Fall DLC 2023 Speculation

I think the baboon is the only one we actually need that’s left. It’s the only big name animal remaining. We have everything else that is a ā€œcelebrityā€ animal (lions, sea lions, seals, penguins) most people know what a baboon is when they hear it, they might not know what a tree kangaroo or Tasmanian devil looks like.
I agree with the baboon. I wonder for which pack it was actually saved for. It was omitted in grasslands and arid so I think we can still expect him one way or another.

But I see baboon on the same level of average player recognition as wolverine and walrus.
All those three are known by nearly everyone and would sell the package very well I think.
 
Birds? What birds? Who needs birds? 😜
dmc5-vergil.gif
 
Honestly, there’s A LOT that Frontier could add/tweak in a potential PZ2. As many people have now shown in this thread, the list could go on and on.. But in truth, if Frontier felt like doing pretty minimal things for a potential sequel and created a ā€œPZ1+ā€ it’d still likely sell plenty enough copies for it to be a financial success. PZ1 was shown to be a very successful game for them, and I’ve got a strong feeling them adding a couple new mechanics, a handful of new species, and wrapping it all in some refreshed packaging/advertising would be enough to cause most PZ1 buyers to cave and buy the second game.
This is really off-topic so I'd like to apologise beforehand but with regards to a sequel (PZ2), I would really like the game to return to its Zoo Tycoon roots.

You could do this by having a HISTORY MODE, whereby a zoo is founded in a real-life location: let's say London in 1826. Or San Diego in 1915. You only have that era's technology and animal husbandry so you will start off with animals in cages, very poor welfare, deaths, ect. But as you research more you can build more naturalistic habitats and husbandry and welfare will improve. Changing public attitudes means that at a certain point you won't be able to catch wild animals anymore to put in your zoo and must rely on captive breeding and rescues. And public demands for acceptable animal captivity will continue to grow more stringent as well as the expectation to focus on conservation.

By starting small and simple at first, this mode will act as a tutorial for new players who will gradually build more complex habitats as they unlock the technology. Overall, this will be a game educating players on not just animals, but also the history of zoos (and their rather sordid beginnings).
 
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Why are we discussing PlanZo 2 when we haven't even finished this one? And I'm including myself in this.

I think that the best thing, for all, is to just focus on what we're getting now. A hypothetical PlanZo 2 wouldn't come in years, when many of us may not even play video games that much (I certainly have stopped playing as much as I did. How much will I really play in 5 years when I'm 27?)
 
tree kangaroo would be really difficult to implement well from an animation point of view, which is why I think frontier are avoiding it
 
Why are we discussing PlanZo 2 when we haven't even finished this one? And I'm including myself in this.

I think that the best thing, for all, is to just focus on what we're getting now. A hypothetical PlanZo 2 wouldn't come in years, when many of us may not even play video games that much (I certainly have stopped playing as much as I did. How much will I really play in 5 years when I'm 27?)
I blame the hype for planet coaster 2 being definitely announced at gamescom which naturally spread to people desiring planet zoo 2 because x animal won't make it or whatever feature they need that might never come to the original game.
 
So my brother and I visited two Zoos last Friday ( Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo), and towards the ā€œessential animalsā€ debate that was happening while I was gone I only have this to say.

I want birds, there’s no argument about how needed they are, but I would say I am way more interested in animals/ birds than the average person. So to what birds are ā€œessentialā€ to an average zoo goer think it would be these guys:
  1. Bald Eagle
  2. Snowy Owl
  3. A duck/ swan for ponds
  4. Macaw species
  5. Budgies for a walkthrough aviary to feed them
  6. Kookaburra
  7. Maybe a toucan or hornbill?
Franklin Park Zoo has some amazing birds, and their bird world exhibit had some beautiful species. Keas, Andean condors, cranes, umbrella cockatoos, tons of waterfowl, turacos, screech owl, Bali mynah, boat bill herons, sunbitterns, finches, etc. As much as I want them to be in game, I don’t know if I can consider them ā€œessentialā€. So while I would love Frontier to include some of my favorite (more niche) birds like a great horned owl, wood duck, and others, I am fine if we get the more universal ones and modders fill in the rest.

For me what is ā€œessentialā€ is whatever are the basics I can use to create a modern zoo in game. For the wild mammal species I can argue we got all the ones we really need. I love the takin, american black bear, Pallas cat, and blackbuck, but let’s not act like they are essential in the ways a rhino, polar bear, zebra, and tiger are. So there are only three (besides the birds mentioned above) that I would consider to be ā€œessentialā€ but I don’t need it to be very filled out.
  1. Honestly, give me a squirrel monkey or a golden lion tamarin and I would be ā€œOKā€ with the monkey selection in game. I would love more, like another baboon species, but if you give me just one or two more new world monkey species I can make it work.
  2. Visiting the zoos they both had little barn areas and petting zoos. So give me a couple domestic species and I am fine from there. Like a dwarf goat, mini donkey, and some chickens. I know many on this forum don’t care for domestics, but I like to build realistic zoos. And in the past year all 4 zoos (not including the nature center) I visited all had a farm area. They are popular with children, so I want to make them in game. It doesn’t need to be a dlc 100% focused on them, but I think they are needed to make a zoo.
  3. Give me some fish to use in the exhibit boxes. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but a lot of zoos I visit have at least some fish. Like piranhas for South America, African cichlids for Africa, and maybe a couple saltwater species here and there. Even some aquatic invertebrates too, like crabs or jellyfish, can fit in this. I don’t need this to have a ā€œplanet aquariumā€ sized expansion, or even 100% aquatic habitat animals, but just give me some fish in exhibit boxes.
I get why as zoo goers and animal lovers why we want animals not in game, and I agree with what is stated above it feels like we have been moving the goal post in what is essential. But I feel like what I need to recreate a zoo can be done with only a handful of new things, and mods used to fill the rest.

I am very happy with the conversations on here though, I love being part of an active community discussing these things. And I am excited to see where Frontier will take us on the next couple DLCs!
 
So my brother and I visited two Zoos last Friday ( Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo), and towards the ā€œessential animalsā€ debate that was happening while I was gone I only have this to say.

I want birds, there’s no argument about how needed they are, but I would say I am way more interested in animals/ birds than the average person. So to what birds are ā€œessentialā€ to an average zoo goer think it would be these guys:
  1. Bald Eagle
  2. Snowy Owl
  3. A duck/ swan for ponds
  4. Macaw species
  5. Budgies for a walkthrough aviary to feed them
  6. Kookaburra
  7. Maybe a toucan or hornbill?
Franklin Park Zoo has some amazing birds, and their bird world exhibit had some beautiful species. Keas, Andean condors, cranes, umbrella cockatoos, tons of waterfowl, turacos, screech owl, Bali mynah, boat bill herons, sunbitterns, finches, etc. As much as I want them to be in game, I don’t know if I can consider them ā€œessentialā€. So while I would love Frontier to include some of my favorite (more niche) birds like a great horned owl, wood duck, and others, I am fine if we get the more universal ones and modders fill in the rest.

For me what is ā€œessentialā€ is whatever are the basics I can use to create a modern zoo in game. For the wild mammal species I can argue we got all the ones we really need. I love the takin, american black bear, Pallas cat, and blackbuck, but let’s not act like they are essential in the ways a rhino, polar bear, zebra, and tiger are. So there are only three (besides the birds mentioned above) that I would consider to be ā€œessentialā€ but I don’t need it to be very filled out.
  1. Honestly, give me a squirrel monkey or a golden lion tamarin and I would be ā€œOKā€ with the monkey selection in game. I would love more, like another baboon species, but if you give me just one or two more new world monkey species I can make it work.
  2. Visiting the zoos they both had little barn areas and petting zoos. So give me a couple domestic species and I am fine from there. Like a dwarf goat, mini donkey, and some chickens. I know many on this forum don’t care for domestics, but I like to build realistic zoos. And in the past year all 4 zoos (not including the nature center) I visited all had a farm area. They are popular with children, so I want to make them in game. It doesn’t need to be a dlc 100% focused on them, but I think they are needed to make a zoo.
  3. Give me some fish to use in the exhibit boxes. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but a lot of zoos I visit have at least some fish. Like piranhas for South America, African cichlids for Africa, and maybe a couple saltwater species here and there. Even some aquatic invertebrates too, like crabs or jellyfish, can fit in this. I don’t need this to have a ā€œplanet aquariumā€ sized expansion, or even 100% aquatic habitat animals, but just give me some fish in exhibit boxes.
I get why as zoo goers and animal lovers why we want animals not in game, and I agree with what is stated above it feels like we have been moving the goal post in what is essential. But I feel like what I need to recreate a zoo can be done with only a handful of new things, and mods used to fill the rest.

I am very happy with the conversations on here though, I love being part of an active community discussing these things. And I am excited to see where Frontier will take us on the next couple DLCs!
That nails it down pretty much, those bird species would alone be enough to cover almost all needs for birds on recreations. Working in new animals like just a few birds like those mentioned, fish and maybe some different locomotion for monkeys will solve almost all issues I encounter. Domestics are probably a controversial choice on the forum but I would to see them included, whether new interactions come or not, the modding scene for domestics is rather poor compared to say ungulates or primates.
 
Isn't it funny that the top 5 animals from the two metawishlists match perfectly the seasons and the most discussed themes for future DLCs?

Tasmanian devil - temperate (fall 2023)
Wolverine - Taiga (winter 2023)
South American coati - tropical branded as Amazon (spring 2024)
Secretary bird - grasslands branded as safari (summer 2024)
Walrus/tree kangaroo - islands (fall 2024)
 
So my brother and I visited two Zoos last Friday ( Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo), and towards the ā€œessential animalsā€ debate that was happening while I was gone I only have this to say.

I want birds, there’s no argument about how needed they are, but I would say I am way more interested in animals/ birds than the average person. So to what birds are ā€œessentialā€ to an average zoo goer think it would be these guys:
  1. Bald Eagle
  2. Snowy Owl
  3. A duck/ swan for ponds
  4. Macaw species
  5. Budgies for a walkthrough aviary to feed them
  6. Kookaburra
  7. Maybe a toucan or hornbill?
Franklin Park Zoo has some amazing birds, and their bird world exhibit had some beautiful species. Keas, Andean condors, cranes, umbrella cockatoos, tons of waterfowl, turacos, screech owl, Bali mynah, boat bill herons, sunbitterns, finches, etc. As much as I want them to be in game, I don’t know if I can consider them ā€œessentialā€. So while I would love Frontier to include some of my favorite (more niche) birds like a great horned owl, wood duck, and others, I am fine if we get the more universal ones and modders fill in the rest.

For me what is ā€œessentialā€ is whatever are the basics I can use to create a modern zoo in game. For the wild mammal species I can argue we got all the ones we really need. I love the takin, american black bear, Pallas cat, and blackbuck, but let’s not act like they are essential in the ways a rhino, polar bear, zebra, and tiger are. So there are only three (besides the birds mentioned above) that I would consider to be ā€œessentialā€ but I don’t need it to be very filled out.
  1. Honestly, give me a squirrel monkey or a golden lion tamarin and I would be ā€œOKā€ with the monkey selection in game. I would love more, like another baboon species, but if you give me just one or two more new world monkey species I can make it work.
  2. Visiting the zoos they both had little barn areas and petting zoos. So give me a couple domestic species and I am fine from there. Like a dwarf goat, mini donkey, and some chickens. I know many on this forum don’t care for domestics, but I like to build realistic zoos. And in the past year all 4 zoos (not including the nature center) I visited all had a farm area. They are popular with children, so I want to make them in game. It doesn’t need to be a dlc 100% focused on them, but I think they are needed to make a zoo.
  3. Give me some fish to use in the exhibit boxes. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but a lot of zoos I visit have at least some fish. Like piranhas for South America, African cichlids for Africa, and maybe a couple saltwater species here and there. Even some aquatic invertebrates too, like crabs or jellyfish, can fit in this. I don’t need this to have a ā€œplanet aquariumā€ sized expansion, or even 100% aquatic habitat animals, but just give me some fish in exhibit boxes.
I get why as zoo goers and animal lovers why we want animals not in game, and I agree with what is stated above it feels like we have been moving the goal post in what is essential. But I feel like what I need to recreate a zoo can be done with only a handful of new things, and mods used to fill the rest.

I am very happy with the conversations on here though, I love being part of an active community discussing these things. And I am excited to see where Frontier will take us on the next couple DLCs!
If you are in the area, I would highly reccomend the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. Both incredible zoos. Roger Williams is my favorite zoo I’ve been to, and Maine Wildlife Park has basically all the native mammals and some birds from the area.
 
So my brother and I visited two Zoos last Friday ( Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo), and towards the ā€œessential animalsā€ debate that was happening while I was gone I only have this to say.

I want birds, there’s no argument about how needed they are, but I would say I am way more interested in animals/ birds than the average person. So to what birds are ā€œessentialā€ to an average zoo goer think it would be these guys:
  1. Bald Eagle
  2. Snowy Owl
  3. A duck/ swan for ponds
  4. Macaw species
  5. Budgies for a walkthrough aviary to feed them
  6. Kookaburra
  7. Maybe a toucan or hornbill?
Franklin Park Zoo has some amazing birds, and their bird world exhibit had some beautiful species. Keas, Andean condors, cranes, umbrella cockatoos, tons of waterfowl, turacos, screech owl, Bali mynah, boat bill herons, sunbitterns, finches, etc. As much as I want them to be in game, I don’t know if I can consider them ā€œessentialā€. So while I would love Frontier to include some of my favorite (more niche) birds like a great horned owl, wood duck, and others, I am fine if we get the more universal ones and modders fill in the rest.
All this is a big if Frontier would go the exhibit bird route:
I think Macaws would almost certain get added in. They're probably the group of birds that gets thought of the most when talking about zoos needing birds. I'd like to think we'd get 3 or 4 macaws but would probably just get 1 or 2.

Toucans are instantly recognizable and would probably be included as well.

Bald Eagle would be essential for me, but as something in the United States, that may just be a country thing. Kookaburra probably the same for Australia, though I'd like to see them for sure. Another eagle, like the Golden Eagle would be a good offering.

Owls are another good bird of prey offering. Not sure how people feel about hawks and falcons as they don't seem to pop up in discussions as much as owls and eagles.

Hornbills are different from Toucans but also have quite a few similarities from a visual standpoint, so don't think it would be a far jump to get from Toucans to Hornbills.

Other parrots, such as the Cockatoos and the African Parrots are also fairly recognizable and popular. The Sulpher Crested Cockatoo and African Grey Parrot being my choices.

Honestly I would not be opposed to getting 2 of most of these, with just the Kookaburra as the sole kingfisher, and maybe a sole woodpecker. I say it elsewhere enough, I'll gladly take as many Macaws as Frontier would want to put out. Give me all of them.

Ducks feel like they could be habitat animals but they might work for walkthrough exhibits.

Budgies or Lovebirds would be great for walkthrough exhibits as well.

And that's all just exhibit potential, not even taking the habitat birds into account. Which I'll say again, there's really no reason that Frontier cannot work to incorporate more habitat birds in the game, and just not have the flying mechanics, just like the Red Crowned Crane. I think that Crane was pretty well received, so it's not like they'd get a lot of backlash for things like the Secretary Bird or Pelican.
 
If you are in the area, I would highly reccomend the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. Both incredible zoos. Roger Williams is my favorite zoo I’ve been to, and Maine Wildlife Park has basically all the native mammals and some birds from the area.
I visited Roger Williams Zoo in April! My brother is telling me they have some big plans, like getting penguins, bears, and tigers!
 
Isn't it funny that the top 5 animals from the two metawishlists match perfectly the seasons and the most discussed themes for future DLCs?

Tasmanian devil - temperate (fall 2023)
Wolverine - Taiga (winter 2023)
South American coati - tropical branded as Amazon (spring 2024)
Secretary bird - grasslands branded as safari (summer 2024)
Walrus/tree kangaroo - islands (fall 2024)
That would be perfect for me
 
All this is a big if Frontier would go the exhibit bird route:
I think Macaws would almost certain get added in. They're probably the group of birds that gets thought of the most when talking about zoos needing birds. I'd like to think we'd get 3 or 4 macaws but would probably just get 1 or 2.

Toucans are instantly recognizable and would probably be included as well.

Bald Eagle would be essential for me, but as something in the United States, that may just be a country thing. Kookaburra probably the same for Australia, though I'd like to see them for sure. Another eagle, like the Golden Eagle would be a good offering.

Owls are another good bird of prey offering. Not sure how people feel about hawks and falcons as they don't seem to pop up in discussions as much as owls and eagles.

Hornbills are different from Toucans but also have quite a few similarities from a visual standpoint, so don't think it would be a far jump to get from Toucans to Hornbills.

Other parrots, such as the Cockatoos and the African Parrots are also fairly recognizable and popular. The Sulpher Crested Cockatoo and African Grey Parrot being my choices.

Honestly I would not be opposed to getting 2 of most of these, with just the Kookaburra as the sole kingfisher, and maybe a sole woodpecker. I say it elsewhere enough, I'll gladly take as many Macaws as Frontier would want to put out. Give me all of them.

Ducks feel like they could be habitat animals but they might work for walkthrough exhibits.

Budgies or Lovebirds would be great for walkthrough exhibits as well.

And that's all just exhibit potential, not even taking the habitat birds into account. Which I'll say again, there's really no reason that Frontier cannot work to incorporate more habitat birds in the game, and just not have the flying mechanics, just like the Red Crowned Crane. I think that Crane was pretty well received, so it's not like they'd get a lot of backlash for things like the Secretary Bird or Pelican.
Oh yeah for habitat birds there isn’t a great reason as to why we can’t have waterfowl, or more cranes, or more pheasant like birds. They all work with current in game mechanics, and you wouldn’t have to worry about flying.
 
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