If you had to choose between aquatic animals or flying birds...

[Danny_zoo]

Most of us dream of having both aquatic animals (seals, penguins, otters, sea lions...) and flying birds in the game someday. However, if we had to choose between aquatic animals or flying birds, what would you prefer?

For me, it would be the aquatic animals. When I go to a zoo, I love seeing the penguins and other aquatic animals. They are usually more active and funny to watch. However, birds are usually hard to see because they are just hidden on the trees.

Allow me to respectfully and enthusiastically respond to that. All of those aquatic animals you mentioned, are amazing, they can also be found in Aquariums. Granted, many zoos have them, however there are a large number of zoos that do not. Sea lions are no found in many zoos especially on those zoos with tropical and sub tropical climates. Otters are somewhat a common staple of zoos, especially in recent times, since they are very playful and everyone loves them. Seals are a rarity in zoos, you would have to hand pick the zoos in order to justify their existence on them. Penguins are somewhat common if we are referring to species found in tropical climates, go the Aquarium route and bring the big guns of King and Emperor Penguins, and line up your pocket, because their exhibits are extremely expensive to built and maintain (source myself, being a part of the zoo design industry for decades) This is the reason why you would not find them often in zoos, even Aquariums for that matter, tens of millions are needed to built exhibits for them.

Now in reference to your point about birds, have you ever heard of bird watchers? (I'm not one, lol) however this individuals are a good representation of what every zoo visitor should behave like. It takes patience in an aviary to spot certain bird species, as you said they are often found in branches, soaring thru the aviaries, visitors need to take their time, enjoy them, walk softly and be gentle. A screaming kid with a balloon, running thru an aviary, is a perfect example of how not to see a bird.

However for the most part, birds in zoos are extremely easy to spot, so much so, that they often used as ambassadors or focal points of zoo entrances. A Condor would be extremely easily to spot, an individual would have to be blind not to see it. An Indian Hornbill would be a sight, A pelican can be quite intimidating if close enough. Vultures add life to any African Savannah exhibit. Look down into ponds and lakes you will see a multitude of ducks, herons, storks, etc. In short birds are some of the easiest animals to spot in Zoos, contrary to seals or sea lions, that if it happens to be nap time, you will be out of luck. Penguins are also birds. (much love)

 

[Bearcat9948]

Hey, @FrontierDevelopmentTeam, I think @Danny_zoo would like some feathered friends

 

[Danny_zoo]

I feel like it is only fair to do an aquatic possibility some visual justice, so for the sake of fairness, here we go.

 

[Danny_zoo]

I think the point here is that the thread is asking the question of what would you pick if there is only one option, and that would be horrible. An scenario like this, is not only unnecessary but it would honestly leave the game unfinished one way or the other. There is no possible scenario where I do not see both of them happening, one maybe very soon, and the other I definitely see happening soon after, worse case scenario towards the end of next year, on the second anniversary of the game. The official forum community here is small, but in every single platform, where you have thousands of individuals commenting on the Planet Zoo game (YouTube) birds and aquatic animals are always the two most highly requested missing pieces of the puzzle.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Why on earth has this thread turned into a pledge for birds? Believe it or not, we need both in a zoo game and we don't need to behave like one is superior to the other
Also, what is or is not a staple in a zoo is very much also defined by region. Most bigger zoos I know in north germany does have californian sea lions. Hannover has a huge aquatic section (Yukon Bay), but no tropical bird house. Hagenbeck has both (though the Troparium is separated from the main zoo, so technically the main zoo doesn't have lots of birds). Rostock has both (I'm not sure of the variety of the birds).

I also don't see why birds should get a bigger DLC than coastal animals. If Frontier isn't completely tone deaf (thougj I'm not sure of this lately...), they know these animals are just as longed for.

The absolute only thing that is the difference between those wishes is, that birds add another layer to habitat building and costal animals don't. However, this is only IF the birds are free flying. And it is a big IF.

 

[Bearcat9948]

Why on earth has this thread turned into a pledge for birds? Believe it or not, we need both in a zoo game and we don't need to behave like one is superior to the other

I don't think anyone is, it's all in good fun. It's not like this thread will have any, if at all, bearing on whether or not aviaries or aquatic animals are added to PZ, after all. Besides, some people are really passionate about certain things, that's nothing to be ashamed of

 

[Danny_zoo]

Hey, @FrontierDevelopmentTeam, I think @Danny_zoo would like some feathered friends

Lol, good one, I hope they have gotten the hint by now. In all seriousness I'm equally as exited for an aquatic DLC. The biggest issue for me is the release time for each, because I can wait for Walruses, Sea Lions and even otters (only if we really have to) like I mention before, they are all stand alone animals that would required amazing and intricate exhibits, but in all fairness, are not needed ASAP for current zoos to be complete. I have worked on several large Planet Zoo projects, and had to leave them all on hold, because without birds, it just feels dead. I need the birds for Mixed African species exhibits, I need them for walk thru aviaries set in lush and dense forests recreations. In short will complement what we already have.

Many here also forget that birds will ALMOST SURELY bring another feature currently missing from the game, let us call it a highly requested component for zoos to finally look real. The ability to hit X and rotate a barrier fence's axis the same way you do an object, meaning we will finally be able to built fully netted exhibits, not only for birds but other animals like primates and Jaguars. The only current realistic way to built a Jaguar exhibit is inside a building, and that is horrible. There is a reason why there is always a roof on a Jaguar exhibit, and when the design has even a small gap, just a single weak point this happens: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/14/us/audubon-zoo-jaguar-escapes/index.html
So anyone that has created an outdoor Jaguar exhibit in this game, and boast of its cool design and inability for the Jaguars to escape, has never truly known a Jaguar, they are ninjas.

So the inclusion of birds, not only brings the feathers but also the new, highly needed and requested barrier system. Not sure if an aquatic DLC would bring anything new in this area, maybe someone else wants to jump in and share some ideas, but I think the blueprint is there for everything to be created already. Maybe walkthrough tunnels, that would be cool, and another feature that non aquatic animals could benefit from. Anyone here familiar with the walkthrough Gorilla tunnel in the Bronx Zoo's award winning Congo?

 

[Danny_zoo]

Why on earth has this thread turned into a pledge for birds? Believe it or not, we need both in a zoo game and we don't need to behave like one is superior to the other
Also, what is or is not a staple in a zoo is very much also defined by region. Most bigger zoos I know in north germany does have californian sea lions. Hannover has a huge aquatic section (Yukon Bay), but no tropical bird house. Hagenbeck has both (though the Troparium is separated from the main zoo, so technically the main zoo doesn't have lots of birds). Rostock has both (I'm not sure of the variety of the birds).

I also don't see why birds should get a bigger DLC than coastal animals. If Frontier isn't completely tone deaf (thougj I'm not sure of this lately...), they know these animals are just as longed for.

The absolute only thing that is the difference between those wishes is, that birds add another layer to habitat building and costal animals don't. However, this is only IF the birds are free flying. And it is a big IF.

My friend as usual I love your point of view, and as it happens often, you have misunderstood mine, lol It's ok, maybe I did a poor job in explaining my points, even though I think in some of them I clarify THAT I ADSOLUTELY LOVE AQUATIC ANIMALS.

But maybe I can instead focus on responding to your post, it would be easier that writing everything above again. The thread asked the question of one or the other, if only one was possible, that was not my idea, but it was the idea of the thread writer, and I have to respect it, so my response was based on this. I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT WE NEED BOTH IN THE GAME, I DEDICATED A WHOLE POST (ABOVE) TO IT, AS IT WAS ONLY FAIR. Please know that I'm writing in caps, not because I'm shouting (would never do that) I just think that at times I write too much, and lose someone's interest, so I wanted to highlight that point for you.

In reference to one being a staple and not the other, let me clarify. When we look at the definition to most players in this forum of what an aquatic DLC should bring (in all fairness it might mean different things to different players) many players want otters, sea lions, capybaras, seals, I have even seen walruses on the list. Now as you well said this is subjective to where/what kind of zoo you are building or referencing. Temperate climate zoos tend to hold some of this species, sub tropical and tropical zoos not as often, and they are not mutually exclusive. The same case can be made for birds, if we are looking at them from an individual species point of view. However when we think about birds in general, it does not matter whether you are referencing a zoo in Germany, Japan or the U.S, you will have parrots, macaws, some species of toucan or hornbill, some ducks, small birds, bigger birds etc, you follow me so far? It is really not an opinion, or a preference it is fact of any zoo in the world. I have visited almost every major zoo in Germany (my third favorite country to go on a zoo road trip) and each one has a large amount of birds. However when it comes to the aquatic species mentioned above, not every zoo holds all of them, some might have one but not the other.

I WOULD ADSOLUTELY LOVE FOR FRONTIER TO DEDICATE A LARGE DLC TO AQUATIC ANIMALS, THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. That is what I would like, but I'm trying to stay realistic and lower my expectations, remember what happened to you with the anniversary cake and how frustrating that was? I do not want that to happen to me, so I look at it like this. If Frontier was to release an aquatic theme DLC that holds Sea Lions, Asian Small Clawed Otters, Seals, Capybara and an Anaconda in a much bigger bigger tank with underwater viewing (it can be an habitat animal of course) and fish as looping animations, I think some might be disappointed that there favorite aquatic animal did not make, but in general it would be no different than SA and Australia. What I mean is that a small DLC can still do the job (NOT MY PREFERENCE)

Now if they release a DLC with only four birds, honestly it would be a total disaster, the roof would collapse on them from complaints. I would personally fly to the U.K and protest in front of Frontiers building, lol (JUST A JOKE) Honestly four birds is impossible to narrow down, plus as you well know, we will also be getting new barriers, a host of other items that would justify a much bigger DLC. Does not mean it will be the case, and it probably will be a lot smaller that what I'm hoping for, but definitely not four birds.


There, much love to you♥♥♥♥♥ from a very tropical place, hoping that this melt the ice if any has formed. All of it comes from a place of love, peace in the world. Give me some credit I recently started using the emojis for the first time in my life in this forum to blend in better with the cool crowd

 

[Danny_zoo]

Let me give the aquatics a little more love, to make things even.

 

[Danny_zoo]

And a very special aquatic one just for you swjosdotschka, a beautiful fish, since you love them so much

 

[Aramar]

Wow, this thread exploded. I didn't expect it to be so interesting. I just wanted to see your opinions and keep the forum active moving away from the sad atmosphere due to the lack of an anniversary update. So thank you all for your answers, especially you, @Danny_zoo

I want to comment some points that have been discussed, always from a friendly point of view

Although penguins are birds, they are not flying birds, so for me they belong to the aquatic animals group.

I totally agree when you say that aviaries would be great because the mesh could used for other animals too. Very good point

I also agree that the number of species that a bird DLC would add is huge, while the aquatic animals are more limited (I'm always refering to land-aquatic animals).

However, Planet Zoo allows us create zoos in many biomas. So I don't see why the fact that in tropical biomas animals like seals are not common could be an issue. We can create zoos in areas where those animals are commonly found. Also, in one of the career scenarios we had to put polar bears in the desert, so everything is possible!

Of course I know about people who love bird watching, my grandfather is one of those. I just said that for me, personally, birds are more boring than aquatic animals, but I know that's not the case for everyone, hence this thread to see all your opinions

Finally, the city where I grew up in Spain doesn't have a zoo and I didn't travel much at that time. My only childhood memories of a zoo is when I went on a school trip to a city nearby where there's a little zoo specialized in marine animals. It has dolphins, turtles, sea lions, seals, otters and penguins. There are other small animals such as meerkats and some monkeys, and tropical birds like parrots and toucans. So I can't help of thinking of both aquatic animals and birds when I think of a zoo, since those are the main animals of "my childhood zoo".

In any case, I can't wait to have more animals in the game, no matter if they fly, swim or run on the ground.

 

[Danny_zoo]

Wow, this thread exploded. I didn't expect it to be so interesting. I just wanted to see your opinions and keep the forum active moving away from the sad atmosphere due to the lack of an anniversary update. So thank you all for your answers, especially you, @Danny_zoo

I want to comment some points that have been discussed, always from a friendly point of view

Although penguins are birds, they are not flying birds, so for me they belong to the aquatic animals group.

I totally agree when you say that aviaries would be great because the mesh could used for other animals too. Very good point

I also agree that the number of species that a bird DLC would add is huge, while the aquatic animals are more limited (I'm always refering to land-aquatic animals).

However, Planet Zoo allows us create zoos in many biomas. So I don't see why the fact that in tropical biomas animals like seals are not common could be an issue. We can create zoos in areas where those animals are commonly found. Also, in one of the career scenarios we had to put polar bears in the desert, so everything is possible!

Of course I know about people who love bird watching, my grandfather is one of those. I just said that for me, personally, birds are more boring than aquatic animals, but I know that's not the case for everyone, hence this thread to see all your opinions

Finally, the city where I grew up in Spain doesn't have a zoo and I didn't travel much at that time. My only childhood memories of a zoo is when I went on a school trip to a city nearby where there's a little zoo specialized in marine animals. It has dolphins, turtles, sea lions, seals, otters and penguins. There are other small animals such as meerkats and some monkeys, and tropical birds like parrots and toucans. So I can't help of thinking of both aquatic animals and birds when I think of a zoo, since those are the main animals of "my childhood zoo".

In any case, I can't wait to have more animals in the game, no matter if they fly, swim or run on the ground.

En hora buena!!!!! Awesome that you grew up in Spain, a country I love as a second home. I was a big part of the team that designed Bioparc Valencia and Bioparc Fuengirola, and had a little part in Zoom Torino (that was a project in Italy, but still working for Rain Forest) Excellent thread and completely understand why you did it, it does take the attention away from the disappointment that some suffered thru the lack of an anniversary update.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my replies (all of them, lol) and based on your post, I can see that you understood what I meant and know that all of it is the spirit of frienship and discussion, that is a big relief, as at times in this forum if you say the sky is blue, someone might take offense with it and take it as a personal attack, lol.

Totally understand that you would group penguins with the aquatic animals, and it would be interesting to see where Frontier groups them. I have a theory about that, but maybe this is not the place for it. To clarify, I love zoos in all biomes, and did not mean that one should take precedence over the other. My point was that some of the aquatic animals players want, seals, sea lions, penguins even a walrus was mentioned, are not found in every zoo, and it is mostly an issue related to climate and the environment where the zoo is situated. As I mention, it is definitely not exclusive. Birds on the other hand, if we are just referring to them in general are found in every single zoo, without exception. That was the only point there, but both have the right to be a part of this game, and I have no second thoughts that they will be.

Your grandfather seems like a nice guy, probably around my age, lol. I endorse your last statement, we need more animals, and it doesn't matter how they get here, they can fly, swim or crawl, but get here already, before some players suffer a stroke.

 

[Jeminyne]

You guys are all making such good arguments for both, I can't pick! Well, I'm kinda on the same page as @Bearcat9948. Most important for me are semi aquatic animals like otters, beavers, penguins, seals, and platypi. So far we only have crocodilians, nile monitors, and hippos. I love making their habitats and we need more animals like that. After that, I'd prioritize aviary birds like massive condors, colourful parrots, kookabura and snowy owls, for that much-needed diversity. And in last place, aquatic things like exhibit tanks (for fish/octopi/seastars/etc) and fully marine animals. Not something I need.

This will probably never happen, but god I'd love a leopard seal

 

[Captain Willard]

Aquatic flying animals or nothing.

 

[Aidan635]

I know I’m kinda late to the party here but I would definitely, without a doubt, would take birds. EVERY Zoo has birds, every one. Not every Zoo has aquatic animals. By aquatic animals I’m assuming you mean sharks, Dolphins, fish, stingrays, jellyfish, etc. I would like to see sea lions, otters, beavers, and other semi-aquatic marine mammals.

 

[Jeminyne]

You know what? Allow me to change my answer a little. You guys have made great posts here reminding me how important birds are to zoos. I think certain birds are tied for being just as important as otters and beavers. Yes penguins count as both, and are right up at the very top for me. A fresh water turtle is actually pretty high up there too. Sea lions are in the middle. Then animals like manatees, leopard seals, sea turtles, octopi, and giant crabs are at the bottom, at least in terms of having this game feel complete. (Despite how amazingly cool it would be to have leopard seals and manatees! )

 

[Seedric]

wow this is hard to choose...
i will say aquatic out of birds although i also want birds.
its such a hard decision . ill say aquatic ,i want to see coral reef or something like that, grouper, shark, rays, even dolphin and whale,
but for birds ill say kingfisher, bird of paradise, crane, cockatoo, macaws, eagles and etc