Similar Animals

[paul78]

We all want new animal rigs that require some advanced animations. Kangaroo,otter,penguins,etc. But we all know it’s inevitable to also get some similar animals as well. For example there’s two tiger subspecies in game would people be ok with a Malayan or Sumatran? If you could choose five similar animals to be in game what would they be? For me in no particular order :
Asiatic lion simply because their pretty rare in most zoos and in the wild.
Dromedary Camel just because it’s nice to have the option.
White or black rhino their simply iconic.
Emu although different it would probably use ostrich animations somewhat.
Sumatran Tiger beautiful animals plus super endangered.

 

[FoxyDee]

I am only for it if the animals differ visually quite alot. I would not want another tiger, simply because it is basically the same. Yes there are differences but they are not that big for me to want it in game.

My 5 animals that could use existing rigs would be:
Malayan tapir
Jaguar
Przewalski’s wild horse
Takin
Moose

 

[NL_Mutso]

Black rhino
Malayan Tapir
Alligator
Dromedary Camel (need more desert animals)
Cassowary

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

These are five animals or types of animal that I would like to see made from existing animals in Planet Zoo:

Coyote or golden jackal: Both of these species are very similar in appearance to the timber wolf but are noticeably smaller. I would personally choose the golden jackal, if I had the choice.

Kiang: A large wild equine from the Himalayas and Tibet. It is very similar in shape and behaviour to the plains zebra and would mostly need adjustments in physical appearance and size (being slightly bigger than the zebra).

Ocellated turkey: I know I've brought up this bird a ton of times, but not only would it be a beautiful addition to the bird roster and another Central/South American species but it would also be able to use the same animations as the Indian peafowl.

More crocodilians: Because specialist crocodilian zoos are actually quite widespread, these could be especially important. An American alligator and a Central/South American crocodile could be made from the saltwater while an African slender-snouted crocodile could be made from a gharial.

African spurred tortoise: Easily the most common large tortoise in captivity. Would need some tweaking of shell shape and scale texture on the legs but otherwise could come from either giant tortoise species.

 

[avietar]

I'd be okay with dromedary camel and white or black rhinos, and emus are fine as well Sumatran tigers are pretty cool, my local zoos have them instead of Bengal or Siberian tigers so I was always under the impression that Sumatrans were more common.
I'd take the Asiatic cheetah over the Asiatic lion though, because to me they are quite visually distinct from African cheetahs.

Behold the fluffy Asiatic cheetah vs the sleek African cheetah.

When I google Asiatic lion and West African lion they look really similar. I guess I don't really care for the look of the current west African lion too much. I'd much rather have a patch that gives lions (and most other animals) some much needed phenotypic diversity, like different colored manes and coat shade.

 

[paul78]

Asiatic cheetahs are really nice too. I like how they have the long fur in the back of their neck. I live in Michigan and we have Siberian tigers in our zoo. Must be the climate as the warmer southern states usually have the Sumatran. Yeah the mane variations would be nice that’s why if they did a asiatic lion I hope they’d give him a little mane although in zoos their mane seems to grow fuller.

 

[VioletGrey]

I don't want animals that use the same rig unless they look very different. I was happy with the gorgeous arctic wolves because they look quite different from the timber wolves.
I'm happy with different antelope species, because so many of them look quite different from one another.
I'd love to have a jaguar or leopard some day. It's ok that they'd use lion animations.

 

[paul78]

Yeah I would of chose jaguar and leopard but I figured we’d get one of them for sure. I should have been more clear lol. I guess what I’m asking some people is like the grizzly and Himalayan brown bear situation in some ways. Me I’d be open to at least the asiatic lion in that situation. I could live with a Sumatran tiger.

 

[paul78]

although very similar to other tigers I love the ruff on these guys. The choices on here are all pretty good tho. If I had to choose a scenario like the two brown bears and tigers in game I could definitely live with the asiatic cheetah as well. Malayan tapir also seems to be a heavily requested animal. I believe we could get at least two more very similar animals just because of the ease of making them. The rest on here are just different enough in looks anyway that I don’t think most people would mind like a white rhino compared to the Indian for example.

 

[markun]

I’d like to see a Sumatran tiger too.

Also:

White rhino (I think both black and white are highly likely).

Andean bear

Emu

Malayan tapir

 

[paul78]

The game already has four bears excluding the panda but I agree Andean bear would be great. I might also go for either a sloth or sun bear if the Andean bear didn’t make it . All three are pretty unique to the current roster.

 

[markun]

The game already has four bears excluding the panda but I agree Andean bear would be great. I might also go for either a sloth or sun bear if the Andean bear didn’t make it . All three are pretty unique to the current roster.

But isn’t the point of the thread to pick animals similar to ones already existing in the game? That’s why I picked a bear. But regardless due to the lack (I’m guessing this will be addressed in future DLC) of South American animals I think it would be a great addition to the game.

 

[paul78]

I agree if we had to get another bear I know there were youtubers saying American black bear. But I’m ok with the Formosan bear. But yeah hands down the Andean bear. That’s definitely be my first choice followed by the sun bear then sloth bear.

 

[markun]

I’d also like a Brazilian/lowland/South American tapir as they are very common in smaller zoos and are more often found in European zoos than Baird’s tapirs which are rarely seen in Europe.

 

[paul78]

@markun I’m sorry your right that is the point of the thread for sure. I was just implying that some people may say four is enough as some people seemed to criticize the polar bear for being a edited version of existing bears. But I wouldn’t mind a couple more bears.

 

[markun]

I don’t like to speculate about why people play the game or what they know about animals but it seems some are just happy to have a bear, any bear.

But I don’t think anyone who is knowledgeable or really interested in zoos and animals would say “oh we don’t need a polar bear because we already have a bear”.

I thought the Himalayan brown bear was quite frankly a bizarre choice but I’d love to get more bears. Andean as I said for a South American choice and because they are really cute and you could make really cool enclosures like the one at Zürich for example. And sun bears would be appropriate for tropical zoos and they are often the only bear species kept in Australian and New Zealand zoos. So for me, the more the better whilst hoping for more diversity too.

 

[Indoraptor27]

Dingo- Timber Wolf
Guinea Fowl- Indian Peafowl
Asiatic Cheetah- African Cheetah
Emu- Ostrich
Red Wolf- Gray Wolf
Cougar/Panther/Mountain Lion- Lion or Tiger
Forest Elephant- African and Indian Elephants
American Elk- Reindeer or Pronghorn
Rhea- Ostrich
Island Fox- Timber Wolf*



*These guys would take some adapting from the original rig, but out of all the adorable foxes, they are probably the best. Google them and you won't be disappointed.

 

[NZFanatic]

Sumatran tiger is at the top of my list. I can guess that they went with the Bengal because it's the "zoo game tiger", but I honestly can't think of a zoo that has them. Every zoo I've been to at least (and that is a lot) either has the Sumatran or Siberian, or rarely the Malayan. I would have been much happier with the Sumatran to begin with - the smallest subspecies and the largest (Siberian).

I would also like the Malayan sun bear, the southern white rhinoceros, the addax, and perhaps the barbary macaque (or barbary ape, if you prefer that name for it), to make five.

Of course, given that the Bactrian camel was based off of the zebra rig (or so I heard), I think we can get pretty diverse even while sticking to the current rigs. Certain animals would probably require something new (kangaroos, as you say), but most animals wouldn't.

Just so everyone is clear, a rig is just a digital skeleton of sorts. It's the 'frame' of the animal. It can be manipulated into many shapes. They use existing rigs to create new animals because it cuts down on the time needed to make the new animal, but they don't necessarily have to apply the same animations (the polar bear has several new animations despite being a retooled bear rig, for example).

 

[deinonychus110]

It can be either bad or good. It isn't always bad, but not always good either. Look at how similar the springbok and Thomson's gazelle look. But at the same time, look at how different the red ruffed lemur and ring tailed lemur are. I won't mind them reusing existing rigs but just as long as the animals aren't way too similar (I mean, a lay person should be able to tell them apart. Really minor differences like the ones between the tigers and brown bears don't count)

 

[NZFanatic]

It can be either bad or good. It isn't always bad, but not always good either. Look at how similar the springbok and Thomson's gazelle look. But at the same time, look at how different the red ruffed lemur and ring tailed lemur are. I won't mind them reusing existing rigs but just as long as the animals aren't way too similar (I mean, a lay person should be able to tell them apart. Really minor differences like the ones between the tigers and brown bears don't count)

I usually give the tigers a pass because of how diverse the subpopulations are, and how diverse the captive populations are, but I agree about the brown bears. I can't fathom why they would have gone with the Himalayan brown bear - if they wanted to re-use the bear rig, including the polar bear from the start might have been a good idea (and maybe it wouldn't have been such a debacle regarding its space requirements), or they could have added the spectacled bear for another South American species, or the sloth bear or sun bear as well. The latter is an especially good choice, given it would have relatively high climbing requirements compared to the other bears as well as a unique look, plus it has become quite a common feature in many zoos.