Suggestion: Adjustment to containment/needs to promote more variation in playstyle/replayability
This is more like two suggestions, but they are so heavily intertwined, the combine into one.
1. The dinosaur comfort:
Problem: They have a nice and multi part system with varying pen size requirements, forest area/grasslands, etc. But it is all rendered moot with the comfort stat. One variable slightly off and don't notice? That dino WILL start wanting to break out. While it changes over time, if you have no reason to check, you will never notice it until the escape notification. Then the player gets the needs perfect, but still has to deal with escape attempts as the comfort slowly goes back into the blue
Solution: Being a program, all the stats for the dino's mood must be numerically based. So we will set the zero point for comfort being that minimum we want. The most positive end of the chart is a value of the maximum positive boost they can get. The positive boost coming from all the other needs both shown and any not shown. Exceeding the minimum need of any category or having hunted if a predator (or perhaps any other unique need such as a larger pool for swimming herbivores?) will gain value in this bonus. Failing to meet a need will be tallied in a separate penalty. Combining these will give you a final comfort value.
Reasoning: Going slightly negative will mean you can get pack positive really easily. I like keeping it as a slide over time system so that any temporary change wont have immediate repercussions. Having the two values tracked separately, and particularily the max bonus value means a player cannot just surplus one area. Some dinosaurs, like the raptors will be a higher risk containment with a limited bonus available to them.
2. The mechanics of walls:
Problem: This is one most definitely brought up a lot and I have seen in many discussions. Small dinos breaking out of large electrified concrete walls. I must agree it is silly, but changing this combined with the above also offers opportunity.
Solution: This has a couple parts. Right now we have three types of walls with both electrified and non electrified. Reality of play is that it is more like six walls of varying strength. First part of it would be separating the electrical wall into a condition modifier. A dinosaur would need to go a minimum threshold below electrical before they would attack it. This makes it less of a slow down escape feature into more of a player design choice. A dinosaur would be more leary of an electrical fence. So the comfort level would have to go into the negative a set constant (say -20) before they would attempt to break down a wall. If there is a planned non electrical section, they will attempt to escape that way first if their need through that wall is better or whatever mechanic causes a dino to choose a specific spot to break out just as now.
Second issue, the wall strength. A caged animal that is so stressed that they will cause damage will break out, but also will get injured trying. So the three types of wall, in addition to their current damage levels will also have a constant attached for its hardness of sorts. A dino not only will have it's attack power for damaging the wall, but it then will also need to overcome this hardness. This is actually a principle used in tabletop roleplaying like dungeons and dragons for breaking down a wall. When a dino attempts to escape, it attacks as it does now. But instead, the dino's attack stat will hit vs the wall. When this happens, two parts occur similar to if dinosaurs were in combat. This means the wall will cause injury to a low defense dino (as though it was attacking). The dino's attack will then compare to hardness of the wall. If stronger than wall, wall will take damage of the difference. However a weak dino vs a strong wall (base struthiomimus vs a concrete wall) That dinosaur will just injure itself, potentially killing itself in it's panic.
Result: The resolution is a player now have choices and reasoning to use different wall types. Perhaps it is having a pressure relief of sorts where if a dino stresses for storm or whatever, they will break out into a wider overflow pen that multiple connect to. Or perhaps they will stress them out a little to pack more into a small area vs a larger ethical enclosure.
For walls, one other aspect could be added as well to give a reason to use the lighter wall vs concrete everywhere. At this time, finances are of negligible influence once a park gets started operating. So I say have walls become a modifier of the dinosaur's rating. Using the light cable wall offers a great view and less stress for a dinosaur. No modifier. The reinforced walls are a -5% (adjusted by portion of wall that is that. So if half the wall isn't reinforced since is only sharing a wall, then it would be a -2.5). The concrete walls become a -10%. Electrical is an additional -10%. Just arbitrary numbers.
I enjoy the game a lot, but find escape and welfare mechanics of the dinosaurs to be lacking and tend to be more of a frustrating footnote penalty for a minor oversight. Hope this gives some ideas.
Markus Reese