Guest Happiness Issue

[(Designer)Z.Z.]

Interesting. Ive never had a recovery team, I dont even know where to find it ;D

I love the invisible fence because nothing can break out of it.

I put the invisible fence footprint on the inside of the exhibit, and if I want a visible fence for looks, its footprint goes on the outside of the exhibit, making a kind of fence sandwich :)

[Fern]

Okay a few things to correct here. Paths do go toward guest happiness. Thing is that the best ones for that are user made. If you know how to read a ucs file look for this:

[EstheticBonus]  These settings indirectly affect guest happiness.
v = 9503  Man
v = 8  This is how pretty a man thinks this object is.
v = 9504  Woman
v = 8  This is how pretty a woman thinks this object is.
v = 9505  Boy
v = 8  This is how pretty a  thinks this object is.
v = 9506  Girl
v = 8  This is how pretty a girl thinks this object is.

The highest is 20 I think. Many ingame rocks and trees have a 0 value but most user made do have a value. Ingame paths and fences tend to have a small value but some user made ones have high values.

Another thing to watch for is the "cEstheticWeight = 33" If you are inclined to tamper with fiiles do not add this in if it is not there as chances are your game will start crashing. It is usually added to some ingame fountains and some statues. It is the line that makes guests "gawk" at a fountain or object. But it is the file type that controls that one and most user made files are the wrong type. It definitely should not ever be in a ucs file.

Next add tour guides and assign them 2 or 3 exhibits - that will help with donations.

But as with all staff make sure you do the research so they get the extra traiining. The extra helps make all staff better at their jobs and the spin off is happier/healthier animals.........supposedly........although I sometimes wonder.

Hacks: Be very careful as some hacks cannot be used with other hacks. The hack Jan mentioned somewhere is a classic example of that. In my notes I have this about that one: Additional Notes: The Fillemup hack overrides the configuration for 57 in-game buildings, which includes benches, picnic tables, carts, vending machines, grandstands, bouncy rides, swing, slide, stands, and other buildings.  So this hack cannot be used with any other hack involving any of those 57 buildings.

One day I will perhaps get around to sorting out what hacks conflict and post that over at DD in the hacks listing area. Some over there already have warnings/notes like this on them.

If your animals are feeling crowded use solid fences or any scenery, foliage or rock that is a height of 3 or more as guests cannot see over a 3.

Oh and for shows change the setting to "infrequent" so your guests go and do other things....like eat, use bathroom and see other animals.

The compost building - while it does generate income for the zoo also has negative [EstheticBonus] values so that guests do not like it so place it away from where guests go.

[Saobie]

Ok iv tried a variety of things in a 1m freeform. Went to 6 animals, and was never really able to get anything solid. I typically get a solid 80-85 up until i have 4+ animals, and then it starts to decline to about 70 over time, no matter what i do

[(Admin)Cricket]

Here are a few of my tips that I've used in my most successful zoos:

 

Exhibits work best for me if I make them 20 long and either 8 or 9 deep.  I usually put the path on the 2nd tile away from the exhibit fence.  This leaves room for lamps, benches, statues, foliage and sometimes even water. 

 

I usually don't go for more than 2 exhibits before I place amenities.  I always include a restaurant and a potty.  If I have the room, I try to also place an amusement or a gift shop.  Actually, I like to place the gift shops towards the entrance gate so that guests don't have to carry their gifts (which are in their inventory slots) all around the zoo.  I place benches, lamps and foliage at the entrance to each of my amenities, unless I use the configured doors.  They can go almost anywhere against a flat surface.  In that case, I'll raise the terrain 2 or 3 tiles high (depending on the configured doors I use) then put the signs or something else on that top tile.

 

Along the paths, I usually place benches and/or lamps and/or foliage every 3 or 4 tiles. 

 

When I place food stands, I use picnic tables instead of benches and make sure I have a few trash cans and a potty nearby.

 

If I run my zoo with my initial layout then realize I have guests that aren't as happy as I'd like, I will tear something down or re-route something and place more amenities.  Sometimes, those guests just aren't happy with anything you put down lol.  However, I do try to accommodate them as much as I can  :D

 

 

[(Designer)Z.Z.]

Another thing that may help is the in game buildings:

All the animals houses and the boat rental shack give guest happiness bonuses, and if you up their researched displays, those bonuses increase, so I always have all of the animal houses and the boat rental shack even in small zoos.

A restaurant every 15 tiles or so also helps, and guests love the Japanese Garden.

[Fern]

I often use the gift carts since they only take up 1 tile. You do not need many since a guest can only carry one gift and one fun-gift.

[Saobie]

Iv tried Z.Zs setup with little success, capping at roughly 75, using the same attractiveness-enhansed animals i modded for use in my dino/fantasy zoo. Its getting real aggrivating. I did not however place so many resturaunts, i thought id want to spread them out and usually had 2 by the time i had 4 exhibits setup fully. This is typically when happiness starts to gradually drop

 

My exhibits are usually 13 or so tiles deep, and pretty long

 

Is there a mod to increase how far guests can see? I feel like part of the reason my zoos suck is because i make bigger exhibits (i dont like small exhibits, it gives the animals little space and im aware it doesnt matter to them much, it bothers me 

[(Admin)Cricket]

I like bigger exhibits too.  However, when I made them as large as I was, that's when I ran into guest happiness trouble too.  Then I started making them 8 or 9 deep ... and if I wanted them larger, I just made them longer.  Seems to be working better :)

[Fern]

1 hour ago, Saobie said:

Is there a mod to increase how far guests can see? I feel like part of the reason my zoos suck is because i make bigger exhibits (i dont like small exhibits, it gives the animals little space and im aware it doesnt matter to them much, it bothers me 

No mod as that is part of the program which is unavailable for us to tinker with. If you want bigger exhibits why not make a path into the middle. Sort of an observation lookout type thing. Have a look through Savannahjan's screens. She is a master at that sort of thing and has also won a lots of contests.

Also look through Zoogrammy's, ZZ's. Go through the contest area and look to see who has the best scores and see if you can then find screens by them.

Don't go by Prof Paul's zoos as he builds for fun not worrying about guest happiness and stats. Although you might get some good design ideas or see some downloads from looking at them anyway.

[Saobie]

Ill give those a look

 

I play the game actually as is (tyoon like). Manage money, make my zoo better over time, etc. I always start myself with 3 exhibits and enough cash to account for guest needs though. But the point is since i play the game for the tycoon aspect, guest happiness is one of the most important things and i suck at it apparently. Im obsessed with getting over 90 happiness now and most of my efforts have been in fruitless :/

 

But we will see if i can find anything to change that