Don’t get me wrong if people like franchise mode that’s fine with me. I understand some people like a challenge and what not. But in a zoo building sim why? To me it takes away from the fun of the game. I ask because I’ve seen frontier take so much heat on steam and so much negativity. I always think to myself you could just play sandbox with options off instead of get mad and complain. This game is way better than that and frontier u don’t deserve the negative backlash.
Is franchise mode worth the trouble?
- Thread starter paul78
- Start date
At first I didn't like the idea of Franchise at all, I only played sandbox. But after doing some scenarios I realised I liked not beeing able to have everything for free at once, I like the challenge of having to start slow and expanding as you start to earn cc and money 
And the main difference between challenge and franchise is of course the market, and while it is sometimes frustrating not beeing able to find the animals you want, it's also a challenge and it feels so much better when you find that special animal for a good price. And of course, when you get a breeding program going and start to get really nice golden animals that you can sell on the market, that is really fun I think. You can't really get that in any other mode, since then the only options you have is eather keeping the animals for yourself or releasing them. And then there is of course the comunity challenges wich I really like So yes, I think it's worth it and I hope they never get rid of it
And the main difference between challenge and franchise is of course the market, and while it is sometimes frustrating not beeing able to find the animals you want, it's also a challenge and it feels so much better when you find that special animal for a good price. And of course, when you get a breeding program going and start to get really nice golden animals that you can sell on the market, that is really fun I think. You can't really get that in any other mode, since then the only options you have is eather keeping the animals for yourself or releasing them. And then there is of course the comunity challenges wich I really like So yes, I think it's worth it and I hope they never get rid of it 
The reviews are very positive on steam - most people ignore the forums.
Tbh, I don't see many complaints about franchise/online - most all are about the features/bugs itself (which apply to all modes)
And a lot are about how this game isn't zoo tycoon.. Well for those people..... it's not named zoo tycoon, isn't it ??
You call it a zoo building sim but wikipedia/tags from steam also classifies it as a construction & management sim game.
Really depends on how you look at it.. Some want to manage a zoo and someone want to build a zoo.
What's the whole point of this topic? To complain about franchise and not able to understand those who like it?
You don't hear people who only play franchise complain about sandbox ?
Tbh, I don't see many complaints about franchise/online - most all are about the features/bugs itself (which apply to all modes)
And a lot are about how this game isn't zoo tycoon.. Well for those people..... it's not named zoo tycoon, isn't it ??
You call it a zoo building sim but wikipedia/tags from steam also classifies it as a construction & management sim game.
Really depends on how you look at it.. Some want to manage a zoo and someone want to build a zoo.
What's the whole point of this topic? To complain about franchise and not able to understand those who like it?
You don't hear people who only play franchise complain about sandbox ?
I tried it, and it was super frustrating for me.
Kept having animals starving all the time, despite plenty of zookeepers, staff buildings nearby, and food bowls. They really need to do something about the fact that zookeepers won't bother to fill the food bowls 90% of the time.
I had that issue in sandbox mode too, but at least it was easier to correct when you have unlimited funds.
Kept having animals starving all the time, despite plenty of zookeepers, staff buildings nearby, and food bowls. They really need to do something about the fact that zookeepers won't bother to fill the food bowls 90% of the time.
I had that issue in sandbox mode too, but at least it was easier to correct when you have unlimited funds.
I really like Franchise mode. I like the challenges of keeping animals and guests happy, and I actually like starting new zoos (still working on the 25 Franchise zoos achievements, though).
As my building skills and my confidence have evolved over time, though, I have run into issues in Franchise on several occasions when I try to build a zoo based on a clearer concept and more concrete plans, because the guests’ needs force my hand in directions I didn’t want to take or at least not at this stage. E.g. in a zoo featuring animals of the cooler biomes, I had to add Indian species from the temperate biome because the guests couldn’t walk far enough without seeing any more interesting animals. Their favorite comment was: I haven’t seen anything interesting for ages, althoug they loved the habitats that were already there.
This “forced” me to temporarily abandon a larger project I have envisioned for this zoo because it envolves too much building and terraforming before the guests would be able to access that part of the zoo.
Also, being driven by the Franchise zoo needs, I find myself neglecting the detail work that is so necessary to build a truly beautiful zoo. The result is, these tasks start to build up into a huge amount of work, which I then tend to not do because they feel overwhelming to a new builder like me.
Therefore, my next zoo project, where I will hopefully implement the zoo expansion I had planned for the Franchise zoo, will be in Sandbox mode. Since we can now adjust most of the zoo management options to our liking at any stage, this mode allows me to spend all my time (and money) on preparing the foundations and finishing individual parts of the zoo before I face the ever hungry, thirsty and complaining mob of guests. The plan is still to make everything as challenging as in Franchise later on.
On the other hand, one good thing about Franchise is exactly that: Through the different management tasks and particularly the guests’ needs, this mode provides a framework with specific tasks for you to do, whereas Sandbox is really the daunting empty canvas where you can do whatever you want - as long as you have the ideas and patience to do it. I don’t always feel up to that. Last night, I was tired, but still wanted to play a bit, so I redid one of the Career scenarios. Not too much thinking involved. Just fixing some issues and building a zoo. Still fun.
I am really grateful PZ offers all these different modes, and I am sure I will get my 25 Franchise zoos sooner or later.
As my building skills and my confidence have evolved over time, though, I have run into issues in Franchise on several occasions when I try to build a zoo based on a clearer concept and more concrete plans, because the guests’ needs force my hand in directions I didn’t want to take or at least not at this stage. E.g. in a zoo featuring animals of the cooler biomes, I had to add Indian species from the temperate biome because the guests couldn’t walk far enough without seeing any more interesting animals. Their favorite comment was: I haven’t seen anything interesting for ages, althoug they loved the habitats that were already there.
This “forced” me to temporarily abandon a larger project I have envisioned for this zoo because it envolves too much building and terraforming before the guests would be able to access that part of the zoo.
Also, being driven by the Franchise zoo needs, I find myself neglecting the detail work that is so necessary to build a truly beautiful zoo. The result is, these tasks start to build up into a huge amount of work, which I then tend to not do because they feel overwhelming to a new builder like me.
Therefore, my next zoo project, where I will hopefully implement the zoo expansion I had planned for the Franchise zoo, will be in Sandbox mode. Since we can now adjust most of the zoo management options to our liking at any stage, this mode allows me to spend all my time (and money) on preparing the foundations and finishing individual parts of the zoo before I face the ever hungry, thirsty and complaining mob of guests.
The plan is still to make everything as challenging as in Franchise later on.On the other hand, one good thing about Franchise is exactly that: Through the different management tasks and particularly the guests’ needs, this mode provides a framework with specific tasks for you to do, whereas Sandbox is really the daunting empty canvas where you can do whatever you want - as long as you have the ideas and patience to do it. I don’t always feel up to that. Last night, I was tired, but still wanted to play a bit, so I redid one of the Career scenarios. Not too much thinking involved. Just fixing some issues and building a zoo. Still fun.
I am really grateful PZ offers all these different modes, and I am sure I will get my 25 Franchise zoos sooner or later.
The Planet Zoo community on Steam is very helpful for sure. One thing I would urge though is to look through the topics before posting. There is now an awful lot of different posts relating to identical difficulties be they bug in the game or just simple advice on the best ways to play.
To my own suprise I am totally a franchise player. In other games (Wildlife Park series, ZT2,PC, Cities: Skylines, The Sims series...) I would usually only/mainly play sandbox or use cheats. So when they announced Franchise Mode, I was sure I wouldnt use it anyways and was disappointed that we couldnt use sandbox during the beta.
However, during beta already I got to like it^^ Unlike some other games I am even able to make some money
I also like taking part in the challenges and that the animals I trade are just not simply deleted from the game and help others to breed new/better animals.
Also I am totally into breeding albino animals and that is pretty hard in the other modes. Its also great you can send the animals to your other zoos.
It is however true that franchise mode is less stable and crashes more often, at least in my experience. Its also a bother that you have to research everything again and again for each zoo.
Oh, and not to forget, at least for me, flippers ruin the fun a bit aswell.
But all in all it is very worth it for me.
About the complaints, well its true there are complaints that are user-errors, but there are also genuine ones. I mean take for example the loading bug, many sandbox player tried to blame it on the hardware of us who had this problem.
Or my zoo were I had the protester bug, some players were like I should just care better for my animals and then the protester would leave or I should just delete the zoo.
Most of the complaints about feeding issues are problay user-errors, but not all. I also noticed that, sadly, huge habitats, especially with mixed species, are getting a straving problem sooner or later. Which in my opinion is design flaw how the keepers/feeding works. Also sometimes animals suddenly refuse to drink, even when lots of water is available. Loading the game new often helps to slove it, but its still a bother. This problem was gone for some time for me, but yesterday it happened again. Though this might not be a franchise only problem, though.
And I also dont think there are that many very negative complaints, anyways.
However, Franchise is pretty much the main mode of PZ. Thats just a fact, considering how Frontier advertised it and cares about it. So it should also work properly.
I think Frontier already made great improvements to make it run smoother.
Afterall I still enjoy Franchise very much and I prefer it over all modes But I am also more of a breeder and not so much a builder, so thats also a reason, I guess^^
However, during beta already I got to like it^^ Unlike some other games I am even able to make some money
I also like taking part in the challenges and that the animals I trade are just not simply deleted from the game and help others to breed new/better animals.
Also I am totally into breeding albino animals and that is pretty hard in the other modes. Its also great you can send the animals to your other zoos.
It is however true that franchise mode is less stable and crashes more often, at least in my experience. Its also a bother that you have to research everything again and again for each zoo.
Oh, and not to forget, at least for me, flippers ruin the fun a bit aswell.
But all in all it is very worth it for me.
About the complaints, well its true there are complaints that are user-errors, but there are also genuine ones. I mean take for example the loading bug, many sandbox player tried to blame it on the hardware of us who had this problem.
Or my zoo were I had the protester bug, some players were like I should just care better for my animals and then the protester would leave or I should just delete the zoo.
Most of the complaints about feeding issues are problay user-errors, but not all. I also noticed that, sadly, huge habitats, especially with mixed species, are getting a straving problem sooner or later. Which in my opinion is design flaw how the keepers/feeding works. Also sometimes animals suddenly refuse to drink, even when lots of water is available. Loading the game new often helps to slove it, but its still a bother. This problem was gone for some time for me, but yesterday it happened again. Though this might not be a franchise only problem, though.
And I also dont think there are that many very negative complaints, anyways.
However, Franchise is pretty much the main mode of PZ. Thats just a fact, considering how Frontier advertised it and cares about it. So it should also work properly.
I think Frontier already made great improvements to make it run smoother.
Afterall I still enjoy Franchise very much and I prefer it over all modes
But I am also more of a breeder and not so much a builder, so thats also a reason, I guess^^I used to only want to play sandbox games. I don't know if it's because I'm older, but I find a blank canvas is like writers block. I need a little structure now, I need to play something with consequences. If I can play with unlimited money or the best animals there's no challenge there. Franchise has a few quirks, but most of the complaints are from people with user errors not willing to find an answer to their issue and just overuse the word bug.
Hello, I was playing franchise at the beginning.
Due to the fact that I have to limit my guests strongly, there are always market problems and cannot use many objects, I switched to the sandbox.
I actually wanted to take on the challenge.
However, working on the terrain is too expensive.
Now I'm sitting in the sandbox and hope that at some point I'll be able to use a blueprint to set the terrain in one of the other two modes, whereby I prefer the challenge.
The franchise market is overcrowded with albinos, constantly causing problems and not responding, and I have already lost numerous conservation points because my game crashed.
The animals bought were then no longer available, just like the money spent.
But it does not mean that I will no longer play franchais, but that I wait until changes are applied.
Due to the fact that I have to limit my guests strongly, there are always market problems and cannot use many objects, I switched to the sandbox.
I actually wanted to take on the challenge.
However, working on the terrain is too expensive.
Now I'm sitting in the sandbox and hope that at some point I'll be able to use a blueprint to set the terrain in one of the other two modes, whereby I prefer the challenge.
The franchise market is overcrowded with albinos, constantly causing problems and not responding, and I have already lost numerous conservation points because my game crashed.
The animals bought were then no longer available, just like the money spent.
But it does not mean that I will no longer play franchais, but that I wait until changes are applied.
You can also cheat a bit
just 'open' zoo's till you have 25 and then delete the ones you dont useI would normally go for the easy option and play sand box mode only in most games, however I find managing the challenges of the franchise zoos very satisfying. I occasionally go off and start a sandbox zoo but get bored after a while and go back to my franchise empire because there is no challenge. Over time I have even worked out ways of making my zoos look good as well as making them functional which is the top priority in franchise mode.