Spring 2024 DLC Speculation

[jcp011c]

Further hot take, we haven't had any essential mammal since the grasslands pack, everything since has just been filler.

I'd actually say even further back then that, all the way to the Conservation pack, in general terms.

@SuzieSky I totally understand your point about the GLT and ABB. My words above were more for a generalization, the overuse of "essential" but definitely shouldn't be taken as feeling like no one should possibly have any essential animals they want. If someone's had an animal or two they've wanted from the start, sure...that's truly been essential for them, but not for the community as a whole. When we get into that territory, for any animal with any kind of real presence in zoos or discussions here and elsewhere, it's most likely essential to at least one person.

Heck, just above I say that the Conservation pack is when we got our last essential mammals, but that's more of a community "our". To me personally, the Wombat was essential and we got that the next pack. Even the next few mammals that were quasi-essential to me, like they became essential as time went on (RRH, Wolverine, Porcupine) have all made it in. To be honest I feel incredibly lucky to have all of those checked off. It's why so much of my focus as been on Latin America now. There's literally no mammals in the outside of Latin America regions that I personally would give priority to over more Latin America species in general. Even with that, I can't call the Spectacled Bear "essential", even though it's at the top of my mammal list. I'd like to...but i can't. It's not even essential for me at this point, just important to have.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Didn't follow the conversation, just throwing that in, but the lack of a free update with the JWE DLC and the cut corners on some species make me a little wary for the PZ DLC.
With the current personal situation and questionable management decisions we really might be in for a "bare minimum" DLC, which would be very sad.

 

[The Carcharodontogenius]

Opinions on this pack?

 

[Fallax]

Opinions on this pack?View attachment 386347

Why does it have 10 animals?

 

[CharlieXGaming]

Opinions on this pack?View attachment 386347

Wait a second-

shakes head in disappointment

 

[CharlieXGaming]

Also I see we’re at the time once again discussing what essential means, so that’s nice.

My quick opinion because we’ve talked about this so much I can’t really be interested anymore:

I’m not discussing which packs were essential and etc but the last animals that were essential were the porcupine, emu and the raccoon. Those 3 are what I feel were the last 3 that were general animals that were talked about from the beginning. The last 2 packs did not deliver any essential animals, maybe essential to Europeans with the wisent and boar, but not relevant to the general community. I still think that the Walrus (as much as I dislike it), Baboon and Duck are essential as they are well known zoo animals / animals in general that were probably talked about at the beginning of the game, but that’s just my opinion.

 

[NachoB]

Also I see we’re at the time once again discussing what essential means, so that’s nice.

My quick opinion because we’ve talked about this so much I can’t really be interested anymore:

I’m not discussing which packs were essential and etc but the last animals that were essential were the porcupine, emu and the raccoon. Those 3 are what I feel were the last 3 that were general animals that were talked about from the beginning. The last 2 packs did not deliver any essential animals, maybe essential to Europeans with the wisent and boar, but not relevant to the general community. I still think that the Walrus (as much as I dislike it), Baboon and Duck are essential as they are well known zoo animals / animals in general that were probably talked about at the beginning of the game, but that’s just my opinion.

Dude Eurasia had the swan. Not only our first waterfowl and ansarinae but also a bird that is 1. Known by pretty much everyone in the world (not the species per se but what a swan is) 2. Full of cultural relevance and symbolism 3. Iconic for Europe.

I argue that the swan was the last true essential animal added to the game.

 

[CharlieXGaming]

Dude Eurasia had the swan. Not only our first waterfowl and ansarinae but also a bird that is 1. Known by pretty much everyone in the world (not the species per se but what a swan is) 2. Full of cultural relevance and symbolism 3. Iconic for Europe.

I argue that the swan was the last true essential animal added to the game.

Oh yeah forgot about that lol but still tbf, out of all the birds people wanted from the beginning, was the swan really that talked about in comparison to things like eagles, penguins and parrots?

 

[RightWhale]

Didn't follow the conversation, just throwing that in, but the lack of a free update with the JWE DLC and the cut corners on some species make me a little wary for the PZ DLC.
With the current personal situation and questionable management decisions we really might be in for a "bare minimum" DLC, which would be very sad.

I’m on the fence about that, also remember that a new Jurassic World movie is in the works so they may be preparing for a JWE3.

But I don’t know if it will 100% spell death for the next Planet Zoo dlc. Remember even without console release PZ is a cash cow for frontier, and that is only expected to stay the same with the console on the horizon. I don’t know how JWE2 is doing. It’s likely they may be wrapping things up and this dlc is expected to be a safe sale. So it may not be all over! At the same time, Frontier isn’t looking good from a financial standpoint. So it’s possible we might get the bare minimum dlc. At the same time, knowing people may be watching to expect future console dlc, they may try to knock it out of the park.

I really think it could go both ways.

 

[Thylaco]

Recent vid for Console edition. At 3:58 they show the Indonesian theme as a filter, so the Tropical pack looks like part of the first post launch season pass update, maybe a bit more than 2 months from now.

What we can see also potentially narrows down the partner pack to South America, Twilight, Oceania, Grasslands, Arid & Eurasia.

At 5:45 & 5:49 there's species filters, potentially eliminating the Addax, Striped Skunk, Saiga, Sloth Bear, Somali Wild Ass, Sand Cat & Striped Hyena, leaving only the South America & Oceania packs, but I'm not sure on absence proving anything. Spectacled flying fox is an Exhibit animal, so I'm guessing it wouldn't be there.

 

[NachoB]

Oh yeah forgot about that lol but still tbf, out of all the birds people wanted from the beginning, was the swan really that talked about in comparison to things like eagles, penguins and parrots?

Maybe not but still one of the few ABC animals that everyone knows that were left.

 

[A J K 91]

Approximately when can we expect the next DLC?

 

[CharlieXGaming]

Approximately when can we expect the next DLC?

Probably somewhere in April as the console release seems to be their priority at the moment.

 

[Eletan888]

Opinions on this pack?View attachment 386347

I would only buy it for the spectacled bear tbh.

 

[AndyZoos]

Further hot take, we haven't had any essential mammal since the grasslands pack, everything since has just been filler.

Opinions on this pack?View attachment 386347

I would buy it and I'd be excited about maybe half of it but simultaneously pretty disappointed. The two birds would be game-changing! The Andean bear, chameleon, and salamander are also good picks but... The rest are pretty mid for my tastes. The yak and warty pig are throwaways for me. The monkeys are fine but there's at least 10 other primate species I'd want before either of them.

It's all a matter of taste, but this would feel like a "they could have done better" pack for me. Half of it is species I would either never build for or might build for once. And there's nothing from my current top 10 most wanted.

Now, if you swapped the yak for a markhor, the GSNM for a tree kangaroo, and the warty pig for sika deer or aoudad... Then I'd be all-in.

 

[Milurian]

Looking forward to the day when we conversations about animal rosters can happen without referencing a game that was released 20 years ago as a comparison and rationale as to why something should be in the game.

I can never understand why we can't just treat planet zoo as it's own game, helps me that I never played any previous zoo games so I'm not missing out on extremely specific animals.

The reason people are so tied up with zoo tycoon is because it was the most dominant and essentially only 3d zoo game on the market for the past 2 decades. Even though its 20 years old its legacy especially with modding was still strong all the way up till 2019. So much of why people want the zoo tycoon roster in planet zoo is they hold alot of nostalgia for the game and want to see the animals in newer graphics. To say people just need to stop asking for those animals is ignoring the history of zoo games. The animals will continue to be requested because there are alot of players from both games. Its ok if you dont want them but others do because thats what they grew up on and that is as valid of an opinion as anyone elses.
I am about as old as zoo tycoon 2 yet when I was around 14 and discovering my interest in zoos and animals zoo tycoon 2 was still the most dominant zoo game in the market and the only one that had any major online presence. I played that game up until planet zoos release and I know im not the only one all the youtuber I watched play zoo tycoon moved to planet zoo and it really felt like we were getting what everyone wanted a modern remake of the game. The game was built in the shadow of zoo tycoon 2 and it will take alot to get out of it.
The closest example I can find for this is beyond blue which got so much attention purely because it was really close to an endless ocean remake but it failed at being better so people still stick to endless ocean. The fact that planet zoo is built of the zoo tycoon legacy isnt its fault it got the game alot of attention the fact that people are sill this invested after 5 years proves it is good at what it is.

There's obviously some "core" zoo animals that have not changed over time but there's certainly some that have become more popular as time's gone on, others that are less frequently held, etc. And I've found myself wondering recently if, in another 10 years, there might be a similar zoo game where people are saying elephants should be on the roster because they were in Planet Zoo despite barely being held in captivity any more.

And you just discovered the point people will for sure compare planet zoos roster to the next big zoo game because it represents the legacy of zoo games.

 

[Doran]

Recent vid for Console edition. At 3:58 they show the Indonesian theme as a filter, so the Tropical pack looks like part of the first post launch season pass update, maybe a bit more than 2 months from now.

What we can see also potentially narrows down the partner pack to South America, Twilight, Oceania, Grasslands, Arid & Eurasia.

At 5:45 & 5:49 there's species filters, potentially eliminating the Addax, Striped Skunk, Saiga, Sloth Bear, Somali Wild Ass, Sand Cat & Striped Hyena, leaving only the South America & Oceania packs, but I'm not sure on absence proving anything. Spectacled flying fox is an Exhibit animal, so I'm guessing it wouldn't be there.

Investigation time.
1. We saw llama in earlier promos
2. Based on animal names only Aquatic, Arctic, SA and Tropical packs are potential candidates. Species from these packs arent found between aardvark - alpine ibex and sable antelope - thomson gazelle. Tropical is confirmed thanks to theme tag.
3. Building themes. Aquatic and Arctic should be after African theme, but since both are absent this leave us with...

South America Pack & Tropical Pack bundle.

Why it cant be Oceania Pack? There should be devil between sun bear and thomson gazelle.

 

[Doran]

Also crazy theory now.
Since next PC pack should land before SA&Tropical bundle and we assume that it is multiplatform content, which Frontier is working on then every species starting from S to To and betwen Aa-Al wont make appearance then:

• no Central America, Amazon scenery theme&pack
• latin america pack is fair name, but without south american coati, spectacled bear, scarlet ibis, southern tamandua, southern pudu...
• secretary bird, sea otter, serval, short-beaked echidna, sumatran rhino, southern ground hornbill, shoebill....
• no to african leopard : (

Or next pack wont launch on consoles for a while lul.

 

[Baryonix82]

Approximately when can we expect the next DLC?

I guess the first, or second, week of April

 

[Thylaco]

Also crazy theory now.
Since next PC pack should land before SA&Tropical bundle and we assume that it is multiplatform content, which Frontier is working on then every species starting from S to To and betwen Aa-Al wont make appearance then:

• no Central America, Amazon scenery theme&pack
• latin america pack is fair name, but without south american coati, spectacled bear, scarlet ibis, southern tamandua, southern pudu...
• secretary bird, sea otter, serval, short-beaked echidna, sumatran rhino, southern ground hornbill, shoebill....
• no to african leopard : (

Or next pack wont launch on consoles for a while lul.

I would think it's more a case of completing on PC, then porting it over. There's also the matter of elimination being tentative, being filmed an unknown amount of time ago, with more than a month left till a new DLC.

The New World set is last known on the list there, so Neotropical and Latin America would be out entirely as scenery themes.

Polar scenery could fit. Any theme that starts with North or West could also be candidates (West African, West American, North American, West Indies). Maybe even Zanzibar/West Indian ocean.

Most of the primates are unaffected (just the Aye-aye as far as I can see), as are the Tree Kangaroos. For a polar pack, Southern Rockhoppers could also be the Eastern or Western subspecies.

Investigation time.
1. We saw llama in earlier promos
2. Based on animal names only Aquatic, Arctic, SA and Tropical packs are potential candidates. Species from these packs arent found between aardvark - alpine ibex and sable antelope - thomson gazelle. Tropical is confirmed thanks to theme tag.
3. Building themes. Aquatic and Arctic should be after African theme, but since both are absent this leave us with...

South America Pack & Tropical Pack bundle.

Why it cant be Oceania Pack? There should be devil between sun bear and thomson gazelle.

Thanks for the catch on the T animals.

South America & Tropical seems a decently realistic combo, given what's left.