Winter 2023 DLC Speculation
- Thread starter Leaf Productions
- Start date
Now that we get the peccary, it's time to rethink some possible latin american animal Pack, there are 16 probably options below to pick 8:
- Ocelot
- South American Coati
- Southern Tamandua
- Brazilian Porcupine
- Bush dog
- Spectacled Bear
- Black Howler monkey
- Geoffroy's Spider monkey
- Greater Rhea
- Scarlet Ibis
- Brazilian Tapir
- Patagonian mara
- Black caiman
- Green anaconda (e)
- Golden Lion Tamarin (we)
- Linnaeus' Two-toed sloth (we)
From just those?
Thats what id like, not what i think would happen
If we do manage to swing a South America 2 Animal Pack next summer or so, having the peccary out of the way does a lot since it opens up one of the ānice to have but not Must Haveā slots a bit. I stand by the utter necessities being ocelot, coati, rhea, and mara, as well as at minimum one monkey, so that still leaves us two wildcard slots. I wouldnāt have minded if one of them went to the peccary, but now it doesnāt have to and we still have the peccary anyway.
Surely it is a great idea to include a pig in the next dlc, right after we just got another pig for free. I bet people will be thrilled about it and the pack will sell more because of it
/sI think we have two possibilities as Christmas is the top-selling season of the year, so the theme of the upcoming pack must be something appealing to the majority of the community:
1. the obvious top-selling pick: Birds. Despite some people on the community giving up on them due to Frontiers apparent aversion to birds (I still think this is very much intentional), the great majority of the community still asks for them on a daily basis, and I will not lose hope either, the secretary bird right now is the top 1 animal on the meta wishlist. We all know birds would definitely be one of those revolutionary packs, just like the aquatic pack was at its time, and face it yall, birds are a more essential addition to the game than any pack centered about mammals. If Zoo Tycoon 3 had parrots, Planet Zoo must have them too.
2. Highlands, this is the second best option. After a year of warmer climate packs, a cold climate dlc would definitely make a difference (altho not as much as birds). It could also be something that isn't strictly mountains but maybe a more generic "cold" climate pack that would include stuff like walruses and muskox. Personally the whole highlands pack trend on the forum really reminds me of how back in september everyone was on the temperate pack train honestly
Also while I think spring of next year could also be a good time to launch a bird pack, previous packs have shown that the seasonal link is more of a secondary thing and that they prioritize the selling potential of the pack over if it fits the season or not.
I would also like to throw into the ring: Tundra. There's surprisingly enough animals to make one at this point, and it fits the same idea as Highlands with a focus on cold climates, just with a prominently more NA focus (works since there's been literally 0 NA animals this year not counting the peccary.)Surely it is a great idea to include a pig in the next dlc, right after we just got another pig for free. I bet people will be thrilled about it and the pack will sell more because of it
I think we have two possibilities as Christmas is the top-selling season of the year, so the theme of the upcoming pack must be something appealing to the majority of the community:
1. the obvious top-selling pick: Birds. Despite some people on the community giving up on them due to Frontiers apparent aversion to birds (I still think this is very much intentional), the great majority of the community still asks for them on a daily basis, and I will not lose hope either, the secretary bird right now is the top 1 animal on the meta wishlist. We all know birds would definitely be one of those revolutionary packs, just like the aquatic pack was at its time, and face it yall, birds are a more essential addition to the game than any pack centered about mammals. If Zoo Tycoon 3 had parrots, Planet Zoo must have them too.
2. Highlands, this is the second best option. After a year of warmer climate packs, a cold climate dlc would definitely make a difference (altho not as much as birds). It could also be something that isn't strictly mountains but maybe a more generic "cold" climate pack that would include stuff like walruses and muskox. Personally the whole highlands pack trend on the forum really reminds me of how back in september everyone was on the temperate pack train honestly
Also while I think spring of next year could also be a good time to launch a bird pack, previous packs have shown that the seasonal link is more of a secondary thing and that they prioritize the selling potential of the pack over if it fits the season or not.
And the sloth
My plan is pretty much as follows: I have shifted the goal post, Iām no longer hoping for flying birds in the WTE. I am asking for ground dwelling birds, or at least birds that donāt fly as frequently. I have said them once, twice, three or more times, but my beloved ducks fall into this category. It really is a mystery why we have gotten so few birds in every pack, but it is what it is. If we donāt get much more, thatās fine, Iāll be disappointed and I find it affects how I play the game. Iām not gonna shame people for not thinking birds are important for planet zoo, but I also want people to understand them not being in the game absolutely affects how I play. So despite everything Iām not gonna 100% give up hope, but being let down and experience has taught me to not get my hopes up too much.Surely it is a great idea to include a pig in the next dlc, right after we just got another pig for free. I bet people will be thrilled about it and the pack will sell more because of it
I think we have two possibilities as Christmas is the top-selling season of the year, so the theme of the upcoming pack must be something appealing to the majority of the community:
1. the obvious top-selling pick: Birds. Despite some people on the community giving up on them due to Frontiers apparent aversion to birds (I still think this is very much intentional), the great majority of the community still asks for them on a daily basis, and I will not lose hope either, the secretary bird right now is the top 1 animal on the meta wishlist. We all know birds would definitely be one of those revolutionary packs, just like the aquatic pack was at its time, and face it yall, birds are a more essential addition to the game than any pack centered about mammals. If Zoo Tycoon 3 had parrots, Planet Zoo must have them too.
2. Highlands, this is the second best option. After a year of warmer climate packs, a cold climate dlc would definitely make a difference (altho not as much as birds). It could also be something that isn't strictly mountains but maybe a more generic "cold" climate pack that would include stuff like walruses and muskox. Personally the whole highlands pack trend on the forum really reminds me of how back in september everyone was on the temperate pack train honestly
Also while I think spring of next year could also be a good time to launch a bird pack, previous packs have shown that the seasonal link is more of a secondary thing and that they prioritize the selling potential of the pack over if it fits the season or not.
Honestly it makes me wonder if some of the older forum members went through this a couple years ago. Asking for birds to only be beaten down by reality.
I do think that much of current letdown in birds is how last year they introduced bats and everyone naturally expected birds next, just to be met with stuff that while not bad... it was not birds. We got butterflies, great! Sloths, great too! The viper tho
... and lastly, while not a bad addition, a lot of people were disappointed with the flying fox because they expected lorikeets. Honestly it is understandable, and I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow decide to add a giant salamander in a mountains pack, but there isn't really anything left that is not birds when it comes to walkthrough exhibits so out of sheer force I am still hopeful we will get them soon!also SWANS AND RABBITS FOR PLANET ZOO PLEASUH
Well last year for me (been here under 2 years) but yeah pretty much, I originally wanted flying birds in habitats thinking surely that's a possible goal since our larger wading birds have flight animations built into them already. Then comes the walkthrough exhibit with bats, butterflies and now sloths would made me realise that tota, control of Aviary design was a pretty unrealistic goal for fitting into the game, especially regarding performance. The detail we receive on our annual bird helping is outstanding but realising an aviary full of these highly detailed birds would just crash any zoo bigger than 30 habitats, I can barely run my large zoos above 20fps as it is.
The walkthrough exhibit is also simply unusable for me, its size and obscure terrain requirements make it useless for my real zoo builds where the WE is the size of entire indoor exhibit houses. Sloths do not ever get that much room in the majority of zoos so I have to rely on habitat animal mods. I build aviaries using static bird models, so I'm much more knowledgeable about aviary construction than the average player but the sizes I'm building are small, the average aviary will never exceed 5x5 metres. Only the massive walkthrough aviaries such as the ones at san diego zoo match what frontier might have a vision for.
What I do have hope for though is habitat birds. Habitat birds are both more noticeable in wishlists and more realistic to implement. Pheasants, wading birds, ducks, swans, other kinds like Secretary bird or hornbills work very well in existing habitat design without any comprises needed.
I feel like the next 3 packs have to be Highlands, Latin/Central America & Birds. When it comes to order I would think:
Winter 2023: Birds as a Christmas present or Highlands because it fits the season
Spring 2024: Latin/Central America to start the year with representation from this underrepresented area or Highlands
Summer 2024: Birds as a goodbye pack if support ends or Latin/Central America because it fits the season.
With birds, I would realistically talk about habitat birds, not aviary.
I would hate a land birds pack, gonna be honest. I LOVE birds, they're my unical must right now in the game, but reducing them to an all land species is very bad from my point of view. Yes, of course some fantastic species could enter the game, like ducks, pelicans or secretary bird, animals that I want so badly. But reducing them to an all land species is a very bad idea from my point of view, I just can't imagine a good pack with that.
From my perspective, if flighted birds are something that Frontier plans on implementing... I think it's the next pack or bust (aligning with @Narwhaler's theory).
I guess I don't see them implementing it for a single, focused DLC and dropping it (or the game development in general, TBH). They'd probably use it as a selling point for DLC moving forward (similar to what they did with the WTEs).
I guess I don't see them implementing it for a single, focused DLC and dropping it (or the game development in general, TBH). They'd probably use it as a selling point for DLC moving forward (similar to what they did with the WTEs).
Ranking Ground birds in importance:
I think the most important land birds we need are Waterfowl, specially Pelicans. Ducks and swans are a bit behind because they arenāt animals you build habitats for, theyāre more like peafowls where you just plop them in your zoos waterways.
Then you have your secondary level land birds, this is where I would put Secretary bird and the Hornbill. Animals that would act unique to the other birds we have but are still lesser known.
And finally the last tier, direct clones that would still add a lot, but a bit less special because of the lack of animations. Hereās where I would put pheasants, shoebill, another crane, another flamingo, Rhea etc.
I think the most important land birds we need are Waterfowl, specially Pelicans. Ducks and swans are a bit behind because they arenāt animals you build habitats for, theyāre more like peafowls where you just plop them in your zoos waterways.
Then you have your secondary level land birds, this is where I would put Secretary bird and the Hornbill. Animals that would act unique to the other birds we have but are still lesser known.
And finally the last tier, direct clones that would still add a lot, but a bit less special because of the lack of animations. Hereās where I would put pheasants, shoebill, another crane, another flamingo, Rhea etc.
If they do a pack with only habitat birds i do see it as a final pack as well.
If they do plan to add flying birds then i agree that is now or never.
I'd tend to agree with this. I love hornbills but waterfowl (e.g., ducks, pelicans, swans) and such would add more diversity to the game, allow for an array of modding opportunities down the line, etc.
I'd throw the burrowing owl in along with the secretary bird and hornbill too!
I don't see it as a "final" pack really. Honestly, I think if we get a birds-only pack this time around... I'd tend to take that as a sign that we definitely have more DLC coming (likely throughout 2024).
Because, just like some Force sensitives can use the Force to manipulate others, birds are using the Force to manipulate us:
We cant escape the birds grasp. The further we run away from them, the faster they fly.
At least this conversation was about something realistic other than just talking about flying birds like macaws or whatever