What do you want to do in Planet Zoo

[NZFanatic]

I got to be honest I don’t like building entrance areas so maybe going right to animals might be nice.

Hello, me.

Going straight into the animals is basically what I've done for my new zoo. Though, I was just browsing zoo entrances and found a little inspiration so I might get that done tomorrow. The one that caught my eye was Japan's Ueno Zoo (which I believe is in Tokyo?). It's basic but has some flashier elements - exactly what I need. That said I'm only fully happy with one thing I've built so far so there's a good chance I'm going to start over. I find that once I get into a bit of a groove, I rush myself, and the quality drops, and I end up regretting the way I designed something.

I really doubt they would explicitly say this is the end

They never have before, after all.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

That said I'm only fully happy with one thing I've built so far so there's a good chance I'm going to start over. I find that once I get into a bit of a groove, I rush myself, and the quality drops, and I end up regretting the way I designed something.

Thats a mood, in my experience the best way to combat that is to have multiple smaller projects to jump around between, doing only what i feel like in the moment and not pressuring myself to do anything more.
If you dont pressure yourself into finishing any singular build and just do whatever you feel like more it atleast for me defeats the urge to rush something to completion and i instead do something else im more invested in, translating to a better build and a more fun session

 

[RightWhale]

Hello, me.

Going straight into the animals is basically what I've done for my new zoo.

I’m currently trouble shooting my mods at the moment (I downloaded the red eared slider mod and it seems to be crashing my game to place them) but my plan was to just start building zoo “areas”.

Like creating a “Coastal” section with seals, puffins, and polar bears based on the North Carolina Zoo. Or making a “Congo” area based on the section from the Bronx Zoo.

That way I don’t have to worry about parking lots or entrances. Or if I want to make something like a food stand, I can make it super themed. I never enjoyed building for people in Planet Zoo, or at least not as much as I should. Every once in awhile I’m proud of my work, but I’m here for the animals. Unfortunately I spend so long trying to build a good looking entrance or food stand I get too burned out to even start on the animals.

 

[markun]

Yesterday’s unexpected announcement changed things for me a bit. I was all prepared to finish a zoo by the end of the year but now I am leaning towards challenging myself by doing something bigger and seeing if I can add new species as they are announced.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Yesterday’s unexpected announcement changed things for me a bit. I was all prepared to finish a zoo by the end of the year but now I am leaning towards challenging myself by doing something bigger and seeing if I can add new species as they are announced.

Bold and challenging for sure, but a finished zoo would also be neat, especally as the pack was announced for next year afaik

 

[NZFanatic]

I'm wondering if I should do a full "Kingdom of the Elephant" section (elephants, rhinos, sloth bears, red pandas, water buffalo, peafowl) or just a "pachyderm house" with the elephants and rhinos. I want to do the former, but I don't want to commit to it and overextend myself. I guess I could start with an elephant/rhino house and see what it looks like. I really wish the Indian brick walls were flexicolour, though. I'd prefer to go grey-ish than bright orange.

 

[KoenZoo]

Maybe build it in a way to you could expand it if you get ideas/inspiration when building?

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Welp here i am after another building session and some clearer thoughts.
Now that the biggest headache of how im gonna build my roof is answerd, i looked at my zoo and thought a bit about how to layout my tropical house and the area around it.
We got the paths in gray and the tropical house in red. I want a path to go around it from the old bear pit, that also circles two other habitats in yellow and blue until it reconnects with the path through the tropical house and goes back to the start of the zoo, finishing the first 2 loops and marking the moment when my zoo would be functional for guest path finding (which isnt important anymore cause funny franchise mode bugs but hey is something).
For what i actually want to put in, the green box is an outdoor aviary part for the freeflying birds of my tropical house aswell as most likly peafowl so i actually have something walking around. The light blue will be for a smaller animal that will get the second indoor holding space, most likly the binturong but if anyone has another thought im open for idears.
Im not sure yet what to do with the yellow, it will either be another habitat connected to the tropical house or 1 or 2 smaller ones connected to their own building for something like kirks dikdik and maybe porcupines, even if the dik dik doesnt fit the asia vibes but hey i can pretend its a muntjak. Alternativly this could also be were my tapirs go, but i think i might want to wait with them for their own renovated enclosure for example in the purple spot. And lastly in the dark blue square at the bottom will be a staff building and 1 or 2 aviary for cold resistant birds, most likly owls
View attachment 404732

It is again i with slightly different plans.
The tropical house took on a slightly larger and more boney shape, swallowing one half of the yellow habitat(s), the dark blue area got actually turned into a barn owl aviary and barn and to the left of the lake the first "themed" area was finished with the tortoise garden and a dik dik habitat.
The current main goal is to finish the exterior of the tropical house (purple) and to finish atleast the outline of the outdoor habitat of the babirusa and small clawed otters (red) which so far can only be seen on the outside across the lake. This would completly surround the lake and mark the first loop of the zoo as mostly done.
Afterwards (or along side/before cause im a scatter brain) i will fill in the rest of the area around the tropical house, with outdoor aviary cages in the orange, binturongs in either pink or dark blue and something else in the other. The dark green will either be its own small filler habitat or combined with the blue one for a larger one, but potentially this will be were i put some meerkats/prariedogs. Still unsure about the last inhabitant of the tropical house, potentially the porcupine that marvin suggested or maybe even the malayan tapir, but we will see, im allways open to suggestions!

 

[QueenCinna]

Currently building an Australian based zoo based off irl locations I'm visiting.

Working on a platypus creek based off "running creek" that goes through old lions road on the NSW/Qld border

 

[RightWhale]

Worked a bit more on my zoo, I haven’t uploaded any photos yet as I’m having a hard time accessing my steam screenshots. The problem I am having is my zoo is already making my computer chug. I might get rid of the guests to try and save some of my PC. Also started using some of the mods! Namely placing some whistling ducks in my Amazon house with squirrel monkeys and some sakis, and placing some Chilean flamingos down.

Part of me is thinking of just jumping to doing some “themed” areas instead. Like instead of making a “full zoo” I just make a section in a different sandbox world. I keep mentioning it, but I have been thinking of two different themed areas.

Congo section based on the one from the Bronx zoo, and a seashore section based on a similar one from the North Carolina zoo.

I’ve been having a hard time finding time to play, but I think this is a good way to keep me engaged with the game while keeping in mind my PC isn’t the greatest hardware in existence.

 

[Marvinb]

Worked a bit more on my zoo, I haven’t uploaded any photos yet as I’m having a hard time accessing my steam screenshots. The problem I am having is my zoo is already making my computer chug. I might get rid of the guests to try and save some of my PC. Also started using some of the mods! Namely placing some whistling ducks in my Amazon house with squirrel monkeys and some sakis, and placing some Chilean flamingos down.

Part of me is thinking of just jumping to doing some “themed” areas instead. Like instead of making a “full zoo” I just make a section in a different sandbox world. I keep mentioning it, but I have been thinking of two different themed areas.

Congo section based on the one from the Bronx zoo, and a seashore section based on a similar one from the North Carolina zoo.

I’ve been having a hard time finding time to play, but I think this is a good way to keep me engaged with the game while keeping in mind my PC isn’t the greatest hardware in existence.

Maybe you can figure out an interesting way to "connect" the sections, like having the zoo split by a river, highway or train or something. So you end one section with a bridge over underpass and start the next section with that, so it gives the illusion that you access the new part of the zoo by going over a bridge or tunnel

 

[RightWhale]

Maybe you can figure out an interesting way to "connect" the sections, like having the zoo split by a river, highway or train or something. So you end one section with a bridge over underpass and start the next section with that, so it gives the illusion that you access the new part of the zoo by going over a bridge or tunnel

Maybe but the main issue I have is what my computer can handle before it starts to drop in frame rate and performance. So it’s easier for me to make multiple sandbox worlds, each with 5 or so habitats max. Then to do it in one world and slowly watch my computer start to slow down. Like with my current zoo the problem I have is there is currently 7 ish habitats and multiple exhibit boxes. I have made custom buildings with a lot of props and pieces. My computer is slowing down so fast with all of that.

Likewise, I’m probably never gonna play with guests again. They drop my frame rate and are too annoying for their own good.

There really isn’t anything I can do, I’m a student so I have no passive income. I also currently live on an island and lord knows I am not dragging a full gaming PC through customs!

 

[Marvinb]

Maybe but the main issue I have is what my computer can handle before it starts to drop in frame rate and performance. So it’s easier for me to make multiple sandbox worlds, each with 5 or so habitats max. Then to do it in one world and slowly watch my computer start to slow down. Like with my current zoo the problem I have is there is currently 7 ish habitats and multiple exhibit boxes. I have made custom buildings with a lot of props and pieces. My computer is slowing down so fast with all of that.

Likewise, I’m probably never gonna play with guests again. They drop my frame rate and are too annoying for their own good.

There really isn’t anything I can do, I’m a student so I have no passive income. I also currently live on an island and lord knows I am not dragging a full gaming PC through customs!

Yeah thats what i mean Make a tunnel/bridge and continue on the other side in a different file

 

[RightWhale]

Yeah thats what i mean Make a tunnel/bridge and continue on the other side in a different file

Ah ok! I do like that idea

 

[KoenZoo]

Started a new zoo yesterday after not launching the games in months. Unfortunately after 15 minutes I already closed it again...

Too bad, because in my mind I have enough ideas. Both of a small zoo in a small city (so including houses around the zoo) or a larger one but realistic (so also with a gate for trucks/every exhibit accessable for transportation means and a back stage section for new animals). But still no inspiration it seems to get it from my mind into the game

 

[KoenZoo]

Still I have been working today on the roster/themes of the zoo. I think I will try to start with the smaller zoo first and then start at the center of the map, so I can add the surrounding city at a later stage. Following animals/themes I've come with so far:

African savannah
Common ostrich
Common warthog
Meerkat

A larger exhibit with the ostriches, warthogs and meerkats, who have their own area but are able to roam free in the larger exhibit as well. I want to theme this double exhibit with a jeep and other decoration, giving you the feeling that you are on a safari.

African wetlands
African penguin
Greater flamingo

Just a simple bridge over a pond separating the two exhibits.

American outback
Raccoon
Striped skunk
North american beaver

The raccoons and skunks I want in an exhibit giving the idea that they are around a lodge and for the beavers I had something with a river in mind.

Escobar mansion
Capybara
Colombian white-faced capuchin monkey

Not the best name but I want to do something with an overgrown villa and maybe some decoration/information about (drug) trafficking.

Majestic Asia
Indian peafowl
Asian small-clawed otter
Lar gibbon

I want an island for the gibbons, which the otters can also partly enter and an aviary for the peafowls.

These will be the themed areas to start with. Most likely with three different paths/routes (African/American/Asian) which all lead to a big building, which also consist of a few themed sections:

Nights of Africa
Egyptian fruit bat
Aardvark

With the idea of an overhanging cave

African Desert
Puff adder
Sand cat
Desert horned viper
African spurred tortoise

Also some more exhibit animals and an indoor restaurant.

Finally at the back of the zoo there should be a fores area, with European animals:

Wisent
European fallow deer
European badger
Eurasian lynx
Red fox
Red deer

What are your thoughts and maybe some nice additions regarding species which would really fit?

 

[SanRazo]

I want to rebuild my first franchise zoo in PZ. It’s based in Florida and my goal is to have almost every animal in the game there barring the times it doesn’t make sense with subspecies variants (having both tigers is unnecessary to me for example).

This will be an ambitious project as I have to move all my animals out of my first zoo into the other zoos and delete it. the goal is for it to be a high budget animal kingdom style zoo now that my building is way better. I’ve been wanting to redo it since they added the new North America temperate skirt. A big focus that my mind keeps going to is wanting to make an amazing Arctic section based in a climate that would be tough such as Florida. I’m thinking of the majority of it being indoors but that’ll be tough with polar bears. I hope we get walrus’s to make the waters a major aspect of the land. I’m aiming for an old abandoned Arctic shipyard kind of vibe so it’ll be nice to have more than the bear and seal.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Still I have been working today on the roster/themes of the zoo. I think I will try to start with the smaller zoo first and then start at the center of the map, so I can add the surrounding city at a later stage. Following animals/themes I've come with so far:

African savannah
Common ostrich
Common warthog
Meerkat

A larger exhibit with the ostriches, warthogs and meerkats, who have their own area but are able to roam free in the larger exhibit as well. I want to theme this double exhibit with a jeep and other decoration, giving you the feeling that you are on a safari.

African wetlands
African penguin
Greater flamingo

Just a simple bridge over a pond separating the two exhibits.

American outback
Raccoon
Striped skunk
North american beaver

The raccoons and skunks I want in an exhibit giving the idea that they are around a lodge and for the beavers I had something with a river in mind.

Escobar mansion
Capybara
Colombian white-faced capuchin monkey

Not the best name but I want to do something with an overgrown villa and maybe some decoration/information about (drug) trafficking.

Majestic Asia
Indian peafowl
Asian small-clawed otter
Lar gibbon

I want an island for the gibbons, which the otters can also partly enter and an aviary for the peafowls.

These will be the themed areas to start with. Most likely with three different paths/routes (African/American/Asian) which all lead to a big building, which also consist of a few themed sections:

Nights of Africa
Egyptian fruit bat
Aardvark

With the idea of an overhanging cave

African Desert
Puff adder
Sand cat
Desert horned viper
African spurred tortoise

Also some more exhibit animals and an indoor restaurant.

Finally at the back of the zoo there should be a fores area, with European animals:

Wisent
European fallow deer
European badger
Eurasian lynx
Red fox
Red deer

What are your thoughts and maybe some nice additions regarding species which would really fit?

Draw a map!
Start a zoo, draw a rough outline of what you think how much space you need for the zoo in sand and potentially more for the city around it and potentially parking spaces if your into that.
Afterwards take a screen and roughly draw the secrtions and paths in an image editing Programm onto that map. I also advise to add major bodys of water onto the map, as every path has atleast one watery themed area which potentially could all be one stretched out body of water going through the zoo, with for example the "spring" in the african area, flowing through the american beaver habitat and ending in the gibbon lake.

That will give you some concrete plans that are still open enough to be changed on the fly but also allow for some more deliberate piecing together of the sections to give you a better idear where and how to start.

Also for actual habitat/area idears, your zoo is still missing an entrance area so how about a cafe in the center of a plaza that has 3 paths leading into the 3 main routes (africa, americas, asia) and perhaps to the sides a small petting zoo, tiny australia area with an implied aviary, wallabys and/or kangaroos or the first few european animals?

 

[Marvinb]

Yeah i can only reccomend making some kind of map! Ive been doing that for my last couple projects and it really helped to get a vision for the whole thing.
For me it also helped alot to lay out a rough masterplan via roughly marking out habitats, buildings and so on with colored shapes, give every shape a number and write down some bullet points about it: Which animal, maybe some fun idea for theming etc.
Really helps to get everything in order, with space and prevents you from forgetting something you wanted to include. Also its always nice to step back and look at it or get peoples feedback when you have a creative block

 

[KoenZoo]

Thanks for the tips! I'm making some sketches to see if I can get the motivation to also start building the zoo ingame.

The entrace will be having a gift shop and the center of the zoo will be a large building, which will also include a restaurant. This building can be reached via the three mentioned areas you typed (africa, americas, asia) and will finally lead to the European section.

As for the petting zoo/Australia area, that is a good idea, will think about that one as well!