In Need Of Some Serious Franchise Help

Aidan635

Aidan635
Hey ya'll, I know this may seem like a selfish post but I would really appreciate it if someone can lead me in the right direction here.

I've been working on this franchise zoo, named Zoo Machu Picchu for about 1 month now and it's the first zoo I've ever been happy with and had a complete intent on finishing. Yesterday, when I started playing I was at about $180,000 then only about an hour later I was at $5,000. And today after about an hour I was at -$65,000. I recovered it slightly by firing staff, closing unprofitable facilities, selling animals, and breeding exhibit animals. I am playing on hard mode.

Now I am set back -$50,000 with no active loans and my yearly deficit is only around less than $1,000. Is there anything I can do to save this park? I really really really dont want to see it crumble down like this. Someone please help!
 

Firestar97

Firestar97
I assume it's because of Refunds. These Guests are absolute Karens. They want their Money back for the smallest Reason. That's why I still play on Medium (and because it's hard to always change the Enrichment-Items in all Enclosures of a big Zoo). Try if you can get the Guest Needs higher without hiring extra Staff. Maybe it helps to change the Position of some Shops or place a few Vending Machines
 

HeatherG

Volunteer Moderator
HeatherG
Aidan635 said:
Hey ya'll, I know this may seem like a selfish post but I would really appreciate it if someone can lead me in the right direction here.

I've been working on this franchise zoo, named Zoo Machu Picchu for about 1 month now and it's the first zoo I've ever been happy with and had a complete intent on finishing. Yesterday, when I started playing I was at about $180,000 then only about an hour later I was at $5,000. And today after about an hour I was at -$65,000. I recovered it slightly by firing staff, closing unprofitable facilities, selling animals, and breeding exhibit animals. I am playing on hard mode.

Now I am set back -$50,000 with no active loans and my yearly deficit is only around less than $1,000. Is there anything I can do to save this park? I really really really dont want to see it crumble down like this. Someone please help!
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One thing I did recently was delete the most recent save because I left the zoo running over night. You have 3 autosaves so I can suggest looking at the dates and times of your save files and seeing which ones will take you back to a time that you still had your money.
 

XT

XT
You can also lower the pay of your staff (everyone except caretakers and vendors), without making them unhappy (at least, you can in medium). I have found that good exhibit insects are a quick source of cash - they breed fast and you can make between a few hundred to a few thousand by selling a dozen or so every few days.
 

Firestar97

Firestar97
XT said:
You can also lower the pay of your staff (everyone except caretakers and vendors), without making them unhappy (at least, you can in medium). I have found that good exhibit insects are a quick source of cash - they breed fast and you can make between a few hundred to a few thousand by selling a dozen or so every few days.
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This gave me a Idea. I think maybe I'll build a Breeding Center for some kind of endangered Exhibit Animal next to my Zoo even though I don't have Money Problems currently. I wonder if it'll be worth it to build a big Building just with one Species
 

Aidan635

Aidan635
HeatherG said:
One thing I did recently was delete the most recent save because I left the zoo running over night. You have 3 autosaves so I can suggest looking at the dates and times of your save files and seeing which ones will take you back to a time that you still had your money.
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Hmmm, this is certainty and interesting idea... I may have to give it a go. However, the only thing is once I get to a point where I have let's say $100,000 I need to immediately find the problem as to why I'm losing money. The guest needs are mainly low in the hunger and thirst categories but since I've already made half of my zoo in the SA Tropical Macchu Piccu map, there isnt really any room for things. I also want to share pictures of this zoo once it is complete probably in a couple of weeks now but posting pictures here on the forums is really annoying and frustrating and I have zero patience for it.
 

Laura_91

L
What animals do you have? Now I know I how to start i rarely struggle with money. I always start off with a tortoise and plenty of donation boxes. I also tend to stay with herbivores for a while before adding any meat eaters. Have you checked how much feeding is costing you? Sometimes this is more than you think
 

Aidan635

Aidan635
Laura_91 said:
What animals do you have? Now I know I how to start i rarely struggle with money. I always start off with a tortoise and plenty of donation boxes. I also tend to stay with herbivores for a while before adding any meat eaters. Have you checked how much feeding is costing you? Sometimes this is more than you think
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Here is the order in which I added in animals:
1. Capuchin
2. Anteater
3. 5 Exhibit Animals
4. Galapagos Tortoise
5. Baird's Tapir
6. Caiman
7. Otter
8. 4 Exhibit Animals

This wasnt exactly consecutive however, as I built so much scenery, food buildings, and overall foliage in between animals. All of the animal food is obviously at level 1.

Edit: After my economy crashed, I frantically added in really highly appealing jaguars to help draw in crowds which hasn't been as successful as I would have hoped.
 

Laura_91

L
Have you looked at the food cost. Im sure there's a tab somewhere. Maybe it could be because of the amount of animals as i cant see many issues with them
 

Firestar97

Firestar97
Aidan635 said:
Here is the order in which I added in animals:
1. Capuchin
2. Anteater
3. 5 Exhibit Animals
4. Galapagos Tortoise
5. Baird's Tapir
6. Caiman
7. Otter
8. 4 Exhibit Animals

This wasnt exactly consecutive however, as I built so much scenery, food buildings, and overall foliage in between animals. All of the animal food is obviously at level 1.

Edit: After my economy crashed, I frantically added in really highly appealing jaguars to help draw in crowds which hasn't been as successful as I would have hoped.
Click to expand...
I could sell a few Gorillas for a good Price if this helps. Also try to make the Groups in the Enclosures as small as possible so you don't need to pay as much for Food. Another Thought I've just had: how is the Energy Provision in that Zoo? Generators cost you lots of Money so I would recommend to use Solar Panels or Wind Turbines instead
 
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Aidan635

Aidan635
I just finished playing for the day and things are starting to trend in the right direction. I am currently sitting at around $30,000 on low difficulty.

I first started by changing the difficulty which at first didnt seem to change anything. Then, I moved my exhibit animals and some of my food/drink shops to the very front entrance to my zoo which was the biggest factor in lifting my profits. Also, I did lift some of the prices on things by a dollar which helped. Additionally I sold both of my Jaguars for $30,000 (for both) which eliminated my food costs tremendously. However, the fight is nowhere near over and I'm definitely not in the clear. Tomorrow I'm going to focus on rebuilding the zoo physically and financially and we'll see where we are tomorrow.

And lastly, I really want to thank you guys for the support and advice you given me. You really didnt have to do that and take time out of your day to help me, so thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

One final thing, I want to make a forum post with pictures of this zoo once its finished. Would you guys be interested in seeing that?
 
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