Yes/No Animal Questions for Frontier

[Aero-Bubbles]

^ They didn’t say anything about family trees or suckling. If it was said anywhere it wasn’t by frontier.

I’ve already noticed and seen young animals sticking with their parents and interactions.

Some features might be bugging or not working properly, again, they may have though they got all the bugs but didn’t, so they need to be tweaked. That happens in game development. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t meant to be released as soon as the game was out, it means they might have ran into problems

There are different patterns
There are interactions, maybe more would be nice, but they are there.

 

[Silmarwen]

Where did they announce juveniles would suckle with their parents?

And the family tree part?

Just curious, because i didnt know it would be this extensive.

I don't believe that suckling has been discussed before, but it's something the community is asking for that is also being ignored. Parent and child interactions, and especially suckling, in Planet Zoo are nearly nonexistent, which is pitiful when you consider that Zoo Tycoon 2 was able to implement these fundamental interactions from the get-go.

As for things like family trees and lineage, they're discussed in this developer journal.

 

[Vertighost]

Can you describe whats missing?

Im interested in knowing what is "a lot".

From what I've noticed so far, or can't seem to find

• Certain animal mechanics, such as interactions between each other and having different personalities. I very rarely see my animals interact with one another, which in some species really doesn't make sense. Big cats, I can see not interacting much. Apes, zebras, wolves and such? Not realistic at all. Baby animals don't even really interact with their mothers, or even spend time near them. And they don't really have their own personalities. They all pretty much act the same. This was a huge selling point and advertised thing for the game. And its not just me, because I've seen countless others saying this too.
• Different animals all having the same patterns in coats and looks in general. I've been paying close attention and haven't really noticed a difference between certain animals (i.e. zerba stripes or giraffe spots), but at least bears look a little different. Male and female wise anyways. Albinos are there, and rare, which makes sense, so there's at least that too. Is there melanism as well? I haven't seen that at all, which is weird when it comes to wolves. Also which I've seen zero difference between each other. Also a big selling point. I want big differences, and not just color variation. Bulky, skinny, height difference, different eyes, etc
• The time problem was said to be just a beta testing thing. So, that was a lie. Waaaaaayyy to fast to enjoy the game in the moment.
• The family tree mechanic was promised to be added, and wasn't. RIP to my inbreds, I'm so sorry.
• Wolf pack dynamic doesn't make sense at all. That's not part of the promised realism.
• I'm actually not sure if this was promised (I heard it was, but can't find a source) that carrying money and points over in franchise mode was a promised thing that doesn't exist. If it wasn't, please add this. It's a franchise.
• Dynamic zookeeper A.I.? They won't even feed the animals when they're starving. And before anyone says anything, yes I've seen their post about it, tried everything that was said, and nothing works. Maybe I'm just too stupid for this advanced intelligent computer caretaker

So far, these are the biggest things for me. I'll add on if I notice anything else. Please correct me if any of these things have been found in game, because I've seen none of this myself

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

They didn't mention family trees, if they did they meant generations associated with that animal, not a physical family tree. They never mentioned you would get a tab with a family tree, that was taken out of context.

This isn’t zoo tycoon 2, it’s planet zoo. Different developers, different ideas, different priorities

Animals can be traded over, they didn’t say anything as far as I know about being able to move currency with franchise

There are size differences between animals of the same species. They never said anything about “different eyes”

 

[Silmarwen]

They didn't mention family trees, if they did they meant generations associated with that animal, not a physical family tree

This isn’t zoo tycoon 2, it’s planet zoo. Different developers, different ideas, different priorities

They absolutely did mention family trees, and they specifically said that we would be able to trace lineage in our animals. That is simply not possible with current gameplay mechanics. Again, this is a feature that was in ZT2. I understand that they are different games with different developers who have different ideas and priorities, but some things are just vital to the type of game that they're making - take the similarities in first-person shooter games, for example - and not only are these some of those, but these are things that we were promised. I feel that you're letting your stanning get in the way of seeing that promises were made to this community that were not delivered on.

ETA: and not only that, but a lot of their fanbase for Planet Zoo has come over from the Zoo Tycoon franchise, so there are certain expectations especially when realism was one of the lauding selling points of this game.

 

[Mkau]

They didn't mention family trees, if they did they meant generations associated with that animal, not a physical family tree. They never mentioned you would get a tab with a family tree, that was taken out of context.

if you look after your animals well, you can witness ENTIRE GENERATIONS living out their lives, allowing you to TRACE A LINEAGE back to the FIRST RELATIVES ARRIVING in your zoo. The genetics of these FAMILY TREES also plays a factor in animal scaling with genes being passed from parent to child.

source: developer journal scaling

 

[LN]

Thanks for clearing up!

Here the quote from the developer journal that mentions family trees.

The animal lifecycle in Planet Zoo will see animals from birth, to young adults, to full maturity and eventually death. In Planet Zoo, if you look after your animals well, you can witness entire generations living out their lives, allowing you to trace a lineage back to the first relatives arriving in your zoo. The genetics of these family trees also plays a factor in animal scaling with genes being passed from parent to child

As far as I can tell this only mentions animals in your own zoo from the moment they arrive. Not before, so their history doesnt travel with them. Havent looked into family trees. But this isn`t possible?

And they mention "most realistic". Which depends on how you look at it i guess.

Not saying they are bad features to have at all. And some stuff is very bugged indeed.

Sorry for interupting the thread. But I was just curious about the how and why.

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

[if you look after your animals well, you can witness entire generations living out their lives, allowing you to trace a lineage back to the first relatives arriving in your zoo. The genetics of these family trees also plays a factor in animal scaling with genes being passed from parent to child./QUOTE]

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

It doesn’t say anywhere that you would have a tab you could keep track of So again I think it was taken out of context

 

[NL_Mutso]

Vital is debatable. ZT and ZT2 were very different in gameplay and expecting features from those games in PZ, is not fair. (ZT2 was more about animal care/zoo keeper mode, this one is more focused on management)
They never promised some features but some people translated it to their own personal wishlist (TY Nightcat) and now people claiming Frontier promised this.

The family tree was the only one I knew, from the announcements...Was expecting a more extensive one, you can't trace a lineage.

 

[Vertighost]

Thanks for clearing up!

Here the quote from the developer journal that mentions family trees.



As far as I can tell this only mentions animals in your own zoo from the moment they arrive. Not before, so their history doesnt travel with them. Havent looked into family trees. But this isn`t possible?

And they mention "most realistic". Which depends on how you look at it i guess.

Not saying they are bad features to have at all. And some stuff is very bugged indeed.

Sorry for interupting the thread. But I was just curious about the how and why.

No worries! Its a valid question! I was worried I might come off as sarcastic or malicious in my answer, which wasn't intended at all. It was just mostly observations

 

[LN]

No worries! Its a valid question! I was worried I might come off as sarcastic or malicious in my answer, which wasn't intended at all. It was just mostly observations

It was a genuine answer.

Its not up to me to decide if it is sarcastic or not. I need to look at it from a neutral perspective.

We may have different opinions but that doesnt mean you are wrong.

 

[WLeonhart]

They definitely said animals would look different. It's on the Steam page.

From playful lion cubs to mighty elephants, every animal in Planet Zoo is a thinking, feeling individual with a distinctive look and personality of their own.

Not "every animal with patterns." It wasn't "from striped zebras to spotted cheetahs." Lions and elephants are currently all carbon copies, with the exception of albinos. It's reasonable to interpret that as "animals will come in different shades or colors" when games like ZT2, COTW, ARK and other games involving animals all have color variation.

 

[Silhouette]

I will never understand people that verbally have to express they're getting a refund. It's attention seeking at its best. If you dislike the game then go refund, but no one cares to hear about it, especially if you're planning to just buy it again later. Then why not just... Keep it... And not play it for a month? Honestly I never buy games at launch anymore (PZ being the exception) because I know most game titles nowadays need a couple months to a year to really get patched up to snuff. Since this is the norm I don't really understand being upset only a week or two after launch, sorry. No big game like this is ever 100% complete at launch anymore

Not "every animal with patterns." It wasn't "from striped zebras to spotted cheetahs." Lions and elephants are currently all carbon copies, with the exception of albinos. It's reasonable to interpret that as "animals will come in different shades or colors" when games like ZT2, COTW, ARK and other games involving animals all have color variation.

I don't remember ZT2 having variations? I even played it recently, and all animals were carbon copies of one another. The only variations I remember were through mods, months or even years after release. In fact all those games you have listed there have had years of continued development past launch.

All in all I can understand being frustrated over some stuff not being in the game at release, god knows I've had my share of disappointments. What I don't understand is demanding Frontier to aNsWeR nOw oR I wiLl rEfUnD tHe GaMe.

 

[Grayyy]

The icon for for the studbook is literally a family tree, yet we didn't get one

 

[WLeonhart]

I don't remember ZT2 having variations? I even played it recently, and all animals were carbon copies of one another. The only variations I remember were through mods, months or even years after release. In fact all those games you have listed there have had years of continued development past launch.

Variations were added with the first expansion pack (Endangered Species). Mods built off that technology. If they're planning on adding them eventually, I'm fine with that, I just wish they'd say one way or another.

I agree with everything else you said, though.

 

[Silhouette]

Variations were added with the first expansion pack (Endangered Species). Mods built off that technology. If they're planning on adding them eventually, I'm fine with that, I just wish they'd say one way or another.

I agree with everything else you said, though.

Ooh okay. But yeah that wasn't even at launch, and I'm sure the developers back then wouldn't have outright said "we will/will not have coat variations later on!" I get why people with PZ were almost expecting that, because of the unique appearance comment... But they had also never explicitly said "there will be distinct coat colour variations" either, as far as I'm aware.

Either way, I do wish we would get more transparency from Frontier. But honestly people spamming these FRONTIER ANSWER US threads probably annoys them more than anything else, and makes them less inclined to answer them.

 

[NL_Mutso]

They definitely said animals would look different. It's on the Steam page.

From playful lion cubs to mighty elephants, every animal in Planet Zoo is a thinking, feeling individual with a distinctive look and personality of their own.

Not "every animal with patterns." It wasn't "from striped zebras to spotted cheetahs." Lions and elephants are currently all carbon copies, with the exception of albinos. It's reasonable to interpret that as "animals will come in different shades or colors" when games like ZT2, COTW, ARK and other games involving animals all have color variation.

I get this.. I was expecting a bit more as well.
I'm just curious to what extend they meant this.

Distinctive look - I'm not hoping they think 2-4 cm bigger or scars are a distinctive look..

Personality is something i'm not sure about:
Sometimes when a male matures, it immediately picks a fight. Even multiple times if they lost.. But sometimes a male just becomes a 'beta', no fights at all.
Seen it multiple times except with lions.
Or maybe a preference for an enrichment.. One of my crocs most times was near a sprinkler..
Maybe minimal and this all could be coincidence

 

[WLeonhart]

Ooh okay. But yeah that wasn't even at launch, and I'm sure the developers back then wouldn't have outright said "we will/will not have coat variations later on!" I get why people with PZ were almost expecting that, because of the unique appearance comment... But they had also never explicitly said "there will be distinct coat colour variations" either, as far as I'm aware.

Either way, I do wish we would get more transparency from Frontier. But honestly people spamming these FRONTIER ANSWER US threads probably annoys them more than anything else, and makes them less inclined to answer them.

Right, but they didn't say animals would look unique before they implemented variations, you know? I think if Frontier doesn't plan on adding variations, they should pull that quote from the store page. That's just my opinion, though, and I'm 99.99% sure they're coming, as Frontier does listen to the playerbase much of the time and there are no cons or controversy surrounding adding new colors.

I get this.. I was expecting a bit more as well.
I'm just curious to what extend they meant this.

Distinctive look - I'm not hoping they think 2-4 cm bigger or scars are a distinctive look..

Personality is something i'm not sure about:
Sometimes when a male matures, it immediately picks a fight. Even multiple times if they lost.. But sometimes a male just becomes a 'beta', no fights at all.
Seen it multiple times except with lions.
Or maybe a preference for an enrichment.. One of my crocs most times was near a sprinkler..
Maybe minimal and this all could be coincidence

Yeah, I'm not sure about personality either. It is hard to tell what's a personality and what's just coincidence/chance. I'm thinking it's not a coincidence and that in time they'll make some tweaks so it's more obvious.

I have faith in Frontier; I think they're out to improve the game, and if they can improve on something, they will. Unless it's something that not everyone wants, of course. I'm sure everyone would love to have color variation, more distinct personalities (if they're not in right now), etc.

 

[Moonfox]

Just to clear up a couple of things that seem to have upset a few of you:

I’m in no way threatening refunds. I definitely don’t want a refund - I love the game, but it is lacking things I expected it to have based on what was advertised or blatantly claimed. Answering these questions should actually let people know to hang onto the game and have patience until these features are implemented.

I snuck in the suckling question because I personally expect it to be in the game. It was not promised, but as I said, it “stems from” claims of realism.

Family trees were promised, as lots of lovely people have shown through quotes from developer journals.