Hi guys, this week’s Whipsnade recreation I do the bison enclosure - a relatively simple paddock but a much more detailed building. Featuring many types of fence, custom sliding gates and a bison mural!
This game is disappointing. Birds and reptiles don't lay eggs and dumb developers stated that they won't. Terrarium animals are statues with animation loops. No flying birds, seals, penguins and other marine animals. No realistic mating (Wildlife Park 2 & 3 has it!), birth and growth. Cartoonish people. Animals are also a bit cartoonish, with thicker limbs and bigger heads than in real life (especially noticeable in ungulates). African elephant calf has ear holes while adults don't. Asian elephant calf has no hair. Hippo has no whiskers. Not sure about tail hair in pachyderms.
Stop. You wanna know how long it took to develop that game? 3 years, and your complaining it’s bad, and just because it missed a detail. Sure, the exhibit animals not moving was kinda disappointing, but the realistic mating. This game was supposed to be for everyone, but do you think someone would want to see elephants “mating” realistically. And the people are cartoonish because that’s the style of people in Planet Coaster. At least appreciate this game exists, and not more bad zoo games like Free Zoo we’re taking its spot.
I feel like your response here is a bit harsh, even if @Elephas Maximus did voice a strong opinion (word of note: I think calling the developers "dumb" is a rather harsh response to the game also). Nobody is required to appreciate this game or its existence, and there is nothing in or about this thread that indicates negative opinions on it are not welcome. You are free to disagree to your heart's content, but maybe a more diplomatic and understanding approach would be preferable here?
Sorry, I shouldn’t have been too negative. The Free Zoo thing was just an example, since compared to other zoo games it is bad, but it still has a large species list. Also, the stop was just a way to start, since it was the only way I could think to start that.
No worries @grevy's zebra, we all need checks from time to time. In the future, telling someone to "stop" generally isn't a great way of starting a response "I disagree", "Alternatively", "I think/don't think that...", or "I have a different view..." are all good alternatives, I think.
I don't see a bright future for this game with lack of mod support and without proper addons. DLCs contain too few animals, we can expect one for each continent and that's all. The developers' interest would inevitably cease. No hope for flying birds considering difficulty of implementing realistic flight mechanics in enclosures, and virtually no birds in gaming have properly animated wings (most noticeable are Far Cry 4 & 5 birds). More hope for aquatic animals, but probably no cetaceans. Modding Planet Zoo is very complicated, new animals cannot be added without overwriting the old ones, there is no way of making new animations and coding new behaviors (egg laying would be very welcome!)
Hun....he's allowed to voice his opinion, not anything is perfect and he's not obliged to stay quiet. You've just been given a fair check in place about it, and I recommend you don't forget what @Coelacanth18 has said...
You're fine . Don't worry too much, and whenever you see anything that may aggravate you, take a deep breath, reread, and think about your response and see if it's appropriate or necessary .
BTW Wildlife Park 3 has ESRB rating Everyone and PEGI rating 3 despite having mating included (elephants & msmmoths don't mate though). Planet zoo is too fast, the animals die too quickly with exception of tortoises. One more unrealistic feature: keepers in direct contact with dangerous animals.
no game is going to perfect and you have suspend belief with games to enjoy them. You don't like or enjoy it thats fine, I have my grapes with it but you are looking for a perfect game. They don't exist.
Yeah. Like I said before, be grateful it exists. This game is realistic anyways, and some games trade realistic features with others, like while zebras, mounting, each other is in Wildlife Park 3, staff management and quarantine is in Planet Zoo. Also, a good feature for planet zoo is maybe make it so random wild birds would land in places of the zoo, and depending on what biome or what continent your in, it could be different (e.g. a blackbird in North America Temperate) and if it lands in an enclosure, you have the option to rescue it or it might fly away or depending on the enclosure, become the dog’s dinner, literally. A fun way of introducing birds into the game without DLC.
We have quite realistic human simulators like Sims and Second Life. Why not demanding the same for zoo games?
Because we know how to make human simulators. We’re humans, and zoo simulators are humans and animals. All zoo simulators get the people right, but we can’t read animals. Yes, we can study them, watch them, and even impersonate them, but it’s not perfect. Like with zebras, there are theories on why they have stripes, but not all are right and none are 100% proven. We don’t know how to make a perfect zoo game, but it’s trial and error. Planet Zoo is a milestone, right after Zoo Tycoon. We know our mistakes and what to learn, and once we get to that final milestone, you’ll get your wish. Now please stop ranting about this game. Please.
What I've quoted above here from Elephas Maximus' post are things that we know about, instead of it being a situation of "trial and error", its more that that the developers chose not to add it in. He's merely pointing out things that are not realistic in the game, and how that was disappointing. By no means is that he cannot enjoy the game, because he can, but why is he not allowed to criticize and voice his opinion on the game? This isnt a forum or thread for Planet Zoo lovers, rather a discussion thread so that we can talk about what we like and dont like. Definitely you can disagree, but you can't tell someone to just "stop" and such. In response to @Elephas Maximus, whilst I would love for the game to be more realistic, I think the game is formatted to be more of a, well, game. Rather than making the game exactly like real life, which I know I would appreciate more.
Good thing is that Pygmy hippo has ear hair & whiskers. But ear hair is not visible in this screenshot:
