We are sadly nearing the end where I've begun running out of space and have to either commit to my ideas or radically change them before too many guests move into the area and make that impossible.
^ Here's an overhead view of Hawkkeye's Large-Billed Crows and Great Hornbills. Hornbills are one of my favorite species of birds and while I've mentioned I am not a zoologist and don't know very much about them, their appearance(s) have always been so striking to me as an aspiring creature designer who wants to design birdlike creatures for the fictional worlds I build. I was saddened to learn that some of Hawkkeye's earlier hornbill downloads weren't compatible with each other because I originally wanted to make a massive aviary showing them all off together (the Great, Knobbed, Helmeted, and Borsato's Rhinoceros Hornbill) but he knows more than me about animal compatibility so I just went with the Great for the time being. They have probably my favorite appearance out of them all.
^ a close-up shot of several hornbills mingling with crows, foliage turned off
^ Here we have an overhead shot of the Desert Warthog and Addra Gazelles, again from Hawkkeye. I highly recommend taking the time to google addra gazelles because they are unbelievably gorgeous, as many North African gazelles are. Truly a sight to behold. I don't consider myself a 'furry' per se but I do feel a sort of 'kinship,' (for lack of a better word) with deer and antelope as a trans person, but I digress. I wanted to do something special for these guys and build them a shelter 'complex' of sorts out of RDingFT's Age of Empires Pile Walls mod, specifically the purple pieces. Some were sunken into the ground for height variation and despite the animals 'complaining' about the terrain height on the zookeeper suitability page, it hasn't lowered their happiness or overall suitability at all; they are high in the green. Combined with some statue pieces from Genki's Egypt Megapack mod and the gate shelter from toodlepop's Panda research mod, I'm very happy with my results.
EDIT: I almost forgot to mention! Both of these species have an average-to-high breeding rate so for any curious users who want to use them in their own zoos, make sure you build them an exhibit big enough for them! The Addra breeding rate is higher and they will build you a large herd in no time. This may dissuade some users from combining them with other animals, unless you like the challenge. At the time of re-writing this, I have 11:
^ behind the 'maze' with the memory pavilion in the center, we have a multiplex theater courtesy of Jane. This area definitely needs some heavy editing because you can tell I overdid it with the rope lines. I'm going to have to look at some more images of theater setups IRL and compare them to see what I come up with next time I load up.
^ part of the 'road' where the multiplex is housed, with restaurants and convenience stores, beside the desert ungulate exhibit. I'm posting this one to make fun of myself because I didn't realize at first how awkward it looks to have both these buildings, the Frosty Palace most of all, pressed right up against the exhibit. This really isn't a big deal and I'd imagine most players wouldn't care like I do, but it looks silly to me, as though the cars are trapped with nowhere to go. 😅 This is more of me being anal and nitpicky because that isn't even the building's opening for guests to enter through. Purely graphical. I wasn't paying attention at the time lol.
^another featured building, surrounded by shrubbery and flowers to create a lush feeling. This time I was smart and didn't press the building right up against the back wall - it has two openings and guests can become trapped.
^ Unfinished area for the zoo museum, next to the Pachyrhinosaurus and Regaliceratops exhibit. Somewhat overkill. I'm going to cut down on the flowers and switch out the tiered fountains for a water feature that isn't as 'busy.' They're beautiful in their own right but unnecessary here. Those elephant statues, African Bush and Indian, came from one of RDingFT's 3D Isometric Animal Statue packs. You just can't have a zoo without elephant statues, in my opinion. I isolated them from the combined file with the help of Zoot. Thanks again to @Goosifer for reminding me of that program's existence. It has helped cut down so much time organizing files.
That's all for tonight's update!