Aside from the money cheat (which destroys fences), I'm interesting in hearing ideas people have to make money. Here are a few I have found effective: 1) Cafes - these buildings make phenomenal profits for my zoo, though visitation to the food court drops drastically when a cafe is placed nearby. I raise the prices of both my cafe and food court and while guests may complain, if there's no alternative they'll still eat there. 2) Irresponsible breeding - traditionally I play the game as if it is an accredited zoo i.e. I don't allow inbreeding. If I am trying to make money, this goes out the window... I have a large community of chimpanzees (10 pairs) and as soon as an infant is born, it is sold for an easy $1,200. A community this size will provide at least two to three infants a month. The warthogs have an interesting breeding phenomenon, newly matured adults are highly likely to breed, whereas a mature pair will be slow to produce subsequent litters. I have a large group of around 20 and when the group exceeds the number of shelters, I sell adults rather than offspring. 3) Breed animals who reproduce quickly or produce two or more offspring at a time and then sell them and the father. Zoo Tycoon 1 regulates breeding through the father i.e. a male cannot breed again until his offspring have matured. A female however, will instantly breed again if provided with a new mate. For example, I have a herd of 5 female hippopotamus. These females are provided with 4 males (4 x $1200). When 3 offspring have been born (3/4 males have bred), the 3 offspring plus the 4 males are sold for $900 each (7 x $900). Then the process is immediately repeated. Bonus for animals that have two or more offspring (e.g. lions, warthog). 4) Sell animals that are about to die of old age. I had a pride of lions, which live an average of 2 ZT years. I founded the pride in Jan 01 and two years later in Jan 03, when one of my six original lions died of old age, I quickly sold the remaining 5 founders. Their latest cubs formed the new pride. Animals like hoofstock are sold continously i.e. I have a breeding herd of five zebra mares, I keep all female offspring and sell the older mares when there are at least five females younger than them. 5) Only keep animals likely to breed well. Giant pandas and jaguars are hard to breed with the intention of making a profit. Giraffe are also a challenge.
6) Keep younger animals and sell older ones. I have a herd of 4 female zebra, which I provide with 4 males to breed from. Male offspring are sold immediately and female offspring retained to replace the 4 older females over time i.e. I only have 4 adult females at any one time and when I have 5, I sell the eldest before it dies of old age (money lost). I do this with Thompson's Gazelle and Warthog etc. too.
7) Overstock enclosures to encourage breeding. I've noticed an interesting phenomenon - if there are one or two more animals than the number of shelters can accomodate, they are more likely to breed. I've had a pair of wolves in ideal conditions go their entire lives without ever producing pups, while a pair constantly faced with overcrowding produced seven litters in succession. 8) Swap mates if a pair is unsuccessful. There are some animals like gorillas that appear to either be very successful in producing offspring with their mate or not at all (rarely is there an inbetween). If a pair has gone a long time without producing offspring, swap either the male or female with another male/female and a birth will often follow.
This is very interesting. I am seriously considering investing in this game as a little form of relaxation and stress relief, so all of this may well come in useful. Any particular tips for keeping sun bears?
Thanks @beccasunbear, I'd definitely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys zoos. I've played it since I was kid and still enjoy playing it today, though I don't get as much time. Here is a list of all the Zoo Tycoon 1 (PC) animals: List of Official Animals in Zoo Tycoon The following bears are available: Grizzly Bear Black Bear Asian Black Bear Giant Panda Polar Bear Magnet (Polar Bear) So no Sun Bears unless you download user created content I'm afraid.
As for tips on bears... Giant Pandas and Grizzly Bears breed poorly to moderately well. As with gorillas etc., I'd recommend swapping the male or female out for a new male/female if no breeding is achieved or no breeding has occurred for a while. I wouldn't breed either of these species with the intention of making a financial profit. I'm a fan of geographical grouping so my giant panda and grizzlies can often be found in enclosures next to other highland and North American deciduous/coniferous exhibits. There is a Japanese Garden for purchase too, which I rename as a Chinese Garden a put next to my Giant Pandas. My observation is Giant Pandas and Grizzlies breed best in enclosures with suitability ratings in the 70s (as oppose to 80s or 90s). Polar Bears breed exceptionally well. They always give birth to two cubs. The gender ratio of litters is approximately: 2.0: 10% 1.1: 80% 0.2: 10% As with Black Bears and Grizzlies, Polar Bears are long lived (around 4 Zoo Tycoon years). I usually start with a female, retain her daughters for breeding and export her sons. As with all Zoo Tycoon 1 animals, breeding is controlled by the male so if you want to maximize polar bear cubs, sell the father as soon as female gives birth and provide the female with a new mate. Cubs will follow shortly after in most cases (assuming the breeding female is happy). I often create pits for my bears, especially the polar bears, sometimes juxtapositioned against a more modern above ground polar bear enclosure. They are equally happy in both settings assuming the correct balance between snow/ice and salt water is achieved.
Oh! I’m sure I saw a clip from the game on YouTube which featured sun bears! How disappointing! You do have an awful lot of specific knowledge about Zoo Tycoon bear keeping, though!
Thanks for that! Alas, I only have access to my partner’s PC, so I seem destined to have a sunbearless zoo!
The Asian Black Bears look the most like sun bears, with their black fur and cresent moon. Could always name their exhibit 'Sunbear Enclosure' and rename each bear: Sun Bear 1, Sun Bear 2. No bear except the polar bears breed readily enough for this to be a time consuming exercise Sumatran tigers are not available in the game but I name my Bengal tigers Indonesian names and pretend they are
A sun bear is one of life’s basic requirements, the makers of this game should know that! It goes oxygen, water, food, warmth, sun bear, or something like that.
