What did you do in Planet Zoo today?

[PeppyPepp]

I haven't been playing much lately because I've been playing another game and that has eaten up my whole gaming time. Yesterday, I've gotten a little bit of a PZ tingle and I hopped back in.

I've moved away from my Pangea zoo for now, and have started a new zoo called Emerald zoo. Helping me pick the animals was the PZ random generator which I discovered recently. So I've rolled twice which means I've got two lists of animals. Then I combined them together, and picked the options I liked best. So, for example - for SA animal I rolled both caimans, but I picked the spectacled one because it's the newest and I haven't build for that one yet. The first list I got had 3 bears on it, and I really didn't feel like building for 3 bears. I've also tried to eliminate the animals for which I've build recently or have used them a lot.

My finished animal roster looks like this (and I've tried grouping them and the ideas I have for what the area around the animals will be):

Spoiler

Entrance:
Meerkat
Red Kangaroo
Fire Salamander

African restaurant:
Cheetah
Ussuri Dhole (I know it's not an African animal, but I'll make it work - and I've never build for these guys so excited for this one!)

Cold dome/house:
Arctic Fox
King Penguin

Aquatic area (with possible restaurant with the water gallery):
California Sea Lion - Aquatic area
Spectacled Caiman

Petting area:
Llama
Capybara
Galapagos Giant Tortoise
Bactrian Camel

Panda area:
Red Panda
Giant Panda

NA area (or something, I haven't decided yet what the theme around these two species will be):
Grizzly Bear
Cougar

I feel very inspired and excited about this project - one I hope to actually finish. I have, sort of, "definitive" list of animals which I have to build for. I think it's an interesting challenge. The style of buildings and habitats will be modern - I imagine it's a zoo with a lot of money and investors and therefor can afford the best. I plan on using a lot of plaster, sort of as a base for pretty much everything, and then sprinkling some theming on it, depending on the area.

I started with the first entrance animal, the meerkat. The habitat itself is still pretty barren, so I'll work on that probably today. Just consider this whole thing a WIP. Maaaan, I don't know how these Youtubers do it. It took me at least two hours yesterday just for this tiny habitat.

Spoiler

 

[Swiftie_Midnights_]

Hi Everyone, hope all feel well! so I have something to reveal to u, something I was working more then month! so get ready to met the next area in stelvio park zoo!
Wetlands World Discovery

I so hope you liked what it looks like because I am very happy with the result so far! Inspired by Discovery Forest at Cincinnati Zoo. So for now there is only capybara in this structure (obviously it is my favorite animal from wetlands dlc lol) but there are going to be some more animals (one of them has a sneak peek maybe if you look closely at the pictures you can see) but this project took me a month like I said everything there I built Only the glass roof took me almost two weeks soon you will discover another animal that is going to be in wetlands world discovery so be prepared, wonderful day

 

[Aramar]

The next habitat in Bear Lake Park is for the moose:

 

[coralieleane]

My franchise zoo reached 100 in game years so I spent some time taking screenshots.

Spoiler: Pictures

Train ride

Crocs

Asia section with pandas, bengal and siberian tigers

I found this chap while paused to take a picture of something else... not sure if he's excited to see the elephants or practising ballet.

Safariland Habitat

Polar Bear viewing area

Lemur Walkthrough

Train station and queue area

 

[Cocolori]

My franchise zoo reached 100 in game years so I spent some time taking screenshots

This made me smile as it reminds me of my oldest and largest franchise zoo (see the pics). I haven't quite got your flair with some of your building work though, most of mine is borrowed straight from the workshop. I couldn't find a guest doing something so elegant when I paused it though.

 

[dinosaurchestra]

Today I did some landscaping and made a hummingbird feeder prop for my Sonoran desert pollinator garden area. I put the props on the workshop as well. It's not much, but I couldn't find one already made by someone else, and I'm pleased with how lifelike it looks. I'd like to try to make a hummingbird, too, but I don't think I can make one that's small enough with the pieces available in-game, so I may just have to be content with the feeders. I did use some of Drac's lovely butterflies and moths to bring some life to the garden, too.

 

[SallinDaemon]

I've been working on several versions of a zoo with the same theme, and I keep running into walls about how to work out where to put everything in relation to all the other things, so I decided to start it again a few days ago, but this time I'm just going to put habitats down wherever and let it grow more organically as I complete areas.

The idea is a zoo full of only African animals, divided into zones based on what biomes they prefer. I think I've been too focused on how all the habitats need to be arranged just so instead of, like, what the habitats actually look like. But no more!

So far it's been going great! I feel a lot more confident with my habitat designs when I'm not worrying so much about keeping to such a precise plan. I've fully completed two habitats - one for Gorillas and the other one is a mix of Chimps and Bonobos because their social groups on PZ are pretty small and I like it better when there's a lot of activity going on in a habitat, haha! And then I've got two lemur walkthrough habitats that still need the final decorating touch-ups, one with red-ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs, and the other with black-and-white-ruffed lemurs in with the Aldabra giant tortoises.
I'm actually trying to use a bunch of mixed habitats where I can in this zoo just for a bit of extra eye candy.

Today though, I've been working on this, the 'Jungle Pit' (which is currently unoccupied but I'll be sticking Okapi, Bongo and Mandrills in here) as I've been trying to play with more views that make use of different height elevations.

Still need to add climbing frames for the Mandrills, and foliage, but I'm really happy with how the little stream turned out!
Ooh, and the waterfall:

 

[markun]

I made a babirusa enclosure.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

While you all were making gorgeous habitats, i wasnt. But in the time i did play, i polished up some smaller stuff, putting in some more foliage here and there aswell as taking a bit more focus onto the out of habitat stuff. Sounds boring, kinda was, but hey now i got one kind of finished viewing spot, so hurray!

This spot being for the bison and prariedogs, with a now newly added sign that i totally did not spend allmost an hour on. I had the idear midway to try to turn it into a small exhibit for gardenlizards or something, but after it just really did not work out, i just made a simple sign instead. But hey, it looks good so i am happy. I try to have atleast one sign per species in my zoo, so now 3 of 8 are done, eventhough i propaply will make atleast one more bison sign.

I also got a question for you guys. Which one of these two fences looks better in your opinion? Just logs or logs with mesh and bamboo? I really couldnt decide so far, so i would love to hear some feedback!

Also as a little funfact, since the update the keepers seem to throw the animal crates a bit higher, with my bison now all spawning on the ceiling. They really do like to be tall, huh?

 

[Swjosdotschka]

@KönigDerKaffeebohnen Just logs look better - however, from a realism point of fiew, the chain link mesh has the pro of catching bigger chunks of garbage visitors might throw into the water, which would keep the bisons safer.

A lovley habitat either way!

 

[SalamAnders]

Today I did some landscaping and made a hummingbird feeder prop for my Sonoran desert pollinator garden area. I put the props on the workshop as well. It's not much, but I couldn't find one already made by someone else, and I'm pleased with how lifelike it looks. I'd like to try to make a hummingbird, too, but I don't think I can make one that's small enough with the pieces available in-game, so I may just have to be content with the feeders. I did use some of Drac's lovely butterflies and moths to bring some life to the garden, too.

View attachment 304726View attachment 304725

View attachment 304724

This is such a fun idea!

 

[markun]

I spent some time doing boring things like placing path edges. I also changed the barrier around the water buffalo pool to make it a bit more substantial.

 

[Fini]

I also got a question for you guys. Which one of these two fences looks better in your opinion? Just logs or logs with mesh and bamboo? I really couldnt decide so far, so i would love to hear some feedback!
View attachment 304787

I like both. Maybe you can combine the two?
The only thing I would change would be to take away the bamboo piece (and use a metal pole instead) and pull the fence down to the ground. (and for my personal taste: let the woodenpoles "age" in some way until just above the water surface, wood rots in the water)

 

[coralieleane]

This made me smile as it reminds me of my oldest and largest franchise zoo (see the pics). I haven't quite got your flair with some of your building work though, most of mine is borrowed straight from the workshop. I couldn't find a guest doing something so elegant when I paused it though.

The beginning of the zoo is pretty basic looking building wise (and I still mostly use the blueprints that came with the game for shops, toilets, staff facilities etc), the deeper in you go the better it looks as I’m still starting to get the hang of things. For the polar bears for instance I did manage that viewing gallery thing but the habitat itself is a horrible mess - I really struggled with the terrain and I think I had the barrier options all wrong. My gharial habitat I built yesterday
was a similar concept (ground level windows looking underwater, raised viewing area further round) but came out much more neatly.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I like both. Maybe you can combine the two?
The only thing I would change would be to take away the bamboo piece (and use a metal pole instead) and pull the fence down to the ground. (and for my personal taste: let the woodenpoles "age" in some way until just above the water surface, wood rots in the water)

Thats a cool idear, how would you do that? Maybe using underwater plants?

 

[dinosaurchestra]

This morning I made some posters in canva for the three planned "biome feature" sections of my current main sandbox zoo.

Only the African Delta is open to guests so far, so in my head these would be used as promotional material to tease the upcoming additions, decorate construction barriers in areas awaiting renovations and help raise interest and funds for the zoo's plans.

Spoiler: Screenshots

 

[dinosaurchestra]

Thats a cool idear, how would you do that? Maybe using underwater plants?

I think aquatic and marginal plants around the fence would look cool. If I were trying to do this, I might try one of the recolorable log/pole items (I think its in the African set? do we have flexcolor bamboo?) or two different logs of different colors but the same size changing at water level to get that look of wood that has been in water for some time, like pier or dock pilings. Pilings are also sometimes wrapped in a material to prevent damage, so that might also be an effect you could achieve. Kind of like this:


For what its worth I think they both look really nice, just the logs are a little more natural and rustic while the fence adds a visual line and more structure. Depends what you're going for!

 

[coatifan]

This morning I made some posters in canva for the three planned "biome feature" sections of my current main sandbox zoo.
View attachment 304940View attachment 304942View attachment 304943

Only the African Delta is open to guests so far, so in my head these would be used as promotional material to tease the upcoming additions, decorate construction barriers in areas awaiting renovations and help raise interest and funds for the zoo's plans.

Wow, those posters are absolutely beautiful!

My current project has been starting on the Islands building, but with so few Oceanian species it's been pretty difficult to make it feel filled-out. Planning on maybe just pausing additions to that section of the zoo until I have major inspiration or we have another DLC. In the meantime, I think I'm gonna renovate/remove the pygmy hippo habitat and switch the lower part of my African Trail into a children's zoo called "Congo Base Camp," featuring, unfortunately, mostly implied habitats until we get red river hogs, another African monkey, and maybe some African domestics (Watusi cattle and Nigerian Dwarf goats).

 

[GGG2021]

I started work on Monterey Bay Aquarium again - doing decals, hand railing, rocks and other architectural detail . . .

 

[Fini]

I think aquatic and marginal plants around the fence would look cool. If I were trying to do this, I might try one of the recolorable log/pole items (I think its in the African set? do we have flexcolor bamboo?) or two different logs of different colors but the same size changing at water level to get that look of wood that has been in water for some time, like pier or dock pilings. Pilings are also sometimes wrapped in a material to prevent damage, so that might also be an effect you could achieve. Kind of like this:
View attachment 304952View attachment 304953

For what its worth I think they both look really nice, just the logs are a little more natural and rustic while the fence adds a visual line and more structure. Depends what you're going for!

That's exactly how I would do it.
Either 2 poles from the same Flexicolor part or with plants or decals "age" the lower part. (I think the little cypress works quite well)