Oh my goodness, these fennec foxes
On any given weekend, I’m one step away from burning a few (okay more than “a few“) hours away with a fresh, built-from-the-ground-up zoo in Planet Zoo. That feeling is even stronger when there are new DLCs and free updates that go hand in hand. Today, it’s the Planet Zoo: Africa Pack DLC and Update 1.6 — they’re both out on Steam.
On the DLC front, it’s more of the same, not that players are expecting anything different by now. For $10, the Africa Pack adds five new critters — the meerkat, southern white rhino, African penguin, fennec fox, and sacred scarab beetle — along with 180 pieces of themed scenery, “from thatch and mudbrick, to rocky canyon getaways.”
What’s that? You’re going for more of an anachronistic zoo theme? You do you!
The paid DLC also comes with a desert-based challenge zoo, and Update 1.6 has a free timed scenario with animals rescued from Guatemala. Instead of picking and choosing what you want in the trade center, you’ll get shipments “on a timer,” so you might be left scrambling if you don’t have physical space (or managerial bandwidth) to spare.
Highlights from the 1.6 patch notes:
- Polar bears, grizzly bears, Formosan black bears, and sun bears can swim down to deeper depths.
- Settings like social welfare and water quality deterioration are now off by default in Sandbox mode.
- Webcams can be placed in habitats, and there’s a night-vision option, too. You’ll need a power supply, though.
- You can manage crowd congestion by creating Vista Points that act like custom focal points for specific buildings, scenery, enrichment items, or habitats.
- Animal storage locations increased from 50 to 200.
- The ability to set prices by number rather than a slider.
- You can add your own custom sounds and music to all in-game speakers
If needed, check out the full 1.6 breakdown on Reddit.
Also, to the Planet Zoo player who preemptively built a fennec fox enclosure nine months ago, I hope you’re living it up. I’m still reeling from the cuteness.
