It's time for another insight into what you can expect to see coming up in Planet Zoo! We're happy to announce that free Update 1.7 will be available to get your paws on from 4 October!
Our team has been hard at work trying to bring you some of your most requested features, as well as a few surprises! The first of these we revealed last week, with the announcement of our upcoming Custom Heightmaps, but it's now time to reveal what else you can expect. Update 1.7 will bring you varied terrain options, deep swimming for cats, animal talk seating areas, path barriers, a scenery placement randomisation toggle, and some quality of life improvements to the Zoopedia!
For more information on all of this, read on below:
Mapping Tools Custom Heightmaps are making their way to Planet Zoo! These will allow you to really get creative with your map terrain via uploading image files. For more in-depth information on how this will work, check out our forum post from last week!
But wait, that's not all! We also have new Terrain Type options coming to give you even more variation in pre-made maps.
When you go through your standard set-up for starting a new zoo, you will now have a new option: Terrain Type. From here, you'll be able to select "Flat", which is your standard map area that you know and love, or "Sculpted", a range of new options, with one new sculpted option per biome type. We won't spoil all of these so you can discover them yourselves, but one special one is the "Desert - Oceania" map, a flat desert with a mountain in the middle similar to Uluru!
You will now also be able to use Scenario Zoo maps in Sandbox Mode! There are 9 timed scenarios and 14 regular scenarios, which means 23 new terrain maps and 30+ new terrain variants! Though, please note that scenario maps are not available in Franchise Mode. Scenario Zoos in Sandbox Mode will also have the new "Terrain Only" button which removes everything except the terrain, another variation for you to start out with! This is perfect for people who want to jump into a Scenario Zoo terrain, but still have the freedom to create their own zoo from scratch.
Swimming Changes
Following the Bears from the 1.6 Update, some of our big cats will be getting their paws wet with Deep Swimming. The cats taking the plunge will be:
This will include the male, female, and juvenile of each species. Be sure to start adjusting your habitats, as we bet they can't wait to make a splash the second the update drops!
To go alongside this, we're also implementing some tweaks to the swimming depth requirements for individual species. This should allow diving turns for deep swimming animals to remain smooth, while also preventing clipping! Minimum depth requirements range from 2-4m.
Animal Talk Seating Areas
Rally up your guests because it's time for a show! Animal Talks are going to be bigger and better than ever with the addition of new Seating Areas, increasing the capacity per Educator and helping you better control the flow of guests around these areas.
Pick one of our new talk-specific seating options and link an Animal Talk Point to it, and guests will now be able to sit and really give their full attention! But don't fret, you will still be able to use the Animal Talk Points as standing attractions as well. What animal will you pick as your first to have its very own seated education area?
Path Barriers
On top of the new Seating Areas to help you control your Zoos guest flow, we're also adding Path Barriers! These will render areas of path inaccessible to guests and staff alike, allowing you to direct the traffic in your zoo more accurately. For areas where you want guests to have the option to pass, but to be less likely to do so, we're also adding in Kerbs. These will discourage guests from crossing, but they will still use it if the area is otherwise too crowded or there is no other route.
Scenery Placement Randomisation
Ever been placing lots of the same scenery item, and had to manually adjust it each time to keep things looking natural? Well, no longer! We're introducing a new Randomisation Placement Toggle which, when turned on, will randomly change the rotation of the item you are using in between each placement. This will allow you to create an organic appearance much faster than before! We know this will be a game-changer for foliage and rock-heavy builds. What are you most excited to use this on?
Zoopedia Changes
Finally, we're adding a few quality of life improvements to help with your Zoopedia usage:
And lastly, we've also added the option to quick trade from the Animal Management screen! This will work similar to Release to Wild, and means that Quick Trading is now available beyond the Trade Centre.
We hope you're looking forward to all of these new changes! The update will come with various other tweaks and bug fixes, so as always, we will have a full list of patch notes for you on launch. There's more news from us still to come very soon, so be sure to keep an eye out on our social media, but for now we'll be hanging out on Twitch to chat about update 1.7 and spend some time with you all. See you there at 17:00 BST!
Planet Zoo - Update 1.6.3 available now!
Hayo Zookeepers!
Thank you to everyone who has been playing the Africa Pack and 1.6 Update, we're getting some really impressive builds coming in with the new content and love to see it! We'd like to extend an extra-special thank you to everyone who has submitted reports & helped bring issues to our attention. Today, we have another update for you that should address the bulk of these (such as mesh now being properly see-through!). As always, please keep sharing your feedback, reports, creations, and more!
Alongside the other fixes, we also have resolved one particular UI bug that is included below, but felt it was worth sharing the issue tracker link for it too so you're all aware as this one was having a big impact on your zoos: https://issues.frontierstore.net/issue-detail/40828
Patch notes for Update 1.6.3:
General Bug Fixes and Improvements
Planet Zoo - Update 1.6.2 Available Now
Hayo Zookeepers!
It's been a pretty incredible few weeks, it's so great to see you all enjoying the Africa Pack as well as Update 1.6, not to mention seeing entries for the forum competition coming in!
We've been reading all your feedback and this update will address quite a few of the things you've brought up (shoutout to tag updates as well as some crash fixes!). As always, please keep sharing your feedback, creations, and generally carry on being amazing to chat with <3
Here are the patch notes for Update 1.6.2:
Planet Zoo - 1.6.2 Update Notes General Bug Fixes and Improvements
Planet Zoo - Update 1.6.1 Available Now
Hayo Zookeepers!
It's been incredible seeing you all get to know our latest arrivals, and especially seeing you all explore the new scenery too! Thank you as always for all your feedback and raising any issues you've found, this update will help alleviate some of those and we are working on others at the moment (like some of the tags on a certain few trees!). Please keep sharing your feedback, but also what you're creating!
For this update, read on below to see the patch notes:
Planet Zoo - 1.6.1 Update Notes General Bug Fixes and Improvements
Planet Zoo - Update 1.6 and Africa Pack Out Now!
Hayo Zookeepers!
Ready for your next adventure? We're so excited to announce that the Africa Pack and free Update 1.6 have just arrived for Planet Zoo! Update your game now to start playing with this exciting new content!
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Update 1.6 is free for everyone, and comes with amazing new features that will really enhance your gameplay experience. In this update, you can expect Bear Updates - including an exciting update to make Polar Bears easier to include in your Zoos (you can read more about that here) - as well as Deep Swimming for multiple bears, so you can create even better habitats for these incredible creatures. We've also included the exciting addition of Custom Audio Speakers, allowing you to adjust what multiple speakers within your Zoo play, and create the perfect audio-scape for your Guests! We've provided some Frontier tracks to get you started, but you'll also be able to add custom tracks to really up the ambience in your Zoo.
If you're a Planet Coaster fan, you might recognise this one: we're bringing Vista Points to Planet Zoo! Vista Points allow you to guide your Guests to suggested viewing locations in your Zoo, and you can read more about how they can be used here.
You'll also get your hands on a challenging new Timed Scenario set in Central America! In this scenario you'll be taking charge of an animal sanctuary, and will receive new animals in need of your care on a regular basis! This scenario really focuses on the animals you'll be saving and their welfare, and you'll notice this is reflected in the requirements you'll need to complete it. Once you do, though, you'll be able to claim a Chimpanzee statue as your prize! We'll also be adding a few new building pieces in the free update, including something we think you might have been asking for...we're not mesh-ing around!
As well as the above, you're also getting expanded storage, expanded sandbox settings, and lots more in Update 1.6 - check it all out here, and in the patch notes below!
The Planet Zoo: Africa Pack is adding 5 new creatures, including four habitat animals and one exciting exhibit insect to the Planet Zoo line-up! Get ready to meet the sociable Meerkat, endearing Fennec Fox, amazing African Penguin, striking Southern White Rhinoceros, and the Sacred Scarab Beetle! These new animals will all have their own unique requirements, so you'll need to visit the Zoopedia to find out how best to care for them and keep them happy, and the Meerkat brings with it an entirely new behaviour - digging!
There are also 180+ new African themed scenery pieces to get stuck into for all you builders! These include whole buildings made in the iconic African 'Moorish' architectural style, paths, and decorative items, all of which are designed to help you create stunning new Habitats for your creatures as well as a fully immersive atmosphere for your guests - plus, keep them shaded with new types of foliage, including majestic doum palms, Dragon Blood, and Quiver trees! We've also included a brand new Timed Scenario, set in a stunning Oasis, where you'll be asked to create a paradise for Guests and Animals from limited resources and power - it'll be tough, but we know you're up to the challenge!
The Planet Zoo: Africa Pack is available for £7.99 ($9.99, 9.99€) on Steam right now.
You must have the Planet Zoo base game to download and play this new content. Update 1.6 is free, and is available for all players now.
We'd like to give a big thank you to our amazing PlanZo Fam for all of the support and feedback you've provided us! We hope you enjoy Update 1.6 and the Planet Zoo: Africa Pack! As always, keep an eye on our forums and social media for all news and announcements, and make sure to tune in to our Planet Zoo: Africa Pack showcase stream at time goes here today!
Now go play and enjoy!
Planet Zoo - 1.6.0 Update Notes This update contains many more bug fixes, updates and some new content. New Content - Planet Zoo: Africa Pack
New Content - Free Update 1.6
General Bug Fixed and Improvements
Planet Zoo: Africa Pack coming 22 June, 2021
Hayo Zookeepers!
We've been digging around searching for our next location to visit in Planet Zoo, and may have found a few favourites to bring to the roster along the way! This is a mighty continent that we are very excited to make the next stop on our journey together.
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We're very excited to announce the Planet Zoo: Africa Pack, available to purchase and download alongside free Update 1.6 on 22 June, 2021!
Are you ready to hear which animals you will get to meet in this pack? Get ready to welcome the sociable Meerkat, endearing Fennec Fox, amazing African Penguin, striking Southern White Rhinoceros and the remarkable Sacred Scarab Beetle to your Zoo! Each of these unique creatures will present you with a different challenge to look after them, from swimming with the African Penguin to space fit for a Southern White Rhinoceros and a new behaviour introduced by the Meerkat; digging! With new arrivals come new challenges, and we can't wait to see what kind of habitats you create to meet their needs. Don't forget to use the knowledge from the Zoopedia to help you out!
You'll also be able to take on a brand new Timed Scenario set in a stunning Oasis. With limited power and infrastructure, it will be your job to turn this Oasis into a paradise for guests and animals alike. Do you think you've got what it takes to make this zoo into a success? We certainly do! You've got this zookeepers!
As promised for all the builders out there, this pack will contain just over 180 incredible African themed scenery pieces, including some pieces in the iconic African 'Moorish' architectural style! You'll find whole buildings, new paths and more to play with (like this amazing statue below!) and build your dream new habitat's for these new African animals.
Planet Zoo: Africa Pack will be available for purchase for £7.99 ($9.99, 9.99€) on Steam from 22 June. Want to be notified when the game is available? You can head over to Steam to wishlist it right now! Please remember that you'll need to own the base game of Planet Zoo to be able to enjoy the Planet Zoo: Africa Pack.
Which of the animals is your favourite? Will you get to know the Meerkats first or check out the remarkable Sacred Scarab Beetle exhibit? Don't forget to head over to Twitter to vote on which one we'll showcase first!
Hayo Zookeepers! Curious to hear what's coming up for Planet Zoo? Then you're in the right place! We're very happy to share that free Update 1.6 will be available to download and enjoy from 22 June!
As always we're reading everything you share with us and working hard to include some of your most requested changes (in case you missed it we shared about changes coming to the Polar Bear a couple of weeks ago that will be in this update!). Free Update 1.6 will also bring custom audio speakers, habitat cameras, some deep swimming additions, vista points, expanded sandbox settings and search options! Read on to find more details about all of these below:
Bear Updates We've got a few changes to the bears for Update 1.6! We know that the Polar Bear has been a long discussed topic for the PlanZo community, and we've done more research into current holdings of Polar Bears to find a way to make them more viable picks for your Zoo. You can read more about those changes in detail here.
Alongside this, we're also adding Deep Swimming for multiple Bears including the following:
Be sure to research how you can create even better habitats for these wonderful creatures and get them swimming in June.
Custom Audio Speakers Custom Audio for your speakers will arrive in free Update 1.6. You will be able to pick various speakers throughout your zoo and adjust what they play, create the perfect audio-scape for your zoo! We've provided a preset list of Frontier tracks, but you'll also be able to add and select custom tracks and even mark some as favourites to reach them quickly if you know you'll be using them often. When you get your hands on this feature, be sure to experiment with the different types of speaker available to you as there are different types of 'audio feel' that will change how your choice of audio is output accordingly. Are you adding an ambient track for atmosphere, or livening up a guest centric space? See which works for you! The audio formats that will be compatible are:
Vista Points The Planet Coaster veterans among you will know this one, we're bringing Vista Points to Planet Zoo! With a Vista Point, you can help guide your guests to recommended locations and directions to view your wonderful habitats and focal points in your zoo! While they will default to the location you point them in, you can also use this to direct your guests to a specific focus as well, such as a piece of scenery you've created. Doing so will leave your guests feeling very appreciative of your efforts and reward them with a small happiness bonus when interacting with it.
You can also set vista points to be looking at habitats which will function differently than when set to scenery. While with scenery they will look directly at the piece you've selected, instead it will provide a boost to the attractiveness of nearby viewing points, and will tell you in it's info panel if it isn't currently near any for the selected habitat. A Vista Point will help guide and direct your guests, however if they find an easier to reach viewing point that is just as good before they get to the one you want them to use, they are likely to stay where they are (once you've got a good view already, who can blame them!). With this great new tool at your disposal, your guests are sure to see the very best that your zoo has to offer.
Timed Scenario Get ready to travel to Central America for our newest free Timed Scenario! This scenario has something a little different planned for you. Take charge of an animal sanctuary where you will receive new animals on a regular schedule in need of your care and attention! Some have even arrived before you, giving you a focus right away. This scenario is all about the animals you save and their welfare, as you'll see reflected in the requirements to complete it. For those who do, there's a Chimpanzee statue waiting for you to claim as your prize.
Habitat Cameras and camera effects A new feature we're adding will help you feel a bit closer to your animals in enclosures, thanks to a new camera asset. To find this, go to Facilities> media devices and education> visual media. These cameras can be placed and used however you like, although one of the best places for them is within a habitat. Once there, you'll be able to view the habitat using the camera itself (just like a webcam in a zoo in real life!). Much like in real life as well, Planconians LOVE to see their favourites from home as well as at the zoo, so you'll be able to gain a small marketing bonus for up to 6 Habitat camera's in your zoo (but they will need to be in range of your habitats for this to apply!).
We're also adding camera effects, ranging from vignettes to various levels of warmth/cold and night vision too. You'll find a bespoke button in the UI for accessing this, and it will also provide access to a camera light too (which is especially great for getting those night vision shots looking just right). For the avid photographers here, these filters will also be maintained when using Nvidia Ansel. We can't wait to see what how your screenshots look with these new tools.
Animal Trading Changes In free Update 1.6, we'll be making a few changes to animal trading. This will include an increase in the storage limit from 50 up to 200, as well as updates in the UI that will give you more information about each animal's trade status. We're also including search options! You will be able to search through your animal storage, and use filters for which parameters you want to see. Are you looking for a specific genetic makeup that you know you've got somewhere? You can search for it! These search parameters will be saved per zoo, but can also be easily reset with the click of a button. Search will be available in the following places:
Staff Management Changes In a previous update we rolled out the staff management changes a little too fast, and so reverted this so we could work on them a little longer but we're happy to be releasing them soon in Update 1.6. These changes will create categories for each type of staff that you can toggle to be collapsed or not (and this will be remembered in each save) as well as the ability to use multiselect on your staff to adjust wages, set work zones and much more. These changes will help those of you with bigger zoo's have a much easier time managing all of your diligent staff.
Continue your Zoo in campaign scenarios Many zookeepers have shared how they would love to continue the zoo's they create in career scenarios, so we've added a small change! Once a player achieves gold in a career scenario, a new fanfare will pop up to inform you that the animal exchange will start to populate with all available animals. This means you can continue to play in your career scenario park that you've built up and love without the set limitations on which species will appear.
Expanded Sandbox Settings Last but not least, we're introducing a whole new host of sandbox options! These options will give you even more control over your sandbox zoo's as well as let you organise which zoo has which options enabled. Sandbox will now be receiving new preset selections for you to either emulate another mode, or save your favourite custom settings. These will be available in Default preset, Creative preset, Challenge preset and Saved Custom preset. The settings you use for each sandbox zoo will be saved to that specific zoo, meaning you can have a different set up for every zoo if you would like to! If you've found your dream sandbox settings however, you can use the Saved Custom preset option to save those and apply them to any other zoo you build as well. So that you can prepare your sandbox zoo's for these new options, check out the list of what we'll be adding below: Social Welfare
Habitat Welfare
General Welfare
Guest Settings
We hope you're looking forward to these new changes! This update will come with other tweaks and bug fixes, which we'll have a full list of patch notes to share with you when we release it. We'll have more to share with you very soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
Update 1.5.3 available now!
EDIT: We have now released Update 1.5.4.
General Bug Fixes
Planet Zoo - Update 1.5.1 Available Now
UPDATE: We have now also released Patch 1.5.2:
Stability
Planet Zoo - Southeast Asia Pack and Update 1.5 Available Now
Hayo Zookeepers!
It's time for our next adventure to begin! We're excited to announce that the Southeast Asia Animal Pack and free Update 1.5 have just arrived in Planet Zoo! Update your game now to start playing this fantastic new content!
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Update 1.5 is free for everyone and includes brilliant new features that will have you exploring new ways to get the most out of Planet Zoo. In this update, you can expect Custom Billboards, which we announced a couple of weeks ago and we know many of you are looking forward to! Custom Billboards will allow you to upload custom images and video to display around your zoos, meaning you create your own maps, signs and more for your Guests to enjoy!
We are also adding Multiple Zoo Entrances, a highly-requested addition that will allow you to place multiple entrances in every gameplay mode, meaning you'll have complete freedom with the spawn locations. These entrances do not come cheap, but with a number of them, you will be able to increase the efficiency of your zoo and have your Guests arriving at the hotspots in no time.
Another feature we've been really looking forward to you all getting your hands on is the new Water Visual Setting UI. Water volumes are now fully interactable and selectable objects, with their own information panel. Via the water's UI, you'll find some trivia statistics, connection details for what cleaning and temperature facilities are affecting the lake, and, best of all, customisation options! These options will allow you to change the colour of the body of water via flexicolour and change the 'fogging' distance, which will allow you to make it more or less clear in visibility. This was something we've heard a lot of feedback and suggestions on, and we can't wait to see what you do with this new feature.
You can read about what else is arriving in Update 1.5, which also includes a free timed scenario at Goodwin House, Scenario Rewards and the ability to save Franchise Zoos as Sandbox, through this link here.
The Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack is adding eight iconic creatures, including one exhibit and seven habitat animals! Get ready to meet the Clouded Leopard, Sun Bear, Proboscis Monkey, Binturong, Malayan Tapir, Ussuri Dhole, North Sulawesi Babirusa and Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect! These incredible creatures will all arrive with their own requirements, meaning you'll need to visit their UI and the Zoopedia to learn how best to care for them so they thrive in your zoos.
There will also be a new paid timed scenario, that will have you jetting off to Perak, Malaysia to tackle the challenge of bringing a struggling tropical zoo back to life. To revitalise this zoo, you'll need to bring all your determination, creativity and great management skills to overcome the difficult obstacles that lie ahead. We've no doubt you can do it!
The Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack is available to purchase for £7.99 ($9.99, €9.99) on Steam right now. You must have the Planet Zoo base game to download and play this extra content. Update 1.5 is free and is available for all players right now.
We'd like to give a big thank you to our amazing PlanZo Fam for all of the support and feedback you've provided us! We hope you enjoy Update 1.5 and the Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack as much as we've loved creating them for you all. Please keep an eye on our forums and social media channels for all news and announcements, and make sure to tune into our Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack showcase stream at 12PM BST today!
Now get back out there and have some fun!
Planet Zoo - 1.5.0 Update Notes
This update contains many more bug fixes, updates and some new content.
