Zoo Tycoon 2 Walkthrough :
This walkthrough for Zoo Tycoon 2 [PC] has been posted at 17 Oct 2010 by robertoxxx and is called "FAQ/Strategy Guide". If walkthrough is usable don't forgot thumbs up robertoxxx and share this with your freinds. And most important we have 1 other walkthroughs for Zoo Tycoon 2, read them all!
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Walkthrough - FAQ/Strategy Guide----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5----+----6----+----7----+----8 FAQ/STRATEGY GUIDE FOR ZOO TYCOON 2 game by BLUE FANG and Microsoft this guide written by SOLDYNE Version 4.01 VERSION HISTORY: 4.01 - Updated some user feedback about the North American Content Scenario. Added a link to FileFront for the Animal Info Excel Spreadsheet. 4.00 - Fourth Release. Over 60 Challenges listed. List of buildings will not be comming any time soon, there are just too darn many of them. 3.00 - Third Release. Corrected my spelling of "Zoo Tycoon Unleashed". added research for marine animal training and marine shows. added some research done on educational fame. added some more reader feedback. updated the terraforming tips section (pictures included). 2.00 - Second Release. Includes walkthroughs for all scenarios up through EA XP. includes some reader feedback. new sections for Miscellaneous ideas and easter eggs. corrected my terrible spelling of "scenario" throughout the document. 1.00 - First creation. Does not include Marine Shows, Challenge list, Buildings/Objects list, expansion scenario walkthroughs, and some other items. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TABLE OF CONTENTS (TO GO TO ANY SECTION USE THE FIND COMMAND AND TYPE IN THE ROMAN NUMERAL, THE LETTER OR THE NUMBER WITH BRACKETS OR PERIODS AND GO TO THE SECTION (DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT $200) I. INTRODUCTION II. THE GAME BASICS A. PROFILE B. FREE FORM MODE C. CHALLENGE MODE D. CAMPAIGN MODE E. LOAD SAVED GAME F. EXIT GAME G. GAME OPTIONS H. DOWNLOADS III. EXPANSIONS A. ENDANGERED SPECIES B. AFRICAN ADVENTURES C. ZOOKEEPER COLLECTION D. MARINE MANIA E. EXTINCT ANIMALS IV. STRATEGY AND MAKING MONEY A. ZOO SIZE AND LOCATION B. ZOO LAYOUT C. STAFF D. BUILDINGS AND OBJECTS E. INCOME and EXPENSES F. ZOO FAME G. ANIMAL HAPPINESS H. GUEST HAPPINESS I. AWARDS J. SHOWS K. TOURS L. OTHER IDEAS M. READER RESPONSES N. EASTER EGGS and BUGS V. MINI GAMES A. TRAINING B. FOSSIL HUNTING C. FOSSIL BUILDING D. DNA MANIPULATION E. CURING DISEASES F. DINO RAMPAGE G. GUEST MODE H. PHOTO MODE VI. TERRAFORMING TIPS VII. SCENARIOS/CHALLENGES A. ZOOKEEPER IN TRAINING B. TROUBLED ZOOS C. PREVENT ANIMAL ABUSE D. THE GLOBE E. CONSERVATION PROGRAMS F. THE MYSTERIOUS PANDA G. AFRICAN ADVENTRUE H. TRANSPORTATION I. PHOTO SAFARI J. ENDANGERED SPECIES K. MARINE ANIMALS L. MARINE SHOWS M. EXTINCT ANIMALS N. EXTINCT EXPLORATION O. THE DINOSAUR ZOO P. CHALLENGE LISTING VIII.APPENDIX A: LIST OF ANIMALS X. APPENDIX c: MY PHOTO POSTING GUIDE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I. INTRODUCTION Welcome to my guide on ZOO TYCOON 2 (ZT2). I would first like to give BLUE FANG and all the other companies who had a hand in this game a "Thank You" for producing this game with detailed graphics and great sound and music. at your earliest moment please take a chance to visit the lovely official web site for ZT2 at: http://zootycoon.com/default.htm and please register for the forum and join us to discuss this wonderful game. I would like to say that this is my third FAQ/STRATEGY guide (see also Mall Tycoon 2 and Prison Tycoon guides on Game FAQS) and that all info contained herein is a culmination of hours of trial and error, observation, and shear dumb luck. I would also like to thank the many fan sites and forums as well as the large community of ZT2 fans. For those that have read my other guides you are probably noticing a pattern with the introduction... Please note that I am writting this guide with all current expansions installed with the game so if you only have a few expansions then some of the data may seem to be a little different, please keep this in mind. If anyone finds that any info in this guide is erroneous, my explainations are difficult to understand, or you just have some new info to add then drop me a line at Soldyne@Yahoo.com and have the subject read: ABOUT YOUR GUIDE or ZOO TYCOON 2 This is because I have many filters on my email account and this will let me know that your email is worth opening. I should not have to say this but, PLEASE make sure you computer is clean of viruses and such before sending me any messages. Thank You! Now for some legal stuff: This guide is Copyrighted under law and cannot be reproduced by others without express writen permission from me. You may not link directly to this document or display a copy of it on any website. I worked long and hard to get this information and I would like to be credited for my work. If you don't beleive me then check out the Copyright Act of 1976 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Copyright_Act_of_1976 A Note About Pronouns: I will tend to use masculine pronouns throughout my document. This is not intended to disrespect or in any way ostrisize the female population. It is just how I write. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. OK, now onto the good stuff! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ II. THE GAME BASICS ZT2 is a strategy/simulation resource managment game. The overall objective is to build a zoological garden containing a vast array of animal species from all over the world while at the same time entertaining your guests and making a profit. sounds like fun, so lets get started! This game is designed for younger audiences and for families, although, serious strategy/simulation players can find quit a bit about the game to give them hours of fun and enjoyment. portions of the profits for the sale of this game and its expansions go to the World Wildlife Fund. The game is not only fun but it is educational and helps real zoos and animals. Once you have the game installed and running you will eventually find yourself at the main menu. this will have a nice random background with some kind of theme song playing. the theme song and background will be determined by which of the expansion packs you have installed at the moment. some of the new features of the second installment of Zoo Tycoon include a fully three dimensional environment with the ability to zoom in and out. You can also go into zoo guest mode and walk around your zoo on foot. while in this mode you can take over some of the jobs of your zookeepers by raking poo, filling water troughs and cleaning your animals. you can even clean up after the guests if you janitors are getting lazy. there is even a photo safari mode where you can take pictures of your zoo and put them into a photo album. you can access your photos outside of the game so you can post them on the net or do whatever you want with them. A. PROFILE At the top of the screen is your profile. Profiles are important if you are sharing your game with someone else. each profile will keep track of numerous things such as progress in a campaign, challenges completed and what items have been unlocked. of course, if you choose to work together with someone then a single profile will do. The profile will also keep track of pictures taken and saved games. you can find your profile and access your pictures by going to: C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data\Microsoft Games\ Zoo Tycoon 2\Profile Name When you switch profiles or start a new one the screen may flicker a few times while the game resets everything. don't worry though all the hard work you put into your other profiles will still be there. B. FREE FORM MODE This is the shovel and pail button in the middle of the screen. In a FF game you have unlimited cash and all animals, buildings and objects are open to you from the start. the only things which you do not have access to are the locked items which must be opened by completing campaigns and challenges. There is no way to lose in FF mode no matter how bad you are, there is also no way to win. FF mode is great for building extravagant zoos or, better yet, experimenting. Since FF mode is so open and free I will not cover it much beyond this small introcution. C. CHALLENGE MODE This is the pile of money and watch button in the middle of the screen. In Challenge mode you get your choice of zoo size and global location. the location of your zoo will determine what biome (discussed more in detail later) and what background ambient noises you will have when you first start out. A few maps will have preset mountains, rivers, foliage and some will even have conservation areas set aside. A conservation area is a part of the map that you will not have any control over. you will not be able to manipulate the terrain, disturb the foliage or change the area in any way, shape or form. the only thing you can do with it is add animals to make it an exhibit. Before you start you game you can choose the level of cash you can start with. In a challenge game there are no winning conditions but you do need to watch your money. every so often the game will give you challenges which you can accept or decline. by succeeding at the challenges you can gain temporary prizes or even unlock various objects for use in other maps (discussed later). one of the biggest differences between FF and Challenge/Campaign mode is that many objects, buildings and animals will not be available from the start of the game. in order to gain access to many of the items and animals in this mode you must increase you zoo's fame level (also discussed later). as your zoo's fame increases you will be able to purchase better objects and buildings and more interesting animals. another difference is that you will not have access to all animals at once. instead you will be given a small list of possible animals from which you can adopt a limited number of male and female specimens. you can choose to decline the choices and the game will randomly choose a new animal for you to adopt which is in line with your zoo's fame level. you can continue to decline adoption until you get what you want so it can be annoying at times. I really don't see much of a point to it, but, it is the way it is. Challenge mode is great for the more serious tycoon player who wants to build a great zoo but also wants the thrill and satisfaction of managing the resources to make it run well. D. CAMPAIGN MODE This is the lock and key button in the middle of the screen. In Campaign mode you will be given a list of scenarios. each set of scenarios will have a sublist of games which must be played in order. once all of the sub games are completed you will unlock a special prize which could be a new object or more scenarios. the objects unlocked in this manner will be available throughout the game within the current profile. you can always replay a scenario if you want to, but, other than fun and experience there are no further benefits. Each scenario will be different having different starting conditions such as different levels of cash, pre-built zoos, conservation areas, and fame levels. just like in Challenge mode you must increase your zoo's fame level in order to gain access to new objects buildings and animals. on the more difficult games (discussed later) you must adopt certain animals in order to win, however, the game will only give you a random choice so you must continuously decline adoption until the winning animal appears which can be very annoying. one of the benifits of Campaign mode is that you can learn the basics of the game by playing the tutorials. after the tutorials you can increase your skills by playing the other scenarios while at the same time opening up new items. Also, ZT2 offers so many different ways to play that many people get over whelmed with the possibilities and end up doing the same things over and over. By playing through the scenarios you will get the chance to experience all the things that ZT2 has to offer and perhaps learn a few tricks along the way. Campaign mode is great for learning and building your skills within the game. E. LOAD SAVED GAME this is the folder with an arrow button in the middle of the screen. This will allow you to return to a previously saved game which was saved within the current profile. if you saved a game under profile "X" then you must be in profile "X" in order to load that saved game. F. EXIT GAME This is the big red "X" button in the middle of the screen. this one is obvious, do you really need a guide to tell you what it does? G. GAME OPTIONS This is the computer monitor and keyboard button in the middle of the screen. This will open up all the options such as sound and graphics for the game. Microsoft and Bluefang were very good about this part, as the game will automatically set itself for what it believes is optimum settings. if you feel you can tweak the settings for better performance or graphics then go ahead and open up the advanced settings. I will not get into details about all the graphics options here, that could be a guide unto itself. if you want to know more about all that stuff, well, you could always post your questions on the official Zoo Tycoon forums and everyone there will be glad to offer some adivce. My suggestion is, if you don't know what you are doing, then leave this area alone. H. DOWNLOADS This is the section of the game where you can download official content from the Zoo Tycoon website. except for Dino Danger which costs $4.99 all other downloads are free of charge and are highly recommended. (Dino Danger Pack is no longer available as a seperate download as it is included in the Extinct Animals Expansion Pack). as of the writting of this guide the current list of downloads is: Black Leopard and Stuffed Prey Dummy - adds a new animal and new item for your carnivores to play with Holiday Pack - adds christmas themed objects for your zoo Musk Ox and Tundra Theme Pack - my personal favorite, it adds a new animal which is available at the start of all zoos and adds a ton of new buildings and objects which require no research to obtain Challenge Pack 1 - adds new challenges for challenge mode play Scenery Pack - more scenery (don't you love the subtle titles?) Asian Elephant - another animal (can't have enough of them!) Spring Beautification Pack - lots of new flowers for decorating with Guest Fun Pack - lots of new objects to entertain guests with Addax - you have to go to the website in order to download this new animal Updates for Dino Danger - free updates for the premium Dino Danger pack (included in the Zookeeper Collection Expansion Pack) BE WARNED! Dino Danger pack is included for free if you buy the Extinct Animals expansion pack (EA XP). Dino Danger was offered long before the EA XP was released so there was a time when it was worth it to spend the $5. However, there is no refund for people who purchased the download and then also purchase the EA XP. you were warned. Also, if you purchase the Zookeeper Collection then all the downloads except for the Addax will already be included in the CD set, so, for those of you with slow internet connections this is the best way to go. There is also a patch available at the official site. the patch is also packaged with the Zookeeper Collection Expansion Set. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ III. EXPANSIONS This section, not surprisingly, will list the expansions and give a brief summary of what they offer and why you should buy them. of course you can always go to the official Zoo Tycoon website and see all the wonderful adds for the expansions yourself with wonderful pictures and sound effects. (no, I do not work for Blue Fang or Microsoft, they just made a good product so I want to help them out with a little advertising...) With so much content added by so many expansion packs the submenus for objects buildings and animals can be filtered by clicking on the triangle button in the bottom middle window. you can filter by expansion pack, biome, threat level, object/building type and other criteria. it makes finding things so much easier. A. ENDANGERED SPECIES This was the first expansion pack (ES XP) to be released for ZT2. it has 20 animals to add to your zoo and a lot of new challenges and scenarios which revolve around endangered animals. scenarios and challenges include breeding endangered species and creating habitats and zoos worthy of housing some of the worlds most critically endanged animals. ES XP also added a ton of new concepts such as Jeep vehicle tours, Sky Tram tours and elevated paths. New buildings, themes, challenges, scenarios and also new guests and improved guest AI were added with this expansion pack. Items added by ES XP will be marked with a green leaf. B. AFRICAN ADVENTURES This was the second xp (AA XP) to be released. This XP was not as full as ES, however, it did add 20 more animals (which are always good for a zoo) as well as new skins for the Jeep vehicles, new themes and of course Africa centric challenges and scenarios. probably the best addition with this XP other than the new animals was an improved animal AI which introduced realistic herding, hunting and pack behavior among animals in large groups. Items added by AA XP will be marked with an orange stamp of Africa. C. ZOOKEEPER COLLECTION This is basically a re-release of the first two expansion packs along with all the free downloads and the main game all wrapped neatly in a single package. It came out at the same time as the next XP as a way to bolster sales and help regerate wanning interest in the game. it worked! the Zookeeper Collection is what got me into the game and I have been hooked ever since (heck I'm writting the FAQ aren't I?). this collection also included the code patch. D. MARINE MANIA This is the thrid XP for the series and is pretty much the same thing as the Zoo Tycoon 1 version, only better. This is just as it sounds, it adds 20 new marine animals (fish, mammals, birds) as well as new water filled exhibits to house them in. MM also added 4 new biomes to properly match up with the marine type habitats. in addition to new animals MM XP also introduces the water show. You can train certain marine animals to do tricks which can then be employed to enterain guests. the trick training can be done automatically with new hired trainers or you can play various minigames to train your animals yourself. Trainers are slow but will work without any interference from you. the mini games are quick but you will have to leave your zoo unattended for a time while you do your training. Another cool feature is the ability to swim with your animals and even ride on the backs of many of your marine animals (ever wanted to swim with dolphins?) like the other XPs this one also adds new themed buildings and objects as well as new challenges and scenarios. Items added by MM XP will be marked with a blue sea shell. Trainable animals will have a yellow star inside the shell. E. EXTINCT ANIMALS This is the fourth XP for the game and is one of the most exciting and fresh XPs yet. This XP brings back the dinosaurs but also introduces players to other extinct animals from earths history such as the dodo, wooly rhino, quagga, and protarchaeopteryx. This XP adds 30 new animals (10 more than the standard XP) and includes the Dino Danger pack premium download (no refund if you already purchased it seperately). This pack also adds 5 new mini games which include: Searching for fossils, building fossil puzzles, combining DNA, stopping rampaging dinos, and even curing new and strange diseases. There are also new staff members such as entertainers and paleontologists as well as the standard new themes, objects, buildings, challenges and scenarios. Items added by EA XP will be marked with two crossed bones. Items from the Dino Danger pack will be marked with a yellow dinosaur skull. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IV. STRATEGY AND MAKING MONEY This is the section that most of you have opened this guide for. everyone wants to know how to make money. Before we move on with this section I need to set a few ground rules and assumptions: 1. I assume that you have access to and have read the game manuals. this means that you know how to build exhibits, what a biome is and the difference between a guest and an animal. I will not rehash the manual. if you do not have the manual handy you can always go to the offical website and download a .pdf version of all of the manuals, so no excuses, get reading! 2. The in game tutorials (found in the scenarios section) are very well done and very informative. I actually replay some of them just to remind myself of the basics from time to time. I strongly suggest and indeed assume that you have played the tutorials and understand all the basic concepts contained within them. 3. The intent of this section is to build upon the basics which you should know from reading the manuals and playing the tutorials. If you find that some of the concepts I talk about seem a little advanced, then go back to the manual and the tutorials to refresh yourself (no shame in that). Although, I may get a little basic from time to time just so we are all on the same page, just don't expect me to hold your hand. 4. This section will focus mostly on Challenge mode. The ideas discussed here can be used in campaign mode but each scenario has differnet winning conditions and each sub game is disscussed in its own section below. There is no money or strategy involved in Free Form mode since there is no way you can win or lose. I do suggest that if you have an idea you want to test out then use FF mode as a proving ground to experiment in before going blind into the other modes. A. ZOO SIZE AND LOCATION When you first start out in Challenge mode you will be given a long list of possible locations and sizes for your zoo. the list of zoos is on the left hand side of the screen with the zoo size in parenthesis; (S) is small, (M) is medium and (L) is large. Junior zoos are small in size and have paths and fences already set up to help out those people who might not know what direction they want to go in yet. The globe in the middle of the screen will give you an idea as to where in the world the zoo is located. you can click and drag the mouse to rotate the globe. its a nice toy, but has no other use. on the right hand side of the screen you will see a thumbnail of the zoo, followed by a short description and then a dollar figure with two arrows. You can choose the amount of money you start with in challenge mode. you can really challenge yourself by putting the figure as low as $5,000 (not recommended) or you can increase the figure by factors of $100. I have brought the figure as high as $10,000,000 and have gone over that while playing the game. I do not know how high the figure goes, but, if you are going to start a zoo with more than $500,000 then you might as well go play Free Form mode. There are three sizes of Zoos that you can make use of in the game: small, medium and large. The small zoo is 52x52. The medium zoo is 70x70. The large zoo is 92x92. I think that all of these sizes are much too small for any kind of great zoo, especially when you consider how many animals and biomes there are in the game. even with these small sizes the entry way takes up even more space. I am terrible at ASCII art so I won't try to demonstrate what I mean, but, you should be able to tell the amount of space lost just by looking at any random map. All I can say about zoo size is to make sure you make the most of your space. plan ahead, use minimum exhibit sizes (see appendix A for details), make use of raised paths and just get used to the idea that you will most likely not be able to have every animal in your zoo at the same time. I am not saying that such a zoo is impossible, what I am saying is that it is not practical. some good ideas for zoo planning are to concentrate on one theme or idea. create multiple zoos where each one concentrates on one biome or one region of the world (like an asian zoo or desert zoo). No one ever said that you can only have one zoo! B. ZOO LAYOUT The way you layout your zoo is entirely up to you, however, if you would like an efficient zoo which will help increase your income, fame and guest happiness levels then I have a few ideas to share. Your zoo is first and foremost a business. you must think about profit and income. Guests are your only source of income (except for a few rocks and trees at the start of the game that you can recycle for cash). guests will only give your zoo money if they are happy and entertained. guests will only show up if you have animals in exhibits. to make guests happy you need happy animals, food, drink, restrooms and entertainment/decorations. any zoo design with animals will attract guests. but keeping the guests in the zoo and getting them to spend all their money is a matter of efficient park design. Guests will only walk on paths (sometimes a random guest will go where they are not supposed to, but, the majority of them stay on the paths). so an efficient zoo needs an efficient path layout. - PATH PLACEMENT There are various kinds of paths you can use in your zoos but they all cost the same amount and the guests really don't care so long as the paths lead to food, enteratinment and exhibits. I use three sizes of paths for most of my parks; 3 tiles, 5 tiles, and 6 tiles. I would not go less than 3 or more than 6. I use 3 tiles mainly during scenario games when money is tight. more tiles means more money invested. I like 3 tiles over the suggested 2 tiles for a few reasons. 1) the middle tile can act as a place to put lots of objects such as donation boxes, decorations and food carts. this then keeps the two tiles on either side free and clear for guests to observe the animals without bumping into stuff all the time. also, if a bench is 1 tile from the exhibit the guests on the bench can still see the animals thus letting them rest and observe at the same time. 2) Arches are one of the games best decorations. every guest that walks under and archway will gain some entertainment value. arches are 3 tiles wide with 1 tile underneath for passing through, so, this makes the perfect decoration for a 3 tile wide path. The only arch that is 4 tiles wide is the extinct themed arch. 3) Donation boxes can be expensive, so, by placing a donation box in the middle tile you can essentially use one box for two exhibts. rotate the box so that the front is paralell with the path (not facing an exhibit) this way guests on either side of the box can access it with equal ease. 4) the middle row is great for putting in the occasional gift or food cart. like the donation box, make sure the front is not facing an exhibt and you should have plenty of customers. 5) by putting all your benches and other objects in the middle of the path you can also place observation areas on either side of the path which further increase guest happiness. I use the 5 tile wide pathway when I play FF or Challenge mode (since money is less of an issue). the principles are still the same as with the 3 tile path, but now you have more room to play with. with 5 tiles you can put in bigger decorations, fountains, statues, and even some nice landscaping. remember though that if a bench is more than 1 tile from an exhibit then the guests can't see the animals. 6 tiles are what I use for the main entryway path. there are two reasons for this: 1) the entry way itself is 2 tiles wide so an odd numbered path is impossible to center (I like things centered). 2) with 6 tiles you can place two arches next to each other very neatly. Here is a pic of a 3 tile wide path and some object placement: http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3tileswidemx3.jpg - EXHIBIT CREATION Now that you have your path set up you need to attract some guests. The only way to attract guests is with animals which must be enclosed in exhibits. Exhibits are going to be, without a doubt, the largest things in your zoo. figuring out how big to make them is going to be the main focus of most zoo designs. there are some things to consider when building exhibits: 1) the type and number of animal(s) you plan to place in the exhibit. 2) guest visibility to the animals. 3) animal privacy. The first point is complicated as each species of animal requires different amounts of space. This will be discussed in more detail in section G. ANIMAL HAPPINESS and you can reference size requirements for each animal in APPENDIX A below. The second and third points will be discussed here. Guest visibility while on a path is 10 tiles in all directions from the point they are standing. guests can only see into an exhibit if they are standing on a tile next to an exhibit or at most 1 tile away (which will give them visibility of 9 tiles into the exhibit). Binoculars can increase this visibility range to 22 tiles but only in a confined arc (about 60 degrees) as opposed to 180 degrees. Also, binoculars do not allow visibility to things in the exhibit that are in the first tile (those items are too close for the binoculars to focus on). Elevated paths only give visibility to an exhibit if the edge of the path extends beyond the fencing into the exhibit. visibility is sill only 10 tiles away from the path, and the guests cannot see anything that is underneath the path or 1 tile from the path (because of the angle). Even though the elevated paths do not increase the visual radius of the guest they do allow |
