Planet Zoo: Barnyard Animal Pack | Announce

[NZFanatic]

Nothing is very obvious.

It literally couldn't be more obvious.

• No confirmed PDLC past May 31st.
• Console Edition released (same thing happened with Coaster) which is an incredibly strong indication of a shift in focus. It's not a straight port - if it was they wouldn't be gradually rolling out update features. It still requires dev attention, and where did those devs come from?
• Layoffs, bad financial situation at Frontier, nobody in this community understanding that 'profitable' doesn't mean 'makes money to cover overheads'. It doesn't matter if PZ is their most profitable game, it's five years old and engagement has been getting worse and worse.
• More content than usual - exactly what happened with Coaster and JWE.
• Player activity trending down immediately prior to console release. Obviously it got a boost with the console edition bringing new attention to the game. That is a short term gain not a long term trend.
• Oh, and two new games on the horizon that we'll likely learn more about soon.

Seriously. It's hilarious that a week ago most everyone could agree that "more content than usual" would be a pretty sure sign that this was the final installment, even ignoring all the other massive neon signs pointing to the end of support that have been gradually accumulating over the last twelve months or so, but because you didn't get your coati or tree kangaroo or whatever else suddenly it's no longer obvious.

This theme sucks for a sendoff, but it's still a sendoff.

 

[DarthQuell]

No confirmed PDLC past May 31st.

We've never actually gotten confirmation though for previous years. Only leaks. So this is moot

Console Edition released (same thing happened with Coaster) which is an incredibly strong indication of a shift in focus. It's not a straight port - if it was they wouldn't be gradually rolling out update features. It still requires dev attention, and where did those devs come from?

Moot also. Jurassic World Evolution 2 released on consoles immediately with PC, so it doesn't completely apply

More content than usual - exactly what happened with Coaster and JWE.

Again, while we got animals and scenery, we didn't get a lot of scenery and it seems to have replaced the exhibit.


I'm not guaranteeing more DLC, but I'm also not denying more DLC. Plus, I doubt that Frontier would send off their most popular game with a divisive DLC like this. They already knew that many people were against the idea while others were for it, so yeah

 

[CharlieXGaming]

This theme sucks for a sendoff, but it's still a sendoff.

I refuse to believe this until June. The people on the recording going through the report said Planet zoo has a bright future, I refuse to believe that a bright future is only 1 pack and a console port.

I just don’t want to lose hope yet, and frontier is unpredictable, maybe they will continue the packs if there’s no competition for other zoo games (which there’s not), maybe the report meant no DLC for the entirety of FY25, we don’t know. The packs recently still do make money and there are several more titles to use and lots of popular species left that most of the community wants, so I don’t see why they should stop now.

 

[ElectricMonk]

We've never actually gotten confirmation though for previous years. Only leaks. So this is moot

Not true. Previous reports have noted (i.e., confirmed) DLC releases in the following financial year, which did not happen (for the first time) in the last report.

 

[Thylaco]

It literally couldn't be more obvious.

• No confirmed PDLC past May 31st.
• Console Edition released (same thing happened with Coaster) which is an incredibly strong indication of a shift in focus. It's not a straight port - if it was they wouldn't be gradually rolling out update features. It still requires dev attention, and where did those devs come from?
• Layoffs, bad financial situation at Frontier, nobody in this community understanding that 'profitable' doesn't mean 'makes money to cover overheads'. It doesn't matter if PZ is their most profitable game, it's five years old and engagement has been getting worse and worse.
• More content than usual - exactly what happened with Coaster and JWE.
• Player activity trending down immediately prior to console release. Obviously it got a boost with the console edition bringing new attention to the game. That is a short term gain not a long term trend.
• Oh, and two new games on the horizon that we'll likely learn more about soon.

Seriously. It's hilarious that a week ago most everyone could agree that "more content than usual" would be a pretty sure sign that this was the final installment, even ignoring all the other massive neon signs pointing to the end of support that have been gradually accumulating over the last twelve months or so, but because you didn't get your coati or tree kangaroo or whatever else suddenly it's no longer obvious.

This theme sucks for a sendoff, but it's still a sendoff.

PC announced a port for the following year, seemingly after the final DLC, it's a little different. I'd class it more as uncharted territory in PZs case, with no certainty either way.

Engagement on Steam has been overall better than JWE2 for a while (there's no community challenge or blueprint sharing which is a pretty significant difference, with also fundamentally weaker customisation), with PZ now on console, it's probably looking a lot more consistent than JWE2, despite being less profitable overall.

The fact it's the same price indicates that they themselves don't see it as more content (a person in charge decides how much content is appropriate for a DLCs price point).

 

[Swjosdotschka]

The fact it's the same price indicates that they themselves don't see it as more content (a person in charge decides how much content is appropriate for a DLCs price point).

And this is what makes me stop and lets me wait.
Yes, the financial report doesn't mention any more DLCs and that's suspicious. But this pack actually isn't "bigger" in price, and last DLCs for JWE and PC were.
They were also more noticeably bigger. This DLC only has 60+ scenery pieces, but that could be the "spot" for the exhibit animal.

Frontier is struggling. If they could make the DLC more expensive, they would. Why didn't they, but did so with other games last DLC?

And basically no high meta wishlist animal IS a weird sendoff and even in Frontiers terms missing the mark surprisingly much.

 

[AndyZoos]

The fact it's the same price indicates that they themselves don't see it as more content (a person in charge decides how much content is appropriate for a DLCs price point).

If you think about the number of pieces in a given scenery pack (the last few have been 200+) it's roughly equivalent in terms of content. Rounding down to 200 and dividing by the number of animals in a scenery pack it's about 40 pieces per animal (probably a few more). One could argue it's a little more... But the price is undeniable that the company views it as being equal. Otherwise they would have charged more.

That said: They've been changing patterns left and right so... Who knows?

 

[ElectricMonk]

Overall (noting that some elements of this could change) my opinion so far:

The good (IMO):
The scenery pieces look generally good so far - though we haven't see much yet
The animal quality is (as is generally the case) fantastic - the people who create the animals for this game do AMAZING work
The free update looks pretty good

The bad (IMO):
The overall theme - especially if this is the last DLC (which is quite likley) and given the gaps in the wild animal roster (especially, but not limited to South America, birds, monkeys). I understand that for many people a petting zoo is a necessary part of their experience of zoos. For me though, my local zoos don't have this, so it's not something I personally ever wanted - As always, I'm happy for those that wanted the theme but it wasn't for me. Even given the theme, though, the animal choices are BAD (IMO)....

Overall animal choices:
1: Massive over-representation of ungulates (again)
2: Barley anything for modders to work with that they can't already do perfectly well.

Specific animals (given the theme):
The good:
Highland Cattle - better than many of the alternatives, though not my first choice

The meh, but i guess it's an ok choice since the animal type probably needs to be included and the choice is as good as any
The Goat, The Sheep

The meh, and the animal type didn't really need to be included
The Donkey, The Pig

The bad:
Alpaca: We already have the llama. This is just superfluous.

The what were you thinking!!!??????
Sussex Chicken: Worst possible choice for a bird. Even given the theme, a duck, goose, turkey, quail or pheasant would all have been (much) better. They haven't even gone with the cute yellow chicks!

 

[SalamAnders]

More content than usual - exactly what happened with Coaster and JWE.

How is this more?

Standard pack. 5 animals. 150-200+ scenery pieces.

Animal pack. 8 animals. Very small amount of scenery (signs mostly)

This pack is 7 animals. Part of those 60 pieces are probably signs as usual. Then you got roughly 50 pieces I guess, instead of the missing animal. It adds up.

 

[paul78]

While the pack isn’t the most exciting now that it’s had a full day of being advertised I’m actually pretty excited about it. It will make for a great corner area in our zoos plus add some realism. I probably won’t buy right away as we’re doing some things in our house atm and I really don’t want to expose my laptop to but that’s the only reason I’ll delay buying. I could see hypothetically frontier giving us 1-2 more packs after this but I think this will be the new normal wait time. The packs still generate a buzz and for the most part are still profitable so it’s definitely possible.

 

[NZFanatic]

We've never actually gotten confirmation though for previous years. Only leaks. So this is moot

Yes we have? Literally every financial report has stated plain as day that "PDLC will continue to be supported into FYXX (i.e. the following financial year). This is the first time it has stopped at the current financial year in the report.

Moot also. Jurassic World Evolution 2 released on consoles immediately with PC, so it doesn't completely apply

JWE2 isn't relevant to this, so it isn't a moot point. Planet Coaster is obviously the direct comparison I was making.

Again, while we got animals and scenery, we didn't get a lot of scenery and it seems to have replaced the exhibit.

I'll grant you that, but even so, Animal Pack + Scenery has been the benchmark assumption for a long time conveniently until everyone was disappointed with what we got.

You can hate to hear it all you like but it's true. At least I'm being consistent with my belief here.

The people on the recording going through the report said Planet zoo has a bright future

Yes, the console edition will surely be a bright future for Planet Zoo. At least for console players. Vague statements like that don't mean anything.

Y'all can wait until June if you like, but even then I'm sure the goalposts will be moved to July then August then "we only got three in 2020 so let's wait for October" and then "oh they wouldn't skip the Christmas sale!"

 

[FoxyDee]

Just now I noticed this screenshot. Is that the hand washing machine? Also that stone fence again. It kind of looks like an actual barrier type in here. I am curious about the new foliage, so far I havent seen any.

 

[Marvinb]

Just now I noticed this screenshot. Is that the hand washing machine? Also that stone fence again. It kind of looks like an actual barrier type in here. I am curious about the new foliage, so far I havent seen any.

Only new plant i spotted so far is that reddish ivy type one growing on the buildings in a couple shots

 

[Fini]

After one night, sleep on it. I'm really happy about the pack and I'm now also glad that there aren't any rabbits or ducks included. Surely that would have been the opportunity for the two of them, but 1. I don't want to have rabbits or even guinea pigs as petting zoo animals and 2. a wild duck is a much better pick than a domesticated one.
I'm really excited to finally be able to build a farm area in my zoo without having to resort to female ibexes and Dall sheep. Plus a sheep with really fluffy wool, shaggy highland cattle and chickens! I love chickens, I would like to have some in RL, but unfortunately our garden is too small, now I can have digital chickens, thanks! I love it

 

[sumcherish82]

Thanks frontier for keep giving us new features and new animals. The game become more completed and realistic now. I will definitely buy this dlc

 

[ElectricMonk]

How is this more?

Standard pack. 5 animals. 150-200+ scenery pieces.

Animal pack. 8 animals. Very small amount of scenery (signs mostly)

This pack is 7 animals. Part of those 60 pieces are probably signs as usual. Then you got roughly 50 pieces I guess, instead of the missing animal. It adds up.

Standard pack. 4 habitat animals. 1 exhibit animal. 150-200+ scenery pieces.
Animal pack. 7 habitat animals. 1 exhibit animal. Very small amount of scenery (signs mostly)
This pack loses an exhibit animal, not just any animal. 50(ish) scenery pieces is waaaay more than the value of a single standard exhibit animal.

 

[Marvinb]

Standard pack. 4 habitat animals. 1 exhibit animal. 150-200+ scenery pieces.
Animal pack. 7 habitat animals. 1 exhibit animal. Very small amount of scenery (signs mostly)
This pack loses an exhibit animal, not just any animal. 50(ish) scenery pieces is waaaay more than the value of a single standard exhibit animal.

Yeah but all the habitat animals are on the simple side, so it kinda works out
Idk its about equal in my eyes all things considered.

 

[FoxyDee]

Only new plant i spotted so far is that reddish ivy type one growing on the buildings in a couple shots

This thing? Is it not the Virginia creeper from Aquatic? I am not sure now.

 

[Calleo]

I feel like I have missed something or somethingssss. I’m excited for chickens and donkeys. I just am. I JUST AM.

But I can understand disappointment. I too was hoping for monkeys and birds.

My big confusion is why this pack seems so different. The way it was announced, no tease or preview? Unless I missed that? No exhibit animal? This would’ve been a perfect pack for naked mole rats or some other rodent exhibit. I dunno, I’m just so confused.

I’m also confused as to why people keep saying this is the last pack. I FEEL SO LOST.

The change in announcement is almost certainly the shift in Frontier’s community management. The teams behind the special livestreams have been consolidated into these monthly streams for all Frontier games. So they have to drop the DLC before to generate hype and get people to tune in.

Part of why I think support may continue. Seems a much cheaper and easier way to just drop a trailer and then show the gameplay in a livestream two days later between other games. Could continue making cash by doing that for a while.

 

[Marvinb]

This thing? Is it not the Virginia creeper from Aquatic? I am not sure now.

Idk i cant recall ever seeing this before. Maybe im wrong tho