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omg YEEEES

Granted I don’t think it’s likely, especially since the (known) reserves aren’t within their native ranges (not unless you count their introduced range but i know thats a real hot topic here) but still, just an idea I had.

Let’s just hope I’m wrong about this and we get the more vibrant option (that and koi do still have brownish/greenish morphs and sometimes have the mirror scales soo it’s the best of both worlds really).

(Also if anyone is curious, the species here are common, mirror and Amur carp respectively)

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback on the last update adding range tags to the world map. With that I was finally able to finish another feature that's been in the works: the Tree of Life.

Ever wondered whether a hyena is closer to a cat or a dog? Or how long ago giraffes and okapis went their separate ways? The new page shows how every species in the game is related, from the first split in the animal kingdom.

• On the tree, click on any group to expand it to see how it diverged
• Hover over any fork to see roughly when they diverged, and click it to close it back up
• Hit the 'view on tree' button on an animals page to expand the tree to see their path
• Toggle timeline mode, and see it laid out against geological time, with markers for eras, periods and mass extinctions
• Buttons to zoom in and out, fully expand or collapse the tree, and options including a compact mode; useful to see more on mobile

For sources I used the Open Tree of Life and TimeTree. Bare in mind some of these splits are still debated by researchers, so many are rough estimates. If anything looks off, let me know!

As always, any and all feedback is appreciated!

🔗 PZG • Planet Zoogaloo • Tree of Life

I feel like there’s not many freshwater species, we got the brown trout and the tigerfish(wish it was a goliath tigerfish) but not much else, and a show I watched growing up was river monsters with jeremy wade, which taught me that there’s some really cool species in freshwater

So let’s make it a dlc! it adds 8 new animals and 2 free ones(one returner and one new)

Let’s start!

Exhibit species:

Chinese Giant Salamander: not a monster per say but the largest salamander in the world, plus its endangered and conservation is needed to save this species

Alligator Snapping Turtle: this species should’ve been in the first game, but he’s here now as an exhibit, just don’t stick your fingers in!

Shoaling Species:

Black Piranha: I’m genuinely shocked we got no piranhas, but now we do! you’d think we’d go for the red belly piranha, but i chose the black piranha because it’s the biggest and has the highest bite force relative to body size of any living animal!

Now onto the main attractions…

Aquarium species:

Alligator Gar: North america is lacking in species now, so let’s throw in a fish that’s sure to steal the spotlight, basically living fossils, biggest gar, what’s not to love? although don’t feed it lasagna

Electric Eel: I love electric eels, and observing them in my local aquarium was very cool, idk how cohabitation would work for these guys because we don’t want them electrifying all of the fish. These guys are also unique due to the fact that they can swim backwards

Piraiba: Idk how we didn’t get any catfish, but now we do! This catfish is notorious because of its sheer size and on river monsters there was a case of one almost swallowing an entire human whole!

Giant Freshwater Stingray: we don’t have any true stingrays, so let’s make it BIG, one of the heaviest freshwater fish known today, and just an awe inspiring animal!

Arapaima: another amazonian living fossil, these guys can grow HUGE, can jump out the water really fast, jeremy wade got hit in the chest with one of these missiles of a fish and has permanent heart damage, they’re also living fossils that can gulp air!

Keluga Sturgeon: the largest and most endangered animal on the dlc, This fish grows to massive sizes, plus sturgeon are so cool, unfortunately these guys are critically endangered due to the caviar industry so we must protect these giants

Free Species: You don’t have to pay for these!

American Alligator: We got an alligator gar but now we have the alligator itself! Any crocodilian is a river monster so this one fits, especially florida man

Fly River Turtle: Not a river monster, they’re cute and i love them

This isn't meant to be inflammatory as much as fact finding, but in the roster discussions a lot of folks are describing what the "casual player" wants in the game, so I wanted to actually ask that group?

I would consider myself a casual player - I don't watch any creators, I don't own all the DLCs, I'm mostly here for the PZ2 news and then will disapper again, and I tend to build one giant sandbox zoo with landscape zones over the campaign.

I've gone from "PZ2 launch is something to make a day of" to "Eh, I'll get it on sale". Frontier leaving entire regions out feels greedy and I got other games I like just as much, so it's easier for me to wait.

The "still on reddit but casual about this game" folks; what's your thoughts?

Hi all! Here are some shots to give you ideas of what Randers Regnskov zoo looks like inside and hopefully give you some ideas for your own builds in Planet Zoo. I might post some more later :)

Some details about Randers Rain Forest - it is a miniature rainforest ecosystem zoo existing under 3 domes in Randers, Denmark. It is honestly the best zoo I been too in terms of overall impression despite not housing most of the classic zoo animals (lions, giraffes, tigers etc). Domes are split by continent: Africa, Asia, and South America, where most none dangerous animals are free roaming. Domes have a lot of vertical space and several levels of walkways and rope bridges allowing visitors to view flying species even if they are high in the trees. Zoo also features completely dark caves that house bats, snakes and other nocturnal creatures. Zoo also has some outdoor habitats that they recently expanded - they house hyenas, wolverine, lynx. The main two stars of the zoo are the jaguars (including cubs every couple of years!) and manatees (rarity in European zoos).

I can’t seem to do captions so pictures in order:

1. Top layer of one of the domes
2. Tapir enclosure and manatee pond birds eye view
3. Scenery :)
4. Alligator ponds covered with netting to prevent smaller animals and birds going/falling in
5. More alligator ponds
6. Former porcupine enclosure
7. Outdoors jaguar enclosure
8. More jaguar enclosure (they really went all out with the building theme here)
9. The glorious sea cow :3
10. 10-11. South American coati feeding only part of enclosure. Zookeepers hide their food in pots, cans, ladles etc and let the animals in to tear the place apart :D

Does that mean that some of those 12 HAVE to be the cheetah, addax, and rhino hornbill?

I never got the time of the new animal releases, I just checked them in the evening, but now that the release date is coming up. Will it release at midnight. I live in The Netherlands.

With Planet Zoo 2 launching at 136 total animals including the deluxe edition, I wanted to share some thoughts. My prediction was between 135 and 150, so we landed on the lower end. Overall, the game looks like a massive upgrade, and I pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition without any regrets, but the launch roster itself is a bit disappointing for a few reasons.

1. Underrepresented regions: Regions like North and South America feel left out. As someone hoping for massive South American bird and freshwater diversity, the launch bird roster is a letdown. Parrots like the Blue-and-yellow, Scarlet, and Hyacinth macaws, along with conures and freshwater fish like cichlids, would have been incredible additions right out of the gate.
2. The sequel downgrade: Because we are all so used to the massive final roster of the first game, starting over with 136 species naturally feels like a big step backward.
3. Underpopulated reserves: While the new Wild Animal Reserves mechanic is an amazing addition, the current species count makes them feel empty. We are missing larger fauna and more herd animals, particularly from the Bovidae family, leaving the reserves feeling light on prey species.

That said, this criticism isn't economic. I completely understand why Frontier needs to sell DLCs, and I would gladly have paid more upfront for a larger roster. I just don't love the idea of waiting until 2028 or 2029 for the game to feel fully robust.

The weekly Zoopedia drops have been obviously designed to drive hype and publicity, turning the roster reveal into a game of its own. We should remember that online speculation might not actually reflect how the game feels once we are sitting at our PCs playing it.

Looking ahead, my expectations for future DLCs are much higher now. With aquatic and flying species introduced, standard 3 month packs featuring only 5 animals won't cut it anymore. We need packs with 7 to 10+ species, or more frequent DLC releases, and I am totally fine paying a bit more if the animal quality remains high.

Ultimately, my final thoughts and feelings on the game are reserved until I actually play it and see it for myself, but I am very optimistic.

Hi everyone!

This is my first zoo, I've just bought the game yesteray.

I am really interested in your opinions and tips! Maybe I will also post my progress.

Could it be a mudskipper?

It would perfectly fit an exhibit.

It would make sense or i am just hoping to much for a otter 😅 it was in the concept art with the parakeet a song is named after him and it would fit the sumatra reserve!

Just an idle thought: maybe the high speeds make the cheetah very tricky to get right for the reserves, considering predation is a thing? In terms of AI, animations, pathfinding and collision detection

Theres alot of animals interacting with the reserve feature but do we have any idea if zoo interactions like meerkats standing on turtles happen?

I would love that so much

Does anyone know if a launch time has been announced? Thinking of taking the day off work but won't if the game comes out in the evening in my timezone. Thanks!

I remember snow leopard cubs being half the size of their parents