Shoot a firework rocket ~ Winners!Make a forum zoo! |
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| Your Zoo Building Process; tell me how you zoo | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 11 2017, 09:57 AM (1,058 Views) | |
| Autumn | Aug 11 2017, 09:57 AM Post #1 |
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Matriarch
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I'm curious as to how a lot of people go about building their zoos. I usually just start throwing down random exhibits with minimal organization, which hasn't gotten me far, to be honest and I don't think I've ever been truly happy with a zoo, and I've only ever finished a few that I've been pleased with enough to show off. What about you? - Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? - Where do you find inspiration? - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? - Do you aim for realism? - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? Would you say that being meticulous in planning a zoo will, in the long run, make for a better all-around build? What do you recommend? |
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| tycoonfan | Aug 11 2017, 10:24 AM Post #2 |
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Well, now I'm in the process of a new one, which at the moment is -There are times I make a list, but not the number of each animal. -I used to do some, but it's easier for me to build up whatever comes out.- -My imagination. Sometimes looking at other zoos here, TRT or ZH. -Do not. -I did not plan it." But when it comes to building it, it takes a while, since I do not plan anything, I make many changes. -Quite. I go at my pace. This new one has been under construction since the beginning of summer and I have not finished a map, but it's almost xD. But also the week goes by I was on a cruise ... -Rarely. Basically it takes so long to finish it, I get bored, I get tired, and I eliminate it and I enter another hahaha -Yes. It takes a little longer, yes. But I'd rather build it on the fly. -Other times yes and sometimes not. -Yes, and many ![]() In my opinion it is better to plan it. Since, you take to finish it, you can get tired of it and start another ... But the best thing is that you stay as you are more comfortable. It is understandable? My English, when it is something long, something I explain is like the translator
Edited by tycoonfan, Aug 11 2017, 10:30 AM.
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Aug 11 2017, 10:31 AM Post #3 |
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1) Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? I don't make zoos that aren't a part of the RTZI anymore, so I always list the species and how many I have. 2) Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? Nope. 3) Where do you find inspiration? Other zoobuilders and occasionally speed builds on Youtube. ![]() 4) Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? I don't, actually. The only time I ever look at real world exhibits or zoos is when I don't know how exactly to exhibit an animal, such as if I should have alot of arboreal things etc. 5) How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? Sometimes planning can be anywhere from five minutes, to days. The same for building, some exhibits only take thirty minutes, others take hours, and some I work on for days at a time. 6) How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? I've never finished an entire zoo. 7) Have you ever finished an entire zoo? Nope. 8) Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? Yes, I prefer to just put some music on and toy around until I make something that I like. 9) Do you aim for realism? Yes and no, I try to make the exhibits realistic and naturalistic but I also really don't like bothering about fences, even though I put up with the frustration to avoid criticism about it. 10) Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? Of course, I think everyone gets bored of projects somtimes. Edited by Azrael, Aug 11 2017, 10:33 AM.
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| Ignacio | Aug 11 2017, 10:46 AM Post #4 |
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Ex Corrupt Staff
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Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? Yes, i do this always. I usually make a list of all the animals i'm going to use and then select the ones i want for each section or exhibit (if they are mixed exhibits) Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? Sometimes, unless i'm basing my exhibit on an already existing exhibit in real life, in which case i try to find the plans and maps of the real exhibits and then try to adapt them to the game. Where do you find inspiration? Mostly from real life exhibits and environments, but ocassionally i see some one having a great and creative idea in a S&T that inspires me to try it out my self. Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? All the time i would say. I always look for photos and plans of real life exhibits. How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? To plan not long, maybe half an hour, until i come up with something i like and want to recreate. To build the exhibit itself: several days haha. Although i guess it depends on the size of the exhibit. But since i very obsessive with details i took my good time to edit the terrain, select the fences, build the shelters, place the rocks and foliage, make sure i have a good view from the viewing areas in the guest mode or that everything looks nice from any viewpoint, even from inside the exhibit. How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? Oh boy, i don't think i've ever finished a whole zoo. I've completed entire maps, but the zoos i plan are usually massive So it would take me months to complete them (but i usually get bored after a couple of maps are done haha i always come back to work on them at some point, specially if new downloads come up that give me new ideas on how to improve what i've built or what to do next)Have you ever finished an entire zoo? Does doing it with the vanilla game counts? ![]() Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? I usually plan everything before hand, but while building your realize something doesn't work as well as you thought it would or you are strucked by inspiration or ideas that change your plan on the spot and then yes, i do a bit of spontaneous work and see what it looks like. Do you aim for realism? Yes and no. I like to use realistic looking things, and i try to make my exhibits a realistic as possible but if realism gets in the way of creativity or functionality then i priorize these last two things. I also aim to build exhibits that look as natural and close to the real environment of the animal as possible and that's not always compatible with realism. I also struggle a lot with indoor enclosures and animal shelters because i don't have much idea of how they really look in real life so i just go with my own ideas there xD. Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? Oh yes all the time! But i just stop playing for a while or move on to another zoo project with a completly different style and then at some point i know i'll come back to the other projects i have in the works. I got bored but i don't scrap the projects if i'm happy with how they are turning out. I just wait for the inspiration to hit me again |
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| Zoo Tycooner FR | Aug 11 2017, 11:05 AM Post #5 |
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#Lithopédion
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- Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? Yes, I practically always make a list of ''animal ideas'' I have for my zoos, it always start with species I appreciate such as gerenuks, aardwolves or acacia rats and then it grows up when I have enough inspiration to make an exhibit for a certain species, finally I scrap up some of my original ideas or change them because I can't find enough inspiration to build the exhibit in question ingame. That's how I get a nearly completed species list. I do not always list how many species I have originally (when the zoo is basically only a plan, not a built zoo) but when I finish building up the zoos I generally add how many animals I have (using the M.F.U system) - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? Not really, I'm really bad at drawing. ![]() - Where do you find inspiration? I love building ''foresty'' zoos and so I always find inspiration in Nils' zoos and Yukon's Erlebnis Zoo Frankfurt and other talented people including Azrael, Anton, Jannick etc... I also find inspiration in real exhibits, thanks to zoochat or general knowledge; zoos like Leipzig, Walsrode and Plzen for ex. are incredibly inspiring. - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? Yes as said before, I do. ![]() - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? It honestly depends on my insipration and on what I want to build, planning is not hard; I have all kinds of ideas and I rarely run out of them but lack of inspiration when building is my pet-peeve. I often think of a complete zoo and how I should build it; including the species list and all but often fail at building something ingame so I just scrap it all. When I'm inspired though, it depends on the type of exhibit; it can literally takes me 5 minutes but it can also takes me weeks (depending on the size of the exhibit, foliage and of course the time I have in real life) - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? It is pretty similar to the previous question, as in, it depends if I'm inspired to build or no; if I like what I build or not. When inspired and when I have enough time, I build quite rapidly; if I remember correctly I once built 4 exhibit complexes (updates) for Wakefield in one day, and then in a week or so finished building the other parts of the zoo and tada I was done building Wakefield. Updating the zoos takes more time because I'm lazy ( ) but I also like adding a lot of details in general.- Have you ever finished an entire zoo? Only counting my recent S&Ts, 1 showed entirely (Wakefield), 1 showed but not entirely (Monterey) and 1 never showed (a ''Wildgehege'' in Bade-Wurtemberg). - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? Sometimes I build spontaneously but most of them time I plan everything carefully (though I always add up some exhibits I didn't plan before) - Do you aim for realism? Yes I do aim for realism, even though some of my species would be hard to obtain in the real world, I always have a back-story for all my animals and always state their origins (i.e these Yellow-headed vultures came from Tierpark Berlin and such). That's also why I often build small or medium-sized zoos because most of the zoos in real world are small collections with a few rarities (or like ''Wildgehege''-styled; i.e only keep a few local or easy to keep and obtain species) - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? I don't I get bored of a zoo but I lose inspiration easily, recently I tried to rebuild some parts of Wakefield and build new parts as well but couldn't achieve that at all, everything I built didn't satisfy me. I don't know if that's the boredom you're stating, if not then I could get bored but rarely. Edited by Zoo Tycooner FR, Aug 11 2017, 11:07 AM.
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| dycki1231 | Aug 11 2017, 12:32 PM Post #6 |
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- Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? Just add or remove if the scene is to too bared or crowded. - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? No, most of them are developed by using real life photos - Where do you find inspiration? Photos and video of foreign aquarium - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? 100% - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? 5 mins, another 6 hrs for debugging - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? Never completed a zoo - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? Nope - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? Yes, freedom is important when building an aquarium - Do you aim for realism? Yes - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? Nope, every time stopped is just because of the feeling of making identical exhibit which I preferred changes. |
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| Burns | Aug 11 2017, 12:51 PM Post #7 |
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King of Lemurs
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-Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? -As a zoo in the RTZI, I already have a set number of animals that I purchased, sometimes when building exhibits I look to see what's missing, for example the turtles in Hell-Bourg's Ring-Tail Plateau were not planned. - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? -No, I may do occasional blueprints but they are usually a 1/2 assed sketch that I throw away 5 minutes after making - Where do you find inspiration? -I often find inspiration from real life zoos - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? As said above. I try to use a good influence of American and European Zoos - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? Planning takes about 3 minutes, building, depending on what type of exhibit from 5-65 minutes. - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? -Anywhere from 7 months to 3 years - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? -Yes, one fully, Cascades Zoo and Aquarium and another one everything but the last exhibit, Black River Wildlife Trust - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? Indeed - Do you aim for realism? I aim for realism the best I can although I do bs a lot of things like indoor enclosures and off-show. I also use a bunch of animals not found in zoos in the world. - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? -Eh, only the potenial OceanLife Rodrigues. |
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| Autumn | Aug 11 2017, 02:46 PM Post #8 |
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Matriarch
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Wow, I didn't expect so many detailed responses. Thanks for answering, guys! I find myself in the same predicament much of the time as Ignacio explained when, "realism gets in the way of creativity or functionality." It sucks when you build a large, detailed exhibit complex and find out that the animals can't get around easy enough (or zookeepers keep getting lost). |
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Aug 11 2017, 02:48 PM Post #9 |
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That's why I have/made a hack that removes the collision from most items, including foliage and rocks, so that I can use as much of them as I want without worrying about the animals getting stuck on the hitboxes. |
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| Jenna | Aug 15 2017, 08:04 AM Post #10 |
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- Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? Before I start building I will plan on the game map by placing the animals I want to have in my zoo, the colour scheme, fences I will use and the theme of the zoo. - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? I do sometimes have to draw out a plan on paper to follow. It helps me get my ideas from my head into reality. Also when I have an idea for a new exhibit I jot down notes describing the exhibit on my phone. - Where do you find inspiration? Either from google images, real zoos or sometimes I can just close my eyes and visualise it. It's bizarre. - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? I often use British zoos as inspiration but the Bio Parc Valencia really inspired me too! - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? Depending on how big the exhibit is it can take a day or two or up to a week. My Nyala exhibit I planned day before yesterday and I will build it today - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? Takes about 3 hours per day. Depending on how big the zoo will depend how many days it takes to build. I always start small with about 10 main exhibit then add more shortly after. I always plan every exihibit individually. - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? Yes I've had a few that I finished but Raintree Wildlife Park I finished in 2012 and it's still going now :$. - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? Yes I believe I am spontaneous with building in my zoo. - Do you aim for realism? Yes deffinatley! I always strive for realism and sticking with my zoo makes it real for me. Also I use the animals that look the most realistic too. - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? I've had Raintree Wildlifepark for 6 years and I thought I would get bored of it but I haven't. I am just truly in love with it. - Would you say that being meticulous in planning a zoo will, in the long run, make for a better all-around build? What do you recommend? I think planning is good but also having free rein or building on an existing zoo can give out some interesting and exciting results. Edited by Jenna, Aug 15 2017, 08:05 AM.
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| magpiealamode | Aug 15 2017, 11:55 AM Post #11 |
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No good hero is a one-trick phony.
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My zoo building process -Come up with a grand idea -Open ZT2 and load a new map -Get intimidated, lose motivation and interest, probably play Overwatch instead It's a bummer, but it's where I'm at |
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| Orca Freak | Aug 15 2017, 12:18 PM Post #12 |
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Killer Whales rule the World
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- Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? Yes, that way I can plan the infrastructure of an exhibit: amount of indoor stables, separation enclosures, size of the enclosure, etc. - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? Sometimes. - Where do you find inspiration? Real live zoos and other ZT2 builders. - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? All the time. - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? Planning, not so long. Building can take days, even when its a simple exhibit. - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? Months. - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? Yes, a long time ago, when there were a lot less animals around to choose from. - Do you prefer to be spontaneous? Not really, I like planning in-front. - Do you aim for realism? I try to, but not all species in my zoos can be kept in exhibits in real live. - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? Sure, I think that happens to everyone from time tot time. |
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| markun | Aug 15 2017, 05:31 PM Post #13 |
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I always have ideas and make lots of species lists, sketches, maps and doodles - almost every day - but they don't always make it to construction. Or they do and then I realise that it doesn't work out in practice. Usually I think of where the zoo is to start with and is it small, medium or large. Realism is important. If it's in Australia or New Zealand the species list needs to be limited to animals currently - or at a stretch - recently found in captivity there. They have many restrictions and a limited range of animals which in some ways makes it easier as the choice is less overwhelming. I think of what species are found generally in what types of zoo and work with that. The Zoochat website is a great source of up to date info on animals present in Australian and New Zealand zoos for example and for zoo stuff in general. I don't post there but I do use it for information and inspiration. I have Swedish and Finnish ancestry including the Åland Islands (made a full zoo there about seven years ago and think of remaking it now and then) and am a bit obsessed with that part of the world so many of my zoos are set in the Nordic countries. At the moment I'm thinking of an ABC zoo (all the typical zoo animals) set in Denmark; a small privately owned zoo also in Denmark (emus, lemurs,raccoons etc in basic but nicely made wooden and mesh enclosures on the whole - the kind of place I could conceivably build with enough resources) and a forest setting wildlife park in Sweden like ones I have done before, probably with just Nordic animals ( no tigers or snow leopards etc). I also often think of making a Jersey Zoo type place with mostly small and often obscure endangered species but that's another start and stop story. I have to be honest though - my time and energy is limited and I'm still working on and off on a zoo I started at Christmas. So making three zoos when it can take me hours just to do one aviary before I'm happy with it isn't going to happen any time soon. And sometimes I just get bored or suddenly have an obsessive interest with something else for a while. I used to do entire zoos but haven't completed one in years. I think my last one was Tauranga Zoo if anyone remembers it. Another one that could maybe do with a multi-map remake. I'd love to build a zoo in full again, if only a small one and do real time updates through the year. But seasons are tough to replicate in-game unless it's just snowy v not snowy. |
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| Guilmon | Aug 15 2017, 09:52 PM Post #14 |
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Rob Schneider herp de derp, rated PG-13!
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- Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? I do whatever - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? no - Where do you find inspiration? YouTube - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? sometimes - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? Minutes, maybe even several hours - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? 24 hours off and on - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? yes - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? yes - Do you aim for realism? I try - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? only if I am dissatisfied with the result |
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| Acinonyx Jubatus | Aug 16 2017, 09:14 PM Post #15 |
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I AM THE UNSHRINKWRAPPER!
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- Do you make a list of animals and how many of each will go in your zoo? Nope, I pretty much just make things up as I go along. - Do you draw a map beforehand and make blueprints of each exhibit? Haha, no. - Where do you find inspiration? Past experiences at zoos, my own imagination. - Do you often reference real world zoos and exhibits? Not usually. Sometimes if a particular exhibit style strikes me, I'll try and replicate it, but mostly I do everything freestyle. - How long does it usually take you to plan? To build one exhibit? Planning? 0% of my time. Building the exhibits? Probably longer than it should. - How long does it take for you to finish a whole zoo? The only time I ever actually did this, it took me a few days. Most of the time I never get it done because the game crashes or else I get bored. This is also why you never see me do any S&Ts, by the way. - Have you ever finished an entire zoo? With mods? Once. On vanilla? I've gotten to five stars a half-dozen times or so. - Do you prefer to be spontaneous (like me)? Yep. - Do you aim for realism? Aesthetics are my main goal. Realism is nice, but as someone who mainly works with dinosaurs it's not a top priority. - Have you ever gotten bored of a zoo project? Only about two exhibits into almost every zoo I've ever made. |
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and I don't think I've ever been truly happy with a zoo, and I've only ever finished a few that I've been pleased with enough to show off.



























