Here are some tips when creating objects- provided courtesty of Jay at ZK Lounge.
- When putting in the description, double checking grammar and spelling might be useful.
- Objects should be based on the same type of object (such as statue or flowerbed) so that the guest thought is appropriate.
- Since the most common problem with objects involves the language code, it is recommended to confirm that the ".ucs" file has "LCID = 1033" in a "[defaultLCID]" section and that the ".ucs" file also has a "[1033]" section.
- Often for user foliage, the ".ucs" file has both "habitatfoliage" and "cHabitat = 9414". This does not hurt anything, but they contradict one another. The first says the foliage has a habitat (ie, can be used in exhibits) while the second says it is "Bad Habitat". Either the ".ucs" file should not have "habitatfoliage" or the ".ucs" file should have "cHabitat = 9411", which means the foliage can be used in "Many" habitats. (It is also possible to give a specific habitat value.)
- If the ".ucs" file has any "[]" or blank lines at the top, these may be removed.
- Sometimes an object should be allowed on water. In this case,"cSwims = 1" and "cOnlySwims = 0" should be added to the "[Characteristics/Integers]" section in the ".ucs" file. For grass or shrub types of foliage that will be put in exhibits, "walkable = 1" should be added to the "[Characteristics/Integers]" section.
- Usually there will be the following 8 ".pal" files for user created objects in the ztd file: objects/xxxxxxxx/idle/NE.pal, objects/xxxxxxxx/idle/NW.pal, objects/xxxxxxxx/idle/SE.pal, objects/xxxxxxxx/idle/SW.pal, objects/xxxxxxxx/ne/N.pal, objects/xxxxxxxx/nw/N.pal, objects/xxxxxxxx/se/N.pal, and objects/xxxxxxxx/sw/N.pal. If some are there, but not all of them, then some of the views of the object or icon probably were not made or were not added via APE. If all 8 are there, then there are probably 2 other ".pal" files in the objects/xxxxxxxx folder from the original Zoo Tycoon object that can be removed. For example, if the new object is based on the Bighorn Statue, objects/xxxxxxxx/i.pal and objects/xxxxxxxx/statue5.pal can be removed.
- Ideally, the same color palette should be used for all 4 views of the object. In this case, all 4 ".pal" files in objects/xxxxxxxx/idle will be identical. If so, the 4 graphics files (ne, nw, se, sw) can be edited with some type of binary editor to make them all use the same ".pal" file and the other 3 ".pal" files can be removed. Similarly, if all 4 ".pal" files of the icon (objects/xxxxxxxx/xx/N.pal) are identical, the 4 icon graphics files (objects/xxxxxxxx/xx/n) can be edited with some type of binary editor to make them all use the same ".pal" file and the other 3 ".pal" files can be removed.
- The files can be taken out of the ".ztd" and a new ".ztd" files can be created that is more efficient. It is more efficient not to save folders in the ztd file. Only the files are important. For example, it is only necessary to save scenery/other/xxxxxxxx.ucs in the ".ztd" file and not "scenery" or "scenery/other". Also when creating the ztd file, a smaller file is created if maximum compression is used. However, it might not be obvious how to do either of these things with whatever program you are using to create the ".ztd" file.
- It is useful to check all 4 rotations in a zoo (especially to make sure the object is consistent as it is rotated) and to check all 4 icon rotations in the purchase menu.