Particle's Projects

[(Designer)Particle]

2 hours ago, VNDragonV2 said:

I haven't given this much thought, but my wild wish for zoo tycoon would be the ability to add water on slopes!

oh that is a fun idea... I'm writing this one down I'll see what I can do.

[(Designer)Z.Z.]

2 hours ago, VNDragonV2 said:

Oh I LOVE it, seems easier to use than even the sky tram we currently have.

I haven't given this much thought, but my wild wish for zoo tycoon would be the ability to add water on slopes! 

 

Here you go:

https://zootekphoenix.com/forums/files/file/705-animated-water-paths-by-genkicoll/

[(Designer)Particle]

2 hours ago, YoungerPrinceLothric said:

Having a working tram for this game would be incredible. 

Yes it would.  But this is not actually a working tram, it is more like an illusion.  I am not at all sure about moving the guests around, because I personally haven't tried to teleport guests at all.  I know people have done various versions of teleporting, and obviously there are examples in the game of buildings doing a guest teleport, so I know there are possibilities with limits.  What I can say is that for sure we can have the guests go into the towers/station and get a bonus to happiness, and rest, and possibly food and bathroom also, but... beyond that I have no experience with this.  What I will do at some point is download all the best teleport mods and go through them and see what people have done, and then try to figure out how to apply all that to this concept.

 

Jay sent me a note with some  suggestions, and in it was this sentence:  "There would be multiple types of stations, to allow for different amounts of time that the guests would be on the vehicle, as well as different stations for guests to be transported different distances."  This would take a lot more time to set up, so I'm not sure how much that makes sense to me, but I would like to try it out and see how it feels to have towers that transport to different spots.  So yeah I'm certain we can do something to move the guests around, I'm just not sure how realistic that will all be in the end.  And if the illusion is not realistic, then it is broken, and the magic is gone, so I don't want to create this elaborate system for moving people around unless it seems like it makes sense.

 

Having said all that, when I do play around with it, maybe I'll find a solution that is perfect for this!  You can't know until you try, and since this is sort of a new version of an existing idea, I just don't know what is going to work until I try it.  But it sounds like the feedback so far is positive for this project, so I'd do it anyways, and if the worst thing I can come up with is a fake tram that looks awesome and guests like it, then so be it. 

 

So to sum up: The priority is making it look like a real tram, and anything we get after that I consider to be a fun bonus.

[(Designer)Particle]

44 minutes ago, Z.Z. said:

 

Here you go:

https://zootekphoenix.com/forums/files/file/705-animated-water-paths-by-genkicoll/

That is interesting that she made them paths, that seems problematic, but I'm going to play around with these and see if the guests try to walk on them.

 

I was thinking about how Vondell made the sloped cement scenery pieces, and that you could maybe make a fence version of a sloped waterfall graphic.  A few months ago I actually told Cricket I might like to try to do my own waterfall fences, so this would be a part of that if I do it.  But I think the key to the whole project for me is to actually get an animated waterfall graphic that looks better than the existing ones, and I have not even tried to do that yet.  The existing ones for me are pretty damn good, but I feel like they could be better.

 

The challenge I think is to do one that looks like a Bluefang graphic, because most of the 3d ones are almost too realistic to fit the art style of the game.  Here's a nice example of a waterfall that is sort of a zoo tycoon style:

https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/river-water-animation-3d-model/354010

[(Designer)Z.Z.]

Guests will walk on the waterfall paths, however if the desired effect is water naturally flowing down a slope from say a river of water terrain, into a lake of water terrain, the one or two pieces of waterfall path would be separated from the guests by rocks and foliage so the guests could not actually get to them.

That being said, if you can create a wedge piece that animates the water terrain to make it appear to flow down the hillside, that would be awesome too, albeit a little more difficult to set up as you would not be able to place plants or rocks on the wedge.
The main problem I have with the path is that it does not blend with the terrain like the water terrain does, so there is a definite line where the path connects to the water.

[(Designer)Particle]

1 minute ago, Z.Z. said:

The main problem I have with the path is that it does not blend with the terrain like the water terrain does, so there is a definite line where the path connects to the water.

Yes I was just looking at that.  I will think about this whole thing some more, and see what my brain comes up with.

[(Designer)Particle]

So here's my overall issue with the waterfall fences we have, and why my solution would also help with this problem of how water doesn't go over slopes.  Check out this picture of the wireframe from the waterfall that I linked above:

 

So this is from an angle that is not perfectly zoo tycoon isometric camera view angle, but it is close enough that we can see that a waterfall is not flat.  All the waterfall fences we have so far, they are flat walls, with an illusion of moving water.  What I want to do is make them look more 3d, so that the water appears to be coming OUT from the wall, and THEN going down.  That is why I want to try to make new fences that are waterfalls, and if I'm going to do it, then I'll probably make a whole wall set, with triangle pieces and really tall pieces and also exhibit fences so that you can put a waterfall in your exhibit if you want.

 

Now look at this part of the 3d model:

You can see that is basically a slope piece right there, and it is also NOT flat.  So again, the idea of a path that is water just misses the mark for me.  Even though this game is not technically 3d, the art can imitate the 3d, and so we get scenery that doesn't look at all flat (like a rock or a tree) even though technically it is only 2d.  So to make a proper sloped water piece, I think it has to have some depth, and also some water effects like... (get ready for this one cricket) SPLASHIES!

 

I just want to add that I have a lot of respect for the artists and designers who figured out how to do the animated fences and paths we have.  It is only because of what they did that I can have this perspective about this  project.  I am sure that my first waterfall set would have been a flat wall, because obviously they used a flat wall as a starting point, and I would have too.  So let's call this project "waterfall walls 2.0" if you will, and let's shoot for the moon, why not right?

[HeatherL]

1 hour ago, Particle said:

 

The main problem I have with the path is that it does not blend with the terrain like the water terrain does, so there is a definite line where the path connects to the water.

Just as a side note, Jay's water curb covers the line very well. 

 

Particle, I can't wait to see your 3D waterfall!

[(Designer)Particle]

1 hour ago, HeatherL said:

Particle, I can't wait to see your 3D waterfall!

Me too.  I keep talking about stuff and not doing it!  I'm going to have to actually do some cool stuff now.  :)

 

Seriously though if you want a preview of the waterfall fences I would make, you can look at the waterfall rock formation in game for an example of how it should look when it is properly done and also animated.

 

I'm going to switch subjects again.  Sorry about that.

 

So last night I went looking for some examples of buildings that I could do in a sort of building block (or modular) style, that would be also easy to do as colorswap buildings, so that hopefully the entire building would change colors instead of just the roofs or the canopies.  The style that I want these buildings to be in is "generic zoo style", and while I can say that phrase just fine I can't really explain it unless I show you some pictures, so here is what I found.

 

The first building type I think that we need that is sort of lacking in the downloads area is the sort of maintainance/shelter buildings you see around every zoo, usually in between exhibits or as part of exhibits.  These usually look something like this:

 

 

You can almost just see the different pieces of the set already, just by looking at those pictures.  You have a couple of different size "box" buildings, a couple different sized shelters that animals can go in, and you have a sort of observation area type piece that the animals/guests can walk under.  They all fit together to make a few different versions of this basic type of building.  They would have no set doors, instead if you want to put a door on these you could use a configured door or two.  (So you could make a building like this into a bathroom/restaurant/museum/arcade/rollerdiscoskatingrink or whatever you want).  Mainly I'd use them as scenery, in between exhibits, to give you a more realistic feeling for your zoo, because maintenance people and zookeepers usually use buildings like this to do their tasks, and usually they include some sort of shelter for the animals.

 

The next set of buildings I think we could really use would be some "generic boardwalk style zoo buildings".  Once again you might be thinking what is he saying?  This is a 3d model I found of an amusement park called cowabunga bay.  Notice that these buildings are totally modular style, like you can almost see the mirror image on the left and the right of the two entrance towers.  That is one tower, just in two places.  Also all the colors are perfect for the colorswap because you basically can see the white and red will all change colors:

 

 

This is the same building from the backside, notice how if you change one section to blue, it almost looks like a separate building, even though it is still all just one big building:

 

 

Again for this, you would use configured doors for most of it, so that you can add whatever type of commerce to the area you choose.

 

One more picture for good measure, this is the santa cruz beach boardwalk in my hometown, and this big building has inside it an arcade, a few restaurants, a mini golf course, and several little stores:

Again you can see that it could easily be broken up into a few pieces to make it a modular building, and that we could change the dark red roof and the yellow walls to be swappable.

 

Now again, I don't think I'm the first person to do buildings in these styles.  What I'm trying to do is to think of some colorswap buildings to make that would really give a zoo a lot of customization, and still be buildings that you would want to use in every zoo you build, and I think that these sets would fit that concept and also be pretty simple to make.  What do you all think?

[caddienoah]

When I design workbenches (maps), I have always wanted several things. After reading your thread, I'm glad to see some can be done now.

I like your elevated tram...how about using your design and work on a land version and maybe a zoo train? I'd like an elevated walkway through the trees too!

I have always wanted a tall narrow waterfall. With the graphics you have shown, I see this is possible.

I like your boat ride. How about a submarine ride...under water, for tanks or lakes. (You said "wild ideas/wishes!)

Unsupported bridges that guests can walk on??? Have been told many times that this can not be done.

I like the the screens of the maintenance buildings, front entrance buildings, and the large multi-use building. All would be nice to have, whether colour changing or not.

That's my list for now. Will have to go through my book, of notes from my workbenches, to see if I have more.

Thank you for all of your time and energy, you are putting into all of your projects for ZT, it is appreciated!

 

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