Spring 2024 DLC Speculation

AndyZoos

A
TheDuckKnight said:
I try to veer away from my own speculation because I'm almost always wrong lol, but at this point, I'll just give my two cents on the possible formats of this upcoming DLC:
  1. Classic Scenery Pack (5 animals, scenery) - Possible, but I think it would have been more likely had the pack came out last month or this. Assuming, this is the last pack, cutbacks or not, I'm sure Frontier will want to send us off with something a bit bigger.
  2. Classic Animal Pack (8 animals) - Very unlikely, I don't think Frontier will want to leave builders hanging without any new pieces
  3. Scenery Pack + Animal Pack (8 animals, scenery) - Likely and a reasonable expectation imo
  4. Scenery+Animal Bundle (13 animals, scenery) - This is the one I'm hoping for the most, especially considering with the console season, it'd be a bit odd to have one odd-numbered pack left out of the bundles we're seeing roll out. Plus considering a May release seems inevitable, it'd essentially serve as both the Spring and Summer DLC.
  5. Much larger, expansion pack (13+ animals, scenery) - Possible, but with the cutbacks and focus on the console, I wouldn't hold my breathe for it, but it wouldn't completely discount it either
  6. Support continues in normal fashion for 4 packs throughout 2024 - uh, idk, but maybe?
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I think options 3 and 4 are both likely. #3 is arguably the most likely but I'm hoping for #4. And hopefully with a vague/general theme so they can hit a large breadth of highly requested animals.

I know some people are really hoping for Latin or South American pack (and I wouldn't be mad at it) but I gotta be honest... It would feel real weird to exclude some of the other highly requested animals. And ending with something general would just feel better even if it had a lean toward that region in terms of roster picks.

Doran said:
Unfortunely not!
Activity like this suggest DLC is far away lol.
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Eh. I don't think we can say that it's "far away." It'll be weeks, not months, at this point. And that Internal_01 update only gets updated when DLC or an update is coming. I guess it could be them trying to bug-fix/test the gift shop issues but... I dunno.

I don't think the pattern is going to be the same this time.
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
AndyZoos said:
I think options 3 and 4 are both likely. #3 is arguably the most likely but I'm hoping for #4. And hopefully with a vague/general theme so they can hit a large breadth of highly requested animals.

I know some people are really hoping for Latin or South American pack (and I wouldn't be mad at it) but I gotta be honest... It would feel real weird to exclude some of the other highly requested animals. And ending with something general would just feel better even if it had a lean toward that region in terms of roster picks.
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I think the thing with Latin America, is that if it is just one more pack and region themed or region skewed like the Arid pack was, that Latin American deserves some extra additions more than any of the other continents. North America and South America both got very little additions last year - the sloth, the peccary, and the Wolverine for the two continents combined. So if it's a "new world" pack instead of just Latin America I could see that happen.

Now this next bit is just me personally but I know i"m not alone in it. Africa is in second place to me, as have more potential with additions. There's still a lot of African animals I'd like to see. Asia, North America, Oceania and Europe, I could say maybe roughly 2 mammals each that I'd really like to see added (so not counting birds) but South/Central/Latin America and Africa there's a whole lot more.
 

Doran

Doran
AndyZoos said:
Eh. I don't think we can say that it's "far away." It'll be weeks, not months, at this point. And that Internal_01 update only gets updated when DLC or an update is coming. I guess it could be them trying to bug-fix/test the gift shop issues but... I dunno.
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Fact is mid to late May looks like release date, which itself is far away depending on who you ask ofc.
 

AndyZoos

A
jcp011c said:
I think the thing with Latin America, is that if it is just one more pack and region themed or region skewed like the Arid pack was, that Latin American deserves some extra additions more than any of the other continents. North America and South America both got very little additions last year - the sloth, the peccary, and the Wolverine for the two continents combined. So if it's a "new world" pack instead of just Latin America I could see that happen.

Now this next bit is just me personally but I know i"m not alone in it. Africa is in second place to me, as have more potential with additions. There's still a lot of African animals I'd like to see. Asia, North America, Oceania and Europe, I could say maybe roughly 2 mammals each that I'd really like to see added (so not counting birds) but South/Central/Latin America and Africa there's a whole lot more.
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I definitely agree that Latin America deserves more representation in that aspect! But there's so many other options from other parts of the world that are highly-requested... I dunno. I'll be happy with 3-4 picks from Latin America in whatever pack we get especially considering the format and way they tend to pick animals.

I'd just much prefer the secretary bird over the greater rhea and the tree kangaroo over the tamandua or whatever. That said? If it is a Latin America pack I'll be like really sad for my tree kangaroo for a few minutes then just get excited about whatever else it is we get! Haha.

Doran said:
Fact is mid to late May looks like release date, which itself is far away depending on who you ask ofc.
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Eh. That's still pretty close TBH. It's weeks, not months.
 

RightWhale

RightWhale
TheNamesJonas said:
And we will go over it again for the next 330 pages, so be prepared Iben!
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I know this is a joke, but I’m not sure if we will get to that point.

Signs pointing to the end has really taken the wind out of this community, I remember waking up to other speculation threads to 3+ pages made overnight. Now I’m lucky if I even have a page to read. Speculation and animal wishlists were the bread and butter of this forum, with things reaching the climax there isn’t much point to it anymore. I could make a whole wishlist of “x” animals and it wouldn’t really matter. At this point hundreds of species are all equally valid to make it in, and knowing Frontier’s history we could get an animal pack as diverse as Grasslands or Wetlands. If we are lucky, and a pack with that diversity could probably not give the monkeys and birds that I personally think are needed.

Also to add onto the “monkey and bird” thing, I think that could also be driving conversation down. Not that I think people are being toxic, I find everyone here is doing pretty well and has been very friendly at least to me. Granted, I think that’s because I want animals that are universally agreed upon to be needed in greater numbers. But let’s say I want the American Bobcat to get into the game, I could get a number of comments:
  1. Do we need another cat right now?
  2. A not monkey from NA? NA doesn’t need more animals.
  3. I would rather get: insert other animal here
Considering we are at the end of support, I find people are more heightened over what animals “deserve” to get in or what animals are “useful” to them. Which is still a valid opinion and is always welcomed to share. But I can imagine the final countdown anxiety isn’t helping the conversation, and at times is making people be extra critical over what is just an innocent love for a species. So that means someone who just wants to share an animal will feel dejected. Also the constant waiting and dark clouds could also be decreasing people’s drives to talk on the forums.

Even at times I am afraid I get annoying, sometimes I wonder if I talk about birds too much here. With support ending it has made me feel like time has run out, which hasn’t helped my thoughts about where PZ is at the time of being (regarding roster diversity). At the same time, I get the worry and I feel like I might have added to the conversation negativity too. I’ll admit, I really want to be selfish and get a full bird pack. As a consumer who has bought everything a number of DLCs didn’t have something I wanted. I still love all animals, and I will happily take every one with open arms. But at the same time, I’m honestly worried about my (not whales) favorite animals being shafted again. Especially for another animal groups that already has a number of options available to them. But I also don’t want to be upset when someone is super happy they got another deer/bear/cat/dog/crocodile. Because I like those animals too, and I don’t want to rain on their parade! But at the same time it’s been 4 years and since release I got 8 birds, with the max being one year giving another penguin, another ratite, and a new bird in the swan. So I also really want to get focused on, just this once! But if it’s the final dlc I don’t want other community members to be deprived of their favorite animals!

Lots of conflicted feelings, a super long wait, little news, and a bit of dark clouds over the game ending has probably driven conversation down.
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
RightWhale said:
Considering we are at the end of support, I find people are more heightened over what animals “deserve” to get in or what animals are “useful” to them. Which is still a valid opinion and is always welcomed to share. But I can imagine the final countdown anxiety isn’t helping the conversation, and at times is making people be extra critical over what is just an innocent love for a species. So that means someone who just wants to share an animal will feel dejected. Also the constant waiting and dark clouds could also be decreasing people’s drives to talk on the forums.
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Honestly I'm just flat out ignoring all wishlists that aren't completely bonkers. I think we can reasonably say that "niche species X" isn't going to make it in at this point, for example. The difficulty lies with Frontier, really; a good example is the tree kangaroo. This is an animal not like any other in the game. I suppose one could argue the koala rig would make a decent base for it, but let's assume the tree kangaroo needs a brand new rig, and a brand new set of animations, everything from scratch (which is likely). I picked this species in particular because it's popular, not because I actually give a damn about getting it or not, just to be clear.

Given that Frontier has poured resources into the console release, and presumably the new games on the horizon, and that we know there have been substantial layoffs, is it really reasonable to expect an animal like the tree kangaroo? We can't know for sure. Is it unreasonable to expect a pack full of the most basic clones, despite it being the final sendoff? At this point, would Frontier really care either way? It's not like this final DLC will make or break their red line. At the same time, giving us something good as a send-off would be the "polite" thing to do (I guess), but it's also not at all necessary. They don't owe us that - our relationship to Frontier is and always has been purely transactional, and both of us have fulfilled our side of the bargain (money exchanged for goods and/or services).

This is kind of why I don't care about wishlists anymore. Every wishlist feels like the dying gasp of desperation. I don't mean that as an attack on anyone, it's just the vibe the very concept of a wishlist gives off now. Like there's absolutely no point in getting your hopes up for anything in particular, because there's a very good chance there's no more room in Frontier's schedule to do anything special. So why bother? All anyone can do now is sit on their hands and wait and see. If that means discussion dies off, well, that's just how it goes. At some point in the next fifty-three days we'll know what we're getting.

Edit to clarify: Previously a wishlist was worth sharing for the fact that if a species got enough traction, there was a good chance Frontier would notice and include it in a future DLC. Now, though, there is no future DLC. Whatever our final DLC is, it's already been decided by now what content is going to be included. Much of that content has already been made. So that is what I mean when I say wishlists feel desperate. It's not like they're going to change anything going forward.
 

Marvinb

Marvinb
NZFanatic said:
Honestly I'm just flat out ignoring all wishlists that aren't completely bonkers. I think we can reasonably say that "niche species X" isn't going to make it in at this point, for example. The difficulty lies with Frontier, really; a good example is the tree kangaroo. This is an animal not like any other in the game. I suppose one could argue the koala rig would make a decent base for it, but let's assume the tree kangaroo needs a brand new rig, and a brand new set of animations, everything from scratch (which is likely). I picked this species in particular because it's popular, not because I actually give a damn about getting it or not, just to be clear.

Given that Frontier has poured resources into the console release, and presumably the new games on the horizon, and that we know there have been substantial layoffs, is it really reasonable to expect an animal like the tree kangaroo? We can't know for sure. Is it unreasonable to expect a pack full of the most basic clones, despite it being the final sendoff? At this point, would Frontier really care either way? It's not like this final DLC will make or break their red line. At the same time, giving us something good as a send-off would be the "polite" thing to do (I guess), but it's also not at all necessary. They don't owe us that - our relationship to Frontier is and always has been purely transactional, and both of us have fulfilled our side of the bargain (money exchanged for goods and/or services).

This is kind of why I don't care about wishlists anymore. Every wishlist feels like the dying gasp of desperation. I don't mean that as an attack on anyone, it's just the vibe the very concept of a wishlist gives off now. Like there's absolutely no point in getting your hopes up for anything in particular, because there's a very good chance there's no more room in Frontier's schedule to do anything special. So why bother? All anyone can do now is sit on their hands and wait and see. If that means discussion dies off, well, that's just how it goes. At some point in the next fifty-three days we'll know what we're getting.

Edit to clarify: Previously a wishlist was worth sharing for the fact that if a species got enough traction, there was a good chance Frontier would notice and include it in a future DLC. Now, though, there is no future DLC. Whatever our final DLC is, it's already been decided by now what content is going to be included. Much of that content has already been made. So that is what I mean when I say wishlists feel desperate. It's not like they're going to change anything going forward.
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If it truly an uber clone pack thats something like flamingo, spec bear, some cat and nooneeverheardofthis antelope, thats the first pack im not gonna buy :D.
And as sad as it is i dont even think its that unlikely looking at jwe lastest pack. Although that one apperently isnt the last so they atleast dodged a bullet there
 

CharlieXGaming

CharlieXGaming
I’m now trying to think about what was the most requested about a year ago, as this:
NZFanatic said:
Whatever our final DLC is, it's already been decided by now what content is going to be included.
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is most definitely correct, we know frontier works on packs dramatically in advance so whether or not this pack even is the final one, we need to look at what was requested early last year, because those remaining ones are probably the ones they’re gonna aim for if they are doable (excluding ones that might be a lot of work like tree kangaroo).

As for your points on wish-lists I agree mostly, I especially don’t get the point of things like the 2024 meta wishlist, I personally don’t see the point of making big wishlists right now because we know that the next couple packs are already planned and we don’t have many left, the meta wishlist for 2024 imo just feels like another cry for attention for South America rep which while it deserves the rep, another wishlist addressing it won’t change anything this late in the game.
 

RightWhale

RightWhale
SalamAnders said:
Today there has been around 8.500 in game at the highest
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Wow! I guess console has also boosted attention on the game! (Besides the very generous sale)
CharlieXGaming said:
I’m now trying to think about what was the most requested about a year ago, as this:

is most definitely correct, we know frontier works on packs dramatically in advance so whether or not this pack even is the final one, we need to look at what was requested early last year, because those remaining ones are probably the ones they’re gonna aim for if they are doable (excluding ones that might be a lot of work like tree kangaroo).

As for your points on wish-lists I agree mostly, I especially don’t get the point of things like the 2024 meta wishlist, I personally don’t see the point of making big wishlists right now because we know that the next couple packs are already planned and we don’t have many left, the meta wishlist for 2024 imo just feels like another cry for attention for South America rep which while it deserves the rep, another wishlist addressing it won’t change anything this late in the game.
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Thinking back on our discussions last year:
  1. Birds were still around, though the species have changed a bit. So I doubt my white faced whistling duck will make it in, but mandarin duck, pelican, grey crowned crane, and secretary bird can all have a shot. To be honest while they have always been part of the conversation it has really ramped up in the past year. Not to mention the new swan rig is up to be used again. 2023 is when the conversation moved from flying birds to realistic habitat birds. Considering the year ended with a record 3 the odds aren’t terrible.
  2. Monkeys and baboons were always part of the conversation, especially after tropical didn’t give us a monkey. So I still think they have a chance too.
  3. Meta wishlist animals are usually good, Frontier (either by coincidence or choice) picks a handful each time.
  4. Highlands was a super common theme, probably the most common before Eurasia
  5. Temperate was also a common theme, especially before the Tasmanian devil
  6. Islands and coastal were themes brought up frequently
  7. Children’s zoo was another theme mentioned a handful of times
  8. I remember scrublands being a common theme before Arid
That’s off the top of my head as being popular discussions from last year.
 

NachoB

NachoB
CharlieXGaming said:
As for your points on wish-lists I agree mostly, I especially don’t get the point of things like the 2024 meta wishlist, I personally don’t see the point of making big wishlists right now because we know that the next couple packs are already planned and we don’t have many left, the meta wishlist for 2024 imo just feels like another cry for attention for South America rep which while it deserves the rep, another wishlist addressing it won’t change anything this late in the game.
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The projects started before we had the financial report (even if the votes we're counted after the Eurasia pack the wishlist were being posted in advance) and at that time we didn't know if there could be another year of support or not. So thinking we might get that the wishlist was supposed to be an update on the original one and reorganize current priorities for the " next year of DLCs" i guess.

At this point there isn't much point to any wishlist or DLC speculation for that matter.

And i agree that the cry for birds, monkeys and SA fauna has been going on for years at this point so either they noticed and save it for last or decided to ignore it completly.
 
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