Spring 2024 DLC Speculation

Muskox
Howler Monkey
Echidna
Walrus
Sulawesi Bear Cuscus
Secretary Bird
American Black Bear
Eurasian Otter
Nile Crocodile
Spectacled Bear
Aye Aye
Patagonian Mara
South American Coatimundi
Hamadryas Baboon
Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo
Eurasian Brown Bear
That sounds pretty good to me, as it covers both bears and creatures from all continents and gives South America some love.
 
Am i the only one who doesnt know who he is?
I just know him as the host of Deadly 60, a primarily children to teens education show (It was regularly on ABC3 here in Australia during the mid 2010s).

It was alright, the formula was basically to go somewhere, find animals, show facts about them, put the best one on the list (animals that are deadly to other animals, not necessarily people).

I'm really hoping the motion capture bit is real and random guests will have the Backshall animation set.
 
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I dont even think the Meta wishlist was that big of a factor for Frontier. I mean for the most part whats high on the wishlist is just whats popular in real life, so you could very reasonably come up with the majority of planet zoos roster without referencing the wishlist.
And there are pretty obvious times where Frontier ignored the wishlist, the choice of sloth for example or not including the baboon in arid.

Overall the Meta Wishlists are an incredible thing and im glad for them, but i think people may read to much into how impactfull they were for frontier
I think the top 10 species of META Wishlist do impact the Frontier's decision-making, the rest do not. Otherwise we wouldn't have Tasmanian Devil in the game since it is not that popular among the general players (it is not on the Deladysigner's top 100 popular list, many people who are not animal nerds don't know about Tassie Devil at all), as a niche species it requires new rig unlike Saiga and Asian Buffalo that are clone species at least. Looking back to DLCs after we had the META Wishlist, all of them contain species that voted as top 10 on META Wishlist before the release date (like Wombat and Red Fox of Twilight Pack, Fossa, White-handed Gibbon and Red River Hog of Tropical pack, Tassie Devil and Kiwi of Oceania pack, Wolverine and Takin of Eurasia pack).
White-tailed Deer wouldn't be the worst possible pick for a clone, it ranges into South America & has a decent range of colourmorphs (including Leucistic, Melanistic, Piebald, black-brow striped & double throat patched). It even has endangered subspecies if they're so inclined.

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Albino is common color morph for many deer species, like Fallow Deer, Moose also have albino type.
Regarding deer, my point of view is simply that we have so many "antelopes" and most of them belong to the same continent. Then I think it is completely acceptable for Asia, NA, and SA to have 2 to 3 types of deer of their own. Look at the deer we have now, there are actually 4 species in Europe.
3 of the 4 European deer species are not restricted to Europe, Moose and Reindeer are typical North American and North Asian species, and Fallow Deer also occur in West Asia. The problem is, we only have few slots for new animals left, while deers like many ungulates can be easily done by the Modders, some other species have priority over the deers (like Tree Kangaroo, Victoria Crowned Pigeon which Modders have difficulty to make decent one). Maybe Reeve's Muntjac and Sambar Deer for Asia (Reeve for East Asia and Sambar for Southeast Asia), one deer for SA (Marsh Deer or Southern Pudu) would be good enough
 
I think the top 10 species of META Wishlist do impact the Frontier's decision-making, the rest do not. Otherwise we wouldn't have Tasmanian Devil in the game since it is not that popular among the general players (it is not on the Deladysigner's top 100 popular list, many people who are not animal nerds don't know about Tassie Devil at all), as a niche species it requires new rig unlike Saiga and Asian Buffalo that are clone species at least. Looking back to DLCs after we had the META Wishlist, all of them contain species that voted as top 10 on META Wishlist before the release date (like Wombat and Red Fox of Twilight Pack, Fossa, White-handed Gibbon and Red River Hog of Tropical pack, Tassie Devil and Kiwi of Oceania pack, Wolverine and Takin of Eurasia pack).
Yeah, the Meta wishlist has played a major role in species selection for DLC. There's been at least one top five animal in every pack since wetlands. Maybe even before that but I can't remember, hah. And there was a streak for several packs in a row the #1 pick was in the DLC.

Team is hard working on best console launch possible right now. Been said during FU stream and on new video.
Besides steamdb updates slowed down and there is no sign for it coming soon either. Focus is on console not PC.
Porting something to console requires a different skill set than, say, coding new animals for PC or rigging. It's feasible to do both at once. There's honestly a decent chance they completely outsourced the porting.

And they start working on packs well in advance... So it's not like they're going to start working on a pack in April to rush something out in May. Whatever comes has been in development for a long while now.

Hopefully it has been worked on more quietly then? Man I hope so at least.
They always work on DLC quietly. Only signal we ever get is the outsource update. We know one's coming. Just a little later than usual (which could make sense if it's bigger; they also may just be slowing it down because they can with the console release coming--no sense in rushing to complete something that has to release anyway).
 
That would be interesting, the final pack has 1 animal from each pack. What animals do you think that could be?
Deluxe: Southern Rockhopper Penguin
Arctic: Muskox
South America: Mountain Tapir
Australia: Perentie
Aquatic: Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Southeast Asia: Green Peafowl
Africa: Gerenuk
North America: Sea Otter
Europe: White Stork
Wetlands: Alligator Snapping Turtle
Conservation: Secretary Bird
Twilight: Reeve's Muntjac
Grasslands: Blackbuck
Tropical: South American Coati
Arid: Hamadryas Baboon
Oceania: Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo
Eurasia: Eurasian Beaver
 
If you could pick any 4 DLCs to get a direct sequel, which would you pick & what would they have in them? (same name, but flipped from Animal to Scenery, or Scenery to Animal)
Conservation Animal Pack: Golden lion tamarin, Pere David's deer, Nene goose, Roloway's monkey, Radiated tortoise, Goodfellow's tree kangaroo, Secretary bird and Titicaca water frog (E)
South America Animal Pack: South American coati, Southern screamer, Patagonian mara, Black howler monkey, Greater curassow, Red-faced spider monkey, Southern tamandua and Linnaeus' two-toed sloth (WE, with generic climbing frames instead the ones the three-toed sloth came with)
Aquatic Animal Pack: Pacific walrus, Alaskan sea otter, Great white pelican, Antillean manatee, Baer's pochard, Roseate spoonbill, Shoebill and Caiman lizard (E)
Twilight Animal Pack: Aye-aye, Northern Luzon giant cloud rat, Reeves muntjac, Grey-handed night monkey, Northern yellow-throated marten, North American porcupine, Senegal galago and Naked mole rat (E)
 
Here's what my selection would be. Already did this in another topic, but it was a while ago and most of my opinion changed since then.

Deluxe : Greater Rhea
Arctic : Sea Otter
South America : Geoffroy's Spider Monkey
Australia : Australian Pelican
Aquatic : West Indian Manatee
Southeast Asia : Black Headed Ibis
Africa : Grey-crowned Crane
North America : Wood Duck
Europe : European Mink
Wetlands : Père David's Deer
Conservation : Golden Lion Tamarin
Twilight : Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
Grasslands : Patagonian Mara
Tropical : South American Coati
Arid : Hamadryas Baboon
Oceania : Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo
Eurasia : Blackbuck
Very near to perfection 🤩
 
What are your top 3 animal picks for each represented Class? (Or all of them if less than 3)

The represented classes are Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Arachnids, Insects, Centipedes (happy to include Millipedes) & Gastropods.

You also have the option to include top 3 picks for the categories "Other Vertebrates" & "Other Invertebrates"
 
Mammals
  • Coati
  • Cotton top tamarin
  • Blackbuck
Birds
  • Harpy eagle
  • Toucan
  • Great Hornbill
Reptiles
  • Chameleon
  • Perentie (habitat)
  • Freshwater crocodile
Amphibians
  • Blue poison dart frog
  • Glass frog
  • ... Hummingbirds
Fish
  • Black tip reef shark
  • Cownosed ray
  • Port jackson shark
No more invertebrates. None. We're full. I'd prefer time, money and resources to be spent on habitat animals and birds.
 
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That would be interesting, the final pack has 1 animal from each pack. What animals do you think that could be?
Deluxe : Grévy's Zebra (EN)
Arctic :
King Eider (LC)
South America :
Patagonian Mara (NT)
Australia :
Thorny Devil (LC)
Aquatic :
Southern Elephant Seal (LC)
Southeast Asia :
Blue-spotted Tree Monitor (EN) or Banteng (EN)
Africa :
Ethiopian Wolf (EN) or Giant Eland (VU)
North America :
Black-footed Ferret (EN)
Europe :
Muskox (LC)
Wetlands :
Alligator Snapping Turtle (VU)
Conservation :
Red Wolf (CR)
Twilight :
Ocelot (LC)
Grasslands :
Secretary Bird (EN)
Tropical :
Ocellated Turkey (NT)
Arid :
Ratel (LC)
Oceania :
Matchie's Tree Kangaroo (EN)
Eurasia :
Dalmatian Pelican (NT)
 
What are your top 3 animal picks for each represented Class? (Or all of them if less than 3)

The represented classes are Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Arachnids, Insects, Centipedes (happy to include Millipedes) & Gastropods.

You also have the option to include top 3 picks for the categories "Other Vertebrates" & "Other Invertebrates"
Mammals
  1. Another Tiger.
  2. Spectacled Bear.
  3. South American Tapir.
Birds
  1. Eurasian Eagle Owl.
  2. Glaucous Macaw.
  3. Mallard.
Reptiles
  1. Black Mamba Snake.
  2. Black Caiman.
  3. Blue Viper.
Amphibians
  1. Blue Poison Frog.
  2. Chinese Giant Salamander.
Fish
  1. Blue Shark.
  2. Black Piranha.
  3. Green Moray Eel.
Invertebrates
  1. Cobalt Blue Tarantula.
  2. Toe-Biter.
 
I think the top 10 species of META Wishlist do impact the Frontier's decision-making, the rest do not. Otherwise we wouldn't have Tasmanian Devil in the game since it is not that popular among the general players (it is not on the Deladysigner's top 100 popular list, many people who are not animal nerds don't know about Tassie Devil at all), as a niche species it requires new rig unlike Saiga and Asian Buffalo that are clone species at least. Looking back to DLCs after we had the META Wishlist, all of them contain species that voted as top 10 on META Wishlist before the release date (like Wombat and Red Fox of Twilight Pack, Fossa, White-handed Gibbon and Red River Hog of Tropical pack, Tassie Devil and Kiwi of Oceania pack, Wolverine and Takin of Eurasia pack).
For sure. I doubt they look at animals too far beyond the top 10 and say...oh, this one's at #50, we won't use that one since it's too popular for an oddball pick but not popular enough to be considered a main attraction. My guess? They choose a theme, look at what animal or two from the top of the lists they could included, depending on work resources as well as of course, and then fill out the rest with their own ideas. Many of those ideas may match what's further down the list, but are not so beholden to the list they would cross check where every single one is at.

This may be a reason we haven't gotten another New World Primate actually. Until last year, the community had a general want of NWP, but hadn't really rallied behind a specific species. So none of the species were in the upper regions of the list. Now that we've more or less, as a community, chosen the Howler Monkey as "that" primate, we have a far better chance of getting it. I refuse to believe, at this point anyways, that Frontier is going to leave us with only one New World Primate. It could happen but I really really do not think it will.
 
What are your top 3 animal picks for each represented Class? (Or all of them if less than 3)

The represented classes are Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Arachnids, Insects, Centipedes (happy to include Millipedes) & Gastropods.

You also have the option to include top 3 picks for the categories "Other Vertebrates" & "Other Invertebrates"

Mammals: Bat-eared Fox + Musk Ox + White-tailed Deer

Birds: Common Pheasant + any Duck + Victoria Crowned Pigeon

Reptiles: any Gecko + any Chameleon + Desert Tortoise
 
For sure. I doubt they look at animals too far beyond the top 10 and say...oh, this one's at #50, we won't use that one since it's too popular for an oddball pick but not popular enough to be considered a main attraction. My guess? They choose a theme, look at what animal or two from the top of the lists they could included, depending on work resources as well as of course, and then fill out the rest with their own ideas. Many of those ideas may match what's further down the list, but are not so beholden to the list they would cross check where every single one is at.

This may be a reason we haven't gotten another New World Primate actually. Until last year, the community had a general want of NWP, but hadn't really rallied behind a specific species. So none of the species were in the upper regions of the list. Now that we've more or less, as a community, chosen the Howler Monkey as "that" primate, we have a far better chance of getting it. I refuse to believe, at this point anyways, that Frontier is going to leave us with only one New World Primate. It could happen but I really really do not think it will.
I've always wondered how they go about picking the themes. Because for at least a few DLC in a row we got the #1 animal from the meta wishlist and I just don't think there's any way that's a coincidence. So I've suspected there's times where they deviate from that...

My guess is that for the first ~2 years it was mostly Frontier picking the theme based don the region and backing into the animals that way. But from Wetlands onward... I think it was the reverse. What animal is high up on the meta wishlist? Are there other high-ranking animals we can tie to that theme? What can we do with current resources that won't conflict with the themes for later packs or feel like a re-tread of a past theme?

I think the reason we had to wait for the Tasmanian devil so long is because there just weren't a lot of feasible oceania animals in the mix so we had to wait for the scenery pack (and they probably decided that other pack themes didn't quite work with what they could pull off at the time for one reason or another).

And, to your point, it also explains the New World primate situation. It wasn't until very recently that there was one in the top 10. Probably because of how widespread the picks were. And I'm continually haunted by how low the tree kangaroos were until very recently... But when you combine the two counts for the Matschie's and Goodfellow's together? It basically dominates. LOL
 
What are your top 3 animal picks for each represented Class? (Or all of them if less than 3)

The represented classes are Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Arachnids, Insects, Centipedes (happy to include Millipedes) & Gastropods.

You also have the option to include top 3 picks for the categories "Other Vertebrates" & "Other Invertebrates"
Mammals:

  • South American coati
  • Black howler monkey
  • Patagonian mara

Birds

  • Greater rhea
  • Grey crowned crane
  • Secretary bird

Reptiles

  • Perentie
  • Panther chameleon
  • Any cobra

Amphibians

  • Argentinian horned frog
  • Gian chinese / japanese salamander
  • Australian green tree frog

Arachnids

- Don't have any particular interest in any particular species

Insects

  • Goliath beetle
  • Orchid mantis
  • Leaf cutter ant colonies

Centepides

- similar to arachnids.

Gastropods

- Same here

Other vertebrates:

  • A pelican
  • A duck
  • Blackbuck

Other invertebrates
  • Any crab
  • Any octopus
  • A coral and anemone tank
 
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