This is great for savanna exhibits. Helps guests see better with a big habitat and provides 'hidden' hard shelter for animals who don't fit in with a cave or log shelter or similar.
Secret cave behind a waterfall. It doesn’t really change how the exhibit looks, it meets any requirement (you can make it go back super far), and it can be a cool separate viewing experience for guests.
I did this, then ran a tunnel behind with large sheets of one way glass so the people could see them sleeping. Built a massive hill in the middle of my franchise zoo then hollowed it out.
That won't work for the way this habitat is set up unfortunately but I'll have to try that on another one! I think my computer will blow up if I put one more waterfall in this zoo LOL. But I think I could do something really cool with this
Not necessarily natural but since you said barns for some animals can work I’ll suggest this. How about just like a canvas cloth tied to wooden poles kind of shelter? Or a giant umbrella?
Someone else suggested umbrellas and I really like that idea! I don't necessarily need my habitats to look identical to the wild, I'm okay with structures that are obviously manmade but it's very situational. For more natural enclosures, I like structures that look like they could have been built by a human as temporary shelter and later abandoned. I think the in-game log shelter works great for this but I want to have some variety, I think a canvas cloth shelter would work really well here too. Maybe a giant umbrella is a little less realistic lol but they're subtle and unobstructive enough that I don't think I'd mind
My go to method, especially for less confident animals, is build around/roof over the guest viewpoints and extend that out into the habitat (with one-way glass between and signs, ofc). That way if you have one main viewpoint, guests get a 100% naturalistic view with close by animals. I usually throw in a smaller shelter truly away from the guests as well bc I feel bad. In this case though, maybe hollowing out the rock wall could work?
I actually have a few habitats set up like this and don't want it to get too repetitive! And the rock wall isn't accessible from behind so there's nothing to really hollow out. The main viewpoint is behind a fence rather than glass, I may build some kind of canopy over it but same as you I like to give them a second option. Flamingos are confident with guests so I wouldn't feel horrible about it, but I have a large flock and don't want to have to build a comically oversized canopy lol
When I think flamingo shelter I think of a turquoise or coral lean-to with some palm trees.
For most animals I like a cave or other natural looking shelter but some species just have a very particular vibe
I think this is what I'll go with for any future flamingo habitats, for this one I built the water feature more as an experiment and wanted to use it because I really liked how it turned out. For a number of reasons I didn't know what species to put in the habitat I built it around and the flamingos kind of just got shoehorned in lol
I try to avoid the shelter buildings for most animals because a) they are ugly and b) they often seem really inefficient, space-wise. If I make a shelter out of other stuff that needs to be in the habitat anyway (sculpted terrain, rocks, plants, climbing pieces), I can meet the shelter requirements AND get the other stuff needed for a high habitat rating. I'm still working on my skills and patience for building them, though.
Yeah this is what I usually like to do too, but also factoring in here is that this is a zoo with like 35 habitats and the laptop I'm running it on doesn't even meet minimum specs LOL. I'm having to start to be more aware of my piece count and it's easy to overdo it with rocks when making caves and stuff. I want to minimize climbing surfaces too for the sake of performance, and I have VERY little patience with the terrain tools in this game lol
I just attach a barn next to the exhibit, like build the barrier right up the barn entrance (you can even disguise the entrance as a cave or with foliage, etc) and then to null barrier around the barn/shelter/backstage area (as long as it’s critter tight and they can’t get out).
You already have a big rock wall, can you make a small cave/rock house for them in that? Sometimes I use the premade wooden houses and then cover them in rocks or other plants to blend them into the surroundings. Or if the water area is big enough you could have like a pretty gazebo/ fountain decorations in the middle that serve as shelter?
The one I suggested the other day works. Hide some mesh pieces in trees. The game counts the mesh as hard cover, and the tree looks completely natural and hides the mesh.
If I don't want to bother with hard shelter requirements because they're just dumb (as in the quantity required), I'm not above just putting some mesh in the sky to make up the numbers. It's not noticeable at all.
I'm on PC but my laptop doesn't even meet minimum specs, it's honestly a miracle the game runs at all. Assuming this is a zoo with a high piece count and complex structures, my computer might blow up if I try to load into it LOL
for most animals it’s pretty easy to make their natural shelter; cave, den, etc.
for antelope, giraffe and other “livestock” animals they tend to use shaded areas. the best i think you could do is make a faux tree.
I usually build a shelter out of the wall and roof pieces or the blueprint ones in the back or side of the habitat away from the main view, then add bamboo and other foliage infront of it to hide it. If you want to make it more natural you can try aligning rocks to one surface of it (like the cladding pieces)
Rocks and pathways are 🤌
You can also get away with a “back of house” area by building it behind a hill if there is one
(And a tip for that, focus enrichment items away from that area so they don’t huddle where the guests can’t see)
Recently I made a shelter for little blue penguins
Built up a bit of a stepped rock platform, made rock pillars, used rock cladding to made stepped roofs, and then filled in the extra space in the roof with corrugated metal roof pieces.
I’m terrible at explaining things but hopefully that was sufficient 😅
Flamingos are one of the species that I like to make umbrellas for. You can make them using whatever long building piece you want, and copy it around in a circle...and then something in the middle as a pole. I then cluster a bunch of them together at varying heights. If you use a building piece you can change the color of then you get even more variability.
You could just run the pedestrian path right over the exhibit; that counts as hard shelter
This is great for savanna exhibits. Helps guests see better with a big habitat and provides 'hidden' hard shelter for animals who don't fit in with a cave or log shelter or similar.
OOOOMG does it actually???? For real?!
I found this out too when creating a path over my penguins and seals, absolutely rules
I feel like this is fucking life changing lol
Oh wow this is really good to know!
Secret cave behind a waterfall. It doesn’t really change how the exhibit looks, it meets any requirement (you can make it go back super far), and it can be a cool separate viewing experience for guests.
I did this, then ran a tunnel behind with large sheets of one way glass so the people could see them sleeping. Built a massive hill in the middle of my franchise zoo then hollowed it out.
That won't work for the way this habitat is set up unfortunately but I'll have to try that on another one! I think my computer will blow up if I put one more waterfall in this zoo LOL. But I think I could do something really cool with this
Raise some land and make a cave.
I do this a lot and while it can be tricky and look ugly at times I made a really nice cave today
They specifically mentioned they didn’t want to do that for this habitat
I completely missed that part
Not necessarily natural but since you said barns for some animals can work I’ll suggest this. How about just like a canvas cloth tied to wooden poles kind of shelter? Or a giant umbrella?
Someone else suggested umbrellas and I really like that idea! I don't necessarily need my habitats to look identical to the wild, I'm okay with structures that are obviously manmade but it's very situational. For more natural enclosures, I like structures that look like they could have been built by a human as temporary shelter and later abandoned. I think the in-game log shelter works great for this but I want to have some variety, I think a canvas cloth shelter would work really well here too. Maybe a giant umbrella is a little less realistic lol but they're subtle and unobstructive enough that I don't think I'd mind
My go to method, especially for less confident animals, is build around/roof over the guest viewpoints and extend that out into the habitat (with one-way glass between and signs, ofc). That way if you have one main viewpoint, guests get a 100% naturalistic view with close by animals. I usually throw in a smaller shelter truly away from the guests as well bc I feel bad. In this case though, maybe hollowing out the rock wall could work?
I actually have a few habitats set up like this and don't want it to get too repetitive! And the rock wall isn't accessible from behind so there's nothing to really hollow out. The main viewpoint is behind a fence rather than glass, I may build some kind of canopy over it but same as you I like to give them a second option. Flamingos are confident with guests so I wouldn't feel horrible about it, but I have a large flock and don't want to have to build a comically oversized canopy lol
When I think flamingo shelter I think of a turquoise or coral lean-to with some palm trees. For most animals I like a cave or other natural looking shelter but some species just have a very particular vibe
I think this is what I'll go with for any future flamingo habitats, for this one I built the water feature more as an experiment and wanted to use it because I really liked how it turned out. For a number of reasons I didn't know what species to put in the habitat I built it around and the flamingos kind of just got shoehorned in lol
I try to avoid the shelter buildings for most animals because a) they are ugly and b) they often seem really inefficient, space-wise. If I make a shelter out of other stuff that needs to be in the habitat anyway (sculpted terrain, rocks, plants, climbing pieces), I can meet the shelter requirements AND get the other stuff needed for a high habitat rating. I'm still working on my skills and patience for building them, though.
Yeah this is what I usually like to do too, but also factoring in here is that this is a zoo with like 35 habitats and the laptop I'm running it on doesn't even meet minimum specs LOL. I'm having to start to be more aware of my piece count and it's easy to overdo it with rocks when making caves and stuff. I want to minimize climbing surfaces too for the sake of performance, and I have VERY little patience with the terrain tools in this game lol
I just attach a barn next to the exhibit, like build the barrier right up the barn entrance (you can even disguise the entrance as a cave or with foliage, etc) and then to null barrier around the barn/shelter/backstage area (as long as it’s critter tight and they can’t get out).
Log roof with Arrowwood bushes slightly sunken into it is my go to.
You already have a big rock wall, can you make a small cave/rock house for them in that? Sometimes I use the premade wooden houses and then cover them in rocks or other plants to blend them into the surroundings. Or if the water area is big enough you could have like a pretty gazebo/ fountain decorations in the middle that serve as shelter?
The one I suggested the other day works. Hide some mesh pieces in trees. The game counts the mesh as hard cover, and the tree looks completely natural and hides the mesh.
If I don't want to bother with hard shelter requirements because they're just dumb (as in the quantity required), I'm not above just putting some mesh in the sky to make up the numbers. It's not noticeable at all.
Where can I find mesh? Is it dlc? I have Aquatic, Europe, North America and Nocturnal
It's under Construction->Props (which is fairly random) and is base game.
Thanks
This is so funny lmao I'm not above this at all. I love it
Are you on PC? If so, check out the Kingston Park zoo in the workshop. Really well done enclosures and shelters.
I'm on PC but my laptop doesn't even meet minimum specs, it's honestly a miracle the game runs at all. Assuming this is a zoo with a high piece count and complex structures, my computer might blow up if I try to load into it LOL
It's a small zoo, if that helps.
for most animals it’s pretty easy to make their natural shelter; cave, den, etc. for antelope, giraffe and other “livestock” animals they tend to use shaded areas. the best i think you could do is make a faux tree.
I usually build a shelter out of the wall and roof pieces or the blueprint ones in the back or side of the habitat away from the main view, then add bamboo and other foliage infront of it to hide it. If you want to make it more natural you can try aligning rocks to one surface of it (like the cladding pieces)
Rocks and pathways are 🤌 You can also get away with a “back of house” area by building it behind a hill if there is one (And a tip for that, focus enrichment items away from that area so they don’t huddle where the guests can’t see) Recently I made a shelter for little blue penguins Built up a bit of a stepped rock platform, made rock pillars, used rock cladding to made stepped roofs, and then filled in the extra space in the roof with corrugated metal roof pieces. I’m terrible at explaining things but hopefully that was sufficient 😅
Make an indoor "backstage" hidden from guest view by tall plants or rocks
Flamingos are one of the species that I like to make umbrellas for. You can make them using whatever long building piece you want, and copy it around in a circle...and then something in the middle as a pole. I then cluster a bunch of them together at varying heights. If you use a building piece you can change the color of then you get even more variability.
This is such a good idea, I can't believe I didn't think of this! I was literally just at my city zoo looking at habitats with umbrellas lol