arerandomised.Andif ananimalgets
intoa scrapit’llpickupwoundsthat
will,overtime,developintoscarsand
staytherefortherestoftheirlife.
Detailslikethishelptomakethe
creaturesunderyourcaremorethan
justassetstoearnmoney– although
thisbeinga sandboxgame,if you
wanttotreatthemthatway,youcan.
Youmonster.
“Ananimalwillbebornandyou’ll
seeit growandreacholdage,and
you’lldefinitelyfeela senseof
ownershipthere,”saysChrisMarsh.
“Whatwehavetodo,asanimators,is
makesuretheirhealthis readable.”
Anexampleofthisis that,whenan
animalis sick,itsbodylanguagewill
change.Itsheadwilldrooporits
walkcyclewillbemorelaboured.
ThePlanetgamesarealldesigned
thisway,soyoucanpickupthings
withoutrelyingontheHUD.Players
willevengettoknowwhata
particularanimalcallmeans,
immediatelyidentifyingif a specific
creatureis indistress.
“Inourgames,youcanpullthe
cameraupa mileintotheskyand
scanyourhabitats,”saysMarsh.“SoI
thinkyoushouldbeabletotell
what’swrongwiththemfromthere,
andnotjustwhenthecamerais up
close.Butbeingabletozoomin
hungry.Yourpathsalsohavetooffer
placesforthegueststogeta clear
viewoftheanimals,aswellas
effortlesslyguidingthembetween
habitatsingoodtime.
“Wewanteverythingyoudoin
PlanetZoo, froma creativepointof
view,toaffectthemanagement
simulationtooinsomeway.”
Atfirstglance,PlanetZooseemsa
lotmorelow-keythanPlanetCoaster.
It’snotasnoisyandcolourful,which
I supposemakessenseconsidering
zoosaregenuinelymorechillplaces.
I askPiersJacksonif theyintended
thegametobemoreunderstated.
“We’veputa lotofeffortintoour
foliage,”hesays.“Theplantingof
treesis reallyimportanttothehabitat
creation,whichgivesthegamea
realistic,organicfeel.Butplayerscan
stillcreateoutlandishthings.Westill
havethefullpiece-by-piecebuilding
set,andwe’llhavea wholenewsetof
elementsforpeopletocreatewith.
I’mseriouslyhoping,andexpecting,
ourcommunitytowowuswiththe
thingstheybuild.”
Butratherthanjustthrowanimals
intoPlanetCoaster, Frontieris using
thisnewgametorefinethecoreofits
particularstyleofmanagementgame.
“We’realwaystryingtomakeour
gamesbetter,”saysJonnyWatts.
“ThenextstepinthePlanetfranchise
is workingevenharderatmakingit
justifiesthedetailweputintoincidentalanimations.”
Theserandomanimationsincludea pairoflioncubs
rollingaroundandplay-fighting,andelephantslocking
tusks.Animalswon’talwaysgeton,andsomespecies
won’tplaynicewithothers.
Ifyouputa loadoflionsina habitatwitha herdof
zebras,you’regonnahavea badtime.I tellMarshthatthe
animalsI’veseenaresomeofthemostconvincingI’ve
encounteredina game,andheexplainsthatthisoneof
themostimportantgoalsFrontieris strivingtoachieve.
“Wedon’twanttheanimalstofeellikethesethinshells,”
hesays.“Thebearis a greatexampleofhowwe’vemade
thesecreaturesfeelbigandheavy.”
ALLTERRAIN
Aswellascertainthingsbeinganimatedbyhand,there’s
alsoa proceduralelementtoanimalmovementinPlanet
Zoo. Becausea playercancreateanykindofterrain,a
proceduralanimationsystemcomesintoplay,meaning
they’llmoverealisticallyoveranylandformationyou
happentoputinfrontofthem.Marshshowsmea demo
ofthisinaction,manipulatingthegroundasoneofthose
bearsmovesalongit,andI’mimpressedbyhowthehefty
beastnavigatestheterrainwithoutmissinga beat.
“Theguestshaveneedsaswell,”saysPiersJackson.
“Aboveall,theyhavetoseetheanimals.Iftheydon’tgeta
goodviewthenthere’llbea negativereaction.Butthe
animalsaren’tmeanttojustsitthereandbelookedatlike
they’reina shopwindow.Sothere’sa management
tensioninthegamewhereyou’remakingsureyour
habitatsaregoodfortheanimals,butalsomakingsurethe
guestscangeta goodlookatthem.”
“Pathingis alsoimportant,becauseyouneedtocreate
anefficientnetworkforyourkeeperstorestockfoodand
soon,”addsJonnyWatts.“Ifthey’remilesawayfroman
animal,orthepaththereis toocomplex,theycango
deeper for the people who like that,
but more accessible for others.”FEEDBACK LOOP
Frontier is known for its close
relationship with the people who
play its games, most notably Elite
Dangerous, which is always adapting
to the needs of its playerbase.
“We’re always listening to the
community and absorbing the
feedback,” says Watts. “We take it on
the chin when we need too. If you
want to just put a few animals in a
zoo and watch them, that’s cool. But
if you want to extract more from the
game and uncover its complexity,
you’re going to have to work a bit
harder and learn the systems.”
Planet Zoo is shaping up nicely.
What impressed me most, I think,
was the animal tech – both the AI
and the animation. They really do
feel alive, and there was something
relaxing about hovering over a
habitat and watching them go about
their business, swimming, eating,
socialising, and occasionally, you
know, pooping. There’s a lot in the
game I’ve only seen glimpses of,
including glass enclosures that you
can house snakes, reptiles, and
insects in. And, if previous Frontier
games are anything to go by, you can
expect new features to be added long
after its initial release.1
Usingthe
landscapingtool
youcanplace
grass,sand,rocks,
andothertypesof
terraininhabitats,
butyoucan’tjust
dowhatlooksnice.
Youhaveto
considerwhatkind
ofenvironment
eachanimallikes.2
Pathsare
important,
becausenotonly
doyourguests
needtoactuallysee
youranimals,but
thekeepersneeda
clear,efficient
routebetweenthe
habitatstokeep
themcleanandthe
animalsfed.3
You’llneed
otherformsof
entertainmentto
keepyourguests
happy,including
placesforthemto
spendmoney:
restaurants,gift
shops,andsoon.
Bettermakesure
youhaveplentyof
toiletstoo.4
This water is
filthy, which
means you either
don’t have a nearby
water purifier, or
it’s broken down.
While some animals
don’t mind dirty
water, your guests
won’t be able to
see them
swimming in it.5
You can build a
railway and a
tiny steam train to
carry visitors
around your zoo.
This is quicker than
walking, but it also
provides a
happiness boost,
because, well, who
doesn’t enjoy riding
on a tiny train?1
5
4
(^23)
PARK LIFE How to build a successful zoo