Start Career for guided objectives, or create a Sandbox zoo if you want to learn the tools at your own pace. For a first working zoo, connect the entrance and paths, build a suitable animal home, establish care and utilities, and then inspect the animals and guest services before expanding. This is a practical learning order, not a required build or a claim to maximise income.
Career begins in a Wildlife Reserve, so you are not missing the building tutorial when the opening sends you into conservation work. The mode setup and controls below follow Frontier's The Basics guide.
Choose guided learning or a blank zoo
| Start with | What you will do | Main condition |
|---|---|---|
| Career | Follow the FEN story and complete scenario objectives for Bronze, Silver and Gold medals | Begin with the first Chapter 1 location rather than a blank construction map |
| Sandbox zoo | Create your own zoo and adjust Economy and Animal Welfare settings | Choose a preset and terrain before creating the location |
| Franchise | Build connected zoos and reserves, trade Habitat Animals and join Community Challenges | Requires an internet connection and Frontier account |
Career is the clearest choice when you want the game to lead the next task. Sandbox is useful for practising a tool without following the campaign. Franchise has its own progression and online requirements; it is not a multiplayer building session.
Open the Career campaign
- Select Career, then Start New Career +.
- Read Eric Ashford's welcome letter.
- Choose the first location in Chapter 1, then Travel to Wildlife Reserve.
- Follow the current scenario objectives. Use the Career guide when you need that mode's progression rather than a general building introduction.
Scenario objectives determine the next action. The construction sequence below is for learning the core zoo tools, rather than replacing the reserve objectives.
Create a Sandbox zoo instead
Select Sandbox > Create New Zoo, choose a biome and continent, and name the zoo. Choose Default, Creative or Challenge, or open Sandbox Settings to adjust the available rules. Choose Flat or Sculpted terrain, then select Create Zoo.
A Sandbox Wildlife Reserve is a different location type with its own reserve selection and ecosystem settings. Use a zoo for the construction sequence below. To return to an existing accessible location, open Planet Hub with the world icon.
Learn the camera and pause before placing objects
On PC, W, A, S, D move the camera and Q/E adjust its height. Hold the mouse wheel and move the mouse to rotate, and scroll to zoom. P pauses or unpauses time; O cycles game speeds. Use the current platform prompts when playing with a controller rather than translating keyboard instructions into guessed buttons.
Select an animal, facility, staff member or guest to open its Info Panel. That is where you check the state of the thing you are trying to fix. Learn to move between the overall zoo view and one selected object before placing an entire district.
The Browser contains objects by type; the Tools Panel contains Paths, Habitat Barriers, Terrain, Nature Brush, Multi-Select and Demolish tools. When expected items are missing, inspect the active tab, filters and Essentials toggle before assuming they are locked.
Connect an entrance and a simple path network
For a blank zoo, begin with the entrance arrangement. Frontier's Building Your Zoo guide places Zoo Entrances under Facilities > Services > Zoo Entrance. Guests appear at Guest Spawners and must pass through an entrance gate to buy a ticket and enter the zoo.
Place the entrance and spawner so they connect to the zoo, then open Paths. The Line Builder creates straightforward connections; Curve Builder curves them; Draw Tool and Stamp Builder can form plazas. Adjust width, length, height and snapping for the path you are placing, then connect the entrance to the first animal home and facilities.
Use a Guest Path for ordinary visitor circulation. Staff Paths exclude guests and can provide dedicated staff connections. Ride Queues serve transport-ride entrances; guests do not use them as general routes around the zoo. Keep your first network simple enough to inspect before adding ornamental branches.
Build one suitable home and check the animal
Choose the animal type before finishing the enclosure. A terrestrial habitat, a roofed aviary and an aquarium do not have interchangeable requirements. For a first practice area, complete one functional animal home rather than copying an elaborate enclosure before knowing what it needs.
Use Quarantine to check the health of new arrivals before they enter the zoo. Provide a Vet Surgery for treating sick or injured animals. These facilities complement the Trade Center for adoption and storage, and the Keeper Hut for food preparation.
- Build the appropriate boundary and connect the staff gate to an accessible path.
- Check the intended species' space, environment and social requirements, and provide suitable food, water, shelter and enrichment.
- Obtain the animal through Animal Trading, or select an animal you already hold in storage, and transfer it into the completed habitat. Building an enclosure does not populate it automatically. The Chapter 1 walkthrough illustrates adoption and transfer from Trading and Storage; availability depends on the mode and current progression.
- Once the animal is inside, inspect its Info Panel rather than judging suitability from appearance alone. Recheck the individual unmet condition after a change. A finished roof or decorative pond does not prove that the game counts the required usable shelter or water.
Use the animal’s environment panel to compare the current habitat with its displayed requirements. The habitat requirements guide covers the species checks in more detail.
Make care and utilities work before expanding
Hire the staff required for the animals and facilities you have placed. Keeper Huts are where Keepers prepare food; putting food objects into an enclosure does not replace that support. Check the connection between the hut and habitat gate, and provide Staff Rooms so staff can rest. Long walking routes reduce keeper efficiency, but there is no universal spacing number in this tutorial.
Facilities that need power must sit inside an operating power source's radius. Mechanics need path access to maintain power and other operational facilities. Check the Power heatmap when a facility is not working rather than adding a second copy of the same unpowered building.
For an aquarium or habitat water body, filtration is a separate network. A Water Filter connects through pipes; natural water bodies need a connected Water Pump. Check network demand, water cleanliness and the relevant animal requirements. Follow the water filtration troubleshooting guide if that is the unresolved condition, instead of treating more scenery as a remedy.
Add guest food, drink, toilets, bins and the staff that keep those services operating as you develop the visitor route. Shops, toilets and staffing have distinct functions; do not use one fixed shopping cluster as a substitute for inspecting the needs of the actual zoo.
Place donation bins near the places where guests view animals, so visitors can donate after viewing them. Add these while setting up the first visitor route, alongside education and guest services. Their placement supports zoo income, but it does not guarantee a profitable zoo or replace checks on animal care and running costs.
Correct a small area before decorating the whole zoo
Once the first area works, try the terrain and scenery tools. Advanced Move and Rotate adjust selected objects; confirm the placement with the build/buy/tick action. The Nature Brush places foliage combinations, while Multi-Select can group objects for movement or duplication.
Use the Demolish tool's filters to avoid including object types you intended to keep. On PC, Ctrl+Z undoes and Ctrl+Y redoes. A warning appears before a deletion that would make an occupied habitat invalid; read it before confirming.
Expand from a working area whose access, care and guest services you understand. Blueprints can speed up construction, but downloading a design does not remove the need to check its connections and animals. Leave detailed breeding, accreditation and reserve-release decisions to their specific guides once those become your next task.