🐼 Update 1.1.4 is now live!

[Jileha]

I think part of the problem, though, is that the game forces you to go overboard with guest facilities. Most real zoos have what, two, three eating areas, located in key areas around the zoo? Planet Zoo requires food/drink stalls at just about every corner to keep people happy. People go to the zoo to see animals. [...]

This might be a cultural difference. Here in the US, at least my local zoo and safari park (San Diego) have lots of food/drink places throughout their parks, several restaurants and lots of smaller food courts or carts. One tends to not consciously register all these shops, but once you pay attention to them, they’re practically everywhere. The San Diego Zoo has 19 “dining” options (as they call it) plus 11 gift shops of various sizes. The Safari Park has 17 dining places and 9 gift shops. They are another way to help support the zoos.

Here’s an interesting article. Some zoos basically have to add more food courts and rides to increase their income, so in this regard, PZ is rather realistic.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-zoos-wont-tell-you-1306528026434

Size of the zoo and climate could also play a role. As in PZ, if it’s hot, people get thirsty; if the zoo covers a large area they get tired and need a rest - so why not have something to eat in the shade?

Also, here in the US, people in general tend to eat out much more frequently than in Germany, for instance - at least that was the case when I lived there many years ago. People tend to bring their own food and drinks, whereas in the US, more poeple just buy lunch and/or snacks.

So I personally don’t find the need to place so many food/drink shops that strange or exaggerated.

 

[Annageckos]

This might be a cultural difference. Here in the US, at least my local zoo and safari park (San Diego) have lots of food/drink places throughout their parks, several restaurants and lots of smaller food courts or carts. One tends to not consciously register all these shops, but once you pay attention to them, they’re practically everywhere. The San Diego Zoo has 19 “dining” options (as they call it) plus 11 gift shops of various sizes. The Safari Park has 17 dining places and 9 gift shops. They are another way to help support the zoos.

Here’s an interesting article. Some zoos basically have to add more food courts and rides to increase their income, so in this regard, PZ is rather realistic.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-zoos-wont-tell-you-1306528026434

Size of the zoo and climate could also play a role. As in PZ, if it’s hot, people get thirsty; if the zoo covers a large area they get tired and need a rest - so why not have something to eat in the shade?

Also, here in the US, people in general tend to eat out much more frequently than in Germany, for instance - at least that was the case when I lived there many years ago. People tend to bring their own food and drinks, whereas in the US, more poeple just buy lunch and/or snacks.

So I personally don’t find the need to place so many food/drink shops that strange or exaggerated.

Maybe its more of a west coast thing then, because the zoos I've been to on the east coast don't have that many food court areas. One large area and maybe one or two smaller areas.

 

[ShadowLilly]

This might be a cultural difference.

I guess so, the zoo'n in my area are very big, have 2 or 3 resaurants, 3 to 5 small drink shops and 3 giftshops... so to me it doesnt make any sense to place 10 food/drink shops and 3 gift shops near 3 small habitats, and the guests still complain about hunger/thirst/not being able to buy something at the giftshops :/

 

[dinopilot]

San Diego is a world class large zoo. Like top tier.


My local Woodland Park zoo is much smaller and only has 2 food courts and a few rolling food trucks when there is more traffic. It's a medium sized zoo.

National Zoo has I think four food courts but it is bigger. Smaller than San Diego though, there's not any more land for it to buy around it.

I love San Diego. Wish I could visit again. Curse you plane ticket prices.

What I am saying is San Diego is a goal to emulate, but one shouldn't be punished for being lesser. One should be rewarded with more stars and guests for reaching it. Carrots not sticks.

 

[Klinn]

Thanks for the update, much appreciated!

Update Notes

• Fixed duplicating scenery and buildings using duplicate and advanced move.

Sorry, but I'm a bit confused by this item. Isn't the point of using duplicate to duplicate something? Were the duplicates being doubly duplicated? I haven't noticed any issues with those commands so a clearer explanation would be appreciated.

 

[NZFanatic]

This might be a cultural difference. Here in the US, at least my local zoo and safari park (San Diego)

I've been so San Diego Zoo, and San Diego Safari Park. They are in a league of their own - that is to say, they are the exception, not the rule.

What I mean is, choosing the world's number one zoo as the object of your imitation is fine, but using it as the only example is not. Because there are thousands of top-tier zoos out there that are nothing like San Diego. Singapore Zoo doesn't have as many eateries, and for me, more "locally" (used loosely - it's in another city and it's not that easy to travel domestically here) Auckland Zoo only has two (and it's comparable to a lot of bigger zoos around the world, easily), plus a function room (which doesn't count, as it needs to be rented out on special occasions, such as for weddings).

 

[Lea_G]

Sounds awesome, thank you! Can't wait to play on the weekend

 

[NL_Mutso]

A lot of people have suggested unhappy visitors should lead to less visitor traffic in the future rather than immediate financial penalties, which makes a lot of sense - I can't get a refund from a zoo, but I can definitely tell everyone I know to avoid it in the future.

I think that's a bad idea.. At least when they visit you know what's wrong, if they stay away - you don't know why.
Money-wise it doesn't make a difference, you will still lose money. Immediate hits are fixable within a year, but less income can be trickier for some players.
At least with refunds you can try to figure out what went wrong. If an animal escaped and you had to pay many refunds - there's isnt much to fix (just bad luck)
They just need to tweak refunds, sometimes it's a bit harsh. But people losing their zoo because of refunds, most likely will encounter problems again when they activate it again after reviewing/adjusting it.

1 example: A few years ago our local zoo moved to a different location and made some major differences in their zoo. Less animals and more attractions/rides. The overwhelming majority didn't like this, complained about this and told other people to avoid this. Even when they slightly improved this afer a while, people didn't return or visited. Our local zoo doesn't know how to fix this (I know a current employee and a former one)
I don't think any advertisement can compensate for bad word of mouth. The visitors who avoid the zoo, are a big question mark. They don't/can't complain - they just simply avoid it without info.
They are losing millions per year and the municipality has to cover a lot of their debts.
I know this is a bit extreme example and you can tweak it in a game but going with realism - it's bankruptcy.

Tbh, I'm pretty sure that everybody claiming they can't get a refund - never tried getting a refund IRL.
I don't think you are able to do this for an invalid reason, like too much trash or waiting too long in line for a shop/ride .
If you contact the zoo and tell them that your visit was a very unpleasant one with valid reasons, chances are that you will receive a discount for your next visit.
And in some worse situations - a refund could be discussed.
A lot of people don't send their complaints/give feedback to a company but you'd be surprised what you achieve what you do.
I know some people don't bother to complain/give feedback IRL but have no problems to do this on a forum.

Maybe refund for some issues isn't the correct word but compensation is more accurate.
Reducing refunds takes some effort but it's not that difficult. They just need to tweak it more.

Dangerous animal escaping their habitat or not able to see any animals for multiple habitats = refund.
But annoyances, like broken screens/trash/waiting in line shouldn't be.

 

[VioletGrey]

These are nice changes, but what about the issue of animals starving all the time? Will there be any changes that will make this less likely to happen?

 

[Paul_Crowther]

These are nice changes, but what about the issue of animals starving all the time? Will there be any changes that will make this less likely to happen?

This guide contains a heap of information on how to ensure your Keepers keep your animals fed but if you are 100% sure you are doing everything possible to help your Keepers complete their tasks then do please email your saved game to community@frontier.co.uk so we can pass it on to our developers to investigate.

 

[wowman]

THX mostly for the no protesters in sandbox mode!!!! the animal boxing will also be a great help especially in sandbox mode for me. SWEET!!!

 

[FoxyDee]

Thank you for another great fixes, keep up the good work!

 

[Orcakat93]

Woohoo! Thank you! The game is playable for me again- no more randomly boxed animals and hemorrhaging refunds! I can finally play and fix my problems without getting punished.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[DrAkula87]

Thank you for this patch! After a 2 month hiatus it finally allowed me to play again! I really missed my franchise zoo.

 

[avietar]

Protesters gone from sandbox! That's an option I'd like to be able to toggle on/off! Hopefully in the next update? It would be great if you could try to make your animals happy (so without turning welfare off) without having to worry about protesters.
For now though, I'm very pleased that protesters won't spawn when animal welfare is turned off, so thank you

The boxing fix is a nice welcome too!