One of the more important part of planet zoo is the scenery. After the Oceania pack I noticed that Oceania as a whole had two scenery theme representing different cultures (aboriginal/ Polynesian) so I wanted to go down a rabbit hole and see what scenery/ cultural architecture is missing from the game. The focus of this thread isn’t necessarily important scenery for zoos it’s more about representing the vast cultures of this Earth along with its wildlife.
North America: 1 set (New World: Base Game)
The new world set is more generic in nature. More representing, modern, minimalist, sleek, American architecture.
What we need: I think NA needs more scenery based off the vast cultures of the pre colonialism Native Americans. Some Pacific Northwest First Nations scenery, or Southwestern Pueblo Peoples Architecture. Going into the post colonial styles you could add log cabin theming or Wild West style theming as well. Overall I think North America is the most lacking when it comes to scenery representation in game
South America: 1 set (South American: SA Pack)
The SA pack gave us a vaguely generic Meso American temple set with some bamboo pieces reminiscent of some of the vast architectural style in the tropical rainforest regions of the continent.
What we need: I think that the SA pack was on the right path but vastly missed the mark and a modern scenery pack would’ve done meso American architecture it’s justice. Actually having architecture based on the Mayans, Inca, and Aztecs would’ve been vastly superior than just having the general vibe of it. I also believe South America is in desperate need of a Latin American set showing the vast amount of architectural styles from central to South America. Picture colorful buildings and latin towns from the post Colonial era. This would help represent the cultures that inhabit South America. Another continent that is truly lacking when it comes to scenery.
Europe: 3 (maybe 4) sets (Arctic: Arctic Pack, Europe: Europe Pack, Twilight: Twilight pack, [Classical?: Base Game])
I debated putting the classical set on here or not. It represents a lot of the classic architecture of early European zoos, so I left it up to choice if you want to include it into Europe or not. The Arctic pack gave Europe good Nordic representation in the form of it’s dark wood, Norse-esque theming. the Europe pack gave a lot of the modern cultures of Europe fair representation in the form of scenery catered to different parts of the continent like Venice, Amsterdam, and the UK. The twilight pack gave medieval Europe/Romania representation with its Gothic castle architecture.
What we need: I think Europe is the best represented region architecturally in the game. Maybe a Eastern European (think old Russian / Slavic) architecture could be added but it’s definitely not a necessity at the moment.
Africa: 2 set (African Origins: base game, North African: Africa Pack)
The African origins set is a vast swath of sub-Saharan African architecture, mixed in with some typical safari theming. Definitely a more generic theming set to give the vibe or sub Saharan Africa. The north African set added in the Africa pack, gives representation to the northern African cultures (specifically Morocco).
What we need: I am not the most knowledgeable on African architecture. However, I know that the game can definitely use some more representation for the cultures of the Congo and east Africa specifically, the Ethiopian highlands region. I also think some cool architecture from west Africa. Specifically, the Mali empire would be cool as well.
Asia: 3 sets (East Asia: Base Game, Indian: Base Game, Indonesian: Tropical Pack)
Asia has representation for general East Asian architecture in the base game in the form of its East Asian set, the architecture of old Indian temples is represented as well and Indonesian South East Asian culture has representation in the tropical pack.
What we need: I believe that Asia could use some Himalayan/ central Asian architecture in the form of Mongolian style yurts, and Tibetan/Bhutanese style temples. Also, even though a lot of players use north African scenery to represent the Middle East some more Middle Eastern/ Levant/Arabic scenery would be appreciated.
Oceania: 2 sets (Australian: Australia Pack, Oceanian/ Polynesian: Oceania Pack)
Oceania has the Australian outback and it’s various settlements represented in the corrugated metal style pieces in the Australian pack. The Australia pack also has loads of aboriginal style architecture and art. The Oceania ups further with the new added Polynesian scenery, representing the various island cultures of the pacific ocean.
What we need: I think that after the Oceania pack the cultures of oceania are fairly represented in Planet Zoo.
Am I wrong about anything I said? What cultures are missing from Planet Zoo? Feel free to let me know if you have further knowledge on architecture/ cultures that I don’t know.
North America: 1 set (New World: Base Game)
The new world set is more generic in nature. More representing, modern, minimalist, sleek, American architecture.
What we need: I think NA needs more scenery based off the vast cultures of the pre colonialism Native Americans. Some Pacific Northwest First Nations scenery, or Southwestern Pueblo Peoples Architecture. Going into the post colonial styles you could add log cabin theming or Wild West style theming as well. Overall I think North America is the most lacking when it comes to scenery representation in game
South America: 1 set (South American: SA Pack)
The SA pack gave us a vaguely generic Meso American temple set with some bamboo pieces reminiscent of some of the vast architectural style in the tropical rainforest regions of the continent.
What we need: I think that the SA pack was on the right path but vastly missed the mark and a modern scenery pack would’ve done meso American architecture it’s justice. Actually having architecture based on the Mayans, Inca, and Aztecs would’ve been vastly superior than just having the general vibe of it. I also believe South America is in desperate need of a Latin American set showing the vast amount of architectural styles from central to South America. Picture colorful buildings and latin towns from the post Colonial era. This would help represent the cultures that inhabit South America. Another continent that is truly lacking when it comes to scenery.
Europe: 3 (maybe 4) sets (Arctic: Arctic Pack, Europe: Europe Pack, Twilight: Twilight pack, [Classical?: Base Game])
I debated putting the classical set on here or not. It represents a lot of the classic architecture of early European zoos, so I left it up to choice if you want to include it into Europe or not. The Arctic pack gave Europe good Nordic representation in the form of it’s dark wood, Norse-esque theming. the Europe pack gave a lot of the modern cultures of Europe fair representation in the form of scenery catered to different parts of the continent like Venice, Amsterdam, and the UK. The twilight pack gave medieval Europe/Romania representation with its Gothic castle architecture.
What we need: I think Europe is the best represented region architecturally in the game. Maybe a Eastern European (think old Russian / Slavic) architecture could be added but it’s definitely not a necessity at the moment.
Africa: 2 set (African Origins: base game, North African: Africa Pack)
The African origins set is a vast swath of sub-Saharan African architecture, mixed in with some typical safari theming. Definitely a more generic theming set to give the vibe or sub Saharan Africa. The north African set added in the Africa pack, gives representation to the northern African cultures (specifically Morocco).
What we need: I am not the most knowledgeable on African architecture. However, I know that the game can definitely use some more representation for the cultures of the Congo and east Africa specifically, the Ethiopian highlands region. I also think some cool architecture from west Africa. Specifically, the Mali empire would be cool as well.
Asia: 3 sets (East Asia: Base Game, Indian: Base Game, Indonesian: Tropical Pack)
Asia has representation for general East Asian architecture in the base game in the form of its East Asian set, the architecture of old Indian temples is represented as well and Indonesian South East Asian culture has representation in the tropical pack.
What we need: I believe that Asia could use some Himalayan/ central Asian architecture in the form of Mongolian style yurts, and Tibetan/Bhutanese style temples. Also, even though a lot of players use north African scenery to represent the Middle East some more Middle Eastern/ Levant/Arabic scenery would be appreciated.
Oceania: 2 sets (Australian: Australia Pack, Oceanian/ Polynesian: Oceania Pack)
Oceania has the Australian outback and it’s various settlements represented in the corrugated metal style pieces in the Australian pack. The Australia pack also has loads of aboriginal style architecture and art. The Oceania ups further with the new added Polynesian scenery, representing the various island cultures of the pacific ocean.
What we need: I think that after the Oceania pack the cultures of oceania are fairly represented in Planet Zoo.
Am I wrong about anything I said? What cultures are missing from Planet Zoo? Feel free to let me know if you have further knowledge on architecture/ cultures that I don’t know.
