What is needed to make Planet Zoo the zoo it was always meant to be

[Danny_zoo]

After many years of involvement with the Zoo planning and design industry as well as creating zoo exhibit miniature scale art as a lifelong passion, the released of Planet Zoo has been a long awaited milestone. Recently I have been able to dedicate an immense amount of time to the game and study it from every angle and perspective. This thread will be a little different than others you might find in the forum since it is approached from an angle that is completely fixed on the game mechanics for designing a realistic zoo as well as world class animal exhibits. The management side of the game is not very important to me, and while I understand it is one of the foundations of the game, I will focus instead on the assets that can be added to the game to increase its realism and aim at building complex and detailed zoos.

During the course of my dissection of this game, I have also studied as best as possible, given the information available, the team behind this amazing game. Given my ties to the zoo community, I have come to understand just how far the developers have been willing to go. Before Planet Zoo was released, I had never played a computer video game, so I had to dedicate a considerable amount of time to simply just learning the basic concepts and mechanics that might just come as second nature to many of you reading this thread. Just as I spent time studying the world of video games and frontier specifically, the developers spent an even greater amount of time understanding and translating the world of Zoo planning and design into this game. The team behind the game has shown incredible dedication, passion and attention to detail in the production of this game, and for this they have my ultimate respect. I'm aware that they have visited many zoological institutions, including some that I'm very familiar with, and consulted many professionals within the field.

The focus of this thread is to elaborate from the perspective of zoo simulation and design, areas that it is my understanding are extremely popular with the players of the game. I will point out directions that the developers could take to improve the game as well as assets that are needed to increase its realism. Under no circumstances it is my intention to take away from what the team has accomplish so far, but my hope is to offer sincere observations, that would elevate the game, and this might require at times some criticism of existing features. I would really enjoy any feedback of those reading this thread, as you might correct and assist me in this process, you might say, that something is not technologically possible or feasible within the video game industry and that the current state of the game is the best possible version of itself. Any other suggestions that this forum has for any improvements listed or ideas not mentioned will be of course welcome, since our aim is the same, make Planet Zoo the Zoo game it was meant to be.

Lastly I would like to encouraged any developers of the game reading this thread to please take part in it, since there might be a need to elaborate further in any areas that are not clear or even change the direction of the recommendation all together.

 

[Danny_zoo]

THE ANIMAL SPECIES





I thought that this being a zoo game, the animals would be a good place to start, since they are at the end the reason, zoos were created in the first place. When Planet Zoo was initially released I was very satisfied with the base game's available species roster, and thought that it was quite attractive. I based this observation fully understanding that the concept behind Frontier's business model was to release a base game and then continue its long term support with DLCs. Given the species selection within the roster, and the inclusion of even insects by way of the animal exhibits, I never had any worries that the roster would eventually be significantly increased, just by how many was the question.

However, after the December DLC, and the inclusion of only four animal species on it, I have to admit I started to have some questions. My reasoning here, is that this DLC was too close to the base game release, and that additional time would be required to create a much bigger expansion. I have familiarized myself with the process of creating new animal rigs, even to the point of exchanging information with some professional within this industry and trying to understand what was and what was not possible in this game. However, after many of the season players, some whom have been featured alongside frontier leadership etc, expressed their believe that future DLCs might have similar species numbers I have been somewhat troubled. The general feeling amongst players and users in this forum is that any future DLC or at the very least, the ones destined for the near future, might not exceed 4 to 8 animals.

Given the number of DLCs that a game like Planet Coaster enjoyed, and assuming that we can get the same number of DLCs for Planet Zoo, that is still a very small number of animals, and would make it very difficult for the game to be a realistic simulation zoo game. Just taking a look across the animal species roster, there are many keystone species of zoological Institutions that are missing. If there is only 4 species added on average, then many orders of animals will either be mostly excluded or lack any significant variety. Primates as an example, prominent in most zoos have very limited inclusions within the game, aside from two Lemur species, the Mandrill and the Japanese Macaque, there are no other species available. I could think of at least 50 primates in less than a minute that would make excellent additions to the game. There are so many carnivores, currently not found in the game, from widely recognize species like the Jaguar and African leopard, to beautiful and secretive specimens like the Clouded Leopard and the Giant Otter.

Even African ungulates, who do enjoy a bigger place in the roster than most others, are still missing too many species to even considering not making an additional DLC or even two just dedicated to them. Reptiles, amphibians and insects are a world of their own, and since I do not fully understand Frontier's plan with the small animal exhibits I will leave it alone for now. Some Continents have not even been surfaced on the game thus far, with the exception of the Saltwater Crocodile, Oceania has no place in the game. North America and Europe have very limited entries. And Tropical America, one of the biggest contributors of species within Zoological Institutions is represented by barely a handful of species. Furthermore, this is in no way an indicator, that species from Africa and Asia should take a backseat in development as there is a world of them that should be included still in the game, and should take precedent in my opinion over many others.

Also take into account, I have made no mention of birds, since that is a separate thread, and a whole different conversation. The point here, is that if somehow the direction of Frontier is to just include DLCs that will include a small limited number of animal species, unless they release a DLC every week (I'm perfectly happy with that) at the end we will not have the best possible realistic zoo simulation game, and all of the game's potential will be cut short. The possibilities of this game are endless, let us work to keep them this way.

 

[Danny_zoo]

BUILDING A REAL ZOO



The piece by piece construction element found within Planet Zoo is in my opinion Frontier's biggest contribution and signature within the industry. Players have the ability to create just about any zoo their imagination, dreams and preferences direct them to, possibilities are truly endless, as long as you have the right pieces. Some of the elements within Planet Zoo seem very well researched, attention to detail has been given to many areas within the game, and it shows in many features. Some components of the game, do not however seem to either have been developed properly, rushed out to meet datelines or simply not yet ready for inclusion on the base game.

If you have played Planet Coaster, and are somewhat familiar with this prior Frontier entry, then names like Mexelente, Chief Beef and Missy Good Donuts sound familiar to you, and their props might have been an excellent fit for the king of roller coasters and theme parks, but for Planet Zoo, the development team, simply missed the mark in this entry. There was an incredible opportunity to create a very distinct game universe here that relates to actual zoos, food and drink props that somehow manage to connect with animals, geographical regions, ecosystems, conservation and well, zoos. I simply do not understand why the team behind such a fantastic game did not have original content and art created for this game that would allow players have realistic restaurants, cafes and snack stalls that any of us would find in real life zoos. I have left most of the game props unused and have been forced to design my own content in this area, a task that proves very difficult when there is a very limited number of props that relate to the food and drink service industry in Planet Zoo, unless we are discussing the unrelated material previously discussed.




The same can be said about, gift shops and souvenir stands, there are practically nonexistent in the base game, and just a memento, what zoo do any of you have visited where they sell hats only. The planet zoo team has to do much better here, there are an endless amount of available props that are needed, clothing that relates to wildlife and its conservation, toys that can be found in zoos, related memorabilia etc. I'm quite frankly a little tired of building African and Asian pottery stores, we need actual props, that look, feel and behave like a zoo. And something I do not understand is why every single food and drink stand as well as shop comes in the form and shape of a wooden box, It is a very limited and unrealistic design. I understand the concept of the piece by piece, and how elaborate buildings can be created of these boxes, but zoos also have food carts, stands and vending machines, all of these venues are missing from the game. Please do allow for a bigger variety of amenities starters, as well as a much greater number of props, that are actually related to zoos.

There are many elements and features found in zoos that are currently not available in the base game, hopefully they become available with future DLCs, the most prominent of this missing features, is the subject of another thread of mine: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/uploading-images-and-custom-designs-into-the-game.539113/ I understand that it would be impossible for the developers to create the needed amount of zoo specific signs, banners, posters, concept art, and illustrations needed to bring that missing element of realism that is currently missing from Planet Zoo. It is truly a shame, that you browse the Steam Workshop, and find the works of some extremely creative players, who have had to push the boundaries of imagination to create any sort of zoo map, interpretive signage or conservation message. Yet the creations that are available, are only implied content, they lack variety, realism and purpose, thru no fault of their creators of course. All of this could simply be resolve by adding a feature to the game, that Planet Coaster a much older game, already fully enjoys, the ability for the player to upload images and custom designs into the game. This feature will truly be a game changer, since modern Zoological Institutions used interpretive design full of conservation messages and specific species education in their exhibits. When this feature is added, I can only imagine the creative possibilities that it will afford players. Using our imaginations, this feature, can be use in every way imaginable, and not only within animal exhibits, but zoo amenities, surrounding areas like parking lots, roads, towns and even cities. I have seen in Planet Coaster players use this feature to create custom walls, tiles, etc. It will certainly change everything within the game for the better, since there is millions of possible content imagines online that can be use in the game. Zoo exhibits would truly start becoming unique and not repetitive.





The game would benefit greatly by revisiting the Planet Zoo theme, and adding additional props that are currently missing, but are normally found in zoos. The Theme DLCs are fantastic, but we do need many other props and constructions pieces to add an extra layer of realism to our zoos. Smaller pieces of every material available within the game a greater variety of textures. From individual bricks and stones to small sections of acrylic, glass, wood, plastic and metal. A large variety of banners, paper and cardboard signs that serve as blank canvas where players can upload web images and text. Props like mist stations, for tropical and sub tropical zoos, a larger number of props that can be used to recreate off exhibit areas, like buckets, feeding stations, shovels, etc. There is too many items that can be mention in this thread, but the idea behind this is to increase the number of props already available.

 

[stdape2011]

I agree with you, but how much can be added with just the Staff they have in a reasonable time? It is a great game but is lacking in a lot of ways.

 

[paul78]

These are all very good ideas but at the same time I also agree with the comment above. Since we don’t know the shelf life on planet zoo in frontiers plans I doubt we’ll get all of these. You can decorate walls now to make them stand out. In the list of priorities I’d agree animals are most important as with any zoo first and foremost. Small primates, small cats and mammals, birds, aquatic animals,and more land mammals as well are all welcome additions. New animations and behaviors such as swimming underwater and more realistic ai improvements is probably second most important. Then third would be a combination of improved optimization although the game is very stable imo at the moment and also more themed building sets and decor. Once again hard telling what we’ll get considering the covid19 outbreak and if you do the math if they continue to release 4 packs at 3-4 months a piece and you think about it’s not a lot of time to get everything implemented. I guess the next dlc will give us more of an idea where the game is going but as of now it’s already off track from Planco dlc so I guess will see.

 

[Danny_zoo]

ZOOS NEED PLANTS AND TREES

There is a special relationship amongst animals and plants, one that zoos the world over try to emulate and represent within their institutions. Most zoos not only try to convey a message towards animal conservation but plant conservation as well. Plants provide shelter for the animals, food and oxygen, they are essential to most land specie's survival. As the planet faces threads of a number of ecosystems disappearing, many plant species face extinction in within their natural habitats. Planet zoo is in a unique position, to showcase a number of this plants within their game and promote the conservation of many habitats that are at a high risk of disappearing.

The quality of the plants in the game is superb, and the foliage team has done a fantastic job. There is however a pressing need to expand this roster significantly, as the diversity of plants, once they are broken down by ecosystems, it is minimal at best. As plants are not animated objects with complex mechanics, there should not be a reason why there are not many more of them within the game. Currently most zoo grounds, exhibits and overall appearance that has been created by players tends to be very similar, and there is no real complexity or diversity of landscape design within their creations, even top players of the game like Mike Sheets and others who pushed their imagination to get the best out of what foliage the game offers, find themselves extremely limited within their designs, this needs to be corrected. If you have visited any real life zoo, you will notice that plants create the story of the habitat, they are the ones that cement the themes, and that is why the Planet Zoo themes like Africa, India and East Asia failed to transport the creative players to this locations, it all comes down to a significant number of needed plants being missing, and very few options available to create realistic theme areas. I have a whole threat https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/additional-foliage-for-the-game.539205/ that explains all of this in great detail and provides the foliage team with a great number of foliage options to be added to the game.

Just take a look at any zoo and you will see that there is a very large number of plant species in comparison to animal species. An habitat featuring a single animal species might contain dozens of plant species. An award wining exhibit that has been planned to simulate the animal's native environment or to create the illusion of being transported to far and remote places, will usually hold hundreds of species. Any world class zoological institution, will showcase thousands of plants and trees. The foliage team has done a fantastic job selecting the species already displayed within the game, and I personally love the inclusion of several variations of each plant/trees, the players even have the options of combining many of them and creating new variations. Never the less, even with all this features the current roster needs to be expanded, if realism is the aim.

 

[Danny_zoo]

I agree with you, but how much can be added with just the Staff they have in a reasonable time? It is a great game but is lacking in a lot of ways.

There lies the biggest issue, as I mentioned in the post, waiting for a DLC that includes the content that is needed is not a problem, but what can be define as reasonable time in this industry? It is my believe that the game has not been advertise to all potential customers. When I presented this game to many colleagues, there was a lot of interest, and none of them had heard of it before. Two of them actually upgraded their computers so they could play the game. What I'm saying here is that if what frontier needs to take this game to a higher level, is more capital to expand their organization, this game could easily do that for them. I have visited many zoos since this game was released, and very few of them were even aware that such a game existed. What better platform to promote this game than zoos i ask? There is a very large zoo community, that given the opportunity, and with the right marketing would absolutely love this game, I'm one of them. Partnering with zoos across the world, would give Frontier and Planet Zoo maximum exposure to visitors, zoological society members, etc. Planet Zoo could be mention in newsletters, etc. I understand that the days of games selling in disks at stores are over, but something could surely be devise to sell the game in Zoo stores, maybe just a code and instructions with some sort of manual that would then refer a player to steam. Who knows, that is why companies have marketing and sales staff.

As it stands, it is my believe that frontier has limited their target audience to just season game players, and this would not only limit their profit and ability to expand, but ultimately, it could drive the game in a very different direction, when the need for unicorns, extinct sharks, dinosaurs, dragons, aliens and mermaids turns the game into a circus. Can you really not see it happening to some sort of degree? I hope it does not.

 

[Danny_zoo]

These are all very good ideas but at the same time I also agree with the comment above. Since we don’t know the shelf life on planet zoo in frontiers plans I doubt we’ll get all of these. You can decorate walls now to make them stand out. In the list of priorities I’d agree animals are most important as with any zoo first and foremost. Small primates, small cats and mammals, birds, aquatic animals,and more land mammals as well are all welcome additions. New animations and behaviors such as swimming underwater and more realistic ai improvements is probably second most important. Then third would be a combination of improved optimization although the game is very stable imo at the moment and also more themed building sets and decor. Once again hard telling what we’ll get considering the covid19 outbreak and if you do the math if they continue to release 4 packs at 3-4 months a piece and you think about it’s not a lot of time to get everything implemented. I guess the next dlc will give us more of an idea where the game is going but as of now it’s already off track from Planco dlc so I guess will see.

Good observation, animations and behaviors that can create a visible distinct personality amongst animals from the same species would be a great improvement. Is this even possible? If in your opinion they do not even have the time to create new content. How difficult could it truly be to create more small primates out of the ones already offered in the game, we have a Ring Tailed Lemur and a Red Ruffed Lemur, why stop there, it is my understanding that it took someone outside of frontier, less that three weeks to turn the Red Ruffed Lemur into another lemur species, and it looks superb. So why would Frontier stop at two lemur species, why not create many others, the same can be said about every other animal in the game that has other similar species. This would buy them additional time to focus on animals that behave quite different than those already offered in the game. You could then have a Red Kangaroo behave exactly as it should, we could witness a lar Gibbon swinging across tree branches, or a small pair of Asian Small-Clawed Otters playing underwater while in full visibility of zoo guests. But I do agree with you that time could be against them, but I still have a lot of faith in the team, and I believe that they can surprise us all, as you said, we shall see.

 

[Arrakai]

To me, getting more foliage is almost as important as getting new animals. My biggest dissapointement with the first DLC was that there was no new foliage. Like you said, even though we have quite alot of it in the game already, when you narrow it down to specific bioms and continents (like grassland) it's so extremly limited. It took a while for me to realise all the limitations for building a habitat (I had no idea at first that animals wanted specific plants from specific bioms/continents) and that killed some of my entuciasm for building habitats. So I really really hope we will get alot more foliage for all the different bioms in the future