Moats are a common find in zoos all around the world. A good moat will make you think that
the only thing keeping you from hugging those adorable wolf pups is a line of plants, some rocks, and/or a low fence.
Types of Moats
There are basically two types of moats. The first is your traditional water moat. This moat works great for animals that don't swim. The real life problem presents itself when the animals who can't swim get into the water, however this doesn't happen in Planet Zoo.
The second type, and my favorite, is the dry moat. Dry moats can be modified to be used with almost any animal. A well placed dry moat will make guests feel as if they are in the habitat. There are multiple ways to disguise a moat including rocks, terrain, foliage, and line of sight. If you'd like more insight into the methods of moating, and zoos in general, you can find a great article here.
How to Make a Dry Moat in Planet Zoo
Enough about Moats in general. Lets learn how to make one. You can create your barriers first and design your moats around them, or put the moat in first and use barriers to finish off. Decide what type of moat you like by looking at what animal you are putting in the habitat, the biome your zoo is in, etc. You can research real life moats for inspiration like the one below. The left is the Cotton Family Wolf Habitat at the Detroit Zoo in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The right is a Zooana original wolf habitat in Planet Zoo. You'll also find some photos for inspiration at the end of the post.
First, you'll want to use the push terrain tool to lower the terrain to the depth you want for the moat. You can then use the flatten terrain tool to drag out the moat to where you want it. To
give the best views of the animals, you'll want the moat as narrow as possible. (This is where having the barriers in place helps as you can place your animals in and use the traversable
heat map to make sure they can't jump over the moat.) For a water moat, you'll use the water tool to add water and skip the rest of the steps below.
Once your moat is in place, you'll want to decide if you want to disguise it. You can leave it as is making the space between guests and animals obvious. Or you can use one of the following methods of disguising:
Rocks
There are enough rocks in planet zoo that your options are limitless. Using rocks to match the biome of your zoo will allow them to blend in with the terrain and give a more natural look. For more contrast you can use those from the biome of your animals. Animals are indifferent to where their rocks come from so use what suits you. For the method used in the wolf exhibit above, use the angle snap option set to 15 degrees.
Angle the rocks so they are pointing into the exhibit. The line of site will follow the rocks into the exhibit, hiding the fact that there is a moat. Alternatively, you can stack rocks along the edge of the moat, just make sure they aren't higher then the guests line of sight.
Terrain
The type of terrain used can blur the lines of the moat making it look almost as though it doesn't exist. Long grass is the best terrain for this.
Plants
Using the same plants on either side of the moat can help give the illusion of continuous ground. Low bushes and flowers work best. Add them on either side of the moat and the moat will disappear.
Fence
You can place a fence, either one of the prefab fences or create your own, along the edge of the moat. You will want it high enough to draw focus away from the moat, but not so high
that guests can't see over it. (There are a lot of great fence blueprints on the Steam workshop as well).
That's all there is to it. Check out the moat examples below and please comment with your own moats.
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