Fall DLC 2023 Speculation

[JoeD915]

My guess for the Fall DLC is a forest pack. It would probably be a scenery pack (maybe a log cabin building set), but just in case, here’s my speculation/wishlist for a forest animal pack:
-Spectacled Bear (Possible Flagship Animal)
-North American Porcupine (Possible Flagship Animal)
-Wild Boar
-Golden Pheasant
-Bobcat or Virginia Opossum
-Siberian Musk Deer
-Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
-Orchid Mantis (Exhibit)

Not sure what a good walkthrough exhibit animal would be for this.

 

[PnGLINNyo]

I was wondering though; how many plants left in Planet Zoo that doesn't overlap with the distribution of the existing animal species? I mean that could be our ticket for speculation.

 

[melam]

i think fall dlc could be island/coastal pack with nice seaside scenery pieces, and winter animal pack could be tundra which could contain alpine tunda so some mountain animals that are highly requested could be included, and well polar tundra for the wintery feel

 

[PnGLINNyo]

i think fall dlc could be island/coastal pack with nice seaside scenery pieces, and winter animal pack could be tundra which could contain alpine tunda so some mountain animals that are highly requested could be included, and well polar tundra for the wintery feel

I'm looking at the game again and yeah, taiga animals from Africa perhaps? I know the overrepresentation of Africa but still it's a niche that can be filled

 

[melam]

i think fall dlc could be island/coastal pack with nice seaside scenery pieces, and winter animal pack could be tundra which could contain alpine tunda so some mountain animals that are highly requested could be included, and well polar tundra for the wintery feel

like mix of these, wishlist ive made

 

[Utahraptor Arcanus]

My theory is monkeys are just bottom of popularity.
There is funky site called animalia.bio, which has feature to sort animals according to visits per page. 1 million visits in May so decent sample size.
Some top animals according to their popularity include: lion, tiger, blue whale, wolf, koala... Basic animals for basic people. Carnivorans and ungulates are dominating list. Not surprising.
But where are primates? On bottom.

there's was a thread on reddit once asking what animals people dislike/ don't use, primates were one of the most common answer

 

[Swjosdotschka]

there's was a thread on reddit once asking what animals people dislike/ don't use, primates were one of the most common answer

Well, people who dislike primates dislike them pretty strongly. Same IRL, but ITL primates are still one of the biggest visitor magnets according to zoo planners.
I have to say though, even as I love primates, I rarely use them because of the bugged climbing system.
But as people say, there are enough monkeys that don't climb much, the baboon being one of them. As there are enough birds that don't fly much / are cropped and not kept in aviaries. They could have easily made this an african animal pack, instead of forcing the term "arid" on it and then only use african animals anyway, and give us the Grey crowned Crane or the Marabou Stork. I'm sure the Grey Crowned Crane could use the Crane model pretty easily even. But nope.... two Gazelles in a pack. And a third Rhino.

Frontier, in case you still wonder how much people would pay for a monthly, singular animal: I will pay 9.99 € for two animals in this pack.

 

[Doran]

I mean there definitely has to be something wrong with monkeys.
Even Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection 2017 being all about Australia and South America somehow featured not a single primate.
Even our capuchin monkey got into PZ only, because frontier copied exact niche species from their own xbox version.

 

[Pacha Kamak]

My guess for the Fall DLC is a forest pack. It would probably be a scenery pack (maybe a log cabin building set), but just in case, here’s my speculation/wishlist for a forest animal pack:
-Spectacled Bear (Possible Flagship Animal)
-North American Porcupine (Possible Flagship Animal)
-Wild Boar
-Golden Pheasant
-Bobcat or Virginia Opossum
-Siberian Musk Deer
-Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
-Orchid Mantis (Exhibit)

Not sure what a good walkthrough exhibit animal would be for this.

but when its a scenery pack, you have way to many animals, so you would need to take half of them out.

 

[Villanelle]

there's was a thread on reddit once asking what animals people dislike/ don't use, primates were one of the most common answer

I wonder if they freak people out because they're so close to us? After all looking at my mother freaks me TF out sometimes

Shepreth is (as you know) Frontier's (and my) local wildlife park and they have a LOT of monkeys. They've got vervet monkeys, spider monkeys, marmosets, tamarins AND capuchins (and more tangentially, pygmy slow loris in the nocturnal house, which is where you'll find me). London Zoo have just finished a huge new Monkey Kingdom where their giant aviaries used to be, plus they have their walkthrough capuchins. I'm going to 'meet the monkeys' next week actually

So I don't think Frontier are adverse to bringing in more primates due to a popularity issue. After all they've covered the apes, gibbons and lemurs pretty extensively. It's just the true monkeys that they're withholding for some reason. Climbing mechanics is a good bet.

 

[BananaLeech]

It's just the true monkeys that they're withholding for some reason. Climbing mechanics is a good bet.

My counter argument for this theory is that while it would explain the exclusion of squirrel monkeys and anything smaller than them along with spider monkeys which brachiate using their tails, the fact that we already have mandrill, Japanese macaque, and white-fronted capuchin doesn’t explain the exclusion of medium and large non-ape monkeys such as guenons, colobi (colobuses), and relatives of the aforementioned taxa we already have.

 

[Humble Bumble]

By the time this pack comes out it would have been a year since the walkthrough exhibits were presented to the community. 12 months since the bats, 4 DLCS where people were hoping and expecting to finally seeing flying birds even with the exhibit limitations AND nothing. It's been drawn out long enough.

So now even if there was an Aviary Scenery Pack, nobody is going to be happy with the selection of birds, 8 birds simply won't cut it.

So i'm thinking with this being the autumn pack, on the anniversary of the base game. Leading up to the festive period, the next pack would be the ideal time to add an Expansion to the game rather than a DLC. and cancelling PZ for PZ2 reboot would backfire big time - that needs a good long break so not to annoy the current players. I don't want to start all over again just to get a slightly better lion model.

So maybe it's time for a bigger £20+ pack with a new aviary feature and trading market with a few habitat additions as well. An Aviary Expansion / Building Pack if you will that comes with all the pieces build aviaries and birdkeepers who can enter a backstage area of the aviaries. Frontier knows that birds collectively are the #1 craving in the community and monkeys would be #2. And if they want to milk that craving for money it should be in the coming autumn otherwise it's just going to go sour big time. Birds and Monkeys must be being held back for a reason

So my elaborate current speculation / theory / pipedream is an Aviary Building Expansion Pack with a mixture of habitat birds, aviary birds with and/or walkthrough exhibit options with a roster of about 40+ with notable absences for further packs (like snowy owl for tundra or hornbill for rainforest). Nesting behaviors as a new feature etc.

Shoebill, Crowned Crane, Secretary Bird, Pelican, White Stork, Rockhopper Penguin, Mute Swan, 5 Waterfowl, Guineafowl, Kookaburra, 5 x Parrots, Toucan, 2 Pheasants and a partridge, 2 ibis, spoonbill, 2 owls, 2 falcons, 3 eagles, and 2 vultures, rainbow parakeets and budgies and numerous songbirds both brown and colourful

 

[RightWhale]

I wonder if they freak people out because they're so close to us? After all looking at my mother freaks me TF out sometimes

Shepreth is (as you know) Frontier's (and my) local wildlife park and they have a LOT of monkeys. They've got vervet monkeys, spider monkeys, marmosets, tamarins AND capuchins (and more tangentially, pygmy slow loris in the nocturnal house, which is where you'll find me). London Zoo have just finished a huge new Monkey Kingdom where their giant aviaries used to be, plus they have their walkthrough capuchins. I'm going to 'meet the monkeys' next week actually

So I don't think Frontier are adverse to bringing in more primates due to a popularity issue. After all they've covered the apes, gibbons and lemurs pretty extensively. It's just the true monkeys that they're withholding for some reason. Climbing mechanics is a good bet.

So I now get why Planet Zoo has so little birds, according to Shepreth Zoo’s own website they only have 6 bird species at the whole zoo. It’s funny because I went to two local zoos with my brother in May, one of them had 37 bird species, the other had 22. I wonder if that could explain part of it? Besides maybe an obvious programming or polish issue?

 

[MarikMoon]

My Guess is something about Mountains scenery

1. Spectacled Bear
2. Markhor
3. Gelada Baboon
4. Wolverine
5. Giant Chinese Salamander (exhibit)

 

[RightWhale]

By the time this pack comes out it would have been a year since the walkthrough exhibits were presented to the community. 12 months since the bats, 4 DLCS where people were hoping and expecting to finally seeing flying birds even with the exhibit limitations AND nothing. It's been drawn out long enough.

So now even if there was an Aviary Scenery Pack, nobody is going to be happy with the selection of birds, 8 birds simply won't cut it.

So i'm thinking with this being the autumn pack, on the anniversary of the base game. Leading up to the festive period, the next pack would be the ideal time to add an Expansion to the game rather than a DLC. and cancelling PZ for PZ2 reboot would backfire big time - that needs a good long break so not to annoy the current players. I don't want to start all over again just to get a slightly better lion model.

So maybe it's time for a bigger £20+ pack with a new aviary feature and trading market with a few habitat additions as well. An Aviary Expansion / Building Pack if you will that comes with all the pieces build aviaries and birdkeepers who can enter a backstage area of the aviaries. Frontier knows that birds collectively are the #1 craving in the community and monkeys would be #2. And if they want to milk that craving for money it should be in the coming autumn otherwise it's just going to go sour big time. Birds and Monkeys must be being held back for a reason

So my elaborate current speculation / theory / pipedream is an Aviary Building Expansion Pack with a mixture of habitat birds, aviary birds with and/or walkthrough exhibit options with a roster of about 40+ with notable absences for further packs (like snowy owl for tundra or hornbill for rainforest). Nesting behaviors as a new feature etc.

Shoebill, Crowned Crane, Secretary Bird, Pelican, White Stork, Rockhopper Penguin, Mute Swan, 5 Waterfowl, Guineafowl, Kookaburra, 5 x Parrots, Toucan, 2 Pheasants and a partridge, 2 ibis, spoonbill, 2 owls, 2 falcons, 3 eagles, and 2 vultures, rainbow parakeets and budgies and numerous songbirds both brown and colourful

I was gonna say, Frontier could make an aviary pack and just reuse the rigs to really expand the pack out more. Let’s say that Frontier makes at least 8-10 new rigs for this “bird DLC”, they could just boost up the packs numbers with a bunch of “clones”

 

[Humble Bumble]

So I don't think Frontier are adverse to bringing in more primates due to a popularity issue. After all they've covered the apes, gibbons and lemurs pretty extensively. It's just the true monkeys that they're withholding for some reason. Climbing mechanics is a good bet.

It's possible that because monkeys tend to be constantly moving and moving quickly. Running through the canopies, jumping across branches, even when stopping to eat their heads are always looking around - for danger. And they don't use the ground much, and their young are carried around. All this would be challenging to make it look right in a fluid animation which simply not be able to keep up with their fast pace on trees.

 

[Langsi]

I´m hoping for a highland animal pack:

1. Spectacled Bear (SA)
2. Wolverine (Europe/Asia)
3. Guanaco (SA)
4. Takin (Asia)
5. Gelada Baboon (Africa)
6. Marmot (Europe)
7. Snow hare (Europe)
Exhibit: ????

Anniversary Animal:
Yak

 

[Marvinb]

It's possible that because monkeys tend to be constantly moving and moving quickly. Running through the canopies, jumping across branches, even when stopping to eat their heads are always looking around - for danger. And they don't use the ground much, and their young are carried around. All this would be challenging to make it look right in a fluid animation which simply not be able to keep up with their fast pace on trees.

I dont think the fact that their young are carried around is a dealbreaker. Anteaters and kangaroos also carry their offspring around but still got added

 

[Marvinb]

By the time this pack comes out it would have been a year since the walkthrough exhibits were presented to the community. 12 months since the bats, 4 DLCS where people were hoping and expecting to finally seeing flying birds even with the exhibit limitations AND nothing. It's been drawn out long enough.

So now even if there was an Aviary Scenery Pack, nobody is going to be happy with the selection of birds, 8 birds simply won't cut it.

So i'm thinking with this being the autumn pack, on the anniversary of the base game. Leading up to the festive period, the next pack would be the ideal time to add an Expansion to the game rather than a DLC. and cancelling PZ for PZ2 reboot would backfire big time - that needs a good long break so not to annoy the current players. I don't want to start all over again just to get a slightly better lion model.

So maybe it's time for a bigger £20+ pack with a new aviary feature and trading market with a few habitat additions as well. An Aviary Expansion / Building Pack if you will that comes with all the pieces build aviaries and birdkeepers who can enter a backstage area of the aviaries. Frontier knows that birds collectively are the #1 craving in the community and monkeys would be #2. And if they want to milk that craving for money it should be in the coming autumn otherwise it's just going to go sour big time. Birds and Monkeys must be being held back for a reason

So my elaborate current speculation / theory / pipedream is an Aviary Building Expansion Pack with a mixture of habitat birds, aviary birds with and/or walkthrough exhibit options with a roster of about 40+ with notable absences for further packs (like snowy owl for tundra or hornbill for rainforest). Nesting behaviors as a new feature etc.

Shoebill, Crowned Crane, Secretary Bird, Pelican, White Stork, Rockhopper Penguin, Mute Swan, 5 Waterfowl, Guineafowl, Kookaburra, 5 x Parrots, Toucan, 2 Pheasants and a partridge, 2 ibis, spoonbill, 2 owls, 2 falcons, 3 eagles, and 2 vultures, rainbow parakeets and budgies and numerous songbirds both brown and colourful

Would be absolutely down for this!
Although i feel like 40+ species+scenery is a bit much for 20€, or 20€ is to little for the stuff, however you wanna look at it.

 

[yoav_r]

I dont think the fact that their young are carried around is a dealbreaker. Anteaters and kangaroos also carry their offspring around but still got added

Especially baboons. Baby baboons are pretty independent compared to other monkeys.