tips
// how to not constantly have enrichment issues
When I first started playing, I found it pretty fun and relaxing, but I quickly ran into some issues that took awhile to fix. I wanted to share some tips here so if you're running into similar issues, you can get some solutions!
More and more people think my ticket price is too high
For awhile I was chilling, buying every variant I could, and letting my animals breed unchecked. But as soon as I unlocked the release hub, I was rehabilitating animals right and left, keeping their populations in my zoo under tight control. Turns out that was a huge mistake - the game actually punishes you for lack of animals, and really you want the amount of animals in your zoo to be as high as possible without hitting space constraints. This is what people are paying to come to your park to see, after all.
So to have high ticket prices and happy zoo customers, you want lots of animals. Play with good morality, get a population manager (rightmost on the research tree), remember to turn it on!, and let the manager do its job.
how do I get more variants?
Get thee to a nursery. They're pretty annoying because they require some micromanaging, but once you get in the habit of checking your nurseries every day you'll be indulging in collect-a-thon heaven. Also don't forget to pop in at the animal shelter - the game will notify you when there's a new variant available.
What's a good general strategy for my zookeepers?
Set up your enclosures as follows:
- Build the enclosure and add 2-4 total grid squares of water, depending on the size.
- Add way more enrichment items than you think you need. Hide some behind trees if you hate the look of them.
- Add a shelter right by the gate, facing toward the gate so your zookeepers can get to them efficiently.
- Fill the entire rest of the area with high grass, water, or rocks, leaving only about 5 squares of free space at the entrance. Make sure the path is clear to the shelter.
This will ensure that any animal mess will occur right by the entrance, making your zookeepers magnitudes more efficient than they would be if they had to clean the entire pen. With this technique, you can get away with 1 zookeper per 1-2 pens.
Why are my animals constantly complaining about enrichment?
Because they're breeding at exponential, stochastic rates. Even with a population manager, it'll take a really long time before your pens level out to the maximum levels of enrichment needed. If you're struggling with a particular pen (like CHICKENS FOR EXAMPLE not to call out any animals in particular), I would just cull it once in awhile with your release hub... but if it's only an occasional enrichment notification, leave it alone (or just add a few more toys). As soon as your population manager comes to visit, you'll be right as rain.
My bus routes seem to be locked up/messed up/something is wrong
Unlock the zebra and double decker buses quickly, and then clear out the yellows and red buses. Not only do they hold fewer passengers, but they also take significantly longer to load and unload, mucking up your whole process. This means people are in your park for way less time, since they're just sitting in the bus lines instead. As soon as you unlock a bus upgrade, make it a priority to save up for a few of those buses, and then remove the lesser buses from your fleet.
In park rating, my facilities tab says I have X unoptimized structures??
Legend has it that optimization goes as follows: per section, 1 bench and 1 bin, 1 restroom and 1 subway. Possibly 1 shop, drink stall, or food stall, but the math on this is more complex. If you have more than one of these items in each section, the object is considered "unoptimized" and detracts from your score. But let's be honest... more benches look cuter.
What do I need to remember for decorations?
Don't forget to check the heatmap for lighting, and add plenty of lighting. This keeps your park open longer, which means more money. Shoot for 100%+ lighting in each section.