I get that I do, but I think it depends on more what we get. I understand zoos normally have more than one duck, but I have also never been to a zoo with no ducks. I mean, the saiga antelope and proboscis monkey made it into game. If we can start getting the more obscure mammal species, we might as well get some of the basic birds. Yes maybe one duck species may not seem like much, but say we get something like a tropical duck species? Now if you build a tropical house you will always have a good bird to pair with it. To me the lack of birds actually has the opposite effect on me, each bird I find inherently more useful and fun to build for. Usually because it’s one of only a few options.
I get maybe getting one duck might seem odd, but to me it’s about as odd as any of the other more obscure mammals that already made it into game. That’s why I really like the white faced whistling duck. If it’s our only duck species, it can be used in African or South American habitats. So that makes it more useful than some other species.
It also comes down to what I like to do in a building game. I like mixed species habitats, which birds are fantastic for. Something like the grey crowned crane, great white pelican, helmeted guineafowl, and others provide me options. What if I’m sick of the ostrich? I got the guineafowl and crane. What if I’m sick of making a bison and pronghorn habitat? I make one with the pronghorn and turkeys. What if I really want another Asian crane species? The demoiselle crane would be awesome.
I get what Frontier has done is set in stone, so nothing can be done about it. But I don’t find that a good excuse to continue to ignore some of the most common types of animals in real life zoos. Even if people want “flying birds”, we all know that’s not coming. So might as well throw in habitat birds, that we know will work in game, in the meantime. I’ll put it this way, I don’t want to wait years for a sequel to get a duck. I’ve been playing PZ for 5 years now, I might as well get a duck now. Which really shouldn’t be some monumental ask. And if we do get a sequel, how many years more do I have to wait for some of the basic birds again? Yeah maybe the sequel comes with some flying birds, but maybe I still have to wait another two years for a duck.