I started this zoo by building a large crocodile habitat with a small glass enclosure for guests where they are able to see the crocodiles eat up close yet they refuse to enter the glass enclosure - why??? They just look at the sign. I tried to lure people in by building a balloon store nearby but no luck so far.
My guests does not enter the glass enclosure ... any ideas about why?
- Thread starter foureyes85
- Start date
They probably think they have a better vew from the bridge and are not stat interested in seeing them eat. Guest sometimes find the weirdest places to look at the animals.
Well, yes, you can block off 80% of the enclosure with solid walls to force your guests to use the 'correct' viewing area, but I'd assume most people don't really want to do that.
As far as I can see, the guests can't really tell if something has a good view or not - they just wander to the closest path that lets them view the animal. They couldn't care less if it's just a path next to a fence or an amazing underwater viewing area you spent hours designing (and they really don't like dead ends unless you force them to use it).
I saw someone suggest they added viewing markers to tell the guests where the best spots to view the animals were (and encourage them to go there) - could be an idea.
Sounds like a good idea, just like the Vista Points in Planet Coaster.
To add, looking at the picture the OP provided. If they would chose the closest path that lets them view the animal, they wouldn't be going on the elevated paths as that would be walking a longer distance than the dead end the OP provided in his zoo.
I'll stick with the logic of guests getting as close as possible to a animal. So as a guest you would be standing on that elevated path right above the crocs that are in the water.
But in real life there would be people, wanting to check out the other viewpoint, wouldn't they? So the codding needs to be fixed by splitting the viewers to different viewing areas.
I spotted a lot of similar cases in the game and in youtube videos that the best reachable viewing area sucks up all the viewers and more complicated ones, like underground or underwater ones remain empty. The game has possibilities that remain untapped.
I wouldn't call it pure game design. I would call it realism. I also do not like dead ends, because when the zoo is crowded I have to make my way back through a bunch of people standing in my way. And as @Luuknord mentions, dead ends aren't a problem. I have small viewing areas for guest that like to watch the animals longer and they work just fine, even if they are kind of a dead end.
People are very fast critisizing the game design these days. While I agree that there is room for improvement on some parts, that does not mean the game is designed poorly.
Well, I tested this stuff in my Sandbox Test Zoo and it does not work really well for me
For example, I've placed a circular path at some distance to a habitat. On the other side, I have created a viewing area as a dead-end directly within the habitat. The guests would be much closer to the animal on that viewing area with glass barriers - I mean, as a guest, you would be inside the enclosure, so to speak. But no,if there were 5 people in the viewing area, but about 50 guests who stayed on the normal path and complained about poor visibility.
And as @Aiste mentioned:
This problem can be seen in a lot of YouTube videos from other zoos as well.
So it's not just: the closest point of view = the best
For example, I've placed a circular path at some distance to a habitat. On the other side, I have created a viewing area as a dead-end directly within the habitat. The guests would be much closer to the animal on that viewing area with glass barriers - I mean, as a guest, you would be inside the enclosure, so to speak. But no,if there were 5 people in the viewing area, but about 50 guests who stayed on the normal path and complained about poor visibility.
And as @Aiste mentioned:
This problem can be seen in a lot of YouTube videos from other zoos as well.
So it's not just: the closest point of view = the best
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I always assumed it was the closest viewing area to where they were standing when their AI decides to move (rather than how close it is to the animals). So when they finish viewing one animal, they make a beeline to the the closest viewing area for the next animal, etc.
This still depends on where the animal is inside it's habitat.
Can you show your plan through a screenshot, I'm sure there is a logical reason for them not going to other viewing areas.
So far, guests exactly behave as Paul describes on my side.
They try to make the distance between them and the animal as short as possible. So they make a bee-line to a section of path that gets them as close as possible, depending on the location of the animal. As the picture in the OP already shows, they will probably never go to the dead-end, as the path that is over the habitat is in 99% of the cases the closest the peeps can get (although it is very unlogical to be above the animal, where they can't see them)
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Which is why it would be really nice to be able to have the ability to place sort of markers that indicate areas we want guests to view from (and also markers to indicate areas we DON'T want them to view from). This would give us more control over making the zoos we want. In real life people would go down there to get a different view of the animals.
Thanks for the responses. I understand why the people upstairs stay there, but I find it amusing to see guests downstairs go and look at the sign - see the glass enclosure ahead and just turn around to walk up the stairs. I now got more than 2000 guests in the zoo and have seen a few end up in the glass enclosure now and then, but crowds never form there regardless of whether the crocodiles are nearby eating. I have seen guests walk in the glass enclosure while the baby crocodiles munch on food and just turn around - the guests clearly prefer to get an overview. I am not complaining, I am just amused and a bit bemused. I did a similar glass enclosure with turtles once and ended up with a huge crowd inside it (which caused too much stress on the turtles), but I did not have a path upstairs then. (By the way, the buildings are stacked on each other due to the very limited space in the final career mission The Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo.
Thanks Cole!
Thanks Cole!
Okay, looking at the screens, here is what I think: We already know that guests have x-ray vision, as scenery and even a wall will not stop them from seeing staff buildings. So, the guests might actually think they see the swimming animal under the bridge and . as we know - search for the best spot,.
The dead end is not on the same level as the animal (my dead ends always were) and is even farer away. Guests would have to look in the distance AND beyond, which they maybe can't. On the bridge they just have to look beyond, using their x-ray vision.
(Dear Frontier, can you please fix the x-ray vision? I mean, the animals know when they can be seen and when they can't. Why do the guest not know when they can see and when not?)
I guess, guest behaviour when watching animals is: "I know an animal is close. Can I see it from here? great view. Can't I see it? I complain about the few instead of seraching for a better.", which would explain why guests of Agathorn were looking at a habitat from behind.
The dead end is not on the same level as the animal (my dead ends always were) and is even farer away. Guests would have to look in the distance AND beyond, which they maybe can't. On the bridge they just have to look beyond, using their x-ray vision.
(Dear Frontier, can you please fix the x-ray vision? I mean, the animals know when they can be seen and when they can't. Why do the guest not know when they can see and when not?)
I guess, guest behaviour when watching animals is: "I know an animal is close. Can I see it from here? great view. Can't I see it? I complain about the few instead of seraching for a better.", which would explain why guests of Agathorn were looking at a habitat from behind.
Guests prefer overheads because the game gives them a better view. In fact in most of the overheads I've done which extend OVER the habitat, the guests seem to think they are IN the habitat with the animals which they like.
But it bothers me that they always choose this view. Even when the animals would be better viewed from the other spots. I've seen guests move around a "normal" setup to get a better view based on the animal location, so why don't they do something similar when it comes to overhead and sunken views? Also I'd just like to see more natural guest flow in general. One of my chief complaints in beta was that there didn't seem to be any logic, or at least natural tendency, in the way guests move through a zoo. They don't seek out sheltered or indoor areas when it rains or snows, they don't seem particulalry attracted to habitats of given animals, or ones with new residents/births. Guest flow in general is somethign we have very little way to influence, unlike planning in the real world.
But it bothers me that they always choose this view. Even when the animals would be better viewed from the other spots. I've seen guests move around a "normal" setup to get a better view based on the animal location, so why don't they do something similar when it comes to overhead and sunken views? Also I'd just like to see more natural guest flow in general. One of my chief complaints in beta was that there didn't seem to be any logic, or at least natural tendency, in the way guests move through a zoo. They don't seek out sheltered or indoor areas when it rains or snows, they don't seem particulalry attracted to habitats of given animals, or ones with new residents/births. Guest flow in general is somethign we have very little way to influence, unlike planning in the real world.