Search option market for other color types (albino, black, etc)

[ShadowLilly]

Hi everyone!

This is a quality of life tip:

It would be awsome to have an option in the franchise market to show only 'non standard color' animals.

When i want to have white animals for example, i need to search through the whole list of animals, which take ages, or select animals individually and search for e.g. a white one. It would be so much easier if you just hit the checkbox 'other color variations', so you could see only white tigers, lions, peafowls etc...

Also it woulf be nice to be able to buy them in sandbox, i mean: in sandbox you can do what you want without restrictions, but you can not buy e.g. albino animals on the market, or select which stats you want for the animals.

 

[NZFanatic]

IIRC this was brought up in another thread (or at least, the concept of making these mutations easier to obtain in Sandbox) and Bo said the feedback would be passed on. So we might see something happen in the next couple of updates.

 

[ShadowLilly]

IIRC this was brought up in another thread (or at least, the concept of making these mutations easier to obtain in Sandbox) and Bo said the feedback would be passed on. So we might see something happen in the next couple of updates.

I hope so! But the main question applies to franchise

About sandbox : this was something i came up with after pressing the ' post reply' button, lol, so i added that.

 

[NZFanatic]

I hope so! But the main question applies to franchise

About sandbox : this was something i came up with after pressing the ' post reply' button, lol, so i added that.

Well, presumably the two will go hand in hand. If they make the mutations easier to obtain in Sandbox then it follows that certain changes will apply to Franchise.

Out of curiosity, do the mutations appear in the Franchise animal market? In Sandbox you don't know until you place the animal in your zoo. I know that the market used to show albinos before you bought them, but does it still?

 

[ShadowLilly]

Out of curiosity, do the mutations appear in the Franchise animal market? In Sandbox you don't know until you place the animal in your zoo. I know that the market used to show albinos before you bought them, but does it still?

when you search the market in franchise, and you select for example the bengal tigers, you see the portret of the normal tigers, and when they are white you see the white portret.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Personally I think at this point (with only albinism) not a big deal. Most times it's just 1 or 2 clicks to see the first albino.
If there would be more pigment disorders, i'd fully agree with such an extra option.

Also it woulf be nice to be able to buy them in sandbox, i mean: in sandbox you can do what you want without restrictions, but you can not buy e.g. albino animals on the market, or select which stats you want for the animals.

Yeah, the albino on the sandbox market has been an issue since the SA DLC. Almost nobody mentioned it before this
Hope they improve on this one - the main advantage the Franchise has, is that the community breeds for albino animals. So it's logical that the difference is so obvious. The Frontier Zoo doesn't sell them either - for some animals a cheap albino alternative would be nice as well and not paying 10.000CC for it .

The other one isn't really a restriction (selecting stats isn't available in any mode), so that's a new feature.

i mean: in sandbox you can do what you want without restrictions

Sandbox mode normally means you have full access to all features to the game from the start (without doing research/missions/tasks). Most times they give you some options to tweak existing basic features like money, difficulty, map, turning off needs etc.
I noticed this before on multiple occassions, people tend to think sandbox is a mode in which you should have extra options. I used to be on a gaming forum, where skirmish/sandbox mode was discussed on a regular basis - they would point out that you aren't restricted but are asking for new features. I always liked that comment because in most cases thats true.

Just wanted to point that out Some options aren't available in other modes as well but it's not obvious.

 

[shirandhak]

I would be happy, if they fixed the sandbox-bug of albinotic/melanistic animals not passing on their fur-colour! Won't care though about buying them made easier. But it is totally frustrating if you have an albino and all their offspring are normal coloured with the same chance of getting a white offspring as with normal coloured parents. That means: genetics in sandbox are currently broken (at least regarding albinism/melanism).

 

[techwired]

This would be fantastic to add, and I hope that they do. Adding the comment so it gets more attention!

 

[NZFanatic]

Yeah, the albino on the sandbox market has been an issue since the SA DLC. Almost nobody mentioned it before this

It has been brought up here and there before, but with the South America Pack we got the melanistic jaguar, which in real life isn't nearly as rare as a white tiger for example. Personally I (and probably others) was hoping that the black jaguar would be a lot easier to obtain across all modes than any other mutation, since it isn't uncommon to see it in both wild and captive populations. So it makes sense that it's being requested a lot more now than before; us Sandbox players feel like we're missing out on something. Honestly I could take or leave any other mutation in the game; the black jaguar is the only one I really want, and I'd rather not have to build a farm to get it.

 

[NL_Mutso]

It has been brought up here and there before, but with the South America Pack we got the melanistic jaguar, which in real life isn't nearly as rare as a white tiger for example. Personally I (and probably others) was hoping that the black jaguar would be a lot easier to obtain across all modes than any other mutation, since it isn't uncommon to see it in both wild and captive populations. So it makes sense that it's being requested a lot more now than before; us Sandbox players feel like we're missing out on something. Honestly I could take or leave any other mutation in the game; the black jaguar is the only one I really want, and I'd rather not have to build a farm to get it.

The whole albino breeding in sandbox was barely a topic worth mentioning on this forum, steam or reddit. I really think most people didn't even notice it before.
I think albino aren't that popular at all, except for a couple of species. Like you said - the jaguar isn't uncommon and mentioned almost every time in albino/melanism topics.

Even other pigment mutations/disorders are barely a topic in the last couple of months. In the beginning when they found the first albinos - it was a big thing.
Maybe just a temporarily hype caused by the discovery?

But like I said, they should improve on albino breeding in sandbox. Features in all modes should react the same and breeding albinos in Franchise is easier.

 

[NZFanatic]

The whole albino breeding in sandbox was barely a topic worth mentioning on this forum, steam or reddit. I really think most people didn't even notice it before.
I think albino aren't that popular at all, except for a couple of species. Like you said - the jaguar isn't uncommon and mentioned almost every time in albino/melanism topics.

Even other pigment mutations/disorders are barely a topic in the last couple of months. In the beginning when they found the first albinos - it was a big thing.
Maybe just a temporarily hype caused by the discovery?

But like I said, they should improve on albino breeding in sandbox. Features in all modes should react the same and breeding albinos in Franchise is easier.

I don't think we're at odds here. I'm getting the impression we're talking about two different things.

Anyway, there was an enduring thread that was around since launch talking about the difficulty of finding albinos in Sandbox (asking if it was even possible). It hung around for a while, died off, then, as you say, with the SA Pack it sprung up again along with a bunch of other threads (I attribute this to the black jaguar). However, as I mentioned upthread, Bo said she has passed on our feedback on the subject to the developers, so I'm sure we'll see something implemented in the near future.

In terms of breeding, as a Sandbox player, it doesn't worry me too much. Personally I don't believe purposefully breeding albino or leucistic animals is ethical, as when it occurs in real life it's usually done through inbreeding and for an entertainment factor, and it contributes nothing to conservation. Black jaguars are a different story, as they occur relatively commonly in the wild, and the mutation is neither detrimental to the animal's survival or to its genetic diversity (in some populations it has been observed to be selected for, showing that it has an advantage in certain niches). Of course, in the context of a game, it's not the biggest deal in the world, though I'd prefer it if there was more educational material in-game on the subject.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Of course, in the context of a game, it's not the biggest deal in the world, though I'd prefer it if there was more educational material in-game on the subject.

Haha, I think the puppyfarm element & selling for big CC took first priority on this one.

To me, this suggestion also raises another questions for me: Is it even popular enough to add new market features for this? And how popular are different mutations at this moment? I know a bit off-topic but in the end: Is a search option necessary for something not that popular anymore?

I personally don't have that many albino animals anymore - it's pretty boring to have too many albino/white animals.
For the lion i stopped a long time ago because I like the normal ones a lot better.

 

[shirandhak]

You didn't hear/read on the sandbox-bug because before the update that added the possibility to turn off animal welfare in sandbox, it was nealy impossible to get one. And if you don't have one you can't try to breed with it. So nearly nobody knew that bug existed. As easy as that.

And leaving out the ethical discussion: I think the chances of breeding (meaning genetical if you got a special coloured parent, not by chance) should be the same, regardless of the game-mode.

 

[NZFanatic]

Haha, I think the puppyfarm element & selling for big CC took first priority on this one.

To me, this suggestion also raises another questions for me: Is it even popular enough to add new market features for this? And how popular are different mutations at this moment? I know a bit off-topic but in the end: Is a search option necessary for something not that popular anymore?

I personally don't have that many albino animals anymore - it's pretty boring to have too many albino/white animals.
For the lion i stopped a long time ago because I like the normal ones a lot better.

Yeah I don't think a search function is necessary, but I'd still like the ability in Sandbox to be able to just...pick one, if you know what I mean. Personally I wouldn't even use them all that much, except the black jaguar (and I have been tempted to try and get a white tiger as well, even if I don't breed it).

I also worry that Frontier's answer to this would be to make albinos/mutations appear more frequently by chance, which isn't something I want at all. I'd rather not have every other offspring come out white.

And leaving out the ethical discussion: I think the chances of breeding (meaning genetical if you got a special coloured parent, not by chance) should be the same, regardless of the game-mode.

I'm not disagreeing with that, I'm just saying that it doesn't bother me either way.

 

[Atiggerx33]

I don't think we're at odds here. I'm getting the impression we're talking about two different things.

Anyway, there was an enduring thread that was around since launch talking about the difficulty of finding albinos in Sandbox (asking if it was even possible). It hung around for a while, died off, then, as you say, with the SA Pack it sprung up again along with a bunch of other threads (I attribute this to the black jaguar). However, as I mentioned upthread, Bo said she has passed on our feedback on the subject to the developers, so I'm sure we'll see something implemented in the near future.

In terms of breeding, as a Sandbox player, it doesn't worry me too much. Personally I don't believe purposefully breeding albino or leucistic animals is ethical, as when it occurs in real life it's usually done through inbreeding and for an entertainment factor, and it contributes nothing to conservation. Black jaguars are a different story, as they occur relatively commonly in the wild, and the mutation is neither detrimental to the animal's survival or to its genetic diversity (in some populations it has been observed to be selected for, showing that it has an advantage in certain niches). Of course, in the context of a game, it's not the biggest deal in the world, though I'd prefer it if there was more educational material in-game on the subject.

I'm sincerely hoping that one of the things the PZ developers do is to open up more than one alternate color slot per animal. Either give each animal 30 color "slots" or give modders the ability to easily add additional slots themselves. I'm not even asking the PZ team to make 30 recolors per animal, that'd be absolutely nuts, and I'd rather they be spending their time giving us new animals than giving us 30 wolf recolors. Modders however... How much you wanna bet that give it maybe a week or so and some wonderful modder would fill all 30 color slots for wolves? Giving us every shade from black to white to brown to blond to reddish? It would definitely take the game to the next level IMO. And AFAIK it wouldn't be too much work for the devs, I don't know how color "slots" are added to animals, but is it really difficult to add more slots to each animal? I'm not even suggesting they use said slots! Just give us "empty" ones and let modders do the work.

 

[NZFanatic]

I'm sincerely hoping that one of the things the PZ developers do is to open up more than one alternate color slot per animal. Either give each animal 30 color "slots" or give modders the ability to easily add additional slots themselves. I'm not even asking the PZ team to make 30 recolors per animal, that'd be absolutely nuts, and I'd rather they be spending their time giving us new animals than giving us 30 wolf recolors. Modders however... How much you wanna bet that give it maybe a week or so and some wonderful modder would fill all 30 color slots for wolves? Giving us every shade from black to white to brown to blond to reddish? It would definitely take the game to the next level IMO. And AFAIK it wouldn't be too much work for the devs, I don't know how color "slots" are added to animals, but is it really difficult to add more slots to each animal? I'm not even suggesting they use said slots! Just give us "empty" ones and let modders do the work.

Frontier is currently working on adding more variation to animal skins, and it is apparently a gargantuan task. I wouldn't trust modders to do it as there's no quality control. I don't know much about game development, so I can't speak for the details, but if Frontier is saying it's difficult and time-consuming, then I believe them - at least we have it to look forward to in the future.

As for the wolf, there's variation across subspecies, but less variation within them. The 'white' variant, for example, is already covered in the Arctic wolf. Eurasian wolves tend towards more grayish/brown/grizzled colouration, and North American subspecies tend towards reddish colours to black. There's more room for variation in the timber wolf in-game, since it's just a generic grey wolf and not a specific subspecies, but I don't think it needs to be as bombastic as you're describing.

 

[Atiggerx33]

Frontier is currently working on adding more variation to animal skins, and it is apparently a gargantuan task. I wouldn't trust modders to do it as there's no quality control. I don't know much about game development, so I can't speak for the details, but if Frontier is saying it's difficult and time-consuming, then I believe them - at least we have it to look forward to in the future.

As for the wolf, there's variation across subspecies, but less variation within them. The 'white' variant, for example, is already covered in the Arctic wolf. Eurasian wolves tend towards more grayish/brown/grizzled colouration, and North American subspecies tend towards reddish colours to black. There's more room for variation in the timber wolf in-game, since it's just a generic grey wolf and not a specific subspecies, but I don't think it needs to be as bombastic as you're describing.

You may be surprised with the quality of mods that are released. Just look at the quagga on Nexus (replaces the zebra albino). There are also current mods out that replace animal skins and some honestly look better, and more realistic, than the official skins. Sure some modders aren't the best, not everyone can be phenomenal but considering most mods show pictures of the animals before you download you'd know exactly what you were getting beforehand! With a lot of games, I have seen mods that were 100x better and more detailed than the stuff the actual developers made! The reasoning being the developers had a limited time to get their job done on that animal, modders have unlimited time, they're willing to spend 12 hours to get each color just right, and there are thousands of them working on independent projects so you'd see 10+ modders release wolf color packs of varying quality and shades and get to pick which one you personally liked best. I love the modding communities that surround many games. Just look at the mods for Skyrim, some of them are just silly but some are downright breathtaking; I personally tend to ignore the silly and focus on the phenomenal.

For the wolf colors I'm not just saying they should be a specific color so much as varied colors like, let's say we were just talking gray wolves, instead of just medium gray modders would add in 10 shades of lighter gray and 10 shades of darker gray; they're not really genetic morphs but rather just normal and realistic color variation. You don't look at a pack of wolves and say "wow they're all an exact identical color!" there is always some variation, even if slight. Or something like zebras, sure there's the melanistic zebra, but I'm talking stuff like that, plus 29 different striping patterns; IRL every zebra is unique with its stripes, and sure PZ developers can't give us infinite zebras (well maybe one day they could do animal coats procedurally generated in PZ2 or something) but they could give us 30 and that would at least make our herds look more real.

 

[shirandhak]

One of the problems with mods is that they are possilbly in a language which isn't the language you are playing. And then everything gets mixed up.

So I'm gladly waiting for Frontier to get things set up properly.

 

[Atiggerx33]

One of the problems with mods is that they are possilbly in a language which isn't the language you are playing. And then everything gets mixed up.

So I'm gladly waiting for Frontier to get things set up properly.

In some cases (like with new species, which would require a new zoopedia entry) that would definitely be an issue. But adding different colors to animals? What in-game text could possibly be needed for that? And some of the modders I've seen that are doing animals with zoopedia pages even included it in various languages! Modders are pretty awesome.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Not discrediting modders but in general I think a lot of mods are poor quality or have no/poor support.
A couple stand out but those are passion projects from a modder.

The only game I use mods for (atm) is Ark, with a very current problem: 1 mod will be updated today that will likely cause major losses for several thousand players.
Allowing mods in PZ will create a lot of new problems. Game crashes/losing entire progress/messing up your game after an official update or a mod update.

People will blame Frontier for their game being messed up because they are using mods (seen this countless times).

For PZ: I think some of the remastered textures and other mods are not an improvement over the in-game models. (could be some poor screenshots)
Some like the Quagga are really good - but replacing current animals are not viable options for a lot of players.

Mod support after the game doesn't receive anymore official updates/support - yes.
I used to play SWTOR2, early 2000s game and modders created multiple fixes/entirely new storylines, new features, graphics updates. (out of all mods only a handfull are good enough to be compatible with multiple mods)
The only issue that might occur is using conflicting mods (you'll need to read the mod notes), official game-support ended +15 years ago.

So I'm gladly waiting for Frontier to get things set up properly

Same here. The only thing we can do is give suggestions and hope someday they will use it (if it's a good suggestion)
I think it's step-by-step process. Could be a future update that creates a different solution to some issues.

Personally don't see much added value with the suggestion. Someone mentioned they don't want any more options in the market because that would make the market even slower/more lag - which is a valid comment. Albinos are easy to spot in the (franchise) market and we don't have any other different mutations to make it a very usable option.