Planet Zoo: Will it be a game or another simulator?

The_Tick

T
Well Frontier,

Are you people building a 3D level editor where u spend endless hours placing walls & props that can simulate a zoo or are you actually making a "game" this time with a lot more focus on good challenging management game that is actually worth my time?

Personally, I have put my money on the former seeing the lack of expertise in making actual management games. Sorry for being so critical, but I have lost faith after that Jurassic world evolution game...
I am just hoping you are not making the same mistake for the third time...
 

BillMulderTH

BillMulderTH
Please stop

134633
 

cerealfruitcakes

cerealfruitcakes
I think some people just really underestimate the amount of people that love creative design games. I personally can't wait to design exhibits & parks, that's a huge chunk of the fun IMO. I love seeing the animals & guests interact with a world I build for them. I also think Planet Coaster gets a bad rap for its lack of management. It's not so much that it needs MOAR management, there are a lot of management features in the game, they just need better balancing, it's a bit all over the place.

What is it exactly that you'd like to see in terms of management? It's more beneficial to the dev team to hear actual ideas than just rambling on about the lack of management and not offering any ideas you might have. They added several new management features post release based on community desire for Planet Coaster, so I'm sure they're all ears! I think they will do well to improve that aspect for Planet Zoo (staff room improvements, utilities like solar panels & water filtration, weather with your guests and how it effects the exhibits)...but really at the end of the day many of us that buy these games LOVE it for the creative/design aspect.

It is interesting that you bring up JW:Evo though because some of the biggest complaints within their community is the lack of building & designing. To each their own.
 
Last edited:

Bitter Jeweler

Bitter Jeweler
The problem with most management games, by their nature, is that they are very formulaic. Once you figure out the formula for everything, the game is easy. There are no random events, or changes. Even though there is a scenario editor you still simply create the “formula” for the scenario. If you’ve played the game enough, any scenario is easily beaten once you know what you are up against. Like Cereal above said...they have never really figured out a way to balance some systems, especially ride prestige! It’s one of my favor game systems, except it is too easy to exploit.
 

Nicholas LionRider

Nicholas LionRider
I am actually perfectly fine with their criticism about it not being a good "tycoon" game. Its not their fault thinking the game isn't their type if that is the genre they are proposing it as. If they like tycoon games, and the game says its a tycoon game, they should expect tycoon elements. Planet Coaster, Zoo Tycoon Xbox, Jurassic World Evolutions, etc. definitely did have that type of "simulator" aspect over tycoon. That is more or less what Frontier has made in the past. Even going as far back as Kinect Disneyland or Kinectimals. They are good at games where you sit and watch animations happen. Now for Planet Zoo I think this may be more or less what people want (the creative freedom of freeform piece by piece building of Planet Coaster with the animations and animal AI of Zoo Tycoon xbox) but the people who like the management side can't be ignored. While they make up a minority of the overall fanbase, they are still a big part of the tycoon genre as a whole. They do appear to have taken a stronger initiative to add a campaign this time around as well as provide a lot of features to be as hands on/hands off in the zoo management process as you'd like. The campaign should likely satisfy those who want a more complex management game while the sandbox can still satisfy the people who just want to make a pretty zoo and look at the animals.
 

CMDR Karrde Sun

CMDR Karrde Sun
My guess / hope from the recent footage is its planet coaster in zoo skins. A recent geekism analysis video showed things that are very specific and identical to planet coaster (the naked boxes) so good chances it will be like that.

Personally im almost optimistic, as i always wanted to get into the ocd side of planet coaster but the classic theme park setting was so uncompelling. Having one of your first anchors into a game a classic ferris wheel? Ugh. A zoo would do it for me.

If the animals are an extension of how the dinosaurs work in jwe it will be pretty intuitive and fun.

And you can click on the guests in planet coaster, im pretty sure... would be great to be able to do that as well.

Frontiers management game systems to be just get all the game systems up to 5 stars....?
 

Rottenberry

Rottenberry
PZ is in the same family as Planet Coaster, I agree with OP in some degree that I did feel the campaign mode for PC was a bit lack-luster. I understand everyone plays a game differently but from what i've gathered the vast majority who play PC play sandbox and aim to build their perfect park.

I feel the same will be in PZ. Most users will spend hours detailing every small detail of their park to make it perfect to them. I'd like their to be more story and scenarios to the game but I'm perfectly happy spending 5 hours detailing a small part of my park to make it look perfect to me.
 

LN

LN
IF people would be using the scenario editor in PlanCo, they would notice they can make it as difficult for themselves as they would like.
 

Aero-Bubbles

Aero-Bubbles
Not trying to be rude but, many videos done by the devs explain what PZ is, how its literally an up to date zoo tycoon 2. Even the main site is informative
 

Zoomania

Zoomania
I don't like the sandbox mode of PC either. I need a real challenge at least with money management. Unlimited money Sandboxes are not satisfying for me. If I want to build an exciting Park (or Zoo), I would like to earn the progress myself and don't want to build in a kind of godmode environment.
 

Lelka

Lelka
I enjoyed playing two Zoo Tycoon series by BF both sides, challenging scenario/campaign mode or freeplay with Shift+4/basic unlimited money to make my own dream park. I see some more things I didn't really have back in ZT series, so no matter which PZ would turn out, I'll purely enjoy it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom