Why Didn't Aquariums Happen In Planet Zoo?

[@Sdanwolf]

Let me know guys, are we thinking Technical Issues? Ethical? Both? Neither of that!? Tell me

[@zoomaster1994]

I think more technical issues and perhaps ethical, which I don't really understand. Planet Zoo is still a game and I just recently watched a zootycoon gameplay and realized how free you actually were. There were a lot of animals that are not able to be kept in zoos; for example Elephant seals, humpback whales, sperm whales etc. But the idea behind it is just for fun sake and imagination sake, just go crazy and silly and I kinda miss that in PZ. Not that I would want the big whales, but why can't we get a planet zoo 2 with dolphins and such? I mean, your not forced to build a habitat for them? your not forced to buy them? you can do whatever you want, if you want to make a zoo with dolphins, well go ahead and do it, and if you don't want to due to ethical stuff, well then don't xD but I just like that you should give people the option to do, the freedom to choose where they wanna go too and not go too realistic :) I mean I get that PZ wants realism, but does it always have to be 100% and only have animals that are kept in zoos? :) but that's just my thought :)

[@Agentbanana119]

They should add aquatics and flyers since I'd be like sure it might not be ethical stand point like sure it's not right like sea world sucks we just want Beluga whales and other stuff that's fully aquatics and birds that can fly

[@Qbliviens]

I think the etical argument is nonsensical. Because 1. If we would go by that, we shouldn't have many animals that are in the game, like elephants or polar bears. I get the argument with cetaceans, but I would say it's still more acceptable to keep fish than to keep elephants or even seals. 2. It's a game, I don't think it should be limited by the borders we have irl. PZ isn't that realistic to begin with (thinking the underwater feeder, keepers entering lion enclousures etc) So exactly cause we shouldn't keep these animals in RL, there should be a place for them in a game! Basically like these virtual animals they use in circuses now. No real animal will suffer just because there's one in Planet Zoo. When we come to the technical standpoint. You already see how The deep diving mechanice isn't fleshed out. Look what animals do on land, how they interakt with their environment and each other, how they stop, clean themselves, look around, have all these neat little animations. When underwater they just swim around nonsensical without any goal or purpose anymore. They can't even swim down all the way to the ground, only using like 2/3 of the water column. Eeveryone who tried any of the fish mods know what I mean, it looks extremely weird with these animations. So yes, pZ wasn't ready for aquariums, the only thing they could have given us are animations, basically like the falling leaves or petals, but with fish, that you can just place down in your ponds or fake aquariums to have somethign going on in them.

[@sampicano]

Cash Grab. Frontier is purposely withholding the aquariums for Planet Zoo 2, just like they did with Jurassic World Evolution and JWE2... It's a cash grab tactic. The game has DEEP DIVING MECHANICS. You're telling me Frontier can't give us sharks etc. The game alrrady has exhibits for newts. You're telling me Frontier can't give us fully aquatic exhibits for fish etc. Yeah, modders do it with NO BUDGET...imagine what a company could accomplish if they listened to their fans.

[@NM-ue8on]

Planet coaster including water parks , I think Planet zoo 2 will definitely have aquariums

[@xmanzy7293]

Honestly, I wouldn't be suprised if Planet Zoo 2 is the 2026 title. It might be smart to develop both Planet Zoo 2 with aquariums and Planet Coaster 2 at the same time since they share so much, especially with how Planco 2 is handling water. Also, a fall 2026 release would be about 7 years from the first game which is comparable to the 8 year gap for Planco.

[@Boba_Brett]

I, myself, have been dreaming of a standalone Planet Aquarium ever since Planet Zoo came out. I definitely don't want a Sea World, but full saltwater and freshwater aquariums. I fully realize that I am huffing copium by the truckload, but I am still praying for it. Personally, If it ends up being Planet Zoo 2: Aquatic Boogaloo, then I severely hope it's 80%+ aquarium stuff. If i want to make a regular zoo, then I'll just play Planet Zoo 1. I want them to go all in on letting us make an indoor aquarium if possible. And I'm honestly glad It wasn't a Planet Zoo dlc because I want a whole new games worth of aquatic/aquarium animals.

[@skeletonfish110]

I'm a fish nerd, still waiting for a killer Aquarium tycoon type game.

[@JR47846]

yeah thats exactly the problem people dont realise to do justice to the aquarium you have to create so many species it would mean sacrificing all the land ones, makes no sense mixing the game, just create an aquarium i would love it, unlike planet coaster 2 i would buy that, and we can have sea pens for animals like dolphins even

[@beriadangigas8607]

I was actually super disappointed with some of the exhibits, like the iguanas being in the little exhibits bothered me since they are big enough to need enclosures, as well as some of the snakes. honestly a lot of the animals. I feel like if they initially planned aquariums, it mostly was not done due to limitations. I believe the only thing they could possibly do is doing aquariums like exhibits. I think a lot of people would have been disappointed by this. I don't think they will add aquariums, but I would love for them to. Fish are some of my favourite animals, it would be super cool having a big aquarium with a bunch of small schooling fish. I could see for people that don't have powerful computers, that getting aquariums would possibly cause problems, I know people sometimes have problems just from the people in the zoo. Having 50-100+ fish per aquarium could add up and get super strenuous. Issues with managing birth rates. One thing that would be nice for the game would be a birth limiter aside from just the contraceptives, an aquarium could have issues with population that way super quickly, especially since you aren't typically going to have just one or two pairs of fish in the aquarium. So I feel like its a mix of things, not being able to produce something that would make people happy (in the beginning), possible computer issues (or console issues too now) for some users, issues with birth rates, and other things as well. One thing I am hoping for planet zoo 2, is aquariums and more reptile representation. As mentioned earlier, I was super disappointed with the exhibits for a lot of the reptiles and based on size of enclosure and the typical sizes of the animals, they don't make sense and for a lot of the species. green iguanas are not much smaller than nile monitors. Yellow anacondas are frequently over 10 feet. If they do exhibits in 2, I hope that there are varying size, and more customization, but what I would really like is if you would just built the terrariums yourself. Same with the aquariums, what I want is to be able to build the tanks myself. If they are exhibit style, they really would need to step up the options on customization and have more variation in size.

[@AlexP-dz7ew]

They have probably played with developing aquariums, but the amount of work it would take exceeds the workload for a normal expansion pack, therefore it didn’t make sense to sell it for expansion pack pricing. By waiting to put those things on a potential sequel, they can charge $40+ dollars for the feature instead of $20, or even free, since Frontier often releases some gameplay mechanics in free updates

[@mortagon1451]

I'm surprised they didn't at least make a small exhibit aquarium or some sfx fish.

[@CharlieXGaming]

Honesty planet aquarium would probably be the most boring of the planet games. There’s not that much creativity building tank after tank in comparison to coaster or zoo where you have lots of creativity. I really don’t think it’s that challenging to make aquatic animals work, we already have the diving, just need a way to enter a tank and new animations for keepers or “divers”. They’ll probably combine aquatic animals with birds in a Planet Zoo 2, which is most likely the cms game coming in 2026. They know what we really want and they know we’ll pay for it, so I don’t see any reason to wait that long for a sequel to zoo.

[@slaughterhater]

That makes sense that the third CMS game is a sequel to Planet Zoo. PZ is one of their most popular and successful games. It’s Planet Coaster 2, Jurassic World Evolution 3 and Planet Zoo 2.

[@JR47846]

if you combine them the game would need hundreds of animals you cant have an aquarium with 20 species, i would rather have the aquarium that planet coaster for me thats the boring game xD

[@sampicano]

Exactly dude! I would NEVER buy that game! But I would pay double for an aquarium expansion.

[@Geekism]

Who the hell is this Jonti saying Booter you speak of?!

[@oziancreator4335]

Planet Zoo will definitely happen. They’ve already seen with JWE2, players returned for flying and aquatic animals. I think they’ve saved them for the PlanZoo2 just as they did water parks for PlanCo2. They would be a major draw and USP. Also, it was clear to me they invested so much in some of the improvements for PlanZoo (restaurants, gift shops) because they were always intended for PlanCo2 as well. I think a lot of the QoL improvements for PlanCo2 are intended in the same way for PlanZoo’s sequel. I.e pathing updates will enhance the Planet franchise overall.

[@stonefish1318]

All I want is a Shoebillstork and a Secretarybird Bird!

[@joedesena5402]

If PZ2 ever happens, aquariums and aviaries seem likely to me. If not, there’s always Zoo Tycoon 2 mods, and the creator of SimpliZoo says he’s considering adding aquarium and extinct animal expansions down the line.

[@TommyBoggs-cq4te]

We want Planet Zoo 2 with aquarium animals!!!!

[@pwcorgi2000]

Whenever a Planet Zoo 2 does happen, I really want it to be compatible with Planet Coaster 2. There were lots of building pieces in PZ that I wanted to use in PC, and probably vice-versa as well.

[@stonefish1318]

It would have been cool to have generic small swimming fishes in the water in Planet Zoo 1. Like an Option to Switch on. Fishes on, choose Amazonas, Tanganjika, etc fauna

[@misiorkoala1137]

No issues whatsoever. Just Frontier as usual keeping additions like this for sequel.

[@sampicano]

100% it's a greedy cash grab tactic to sell their NEXT game

[@NecoDemon88]

if we where to get an aquarium simulator i would see it more being like a recuse center where we help animals recover from illnesses or injuries from disasters if they want to put Dolphins in the game

[@NecoDemon88]

i also just thought of a fun way to add whales if you can have say a educational theater room or VR thing that has whales without them actually being in the zoo i know they wont do it but it would be fun

[@dr.archaeopteryx5512]

Jurassic World Evolution 2: Lagoons for Marine animals Planet Coaster 2: Waterparks ...Wonder if the pattern will hold.

[@Sdanwolf]

Id say if we ever get a Planet Zoo 2 there is a 1000% possibility that marine animals happen

[@Sergioshi_]

Glass tunnels inside water is something they still haven't figured out, or at least proved us publicly. Aquariums without those would be a waste. Land animals, birds and fish should each have a separate zoopedia list too, and DLCs would need to include all 3 groups, which would cause a drought of a certain type for a whole year; instead, now they have already created most basic land animals

[@jash2527]

It’s doable right now in Planet Zoo.

[@slaughterhater]

It is very possible Frontier tried aquariums and they scrapped it

[@highstreetrichboy]

I think it was a Technical Issues Has They Couldn’t Figure Out How It Would Work In Game Etc More Then Ethical Because Some People Think Zoos Shouldn’t Be A Thing & Animals Should Be In The Wild Not In “Cages”.

[@bizarrealtispinax2747]

I think aquariums and the new pathing system from PC2 are super compatible, PZ2 will definitely include aviaries and aquariums, hopefully.

[@Firestar-TV]

What is the new Path System like? Is it more like the one from Prehistoric Kingdom? That would be great

[@bizarrealtispinax2747]

@@Firestar-TV Go and take a look lol, you can stamp, draw, drag or use the normal one, it's got too many tools

[@Firestar-TV]

@@bizarrealtispinax2747 Sounds pretty nice😊👍🏻

[@shawnrosenblum9336]

Pc2 with all the water park features will help make pz2 with aquariums

[@mineraljunction]

the pan around to that shark at 1.46 killed me. he’s seen some shit maaaan

[@onexlifeonly132]

That's a shark exported from Vietnam

[@youraveragephesh3173]

Wait until yall hear about Megaquarium

[@slaughterhater]

I agree we need to get past the idea of cetaceans being in PZ. The devs said a long time ago they were not going to add them due to ethical views. So people need to get that out of their heads. I’ve seen dolphins on the meta wishlist. Not gonna happen.

[@sampicano]

Sharks exist. Hammerheads, tiger shark, whale shark. Octopus, turtles, walrus, all types of fish and corals, jellfish, seahorse. There would be a great dlc WITHOUT cetaceans

[@JR47846]

why wouldnt we get aquarium as a individual game? irl zoos and aquariuns are different, there is so many species how would you do justice to both? i see no reason to mix it we need more aquatic animals in planet zoo but we can have that. There is also the ethical issues for example in a aquarium game you could have the hability to create sea pens for animals like dolphins, and it could be a great game by itself

[@Spealer]

Probably so they can make a Planet Zoo 2 with aquariums and more aquatic animals

[@sampicano]

Yeah I agree, but that game sounds boring

[@sampicano]

100% we need Aquarium Dlc for Planet Zoo I already spent $200 on dlc but my zoos are missing marine life, fish etc I would NEVER buy or play planet aquarium BUT I would use aquarium dlc for my zoo game that is missing fish 🙂

[@gus24seven]

Because they didn't have planet swim figured out yet.

[@jash2527]

🙋🏼‍♂️🙋🏼‍♂️ I would like a SeaWorld simulator. Lol

[@Sdanwolf]

😆😅

[@phroggekreecher1111]

I think a better question than "Why didn't aquariums happen?" is "Why haven't aquariums happened?" Will Planet Zoo ever get aquariums? Maybe not, but DLCs are still coming out. People have been saying it's the end times since 2022, almost half of the game's life so far has been since then. I also don't get why people want Planet Zoo 2 so much. I would rather pay that amount for a new DLC than a new game because when (or if) Planet Zoo 2 comes out, there won't be any DLC or mods, and as someone who has put a lot of money into buying (almost) all the DLCs, it would feel like a waste.

[@Sdanwolf]

And how in the world would animals even work in PZ2? You can’t just leave 300+ animals out of a sequel 😅 It’s not like Planet Coaster where you can add new rides etc and skip over some original elements, a Planet Zoo 2 would be a colossal undertaking. You’d almost have to let this franchise sit for a loooong while before a sequel could even be thought about… I think it’s delusional at this point to think about a sequel any period still in the 2020’s there’s just no way. Plus they did such a great job with PZ that it’s almost completely unwarranted at this point

[@phroggekreecher1111]

@@Sdanwolf Exactly. I don't want a Planet Zoo 2. Are there things I want in Planet Zoo that are massive undertakings? Yes. Could they be in the form of updates and DLC? Also yes. That said if they release PZ2 I'd probably still buy it lol. These are the features I want to see in Planet Zoo before the game ends (or at least in PZ2): - Fully aquatic animals (including aquatic enrichment and keepers diving) - Aviaries. Perhaps some of the already in-game birds that can fly (as well as any future ground-based birds) can have the option to be pinioned/wing-clipped for those who want open-air enclosures - Disabled guests. Perhaps guests in wheelchairs can't use stairs for example - Elevators - More exhibit box sizes - Touch pools (if they add fully aquatic animals) - Animal personalities (some are shyer, or more confident, or more aggressive, etc) - Disabled animals (for example, blind animals can't interact with certain enrichments and are less affected by guests) which can be caused by old age, injury, or be genetic - One-sided interspecies enrichment. For example, Lion-tailed macaques benefit from Malabar giant squirrels, but Malabar giant squirrels don't benefit from Lion-tailed macaques. - "Private Franchise". Trade animals with your Steam friends. - Climbing and pathfinding overhaul - Animal texture/model overhaul (especially for base-game animals). I know there's mods for this (and I use them) but I think it would be useful for those who don't or can't use mods. - Underwater tunnels - A minimap