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#31
Miscellaneous Downloads / Have Research Completed Automa...
Last post by Jay - August 10, 2022, 07:34:37 PM
Have All Research Completed

Author: Jay

Keywords: automatic research completion

Release date: August 10, 2022

Most current ztd date: July 29, 2022

Zip size: 378 bytes

Compatibility: MM and CC

Description: This allows all research to be completed automatically for freeform maps. Although ZooTek-Research-Hack.ztd also allows all research to be completed automatically, unlike ZooTek-Research-Hack.ztd, HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd is not a hack and is more efficient.

If your ZT has a dlupdate folder, place HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd in ZT's dlupdate folder. Otherwise put HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd in ZT's Updates folder. After you start a freeform map or load a saved game based on a freeform map, all research will be completed automatically. On slower computers, this could take a second or two. Once the zoo is saved, the saved game remembers that all research was completed, so HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd could then be removed from ZT's folders.

Although HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd is not a hack, if you have your ZT set up to work with a hacks folder and want research to be completed automatically for all freeform maps, you can put HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd in that hacks folder instead of the dlupdate or Updates folder.


Click here to download HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.zip
#32
Miscellaneous Downloads / New Sound And Ambient Combinat...
Last post by Jay - August 09, 2022, 07:31:10 PM
New Sound And Ambient Combinations

Author: Jay

Keywords: background sounds; flying ambients

Release date: August 9, 2022

Most current ztd date: August 2, 2022

Zip size: 1.42 MB

Compatibility: All game versions

Description: Freeform maps have background sounds and flying ambients. This ".ztd" adds 4 new combinations for Map Makers to use when they create new zoo maps. These 4 combinations were requested by ZZ for new zoo maps she wanted to create. When someone makes a zoo map using one of these combinations and makes the zoo map available to others, they should say that NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd is needed. If a zoo map needs NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd but NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd is not in ZT, then ZT will give the error "Unsupported old Microsoft Zoo Tycoon saved game." when attempting to load the zoo map in ZT. NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd is not a hack, so ZT will continue to work for everything else like it always has.

If your ZT has a dlupdate folder, place NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd in ZT's dlupdate folder. Otherwise put NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd in ZT's Updates folder. Although NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd is not a hack, if you have your ZT set up to work with a hacks folder, you can put NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd in that hacks folder instead of the dlupdate or Updates folder.

One of the combinations includes a flying dragon ambient. The flying dragon ambient graphics are from the young Pernese Green Dragon made by Genki. She had given permission for her graphics to be reused by others. But the Pernese Green Dragon is not needed for the flying dragon ambient to work. Although not necessary for the flying dragon ambient to work, it is recommended to use LANG--ZTCDD.dll dated July 22, 2022 or newer. That way for those that use the Zoo Object List program, LANG--ZTCDD.dll allows the list to show "ambient:ambient:dragonjy: Pernese Green Dragon" instead of "ambient:ambient:dragonjy:" for the flying dragon ambient. LANG--ZTCDD.dll is available from DG:

http://www.ztcdd.org/DG/index.php?topic=3734.0

Except for background sounds and flying ambients, these combinations work like all of ZT's freeform maps other than the Kid's Map. So research can be done, marketing can be done, awards can be gotten, donations can be gotten, and animals and objects become available at the start of some game months. Like ZT's freeform maps, it is possible to add ".ztd" files that complete all research automatically or make animals and objects available sooner. For ZZ's zoo maps, she has one set without the research completed and another set that has all research completed at the start. It is also possible to use HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd or ZooTek-Research-Hack.ztd to have all research completed automatically. Of those two, HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd is preferable because it is not a hack and is more efficient, but it probably only works in MM and CC. HaveAllResearchCompletedByJay.ztd is what was used to make all research completed in one set of zoo maps from ZZ. To make animals and objects available earlier, it is possible to use developerMenuHack.ztd, HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd, MMFreeformUnlock.ztd, or ZooAdminMapEditor.ztd. The preferred way to make all things available is to use the "Unlock everything" button that is made available by developerMenuHack.ztd. That is the button that was used by the developers of ZT to make all things available. That "Unlock everything" button also has the advantage over HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd, MMFreeformUnlock.ztd, and ZooAdminMapEditor.ztd in that it can be clicked at the spur of the moment while in ZT instead of when a zoo is loaded. And developerMenuHack.ztd has the advantage over ZooAdminMapEditor.ztd in that it makes 7 of DD's rubble pieces available instead of only 1. Neither HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd nor MMFreeformUnlock.ztd make DD's rubble pieces available because ZT has them configured to be in the Developer menu instead of any other purchase menu. Although developerMenuHack.ztd is the preferred way to make all things available, it is okay if people use HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd or MMFreeformUnlock.ztd instead to make all things available. Neither HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd nor MMFreeformUnlock.ztd are hacks. But between the two, HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd is preferred over MMFreeformUnlock.ztd. HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd is more efficient. Also, HaveAllThingsAvailableByJay.ztd can make some user made things available that would not be available without using something else.


Click here to download NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.zip


Notes for Map Makers:

Currently there are 4 combinations in NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd. Since I am limited to 8 characters for combination names, the combination names look strange, but they indicate what the combinations contain. The combinations are:

qbchpsjy: background sound is 3 minutes quiet with loon, chirp, hawk, loon, chirp sounds separated by 30 seconds between each; ambients are bluejay, crow, hawk, parrot, and seagull

sbchpsjy: background sound is 30 seconds sea with continuous faint seagull sounds and 1 louder seagull in the middle; ambients are bluejay, crow, hawk, parrot, and seagull

wbcdprjy: background sound is 87 seconds wind with chirp, loon, chirp sounds separated by 20 seconds between each; ambients are bluejay, crow, dragon, and parrot

wbchpsjy: background sound is 3 minutes wind with loon, chirp, hawk, loon, chirp sounds separated by 30 seconds between each; ambients are bluejay, crow, hawk, parrot, and seagull

The sounds are new sounds, but they are made from parts of various sounds in ZT. Like ZT's background sounds, these background sounds are played continuously. The bluejay, crow, hawk, parrot, and seagull ambients are the same as what are in ZT. The flying dragon ambient is new.

The easiest way to use one of these combinations in a new zoo map is to start with one of ZZ's zoo maps that use these combinations, and update the zoo map to create a new zoo map.

If for some reason starting with one of ZZ's zoo maps is not what you want to do, then a binary or hex editor is needed to change your zoo map to use one of the above combinations. Every zoo map says which ".scn" file it is using. It is the ".scn" files that say what background sounds and flying ambients to use, among other things. Since the above combination names are 8 characters long, you would start with a ZT freeform map that also uses an 8-character ".scn" name. For example, ZT's "Dry River (Large)" freeform map uses dryriver.scn. So if you start with that freeform map and make the changes you want to create a new zoo map, you can then use a binary or hex editor to change the ".zoo" file. There would be one place with "dryriver.scn". You would change "dryriver" to one of the above 8-character combination names. Do not add or delete characters. Save the file and exit the binary or hex editor. Test the edited ".zoo" file in ZT to make sure it is as expected.

Although the above procedure can be used to create a new zoo map using one of the new combinations, when the zoo map is first loaded, it might have flying ambients that are not wanted. The Dry River map can have Hawks flying around. The wbcdprjy combination does not have Hawks flying around. Eventually the Hawks from the Dry River map will eventually fly off the screen and no Hawks will be created while using the wbcdprjy combination. So it is okay to use the above procedure. But there is a more complicated procedure that can be used to make a zoo map that starts on Jan. 1 of Year 1, with a starting cash amount that you want, and without Hawks or Vultures flying around, except for the combinations that contain Hawks. The following is that complicated procedure, which is the procedure that was used for ZZ's zoo maps.

1. Edit ZT's zoo.ini file to have MSStartingCash and MSMaxCash in the [UI] section set to the desired starting cash amount.

2. Copy one of the ".scn" files from NewSoundAndAmbientCombinationsByJay.ztd to make a new dryriver.scn file in a freeform folder and zip that freeform folder into a new dryriverTemporaryHack.ztd.

3. Copy dryriverTemporaryHack.ztd to the hacks folder if it exists in ZT's main folder. Otherwise copy dryriverTemporaryHack.ztd to ZT's dlupdate folder if it exists. Otherwise copy dryriverTemporaryHack.ztd to ZT's Updates folder.

4. Copy the ".zoo" base map to ZT's maps folder. This ".zoo" base map should already have any changes desired, such as terrain, terrain heights, decorations inside and outside the zoo, and locations of the zoo entrance, zoo walls, and admission booths.

5. Rename dryriver.zoo in ZT's maps folder to dryriver-original.zoo.

6. Rename the ".zoo" base map that was put in ZT's maps folder to dryriver.zoo.

7. Start ZT, select the Dry River freeform map, start that map, and let the zoo run for 1 game month. That gives the zoo enough time to have any previous ambients fly off the map.

8. Save the zoo as dryriver.zoo in ZT's "Saved Games" folder and exit ZT.

9. Run the Zoo Object List checkzoo program for dryriver.zoo in ZT's "Saved Games" folder. That will create a checkzoo.lst file in ZT's "Saved Games" folder. Open that checkzoo.lst file in a text editor such as WordPad. Confirm that the only ambients in the checkzoo.lst file are ones expected for the new ".scn" file. Exit the text editor and delete the checkzoo.lst file.

10. Cut dryriver.zoo from ZT's "Saved Games" folder and paste it in ZT's maps folder, overwriting the one that is in ZT's maps folder.

11. Start ZT, select the Dry River freeform map, and start that map. When ZT shows the zoo, wait a fraction of a second (to give ZT a chance to reset the date), and press the space key on the keyboard to pause ZT. This should have the starting date as January 1 of year 1.

12. Position the zoo view so that the zoo entrance is where it is wanted. I zoom in fully and position the zoo view so that the zoo entrance is visible at the bottom left, with it facing toward the left.

13. Confirm the starting cash is what is wanted.

14. Move the cursor over the zoo entrance to confirm the zoo name is what is wanted.

15. Save the zoo in ZT's "Saved Games" folder with the desired ".zoo" file name, which should be the same ".zoo" base map file name that was used in step 4. I prefer ".zoo" file names not to have spaces.

16. Exit ZT.

17. Delete dryriver.zoo from ZT's maps folder and rename dryriver-original.zoo back to dryriver.zoo in ZT's maps folder.

18. Delete dryriverTemporaryHack.ztd from whichever folder it was placed in step 3.

19. Use a binary editor or hex editor to edit the ".zoo" base map that was saved in ZT's "Saved Games" folder. Look for "dryriver.scn" and change "dryriver" to the 8-character name of the new ".scn" file name. Do not add or delete characters. Save the file and exit the binary or hex editor. Test the edited ".zoo" base map in ZT to make sure it is as expected, including start date, starting cash, zoo name, background sounds, flying ambients, any research completed at the start (which is in one of the tabs when clicking the zoo entrance), and animals and objects shown in the various purchase menus. Testing can also include seeing that appropriate awards are triggered, donations occur as expected, marketing works as expected, etc..
#33
Current ".c" date: April 18, 2022

Zip size: 2.30 KB

Description: If you are a programmer with a C compiler such as gcc, it is possible to compile the CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed program yourself. Here is its source code. Extract CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed.c from the ".zip" and use the following commands to compile it in a MS Windows Command Prompt window:
gcc -O3 CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed.c -o CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed
strip CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed.exe

Click here to download CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed-Source.zip.
#34
Frame Count And Animation Speed Checker

Author: Jay

Keywords: Checker

Current exe date: April 18, 2022
Current bat date: July 14, 2022

Zip size: 10.2 KB

Overview: This is a program for designers to check the frame counts and animation speeds of their ZT animals and objects. When different views of an animation have different frame counts, the animal or object can become invisible when the zoo is rotated.

Description: This program checks for frame count and animation speed mismatches of all ZT image (e, n, ne, nw, s, se, sw, w) files in a specified folder and all of its subfolders. This program also checks if backslashes were used for the pal file paths inside the ZT images.

The program is not fancy. Therefore, you have to be somewhat proficient with MS Windows and unzipping in order to use it.

For completeness... For those that understand and write scripts, the CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed.exe program can also be run on the command line. You can run CheckFrameCountAndAnimationSpeed.exe with a "-h" option to get more information.

Instructions:

Here are instructions for running the checkimages2 program.

Although the checkimages2 program can be run from different locations, the best place is from a C:\ZT-utils folder. If that folder does not exist yet, create a "ZT-utils" folder in the top level of the C: drive (C:\ZT-utils). Extract the files from checkimages2.zip into the ZT-utils folder. The following procedures were tested in Windows XP, but other Windows versions should be similar. For example, Windows 10 uses "More apps" instead of "Choose Program".

To run checkimages2 for the first time:
1. Extract the entire ".ztd" file. Do not extract it into any of Zoo Tycoon's folders.
2. Because Microsoft Windows does not support "Open With" for folders, running the checkimages2 program is unusual. Right click on an ".ani" file. The checkimages2 program will go up 2 folders from that point, then check all ZT images in that folder and all of its subfolders. For buildings that sell things, the best ".ani" to right click is one in a subfolder of the items folder. For animals, the best ".ani" to right click is one in an .../ic... folder. For other objects, the .../idle/idle.ani can be right clicked.
3. Click "Open With".
4. Click "Choose Program".
5. Click "Browse".
6. click "My Computer".
7. Double click "C:".
8. Double click "ZT-utils".
9. Click "checkimages2.bat".
10. Click "Open".
11. Click OK and the results of the checker are shown in a window that can be scrolled.

To run checkimages2 after the first time:
1. Extract the entire ".ztd" file. Do not extract it into any of Zoo Tycoon's folders.
2. Because Microsoft Windows does not support "Open With" for folders, running the checkimages2 program is unusual. Right click on an ".ani" file. The checkimages2 program will go up 2 folders from that point, then check all ZT images in that folder and all of its subfolders. For buildings that sell things, the best ".ani" to right click is one in a subfolder of the items folder. For animals, the best ".ani" to right click is one in an .../ic... folder. For other objects, the .../idle/idle.ani can be right clicked.
3. Click "Open With".
4. Click "checkimages2" and the results of the checker are shown in a window that can be scrolled.

To copy the results information so that it can be pasted into something, do the following:
1. Right click in the results window and click "Mark".
2. Move the mouse pointer to the bottom far left of the results window.
3. While pressing the left mouse button, move the mouse pointer from the bottom far left to the top far right of the window, allowing the window to scroll to the top. Everything will be highlighted. Release the mouse button and press the Enter key. The highlighting will disappear and the information can now be pasted elsewhere.

Click here to download checkimages2.zip.
#35
Packs and Themes / Japanese Ponds and Gardens
Last post by fern - June 20, 2022, 09:34:13 PM
Author: Dr. Rick
Keywords: Japan, Asia, gardens, water features
Compatibility: All Game Versions
Description: Part of the Japanese project.

  Tranquil Lotus Pool
Date Released: 21 June 2022
Current DrRTranquilLotusPool.ztd dated 21 June 2022
File Size: 79.6 kb
Description: This is a still water pool with lotus plant and little fountain, inspired by Japanese Buddhist Temple pools.

Download Tranquil Lotus Pool

  Mossy Zen Garden
Date Released: 21 July 2025
Current DrRMossyZenGarden.ztd dated 21 July 2025
File Size: 150 kb
Description: Guests will love the coolness of this gorgeous tranquil woodland, inspired by Japanese Buddhist Temple gardens.

Download Mossy Zen Garden
#36
Zoos and Workbenches / Suburban map update
Last post by Jay - June 03, 2022, 10:42:58 PM
Suburban map update

Author: Blue Fang and Jay

Keywords: map

Release date: June 3, 2022

Most current zoo map date:
- lg_sub.zoo: June 3, 2022

Zip size:
- lg_subByJay.zip: 53.4 KB

Compatibility:
- lg_sub.zoo: CC and MM

Description: When Blue Fang created MM, they created the "Marine Mania: Suburban (Large)" freeform map with a Low Hedge Fence on the map edge. If someone tries to edit the map by deleting that Low Hedge Fence on the map edge, CC and MM will crash. This freeform zoo map was updated by Jay to avoid this problem by no longer having a Low Hedge Fence on the map edge. Other than for that, the zoo map was not updated for anything else.

To install the Suburban map update, go into ZT's "maps" folder, rename lg_sub.zoo to lg_sub-original.zoo, extract lg_sub.zoo from lg_subByJay.zip, and put that lg_sub.zoo into ZT's "maps" folder.

Click here to download lg_subByJay.zip
#37
Buildings and Shelters and Toys / Re: Genkis Sweet Building Pack
Last post by fern - January 15, 2022, 03:01:59 AM
Updated January 14, 2022 by fern and Jay to not unlock more things than expected, to position the sold items in the way ZT does them, to make the configuration more efficient, and to include a combined ztd of the 2 machines in addition to the individual ztd files.
#38
Fences and Walls and Zoo Entrances / Re: Atlantean Tank Walls
Last post by fern - January 13, 2022, 04:14:22 AM
Ozeania tank added 13 January 2022
#39
Buildings and Shelters and Toys / Shelters - Dino Cave recolours...
Last post by fern - January 11, 2022, 11:38:59 PM
Dino Cave recolours and resizes

Author: Fern
Keywords: shelters, colours
Compatibility: All Game Versions
Description: The ingame Dino Shelter in three sizes.
All have been configured so guests will like them and dinos cannot turn these into rubble.

  Purple Dino Caves
Keywords: Valentine's Day, Purple
Release Date: 12 January 2022
File Size: 165 kb

Download Purple Dino Caves

  Alien Frost Dino Cave
Keywords: Alien, Otherwhere
Release Date: 26 August 2025
File Size: 181 kb

Download Alien Frost Dino Cave
#40
General Info / Re: UCS Editing guide (User Cr...
Last post by fern - January 11, 2022, 02:17:03 AM
Rubble

cRubbleable=0 If you want large dinosaurs to be able to turn your object into rubble, do not have this line. If you do not want large dinosaurs to be able to turn your object into rubble, include this line.

cUsesTreeRubble=1 If you want large dinosaurs to be able to turn your object into a tree stump rubble, include this line. If you want large dinosaurs to be able to turn your object into rock rubble or if you include "cRubbleable=0", do not include this line.

When used, these lines go in the [Characteristics/Integers] section of the ".ucs", ".ucb", or ".ai" file.