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Let's Build a Zoo News

Seven cool indie PC games you can't miss in November

We've well and truly hit peak here at PCGamesN. The pandemic has heaped triple-A after triple-A on us since the start of October and anyone still claiming that 2021 will go down as a 'weak' year for gaming is looking even sillier now than they did before.


In case you've missed all the releases, we've reviewed Riders Republic, Football Manager 2022, Forza Horizon 5, Call of Duty: Vanguard, Jurassic World Evolution 2, Marvel's Guardian of the Galaxy, and Age of Empires 4 in the last couple of weeks alone - and there have been some pretty high scores among them. But there have also been dozens of top indie games, and that's what we're celebrating right here - well, not right here, just scroll a little further.


As always, the indie release schedule across November is loaded with a diverse range of genres, so expect everything from pixel art tycoon games and crime thrillers, to tranquil survival games and at least two game names that start with 'un'. Tantalising, huh?


Read the rest of the story...


RELATED LINKS:

Let's Build a Zoo is basically immoral Planet Zoo, and the beta starts this week

Let's Build a Zoo is basically Planet Zoo with DNA splicing

What's next for Let's Build a Zoo?

[h2]Hey everyone! Wow, what a weekend!! [/h2]

We've had thousands of people playing, streaming, sharing their zoos on discord and chatting to us on the forums! We're massively overwhelmed by the positive reaction - thank you to everyone who has left us a kind review or come to chat with us, it's been an incredible few days!



Now it's Monday, it's time to get back to work and think about what comes next for Let's Build a Zoo! We've got lots in mind and have been reading through your feedback, but here's a list of the some of the things we're looking at fixing up and adding in the near future. It’s by no means a complete list, but a nice look into the future for us:

[h3]Adding a multi-euthanise/donate option[/h3]

So we were blown away by your pens full of rabbits and geese, but unfortunately so were you! One of the first things we're looking at implementing is a way to either euthanise or donate a group of animals all at once, as we know that was getting to be a big job in some zoos!

[h3]Make the UI flow better[/h3]

We know a lot of folks are struggling with the UI being clunky in some places, especially where backing out of a menu takes you too many steps back, or it takes too many clicks to get back to a menu you use often. The team are having a good look at the UI flow, and making improvements to speed up getting to the places you want to be!

[h3]Adding controller support[/h3]

We’ve seen lots of people asking for controller support, and it’s on the way! With a game like Let’s Build a Zoo, getting controller support right is tricky especially considering accessibility, but the team have a plan of action and we’ll let you know once we’ve got it right!

[h3]Making a sandbox mode[/h3]

The team are currently toying with a brand new mode! Inspired by lots of your suggestions, we’re looking out to see what could be fun and giving it lots of play time to make sure it’s as good as it can be!

[h3]A clearer font and more UI size options[/h3]

This one is pretty much what it says on the tin – we know a small number of folks are struggling to read our font and some of the text can be a little on the small side – we’re working hard to find a solution and make sure the game is more accessible in this regard!

[h3]Clearing up crashes on some resolutions[/h3]

We know some games are crashing, especially on wider screens – we’ve fixed up a whole heap of these already but are still working to make sure you don’t have to use the config file workaround. A massive thank you to everyone in the forums who has been helping us test these!

[h3]Improve feeding and ordering food[/h3]

One of the changes we think will help the game feel much more smooth to play is improving how you handle and order food, especially later on in the game when you’ve expanded to have lots of enclosures. We’re looking at a new research option to get your food buying under control, and a new employee that will make getting the right food into your pens much easier!

[h3]Fixing up the Zookeeper AI[/h3]

At the moment, zookeepers can sometimes get stuck while they’re headed off to do jobs, we’re currently looking at making it much clearer when they’re stuck and reducing the chances of them getting stuck in the first place! We’re looking to update the game soon to give you more information and control, and your zookeepers a little bit of a nudge in the right direction.

[h3]Fixing up the Robot animals[/h3]

Some of our favourite scammimals in the game are the robots, with their jaunty up and down bouncing. Sadly at the moment, they don't quite work as we'd planned, so are getting a little immortality boost! They'll no longer die, nor need particular diets (it's ok, we won't tell the visitors!)

[h3]Get farmers more independent[/h3]

At the moment farming is an odd one in that the most efficient way of the farmers working is to all be doing the same thing, which is not great from a gameplay perspective. The team are looking into making farmers a little more independent and giving you the option to zone them to best utilise them, just like your other staff members!

Alongside a couple of bugs and some secrets, that’s probably enough to keep the team busy for a little while!

Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed us, and if you haven’t already please considering doing so, as it helps us out immensely!

Back to building a zoo for us, we’ll see you with some more update news soon!

Springloaded & No More Robots xoxoxo




LET'S BUILD A ZOO IS OUT NOW!

Hey there everyone! It's finally time for us all to build a zoo!

LET'S BUILD A ZOO IS OUT NOW!

Thank you so much for all of your support and love over the last few months, your support, feedback and encouragement have been invaluable to us!

We’re all incredibly proud of how Let's Build a Zoo has progressed, and we hope you all enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed working on it. It's been very emotional seeing it all come together, and we can't wait to start seeing what you build!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

If you're interested in WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS, we've got a roadmap you can check out HERE - ROADMAP we can't wait to fill it up with a mix of all of our ideas! If you have suggestions, feel free to pop them in the suggestions area!

If you run into any problems, please don't hesitate to let us know - we've got dedicated bug and crash areas for you!

Here's to all of us building a zoo, make sure you share lots of screenshots with us and let us know how you get on!

Lots of love

Springloaded and No More Robots xoxo

ONE DAY TO GO!!!!! We're ALMOST THERE!!!

ONE DAY TO GO!

ONE DAY TO GO!

I cannot believe we're almost there. None of us are really sure how to feel, but we cannot WAIT until tomorrow. We can't wait to welcome you all into your own zoos and get you building the zoos of your dreams!

Whether you are looking to build an animal utopia or the best-fed factories in the game, we can't wait to see what you create. It's been UNREAL watching people stream the game, and watching them go from that tiny rabbit enclosure to sprawling jungles for monkeys, endless breeding facilities and forests to well and truly scrub out all of that CO2 - it's been almost magical to see the game really come to life in people's hands.

I said I'd give you a tip on the run up to launch every day, and seeing as feedback is going to be something we'll be swimming in from tomorrow, so I'll show you how to view the feedback from YOUR visitors!

This is one of @springloaded's favourite features, and I think it's fast becoming one of mine too! If you unlock and build the surveillance building, you'll be able to see where your visitors are headed in your zoo, how much cash they have on hand and most importantly, any FRUSTRATIONS they have! If your guests are bothered by something, they'll look to leave your zoo early, so identifying and fixing these pain points can be the key to your zoo's success!



Fingers crossed we all get some nice feedback over the next few days! I'll see you tomorrow for our FINAL COUNTDOWN (doo doo doooooooo dooooooo) and for the release of LET'S BUILD A ZOO!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Oh, and of course, before I forget, here's the last of our lovely hybrids! See you tomorrow!



TWO DAYS TO GO! Time for some beer?

HEY EVERYONE!

TWO DAYS TO GO! TWO DAYS TO GO!

I'll be honest, we're all starting to get a bit nervous now! We're busy getting everything squared away ready for launch, but we're definitely trying to have fun with it. Yesterday I shared a practical tip with you about running your zoo, but today... well...

I kinda want to show you how flexible the game is once you've made your way through the bulk of quests and have a decent chunk unlocked. I've talked about factories and about farms, but how about... uhh... beer?



Introducing the beer zoo! I couldn't NOT share this zone from one of Springloaded's zoos, I INSTANTLY fell in love with it!

If you decide you want to take a break from smelly animals and fancy your hand at brewing, then why not make yourself a brewery quarter?



Farming specific crops and using them to create products (like with evil factories!) will open up so many more monetisation routes within your zoos - I cannot WAIT to see what you do!

Ok Ok, so I couldn't JUST talk about buildings today, congrats to the folks who correctly guessed our hybrid yesterday, it was an OSTEMUR!



I'll leave this one with you, one of my favourites and a nice easy one to guess for Wednesday!