(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 7, 2022 Author Posted June 7, 2022 Some good news! Finally, the Thawed Out Park is completely built! It's by far the biggest park I've built during these 20 playgame years, and maybe the bigggest I'll ever built! The map got exhibits and buildings from corner to corner with almost no empty tiles! Before the unveil post, I have to point several things: As I told you a few months ago, I started writting a book. Just like about the Empty Zoos Challenge, I also got stuck with that (and now you know how I deal with my frustration). So, the unveil post will be very different this time. I wanna show you a bit of my writting skills, but this gonna be my first time making a tale fully in english. I'll write the unveil in two or three posts on this topic and, in order to not interfere with the reading, instead of marking the animals and their creators with bold text as usual, the animals will be marked with a background color according to this guide: BlueFang (Bright blue) Borsato (Emerald) Hawkkeye (Vivid yellow) Hendrix (Carrot) Khaydar (Strong red) Wolverale (Amethyst) Hope I'm not forgetting someone. If I do, I gotta update this list! And, about the animals, I must say that I noticed a few bugs, but I'll share them after the unveil. Also, I didn't find some species I tought they were already made, like Titanoboa, Livyatan or Palaeoloxodon namadicus (I must do ANOTHER post just focused on the MegaTusk Plaza, because it was a whole experience!). I must also say that, to me, it is a shame that some projects like Khaydar's Ambulocetus, Ancylotherium, Toxodon and Odobenocetops went lost. Those are pretty neat species that should be available at some ponint. And, with a great shy, I gotta mention the excluded species that I had to skip due the space issues. Some of them were: - Khaydar's Apidium - Thylaco's Obdurodon - Hawkkeye's Panochthus, Nuralagus, Eremotherium and several others. Sorry Hawkkeye! All of your stuff is amazing and I might build a whole zoo just from your animals! Closing this topic by now, and as an advice: You should try a speech app, so you can listen the whole text meanwhile you enjoy the screenshots, so it will be like an actual zoo tour! That might turn the experience 50 times better 😉😉 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 9, 2022 Author Posted June 9, 2022 A smooth sun beam walks across the curtains hanging next to your bed and reaches your face. It knocks at your eyelids. As soon as your brain manages to disband the junction of your eyelashes and starts processing the blurry panorama from your bedroom, your shoulders are already up, holding your head like that mythic character named Atlas. Your body axis does a quarter turn, so your feet touches the cool floor, searching with the tip of your toes for anything to wear. Your knees unfold and your legs take your quivering drowsy being at your door. Once you reach there, your fingers unroll next to a bunch of papers. What's there? Bills, bills, bills... And among all of them, you find a suspicious ivory mail envelope with no data about the sender. It looks pretty flat and sheer that it does not seem it was sent on a post truck nor even touched. Your hand releases all the bills on some table near there, and you start your way to your date with a warm cup, wherewith a full inspection of that packet will begin! A rip breaks the serenity of the morning as you pull the paper, wherein two folded sheets awaits for a peek. You take out the first one, where you find a hand wrote letter made with blue ink. The message contains the following: "Greetings again, friend of mine! It's such a wonderful experience sharing old post mail in the middle of this digital era! Fountain pen writting is a whole art that I enjoy performing when we send letters to each other! Straight to the point: Today, I have good news for you. After showing you three pictures of my developing Conservation Park, It is finally built and ready to start working. Me and my team did a long and tough effort, until we managed to clone and gather 50 extinct species! You sure remember when I told that our facilities were working on a secret spot lost between the Himalayas, but we expect to open wide it for the public very soon. We toke the snowy parade where we had to melt the snow and ice. Because of that fact, we got the perfect name for our Conservation Park. So, let me gladly introduce you to our... Spoiler Thawed Out Park ... where ENORMOUS astonishments await for you! (Never gotta say it better!) As you are aware of how this project is about and went so jumbled in it, I got a neat gift for you. Accept this kind offer: If you are willing to take a walk alongside the biggest creatures that once put a step on this world, I already bought a plane ticket for you, so you may come to Nepal. Just care about having enough time, because all the costs come on me! Go to the airport on the date and time pointed there. At your arrival in the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, a member from our staff will be waiting for you, ready to take you to a near place. Therein, you might take a rest and a rich meal, so you can recover the journey, because the next day at 07:00 am local time, a chopper will take you to our meeting, where I, the zoo manager myself, will have the pleasure to be your personal tour guide at the Thawed Out Park! I hope you have your passport to date! If you are not interested and want to decline, just put back this socket in your mailbox before tomorrow at 10:00 am local time. Don't worry. I understand. But, as a last resort in order to persuade you, I've also already sent you a copy of the map from the Thawed Out Park. Give it a try and think about it for a while." You read the last lines of the letter without noticing what they actually mean. You hurry to take the second folded sheet. When you unveil the zoo map, a third small piece of paper falls. You guess it is the plane ticket, but you don't matter about it right now. You have the map straight in front of your face and start to uncode what it displays: Spoiler At this point, you've spent some tens of minutes. That cup is now cold. You are almost in it! You check the plane ticket and you find that the flight is on exactly five days.... But you remember that you just skipped the last lines of the letter, so you go back to read them. Where were we? Oh, right... "You'll notice some familiar names from the park hotspots I've already showed you! By now, this is all from me. I expect to see you here. I'll be waiting for you with my arms open. Brace yourself for a life changing journey! Until our prompt meeting: Signs, Chairman Luca Abbott, the Zoo Tycoon." Spoiler Notes: ->Luca Abbott's name and character is just fictional. Not based in any real or non-real person. ->Thawed Out Park logo and map design made by Zarawatto just for this thread purposes at Zoo Tek Phoenix forum. Do not use anywhere. 4 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 13, 2022 Author Posted June 13, 2022 That chuck-chuck-chuck noise from the chopper drills your forehead. Those dumplings and chicken from last night were wonderful, but this flight is nothing like the plane! Your body is just recovering its natural shape after several hours sitting in the plane, but the noise and the movement from the chopper is trying to make you fizz out that dinner like a shaken soda. "I hope, that park worths this" goes through your thoughts you can barely listen inside your head, when the fog and clouds dispell. The Thawed Out Park stands right in front of you! It's just like the map you recieved at your post days ago and that now you keep at your pocket buried below that thick jacket. Too late you noticed that it might be just useless as you are getting a guided tour from the zoo manager itself. After a few minutes, the loud torture device finally lands and releases you from its paws. The first thing you listen when your ears quit buzzing is a sutile "Nice to lead you here. Now, I must leave!" from that person who met you at the airport. Is the only thing you remember hearing from that mouth since the "Greetings. Mr. Abbott sent me after you today" at the arrivals hall. Meters away, you notice a camping and a lady with a speaker, pointing that "All the park customers must gather around the zoo entrance within ten minutes before the inauguration speech". "What? Is this the park opening? I didn't know!" You bury your feet in the snow as you approach to the staff member, but she comes right towards your way as soon as she notices your presence. - Oh, right! - says she - You must be Mr. Abbott's special guest! Come with me, please. Make yourself confortable with us! She puts a hanging card around your neck. It displays the park's logo and your name next to "staff member". - With this, you'll have full access to our facilities. Feel free to walk across the zoo entrance. Just wait next to the information booths. You'll meet Mr. Abbott right there after the speech. You'll enjoy the trip. I bet! Have a nice day! As you walk the path right to the zoo entrance, you notice that you were te only one who arrived on the chopper. The customers from the camping aren't that jazzy, like the people who you tought had to pay for the zoo entrance. The park lends its welcome to you with lots of flowers and an arch series, one of them is like a giant ice cube. You notice why this first park section is called Enchanted Forest: It looks like some garden from a pricess castle! There are also unicorn statues, which gives the aura of a fairy tale! Spoiler A voice comes upstairs the ice bridge. A man with another speaker calls the customers to come inside the zoo. Meanwhile they reach your place, from the other side of the road, a second group comes the same way. You catch in sight a group of about two tens of people wearing lab coats, who are in their way next to a second group of at least half that big. This second team wears wide hats and yellow jackets. When they're close enough, you spot the Thawed Out Park's logo garnishing their chests at the left, right above their hearts. They quit advancing when they reach both sides of the bridge. Among the team, you find the staff member from the chopper who met you at Tribhuvan Airport. Only then, you notice you're surrounded by the other guests and a third team of staff. You notice they're the tour guide team because the speaker girl wears the same cap as the others. Few eternal silent seconds pass before the guy with the speaker up there says "Now, please welcome Mr. Abbott. The zoo manager!". A sea of claps floods the quiet air of the Himalaya. It reminds you a bit the chopper sound. The guy says something that goes unheard beneath the applause. Then, he lends the speaker to Luca. You imagined him standing there with a tuxedo, some plain coloured tie and well polished shoes. His outfit is besides fully casual. The only garment he's wearing and you tought he would is, of course, a face mask. He holds the speaker with his left hand as he uses the right one making a sign in order to silent the audience. Then, he starts the speech: - Hi, everyone! Nice to see you in the right time and place on this cold morning! Today, you'll meet a Conservation Area that will change the world's vision about preservation of species. Welcome and behold the Thawed Out Park, where enormous astonishments await for you all! - a second applause borns from the customers hands. This time, you take part of it. - And now, before starting the tour, where my staff will make you feel like at your own homes, a small announcement. You'll find this park has no massive atracttions like other zoos. This is because this park focuses on the reintroduction of species and their welfare, not in people amusement. Our resources resulted in the best built enviroment at our 50 exhibits, making them the closest for the ancient biomes as far we actually know. I appreciate your understanding. But hey! That's not a weak point against the park! You'll enjoy every park hotspot! I bet! - a last applause takes place before the last Abbott's indication. He speaks in the middle of the flatter, merging his words with the cheering - Go and start your trip! Staff will serve all of your requirements! Have a nice day! Luca arises between the everywhere walking people as they disband. He's running like a little child having his best playtime ever! - Did you think I may forget my special guest today? - jokes he as comes closer - I told my staff to not interfere with us. Indeed, my words were "don't bother me unless the park catches fire!" Hahaha! How was the trip? Did you like Kathmandu and nepalese food? - you agree with your head - Great! I hope you fully restored your energies! Are you ready for the biggest park you'll ever visit? For sure, you've already noticed why this is the Enchanted Forest section. And what kind of mythical species dwell at these kind of places? Unicorns, of course! Naturally, real unicorns never existed, or not as art depicts them. So, how are the Thawed Our Park's unicorns? These are ancient rhinos. At this side of the Enchanted Forest, we have the Elasmotherium, also known as "the siberian unicorn". Some researchers stated that real Elasmotherium didn't have those massive horns. The ones we restored had them! Speculations made about Elasmotherium horns depend on the studied species. This one might be a different one! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - The second one is not an actual unicorn, as it has TWO horns! It's the Coelodonta, also known as wolly rhino. You'll notice something weird about these pals! Their horns aren't round like those from Elasmotherium nor the actual rhinos'. Their front horn is flattened like a knife! This seems to be useful as some kind of tool in order to dig and search for grass below the snow! What a curious way to search for their food! Those unicorn statues stands to remind us that mythical beasts perhaps existed, but sure not as we tought! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Come across the bridge, just behind the Yeti statue! We have freeze themed souveinrs you may carry back home, so you can show off about how you were at the Thawed Out Park first day! The Enchanted Forest is not over yet! Spoiler - Here, we have some other magical creatures, but not the way you think! Our third and fourth exhibits are for pig-like ancient animals! You may think "Of course! Some people think that unicorns were hogs like those with their teeth protruding throughout their snouts!". Weeeeell, yes and no. One of the best known magical castles, and the one I like the most, is that from Harry Potter's books. You may not know, but it has pigs in its name! Do you remember? Hog-Warts? Wart-hogs? Do you notice? Hahaha! At the left from the souvenir store, a family of Metridiochoerus is having a rest. Maybe, the modern warthogs won the evolution race against Metridiochoerus because warthogs had less nutritional requirements. That's the actual theory. With their research program, we are going to confirm or refuse that statement! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - The one on the right side is Entelodon. Yes! I know! Entelodon is not an actual ancestor of modern pigs nor hogs! Their true relationship is quite controversial. Brought back to life, Entelodon looks pretty weird! Don't you think? Those thin straw like legs don't seem able to bear that bulky body! Although, you'll find them pretty agile! Also, Entelodon have the four types of teeth, just like actual pigs and humans! That's what toke us to feed them in an omnivorous way! However, they seem to like the meat chow the most! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - From this point, the Thawed Out Park has several paths! We are now at the Feeding Center hotspot! You'll see... As the development was going on and the park got bigger every day, we noticed that the food costs grew tremendously! Mostly due the transport. So, we built a factory! Here, our guests may learn how the food is made. Also, we have some options of fast food for our guests! Spoiler - At the Feeding Center, there are three species. These are ancient relatives of some species that went domesticated and nowadays their descendants inhabits in our barns. The first one is some that several teams tried to restore for decades. The cattle precursor, who went extinct as soon as 400 years ago: the Aurochs itself! Aurochs is one of the most often depicted animals on cave paintings. Ancient humans domesticated Aurochs at Eurasia at least two times in history! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Follow this way! Just don't take the bridge! Not yet! At the other side, you'll find one of the three electric gates! What does inhabit on the other side of them? You'll figure it out later! Below the bridge, we have the Titanotylopus who is the heaviest of all the camelids ever known! The name holds it: Their feet had pads, just like modern camels. But every modern camel species are fully domesticated. None of them is actually wild! And, unlike cattle and Aurochs, the wild species from which camels got domesticated is not known to date! This species management may enlighten us about the past of the camels! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - This is the Globe Bush Yard! Here, the customers may take a sit at our benches and take their meal surrounded by one of the smallest species we got! The Eohippus is, as the name suggests, an ancestor of modern horses. But not as recent as Aurochs or Titanotylopus! Eohippus is maybe the earliest from all the evolution tree of equids! As you should know, wild horses like tarpan are also extinct. Mustangs horses are feral. You know, domestic animals who broke free and now they roam the wild. It may sound pretty romantic, but it is not that neat! We also thought that Przewalski horses were feral, but recent studies suggest that they are wild species. We'll also clarify several things about the horses evolution with this species program! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - As I already told, we may go different ways from the Feeding Center. Let's take the one at the right first! These are the Antlers Hanging Planters. The name is a sort of tongue twister, just like the path is kinda tricked! We have five species around the planters. All of them have different kind of horns! You're gonna meet them! Just do'nt get hypnotized by the swirling path! Spoiler - The first of these neighbours are some of the most magnificent antlers the world has ever seen! On the left, we got a family of Eucladoceros . These cervids had several branches at their huge horns! That gave them the name of "Bush antlered deer". Each horn had at leas a dozen of tips! That sounds pretty amazing! Doesn't it? On the counter side, their skulls weren't that evolved. Several people think about those antlers that big were pointlessly massive and their went extinct due to them being an impediment when feeding or hiding from predators. Modern deers moult their antlers every year, so the deer program will unveil if that theory might be the actual cause of their extinction! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - On the right side, the other and the biggest antler ever belongs to the Megaloceros, better known as irish elk! Megaloceros' antlers weren't that branchy like Eucladoceros', but they were way heavier and massive! From branch tip to branch tip, the Megaloceros' antlers measure more than 3 meters long! I mentioned earlier that deers lose and develope new antlers every year for the breeding season. That makes us question what for nutritional need had these deers in order to grow such big antlers! If the uptake came from their body reservoir instead diet, that may result in a weak body, not strong enough to flee from predators or fight against other males if they did! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Remember not to take that bridge yet! The horns you're gonna watch next are quite different to those from Eucladoceros and Megaloceros. One of my favorite moments in the palaeontology is when this animal was finally reclasified as an ancient giraffe after being jumping between taxa! I'm talking about the Sivatherium whose name comes from the hindi destruction deity Shiva. Their horns were bony and had skin covering, just like those from modern giraffes and okapies! These are named ossicones. And, like those animals, we found that Sivaterium fed using a strong tongue! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Here, on the last corner of the Antlers Hanging Planters, you'll notice something quite new. We dare to merge two species on the same exhibit just to know if they coexist without troubles. We got pretty nice results! The first one is Synthetoceras which is not an actual deer like Megaloceros or Eucladoceros. Male Synthetoceras also had a bony "v" shaped horn on their snout. These resulted to live together well with Ceratogaulus which is also a horned animal. But it's a rodent! Ceratogaulus horns seems to work as a defense against predators, acting like some kind of lid for their burrows, turning difficult the chasing of these rodents. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Are you enjoying the Thawed Out Park? I bet you do! Are you feeling tired yet? Wanna take a break? You walk below the shadow of the observation areas as you look at the gardens. The antlers from the animals that are close or far seems to merge with the plants branches, giving the gardens a living aura. THIS look like actual enchanted woods! Luca's voice is like some musical echo playing in the background, breaking the ice from the Himalaya. - Take a break if you like! Go to restroom if you need it. Get some nachos from the stand and take a look at the autumn garden. They usually do not allow you enter with food, but with that card on your neck, you can easily do it! Just be careful and do not drop cheese on the plants! Meet me at the Globe Bush when you are ready, because this is just the begining of the tour! 4
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 16, 2022 Author Posted June 16, 2022 You're on your way across the hanging planters right into the tunnel that goes below the Eohippus corral after washing that sticky cheese from your hands at the restrooms. On the other side, on a leafy bench next to the Globe Bush, Luca drinks from a bottle of fresh water as he waits for you to come back. He swallows two times when he notices your walking, then he closes the bottle and stands up. - How is it going, my friend? - asks he as he approaches - Are you ready to resume the journey? Sure you've been sneaking a bit around. Sure you noticed an arch next to the Synthetoceras & Ceratogaulus exhibit. Do you wanna know what is hiding across those bricks and vines? Luca starts guiding you right back across the tunnel. In the darkness, he starts talking again. - At this point, I've showed you a few mammals that lived during the last eras, just after the biggest dinosaurs. Don't you wonder what happent to those titanic lizards? Or should I say "titanic birds"? Yes! We know now that birds living nowadays are actual and modern dinosaurs! In fact, the feathers came earlier as we tought, appearing in the dinosaur evolution in the ancestor shared between dinosaurs and other reptiles like those who flew! Unfortunately, dinosaur restoration is not that easy as for mammals, nor is something that the Thawed Out Park researches are interested about. However, we of course restorted few extinct dinosaur relatives from ice age! Welcome to the Lost Ponds! When he says this last words, you are now walking below the arch. This area looks completely different to the rest of the zoo. It's like a small rainfortest where the guests are caged and not the animals. Your boots feel soaky at every step you give through the path way. Spoiler - As I told you, birds are ACTUAL dinosaurs, not their modern relatives. The modern dinosaur relatives are actually crocodiles! It is also known that crocodile cells contain feather genes, but they do NOT have the genes for feather making. Although, Purussaurus is not a croc, but a caiman, it might be the bigges crocodilian ever! Other great rivals who can hand this title are Deinosuchus or Mourasuchus, both of them reaching easily 10 meters long! For a comparison, modern salt water croc, the largest modern reptile, gets only 6.5 meters long! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Another great reptile group, not that close relative of dinosaurs, are turtles. Among all of them through history, the biggest land turtle was Meiolania, which keeps several misteries that we want to thaw out with their research program! Many people doubt about Meiolania's aquatic nature. Their actual classification is also quite problematic! As problematic as those spikes they have around their neck! While predators could not bite them, Meiolania is not able to fold their own necks either! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - On the other side, we have what you want to be here! Actual dinosaurs! But you won't see a huge Carcharodontosaurus nor a long Sauroposeidon. I sure turned you jaded about birds being dinos. So, we have, on the first corner of the zoo, the hideous Gastornis! Some people have a hilarious depiction of fluffy feathered dinosaurs! But take a look at these and tell me they're adorable. Did you ever, as a child, tried to steal a hen's chick? They get frightfuly mad! Now imagine about these! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Gastornis' neighbours are in fact called "terror birds" by so many people! Most terror birds, whose scientific name is "phorusrhacids" lived mostly on ancient South America. That's why there's an inca statue standing next to their exhibit. Also, the tallest of them were Kelenken and their name is the one of an ancient deity! Pretty well deserved name for an actual monster! We're almost sure at this point that they were actual predators and not scavengers! This zoo area is pretty reinforced because of this! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - But, after what we saw here, the greatest bird of all time was not Gastornis nor Kelenken. Not even the ostriches! On the far island of Madagascar, the greatest bird ever broke what we thought about insular dwarfism! Also, like dinosaurs, it was not a predator, but a frugivore. It was the Aepyornis also known as "elephant bird" because of its dimensions. I'll tell you a secret! When we restored these birds, I got several ideas! I know I said that my team has no interest about clonning dinosaurs, but I do for sure! Maybe, if I have enough time, I'll do it on my own later! Of course, you're gonna be there just like now! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - But, of course, I always state that my favorite dinosaur ever is a well deep fried chicken! So, we got a stand of fried chicken if you want to take a look at dinosaurs that may eat you as you eat one of them! Hahaha sorry! That joke sounds better in my head! Do you wanna give it a try? As you two take your meal, standing below the observation areas, a Kelenken stands on the other side of the pond. Its points at you with its beak, standing there quietly. Their eyes make contact with you as the chicken meat is chewed in your mouth. Luca also notices it but says nothing. A sutile grin gets drawn in their face. He forces a short laugh before finishing his meal. - Pretty nice. Isn't it? I'll see you back on the Globe Bush again when you're ready! He leaves. You turn your head again straight to the Kelenken. It shakes briefly before turning around and going to take a rest at the egg shaped shelter. Its feathers spread into the air and float around. One of them lands on your empty cardboar disposable dish. - Are you done yet? 'Cause I'll show you something HUGE! I told you earlier about the roads breaking away from the Feeding Center. Do you wanna know what lies at that side of the zoo? There are two eating places for the munchies that can be bought around the Feeding Center. The Globe Bush at the Eohippus corral is the first one, but the true rest place is at the other way! This is the MegaTusk Plaza! Have a seat and enjoy as you recharge energies! Then, walk across those bulky gates! Spoiler - As the name and the statues suggest, behind those gates, they who awat for you beyond this ponit are the ancestors of the dog... Nah obviously elephants! Hahaha The first one on this side is not an actual elephant ancestor. Moeritherium belongs to an ancient branch of proboscideans that went lost and extinct so much before the modern elephants apeared. It doesn't even look like them! Their tusks and trunk are pretty short, just like its whole body, resembling a tapir more than an elephant! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Just in front of them, we got something quite interesting! During our search after the biggest terrestrial mammal ever, we found this little friend! It's a close relative of it, but its one of the tiniest proboscideans ever! The genus Palaeoloxodon is quite controversial nowadays. Its validity is dubbed by some as there were findings about it being closely related to asian elephants. Sicilian dwarf elephant research program will disclose several questions about this and one of the biggest land mammals ever. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Follow this way! Take a look at this frosty forest! Here, we have a family having a nice time! But first, tell me... Do you know the difference between a Mastodon and a Mammoth? The word "mastodon" means exactly "nipple tooth" because of the conical crown of these animals. I don't know what was thinking whoever thought that name! To me, they look like ice cream cones! Anyways. These teeths were specialized for eating plants like bush or tree leaves, meanwhile mammoths fed on grass! Mastodons belong to the genus Mammut, resulting in some confusion about their names! I'll point some differences later. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Aren't you amazed enough yet? I'll show you one of the biggest members of the Thawed Out Park! We may count with one hand the land mammal species that are confirmed bigger than Deinotherium! The first thing you'll notice from this ancient elephant is quite weird. Its tusk come out from their jaw! Exactly! Other proboscideans got their tusks from their upper teeth! Most elephants have a use for their tusks as some tool when looking for food. We're still wondering and working on how did these strange tusks work. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - You may take the bridge to come across the Deinotherium pyramid savannah. We'll get a second savannah praire, but a iced one this time! Again, our team managed to restore an old extinct large mammal that so many people tried to retrieve several times during last decades! We'll resume the differences between mastodons and mammoths! As you've already seen, mastodons were hairy, but mammoths weren't that way! Just the Woolly Mammoth was hairy. You sure noticed that hump! Mastodons lack it! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - This is the last member of the MegaTusk Plaza neighbourhood: If Mastodon means "nipple tooth" due to its teeth crowns, Stegodon owes its name to the ridges of its teeth crowns giving a shape like the roof of a house. Several Stegodon species were among the biggest proboscideans. In some of them, the tusks were so close that the trunk grew on and not between them! These six ancient elephant species gathered here establish our Proboscidean Research Program! Our results will help on the conservation of modern african and asian elephants! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - We're back at the bulky gates, at the other side the MegaTusk Plaza awaits for us again. Before proceeding to the next area, you should take a look at the Dig Setup! Sure you'll find something intriguing! If you wanna keep something that you find buried there, just don't take a big item or other guest will get jealous! I'll be waiting at the Tea House. Have a nice dig! When you go into the Dig Setup, there are several shovels laying on the ground. Piles of mud and snow were thrown near them, next to some wet rocks nobody cares about. A sutile spark steals your attention, inviting you to crouch close. You grab a small Ammonite that might become confused with a plain pebble. As it is not that heavy, you can handle it and put it in your pocket. When you stand and start walking out the setup, at the first steps, you feel the stone pounding against your thigh. When you are back at the Tea House, you don't even mind about it anymore. 1 2
(Admin)Savannahjan Posted June 17, 2022 Posted June 17, 2022 On 6/15/2022 at 11:38 PM, Zarawatto said: Gastornis! What a great looking animal, I've never seen this one before. I don't usually download new dinos except for contests, but this animal is fabulous! Who created this, and where is it available? I didn't see it in our downloads. On 6/15/2022 at 11:38 PM, Zarawatto said: Kelenken This one is also incredible! I have been caught snoozing and have missed a lot of great items. I love the look of your zoo, it is so unique. You do such a great job on your zoo projects, so creative. 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 17, 2022 Author Posted June 17, 2022 Thanks Jan ♡ I appreciate all of your comments 😸😸 4 hours ago, Savannahjan said: Who created this, and where is it available? I didn't see it in our downloads Gastornis is Khaydar's and Kelenken is Borsato's. Both of them available and found at their respective signatures 🐣🐣 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 19, 2022 Author Posted June 19, 2022 What's going on up there? Luca is having a nice time with a woman who dresses a lab coat right in front of the Tea House! You can't hear what are they talking about, but you notice how nice is their chat because they can't stop laughing! When you're close, Luca comes towards you and then introduces: - Oh! There you are! I'm eager about showing you what's there behind the third bulky gate! You three, standing there, quit talking. Just the Stegodon trumpet breaks the silence. - Sorry! - breaks Luca - Let me introduce you to this gorgeous lady! This is Dr. Parvati Kerr. She will tell you a few things and will join the tour for the next zoo area. - Nice to meet you! - says Parvati - Luca has told me several things about you! Are you enjoying the park? I bet you do! You start walking across the bulky gates. She stops right in front of a building. Parvati explains then: - Sure you've already seen the Thawed Out Park zoo map. Didn't you? - inquires Parvati - If you did, sure you wonder what is that hotspot pointed as "G. A. T. I. C. O.". Let me explain. These are the research team headquarters. All you see and all that became the Thawed Out Park started some time ago with my team of coworkers. The GATICO acronym stands after Guidance for Ambiental Transition for the Introduction of Cats Observatory. Our first objective was the restoration of some lost and endangered cats like barbary lion or sumatran tiger. Nevertheless, call it serendipity or whatever you want, our breakthroughs drove us further, to the restoration of extinct feline species. - GATICO now works as both the main lab for extinct species clonning and as a museum where guests may get information about the conservation of endangered and extinct feline species, and its name is the spanish word for "kitty"! - explains Luca - Dr. Parvati is the leader of the GATICO research team. I'd like to show you our facilities, but the staff is quite jealous about their work. However, you may take the museum tour. The souvenirs include cat themed glasses, so you can then after go to the photo booth and shoot your silliest angles! Spoiler - During our first prototype tests, we found that our method had a small posibility of restoring even older species - explains Parvati -. So, we developed a pilot test which, after several attempts, successfully brought back the extinct Cave Lion! A feline species that went lost when more efficient predators, like wolves, appeared across Eurasia was now almost walking again at our facilities! We had a short discussion about halting the experiment right there, when we noticed about that chance of demonstrating if Cave Lion was a subspecies of african lions! That study conclusions just came to reinforce the most recent research about Cave Lion being an actual independent species! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - With these results, of course we would try a second time! The following GATICO research program restored the ravenous Homotherium, an extinct feline that gave us interesting discoveries! Homotherium has a quite unique feature: Theit teeth were flat and had a serrated edge, being the reason of its common name: scimitar tooth cat. Those lethal teeth, in adition to its body shape is what give us the depiction of a mammoth slayer. When we ran the Homotherium project, Luca and I haven't met yet, so mammoths weren't in our plans. Despite being plausible, we won't make a clash test between my cats and his mammoths. Homotherium voracius nature will remain in mystery... They look suspiciously peaceful, so we don't want to dare them! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - With two restored extinct cat species, my team toke part of a more ambitious project. The best known ancient cat species is obviously Smilodon, better known as saber tooth cat. Despite what you may think when you see them, its name is not due their huge canine teeth! Their actual "knife teeth" are their incisors! We expected the Smilodon restoration project to be quite long, but the remains were in an spectacular condition that allowed us to recover this cat faster than we tought on first place! And that's not all. If you paid attention to the GATICO museum tour, the modern clouded leopar has the widest jaw aperture, with around 90 degree. In order to use those huge canine teeth, Smilodon's jaw aperture reached 120 degree! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - The last extinct species below the GATICO's surveilance is exceptional, as it is not an actual feline, but its program is aiding in the understanding of modern and ancient cats behavior. Thylacosmilus is not an actual feline. Actually, the puss at your home is closely related to Smilodon or Homotherium unlike this one, because Thylacosmilus is actually a marsupial. Yes! Like kangaroos or possums! Our team chose for a non feline animal for our fourth project so we can uncover several things about their evolution, because most of Thylacosmilus habits aren't preserved in extant species. Also, their teeth are incredible! They grow lifelong and start over their eyes! Thawed Out Park's logo is intended to be the huge teeth of the four projets that started it all before the eventual 45 new projects! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - When the news of a non feline extinct animal project by GATICO researchers came to my knowledge - starts Luca -, I made my first trip to Kathmandu where I met Dr. Parvati for the first time. At those days, I was working on the previous park I already showed you. Yes: The Aussie Tour Park. We spoke about bussiness and we got an agreement: I'd found their research if they let me and my team to do research at their facilites. So, I toke their fifth proyect of a cat like extinct species, so I can introduce it at my Australian theme park: the Thylacoleo! My team used GATICO installations and procedures and we achieved our first goal! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - After our first research program together, we kept talking. A new project started, followed by so many others and... Now we're here! The second restored australian animal I brought to Aussie Tour Park was Diprotodon. And sure now you wonder "Wait! You told that Thawed Out Park doesn't work on dinosaur research, but at the Aussie Tour Park you have both Muttaburrasaurus and Australovenator... How is it then?" Hahaha! Of course I toke also Meiolania from Thawed Out Park to Aussie Tour Park, but the dinosaur projects are my tiny secret! I'll tell you later! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - It was nice to attach your trip on this small piece of a huge road! - says Dr. Parvati. She stands right in front of the Aussie Tour didgeridoo store - From now on, I let you keep your way just you two! GATICO children, and with children I mean the staff themselves, need their babysitter back again, or they start to fool around and quit working! Anything you need, you know where to find me! Until very soon! Spoiler - We're now at the second corner of the park -begins Luca when Parvati leaves your eyesight meters away, on a path turn -. On this side, you won't deal with bothering noisy food stands or smelly ugly to see trash cans. You may take that bridge and enjoy the Relaxing Gardens! The wind caresses the planters and the slow movements of the animals dwelling there. Let you drown in the peace of the silent spot of the park! The bridge arises above the exhibit of Scelidotherium, the first sloth of the Relaxing Gardens! This sloth differentiate from others by its narrow head. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - These sloths have historic meaning! Scelidotherium first remains were depicted by Charles Darwin itself during his journey across South America! Unfortunately, he assigned Scelidotherium remains to another species. On the other hand, the second sloth below the bridge in its small snowy woods was depicted by the former USA president Thomas Jefferson! That's why Megalonyx is aslo known as Jefferson's ground sloth! Its official naming toke place almost 30 years after that and Jefferson named Megalonyx before he reached the presidential chair, but to cultural significance, is an ancient species "with a presidential link". Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - But close to Megalonyx and Scelidotherium, the largest of these sloths was, indubiously Megatherium, also perhaps the most popular and better studied from giant sloths. This fluffy pal, due to its enormous size, had almost no competitors in the food race. We have almost no interrogants about sloths diet, but there are so many theories about these beasts being scavengers. And that might be possible, but about scavengers we'll talk about later! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - At the end of the Relaxing Gardens, we have two more friends. They're not that big, nor that fluffy. They're armored instead! The first one resembles a bit of dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus or Euoplocephalus, but it's actually a mammal related to modern armadillos! The main thing about Doedicurus is its thorny tail. We're on or way about finding if that armoured tail is some sort of defense against predators or if males used them in combats during reproductive season. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - The neigbour and the second corner of the zoo is Glyptodon. They also had an armoured tail, but instead of a club mass, theirs is covered by bony spiked plaques! Have a rest at this area until you're restored! I'll be wating for you near the Thylacoleo exhibit! We're finally going across the electric gates! So, mind yourself for the last part of the journey! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler When Luca leaves, you take your time to go and sit next to the Megatherium exhibit, next to a fountain. The sloth slowly stands and gently extends an arm, reaches a branch of a tree and pulls it towards itself. The tree trembles and finally jumps back to its original position when the claw rips the plant. The slot crushes the leaves within its mouth. The breeze raises a bunch of leaves in the air. The green and brown leaves falls across the path and finally two of them find their last destiny next to you. One of them is flexible and green, meanwhile the other one is fragile and brown. You wait for the wind to take those leaves alongside it, when the sloth does a second blow to the tree, blasting a new generation of leaves into the garden. The fountain is now full of dead nature like fishes and frogs having a nice time on a pond. You stand up and find your shoulders full of dried leaves and blossoms. As you take your way to the bridge, a third bump to the tree takes place, but you only hear it. Spoiler Spoiler - That was quite short! - says Luca when you reach the Aussie Tour souvenir store again - Now, we're just standing in front of the electric gate that safeguards us from a containment breach on the other side. Do you wanna know now? Spoiler Spoiler Note: ->Dr. Parvati Kerr's name and character is just fictional. Not based in any real or non-real person. 3
(Admin)Savannahjan Posted June 19, 2022 Posted June 19, 2022 More incredible screens and videos. Beautiful design as always. What is that shelter in the megatherium exhibit, and others? I love the video of the huge sloth emerging from the shelter.
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 21, 2022 Author Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/19/2022 at 1:24 PM, Savannahjan said: What is that shelter in the megatherium exhibit, and others? I love the video of the huge sloth emerging from the shelter. Sorry, Jan! I tought I already replied to this post... Most shelters are Jane's Wildlife shelters But I also used ZZ's natural shelters for some other exhibits! 1
(Designer)Zarawatto Posted June 22, 2022 Author Posted June 22, 2022 The fence bar go buzz-buzz and the electric gate roars a noisy swoosh as it goes upwards over your heads. You walk across the electric gate, shoulder to shoulder next to Luca, as you feel how your hair bristles like an old broom. A second swoosh rumbles at your back and you know that the electric gate is already closed again when a click hits the ground, smashing the air against your bodies, so returning the hair to its initial position. - You'll see - explains Luca -, the bulky gates contain the proboscideans and the big cats far enough, but the electric fences are there because I'll show you to the biggest projects from our work. They contain not just animals in case of a breach, but also contains vistors with unusual intentions, do you get it? That's why the access is regulated at three points across the park, two of them separated with bridges, and this is the only one with an actual path because of the transport of nourishment for animals and resources for building. Beyond this first gate, stands the Ancient Predators Memorial. In addition to the cats and the Lost Ponds, we have here some of the biggest ancient predators ever. We got some dinosaur fossils in order to remember the ancient predators that once walked across the land! Do you remember Gastornis and Kelenken when I mentioned that birds are actual dinosaurs? Think about those Velociraptor or this huge Tyrannosaurus all covered in feathers! The depiction of them as massive lizards is not that accurate according to modern studies. Spoiler - On this first side, we got Arctodus, also known as the short faced bear. This short snout is an interesting adaptation for a bear! Their teeth were adapted to chew bone, so they can eat marrow. This, in addition to its size, is what gives its definition as an scavenger! Think yourself as a wolf with your comrades, and you watch this bear stealing your prey! Would you dare to face it or just leave and find another meal? Talking about bears and meals, look at that silly polar pal! May you guess my favorite ice cream flavor? Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Next to them, another predator gives us its best smile! Hyaenodon is not even related to actual hyaenas, but the most interesting thing about them is, again, their teeth! They rotated on themselves as the animal grew older, so they were always sharpened! Actually, the teeth closer to the jaw junction were adapted to cut instead of chew like our molars! This gives them a better effective digestion process, making them the apex predator back to their date! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - On the other side, we have the most difficult project ever developed. You sure know that Andrewsarchus is only known from the remains of a single skull and no more than that! At first place, we had a very long and humdrum discussion with the AMNH team. Of course we won't borrow that fossil so easy. We had to reveal about our past projects, so they lend them for our research about the biggest land mammal predator ever. We expect te AMNH to keep our secret just enough until we have the information about Andrewsarchus so we can know what kind of predator was it! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Don't let you be fooled by these animals names! Despite the suffixes meaning "tooth" and "lizard", very often used for dinosaur names, these two were actual mammals! These two ancestors of modern whales shared time and place at the ancient Tethys Ocean, where Dorudon was hunted by the Basilosaurus in a very interesting trophic relationship! I dare to say that actual orcas are better predators than sharks! The ancient whales program will contribute to research about modern whales communication and how it developed through evolution. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Now, we start the biggest zone of the park! in comparison with others having up to five species each, Road of the Giants harbors six different species, just like MegaTusk Plaza! Again, some of these might look like modern species with which they share no relationship. For example, this one looks like a sloth with a horse face, but is no related to any of them! Chalicotherium belongs in the Perissodactyla group where are found horses, yeah, but also there are gathered tapirs, rhinos and lots of extinct species, whose evolution trees are quite confusing to date. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Right in front of them, another Perissodactyla member, by far different! Brontotherides are some of the heaviest animals you'll ever see. Some of them may resemble about rhinos, but their horns are bony, in contrast with rhinos', whose horns are made by keratin. Yes! Just like our nails and hair! Embolotherium hadn't an actual horn, but a sort of bony shield that gives it's name of a beast with a ram! This plate doesn't seem like a sexual character, but their noses have some chambers that allows them to emit call sounds! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - But the actual Brontotherium catchy name you sure remember from old documentaries is no longer! That animal got discovered several times throughout history and, among several names given to them, the first and valid one is Megacerops. These brontotherides have a "v" shaped massive horn in the tip of its nose. Males used to fight each other using them as their weapons! And yes, the name Brontotherium went unused, but the group of brontotherides keep their name. Sure these beast made thunders! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - NEVERTHELESS!!! If you want to talk about really huge animals, definitively the jewel from the crown goes for this! Do you remember when I told that Deinotherium was smaller than just a few species? Well, this one beats them all. Despite being close related to rhinos, Paraceratherium had no horns on its face. If Aepyornis is the biggest bird ever and Andrewsarchus is the biggest land mammal predator ever, Paraceratherium is the biggest land mammal ever recorded! Those legs are like enormous pillars supporting high that body! Up there, indubiously no contestor might defeat Paraceratherium when looking after feeding! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Next to Paraceratherium artificial habitat, we erected a tent we call "The Clockworks" where several devices found on our excavations were put together in some weird plastic art museum! Give it a peek! Then, go greet the next neighbour at the Road of the Giants: Uintatherium. It also had several names before its official recognition. Sure, several old paleonthologists were exultant after a plant eater this weird, with saber tooth and several horns. It's like a chimerical rhino! It's actual evolutive line is disputed, so its research will make this mess clear! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - The last member we'll meet at the Road of the Giants is a whole inca icon, just like terror birds, Thylacosmilus or giant sloths! Macrauchenia is, again, a weird specimen which looks like a messy merge of several species with no relation with any of them! Their shape reminds a humpless trunked camel with the hindlegs of a rhino! Their forelegs were actually like those from a horse, propounding several questions about its behavior of a runner or a prowler. Next to this exhibit, you may find the second electric gate that leads you next to Titanotylopus and Aurochs exhibits. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - We're almost at the end of our journey. At the penultimate area we find the AquaTerrariums. The main feature of Arsinoitherium are those four horns. Yes! Four horns! Behind those frontal massive horns, a second pair of tiny horns is placed near the eyes! A total surprise was the fact of Arsinoitherium having some aquatic habits! All evidence to date supports that they were fully terrestrial. We also believed that fact, but some information is not available just in fossil record. I bet that, If we keep restoring extinct species that we assure to know at all, we'll find several features we are not aware of yet! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - Usually, for terrariums, people tend to pet snakes. Ironically, the second AquaTerrarium is the place of a family group of Josephoartigasia which were actual rodents! You may think about them like beavers, but they were related to capybaras, the modern biggest rodent. Josephoartigasia were the biggest rodent ever! We're breaking records today, aren't we? Hahaha! It's believed that these friends went lost and extinct after the american interchange, when exposed to new predators and other species trying to occupy its ecological niche. Their research works after that goal. Did the biggest rodent ever go extinct due to that or was anything else? Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler The AquaTerrariums are as relaxing as the gardens at the other corner of the park. You see a long road with a wet theme where you may take a seat and let you get involved with the sounds of the sparkling water. You've spent almost the whole day at the Thawed Out Park next to Luca and Parvati, but it felt like a whole eternity. The sun is almost ready to go under the blankets far away on the horizon of Himalayas. When you notice yourself in front of Poseidon statue and it's shadow grows long across the floor like a clock hand, your throat mutes and your guts churns under some weird nostalgia. It's like a premonition. You know that all of the animals at the park will be safe under the care of the research team, but a little piece of your heart beats like if they were going to be extinct again at the end of the day. Spoiler - On the fourth and final corner of the zoo, we have a close relative of ourselves! Some of our researches call them friendly "the actual Yeti". You know... We're at the Himalayas... By the way, none of our expeditions or excavations found something related to that Yeti. Well, with nothing else to say, let me introduce you to the Gigantopithecus, which was also a hard work because its remains are almost just teeth! We found from them several things we were expecting. They resulted to be pretty similar to a huge orangutan, walking most time on the four limbs. Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - And, finally, the last project developed at the Thawed Out Park might be quite controversial for modern science. We achieved a successful restoration of the ancient hominid Australopithecus. We had several ideas for understanding of modern species looking back to their ancestors. Why not also humans? I know... Australopithecus were more like apes than actual humans. But, when did the ancient hominids became humans? And how? Anyways... I'm several things, including something of a scientist myself, but not an antropologist, nor a philosopher. THIS is what I call a true breakthrough as it opens a whole world of questions waiting for answers to be written! Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler - This is where our journey reaches it's unevitable end. I'll leave you here. This is PrimEats Place, the only restaurant in the whole park. I'd like to stay and share table with you, but I'm now working on more projects, so I gotta go. Take a look at this plaza and wonder what am I building now! You know that all costs are on me as long as you keep that card around your neck. If you take that electric gate next to the Australopithecus exhibit, you'll be back at the Antlers Hanging Planters. You can stay on the park as long as you want, but the night is near and it will be pretty chilling! It was nice to be your guide today. I'll send you letters more often! Keep having a nice day at the Thawed Out Park, where enormous astonishments await for you! Spoiler Spoiler Just after the waiter takes your order, Luca Abbott gets lost from your eyesight when he walks outside from the restaurant at PrimEats Place. You throw your gaze across the window, looking after him, when you notice something strange. You are sitting in a place where the park provides you food, and the whole plaza is sunken and surrounded by fences, containing plants and all you need to be confortable, just like the other exhibits. At your right, the Gigantopithecus chews bamboo stems, and at your left, the Australopithecus pries on some stones near the water pond. Is this another zoo atraction that tries to merge you into the park experience itself, or is some kind of message from the park designator trying to remember us that humans are no more than other species on Earth having a period of time that will eventually run out, like those 50 on the park? Wait! Luca told that the park has 50 species, but you didn't even count them during your travel! Let's see... Elasmotherium was the first, then you saw Coelodonta. After that came Entelodon and Metridiochoerus... Oh look! Your order is ready! 1
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