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The Carcharodontogenius

The Carcharodontogenius
Urufu1997 said:
And lots of Australian Birds
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Agreed.
Kea - Wikipedia
 

DrBurrito

DrBurrito
Doran said:
This whole pack is kinda weird. They put so much focus into temperate part every single plant have only tempere tag even if it shouldnt be the case.
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Perhaps a little late, but let's take a quick look at each species and write a short biome and continental suitability review:
  • Nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida): Native and endemic to mainland NZ. A lowland and coastal forest tree. Found mostly on North Island and parts of northern South Island. Only having 'Temperate' biome suitability and 'Oceania' continental suitability is therefore appropriate.
  • Silver fern (Alsophila tricolor): Native to mainland NZ and the Chatham Islands to the east. Found on both North Island and parts South Island. Can tolerate drier conditions and therefore also found in drier forest and open scrub habitats in eastern South Island. 'Temperate' biome suitability should definitely be its primary biome in Planet Zoo, but 'Grassland' biome suitability could also be considered for its presence in eastern South Island. Only having 'Oceania' continental suitability is appropriate.
  • Kahakaha (Astelia hastata): Native to mainland NZ. A lowland forest epiphyte. Found mostly on North Island and northern tip of South Island. Only having 'Temperate' biome suitability and 'Oceania' continental suitability is therefore appropriate.
  • Golden sand sedge (Ficinia spiralis): Endemic to mainland NZ and the Chatham Islands. A coastal sedge. Found along the coastlines of both North and South Islands. In addition to 'Temperate' biome suitability, 'Grassland' biome suitability could also be considered for its presence in eastern South Island. Only having 'Oceania' continental suitability is appropriate.
  • Cabbage tree (Cordyline australis): Native and endemic to NZ but introduced elsewhere. Found throughout North and South Islands, from lowland forests to more open regions to the east. Also found in the foothills of the Southern Alps, up to about 1000 meters, despite generally being a lowland species. 'Taiga' and 'Grassland' suitability could also be considered for being an adaptable species, although the former is a stretch, due to being confined to the foothills of the Southern Alps. Only having 'Oceania' continental suitability is appropriate, but questionable due to the inconsistent approach towards naturalized populations in the game.
  • Coastal pigface (Carpobrotus virescens): Endemic to SW Australia (roughly coincides with the coastal boundary of the quokka range), so the primary biome suitability should have been 'Grassland' instead of 'Temperate'. However, if the pigface in the game is intended to represent more than one species in the genus Carpobrotus, such as the visually very similar C. glaucescens, then 'Temperate' biome suitability is accurate as a secondary biome, but it still lacks the much required 'Grassland' biome suitability, since the common name of the in-game asset particularly refers to C. virescens. We should be able to use them with quokkas without any adverse effects, the one animal in the game that is most associated with this plant, due to range. Even the one picture in its Wikipedia article is from Rottnest Island. Additional continental suitability is not necessary.
  • King fern (Angiopteris evecta): Judging by the YT videos I've seen of the in-game fern, it appears to be Angiopteris evecta, not Ptisana salicina (if I'm wrong please let me know, as I'm yet to try out the pack for myself). In that case, it is primarily a tropical rainforest plant native to Southeast Asia and Oceania and therefore by default should have had 'Tropical' biome suitability over 'Temperate'. By base game standards 'Temperate' biome suitability is too marginal to be given to this plant as a secondary biome. However, it is not entirely inaccurate, since the species is found as far south as southern Queensland. That being said, if they add 'Tropical' biome suitability to the king fern, having 'Temperate' biome suitability would not hurt, as long as base game and early DLC plants receive suitability for more marginal biomes. Even if the asset is meant to be P. salicina, 'Tropical' biome suitability is still a must, as in addition to NZ's North Island, the species is also found throughout the tropical South Pacific (i.e. New Caledonia, Cook Islands, French Polynesia). In the case of P. salicina it is a more evenly balanced split between 'Tropical' and 'Temperate' biome suitability compared to the exclusively tropical and subtropical A. evecta, which is probably better off with only 'Tropical' biome suitability according to the game's own classification of biomes. In terms of continental suitability, only A. evecta would require suitability for both Asia and Oceania.
Edit: I want to add to what I said about the coastal pigface earlier. One could argue that being native to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome alone is good enough a reason to validate both 'Grassland' and 'Temperate' biome suitability for the species, as the game appears to follow a dual tagging principle for this category. However, I've noticed that while this pattern is true for Eurasian species (e.g. Aleppo pine, cypress tree, olive tree),* the pattern changes when a certain species is from a region outside the Mediterranean basin, but still from the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome (e.g. white sage), despite being called other names like chaparral, matorral, fynbos or mallee in other parts of the world. This is why I've chosen to keep this argument out of my review, as the end result is identical either way (validating both 'Grassland' and 'Temperate biome suitability).

*All of these three species were originally native and endemic to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome around the Mediterranean basin. The Aleppo pine and olive tree are still only found in this area, but the cypress is naturalized in moist temperate regions in close proximity to the region. For that reason, the cypress has more than one argument towards the inclusion of 'Temperate' biome suitability, but the other two prove the pattern is valid. In fact, the olive is one of the best biological indicators of a Mediterranean climate. Didn't include the cork oak as an example, since it is found in southwestern France as well, which is by default 'Temperate'. Excluded the common grape and fig for similar reasons.
 
Last edited:

macronecu

M
DrBurrito said:
Perhaps a little late, but let's take a quick look at each species and write a short biome and continental suitability review:
  • Nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida): Native and endemic to mainland NZ. A lowland and coastal forest tree. Found mostly on North Island and parts of northern South Island. Only having 'Temperate' biome suitability and 'Oceania' continental suitability is therefore appropriate.
  • Silver fern (Alsophila tricolor): Native to mainland NZ and the Chatham Islands to the east. Found on both North Island and parts South Island. Can tolerate drier conditions and therefore also found in drier forest and open scrub habitats in eastern South Island. 'Temperate' biome suitability should definitely be its primary biome in Planet Zoo, but 'Grassland' biome suitability could also be considered for its presence in eastern South Island. Only having 'Oceania' continental suitability is appropriate.
  • Kahakaha (Astelia hastata): Native to mainland NZ. A lowland forest epiphyte. Found mostly on North Island and northern tip of South Island. Only having 'Temperate' biome suitability and 'Oceania' continental suitability is therefore appropriate.
  • Golden sand sedge (Ficinia spiralis): Endemic to mainland NZ and the Chatham Islands. A coastal sedge. Found along the coastlines of both North and South Islands. In addition to 'Temperate' biome suitability, 'Grassland' biome suitability could also be considered for its presence in eastern South Island. Only having 'Oceania' continental suitability is appropriate.
  • Cabbage tree (Cordyline australis): Native and endemic to NZ but introduced elsewhere. Found throughout North and South Islands, from lowland forests to more open regions to the east. Also found in the foothills of the Southern Alps, up to about 1000 meters, despite generally being a lowland species. 'Taiga' and 'Grassland' suitability could also be considered for being an adaptable species, although the former is a stretch, due to being confined to the foothills of the Southern Alps. Only having 'Oceania' continental suitability is appropriate, but questionable due to the inconsistent approach towards naturalized populations in the game.
  • Coastal pigface (Carpobrotus virescens): Endemic to SW Australia (roughly coincides with the coastal boundary of the quokka range), so the primary biome suitability should have been 'Grassland' instead of 'Temperate'. However, if the pigface in the game is intended to represent more than one species in the genus Carpobrotus, such as the visually very similar C. glaucescens, then 'Temperate' biome suitability is accurate as a secondary biome, but it still lacks the much required 'Grassland' biome suitability, since the common name of the in-game asset particularly refers to C. virescens. We should be able to use them with quokkas without any adverse effects, the one animal in the game that is most associated with this plant, due to range. Even the one picture in its Wikipedia article is from Rottnest Island. Additional continental suitability is not necessary.
  • King fern (Angiopteris evecta): Judging by the YT videos I've seen of the in-game fern, it appears to be Angiopteris evecta, not Ptisana salicina (if I'm wrong please let me know, as I'm yet to try out the pack for myself). In that case, it is primarily a tropical rainforest plant native to Southeast Asia and Oceania and therefore by default should have had 'Tropical' biome suitability over 'Temperate'. By base game standards 'Temperate' biome suitability is too marginal to be given to this plant as a secondary biome. However, it is not entirely inaccurate, since the species is found as far south as southern Queensland. That being said, if they add 'Tropical' biome suitability to the king fern, having 'Temperate' biome suitability would not hurt, as long as base game and early DLC plants receive suitability for more marginal biomes. Even if the asset is meant to be P. salicina, 'Tropical' biome suitability is still a must, as in addition to NZ's North Island, the species is also found throughout the tropical South Pacific (i.e. New Caledonia, Cook Islands, French Polynesia). In the case of P. salicina it is a more evenly balanced split between 'Tropical' and 'Temperate' biome suitability compared to the exclusively tropical and subtropical A. evecta, which is probably better off with only 'Tropical' biome suitability according to the game's own classification of biomes. In terms of continental suitability, only A. evecta would require suitability for both Asia and Oceania.
Edit: I want to add to what I said about the coastal pigface earlier. One could argue that being native to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome alone is good enough a reason to validate both 'Grassland' and 'Temperate' biome suitability for the species, as the game appears to follow a dual tagging principle for this category. However, I've noticed that while this pattern is true for Eurasian species (e.g. Aleppo pine, cypress tree, olive tree),* the pattern changes when a certain species is from a region outside the Mediterranean basin, but still from the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome (e.g. white sage), despite being called other names like chaparral, matorral, fynbos or mallee in other parts of the world. This is why I've chosen to keep this argument out of my review, as the end result is identical either way (validating both 'Grassland' and 'Temperate biome suitability).

*All of these three species were originally native and endemic to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome around the Mediterranean basin. The Aleppo pine and olive tree are still only found in this area, but the cypress is naturalized in moist temperate regions in close proximity to the region. For that reason, the cypress has more than one argument towards the inclusion of 'Temperate' biome suitability, but the other two prove the pattern is valid. In fact, the olive is one of the best biological indicators of a Mediterranean climate. Didn't include the cork oak as an example, since it is found in southwestern France as well, which is by default 'Temperate'. Excluded the common grape and fig for similar reasons.
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i wish we had gotten fixes for these in the anniversary update
sadly we didnt
maybe the devs didnt see it? or it is planned for later? they usually respond well to feedback of this kind
 
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