We Shouldn't be Bound to Animals Only Found in Zoos

[Mjmannella]

Browsing the forums has shown me that there are certainly groups of people who want a lot of atypical animals in Planet Zoo. From whales and the recently extinct, to cryptids and the not-so recently extinct. Often is the case is that these unorthodox wishes are smothered with people saying "it's unrealistic", or a likewise phrase.

So I raise this question: who cares? Video games are a pillar of human escapism, let us have the freedom to want things beyond what's in zoos. Why should those who want bigfoot and Triceratops put up with refusal for those who aren't forced to use these things? The current roster for Planet Zoo already allows for beautiful and realistic zoos, why not let the less realism-grounded fans have their fun?

If there's a demand for something, people should be vocal about it. So I'm encouraging people to be vocal about things they want, free from the restrictions of realism.

 

[Pteronura]

Realism is important in a simulation game.

 

[YannHom]

So I raise this question: who cares? Video games are a pillar of human escapism, let us have the freedom to want things beyond what's in zoos.

Well then the game shouldn't probably be advertised as "conservation and realism focused."

Why should those who want bigfoot and Triceratops

Bigfoot - Himalayan brown bear
Triceratops - JWE

If there's a demand for something, people should be vocal about it

They were somehow restricted by now?

 

[NL_Mutso]

Well then the game shouldn't probably be advertised as "conservation and realism focused."

Bigfoot - Himalayan brown bear
Triceratops - JWE

They were somehow restricted by now?

I agree with this post.

Realism was a big selling point for this game. Adding the animals mentioned above, would take that game-element away. For a lot of people.

So basically, who cares? Apparently a lot of people...

I do agree with 'when you want something, be vocal about it', but people are also vocal about not having these features.

Also when a developer spends time on features like that, that means they won't have the time/resources to focus on other wishes/requests.
We sure got a lot of wishes from players, when it comes to animals, which fit the selling point 'realism'

Asking for dinos is just silly, people should buy/play JWE...

 

[VioletGrey]

Here come the parade of people who want to yell at you for wanting something they don't want. It happens with every game.

Personally, I thought having dinosaurs was great fun in Zoo Tycoon 2. For Planet Zoo I think they should do several packs with modern/realistic zoo animals first, but in a few years it would be fun to have an optional DLC with cryptids or extinct animals.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Tbh if you start a topic with such a tone, you can expect criticism..

A lot of people waited many years for a new zoo/animal management game, some are very passionate about it.
So you can expect passionate answers in those previous (linked) topics in OP...

I've already seen way too many topics about demanding/wishing for certain animals..
Personally I think if you are this passionate about certain animals, you should buy the game when all features/animals are known.
If the game doesn't meet with your specific demands, don't buy it.

 

[Mjmannella]

Well then the game shouldn't probably be advertised as "conservation and realism focused."


Bigfoot - Himalayan brown bear
Triceratops - JWE


They were somehow restricted by now?

"Conservation" and "realism" are nothing short of base-game marketing tactics. These are easily expendable and can be set aside when it comes to DLC.

Bears aren't apes, and telling people to go play other games isn't a good way to build up a community.

Restricted by people always coming down on them, subtly shunning them for their wishes.

 

[Silhouette]

Pst. Hey guys: if you don't want that stuff in your game, then don't buy it.

I don't understand why this is such a difficult thing for people to understand. If Frontier chooses to make an extinction DLC, then who cares? No one's forcing you to buy that pack, and in turn people that want to have that in their game now have the option.

Don't understand why people get upset over something they literally have the choice of buying or not. If it's patched into the game then yes I can understand being against something. But when you literally can choose not to... Then why get upset at someone for wanting something different?

Also the fact it's up to Frontier on what DLC to make

 

[Planet Steve]

I get both sides of this argument. But would a good compromise be that if any future DL is focused around extinct or mythical creatures simply not be available in online franchise mode?

 

[Joe99]

to be fair there are already animals in game that are not often held in zoos like the Lesser Antillean iguana, and controversial animals like Elephants, big cats, great apes are in the game, so in my opinion, having Orcas and other cetaceans in the game its really up to the devs, tho i think people are really making more of an issue of having animals like that in a video game.

i feel that dinosaurs might be a bit much, since we have so many more dinosaurs park builders, but having whales, recently extinct animals like dodos and mammoths, and Crypids are really not the end of the world

there are still a lot more cool animals that should be added before this is even considered

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

Frontier has stated they have zero intention of adding fantasy creatures or other mythical animals.

Their focus is on living animals, and honestly, there are so many different species that most people don’t know exist.

Wishes are fine but honestly, more people want real animals, birds, marine animals ect than fake creatures.


This isn’t zoo tycoon. Can people seriously please stop comparing them?

 

[Silhouette]

This isn’t zoo tycoon. Can people seriously please stop comparing them?

Frontier themselves said PZ is a spiritual successor to Zoo Tycoon AND they had even made their own game before called Zoo Tycoon. It's kind of a given people are going to compare both games. Actually it's a given in the entire games industry that as soon as you make a game similar to another, people will compare

But regardless there's no harm in people talking about what they hope for. In the end it's Frontier's decision. Everyone wanted marine animals in JWE and never got it, so it's not like people are expecting Frontier to do everything they ask for.

So if people want extinct animals on their wishlist, then let them. It's literally not hurting anyone.

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

^ That in no way indicates they are trying to follow in zoo tycoons footsteps? It implies they want they same kind of interest and freedom to create what you want.

And actually the Xbox game isn’t just Frontier, Microsoft had the major say in that game...

Microsoft, the same company who worked on zoo tycoon 2

 

[Lelka]

We aren't bound to, but dev's priority should be.

 

[Silhouette]

^ That in no way indicates they are trying to follow in zoo tycoons footsteps? It implies they want they same kind of interest and freedom to create what you want.

And actually the Xbox game isn’t just Frontier, Microsoft had the major say in that game...

Microsoft, the same company who worked on zoo tycoon 2

I never said they were trying to follow in ZT's footsteps. You said people should stop comparing them, and I'm saying it's not unreasonable for people to compare the games. That's just how the game industry works. For example any theme park game you play you're going to find similarities between them, and you're going to find people comparing them.

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

Fair, but at the same time, zoo tycoon never strived for as much realism, it was an amazing game, but it’s main goal was just to entertain, and it did a great job, wit a little learning along the way

 

[VetGirl330]

Frontier has already shown that they are not overly constrained by the vagaries of realism in some of the inexplicable animal choices that have included in the base game. For example the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, and extremely rare in captivity. As far as I know it is not held in any collections outside of its native range. I find it a truly bizarre choice for the base game when they are literally dozens of other bear species/subspecies commonly found in zoos that they could have chosen from. For those players advocating for recently extinct species, this species and several others that have been included will likely soon be on that list.
The same problem exists with the Formosan black bear, not only did they choose an extremely rare, little known subspecies, but it is so obscure for me it takes the fun out of using it in a zoo. Many people myself included, want to create realistic zoos, down to the species that we have to choose from. On a similar note the Bengal tiger, despite being well known is not kept in captivity, outside of India. That's right chances are you have never seen a purebred Bengal tiger in a zoo.

 

[Silhouette]

Frontier has already shown that they are not overly constrained by the vagaries of realism in some of the inexplicable animal choices that have included in the base game. For example the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, and extremely rare in captivity. As far as I know it is not held in any collections outside of its native range. I find it a truly bizarre choice for the base game when they are literally dozens of other bear species/subspecies commonly found in zoos that they could have chosen from. For those players advocating for recently extinct species, this species and several others that have been included will likely soon be on that list.
The same problem exists with the Formosan black bear, not only did they choose an extremely rare, little known subspecies, but it is so obscure for me it takes the fun out of using it in a zoo. Many people myself included, want to create realistic zoos, down to the species that we have to choose from. On a similar note the Bengal tiger, despite being well known is not kept in captivity, outside of India. That's right chances are you have never seen a purebred Bengal tiger in a zoo.

I don't mind the Bengal tiger being in the game because it's a recognized species most people know about. But I agree, I got a bit of a whiplash from their bear choices. Feels a lot like they chose their most obscure species from their Zoo Tycoon to put in the game.

I'd much rather see the American black bear, and if they wanted another brown bear, I'd rather see the Kodiak bear... But moreso Sun or Sloth bear.

 

[Whats0There]

Also when a developer spends time on features like that, that means they won't have the time/resources to focus on other wishes/requests.

This, right here, is the real argument, the only serious point everybody needs to take into account. These discussions are a competition for a limited, valuable and rare resource: Frontier. All the time and effort Frontier spends on dinosaurs, bigfoots and dragons are not spent on aviaries, maritime animals and Planet Zoo 2 and vice versa. It's a little sad, but it's largely a zero sum game.

 

[Silhouette]

This, right here, is the real argument, the only serious point everybody needs to take into account. These discussions are a competition for a limited, valuable and rare resource: Frontier. All the time and effort Frontier spends on dinosaurs, bigfoots and dragons are not spent on aviaries, maritime animals and Planet Zoo 2 and vice versa. It's a little sad, but it's largely a zero sum game.

Except that it's extremely common to have multiple teams within a company work on different things. One team would be focusing on bug fixing and QA, one would work on 'x' DLC, one would work on PZ2, etc. Unless it's a small company, which frontier is not, the entirety of the company's resources would not be pooled into one thing at a given time.