Island Zoo

[Guest avesbirder]

Hi all! I've been lurking and marveling at all your creations. I feel like a beginner compared to all of you which is why I'm coming to you for help.

 

I'm trying to complete the Island Zoo. (I'll post pics at the end of my post.) Before the end of the scenario, I had 11 exhibits, (primarily 'cause I lost count LOL) a ton of guest amenities at the entrance and spread throughout the zoo, all animal exhibits were over 85% suitability, and the important part, the guests were very happy at a 93 rating. (Who said you HAD to use the entire zoo? ;) ) I did use the money cheat since I have no sense of money. LOL.

 

In the last two months, the guest rating dropped just a hair, but enough to lose the scenario. I also can't figure out why my average suitability was low since each exhibit was at least 85% before moving on to the next exhibit. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

Oh... In addition to the guests not having access to the entire map, I have set the admission to $100 to prevent crowding.

 

Here's the pics for you....

The exhibits, starting at the upper left side: Thompson's Gazelle, African Lions, African Elephants, Bengal Tigers, and Penguins are at the bottoms of the screen.

 

Here, I have the penguins again, Salt-water crocs, Sea Lions, hippos, flamingoes, and Polar Bears.

 

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? :413:

[Guest Zookreeper]

First thing I would suggest is to delete all paths where there are no animals, like in the back part of the zoo you did not use. This should help with the guest happieness. Second try using a few more jungle or rainforest animals to bring up your average suitability. Savanna animals usually have a low suitability rating and that will bring down your overall rating.

[Guest zoomeister]

Also, with all those paths the guests have to walk quite a ways and are probably thirsty and tired. Maybe some more benches so they can rest and a few drink and snack places strategically placed might help. I see you have plenty of restaurants but there are large areas where there is nothing but paths. Just a couple of thoughts. And yes, either put fencing across the paths you don't want guests to use or deleting a section out so they can't walk down them works too (good point, Zookreeper!!). Some more entertainment items wouldn't hurt either..... perhaps a petting zoo or animal theatre or something like that along the way where there isn't much but paths and exhibits always works to perk up those tired guests. If you have Marine Mania, you could even put in a show with either bottlenose dolphins or Orcas. They are usually crowd pleasers, too.

 

Oh, and as for being a newbie at this...... looks to me like you've got the basics down pretty good as your zoo looks excellent so far! Keep up the good work and keep us posted!

[Marlizdu]

Added to the great suggestions above, I would try to get my exhibit suitability up a little more. There are very few animals you can't get into the upper 90's. Happy animals make happy guests. :vishenka_34:

[lam321f]

strangely enough, guests do not like so many choices for food/drink/rest, etc. so . . .

1) you only need 1 restaurant for about every 300 guests. get rid of the restroom & food court

2) you have too many places for your guests to sit down. get rid of a bunch of benches & picnic tables

3) in some areas your guests are walking too far with nothing for them to look at, rope those areas off

4) what's your average animal happiness? if it's not in the high 90's, then work on getting the exhibit suitability into the 90's

[(Trustee)genkicoll]

Check out tips for guest happiness in THIS thread. On the island zoo scenario, the first thought is to put aquatic animals down there in the water, but although you can't change terrain HEIGHT, you CAN change the terrain itself, so fill in those watery areas with land animals! Happy animals = happy guests :P Also, suitability is a requirement, if I remember right, so stay away from those fussy animals that are hard to get a high suitability on.

[Guest avesbirder]

Thank you for the suggestions. I'm going to print them out and give them a try.

 

I have the animal happiness in the high 90s and in a few cases 100, so I know that is not the problem. I picked animals that I have had luck with in the past. My downfall is I tend to think the bigger animals need huge exhibits. (Where's that money cheat? LOL!)

 

The marine shows were the first thing I thought of, but when I started the scenario, I did not have the option of MM animals even though I have the Complete Collection. I got the options after I lost the scenario. :(

 

I'm going to have to rethink my layout to try to fit a few more things for the guests to do in there and start with deleting the unused paths.

 

I'm off to research the rainforest animals to see what animals might work for me. :whistilin:

[lam321f]

here's a couple of screen shots from mine. notice: 1) how compact it is 2) no food courts, bences, restrooms, etc

 

final stats: Final stats: $103,000+; zoo rating – 88; animal happiness – 98; guest happiness – 98; 331 guests (admission raised to $100); 19 benefactors

 

 

[IcePengwyn]

Besides the paths that are far away, you have some that are more than 2 squares away from an exhibit. Some exhibits are large, so critters more than 10 squares away can't be seen. You could also add in more animals to the large exhibits.

 

Put all fencing at the base of the cliff. You can use any cheap low fencing - does not matter as far as the animal is concerned (except those that climb cliffs?). Sometimes tall fencing seems to block their vision, even at heights. Sometimes it doesn't - I can't figure out why. I put all my paths right at the edge - guests are not clumsy and won't fall in. Plus the animal won't feel as overcrowded as if the paths were at the same level.

 

When doing scenarios - IF I need money, then I put in the theaters & carrousel. IF I DON'T, then I forgo any building except a restaurant. You don't have to use them for guest happiness.

[Guest avesbirder]

Well, I'm still having trouble. This time my zoo was so popular that my animals felt crowded. (I can't win. LOL!) I'm back to the drawing board again.

 

In my frustration, though, I did win the Holiday Tree Park scenario since I needed something else to look at for a while. :yahoo: