Rock Work, Plants and Waterfalls

The rock and foliage sets in Planet Zoo 2 are a big step up from the first game, and scaling works on almost everything. A few techniques make the difference between "pile of rocks" and "cliff face".

Rock work in layers

1. Base layer: large rocks scaled up and aligned to surface against walls and terrain. This one setting makes the biggest difference, because rocks tilt with the slope instead of sitting flat.
2. Middle layer: varied rocks on top with random rotation and different scales. Switch rock types often.
3. Detail layer: pebble clusters near the bulk, thinning out to individual small pebbles further away. The small stone pebble pieces are among the best additions to the game.
4. Check for clipping from the guest side and the path side.

ScreenshotLayered rock work

Tips:

• Wide assets such as pebble clusters can "fly" off slopes; shrink them on angles.
• Build a short wall section, then duplicate the selection along the edge and go back to vary it. That's much faster than placing each rock.
• Match rocks to the biome: African grassland or desert rocks for savannas, tiger rocks for Asian habitats, tropical rocks for reefs and indoor houses, temperate rocks in Europe.
• Mix in some rock texture paint under the rocks so gaps read as stone.

Foliage

• Nature brush: paint trees, shrubs and grasses in one go. Filter by continent or biome (Asia, North America, grassland, wetland). Use low intensity and a small brush for scattered results.
• Custom brushes: create your own mix (all your favourite ferns, desert pebbles plus rocks) and reuse it.
• Clumps: build one good clump of ferns, group it and duplicate it around large areas.
• Height layering: tall plants at the back, low plants in front, ivy and vines spilling over rocks.
• Tree litter brush, fallen logs, roots: fallen leaves are recolourable, and the new root pieces (including strangler fig roots) add great texture.

ScreenshotNature brush

Favourite pieces: rubble mounds and soil mounds, the vines, ivy clusters, fountain bamboo, basket ferns, rhododendrons, baobabs (much better shaped than before), and "rock large cracked 02".

Waterfalls

1. Place a small pool at the top so the water comes from somewhere.
2. Use the torrent water effect, angled slightly upward, so it arcs and falls naturally.
3. Stretch several waterfall effects side by side for width.
4. Add splash effects where it lands and mist effects for atmosphere.
5. Carve the plunge pool with the push tool while the water is in place, then a stream that narrows as it flows away.
6. Hide the effect emitters with plants. They're visible in build mode.

ScreenshotWaterfall effects

Rock work for big habitats, step by step

A whole canyon or cliff habitat can be 90% rock. Here's the order that keeps it manageable:

1. Shape the terrain first. Push and pull the ground into roughly the shape you want, and paint rock texture over everything that will be cliff. Then any gaps between rocks still look like stone instead of grass.
2. Lay big rocks along the bottom of the walls, scaled up and aligned to the surface. Keep them off the paths.
3. Work upwards in layers, using medium rocks and swapping rock types and angles often. Nothing should look flat, and nothing should obviously repeat.
4. Fill under stairs and around tunnels carefully, so it looks like the paths were cut into the cliff. This is slow work, because each rock has to sit tight against the path without touching it.
5. Finish the rim from every angle. From the bottom of a canyon you'll mostly be looking up at the top edge.
6. Add pebbles and small rocks last, where the big pieces meet the ground.

Making rocks look like they belong

• Pillars made of long, tall rocks can look like they're holding up a tunnel or bridge.
• Holes in a cave ceiling let beams of sunlight in. Hang dead roots through them.
• Trees leaning over a cliff edge make a canyon look deeper from below.
• Matching trim: if your habitat wall has a metal or stone trim, carry it onto the rocks too, so it looks deliberate.
• Recolour stone tiles to match your rock colour and use them as small ledges.

Disguising fences with rocks

Real modern zoos hide their fences behind rocks and plants, because animals are calmer when they don't see bars. You can do the same:

1. Build a short wall of small, scaled-down rocks along the fence.
2. Duplicate that section all the way around the fence.
3. Go back and delete, move and add a few rocks so it doesn't repeat.
4. Check the traversable heat map afterwards. A rock wall inside a fence can become a ramp an animal climbs out on.

ScreenshotFence hidden behind mud walls and rocks

Plants for different habitats

Remember that plants count towards each animal's plant coverage. A beautiful jungle can make a hippo unhappy. Check the welfare panel as you plant.