Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Pack coming 30 March, 2021!
Hayo Zookeepers!
So far on our journey with Planet Zoo, we had the chance to explore grand regions across the globe. We've had some incredible adventures together visiting different continents and experiencing new landscapes, all while getting to meet a wide range of wildlife. We've been scouting out our next destination, looking for more glorious animals to meet and learn more about, and it's time we announce where we are off to next.
But before we get to that, we have something else to share with you! Thanks to your feedback, we've been exploring ways to bring even more animals to life in your zoos, and so we are delighted to share with you all our very first Animal Pack DLC. This pack differs from existing DLC, in that it focuses mainly on giving you many more creatures to care for, as well as a timed scenario for you to get to know them better in as well.
With that in mind; we are thrilled to announce the Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack, which will arrive alongside free Update 1.5 on 30 March, 2021!
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The Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack will introduce you to eight spectacular, community-favourites, including one exhibit and seven habitat animals that will make for stunning additions to your zoos. We can't wait for you to meet the magnificent Clouded Leopard; unique Sun Bear; mischievous Proboscis Monkey; fascinating Binturong; marvelous Malayan Tapir; adventurous Ussuri Dhole; wonderful North Sulawesi Babirusa; and the intriguing Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect!
As you have come to expect, each of these animals come with their own requirements for them to live a long, healthy and happy life, so you'll need to be prepared to take on these new challenges. The Zoopedia will have everything you need to know to ensure you look after them correctly. We cannot wait to see all the creative habitats you'll build for your new arrivals, all while suiting your desired aesthetic!
The Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack will also include a brand new timed scenario! Get ready to travel to Perak, Malaysia, to see if you've got what it takes to take charge of a struggling zoo set in a tropical rainforest. This scenario will put all the skills you've learned to the test, to take it from a difficult challenge to a roaring success.
The Planet Zoo: Southeast Asia Animal Pack will be available to purchase for £7.99 ($9.99, €9.99) on Steam from 30 March. While you wait, you can wishlist it on Steam to be notified of when you can purchase and jump in. Please note you will need to have the Planet Zoo base game in order to download and play this additional content.
We're very excited to bring you this new type of DLC, and we can't wait to see how you welcome these incredible creatures into your zoos. Keep an eye on our forums and social channels for all upcoming news and announcements! As always, we'd like to say a big thank you to all our PlanZo Fam for your wonderful support!
It's time for us to share some news about what you can expect to arrive in Planet Zoo soon. We're excited to reveal free Update 1.5, arriving 30 March 2021!
This free update contains multiple highly requested additions, as well as some quality of life changes. Thank you for sharing all of your feedback and suggestions with us, it has helped us sculpt this update and we're proud to reveal what we've got coming to Planet Zoo! This post will explain what you can expect and how it will affect your gameplay.
Multiple Zoo Entrances
We've heard your requests - you will be able to place multiple zoo entrances in every gameplay mode. They will be expensive, but you'll be able to set up the perfect spawn points and entrances, further increasing the efficiency of your zoo! This will also add close options on your spawn points, so you can disable any that are outside the park boundaries, if you would like to. This means that you'll have complete freedom with the spawn locations, something we know many of you are after. These changes bring a new warning notification that will pop up if your newly placed guest spawn points are too far away from a ticket booth, which would lead to guest inefficiency.
Water Visual Setting UI
Water volumes are now set up as fully interactable and selectable objects, meaning that you will be able to click on them to bring up their information panel (although, this will only happen if your cursor can detect the body of water - if you have the water completely covered in scenery, for example, you will also be able to find the water in the 'Select Lake' option in the Terrain Tools section).
Via the water's UI, you will find some trivia statistics about the lake, connection details for what cleaning and temperature facilities are affecting the lake, and, most interesting, customisation options. These options will allow you to change the colour of the lake via flexicolour and change the 'fogging' distance, which will allow you to make the lake more or less clear in visibility. We know this was something many of you were reporting feedback on, so we're happy to bring you these creativity options! These changes will be available for all the water around your zoos, meaning that you'll have these options whether it's within a habitat blueprint or it's a moat around your zoo. You'll be able to cater the water to your requirements!
Please keep in mind that changing the water visuals will override the visual cleanliness. This means that the water will look the way you have designed it to, but it does not affect its actual cleanliness rating in the game. You will still need to follow the correct steps when setting up your water to ensure you animals can enjoy it safely.
Billboards
Custom Billboards will be making their Planet Franchise return in Update 1,5! With the introduction of Custom Billboards, you will be able to create your own bespoke signs around your zoos, meaning you'll be able to customise the signs to whatever you'd like to showcase in your zoos. Like in Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo's Custom Billboards will include new assets, such as screens, that will allow you to change the image on it to one of your own. The formats of the images Billboards will use are currently jpg, png, tiff, tga, and bmp.
You will also be able to override Habitat, Exhibit and Conservation Education Boards. However, you will still need to set up your boards to be pointing to the animal or topic in the UI menu, as this is what the guests need to understand what your custom image is trying to show them. We know that some of you enjoy creating custom videos alongside your custom images, and we're proud to announce that the Education Boards, Conservation Boards and Billboards will also be capable of displaying video. These work in the same way to images, but your videos will need to be in the webm format. You will be able to have audio in these videos.
Like in Planet Coaster, we will also be bringing Custom Audio to the speakers! The audio will need to be in flac or ogg format. When adding in your custom audio, you will need to set the Education Speakers up via the UI to state what species or topics your custom audio is representing, so your guests will understand. Customisation on the Education Speakers will also allow you to add in new music to the Educator Talk Points, which will play while the Educator is not giving a talk. As we're currently working on Custom Audio, we will be sharing an update for when you can expect to see them at a later date.
Free Timed Scenario
Update 1.5 will have a new Scenario for you to tackle! Go back to the beginning, to before Bernie created his first ever zoo, at Goodwin House. Take over the renovation of Scholey Manor, the grounds of Bernie's first zoo, and build it into a thriving attraction. See if you can beat Bernie's record for a successful Lion breeding program in this new free Timed Scenario. We can't wait to see you tackle this challenge!
Timed Scenarios
The Front End Globe UI that you see on the main menu screen has been updated to better present the Timed Scenarios to you, rather than it being hidden behind the Career button. This update is linked to the Scenario Rewards below.
Scenario Rewards
We're adding the statues you see on the Globe of the Career and Timed Scenarios as scenery pieces that you will receive as a reward for completing them! Completing a medal on a Scenario level will earn you that medal's colour version of the statue (bronze, silver or gold) and unlocking a new level will unlock the stone version of that statue too. This means that there'll be a range of new scenery statues you can earn by completing a Scenario level, that you'll be able to place all over your zoos!
For those of you who have already complete the scenarios (which we read via your profile data), you will be presented with a fanfare on the Globe screen telling you that you've unlocked some or all of these statues already. Otherwise, when you complete a level, a fanfare will show you the new item you have unlocked. The locking mechanics behind these rewards works the same as if you haven't already researched an item - they appear with a lock on them in the scenery browsers, and any blueprints that use an item you haven't unlocked will have a lock on them.
Changes to UI (Franchise Web Browsers)
We're switching the Franchise Animal Trading UI from using the webpage to using the same UI as our offline modes. The intention behind this is to both unify the feeling and features of the game modes, and also hopefully address usability issues some community members were having with the Market.
Save Franchise Zoos as Sandbox
On the Front End My Zoos page, you can now use the 'Open as Sandbox' or 'Open as Challenge' option on your Franchise Zoos to save them as fresh Sandbox or Challenge Mode Zoos. This will also allow you to upload these separate saves to the Steam Workshop to share; we cannot wait to see your beautiful Franchise Zoos start popping up on the Steam Workshop.
Staff Traversable Area Map
We've added a new habitat Heat Map Mode that shows the traversable area of Staff members within a habitat. You will be able to see where Staff members can reach, just like the animal traversable area Heat Map, and objects that the Keeper needs to reach such as feeding trays and drinking stations will also be highlighted.
Multi-Select
We will be adding multi-select back into Planet Zoo! Designed to make it easier for you to manage your animals, multi-select will be in the form of a tick box that will be added to the Animal Storage tab across the different Planet Zoo modes.
Deep Swimming added to Gharials
In Update 1.5, we will be adding deep water swimming to the Gharials. In future updates, we're looking at adding deep swimming to other animals in the roster. When we have more to share on these, we will let you all know.
This update will also arrive alongside some gameplay tweaks and bug fixes, which we've been working on with your suggestions and feedback in mind. Update 1.5 will go live 30 March, and you will be able to read the full list of Update Notes then.
To all the PlanZo Fam, we'd like to thank you for your continued support. We're looking forward to having a great 2021 with you all, and can't wait to share what else we've been working on soon. Keep an eye out for any announcements!
Planet Zoo - Update 1.4.3 Available Now
Hayo Zookeepers!
It's been awesome seeing all of your wonderful creations over the holiday period! Now we're back in the office, we're hard at work on some of the issues you've been sharing on the Frontier Issue Tracker and social media. Thanks for sharing them with us; we're now ready to release Update 1.4.3! Please take a look at the Update Notes below:
Planet Zoo - 1.4.3 Update Notes This update contains many more bug fixes, updates and some new content.
Bug Fixes Animals
Staff
Scenery
Facilities
UI
Localisation
Stability
After further investigation, we will not be re-enabling multi-select in Franchise Mode with this update. This is due to a compounded issue with clicks not registering which we want to address. For those experiencing this issue, a temporary workaround of clicking the very bottom edge of a button can sometimes work. For further updates please continue to check here on the forums and on our social channels!
Please continue to share your issues on our Issue Tracker! We will continue to fix any of those troublesome bugs that aren't held in an exhibit. As a reminder, please also keep sharing your feedback on our official forums.
Planet Zoo - Update 1.4.2 Available Now
Hayo Zookeepers!
Thanks for sharing all your awesome feedback following the Aquatic Pack! It's been wonderful for us to see you get acquainted with the new animals, and we've loved seeing you create habitats for them. We'd also like to thank you for sharing any issues you've come across; we're now ready to release Update 1.4.2! Please take a look at the Update Notes below:
Planet Zoo - 1.4.2 Update Notes
This update contains many more bug fixes, updates and some new content.
Bug Fixes
Localisation
Stability
Known Issue
Please continue to share your bugs on our Issue Tracker! We will return in the new year to read your feedback, and suggestions, to continue improving Planet Zoo!
Known Issues: Multi-select for Franchise Mode Animal Storage - we are aware people have been experiencing issues with it. We have removed it for now, but we're aiming to release Update 1.4.3 early next year and we're looking to include a solution for the Multi-select in that update.
Planet Zoo - Update 1.4.1 and Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack now LIVE!
Hello Zookeepers!
It's time for an Aquatic adventure! We're pleased to announced that free Update 1.4.1 and Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack have launched! Make sure your game is up-to-date, and get ready to jump in and make a splash!
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Update 1.4.1 is free for all the PlanZo Fam, and adds some highly-requested features that will enhance your gameplay experience. In this update, you can expect Animal Talks, something that we know many of you have been looking forward to since we announce them a couple of weeks ago. With the Animal Talks come a new Staff member, the Educator!
We're also adding an Underwater Box Feeder, a new type of feeding station. At this time, animals from the Aquatic Pack and the Saltwater Crocodile (from the base game) are the animals that can use it, but we will be adding this ability to more animals in the roster in the future. We will keep you updated on this as we continue to update Planet Zoo.
You'll also get your hands on the Water Temperature Regulator, a new facility that will allow you to customise the temperature of all water volumes within its range. This will have your animals who enjoy spending time in water feeling even more comfortable in your zoos! We're also adding in a new management screen that will summarise all of the Transport rides in your zoo, a new Challenge Scenario based in the mountains of Luzon, in the Philippines, and free scenery assets for you to play around with!
Our Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack is adding five iconic, swimming animals: King Penguin, Grey Seal, Giant Otter, Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman and Diamondback Terrapin. The habitat animals in this Pack will be able to deep-swim, which means they will present a brand new set of considerations when adding them into your zoos! Make sure you visit the Zoopedia to see how to keep them feeling happy and cared for.
The 170+ scenery, building, and foliage pieces in the Aquatic Pack have a modern feel, so that you can get the max amount of versatility from them. This is thanks to both community feedback, and also because the animals in the Pack represent a much wider range of habitats and climates. The team based the scenery choices on what you may see occurring in the wild, and how Zoo's themselves replicate those objects for practical, functional and aesthetically sensitive solutions - revolving around the idea of 'fake' rocks and trees, and how they work in habitats suitable for water based animals.
You'll also be tasked with a new Timed Scenario, in a zoo that's based in a drained riverbed in Oregon, USA! This zoo lacks space, but it has a lot of elevation for you to play around with. We know you're up to the challenge of making this zoo a success!
Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack will be available to purchase from Steam for £7.99 ($9.99, €9.99). You must have the Planet Zoo base game in order to download and play this extra content. Update 1.4.1 is available for all players to download and enjoy right now, for free!
Thank you, everybody in our incredible PlanZo Fam, for all of your support and feedback. We hope you have an absolutely brilliant time playing Update 1.4.1 and the Aquatic Pack! 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: Aquatic Pack showcase stream at 12:30PM UTC today!
(For this update, the team have gone straight ahead to Update 1.4.1 - this includes 1.4 and bug fixes that were scheduled for 1.4.1!)
Planet Zoo - 1.4.0 Update Notes
This update contains many more bug fixes, updates and some new content.
Animals
New Content
With Update 1.4, we'll be adding a new Water Temperature Regulator facility that will allow you to customise the temperature of all water volumes within its range. This will help you have full control over the welfare of animals that like to spend a lot of time in the water, which will allow you to ensure your animals have maximum comfort in your care.
Using the Water Temperature Regulator Information Info Panel, the facility can be customised to suit the layout and requirements in your zoos, as you'll be able to:
Sandbox
Staff
Guests
Zoo Construction
UI
Stability
Known Issues
Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack coming 8 December, 2020!
Hayo Zookeepers!
Since we launched Planet Zoo over a year ago, we've visited various landscapes: we've trekked through the freezing tundra; hiked around the lush, dense jungle; journeyed across the Australian Outback, all to meet the various species in those regions and learn more about them! But, there was something we just couldn't get out of our minds, somewhere we wanted to explore further, but just weren't quite able to. Until now.
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It is our absolute pleasure to announce the Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack, which will be making a splash alongside free Update 1.4 on 8 December, 2020!
In the Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack, you'll meet five stunning, iconic animals, including four deep swimming animals and one exhibit animal which will arrive with a new exhibit landscape! Get ready to meet the wonderful Diamondback Terrapin, charming Giant Otter, beautiful Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman, brilliant Grey Seal and adventurous King Penguin. With the introduction of deep swimming, which we will be sharing more on very soon, these animals will come with their own challenges, as they have specific needs you'll need to keep in mind when building their habitats, to keep them happy and safe.
Alongside the animals, the Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack will bring 170+ scenery, building and foliage assets, which will enable you to build a water wonderland your animals will thrive in. These assets in this pack have a more 'modern' look, meaning they have a lot of versatility and can be used in a wide range of zoos - something that a lot of community members shared that they were looking for!
That's not all! We're also bringing you a brand new timed scenario! You'll be travelling over to Oregon, USA, to take on the task of managing a zoo that's set around a drained riverbed. This zoo will test your abilities, thanks to its tight space restrictions, and you'll need to think outside the box of how to make the best of the space you have - but don't worry! What this zoo lacks in space, it makes up for in elevation.
Planet Zoo: Aquatic Pack will be available to purchase for £7.99 ($9.99, €9.99) on Steam and the Frontier Store from 8 December. Until then, you can wishlist it on Steam to be notified as soon as it's available. Please note you will need to have the Planet Zoo base game in order to download and play this extra content.
Thank you, fellow Zookeepers, for all of your support! We're excited to bring this highly requested content to you, and we can't wait to see you play it! Keep an eye on our forums and social channels for all the news and announcements.
We're proud to reveal more of what we've been working on: free Update 1.4, coming to Planet Zoo 8 December 2020.
This free update includes marvellous new additions, as well as some community requested features - thank you for sharing your suggestions with us! This post will explain the forthcoming update, what you can expect and how it will affect your gameplay.
Water Temperature Regulator
With Update 1.4, we'll be adding a new Water Temperature Regulator facility that will allow you to customise the temperature of all water volumes within its range. This will help you have full control over the welfare of animals that like to spend a lot of time in the water, which will enable you to ensure your animals have maximum comfort in your care.
Using the Water Temperature Regulator Information Panel, the facility can be customised to suit the layout and requirements in your zoos, as you'll be able to:
Adjust the Regulator's effective range.
Adjust the target temperature all water volumes in range should be regulated to.
There will also be a new Heat map mode added to the Water overview for the Water Temperature Regulator, that will show you:
The current range of each Water Temperature Regulator in your zoo.
The temperature each Water Temperature Regulator is set to.
The temperature of each volume of water in your zoo.
Underwater Feeder
The Underwater Box Feeder, a new feeding station, will be available as part of the free update. For now, the only animal that will use this in the game is Saltwater Crocodile, but we will be adding this to more animals in the future. When using this feeder, like any other food enrichment, its Information Panel will provide you with details on its food capacity, usage by animals, and food suitability. Additionally, there will be a status bar that will tell you if the feeder has been placed deep enough.
Zoo Management Transport Rides
Update 1.4 will include a new management screen that will summarise all of the Transport rides in the zoo. This screen will enable you to make faster and more accurate decisions about your transport rides to better manage your zoo.
The new Overview Tab will inform you on:
The number of different rides.
The most popular ride in your zoo.
The most popular station in your zoo.
The total annual profit for all rides.
The total number of guests that have used the rides in the current year.
The lifetime profit from the rides.
The Stats tab will break down each individual ride into more detailed information for you, by showing you:
Annual profit.
Annual guests.
Total track length.
What stations guests are using.
Each station's scenery rating.
The Management Tab will allow you to edit:
The number of trains (only while the ride is closed).
The number of cars per train (only while the ride is closed).
Maximum speed.
Ticket price (per station).
The status of the ride (overall and per station).
Challenge Scenario
We're excited to travel to the Philippines with you, for a new timed scenario set in the mountains of Luzon! Take on an adventure and transform disused rice terraces, while pushing conservational awareness. Make sure you have it ready in time for the grand opening ceremonies!
Animal Talks
We can't wait to bring you Animal Talks, something that we recently shared more about. A staple activity in zoos that help educate guests about the zoo and their conservation efforts, in Planet Zoo, Animal Talks will be run by Educators, a new Staff type that will help educate our guests about animals around your zoos!
For Animal Talks to happen, you're required to place an Animal Talk Point in the area you've set up for the talk to take place (we recommend carving out a section for each Animal Talk so that your guests don't block the path for your Staff and any guests travelling around the zoo). Animal Talk Points can only select a species for the talk from nearby habitats and exhibits. Once you've got it all ready to go, an Educator will get ready to do the Animal Talk, and both guests and (sometimes) animals will gather around to see what all the excitement is about!
These Animal Talks come with a new Information Panel. Each talk can be set up for one habitat or exhibit, and one species of animal. Through this panel, you will be able to:
Enable and disable Animal Talk Points.
Pick an animal species for the talk.
Pick a month to schedule the talk (it will take place annually).
Assign an Educator to the Animal Talk Point.
Assign the Animal Talk to a work zone.
Select music, which will play while the talk is not in use.
See if your placement of the Animal Talk Point will allow your Educator to throw food in.
There is also a new management tab for Animal Talks. In this tab, you can see:
List of Animal Talks
Location of the Animal Talk Points.
Habitat or Exhibit Talk Point type.
Assigned Habitat.
Assigned animal species - a talk can only be for one species.
Month the talk is scheduled.
Works zone assigned (Yes/No).
Added Creativity!
We can't wait to see what you do with the new, free scenery assets! Update 1.4 will bring you a set of 'decal decorations', two new guest paths, one new queue path and two variants to pre-existing queue paths, a new font for your 3D letters, 2D letters, and a range of foliage. We love seeing what you create, and we're looking forward to seeing how you incorporate these into your zoos.
Quality of Life
Thanks to your suggestions and feedback, we've added in a new feature:
Multi-Select for Franchise Mode Animal Storage
Something that has been requested for a long time now, we're proud to bring you the multi-select tool to Franchise Mode Animal Storage! This will make it easier for you to manage your animals, especially for when breeding gets out of hand quickly!
Update 1.4 will arrive with gameplay tweaks and bug fixes that we've worked on with your feedback and suggestions in mind. You'll get the full list of the Update Notes when Update 1.4 goes live on 8 December.
Thanks, PlanZo Fam, for all of your brilliant support and feedback as we continue to work on Planet Zoo. We're looking forward to sharing more about what we've been working on very soon! Stay tuned!
Planet Zoo - Update 1.3.4 available now!
Hayo fellow zookeepers!
Thank you for sharing your Issue Tracker reports and feedback with us, it is greatly appreciated! We have just released Update 1.3.4, and you can read what this involves here:
Planet Zoo - 1.3.4 Update Notes
General fixed
Fixed guests randomly entering a state of 'trapped' and then heading home.
Fixed staff not finding available staff rooms
General staff and guest navigation fixes.
Stability
Further crash and stability fixes.
Please make sure your game is up-to-date, and continue to share your feedback, suggestions, and any bugs you discover with us.
Planet Zoo - Update 1.3.3 available now!
Hayo, fellow zookeepers!
Thanks for all of your feedback, and Issue Tracker reports! We've just released Update 1.3.3, which you can download for Planet Zoo right now.
Here's what this update contains:
General fixed
Added new sandbox option to disable maintenance, stops vending machines, water facilities, power facilities, toilets and rides from breaking down.
Tweaked the input fields for sliders into a capsule design.
Added the ability to type numeric values for temperature\humidity sliders.
Fixed staff facilities sometimes not showing their negative impact radius after first being placed.
Animals will no longer break barrier walls when dilapidation is turned off.
Fixed missing string for animal colourisation on the zebra, panda and gharial albinos.
Fixed staff not moving animals from trade centre to designated habitat.
Fixed staff and guests struggling to navigate down a 4 meter path with vending machines snapped to both kerb edges.
Fixed 'mechanic not visited for long time' notification appearing with barrier dilapidation turned off.
Fixed Fahrenheit temperature sliders skipping numbers.
Fixed an issue when subscribing 100's of workshop items would eventually crash the blueprints tab on the browser.
Fixed an issue where pressing escape in the community challenge window would lock out keyboard input.
Fixed an issue when an animal dies in the box it was impossible to unbox it or move it.
Fixed an issue with the conservation management not allowing setting back to "none".
Fixed an issue where you would need unsubscribe to a workshop blueprint twice before it is removed from construction menu while in game.
"View All of this Species" button in exhibit info panel should now filter animal list to only show that species.
Fixed "New World Area Light" to function as it did before the 1.3.0 update.
Fixed guests littering, despite bins being present.
Staff and guest navigation fixes.
Stability
Further crash and stability fixes.
Please continue to provide us with suggestions, feedback, and Issue Tracker reports!
Planet Zoo - Update 1.3.2 available now!
Hayo zookeepers!
Thanks for your patience while we have worked on our new update. We've been hearing your feedback, and reading your Issue Tracker reports, and we've now released Update 1.3.2. It is available to download now, so please make sure your game is up-to-date.
