Last night i had a dream...

Caius Bingerus · Dec 12, 2020

Hey PZ-Community, greetings from germany

...

First, i am an old man, so-called

...but i am not ashamed to write that i play a game with 38 years. I have not the time like the youth nowadays. I used to be a passionated model creator in my childhood. Creating dioramas for all kinds of life was such a pleasure, now with this game in hands, i can "play", better create dioramas, with a soul in a living world, it almost feels like a doll`s house for men too

. Chilling, motivating, relaxing and some kind of escaping from what`s now the reality is mandatory for me. Thank you for giving us the possibility to step back and dive into another world of imagination.

This is just a humble suggestion i may introduce for you devs to consider. ( I apologize if this thread was mentioned and discussed somewhere else here too.)

A MAP GENERATOR:

- Choose the Continent/Region

Choose a BIOM that is given in that region

Sliders (in procent) for : - Heights/Depths

- Woods/Plants
- Water
- Ground Types (Grass, Sand, Rock etc)
after doing these parameters you get a procedual generated zoo map for sandbox, challenge, franchise with your specified parameters (perhaps with a keycode for replayability)

What`s the purpose for this, because you already have a heavy map tool?

The reason behind is simple, every map is unique. For many players, if i might read it right and i have been lurking this forum since the beta, it is sometimes not really motivating to begin with a flat map, terraforming is really time consuming and you sometimes have no clue how to even start from a point of view. Yeah, your project begins slowly to grow, but this generated map opportunity can have a highly impact in your imagination and plans.

This is just a little thinktank if you wanna call it so, i don't even know if it is possible, but i just wanted to bring this on table to consider.

I am more than open for any ongoing suggestions.

Sincerly C. Bingerus

Firestar97 · Dec 12, 2020

I don't think the Flat Maps are bad but this would give us the Possibility of a Australian Map where not all Trees outside of the Zoo are from Africa, so it would be great

Swjosdotschka · Dec 12, 2020

You switched numbres, right? You are 83, not 38? Because 38 is not old (I speak from experience) and it's pretty normal to play games our age. Just saying... nothing special about it

I'm fine with a map generator. Personally I prefer a flat map, but I know some players prefer the challenge of a pre-build map.

jcp011c · Dec 13, 2020

I think a map generator option is a great idea. I like how in some building simulators you can choose how much water, hills and foliage there is, to a certain degree, and while the actual generation of the final map is random, you have something more akin to what you're looking for that's not either a flat map or the challenge the Tropical South American map is.

Firestar97 · Dec 13, 2020

I've just realized, this might allow Water reaching into the Outside of the Map which would make it way better possible to build a Zoo next to the Ocean like I did with my Australian Zoo

paul78 · Dec 13, 2020

@Caius Bingerus nothing to worry about. I’m 42 and play and love it. I always had a passion for animals and zoo design and since I can’t do it in real life PZ gives me the best of both worlds (animals and zoo design). I’ve been waiting for a game like this since Blue Fang went under. I’ll always play PZ and wait for the release of PK.

Danny_zoo · Dec 13, 2020

Caius Bingerus said:
Hey PZ-Community, greetings from germany...

First, i am an old man, so-called...but i am not ashamed to write that i play a game with 38 years. I have not the time like the youth nowadays. I used to be a passionated model creator in my childhood. Creating dioramas for all kinds of life was such a pleasure, now with this game in hands, i can "play", better create dioramas, with a soul in a living world, it almost feels like a doll`s house for men too. Chilling, motivating, relaxing and some kind of escaping from what`s now the reality is mandatory for me. Thank you for giving us the possibility to step back and dive into another world of imagination.

This is just a humble suggestion i may introduce for you devs to consider. ( I apologize if this thread was mentioned and discussed somewhere else here too.)

A MAP GENERATOR:

- Choose the Continent/Region

Choose a BIOM that is given in that region

Sliders (in procent) for : - Heights/Depths

- Woods/Plants
- Water
- Ground Types (Grass, Sand, Rock etc)
after doing these parameters you get a procedual generated zoo map for sandbox, challenge, franchise with your specified parameters (perhaps with a keycode for replayability)

What`s the purpose for this, because you already have a heavy map tool?

The reason behind is simple, every map is unique. For many players, if i might read it right and i have been lurking this forum since the beta, it is sometimes not really motivating to begin with a flat map, terraforming is really time consuming and you sometimes have no clue how to even start from a point of view. Yeah, your project begins slowly to grow, but this generated map opportunity can have a highly impact in your imagination and plans.

This is just a little thinktank if you wanna call it so, i don't even know if it is possible, but i just wanted to bring this on table to consider.

I am more than open for any ongoing suggestions.

Sincerly C. Bingerus

Absolutely nothing to worry about, you are only now starting to live, and the game can only make you younger. Take this advice from someone who is old enough to be your father. I had a hard time at the beginning in the forum, since I did not understand a lot of the younger players, but I think I have progressed and they have definitely shared their youth with me, so never be ashamed to live again. This virtual world is a refuge from every day hardships and catastrophes, especially now.

I love your idea, if I understood it correctly. You mean being able to design the game map outside of the borders we currently have? I play in sandbox, and for me the game is like a painting I like starting with a completely blank canvas, nothing on the map. However I find it very tedious that I can not design or edit anything beyond the map's outer limits, because if I'm building a street or anything else eventually it ends arbitrarily and it just looks off. I would love a map that has a coastal background, to at least get one side that has a realistic finished and polished look to it.

Caius Bingerus · Dec 13, 2020

Hey you are indeed a very special kind community here. Something spare these times too, so see it as a compliment

. Thank you all for your responses.

I thought, i will be one of the elder ones here

...nice to see others are passionated too.

As you mentioned and suggested, both ways could be an improvement. A randomized map, generated from specific sliders and yeah a selectable background would be awesome too. Dense Rainforest, Alps, Coastline, so it would better fit the theme or creates a whole new mood. We all love taking screenshots from different angles and perspectives, the background is quite important for the immersion.

Stay healthy and have a nice sunday.

Sincerly C. Bingerus

iloveyourzoos · Dec 13, 2020

Have been thinking of doing something similar by mapping out a section of the "playable map" to be my zoo map, and then using all the areas around it to be my immersion map. Not quite the same, since if you zoom out far enough you still see the defaults. Only thing I haven't figured out yet is the guests, since I play mostly in franchise mode, and will have to figure out a way to get them to walk quite a stretch of scenery. But totally doable in sandbox.

Firestar97 · Dec 13, 2020

iloveyourzoos said:
Have been thinking of doing something similar by mapping out a section of the "playable map" to be my zoo map, and then using all the areas around it to be my immersion map. Not quite the same, since if you zoom out far enough you still see the defaults. Only thing I haven't figured out yet is the guests, since I play mostly in franchise mode, and will have to figure out a way to get them to walk quite a stretch of scenery. But totally doable in sandbox.

I love doing this. It's so much better if you can design the Zoo Entrance yourself and can customize the Outside of the Zoo a bit

Casperite · Dec 15, 2020

38 definitely not old. It is in the range that is literally called "middle aged". I don't consider "old" till over 55.

FoxyDee · Dec 15, 2020

Eh, I am pretty sure the OP was just joking with the "38=old" because he expected mostly younger people playing the game.

I do not think anyone of age 38 really thinks of himself/herself as old.

As for what is what, I do not even think 38 is middle aged, psychology usually define it between 45-60, and about the old thing? Well probably around usual retirement age. Most people are still not retired at age 55. My father will be 55 next year, I would never consider him old just yet, lol.