Planet Zoo 2 Speculation and ideas

[Eletan888]

I have a quite a few hopes for PZ2, but I really hope we get interspecies social animations between species that get an interspecies enrichment bonus. Sure, getting the extra points towards welfare is nice, but it would be cool to actually see the enrichment happen visually between the animals.

It would be nice to also have shy hoofstock herd more tightly together. When I see gazelles in zoos they almost always are moving together. It would be nice if herding could work on a spectrum, the more shy animals stick closer together, while the more confident ones venture out on their own more often. But just in general, herding animals should stick closer together than they do in PZ1.

Also, baby mammals should nurse. Like Frontier doesn't need to add mammary glands, just let the mammals nurse! It's 2024!!

 

[Stygi]

As beautiful as they are i have yet to find an use for the saiga and the Nile lechwe. And i would most deffinetly get rid of the standard donkey and the generic pig we got. Springbok is kind of redundant and while i love all the ungulates in Arid i can love without the dama gazelle. And i would trade all that for birds and maybe one of them for the blackbuck. And as much as i like the Dall sheep now that we have three other charismatic and popular mountain caprids i would trade it galdly for a musk ox, although in case of the Arctic pack the Arctic wolf is a better sacrifice if only the base game wolf would come with an Arctic wolf variant (in a world where doesn't look like crap that is).


Same. And honestly just like with springbok i would get rid of the saltie in base game and just put the Nile crocodile instead.

I know some people want all animals to return but honestly we have way to many african antelope in game, I think we really don't need to keep all of them, and those we don't keep can open up spaces for birds, monkeys, south america and reptiles
1. Scimitar Horned Oyx
2. Blue Wildebeest
3. Dama Gazelle
4. Nile Lechwe
5. Bongo
6. Kirk's Dik Dik
How would people feel about this selection?
Those would honestly be a great selection for me, although I would probably like to see a couple more return I need monkeys and birds way more

 

[NachoB]

I know some people want all animals to return but honestly we have way to many african antelope in game, I think we really don't need to keep all of them, and those we don't keep can open up spaces for birds, monkeys, south america and reptiles
1. Scimitar Horned Oyx
2. Blue Wildebeest
3. Dama Gazelle
4. Nile Lechwe
5. Bongo
6. Kirk's Dik Dik
Those would honestly be a great selection for me, although I would probably like to see a couple more return I need monkeys and birds way more

At first i thought those were the ones u wanted to get rid of haha. I think the main reason people want to keep the dama gazelle is because od how beautiful it is. I rather keep gemsbok and Addax that i can have more use of than the gazelle. I really like it but is one i won't find my self missing from the game. If i had to select ungulates that i would be ok without i would pick:

Springbok
Black wildebeest
Dama gazelle
Nyala (i'm ambivalent but i would prefer the kudu)
Nile lechwe (i do like having an option for a wetland's ungulate and the Nile lechwe ingame is beautiful but i would have more use for a waterbuck)
American standard donkey
Alpine goat
Domestic pig
Dall's sheep

And if it is not just ungulates but animals in general i would add:

Bonobo
Cuvier's dwarf caiman
Quokka (this one hurts but if i have to clean up space it gets the cut)
Arctic wolf
Titan beetle
Burrowing cockroach

Ofc all this implying that we have to "trade" some animals to get others in, new or not.

 

[RightWhale]

Assuming Frontier doesn’t fumble the bag, I am so looking forward to building with birds. Maybe by then I’ll have a better computer. I would love to actually start recreating some of my local New England zoos.

Namely, after breaking down the map of Franklin Park Zoo, I would love to create the raptor ridge.

Not my picture, but this is actually an amazing habitat for some Andean condors. It is massive on the inside, with even a running stream and trees going through it. The condors don’t have clipped wings, and can even be right above you!

Also, I know I’ve said it before. I am so excited with the idea of making an actual bird house.

Not my picture, but this is from the inside of one of the exhibits in the bird house at the same zoo.

 

[Eletan888]

What do people think about getting modular exhibit boxes in PZ2? I'm at least hoping for variation in size. A 1×.05×0.5 as the smallest for things like small inverts and herps. Then some sizes in between with the 4×4×4 reserved for large snakes and iguanas. That would honestly be just fine for me, but modular exhibit boxes could be a pretty lucrative debut feature for returning players. Thoughts?

 

[Topaz Star]

What do people think about getting modular exhibit boxes in PZ2? I'm at least hoping for variation in size. A 1×.05×0.5 as the smallest for things like small inverts and herps. Then some sizes in between with the 4×4×4 reserved for large snakes and iguanas. That would honestly be just fine for me, but modular exhibit boxes could be a pretty lucrative debut feature for returning players. Thoughts?

Yes, this feels like the equivalent of flatrides being customizable in PC2. It's a must have feature for PZ2.

 

[RightWhale]

What do people think about getting modular exhibit boxes in PZ2? I'm at least hoping for variation in size. A 1×.05×0.5 as the smallest for things like small inverts and herps. Then some sizes in between with the 4×4×4 reserved for large snakes and iguanas. That would honestly be just fine for me, but modular exhibit boxes could be a pretty lucrative debut feature for returning players. Thoughts?

I’d be down, it makes it easier to see the small animals. And the larger animals get space too!

My main hope is that the Exhibit box opens the way for fish, the leafy seadragon and lungfish mods are beautiful! I hope we get more fish mods in the future!

 

[Aramar]

What do people think about getting modular exhibit boxes in PZ2? I'm at least hoping for variation in size. A 1×.05×0.5 as the smallest for things like small inverts and herps. Then some sizes in between with the 4×4×4 reserved for large snakes and iguanas. That would honestly be just fine for me, but modular exhibit boxes could be a pretty lucrative debut feature for returning players. Thoughts?

My take on exhibits for the sequel:

-Null exhibit boxes
-Different sizes for exhibit boxes (small 2x1x1, medium 4x2x2, large 4x4x4, extra-large 8x4x4)
-Exhibit customisation (when an animal has several biomes, we can choose which biome the exhibit box should represent)

 

[Captain Callum]

What do people think about getting modular exhibit boxes in PZ2? I'm at least hoping for variation in size. A 1×.05×0.5 as the smallest for things like small inverts and herps. Then some sizes in between with the 4×4×4 reserved for large snakes and iguanas. That would honestly be just fine for me, but modular exhibit boxes could be a pretty lucrative debut feature for returning players. Thoughts?

If my pz2 metawishlist is anything to go by, returning players find the idea of modular exhibits boxes or just a general exhibit box rework just as appealing as getting birds and aviaries. Exhibit boxes still after 5 years feel like an afterthought for the other part of zoo collections, just a one size fits them all is an awful approach for housing such a wide range of animals.

 

[Eletan888]

I feel like a change to the exhibit system is unavoidable. The boxes just don't allow for the creativity and customization the game stands for and as PZ1's development progresseed it became more and more obvious how below par the exhibits are. In my mind it seems a bit silly to launch PZ2 with the same system as PZ1 just to overhaul it later. That's why I'm pretty positive that well see a rework upon launch.

 

[ScotiaMugdock]

I know some people want all animals to return but honestly we have way to many african antelope in game, I think we really don't need to keep all of them, and those we don't keep can open up spaces for birds, monkeys, south america and reptiles
1. Scimitar Horned Oyx
2. Blue Wildebeest
3. Dama Gazelle
4. Nile Lechwe
5. Bongo
6. Kirk's Dik Dik
How would people feel about this selection?
Those would honestly be a great selection for me, although I would probably like to see a couple more return I need monkeys and birds way more

I know it’s en vogue to hate African antelope but honestly almost all species are fairly common zoo animals and are useful to make African sections more varied. It’s more an issue that other groups didn’t get the representation they required. I’d rather they were all added and we regularly got monkeys and birds in DLCs.

 

[Stygi]

I know it’s en vogue to hate African antelope but honestly almost all species are fairly common zoo animals and are useful to make African sections more varied. It’s more an issue that other groups didn’t get the representation they required. I’d rather they were all added and we regularly got monkeys and birds in DLCs.

Yes they are common, but they just like big cats and bears are very overrepresented compared to other groups like primates, so I would happily sacrifice some of them that I view as bloat to allow other common groups to get a fair amount of representation

 

[ScotiaMugdock]

Yes they are common, but they just like big cats and bears are very overrepresented compared to other groups like primates, so I would happily sacrifice some of them that I view as bloat to allow other common groups to get a fair amount of representation

I think the real question is what will be added. Useable animals won’t be cut just for some additional animals won’t be cut as it doesn’t make financial sense; and if they are, I suspect we would see them in DLC which would be more disappointing

I’m kind

 

[Stygi]

I think the real question is what will be added. Useable animals won’t be cut just for some additional animals won’t be cut as it doesn’t make financial sense; and if they are, I suspect we would see them in DLC which would be more disappointing

I’m kind

Well there are animals like the black wildebeest and Himalayan brown bear, they are part of these bloated groups, they are relatively poor quality so would require a major revamp and aren’t very popular, in my eyes it makes total sense to cut these kind of animals

 

[Fossa]

Giving the perfect roster for Planet Zoo 2 will be living hell, I’m shivering from the previous given fan-rosters that have Dama Gazelle in them but not Sable Antelopes for example, and others will probably shiver from the list I’m gonna come up with in a few seconds.

I’m trying to stay realistic here, making some sacrifices of my own favorites to go into DLC, there are only a few animals I replace entirely or will leave out.

But first up some other changes to the game.

I love the thought of getting actual SEASONS in the game, instead of a random snow storm from time to time, this change I will receive with open arms.

I would like easier to use mechanism in the game, I find car-tracks and cable-stuff hard to place, and the paths are a mess right now for me personally, must be much easier to use.

While I want the graphics to increase, even my own new PC can’t handle too many guests in the zoo, and my game perfectly plays the latest other shooter games. SO this is an issue I think I can fix, but a lot of people won’t like it probably.

GUESTS in the zoo must look more realistic, but at the same time I want the guest system to be different, I don’t like guests always come in groups, why not just make guests come in alone, have favorite animals, don’t act so chaotic, really rating your zoo when they leave, this makes gameplay maybe somewhat less realistic, but do those cartoony humans make gameplay more realistic? NO.
I think the guests must be much fewer in number but far more important per person, every visitor will have a favorite animal and drink ect, more famous people will visit the zoo, and of course there should be families as well, just a father, mother and a child for example that keep together, but not a group of 10 cartoony humans moving as one.

For me Aquariums and Bird Cages are a must in Planet Zoo 2, but if they add Aquariums in a later expansion I wouldn’t cry one tear, bird cages however SHOULD be added from the start.

I don’t really care which fish and birds we get actually, I’m happy with all of them, I just don’t want certain birds to go to waste to this system, I still want Peacocks, Pelicans, Secretary Birds, Pheasants and others to be open habitat animals, not only be limited like cage-birds which are for example, Eagles, Owls, Parrots and other such birds who can’t be running around in a open cage.
I know pelicans can fly, but still I want to play around with them in sandbox mode, and being only able to use Pelicans when you use a certain bird-cage system seems like horror to me.
But all small flying birds and flying birds of prey, keep them in bird cages.

I hope the small exhibit’s are really turned around in Planet Zoo 2, I really don’t care for them now, which is a shame, I want to see Green Anaconda’s, King Cobra’s, Mantis, Chameleon and many others in Planet Zoo 2, but with a very new and better system, make them move around. Different sizes in cages/boxes is also a must, and being more freely able to decorate the boxes/cages is also a big must.

I also hope Frontier is opening up to the modders community, maybe even working with some of them, to create extra free animals like the ones easily modded (Black-n-White Lemur, Amur Leopard ect)

Maybe the DLC could be like this.

First year: Only two very big DLC with +20 animals each, with some more aquarium additions, small exhibit animals and bird cages which of course cost more money than the smaller packs, so that makes 40+ new and also returning animals, good way to bring them in fast in the first year, with some smaller packs coming out in between that are really small, like a Tiger-pack with all tiger variants, or a swan-pack with a white swan, black swan, and black-necked swan, or some petting zoo additions or just objects to place in your parks.

Then year two/three/four/whatever we will get the same smaller packs with only 4/7 animals in it, as we already got so many animals back in the first year, they can start focussing on the aquariums, bird cages and other stuff.

Now for the number of starting animals we will get.

I’m thinking about 20 exhibit animals, 15 Aquariums, 15 bird cages, and 120 normal habitat animals.

MAIN GAME/DELUXE: African Buffalo / African Crested Porcupine / African Elephant / African Leopard / African Penguin / African Spurred Tortoise / Alpaca / Alpine Goat / Alpine Ibex / American Alligator / American Bison / Asian Small-Clawed Otter / Bactrian Camel / Baird’s Tapir / Black-Tailed Prairie Dog / Blue Wildebeest / Bongo / Orangutan / California Sea Lion / Capybara / Cheetah / Chinese Pangolin / Capuchin Monkey (any) / Ostrich / Warthog / Coquerel’s Sifaka / Dingo / Dromedary Camel / Emu / Eurasian Lynx / Fallow Deer / Fennec Fox / Fossa / Gemsbok / Giant Anteater / Giant Galapagos Tortoise / Giant Panda / Grizzly Bear / Hamadryas Baboon / Hippopotamus / Indian Elephant / Indian Peafowl / Indian Rhinoceros / Jaguar / Koala / Komodo Dragon / Lar Gibbon / Malayan Tapir / Maned Wolf / Markhor / Meerkat / Moose / Nile Monitor / Nine-Banded Armadillo / Beaver (any) / Kiwi / Okapi / Zebra (any) / Platypus / Polar Bear / Red Kangaroo / Red Panda / Giraffe (any) / Ring-Tailed Lemur / Sable Antelope / Siberian Tiger / Snow Leopard / White Rhinoceros / Spectacled Bear / Spectacled Caiman / Spotted Hyena / Chicken (any) / Tasmanian Devil / Thomson’s Gazelle / Lion / Chimpanzee / Gorilla (any) / Wild Bear / Wisent / Wolverine


Being DLC doesn't mean I like the animals less than the MAIN GAME animals, many of these are among my favorites, but I think they suit more in a DLC pack.

DLC: Aardvark / Addax / African Wild Dog / Arctic Fox / Babirusa / Binturong / Black Rhinoceros / Caracal / Clouded Leopard / Collared Peccary / Wombat / Cougar / Gharial / Giant Otter / Kirk’s Dik-Dik / Little Penguin / Mandrill / Pallas’s Cat / Proboscis Monkey / Pronghorn / Przewalski’s Horse / Pygmy Hippopotamus / Red River Hog / Red-Crowned Crane / Saiga / Saltwater Crocodile / Cassowary / Springbok / Striped Hyena / Sun Bear / Takin

One DLC must be: Shoebill / Proboscis Monkey / Saiga / Pronghorn / Leopard Seal / Indri, it being the non-realistic pack which many people will die for, spare for the usual suspects.


REPLACE/DELETE:
Aldabra Giant Tortoise – With new sea turtles and lake turtles coming in and with Spurred Tortoise in the main game, this one is just overkill.

American Standard Donkey – Replace with Pony

Arctic Wolf – Just delete, this one doesn’t even need to be replaced, only 2 people will miss it probably.

Asian Water Monitor – Replace with Perentie, Asia already has Komodo Dragon, and water monitor = Nile Monitor from Africa.

Bengal Tiger – I just want one tiger, make the others easy skins or work together with modders to release a free tiger pack for Christmas.

Black Wildebeest – Replace with Greater Kudu, nobody will miss this thing.

Black-And-White Ruffed Lemur – Replace with Aye-Aye, much more special and better.

Bonobo – Really don’t like chimps of any species, but two for me is overkill, make it a free gift from modders or whatever.

Dall Sheep – Kill it split it into two pieces and you have Mountain Goat (white) and Bighorn Sheep (same country, look, horns, more known)

Dama Gazelle – The only animal in this game I never heard about, and I really didn’t care for it… Replace with Generuk

Formosan Black Bear – I don’t want nothing in return, Asia already has 3 options of much better black/white bears, Giant Panda, Sun Bear and maybe Sloth Bear.

Greater Flamingo – While I don’t want it to be removed completely, I want the American Flamingo to shine in Planet Zoo 2.

Highland Cattle – While I add some animals for an instant petting zoo in the main game, I think Highland Cattle actually killed a couple of people in the Netherlands, they are dangerous, and not for petting zoo, while Europe has already another bovine animal, the Wisent.

Hill Radnor Sheep – I never seen Sheep in zoo’s, I think it needs to be replaced with a Rabbit or Turkey or duck in the petting zoo.

Himalayan Brown Bear – While I think grizzly bears are enough for the rather boring brown bear representation, I think people asked for European Brown Bears for so long, give them their present for once.

King Penguin – I prefer the Emperor penguin over this.

Llama – I prefer a wild species of Llama, like the Guanaco

Mute Swan – I prefer the to me exotic Black Swan, but I wouldn’t be against a white and black swan in the same game though. But if I had to make a pick for only one, I want the black swan, they are so pretty, or the black-necked swan from South America.

Nile Lechwe – While this one is pretty, I think the Waterbuck makes more sense.

Nyala – Maybe as a free gift, but I prefer the Giant Eland over this.

Raccoon – I’d rather see the Coati over this one.

Quokka – I’d rather see any Tree Kangaroo over this one.

Red Deer – I’d rather see the American Elk over this one.

Red Fox – Replace with the Grey Fox

Red-Necked Wallaby – I’d rather see the rock-hopping Wallaby over this one.

Sand Cat – With the Pallas’s Cat now in, I think this one needs to be replaced by the Fishing Cat, Ocelot or Serval.

Siamang – Replace with Black Howler Monkey

Somali Wild Ass – Replace with the Asian Onager

Tamworth Pig – Replacer with Potbellied Pig please.

Timber Wolf – Replace with Grey Wolf

Wild Water Buffalo – This poor thing got so many hate from realism lovers, I think it’s time to give it’s spot to a better Asian bovine candidate, the Gaur, biggest of all bovine animals.



I DON’T CARE AT ALL JUST DON’T TAKE SPOTS OF MORE UNIQUE ANIMALS: Amur Leopard / Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman / Dhole / European Badger / Grey Seal / Japanese Macaque / Red Ruffed Lemur / Reindeer / Scimitar-Horned Oryx / Sloth Bear / Striped Skunk




NEW FACES MAIN: Secretary Bird / Coati / Walrus / Black Howler Monkey / Grey Crowned Crane / Blackbuck / Great White Pelican / Greater Kudu / North American Black Bear / Nile Crocodile / Helmed Guineafowl / Bighorn Sheep / Mandarin Duck / Turkey / Pet Zoo Bunny / Black Swan / American Flamingo / Emperor Penguin / Eurasian Brown Bear / Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig / Goose (Pet Zoo)

NEW FACES DLC: Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo / Musk Ox / Golden Lion Tamarin / Shoebill / West Indian Manatee / Ocelot / Serval / Honey Badger / Echidna / Gelada / Mantled Guereza / Mara / Tamandua / Rhea / Aye-Aye / Elk / Alligator Snapping Turtle / Bush Dog / Generuk / Gaur / Marabou Stork / Rockhopper / Pere David’s Deer / Scarlet Ibis / Giant Eland / Southern Ground Hornbill / Leopard Seal / Rock Hyrax / Chinese Giant Salamander / Fishing Cat / African Civet / Mountain Goat / Roserate Spoonbill / Golden Pheasant / Giant Armadillo / Rock Wallaby / Reeve’s Muntjac / Wild Yak / Puffin / Nilgai / Elephant Seal / Impala / Kakapo / Chamois / Bat-Eared Fox / Grey Fox / Pudu / Brazilian Porcupine / Perentie / Western Capercaillie / Guanaco / Victorian Crowned Pigeon / Greater Roadrunner / Waterbuck / Onager / Indian Giant Squirrel / Musk Deer / Brown Hyena / Lady Amherst’s Pheasant / Aoudad / Saddle Billed Stork / Superb Lyrebird / Arctic Hare / Torrent Duck

 

[The_Riot22]

If my pz2 metawishlist is anything to go by, returning players find the idea of modular exhibits boxes or just a general exhibit box rework just as appealing as getting birds and aviaries. Exhibit boxes still after 5 years feel like an afterthought for the other part of zoo collections, just a one size fits them all is an awful approach for housing such a wide range of animals.

Yep. Expanding what we can do with exhibit boxes - even if all they do is allow us to use different size boxes, makes a huge difference. While the only birds I have any interest in building for are Macaws and Toucans.

I'd take an exhibit overhaul over aviaries/flying mechanics any day.

 

[RightWhale]

Yep. Expanding what we can do with exhibit boxes - even if all they do is allow us to use different size boxes, makes a huge difference. While the only birds I have any interest in building for are Macaws and Toucans.

I'd take an exhibit overhaul over aviaries/flying mechanics any day.

Personally I would hope any aviary or flying system would be tied to enrichment items like perches. A huge portion of birds would work in what is essentially a meshed in habitat with climbing structures:

1. Large eagles and owls
2. Secretary birds
3. Storks
4. Large vulture species
5. Waterfowl
6. Hot take, large parrots like macaws too

Their habitats and structures they would use wouldn’t be too different from some arboreal species.
I really feel like the birds that might need a WTE or other system are small and active birds:

1. Turacos
2. Toucans
3. Smaller parrot species
4. Finches
5. Bee eaters
6. Weaver birds
7. Inca terns
8. Etc.

 

[Stygi]

Personally I would hope any aviary or flying system would be tied to enrichment items like perches. A huge portion of birds would work in what is essentially a meshed in habitat with climbing structures:

1. Large eagles and owls
2. Secretary birds
3. Storks
4. Large vulture species
5. Waterfowl
6. Hot take, large parrots like macaws too

Their habitats and structures they would use wouldn’t be too different from some arboreal species.
I really feel like the birds that might need a WTE or other system are small and active birds:

1. Turacos
2. Toucans
3. Smaller parrot species
4. Finches
5. Bee eaters
6. Weaver birds
7. Inca terns
8. Etc.

Although hopefully this would be coupled with major improvements to animal behaviour which would cause these new flying birds as well as existing arboreal animals to not spend much time on the floor, although the bird mods look really good they spend way to much time on the floor like the koala

 

[RightWhale]

Although hopefully this would be coupled with major improvements to animal behaviour which would cause these new flying birds as well as existing arboreal animals to not spend much time on the floor, although the bird mods look really good they spend way to much time on the floor like the koala

Yeah, hopefully that gets fixed. I’ll be honest, if I don’t get these two things I won’t buy a potential sequel:

1. First and foremost, I need more gameplay. More zoo management or zoo based gameplay features. Whether it be a zookeeper mode, better animal conservation, animal training, literally anything. I genuinely need this over more animals, and adding the building from PC2. I need the gameplay loop to expand past building and bare minimum management.
2. Birds. Got some bird mods, they all look great. Really hurts we don’t have more options in game. I don’t care if I don’t get any of my #1 birds. I just need them. If they have to add more animals for the sequel I will be livid if we don’t start with some birds. I do not want to wait 5 years to maybe, maybe, have the whole Clade of Aves expand past 20 species. If we could start getting options like Kirk’s Dik Dik, Sifaka, Saiga, Quokka, and other oddballs for mammals in PZ1 I expect to also start getting some oddballs for birds in PZ2. Follow that by habitat reptiles and exhibit animals and I’ll be a very happy camper.

That’s literally it. I don’t care if we get any of the other features I wanted. Mods can cover a lot for me right now, and I’m happy with building as is. Sure better exhibit boxes, better building, a walrus, monkeys, etc. would all be nice. That’s not what I need to justify a sequel though.

 

[Aramar]

Thinking about PZ2 and its possible DLCs, I think that while the first game had mostly geographical or biome themed dlcs, the sequel could go for ecosystems:

-Deserts DLC
-Mountains DLC
-Islands DLC
-Forests DLC
-Jungles DLC
-Rivers DLC
-Marine DLC
-Savannah DLC

These generic themes were often discussed for PZ1 and Frontier could have saved them for the sequel. Assuming the seocnd game includes all the original game animals, these themes would allow to add additional mammals/reptiles along birds and fish. For example, the rivers DLC could have another otter, Pere David's deer, Nile crocodile, arapaima, Roseate spoonbill, red bellied piranha, a duck and the green anaconda as an exhibit.