Planet Zoo 2.0

[LN]

Some nice ideas in this thread.
It's never gonna happen though in the scale the OP describes (because that is not the business model of Frontier).

 

[Bruhman]

Most animals on the roster will make good dlcs already, maybe even a few new expansions, but aquariums and aviaries are not a suitable option rn for frontier and have a right to be in the sequel, although I like your exhibit idea

 

[Danny_zoo]

There are a couple of possible answers here. One is that they didn't think their game would be as successful as it ended up being, hence why they recycled the engine from PlanCo. Another possibility is that they didn't expect people would miss certain features, such as birds (which haven't featured in any meaningful way in any zoo game) and underwater swimming. A third possibility is that they thought the engine could handle the game and it turns out it can't.

Of course this is all speculation, so take it with a grain of salt.

Thank you for clarifying that to me, since even thought i did vaguely remember that Q&A, I did not know if anything else had been brought up on the subject. It does seem that they have left it as a future possibility for now, but as you well said, we can only speculate. It is truly incredible how popular this game has become, as you said, maybe success at this level was not anticipated, even though it is easy to understand how such a game can become a mainstream hit. To think that 99% of all players do not even bother to post in this forum, I do wonder how many of them are just casual players, and how many others play the game regularly. There is another forum zoo related that I'm member of, and at the beginning when the game came out, not many there knew much about it. Now I lost count of how many play the game, even thought everyone I have talked to just plays for themselves (Sandbox).

I think that casual players, whom did not have any inclination towards zoos before, might not recognize the gaps in the game as the rest of us do, but for those of us who truly want to built realistic zoos, the missing parts of the puzzle stick out tremendously. Let us hope they will be possible to integrate in the future.

 

[George Boggs]

Planet Zoo 2.0 will include a variety of groundbreaking content, including flight animations, diving, and swimming animations, and full swinging animations for primates (The Orangutan will be updated to fully benefit from this new behavior) There will be new barrier systems, a large number of enrichment items and improvements to existing animal behaviors and group interactions. Players will now be able to fully customize their zoos as user images, videos, and soundtrack media are now able to be uploaded to a variety of zoo signs and other content. The human elements of the game have been completely redesigned and are now on par with the quality and realism of the animals.

Full habitat animal roster for the game. (58 new animals)

1. African Leopard
2. Hoffmann's Two-Toed Sloth
3. Lar Gibbon (new mechanics)
4. Harbor Seal (new mechanics)
5. Meerkat
6. Giant Eland
7. California Sea Lion (new mechanics)
8. White Rhinocerous
9. Black Howler Monkey
10. Scimitar-Horned Oryx
11. American Beaver (new mechanics)
12. Indian Gaur
13. Iberian Lynx
14. Hamadryas baboon
15. African Penguin (new mechanics)
16. Cougar
17. Clouded Leopard
18. White Faced-Saki
19. Red Deer
20. Przewalski's Horse
21. Sacred Ibis (new mechanics)
22. Marabou stork (new mechanics)
23. Asian small-clawed otter (new mechanics)
24. Greater Kudu
25. Emperor Penguin (new mechanics)
26. Chital
27. Gelada Baboon
28. Wood Stork (new mechanics)
29. White Backed Vulture (new mechanics)
30. Helmeted guineafowl (new mechanics)
31. Black-Headed Spider Monkey (new mechanics)
32. Ocelot
33. West Indian Manatee (new mechanics)
34. Gerenuk
35. King Colobus Monkey
36. Dromedary
37. Chamois
38. Madagascar Teal Duck (new mechanics)
39. Black Rhinoceros
40. Secretary Bird (new mechanics)
45. Grey crowned crane (new mechanics)
46. American Alligator
47. Southern Ground Hornbill
48. De Brazza's monkey
49. North American River Otter (new mechanics)
50. Capybara (new mechanics)
51. Black-Backed Jackal
52. Marabou stork
53. Great White Pelican (new mechanics)
54. White-faced whistling duck (new mechanics)
55. Roseate spoonbill (new mechanics)
56. Malayan Tapir
57. Red-Shanked Douc
58. African Crested Porcupine
59. American Flamingo


Exhibit animals (Planet Zoo 2.0 will introduced an improved version of exhibits, featuring three enclosure size options, small, medium (size currently found in-game), and large. The newly revamp exhibits will allow for greater player customization with a much broader selection of plants/branches/enrichment items/backgrounds etc. It will be possible for players to upload custom background images, using the newly introduced feature to the exhibit walls.

1. Spectacled Caiman
2. Madagascar Tomato Frog
3. African Rock Python
4. Indian Star Tortoise
5. Central American River Turtle
6. Tarzan Chameleon
7. Madagascar Day Gecko
8. Blue Poison Dart Frog
9. King Cobra
10. Radiated Tortoise
11. Madagascar hissing cockroach
12. Alligator snapping turtle
13. South American bushmaster
14. Chinese crocodile lizard
16. African Spurred Tortoise
17. Laughing Kookaburra


Alongside the newly introduced flight mechanics, a selection of small and medium-size birds has been added to the game. These species can only be displayed in the newly introduced aviaries (new barrier system) There are three different aviary barrier systems, ( wood and mesh ) ( steel mesh ) as well as ( Glass jewel aviaries for colder climate zoos and indoor exhibitions )



Aviary Birds

1. Emerald Toucanet
2. Bearded Barbet
3. Victoria Crowned Pigeon
4. Great Indian Hornbill
5. Toco Toucan
6. White Fronted Bee Eater
7. Hyacinth Macaw
8. Military Macaw
9. Northern Spotted Owl
10. Spectacled Owl
11. King Vulture
12. Bald Eagle
13. Harpy Eagle
14. Eurasian Eagle-Owl
15. Snowy Owl
16. Bali myna
17. Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise
18. Helmet Vanga
19. Palm cockatoo
20. Black-and-white-casqued hornbill
22. Green Aracari
23. Eclectus parrot
24. Rhinoceros Hornbill


As diving and swimming mechanics are introduced to Planet Zoo, players will have the option of adding a small selection of fish species to their aquatic enclosures. The fish will not be habitat animals and instead will have a full selection of looping animations that players will be able to choose from. The fish will be available as special effects.

1. Cichlid Fish
2. Koi Fish
3. Piranha fish

Butterfly special effects, with a variety of species on interchangeable looping animations, will be available.

Budgerigar special effects will be available in looping animations, allowing players to create walk thru aviaries.

Lorikeet special effects will be available in looping animations, allowing players to create walk thru aviaries.



Three new staff members will be introduced in Planet Zoo 2.0

Zoo Educator Volunteers (This new staff addition will be ideal to supervise walk-thru exhibits and could engage zoo visitors in educational talks)

Zoo Curators (a specialist that will bring superior training and expertise but will simultaneously command higher compensation)

Trainers will be featured alongside animal ambassadors, this new exciting addition to the game can be partially customized. Animal Ambassador species not currently found within the zoo roster will be featured alongside enrichment items, that will be fully interactive.

1. Western Long-Beaked Echidna
2. Black-and-white ruffed lemur
3. Burmese python (albino)
4. Scarlet Macaw
5. Northern Tamandua
6. Grey parrot
7. Nine-Banded Armadillo
8. Serval
9. Sulphur-crested cockatoo
10. Striped Skunk

There will be three new building sets, that will bring the tropical forests of South East Asia, Colonial Madagascar, and an urban zoo theme to life within Planet Zoo, allowing for further player creativity as over 550 new construction assets are added to the game.

Also, the foliage and scenery department of the game will get a complete makeover, as new plants and trees from all over the world join the roster, allowing for entire ecosystems and landscapes to be reproduced in detail. (There will be a substantial amount of fallen tree trunks, branches, and other complementary scenery added) Three new rock sets will be added to the game.

New challenge scenarios will be a part of the expansion.

The zoo visitors have been completely revamped, and in their place, we now have, much more realistic looking human models. The management section of the game has been re-calibrated, as the number of visitors to a zoo has been reduced to allow for improved game optimization.

New and improved maps have been added to Sandbox and Career, there are urban city maps and a coastal map that are half the size of the current standard maps. These highly requested maps will push player creativity while allowing for better game performance.

four new rides will be added to the current lineup.

Zoo Zip-line adventure tour, that will have visitors soar thru and over your dream parks.

Safari Cycle tour that the whole family can take part in (Bicycles that can accommodate either two or four visitors)

Hot Air balloon that will allow visitors to take in a bird view of the park.

A Wildlife inspired Carousel that will complement the Urban City Zoo theme being introduced with the release.


Certain Zoo Staff will now be able to move thru the park via golf carts, a much-needed feature for larger parks, allowing for a much more realistic player experience.

That is expected in 2021!

 

[Danny_zoo]

That is expected in 2021!

They will probably just stick to the four animals DLC. Not much hope anymore for a drastic change of pace for this game, it is what it is.

 

[paul78]

Here are some concept ideas the devs came up with in development. A lot of these concepts are still very possible.

And here is some concept ideas from zoo tycoon 2013. Although not the game planet zoo is I wish the game would have been like this...

I imagine the platform had a lot to do with why this wouldn’t have been possible.

 

[Danny_zoo]

Here are some concept ideas the devs came up with in development. A lot of these concepts are still very possible.
View attachment 204568And here is some concept ideas from zoo tycoon 2013. Although not the game planet zoo is I wish the game would have been like this...
View attachment 204569
I imagine the platform had a lot to do with why this wouldn’t have been possible.

I have always liked that first pic showing some of the initial concept art for the game. If you look closely, you definitely notice that almost nothing looks like what we currently have in game, in fact most of it has nothing to compare it with in the actual game. There is a realistic looking monorail, we have a very similar one right here at Zoo Miami, the one in the game is just odd, never seen anything like it in any rl zoo, and not sure that it can be considered a monorail. The food truck is a great idea, and sadly not one that is currently part of the game. The rubber Hippos sticking halfway thru the ground right by the entrance are very common in zoo play areas and absent from the game. The carrousel looks great, and another missing feature of the game, as are the pelicans in the lake. There is just so much going on in that drawing, so much that we currently do not have. It is almost like we received a completely different version of the game in comparison to the idea drawn in that piece of paper, lol.

Yet the one thing that sticks out for me, is the way that zoo in the first drawing actually looks like a zoo, unlike the majority of what is being created with the game, the irony. The path system in the game is definitely not a part of that drawing, and that is the biggest difference with this concept art. Of course that if you hide the official path system, and get a little creative, realism can still be attained, and at an even greater level than what the drawing showcases. Nevertheless, it is somewhat comical that their own sketch does not reflect the limitations of the game, since most casual and non casual players use the game's path system.

The second picture is not of Planet Zoo, that is Zoo Tycoon's concept art.

 

[12344321]

The only reason why I have called a 2.0 instead of the traditional DLC is because it does depart significantly from their current model. Also it emphasizes the point that it not only offers an additional abundance of content for players, but it does enhances the game-play experience and revamps many existing features.

By your logic, everything in life would then be an experiment, and more relevant to our discussion, anything that Frontier currently works on or for that matter any gaming company would be an experiment. In truth this is mostly far from marketing reality, these decisions are often carefully examined, analyzed and based on previous product history, trends, market forecasting etc. If you do not understand it, I can live with that, but it is exactly how it is done in every single industry out here, once they have an establish product.

As an example, the movie Avatar, breaking all records within that industry premiered in 2009, ever since a sequence of high budget sequels have been in production, that is a long investment, for just an experiment, do you honestly think that the companies behind this project do not have absolute certainty that when their long haul project is released it will blow away all the charts again? You are damn Skippy they are. I offer this particular example, as that movie projects have some similarities to the project I have proposed, the technology is not quite there yet, it is a long term investment, and the only thing the have to gauge their chances of success is their previous le offering and public demand. You yourself already admitted that you would shell out the 65 euros, so as far I'm concern, everything else based on who might or might not want to spend the money, is all baseless speculations. You do understand that the vast majority of all the people complaining about cost, do purchase the game, otherwise they would not waste so much time complaining. It is often laughable to be honest, when someone complaints about spending 10 dollars on a DLC, yet spends countless hours in this forum ranting, it just makes no sense whatsoever.

Dude you don't have to explain yourself, what you propsed makes perfect sense, and it's a great concept!

Whether you call it a dlc or expansion is a nuance I couldn't possibly care about, your ideas would be well recieved in the community.

Too bad the current dlc model is so underwhelming lol