Learn how to build your own zoo in Planet Zoo
Hayo Zookeepers!
Welcome to the second part of our Beginner’s Guide to Planet Zoo series! In this guide we’ll be covering the basics of building your own zoo, covering everything from terrain to habitats and facilities.
If you’re new to this series, make sure to read our guide on the basics of Planet Zoo first.
For an in-action look at building a zoo, join Principle Pipeline Artist, Liesa, in our video focused on construction within Planet Zoo: Console Edition.
The landscape upon which your zoo is built is completely customisable, with terrain sculpting and painting tools that allow you to modify the zoo to your heart’s content.
Terrain sculpting allows you to modify the elevation and shape of the landscape within your zoo to craft hills, flatten areas and create scenic vistas to build exhibits and attractions. Some modes will allow you to either start with a flat area to build or an already sculpted area to edit.
All the sculpting tools can be modified by tuning the intensity and size options of the terrain brush, which will alter the speed and scope of the effects made on the area.
Terrain sculpting tools include:
The terrain in your zoo plays an important role in its suitability for different animal species and their happiness within the habitats. The specific terrain requirements and preferences for each animal can be found in the Zoopedia.
There are six core terrain types:
Animals don't distinguish between different types of rock, dirt and sand. If an animal likes sand, both fine or coarse sand will be acceptable. However, animals do distinguish between grasses and may prefer them in different proportions, so be sure to check the Zoopedia and monitor their happiness in the habitat.
Water is an essential part of many animals' lives and it is an important factor to consider when building a zoo. Many animals need a body of water in their habitat to swim, keep cool and drink from. If water is necessary in this way, it will be highlighted along with any space requirements in the Terrain tab of the animal's info panel.
Adding water is a simple process:
Once added, water can be selected in two different ways in order to customise it: move to the body of water to select it or enter the ‘water selection’ mode from the terrain browser.
The colour of individual bodies of water can be adjusted with the flexicolour system. The water transparency can also be changed to create very murky or crystal clear water. Any custom water colour setup is saved but can be returned to the default colour with the ‘Use natural colour’ toggle.
Water in a habitat that contains animals will become dirty over time, but you can also manually place water into an unclean state if that's what you'd like! But be aware: untreated water will increase the chance of infection if present in an animal's habitat, and so should be kept clean wherever possible using a water treatment facility.
There are two kinds of animal homes in Planet Zoo:
A basic habitat consists of a habitat barrier and a habitat gate. To create a habitat:
You can also start building your habitat by placing the gate and building outwards. If you are not happy with the position of your gate it is possible to move it around the wall.
For an animal to be placed in the habitat, it must meet all of its requirements.
Issues that would make a habitat invalid include:
After constructing a basic habitat, the next steps include acquiring the following:
Once these are in place, ensure that all the facilities – including the habitat gate – are connected together by paths and are powered wherever appropriate.
There you have it, you now have a basic habitat to house an animal!
There are many barrier types that can be used to build the perfect habitat, each has its strengths and weaknesses.
When looking at a barrier type and considering its suitability for any given animal, the two most important factors are the resistance grade and climbing status.
The opacity of the barrier indicates whether the guests can see animals in the habitat. It also indicates whether the animal can see the guests – and therefore whether they may get stressed due to being viewed.
Barriers that are marked as watertight are suitable for holding volumes of water.
With the exception of hedges, electric fences and null barriers, all barriers that are used as a habitat perimeter will deteriorate over time, with the rate of deterioration depending on the makeup of the wall.
As a barrier degrades, it becomes less fit for purpose and at a given point it may be compromised enough for the animal to break out! If a barrier degrades completely, it will simply collapse and any animal that can reach it will be able to escape.
Barriers visually show their degradation, but the exact status of a habitat's barriers can also be seen in the Habitat Info panel. Barriers can be repaired by mechanics either as part of their routine inspection or if specifically called to the habitat.
There are three types of gates that can be inserted into a habitat wall:
Windows allow guests to view the animals and many walls can support windows. Look for the windows setting and select either windowed or one way glass. For one way glass, the direction of orientation can be flipped if it is facing the wrong way. One way windows allow animals to be viewed by guests without increasing the animal's stress level.
To help prevent escape, climbproofing protection can be added to some walls. Once you have selected the wall, look for the climbproof setting and set it to left, right or both sides of the wall this is useful for situations where two habitats share a barrier.
Beyond the standard ability to adjust the height of barriers, there are some other options to play with as listed below:
While barriers are being placed the behaviour of the new segments can be adjusted with the following behaviours:
Null barriers are used to create a habitat perimeter without using a physical barrier. Animals will simply walk across a null barrier – and escape if they can! – so they must be used in conjunction with other elements such as a cliff, water feature or ha-ha ditch.
Null barriers provide a clear view for guests and, in areas where walls might be unhelpful or unattractive, also allow habitat construction to occur without wall placement.
Both heaters and coolers require power to affect a change in the ambient temperature. Placing the object will trigger the Temperature view mode, illustrating the effect of the device on the surrounding temperature. When setting the desired temperature of the heater or cooler, note how hard you're asking it to work – the further from the ambient temperature you set it to, the greater the ongoing running costs.
Water Temperature Regulators will change the temperature of connected water bodies to the target temperature over time. Larger water bodies will take longer to change temperature. The water cannot go below freezing temperature. Placing the object will trigger the Water Temperature Regulator view mode, illustrating the effect of the device on the surrounding water.
Animals escape when they manage to leave their habitat. The most common reasons for an escape are:
If an animal can escape it will attempt to do so.
It could be a wall or a line in the dirt, but every habitat has a boundary and once an animal crosses it they have escaped. This is true even if they cross from one habitat directly into another; if an animal is not with its assigned habitat, it is considered to have escaped.
When an animal escapes, it gets stressed and its welfare is affected. Guests do not want to see an animal in an escaped state and, if the animal is considered dangerous, guests will flee the zoo.
Animals that have escaped must be captured by a vet. Escapes are treated as high priority incidents and a vet will aim to capture the animal as soon as is possible. If the animal's habitat still exists, the vet will return the escapee to it.
Check the Zoopedia and make sure you have sufficient barriers:
Guests can view animals by standing on a path, sitting on a bench or taking a transport ride. To actually see an animal they must have a line of sight. Barriers, foliage and other objects all reduce the quality of view as does the distance between the guest and the animal. Careful placement of windows, feeders, toys and other habitat items can be used to draw animals to better viewing locations.
A guest that is completely unable to see any animals will relocate to try and find a better view. If this is unsuccessful, after a few attempts the guest will give up on that animal. As guests view animals they gain happiness, the amount of happiness they gain depends on the quality of the view with the best views giving the greatest benefits. The happiness of the guests will be reduced if the animals being viewed are in poor condition.
Building a basic habitat is easy, but building a habitat which keeps both your animals and guests happy can be a little harder.
Creating a good habitat requires:
What works for one animal won’t work for another, so be sure to consult the Zoopedia and experiment to find the best approach for your animals.
Exhibits are predefined habitats with closed walls used to house the smaller 'exhibit' animals.
There are two types of exhibits:
Each exhibit can hold one species at any given time. As with habitat animals, exhibits and their inhabitants are looked after by keepers.
The following must be present for an exhibit to be functional:
Once an exhibit has been established, animals can be acquired from the Exhibit Trading screen and instantly transferred to the exhibit.
As with habitats, guests will approach the window of an exhibit to get a view of the animal inside and will always prefer to see healthy well looked after animals. To reach a viewing point, the exhibit window must be connected to a guest path. If a window is not connected or if it is closed on the 'Windows' tab, guests will not be able to see the animal and will not try to view it. For the larger walkthrough exhibits, guests can view the exhibited animals both from the interior path, or paths alongside windows that aren't 'closed'.
Paths form the lifeline that connects all of the zoo's facilities together. Without paths, staff and guests cannot navigate around the zoo. Paths can be created by accessing the 'paths' menu.
To build paths:
Every time you place a path piece, you will jump ahead and start placing the next path piece. The length and widths of path pieces can be changed to suit your needs. Wider paths cost more to place but can support larger numbers of guests before crowding and bottlenecks occur.
Staff paths are inaccessible to guests. They are used to efficiently transport staff around the zoo, and to keep guests away from staff facilities that would impact their enjoyment of the zoo.
Many zoo facilities will not run unless they are powered, therefore maintaining a power supply is essential to maintaining a functioning zoo.
A power source will power anything that touches its radius, even if the object or habitat is only partially within it. Power facilities will deteriorate and lose efficiency over time; transformers are more resilient to deterioration than wind turbines, while solar panels are the least durable.
Once a power facility's efficiency reaches 50%, its effective radius will start to shrink. This may mean that they stop powering critical facilities and these in turn will fail. When the efficiency rating reaches 0%, the power system will fail completely.
There are a number of ways to provide power for your facilities.
Relatively cheap to build and have a large functional radius, but are a non-renewable source of energy and have a running cost based on the number of items they are powering. Guests are not impressed by seeing transformers and will become unhappy if they meet the eye; place them away from sight to avoid this.
A renewable energy source that’s more efficient in windy, colder climes. They cost more to purchase than a transformer, but incur no running costs. Guests understand the benefit of wind turbines, but they are noisy and so they still incur a small happiness penalty.
A renewable energy source that's more efficient in warmer, sunny climates. Like Wind Turbines, they cost more to purchase than Transformers but don't have a running cost. Guests understand the benefit of Solar panels so they're neutral to their presence.
Both forms of renewable energy will help boost the zoo's conservation rating.
Water treatment facilities require power and are used to keep water bodies clean. Water treatment is essential for animal welfare as it provides them with clean drinking water and reduces the chance of disease. The cleanliness of water also gives guests better views of animals through clear water.
Guests are not impressed by seeing water treatment facilities and being near them will make them unhappy. A water treatment facility will clean any body of water within its radius, even if partly outside its radius.
Water treatment facilities deteriorate and lose efficiency over time. Once a water treatment facility's efficiency reaches 50% its effective radius will start to shrink. This may mean that they stop cleaning water bodies. When the efficiency rating reaches 0%, the water treatment system will fail completely.
Staff facilities are the collection of buildings the staff use to perform their duties. All staff facilities must be powered and accessible by path to function. Staff facilities that have scenery placed around and/or built onto them improve the happiness of your staff whilst they are inside.
Guests don't like to be near staff facilities, so staff facilities should be placed away from them. The strength of this dislike varies from facility to facility.
The trade centre acts as a gateway for animals into the zoo. It is essential for bringing in any new animal. Animals sent to the trade centre will be put into storage – with their age and needs frozen – and can then be released to the wild or traded for cash or Conservation Credits in Franchise Mode.
Any adopted animals will appear in the trade centre, where a caretaker or vet will collect them and transport them to the desired destination when ordered to do so. The trade centre has separate capacities for habitat animals, exhibit animals and rewarded animals.
If the capacity is met, no more animals can be adopted or put up for trade.
Keeper huts are the only location in a zoo where keepers can prepare food. They are therefore critical for maintaining healthy animals.
Keeper huts come in two sizes which affect the number of keepers that can prepare food simultaneously. This is determined by the facility's 'capacity' which can be found on its info panel.
Positioning of keeper huts is important. This is because the distance from the hut to the habitat gate, or exhibit, determines how much walking a keeper needs to do as part of the food preparation cycle.
Staff rooms are buildings where staff can go to rest and regain energy before returning to their duties.
Staff that do not rest will become inefficient and will eventually quit. There is limited space within a staff room as determined by the building's 'capacity', and only a certain number of staff can use it at any given time.
If a staff room is unpowered, or full, staff will queue outside until it becomes accessible.
Staff rooms are needed to train staff and can also be used to set staff perks.
They have a yearly running cost and give specific boosts to staff members who rest there.
The quarantine can be used to safely isolate sick animals before treatment at a vet surgery. It is also used to check over new animals entering the zoo before they are sent to a habitat. There are two sizes of quarantine with different capacities.
The veterinary surgery provides the only location for vets to treat disease and injury. Not having a vet surgery is therefore a risky business. Only one animal can be treated in a vet surgery at any given time.
The research centre is used by vets to further the zoo's knowledge regarding animals. There are two sizes of research centre - the small centre which accommodates one staff member and the large centre which accommodates six.
The workshop is used by mechanics to perform research. There is a single size of workshop, and it can only accommodate one mechanic at any given time.
Guest facilities are buildings designed to fulfil a guest's needs. In many cases they need power to function. If they have scenery associated with them then the guests and any staff that work there will have their happiness improved.
Zoo entrances determine the location at which guests enter and leave the zoo. They also act as a useful starting power source that guests don't mind being near. Selecting a zoo entrance displays its info panel, and this can be used to set ticket prices for adults and children.
Additional zoo entrances can be built to distribute guests more evenly in large zoos. Guests must pass through a Zoo Entrance gate in order to purchase a ticket and freely move through, enter or exit your zoo.
Each food shop sells a different type of food, some of which may be more appropriate to the climate of the zoo. For example, guests will become happier after eating warm food in a cold climate. Food shops need both power and a vendor to function.
Each drink shop sells a different type of drink, some of which may be more appropriate to the climate of the zoo. For example, guests will become happier after a cold drink in a hot climate. Drink shops need both power and a vendor to function.
Building a restaurant is a great way to satisfy your guests hunger and thirst needs whilst giving them some much needed rest. Guests who use restaurants will leave happy, with full bellies and full bladders, so don't forget to build a toilet block nearby.
Each souvenir shop sells a different type of souvenir and guests are willing to spend more money on souvenirs when they are happy.
*Souvenir shops will be coming to Planet Zoo: Console Edition post launch.
Toilets provide a place for guests to address their toilet need. If you like, you can choose to charge guests for this privilege. Toilets need power and also periodic cleaning by a caretaker.
Once toilets become dirty they will emit a green stench. This will make nearby guests feel unhappy and can make them sick. Toilets in this state are unusable.
Vending Machines can be placed down instead of food and drink shops. Vending Machines are a cheap alternative to shops, however, items purchased from Vending Machines don't satisfy a guest's hunger or drink need as much as an item bought from a shop.
Items in a Vending Machine cannot be customised like they can when sold by a shop. Vending Machines also require power and will breakdown so need to be maintained by mechanics.
Information centres are locations where guests can purchase:
Information centres need both power and a vendor to function.
Donation boxes are essential to the finances of a zoo. They provide a point at which guests can make a donation towards a species they have recently seen. To be successful this means that the donation box must be near the viewing point of a habitat. The more enjoyable the viewing experience a guest has had the more likely guests are to donate – and the greater the donations will be.
Donation boxes do not need power but must be placed on a path.
ATMs allow guests to withdraw additional cash when they are close to running out. Guests that have run out of cash will no longer be able to make purchases, meaning that ATMs have a critical role to play in larger zoos in order to maintain cash flow. It is possible to charge guests for use of the ATM, however setting this value too high will make them unhappy.
ATMs must be placed on a path and have power to function.
As guests move around the zoo they become tired and their energy levels start to fall. When placed on an accessible path a bench can provide a method for guests to take a breather and regain energy.
Picnic benches provide a location for guests to both rest and eat, and are therefore ideally placed near food and drink shops.
Both types of benches can be vandalised and this will stop them from working.
Bins can help reduce the litter in a zoo. Guests will use a bin rather than deposit litter onto a path or into a habitat. Bins fill up over time and will overflow if not emptied by a caretaker.
Recycling bins work in the same way as a normal bin, but have one key benefit and one downside; they boost the zoo's conservation rating at the cost of taking longer for caretakers to empty.
Bins can be vandalised and this will stop them from working.
Mechanics maintain facilities to prevent them from breaking down, and can even repair a facility that has completely failed. Mechanics can do this as part of their normal patrol, but can also be summoned by using 'Call Mechanic' in the facility's info panel.
Education items are used to provide education to the guests about specific animals.
Each education source (talks, boards, speakers and guides) can contribute towards the guest education for a single species. For a guest to feel fully educated, they need to receive education on multiple species. Species with higher levels of research contribute a greater amount to this.
Guests will use a sign by stopping at it and examining its contents. If the content relates to an animal in proximity, the guest's education level is boosted. If the animal is far away the boost is reduced.
The amount of education boost the guest receives relates to the research level of the sign's animal (more highly researched animals give a greater boost). This is represented on the sign with the most visually complete signs representing the highest level of education.
Education signs must be powered and placed on paths to work.
Guests will use a speaker automatically by walking through its area of effect. If the contents relates to an animal in proximity, the guest's education level is boosted. If the animal is far away the boost is reduced, and if the speaker is placed too far away from the target habitat it can negatively affect the guests happiness.
The guest must spend a period of time in the presence of the speaker otherwise the education boost will not reach its full potential. Speakers for different animals that overlap will cause the confused guests to become unhappy and they will not receive their education boost.
Education speakers must be powered to work.
Conservation signs are used to provide education to the guests about specific conservation topics. Guests will use a sign by stopping at it and reading its contents, the location of the sign is not important to its function and the sign cannot be improved through research. Guests that read the sign will have their education level boosted.
Conservation signs must be powered and placed on paths to work.
Education stations can be placed along paths to boost general guest education. Guest groups with children will stop by education stations and will wait for the children to interact with the station.
Interacting with an education station will provide a small boost to happiness and education for the entire group. Education stations must be powered to be usable by guests.
Audio Guides can be purchased from Information Centres. When a guest has an Audio Guide they will learn about animals as they walk around the zoo, soaking up information when they are near habitats and exhibits.
Billboards are customisable media devices that allow you to choose the imagery that is displayed. To customise the image that's shown to your guests, select the billboard and choose an image from the menu in the billboard's info panel.
Habitat Webcams can be placed in and around habitats to provide your zoo with a minor marketing boost. The marketing boost is applied to the closest habitat in range and is only applied once per habitat. Overall, 30% of a zoo's marketing reputation can come from habitat webcams. You can view the webcam’s broadcast by using 'Enter Camera View' from the webcam’s Info Panel.
Animal talks require an Educator staff member to function. They provide large boosts to education for the guests about specific animals. Animal talks must be placed on normal paths to work and should be next to an animal habitat or exhibit. They will only take place in the scheduled month, to give guests and staff advance notice of when talks take place.
Animal talks can support up to 50 guests attending a talk. This capacity can be expanded by placing and linking Animal Talk Seating. Guests will prioritise seating when attending a talk.
To ensure smooth performance as your zoos grow, Planet Zoo: Console Edition features a Zoo Complexity Meter.
The Zoo Complexity measures the total sum complexity of all elements in your zoo. This includes animals, habitats, scenery, facilities, paths, and lakes. If your zoo reaches 100% complexity, you will no longer be able to add any new elements and animal breeding will be disabled until your zoo's complexity is reduced.
Phew, that’s a lot to take in!
You should now have what you need to start building your very own successful zoo, from creating the ideal habitat to building the facilities your zoo needs to function.
Missed part 1? Head there now to read about the basics of Planet Zoo or continue with the guide and learn about the stars of the show in our guide to the animals of Planet Zoo.
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