Profit From Recycling

[Artemis]

I could have sworn I saw this explained somewhere in the forums, but I can't find it now, so I'm posting for the benefit of everyone else who's lost it too. I hope this is in the right spot....

I miss the "Shift+4" cheat of ZT1. It's useful to be able to get money quickly when playing a Challenge game or perhaps a scenario, if you're the cheating type. So here's an easy way to do it in ZT2.

1. Using WinRar or another program that extracts files, go into C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Zoo Tycoon 2. You should see an assortment of files, including one called entities.z2f and, if you have ES, x100_000.z2f.

2. Open either one and navigate to entities\objects\buildings\ai. You will see a bunch of .xml files.

3. Find the one called atm_df.xml and right-click on it, then select Copy.

4. Paste it anywhere on your computer -- Desktop, My Documents, it doesn't matter as long as you can get to it.

5. Open the copy in Wordpad or Notepad. Find the line that says .

6. Notice the "cost" is 80 and the "type" is credit. This means when you recycle the ATM, you get 80% of what it cost you to buy it. The 80% is credited to your in-game money.

7. Change cost="80" to cost="1000". Actually, you can change "80" to whatever you want, but I like 1000. It's a nice number. This means you will now get 1000% of what the ATM cost credited to your in-game money when you recycle the bulding!

8. Save the file.

9. Right-click on the file (which, as you remember, is a copy of the one you found inside entities.z2f or x100_000.z2f) and select Copy.

10. Paste the file back into entities\objects\buildings\ai, allowing it to overwrite the file already there.

You're done! Now when you get low on funds and you're impatient for that Giant Panda, just place and recycle a few ATMs. The process can be followed for any object, actually, so pick your favorite and give it a try. You might want to find something you really can't stand using (an ugly tree or plant, perhaps) and make the alteration to it so the change won't impact your normal gameplay. If you never use the object, you'll never get the extra money unless you want it.

[alloy61]

Interesting...
I prefer the normal money cheat, but I can see how this would be useful if you don't give yourself enough money to start with...