NEWS
It's hard to believe it's already been a year and a half since the launch of Zoo Tycoon 2: Folksy Facelift, isn't it? Amidst a tsunami of technical difficulties and other problems, I've been slowly but surely working on an update that'll hopefully expand even more new horizons for creativity and fun. And this year is an important one for the base game - November marks Zoo Tycoon 2's 20th anniversary, and I'd be remiss if I didn't make a few folksy waves to mark the occasion.
On November 1st, 2024, a week and one day before the game's big 2-0, the Biome Update for Folksy Facelift will arrive to a Zoo 2 Zone near you.
What'll be new at the zoo this time? Let's take a look:
What To Expect: The Biome Update (Folksy Facelift v1.1)
Note: all screenshots shown below are work-in-progress and may not reflect the final mod
Secondary Biomes
In the vanilla Zoo Tycoon 2, animals' biome preferences are over-simplistic: they are treated as living in one biome exclusively, and if they are in a biome other than their primary one, guests will comment on how they look "out of place" and the animals may be unhappy. The Biome Update changes that, giving many animals "secondary" biomes that they'll be happy in and guests will see educational value in. Animals with ancillary biomes have them listed in the Zoopedia. On top of this addition, all animals' biome preferences have been totally refactored for maximum veracity.
Plants and Plants and Plants and...
On top of the original launch's African Adventure-compliant foliage selection, the Biome Update will feature a selection of plants, namely for the Tropical Rainforest and Scrub biomes. Plant towering stands of black bamboo in the Temperate Forest biome, or say "g'day" to the coolabah tree and conkerberry bush in the Savannah biome. Or perhaps your goblin sharks will enjoy some coral and a giant sponge in the gloomy depths of the Benthic biome...
Biome Makeovers
Some of the game's less photogenic biomes have undergone some marked reworks! Gone are the ugly rock and snow splotches of Alpine grass, which is now a patchwork of rich mottled greens. In the Wetlands biome, thorough analyses have showed that the vanilla biome was saturated with toxic waste, and I am happy to say that the cleanup effort was a success - its colors are much less eye-bleeding, and its grass and dirt are overall more richly textured.
(Speaking of wetlands, kindly welcome both species of mangrove tree back to this biome!)
Further Facelifting
Not only does the Biome Update include a few new facelifts for vanilla animals, like a sleeker, more orange look for the Bengal tiger and sexual dimorphism among the elephant birds, but it also revisits a few past overhauls, namely the Tyrannosaurus and Carnotaurus, which translate their classic Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals appeal to far tauter and more realistic models than they had prior.
Royal Rumbles
The mighty Tyrannosaurus rex has a dinosaur bone to pick with two of its Hell Creek peers, the Triceratops and Ankylosaurus. If a T. rex is hungry and shares an enclosure with either of those other animals, it might challenge them to a fight. As tends to happen in nature, the vast majority of scraps will end a little underwhelmingly - but if things do escalate, there's no guarantee that your 40 foot-long, 9 ton tyrant-reptilian investment will be the combatant that walks away alive.
There will also be a bunch of minor changes that should be apparent once the update lands - namely some changes that were supposed to have been made in the last bugfix release that I forgot to actually implement.
But wait - just a Folksy Facelift update for the anniversary, you're surely thinking, that's it? What about more of a novel content drop, like some new animals? Lucky for you, belated it may be, I've got you covered:
Zoo Tycoon 2: Northern Lands
This pack will be on about the same scale as the Dino Danger Pack, perhaps a little larger. The pack will include four Arctic animals that are sure to be comfortable in your zoo's colder sections - the Dall sheep, Arctic hare, willow ptarmigan and harp seal. Not only that, but it will also include a bit of northernly foliage - including purple alpine flowers and a striking splash of orange for the tundra - and perhaps even more chilling stuff.
There's nothing to be sheepish about here.
Northern Lands is bound to be a hare-raising experience.
There very well be more surprises in store over the course of this year, but this will be all for now.
In summary, a big Folksy Facelift update is coming on November 1st, 2024. Set some sort of reminder or mark your calenders if you're excited - here's hoping Zoo Tycoon 2's big anniversary can be a special one.