One thing that always frustrates me is that we can't have habitats into habitats. There's a specific tropics house I would want to make but it has free roaming animals throughout the house & also some smaller habitats. Some of the freeroaming animals should be able to basically go anywhere, so also in and out of other habitats. This is just not possible in this game.
Is there anything you have been dying to build, but you just can’t?
- Thread starter RightWhale
- Start date
Da krieg' ich gleich Lust auf ein Fischbrötchen.
Nocturnal houses are my absolute favourite part of zoos, but I can't build the kind I've been to IRL with what we currently have in PZ, and will likely never be able to. This isn't because of the fact that it's currently impossible to make dark interiors, I'm fine just turning the game to night whenever I enter, but because nocturnal houses here essentially function as small native mammal houses and mostly contain obscure Australian species that are either very rare or entirely absent in captivity overseas. The only exotic species I’ve ever seen in a nocturnal house was Adelaide Zoo’s last Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, and in the many years since she sadly passed on their nocturnal house has also been entirely native. Some good examples of modern nocturnal houses in Australian zoos would be Taronga Zoo's Nguwing Nura and Healesville Sanctuary's Animals of the Night (see videos below), as well as my favourite part of any zoo I've ever been to, the nocturnal house at the Alice Springs Desert Park, which I share some pictures from in this old post.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGJTq-DowJc
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35tKQ5LJaRY
None of the Australian species we have in the game currently, aside from the death adder and cockroach I guess (but that's hardly a very thrilling display, especially with their less-than-stellar models), are species I'd put in a nocturnal house, even if several of them are nocturnal - the closest otherwise would be the spectacled flying-fox, but all the bats I've seen in nocturnal houses IRL have been ghost bats, with flying-foxes typically being kept in outdoor aviaries instead. Animals like bilbies, quolls, bandicoots, bettongs and possums just aren't species that are really on the cards as PZ additions, not to mention the really small mammals like dunnarts and hopping-mice that could only be added as exhibit animals. Then there's all the herps (pythons, geckos, frogs etc), birds (frogmouths, owls, stone-curlews...) and inverts that often feature in nocturnal houses here and also probably will never make it into the game. The only animal I've seen in nocturnal houses before that I could actually see being added to PZ is the short-beaked echidna, although they also do just as well in outdoor habitats.
From what I've heard the game is also lacking in species that are common in nocturnal houses on a global scale, so being unable to build realistic nocturnal houses is probably not just a me problem. But my needs are certainly a lot more niche
EDIT: Forgot the platypus!! They’re the only Australian habitat species we have that I’d include in a nocturnal house build, but they can also be kept in specialised platypus houses rather than larger nocturnal complexes.
None of the Australian species we have in the game currently, aside from the death adder and cockroach I guess (but that's hardly a very thrilling display, especially with their less-than-stellar models), are species I'd put in a nocturnal house, even if several of them are nocturnal - the closest otherwise would be the spectacled flying-fox, but all the bats I've seen in nocturnal houses IRL have been ghost bats, with flying-foxes typically being kept in outdoor aviaries instead. Animals like bilbies, quolls, bandicoots, bettongs and possums just aren't species that are really on the cards as PZ additions, not to mention the really small mammals like dunnarts and hopping-mice that could only be added as exhibit animals. Then there's all the herps (pythons, geckos, frogs etc), birds (frogmouths, owls, stone-curlews...) and inverts that often feature in nocturnal houses here and also probably will never make it into the game. The only animal I've seen in nocturnal houses before that I could actually see being added to PZ is the short-beaked echidna, although they also do just as well in outdoor habitats.
From what I've heard the game is also lacking in species that are common in nocturnal houses on a global scale, so being unable to build realistic nocturnal houses is probably not just a me problem. But my needs are certainly a lot more niche
EDIT: Forgot the platypus!! They’re the only Australian habitat species we have that I’d include in a nocturnal house build, but they can also be kept in specialised platypus houses rather than larger nocturnal complexes.
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Yeah the thing with nocturnal houses is that its largely rather obscure animals and mostly small ones, two things that really lower your chances to get into the game.Nocturnal houses are my absolute favourite part of zoos, but I can't build the kind I've been to IRL with what we currently have in PZ, and will likely never be able to. This isn't because of the fact that it's currently impossible to make dark interiors, I'm fine just turning the game to night whenever I enter, but because nocturnal houses here essentially function as small native mammal houses and mostly contain obscure Australian species that are either very rare or entirely absent in captivity overseas. The only exotic species I’ve ever seen in a nocturnal house was Adelaide Zoo’s last Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, and in the many years since she sadly passed on their nocturnal house has also been entirely native. Some good examples of modern nocturnal houses in Australian zoos would be Taronga Zoo's Nguwing Nura and Healesville Sanctuary's Animals of the Night (see videos below), as well as my favourite part of any zoo I've ever been to, the nocturnal house at the Alice Springs Desert Park, which I share some pictures from in this old post.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGJTq-DowJc
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35tKQ5LJaRY
None of the Australian species we have in the game currently, aside from the death adder and cockroach I guess (but that's hardly a very thrilling display, especially with their less-than-stellar models), are species I'd put in a nocturnal house, even if several of them are nocturnal - the closest otherwise would be the spectacled flying-fox, but all the bats I've seen in nocturnal houses IRL have been ghost bats, with flying-foxes typically being kept in outdoor aviaries instead. Animals like bilbies, quolls, bandicoots, bettongs and possums just aren't species that are really on the cards as PZ additions, not to mention the really small mammals like dunnarts and hopping-mice that could only be added as exhibit animals. Then there's all the herps (pythons, geckos, frogs etc), birds (frogmouths, owls, stone-curlews...) and inverts that often feature in nocturnal houses here and also probably will never make it into the game. The only animal I've seen in nocturnal houses before that I could actually see being added to PZ is the short-beaked echidna, although they also do just as well in outdoor habitats.
From what I've heard the game is also lacking in species that are common in nocturnal houses on a global scale, so being unable to build realistic nocturnal houses is probably not just a me problem. But my needs are certainly a lot more niche
EDIT: Forgot the platypus!! They’re the only Australian habitat species we have that I’d include in a nocturnal house build, and thankfully they can also be housed in specialised platypus houses and so don’t depend on the addition of other nocturnal species to feel realistic.
From what you said i think its a little better in EU and NA because you definetly come across stuff like fenecs, and fruitbats more or less regularly, with aardvarks and binturongs being something you also see from time to time.
To be honest i was a little suprised to read this, i kind of assumed that australia would be one of the better regions to build a nocturnal house in. With the devil, kiwi, wombat and platypus being a neat and varied roster. Are those not kept in nocturnal house over there?
Kiwis aren’t kept in Australia unfortunately, and whilst wombats and devils are super common, they’re always outdoors and I’ve never heard of them being kept in nocturnal houses here. So that just leaves the platypus.
The list of animals I can recall seeing in the nocturnal houses I’ve been to is (spoilered because it got longer than I thought):
- Short-beaked Echidna
- Western Quoll
- Northern Quoll
- Fat-tailed Dunnart
- Red-tailed Phascogale
- Greater Bilby
- Southern Brown Bandicoot
- Golden Bandicoot
- Western Pygmy Possom
- Feathertail Glider
- Squirrel Glider
- Mahogany Glider
- Common Ringtail Possum
- Long-nosed Potoroo
- Brush-tailed Bettong
- Northern Bettong
- Burrowing Bettong
- Rufous Hare-wallaby
- Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth (looks out of place here haha)
- Plains Mouse
- Spinifex Hopping-mouse
- Greater Stick-nest Rat
- Ghost Bat
- Barn Owl
- Tawny Frogmouth
- Bush Stone-curlew
- Centralian Kn*b-tailed Gecko
- Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko
- Night Skink
- Desert Death Adder
- Mulga Snake
- Woma Python
- Olive Python
- Centralian Carpet Python
- Children's Python
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It is now time, for my long waterfowl post. I’m mostly gonna talk about ducks, but I’ll sneak in anything else I can think of.
So the first thing I thought of building is a meshed in beaver habitat, and I really wanted wood ducks to go along with it. This is going to be a theme going forward, ducks are simply just amazing mixed habitat animals. Either way, I have no wood ducks for my beavers. Where I live in New England I can see wood ducks on forest walks, as well as beavers. I was hoping I can put a little bit of my local flair in PZ, but that might have to be modded. For those that have been to Franklin Park Zoo, wood ducks are also indoor birds kept in the bird house. Speaking of meshed in habitats, no meshed in duck pond either. We don’t have enough ducks to try anyways. But it still hurts.
Speaking of bird houses, I want to do those. The little blue penguin will fit the vibe, for those who have been to the sea bird habitat at the Bronx Zoo they are there. Likewise, if I get an African Pygmy goose, or a White Faced Whistling Duck, that is more birds that can fit the vibe. As of right now the bird selection is mostly for outdoor habitat animals in game, with the exception of the kiwi and maybe the penguins. Likewise for indoor habitats, waterfowl are great for any indoor jungle. Though once again we have none to use.
I’ll briefly touch on it again, no sea birds. So no sea ducks. I genuinely think a sea duck is the best way to get any sea bird in game (not penguin sea bird).
For non-duck waterfowl: I can never make an Australian pelican and black swan habitat, I can never make a pacific island area with a nene, I can never mix any swans with geese.
Maybe with mods I’ll be able to accomplish any of these, but I would like something official.
So the first thing I thought of building is a meshed in beaver habitat, and I really wanted wood ducks to go along with it. This is going to be a theme going forward, ducks are simply just amazing mixed habitat animals. Either way, I have no wood ducks for my beavers. Where I live in New England I can see wood ducks on forest walks, as well as beavers. I was hoping I can put a little bit of my local flair in PZ, but that might have to be modded. For those that have been to Franklin Park Zoo, wood ducks are also indoor birds kept in the bird house. Speaking of meshed in habitats, no meshed in duck pond either. We don’t have enough ducks to try anyways. But it still hurts.
Speaking of bird houses, I want to do those. The little blue penguin will fit the vibe, for those who have been to the sea bird habitat at the Bronx Zoo they are there. Likewise, if I get an African Pygmy goose, or a White Faced Whistling Duck, that is more birds that can fit the vibe. As of right now the bird selection is mostly for outdoor habitat animals in game, with the exception of the kiwi and maybe the penguins. Likewise for indoor habitats, waterfowl are great for any indoor jungle. Though once again we have none to use.
I’ll briefly touch on it again, no sea birds. So no sea ducks. I genuinely think a sea duck is the best way to get any sea bird in game (not penguin sea bird).
For non-duck waterfowl: I can never make an Australian pelican and black swan habitat, I can never make a pacific island area with a nene, I can never mix any swans with geese.
Maybe with mods I’ll be able to accomplish any of these, but I would like something official.
For me it is all related to map, biome and temperature limitations and my biggest regret about the game so far is that no progress has been made in these areas.
For example, we don’t have a suitable map for a Nordic zoo in a non-mountainous area. One of the last projects I did in ZT2 was set in Finland and I would like to do it in PZ but there isn’t a suitable map.
We can’t have snow on the ground with a clear sky on any map apart from the tundra map which is very limiting. I’d like to do a year round zoo but that isn’t possible when we don’t have manual temperature control to allow the snow to stay on the ground without melting.
It’s actually impossible to make a temperate (or almost any biome) zoo in a flat landscape like in Denmark because the maps have intrusively large/high landscapes in the background.
And the other thing I can’t do is use the tropical light soil - a brilliant mulch style ground texture - on a temperate map because we can’t pick our own biome texture palate.
So for me it’s very frustrating and I just can’t make the kind of zoo I’d like to because of the map skirt and biome texture limitations.
For example, we don’t have a suitable map for a Nordic zoo in a non-mountainous area. One of the last projects I did in ZT2 was set in Finland and I would like to do it in PZ but there isn’t a suitable map.
We can’t have snow on the ground with a clear sky on any map apart from the tundra map which is very limiting. I’d like to do a year round zoo but that isn’t possible when we don’t have manual temperature control to allow the snow to stay on the ground without melting.
It’s actually impossible to make a temperate (or almost any biome) zoo in a flat landscape like in Denmark because the maps have intrusively large/high landscapes in the background.
And the other thing I can’t do is use the tropical light soil - a brilliant mulch style ground texture - on a temperate map because we can’t pick our own biome texture palate.
So for me it’s very frustrating and I just can’t make the kind of zoo I’d like to because of the map skirt and biome texture limitations.
Just as @Hinvolur said, we have way to less Asian hofstock. I would like to build an Indian Savanna Habitat with Nilgai, Blackbuck and Axis Deer. And I want the Muntjak to build mixed habitats with the red panda. The banteng would be nice to Mixe it with the gibbons, one zoo does this, but I forget wich one. The Pere Davidsdeer would also be such a dream. And last but not least a second Hofstock from the Himalaya to Mixe it with Takins, just as Himalayan Thar. We have so much Hoofstock in Planet Zoo but way to less for Asia and in my opinion it is very diffi to build an asian Zoo because most of our Asian animals are star animals…..
I cant remember the name of it but there is a mod that expands map boundaries this might help since when used on the oceania temperate map gives you access to the entire island and its coast line and the same amount of buildable space as a standard map
kiwis for some reason just arent in australia. Wombats and devils almost always have their own independent nocturnal area because they need more space than a completely indoor habitat allows so they have an outdoor and indoor section to themselves. Also devils are usually very independent when it comes to habitat design being very focused around their conservation not fitting well into a shared nocturnal house.
Thing is in australia nocturnal houses are a big deal because they are so common and have so many of our native animals. Things like the greater bilby, sugar glider, bats, owls, native mice possums and bettongs are almost all exclusively kept in nocturnal houses.
The only animal I have seen kept in a multi animal nocturnal house that we have in game is the platypus.
Also even if I wanted to make a basic nocturnal house with the animals we have like the pangolin, wombat, platypus and kiwi the current habitat system the game uses just doesnt support this because lack of appropriate building materials and the fact that the space minimums are so high that one habitat can be larger then some entire nocturnal houses are in real life.
Any realistic platypus habitat (space requirements are ~50x what’s actually needed, especially land requirements)… that’s a long-term annoyance. Other than that - I’d really like to be able to do London Zoo’s Snowden Aviary - I got a long way there before losing steam… one day I’ll get back to it but a simple triangular mesh piece would reduce the effort lots and the piece count by at least 1000.
Reason is very simple. All non-native birds are banned from being imported to Australia with expection being poultry and few psitacinne species (which can be imported from NZ and NZ only).
Actually, the brown kiwi is included on Australia's live import list (one of very few non-fowl, non-parrot and non-penguin birds to be so), and so, if I'm not missing something, they could legally be imported into the country with the proper permit and conditions:
EDIT: It's listed as just "brown kiwi", Apteryx australis, so I presume their listing hasn't been updated since the North Island brown kiwi was split (A. australis is now just the southern brown kiwi). Presumably these import laws would still apply to A. mantelli, or could easily be amended to include them if needed. After all, the kiwis imported into Australia previously (last one was at Taronga around the turn of the century) would have been North Island browns.
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Most of my building restrictions have to do with scale rather than a lack of pieces or animals (well, outside of aviaries). I'd love to do more nest-like shelters, tunnels and other fun little things within habitats, but the animal hitboxes are way too big. I hate that each shelter has to have enormous openings that just look really out of place.
Also, even though the freebuild mod allows for improved path building, I feel like I still have to avoid any kind of narrow walkways or entrances - it either causes ridiculous crowd congestion, but more importantly, the npcs just ignore the exact shape anyway. I recently built a building with precise pathing that followed along walls and narrowed at doorways, and my staff still just walks through walls when it suits them. Ah well. To be honest I prefer that over the enormous animal hit boxes, it's just a bit perplexing that they choose to make their own shortcuts when it's not necessary.
Oh, and I would like to make some simple aquarium exhibits. All I really need are some little blue boxes with fish and coral that I can slot inside walls.
Also, even though the freebuild mod allows for improved path building, I feel like I still have to avoid any kind of narrow walkways or entrances - it either causes ridiculous crowd congestion, but more importantly, the npcs just ignore the exact shape anyway. I recently built a building with precise pathing that followed along walls and narrowed at doorways, and my staff still just walks through walls when it suits them. Ah well. To be honest I prefer that over the enormous animal hit boxes, it's just a bit perplexing that they choose to make their own shortcuts when it's not necessary.
Oh, and I would like to make some simple aquarium exhibits. All I really need are some little blue boxes with fish and coral that I can slot inside walls.
Well holy crab, i just tryed again and i think its about the same size and the standard maps. Big thanks!Maybe it depends on the location you choose for your zoo, even in diorama mode. I nearly exclusively play in sand mode and I know that when you choose to build a zoo in the temperate zone in Oceania for example, the area available is much smaller than a 1000x1000 map.
I remember when I tested the diorama mode, it took me quite a lot of time to extend the surface and reach the limit of the map but once I did it I calculated the length of 2 sides and it was indeed 1000x1000. I hope it will help you for your projects
Now onto spending hours filling in all this terrain lol
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A proper “North American trail” complex. Completely impossible without American black bear, white-tailed deer and/or elk, coyote, bobcat, North American river otter, wild turkey or sandhill or whooping crane, and then optionally stuff like gray or swift fox, ringtail or coatimundi, Virginia opossum, North American porcupine.
Trying to build a local zoo is surprisingly difficult.
For bigger zoos: The black bear is completely essential, and the other bears have vastly different habitat/biome requirements. We've also got nothing for birds, so a turkey, at least one waterfowl, and maybe a crane are very important. Bobcats/Candian Lynxes are popular and common in zoos of all sizes. Elk are a local star animal. We've got an ok lineup of small mammals, but I often see porcupines and river otters. I try to sub in the European deer, Eurasian lynx, and small clawed otter, but it's not the same. The deer don't look that similar, the lynx can't handle the hot desert biome, and the otter can't handle the cold.
For smaller zoos, wildlife parks, and sanctuary rehab places: Again, the black bear is key here. I've seen a coyote once or twice at these types of zoos. White-tailed deer are actually really essential for refuges/rehab places. Their huge range makes them a good filler animal for lots of places. I just don't know that they are very marketable. Birds, especially raptors, are common in these types of facilities, and more small mammals would be nice although I recognize that other parts of the world need small mammals more at the moment.