This game has room for a lot of improvements

[Velvetlotus]

Yes the graphics are pretty for PZ, but the lack of interaction with animals in Zoo Tycoon 2 kills this game for me - there's nothing to do while waiting for revenue for a new exhibit. I kind of miss the minigames from zoo tycoon 2 expansions too.
It's price doesn't justify the entertainment past the pretty graphics.

[Supahz]

Yeah, this game isn't nearly as good. I can understand people liking it, but it doesn't do it for me. I haven't been tempted to play since release week.

[Psyringe]

Planet Zoo doesn't try to be a better Zoo Tycoon 2, it's a different game with a focus on management and realism.

You're the _manager_ of the zoo. You don't interact with animals because that's what the keepers are for, it's simply not your job. You also don't have to do the tedious, repetitive, boring tasks of e.g. feeding the same animal the same food over and over, or cleaning the same habitat over and over. Again, you hire keepers to do that. Planet Zoo lets you focus on the higher level decisions - building habitats, planning your zoo, keeping your guests and your workers happy, trading and breeding animals etc. It also gives you unprecedented freedom in constructing and decorating things.

If that's not to your liking, then yes, you will like the Zoo Tycoon games more. But, again - Planet Zoo was never planned or advertised to have these things, and even just comparing the Steam descriptions of, say, Planet Zoo and Zoo Tycoon Ultimate makes that immediately clear. I buy lots of games, but I wouldn't spend 40-50 bucks on a mere assumption that a game has certain features that it never claims to have.

[Velvetlotus]

Originally posted by Psyringe:

Planet Zoo doesn't try to be a better Zoo Tycoon 2, it's a different game with a focus on management and realism.

You're the _manager_ of the zoo. You don't interact with animals because that's what the keepers are for, it's simply not your job. You also don't have to do the tedious, repetitive, boring tasks of e.g. feeding the same animal the same food over and over, or cleaning the same habitat over and over. Again, you hire keepers to do that. Planet Zoo lets you focus on the higher level decisions - building habitats, planning your zoo, keeping your guests and your workers happy, trading and breeding animals etc. It also gives you unprecedented freedom in constructing and decorating things.

If that's not to your liking, then yes, you will like the Zoo Tycoon games more. But, again - Planet Zoo was never planned or advertised to have these things, and even just comparing the Steam descriptions of, say, Planet Zoo and Zoo Tycoon Ultimate makes that immediately clear. I buy lots of games, but I wouldn't spend 40-50 bucks on a mere assumption that a game has certain features that it never claims to have.

In terms of entertainment I would expect something that costs a lot more in comparison to similar (if not the exact same) style game as others to be more entertaining than something that already exists, its how the market works. Fancy graphics aren't everything, game mechanics are equally if not more important - there's cheaper zoo management games out there with the exact same mechanics this does. Being different can be good, maybe this game should not offer the exact things commonly offered, but definitely better. With this "game" I got bored in the freaking tutorial... It needs more than fancy assets. Why reinvent the wheel - unless you can remodel the wheel and go somewhere else nobody has been before?

Zoo tycoon 2 sold so well because players had other activities than plonking down items with a right or wrong choice - like digging for fossils, piecing fossils, reviving fossils, solving cures for diseases, training marine mammals, recovering rampaging dinosaurs (that was always entertaining) as well as optional interaction with animals (if you manage zoo tycoon 2 properly, you don't need to do the same repetitive tasks!) By all means yes it had some major flaws but when you consider what tools were available at the time of its creation, it was a pioneer which excelled in its field and people can continue today to play it.

[isais007]

Zoo tycoon 2 I love but after playing this I can't go back to zoo tycoon 2 seems like a child's game to me. Planet zoo is far better

[banjobindlestuff]

I gotta disagree. tbh a few years ago I spent a long time craving zoo tycoon 2, finally replayed it, and realized it was missing a lot of things that I enjoy in other tycoon style games (fast forward being one of them.)

Despite the bugs, thus far I've found this to be a very enjoyable game that expands on the things I really like (designing the zoo+habitats.) to each their own tho.

[Velvetlotus]

Originally posted by banjobindlestuff:

I gotta disagree. tbh a few years ago I spent a long time craving zoo tycoon 2, finally replayed it, and realized it was missing a lot of things that I enjoy in other tycoon style games (fast forward being one of them.)

Despite the bugs, thus far I've found this to be a very enjoyable game that expands on the things I really like (designing the zoo+habitats.) to each their own tho.

Why do you need "fast forward" if you have other things to do? That right there is enough to say "there isn't enough to do", shouldn't need one!

There's no "fast forward" on other successful time management/simulations like Harvest Moon...

Bottom line this sort of game really doesn't need the fancy graphics unless you're playing pure sandbox mode - in which there's not really challenge, so it gets boring rapidly.

[banjobindlestuff]

man, fast forward is just required for games of this style. also worth noting that harvest moon is a completely different genre with completely different gameplay.

i get the feeling that you just aren't as fulfilled by the creative aspects of the game, in which case... buy a different game. or if you haven't already, just redownload zoo tycoon 2 and play that instead.

[blackfrog]

Originally posted by Velvetlotus:

Originally posted by banjobindlestuff:

I gotta disagree. tbh a few years ago I spent a long time craving zoo tycoon 2, finally replayed it, and realized it was missing a lot of things that I enjoy in other tycoon style games (fast forward being one of them.)

Despite the bugs, thus far I've found this to be a very enjoyable game that expands on the things I really like (designing the zoo+habitats.) to each their own tho.

Why do you need "fast forward" if you have other things to do? That right there is enough to say "there isn't enough to do", shouldn't need one!

There's no "fast forward" on other successful time management/simulations like Harvest Moon...

Bottom line this sort of game really doesn't need the fancy graphics unless you're playing pure sandbox mode - in which there's not really challenge, so it gets boring rapidly.

It's nice seeing people saying that they can respect and see why someone would like something they don't and as soon as someone does they get defensive, asserting the superiority of their own opinion over the other.

Also most of the minigames ZT2 had (bless that game) where introduced with the expansions, way after the original game sold and saw its success.
On the base game the most you could do was roam around the zoo and press spacebar to clean, feed and shower the animals; that doesn't seem as a minigame to me but just a nice touch to the game.
Let's compare a base game to another base game please, it's like when people compared JWE with a heavily modded JPOG, it's just unfair to the new product by not even giving it a chance.
Looking at it this way we got tour rides on release, a thing ZT2 only got in its first expansion ZT2:ES.

While I wish this game had the same guest mode as ZT2, I also have to recognize that PZ is a fantastic product in its own right, giving me the freedom to build I always wanted in ZT2 but that the game couldn't give me at the time due to technological limitations back then.

[Robin-Wan Kenobi]

ZT2 is a fantastic game, but so is Planet Zoo.. give them time to improve things.

[Velvetlotus]

Originally posted by banjobindlestuff:

man, fast forward is just required for games of this style. also worth noting that harvest moon is a completely different genre with completely different gameplay.

i get the feeling that you just aren't as fulfilled by the creative aspects of the game, in which case... buy a different game. or if you haven't already, just redownload zoo tycoon 2 and play that instead.

I'm expressing my disappointment, its a form of criticism which in turn can improve a market.
I don't tell you what to like and not to like and how to go about expressing it, so I'd appreciate you giving me the same respect.

[solarism]

easy solution: then play it, and leave here

[Tiberius]

In a way, i agree with you. There's not much of a gameplay after you finish building. The only thing you need to do is preventing animal overpopulation. Any other gameplay challenge can easily be prevented by building good zoo layout.

This kinda reminds me of sims 3 vs sims 2 argument. Sims 3 offered more robust building, more items, and bigger open world, while sims 2 offered more intricate animation and interaction between the sims.

With all the buidling tools (despite it's overly complicated) you have in planet zoo, you can see what planet zoo is trying to be. It's a building game, not much of a management game, and i respect that. It's still way better than that trainwreck JWE. JWE doesnt knw what it wants to be. Too limited for a building game, too shallow for a management game.

[Velvetlotus]

Originally posted by GhostKillez:

ZT2 is a fantastic game, but so is Planet Zoo.. give them time to improve things.

I really hope at some point they do consider having more activities over the same repetitive content. Though as a prediction, its still in early access and they're already selling DLC for just animals, I can see that continuing - its just a greed grab, milking people holding out for better content. In one or two years suddenly all support is dropped when they can't squeeze out much more... Seems common with developers on steam.

Originally posted by solarism:

easy solution: then play it, and leave here

That comment has as little point as the action you suggest.

[juicyjuice]

This game is better if there isn't a major bug annoying me every hour. Zoo tycoon is definiatly more polish right now and gave a smoother experience.

[vannah]

both zoo tycoons were lovely and well rounded, and their base games tried to encompass so much- educational information, management, animal interaction, and all well organized and easy to start with. when they had expansion packs, they were Actually Expansion Packs. Dinosuars and extinct animals. aquarium and water training.

the problem with Zoo Planet for me is that from the begining its clearly going to turn into a cash grab. the makings of something off Origin like the Sims, or like Skylines. intentionally Zoo Tycoon leaves itself unfinished, and in little more than a month it barely puts out a single game-breaking-bug fix patch and then directly into a paid expansion pack for the arctic content the original was blatantly lacking in an obvious sort of way.

they didnt even bother finishing their post release fixes. didnt even bother fixing most of the problems people pointed out. they just went directly for "pay us 10 dollars for what should have just been base game content with a basic tundra biome" and its an infuriating disappointment. "give them time to improve things" is a fair argument- IF they have intentions to. they dont. they want to sell you over priced expansion packs. clearly thats more important for them then improving the actual games content.