there being 2 slots left in the next pack I am wondering, what is your most controversial picks for those last 2 slots, any animal can be mentioned besides mare and coati sense those are popular and highly requested. These don't have to be the animals you want the most, just some controversial or biased choices, for example I would go with Geoffrey's Spider Monkey and SA tapir.
 

SanRazo

SanRazo
Mr-Hyrax 2 said:
🐺Weekly Hot Take🐺
with the the new dlc to be revealed in a week I decided to base this week on the pack. With the there being 2 slots left in the next pack I am wondering, what is your most controversial picks for those last 2 slots, any animal can be mentioned besides mare and coati sense those are popular and highly requested. These don't have to be the animals you want the most, just some controversial or biased choices, for example I would go with Geoffrey's Spider Monkey and SA tapir.
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I mean a second monkey isn’t really controversial but I’ll go with that.

Genuinely, it was mentioned once, but I wouldn’t hate a mustang 👀👀 they’re pretty iconic and it’ll be cool to make horse ranches in game
 

Mr-Hyrax 2

Mr-Hyrax 2
SanRazo said:
I mean a second monkey isn’t really controversial but I’ll go with that.

Genuinely, it was mentioned once, but I wouldn’t hate a mustang 👀👀 they’re pretty iconic and it’ll be cool to make horse ranches in game
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Well I mainly want the spider monkey due to bias, and alot people prefer Howler Monkeys (I don't m, however)

I would not mind the mustang if we had to get 1 more domestic animal, I would prefer a warm cow like zebu but a mustang would be nice
 

Birb（｡･ө･｡）

Birb（｡･ө･｡）
I actually wouldn't mind another tortoise, as we still don't have a smaller habitat one. The red-footed tortoise, especially, would be an amazing candidate for mixed exhibits. I love mixed habitats that use a variety of spaces, so having tortoises on the ground with monkeys and sloths climbing above them in the canopy would be sick (or at least as much as habitat animals actually climb in game lol). An agouti, chinchilla, or an American porcupine species would make me happy too (albeit I prefer the mara for a rodent).

I also really want a tegu, a second monkey, or a third bird, but I don't think those are quite as controversial if at all (not that they're likely either way).
 
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RightWhale

RightWhale
Mr-Hyrax 2 said:
🐺Weekly Hot Take🐺
with the the new dlc to be revealed in a week I decided to base this week on the pack. With the there being 2 slots left in the next pack I am wondering, what is your most controversial picks for those last 2 slots, any animal can be mentioned besides mare and coati sense those are popular and highly requested. These don't have to be the animals you want the most, just some controversial or biased choices, for example I would go with Geoffrey's Spider Monkey and SA tapir.
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1743534316541.png


GIVE ME HIM NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
1743534360036.png

It would make this pack perfect!
1743534396840.png

THE PERFECT ANIMAL FOR THE PACK!!!!!
1743534456948.jpeg

On the whole though, this little duck would be perfect. Not to mention it would provide a good tropical house bird. I mean imagine we get this little guy, immediately the mixed habitat options would be off the charts.

So Frontier, @Britches got the Pallas, @Swiftie_Midnights_ got the cape porcupine, @Pentoleaf got the saiga, and @NachoB got the Rhea. I have seen what you provided to others and I want to ride this high forever.
 
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