Detroit Zoo in Minecraft [WIP]

[Bisonblake]

Hello Everyone! For a few months now I have been working on building my hometown zoo, the Detroit Zoo in Minecraft. The zoo is is about 35-45% complete and will hopefully be done by late 2020 or early 2021.

This world is modded in order to make it seem like you are actually at the zoo. I decided to put the zoo on the web for others to download on March 27th, but it wasn’t accepted until the next day. The zoo is only available to Minecraft bedrock players. I want to give it to Java players also, but due to different mods I am unable to do it.

Here are some links for you to check out. I hope enjoy!
Minecraft Zoo [WIP]
Varga Architecture

I would really appreciate any feedback

 

[amur leopard]

Looks great! Can't wait to see the Penguin center!

 

[Bisonblake]

Looks great! Can't wait to see the Penguin center!

Me too! Last time I attempted making the zoo everything went terrible, so I hope it works out better this time.

 

[Bisonblake]

Forgot to post this the other day, but I updated the zoo!
Minecraft Zoo [WIP]

I have also started working on the Ford Education Center


I also found out I need to redo the train tracks because if not, it will go right through the building.

 

[Jungle Man]

Very good work. I have also wanted to do a zoo in Minecraft.

 

[Bisonblake]

Very good work. I have also wanted to do a zoo in Minecraft.

Thank you so much! You should definitely do this also. It’s kinda hard, but it’s super fun to try.

 

[Jungle Man]

I don't currently have the game downloaded but when I do it, I want to download a mod with species of around the world to complete my zoo.

 

[Bisonblake]

Update:

The exterior of the Ford Education Center is 100% finished. The interior is a little less than half complete. Here are some pictures:


Also, since buildings are a little frustrating to me, I'm skipping Buddy's Pizza for now and have started the South American part of the American Grasslands:

 

[Bisonblake]

Update: The first two South American exhibits are finished. I just need to add a few more trees

 

[grevy's zebra]

Update: The first two South American exhibits are finished. I just need to add a few more trees
View attachment 438883

It's starting to look great! Just wondering, are you PC or PE, and are you using ZAWAM if on PC

 

[Bisonblake]

It's starting to look great! Just wondering, are you PC or PE, and are you using ZAWAM if on PC

I’m on bedrock which is Pe, but I use Windows 10. I wish I was able to use ZAWA because it looks better than the animal mods for bedrock.

 

[Bisonblake]

I have made a few videos touring some of the exhibits in the zoo with facts about the animals and the exhibit. I will eventually tour all of them once they are complete. If you want to check them out here they are:
Zoo Tours - YouTube

 

[Bisonblake]

It's taking a while, but the Great Apes of Harambee is starting to take shape. This is probably the hardest exhibit to build so far (I don't know why, but it is). I had to change the path many times because the habitats were getting too close to the paths, but I think I have found the best way to fit it in. I now have the outline for the habitats and the house. The back of the chimpanzee exhibit had to be changed, but everything else is the same. Here is what it looks like: Ignore all of the lines, those are just measurements.

 

[Bisonblake]

I have finished the Great Apes of Harambee and the lion exhibit. I am currently working on building the last two South American exhibits in the American Grasslands

 

[Bisonblake]

Update: the last two South American exhibits are finished Here’s a look at them:

 

[Bisonblake]

I have finished the first watering hole exhibit in the African Grasslands, and I have finished the Japanese Macaque exhibit.

 

[Bisonblake]

I haven’t shared an update in a while, but I have done quite a bit since the last update.

In the African Grasslands, I finished the second watering hole exhibit for the eland and ostrich. I also finished the kookaburra aviary and The Hangout.

In the Arctic Ring of Life, I destroyed the entire thing to redo it. I will make it even better, and more realistic to the actual thing.

In the American Grasslands, I finished almost the entire thing. The only things I missed were the lake and the smaller grizzly habitat. I also need to extend the Cotton Family Wolf Wilderness by a little bit.

I am currently working on the Australian Outback Adventure. After I’m done, I will start work on the new Arctic Ring of Life.

I also update the map, so if you want to download it, here it is! Detroit Zoo [WIP]

 

[Bisonblake]

Ok so I have taken a really long break from working on this and I made a huge decision, and that is to redo the entire thing.

So the reason I am doing this is that a while ago, one of my friends taught me all these cool tricks and tips on how I can improve my builds. So when I went back to look at the zoo, I realized so many things wrong with the entire thing. A lot of buildings are off-scale making the build look weird and/or don't have any detail at all. Also, the biggest mistake was two paths were completely off-scale messing up a huge portion of the zoo making the exhibits look weird. Here's a list of what needs to be changed:

• The Wildlife Interpretive Gallery and PPCC both need a complete makeover. All the plants are gonna be completely redone, and the glass will also be changed from white to blue because that's what it looks like on the exterior. I'm also adding little details to the exterior of the building. The PPCC just needs to be completely destroyed and rebuilt because it isn't perfectly to scale.
• The whole area around the Cotton Family Wetlands is really off-scale. The main one that is wrong is the NACC. The building is too close to the path behind it which also messed up the boardwalk.
• The biggest mistake is the two very long paths are not angled properly. When I was building it, I was too scared to build the paths at an angle which I now regret because it messed up every single area near that path.
• So because of those two paths. Every area near the paths will be 100% redone.
• All the trees, bushes, and other plants will be turned into custom ones because Minecraft trees look terrible.
• I will add color variation to all the paths, rock walls, and also some grass/dirt areas because plain stone looks pretty boring in my opinion.

Anyway, I don't really want to make a ton of changes, but if I want it to look right, I think it's best to do it. It's gonna take a while before I get back to the point I was at before, but I think it will be worth it.

 

[CheeseChameleon1945]

I don't currently have the game downloaded but when I do it, I want to download a mod with species of around the world to complete my zoo.

@Jungle Man sadly, I am working on a zoo but not for realistic animals from mods. A month ago I sat down for almost three hours trying to understand how Minecraft mods work, it just didn't make sense to me and I eventually gave up. I don't know why they make these things so hard, since apparently to everyone else its so easy (whoever I've talked to who has downloaded mods). I am making a zoo, might show you guys in media or in another thread if I want to, but It is strictly Minecraft In-game mods sadly, but the exhibits are pretty cool so its not a total loss.

 

[WalkingAgnatha]

@Jungle Man sadly, I am working on a zoo but not for realistic animals from mods. A month ago I sat down for almost three hours trying to understand how Minecraft mods work, it just didn't make sense to me and I eventually gave up. I don't know why they make these things so hard, since apparently to everyone else its so easy (whoever I've talked to who has downloaded mods). I am making a zoo, might show you guys in media or in another thread if I want to, but It is strictly Minecraft In-game mods sadly, but the exhibits are pretty cool so its not a total loss.

Have you tried using Twitch to help you download mods cause that's how I did it.