Such beautiful perfection and peak...
Planet Zoo | Americas Animal Pack | Announce
- Thread starter Phil W
- Start date
IMO: The zookeper pack was meant to be the last, PC2 didnt get the financial reception they wanted, and so they had to throw a bunch of more clonish animals in a pack rq so they could make more money
that said i still like this pack a lot
that said i still like this pack a lot
Yea I think this is probably the case as well. Hopefully next pack is better? We'll have to wait and see. I know it is stupid but with how Frontier has been lately I seriously hate how part of me is consdering the possiblity they did genuinely get coati and coyote confused lol
Overall, I think this is a pretty solid pack. It could be better, but the fact that we're getting four South American animals in a single pack and we're getting our first New World primate in five years are both points in this pack's favor for me. Here's how I'd rate the roster:
White-Faced Saki: The aforementioned New World primate, this is a very good choice, and it has been a long time coming. No notes. 10/10
Bush Dog: Yes, it's another canid, but it's quite a unique one in both appearance and geography so I'll allow it. 8/10
Ocelot: Considering Frontier's love of felines I feel this one was inevitable. Good choice. 7/10
Bighorn Sheep: Why didn't we get this one before the Dall Sheep is beyond me considering the former is considerably more well-known. 6/10
American Flamingo: It's weird to think that we haven't had another flamingo since launch. I'd prefer the Chilean Flamingo, but this one is still good. 6/10
Greater Rhea: It's a grey ostrich, but it's also the last of the ratites and a much-needed South American bird. 5/10
Coyote: Did someone call for another dull canid? Considering the Bush Dog's inclusion I feel like a far more interesting animal could have replaced it. 4/10
White-Faced Saki: The aforementioned New World primate, this is a very good choice, and it has been a long time coming. No notes. 10/10
Bush Dog: Yes, it's another canid, but it's quite a unique one in both appearance and geography so I'll allow it. 8/10
Ocelot: Considering Frontier's love of felines I feel this one was inevitable. Good choice. 7/10
Bighorn Sheep: Why didn't we get this one before the Dall Sheep is beyond me considering the former is considerably more well-known. 6/10
American Flamingo: It's weird to think that we haven't had another flamingo since launch. I'd prefer the Chilean Flamingo, but this one is still good. 6/10
Greater Rhea: It's a grey ostrich, but it's also the last of the ratites and a much-needed South American bird. 5/10
Coyote: Did someone call for another dull canid? Considering the Bush Dog's inclusion I feel like a far more interesting animal could have replaced it. 4/10
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Even If this should be the case which I doubt why not. Seems to be a win win Situation as there are still enough Players which want to buy the packs resulting in some extra Profit for Frontier.
Well, that's what we're all hoping too.
Hoping yes, believing unfortunately not. Though a full year of DLCs would be something that would make me more peaceful with Frontier these days...
Me too. I feel like if the wait time wasn’t so long between packs the community would be less up in arms. Unfortunately it really seems like we’re only getting content (thankfully) because we’re a profitable game and Frontier wants to milk animal lovers. Fair enough. I just wish we could get more per year and not be treated second fiddle when we’re literally keeping them afloat rn with ED
Obligatory ranking (that will probably change once more is revealed)
Saki: 10/10 -
Greater Rhea: 9/10 - Ratites are probably the best-represented group in the game to me now. They're neither underrepresented nor overrepresented, they've made no poor blundery choices with them, and every single one was an essential, banger addition. They're just absolutely perfect and I could not be happier that one of my favorite animal groups has been treated so well. The rhea is such a basic animal to have, and I’m so excited to mix these guys with llamas, capybaras, tapirs, etc. Hopefully, we have some good options for color variations, then it’s a 10/10 for me. Now if only we had the mara to go with it…
American Flamingo: 7/10 - Kinda boring, but flamingos are a pretty good, basic animal to have a second option for and I’ve seen these guys so many times. Initially, I preferred the Chilean, but I’ve come around to wanting these guys a little more, just in time for this pack - I love how saturated they are. Holding out hope to see how the flamingo model improves.
Ocelot: 7/10 - I didn’t think I could get super excited about another felid, especially with how Frontier handles cat models, but my god, these look gorgeous. A nice, widespread, low-budget species even if it isn’t very exciting from a taxonomic standpoint. It’s definitely going to be my go-to small cat nowand I can make a silly Minecraft zoo.
Bush Dog: 7/10 - If we had to get another canid this was the best one IMO. I’ve only seen these guys once IRL but they were one of my favorite animals to watch ever. Super fun, silly lil guys. Were they the best choice ever? Nah. Will I love them now that they’re here. Yeppers.
Coyote: 4/10 - Look, I adore coyotes - they’re super fascinating, beautiful, horribly misunderstood animals (any native species that helps control invasive feral cats and brings in more native birds has my heart lol) and the way people treat them IRL saddens me - but I think it was a pretty poor choice for this pack (and frankly, for the game overall). I was initially a bit indifferent to them being included, but now with the bush dog giving us two canids in one pack this is the weaker of the two and should have been so many other things. I’ll use them in my NA parks and will probably enjoy them once I get ahold of them, but I’d be lying if I said this was a niche that needed filling and I think people are totally justified in thinking it’s a total dud.
Bighorn Sheep: 2/10 - Um. Yeah. Our fifth caprine in a row. Yippee. It’s a warm climate one and not from Eurasia this time at least. I think it’s arguably a better addition than the coyote from a critical standpoint, but it just excites me less from a personal view and it’s not an animal I’ll use outside of very niche circumstances like building a NA desert zoo.
Saki: 10/10 -
Greater Rhea: 9/10 - Ratites are probably the best-represented group in the game to me now. They're neither underrepresented nor overrepresented, they've made no poor blundery choices with them, and every single one was an essential, banger addition. They're just absolutely perfect and I could not be happier that one of my favorite animal groups has been treated so well. The rhea is such a basic animal to have, and I’m so excited to mix these guys with llamas, capybaras, tapirs, etc. Hopefully, we have some good options for color variations, then it’s a 10/10 for me. Now if only we had the mara to go with it…
American Flamingo: 7/10 - Kinda boring, but flamingos are a pretty good, basic animal to have a second option for and I’ve seen these guys so many times. Initially, I preferred the Chilean, but I’ve come around to wanting these guys a little more, just in time for this pack - I love how saturated they are. Holding out hope to see how the flamingo model improves.
Ocelot: 7/10 - I didn’t think I could get super excited about another felid, especially with how Frontier handles cat models, but my god, these look gorgeous. A nice, widespread, low-budget species even if it isn’t very exciting from a taxonomic standpoint. It’s definitely going to be my go-to small cat now
Bush Dog: 7/10 - If we had to get another canid this was the best one IMO. I’ve only seen these guys once IRL but they were one of my favorite animals to watch ever. Super fun, silly lil guys. Were they the best choice ever? Nah. Will I love them now that they’re here. Yeppers.
Coyote: 4/10 - Look, I adore coyotes - they’re super fascinating, beautiful, horribly misunderstood animals (any native species that helps control invasive feral cats and brings in more native birds has my heart lol) and the way people treat them IRL saddens me - but I think it was a pretty poor choice for this pack (and frankly, for the game overall). I was initially a bit indifferent to them being included, but now with the bush dog giving us two canids in one pack this is the weaker of the two and should have been so many other things. I’ll use them in my NA parks and will probably enjoy them once I get ahold of them, but I’d be lying if I said this was a niche that needed filling and I think people are totally justified in thinking it’s a total dud.
Bighorn Sheep: 2/10 - Um. Yeah. Our fifth caprine in a row. Yippee. It’s a warm climate one and not from Eurasia this time at least. I think it’s arguably a better addition than the coyote from a critical standpoint, but it just excites me less from a personal view and it’s not an animal I’ll use outside of very niche circumstances like building a NA desert zoo.
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What do you guys think, will next pack be an absolute banger with Secretary, Mara, Coatimundi, and more or will it be Alps Animal Pack
alright, I've sat on this pack for a work day and have made some petty comments I'm NOT sorry about. However, I'm going to give my ranking here. but a few comments first, as to why I rank these the way I do.
Since Oceania, I've said that it wouldn't bother me one bit if every single mammal we got was from South/Latin America, with the exception of the Wolverine. So of course, after Eurasia pack my focus pretty much became Latin America oriented, in fact my top 6 wanted animals were all from the region. It is what I've been wanting most for well over two years and pretty much solely since before Barnyard. So this was always going to evoke strong feelings for me when it finally arrived, be it Latin America/Amazon/Americas. And now that the pack has arrived, that theme is done. I feel like the best we can hope for from the Americas now is maybe 2 more animals, 3 at most, and quite possibly even just one - assuming support continues which I do think we'll get one more pack.
In a vacuum, none of the animals alone are a bad pick. Some stronger than others for sure, but mixed in elsewhere, or in some other theme, I don't dislike any of the animals. It's just that collectively, this pack they aren't as strong as a roster. Take out two or even just one species and replace it with the Coati, or a Coati and mara/ABB/another NWM, the roster would have really tightened up for me a LOT. Obviously, the biggest lack here for me is the Coati - to be honest getting the Ocelot and Coati or Bush Dog and Coati would have been alright. Clearly what I'm trying to say, is the big miss here for me, and a lot of people is no Coati, which honestly should have been a lock for the pack.
In truth, it's also that there isn't a single animal here that looks like it took a lot of work (though we haven't seen the Bush Dog yet). Nothing too complicated. Getting some more mundane/easier animals is totally understandable when you have one or two that really shine and it's really obvious they took that work - like the Crested Porcupine. I refer to a couple of animals as "heavy lifters" but that's more in reference to sales wise, not work intensiveness. There's just nothing all that unique here.
Still..the good...
t's quite amazing that here we are, going into 5 and a half years, and we are still getting new content, and that we've passed the 200 animal mark. That's a scenario I think many of us never expected we'd be in, and I overall can't complain that Frontier hasn't supported the game. And the quality of the animals likely won't be an issue with me either, they've pretty much done what they can do with a small work force, to churn out 2 packs a year now with half or even less than that of the team. And I have no doubt they will be good quality. It's just the roster picks themselves....
To the good though, this is 5 more animals for South America which we have been asking for more South American animals for a long time now. So sheer quantity wise it's a big improvement, and we get many of these are found in Central America too, which is also cool.
Okay sorry for rambling, I just came down hard on this pack this morning and it's because I have such strong feelings for it and what it could have been. on to the rankings
White Faced Saki: 8/10 - I'm not, I repeat NOT complaining about it because dang it we finally get a second new world monkey for the game. It's a very unexpected choice, though, which is why it's only an 8. The community has mainly talked about Howlers, Spider, and Squirrel Monkeys as well as Tamarins, so it is a baffling choice why this particular one was chosen. Especially when, as a new world monkey, it's one of the two animals in here doing the heavy lifting. I could hope we get one more before support is up, but I'm very doubtful on that. Still, I'm glad it was chosen over say the Mara or ABB (or even the Coati since NWM have been a priority even over that).
Greater Rhea - 8/10 - The other heavy lifter, which is kind of weird when you think that it's a cloneish-type animal. But it's been highly requested and we finally have an animal from Patagonia!! That's very exciting inof itself. And it's another bird and a New World one at that. No real complaints here....my want for it was not as strong as the community's overall, so it doesn't rank any higher.
Bush Dog - 7/10 - Surprise! Not one of my most wanted animals, but this one is unexpectedly leaving me very interested. I am a big canine fan though so it's understandable. I really cannot complain about its inclusion. And I know its pups are going to be absolutely adorable.
American Flamingo - 6/10 - Another bird and that's great, even if not the most exciting one in my opinion. Still, a second new world bird no less and it would be understandable to include an easier one like this IF there were other animals that required a lot of work.
Bighorn Sheep 5/10 - this one was a lot higher on my wish list a few years ago but kind of dropped off. Getting it now isn't....bad....but it's also not that exciting. I would have much rather had the Southern Pudu as our ungulate, for a second Patagonian representative, but that's just me.
Ocelot 5/10 - What to say about this one. It's not a bad animal and was even kind of expected at one point. But I think with the rest of roster tease, there was hope maybe we'd get around getting it. Still, it's a big precense in South America, and it really does look good.
Coyote - 4/10 - like the Bighorn, this was a lot higher on my list in previous years. I was fine with it with the teaser reveal, but I wrongly assumed we'd be getting a Coati for sure. My fault. I shouldn't have assumed, but I know I'm not the only one who did. And while I'm a big canine fan, I could have done with the Bush Dog instead of this one. There was no need for two canines when there were so many other choices out there.
To sum up one thing here, I think the thing for me is that there wasn't a single animal on here that was near the top of my want list. The Rhea is the only one. And we did get a monkey of some sort of course. Now, I know I've been very lucky with past picks and am grateful for all the animals I have wanted to have made it in. But excluding Barnyard with it's very niche theme, this is the first pack that's come out since SEA that hasn't had a single animal in my top 10 wants. And only the Rhea from my entire top 30. it just feels like there's not a lot for me here. Which is sad when you consider it's the theme I've been looking the most forward to for a long time.
Since Oceania, I've said that it wouldn't bother me one bit if every single mammal we got was from South/Latin America, with the exception of the Wolverine. So of course, after Eurasia pack my focus pretty much became Latin America oriented, in fact my top 6 wanted animals were all from the region. It is what I've been wanting most for well over two years and pretty much solely since before Barnyard. So this was always going to evoke strong feelings for me when it finally arrived, be it Latin America/Amazon/Americas. And now that the pack has arrived, that theme is done. I feel like the best we can hope for from the Americas now is maybe 2 more animals, 3 at most, and quite possibly even just one - assuming support continues which I do think we'll get one more pack.
In a vacuum, none of the animals alone are a bad pick. Some stronger than others for sure, but mixed in elsewhere, or in some other theme, I don't dislike any of the animals. It's just that collectively, this pack they aren't as strong as a roster. Take out two or even just one species and replace it with the Coati, or a Coati and mara/ABB/another NWM, the roster would have really tightened up for me a LOT. Obviously, the biggest lack here for me is the Coati - to be honest getting the Ocelot and Coati or Bush Dog and Coati would have been alright. Clearly what I'm trying to say, is the big miss here for me, and a lot of people is no Coati, which honestly should have been a lock for the pack.
In truth, it's also that there isn't a single animal here that looks like it took a lot of work (though we haven't seen the Bush Dog yet). Nothing too complicated. Getting some more mundane/easier animals is totally understandable when you have one or two that really shine and it's really obvious they took that work - like the Crested Porcupine. I refer to a couple of animals as "heavy lifters" but that's more in reference to sales wise, not work intensiveness. There's just nothing all that unique here.
Still..the good...
t's quite amazing that here we are, going into 5 and a half years, and we are still getting new content, and that we've passed the 200 animal mark. That's a scenario I think many of us never expected we'd be in, and I overall can't complain that Frontier hasn't supported the game. And the quality of the animals likely won't be an issue with me either, they've pretty much done what they can do with a small work force, to churn out 2 packs a year now with half or even less than that of the team. And I have no doubt they will be good quality. It's just the roster picks themselves....
To the good though, this is 5 more animals for South America which we have been asking for more South American animals for a long time now. So sheer quantity wise it's a big improvement, and we get many of these are found in Central America too, which is also cool.
Okay sorry for rambling, I just came down hard on this pack this morning and it's because I have such strong feelings for it and what it could have been. on to the rankings
White Faced Saki: 8/10 - I'm not, I repeat NOT complaining about it because dang it we finally get a second new world monkey for the game. It's a very unexpected choice, though, which is why it's only an 8. The community has mainly talked about Howlers, Spider, and Squirrel Monkeys as well as Tamarins, so it is a baffling choice why this particular one was chosen. Especially when, as a new world monkey, it's one of the two animals in here doing the heavy lifting. I could hope we get one more before support is up, but I'm very doubtful on that. Still, I'm glad it was chosen over say the Mara or ABB (or even the Coati since NWM have been a priority even over that).
Greater Rhea - 8/10 - The other heavy lifter, which is kind of weird when you think that it's a cloneish-type animal. But it's been highly requested and we finally have an animal from Patagonia!! That's very exciting inof itself. And it's another bird and a New World one at that. No real complaints here....my want for it was not as strong as the community's overall, so it doesn't rank any higher.
Bush Dog - 7/10 - Surprise! Not one of my most wanted animals, but this one is unexpectedly leaving me very interested. I am a big canine fan though so it's understandable. I really cannot complain about its inclusion. And I know its pups are going to be absolutely adorable.
American Flamingo - 6/10 - Another bird and that's great, even if not the most exciting one in my opinion. Still, a second new world bird no less and it would be understandable to include an easier one like this IF there were other animals that required a lot of work.
Bighorn Sheep 5/10 - this one was a lot higher on my wish list a few years ago but kind of dropped off. Getting it now isn't....bad....but it's also not that exciting. I would have much rather had the Southern Pudu as our ungulate, for a second Patagonian representative, but that's just me.
Ocelot 5/10 - What to say about this one. It's not a bad animal and was even kind of expected at one point. But I think with the rest of roster tease, there was hope maybe we'd get around getting it. Still, it's a big precense in South America, and it really does look good.
Coyote - 4/10 - like the Bighorn, this was a lot higher on my list in previous years. I was fine with it with the teaser reveal, but I wrongly assumed we'd be getting a Coati for sure. My fault. I shouldn't have assumed, but I know I'm not the only one who did. And while I'm a big canine fan, I could have done with the Bush Dog instead of this one. There was no need for two canines when there were so many other choices out there.
To sum up one thing here, I think the thing for me is that there wasn't a single animal on here that was near the top of my want list. The Rhea is the only one. And we did get a monkey of some sort of course. Now, I know I've been very lucky with past picks and am grateful for all the animals I have wanted to have made it in. But excluding Barnyard with it's very niche theme, this is the first pack that's come out since SEA that hasn't had a single animal in my top 10 wants. And only the Rhea from my entire top 30. it just feels like there's not a lot for me here. Which is sad when you consider it's the theme I've been looking the most forward to for a long time.
Meaning?
Fewer people working on bringing us animals. Instead of 3 months, they now need half a year to complete a DLC. And also less possibilities of complex animals that would need lots of new animations to flow properly. Possibly no free update content either.
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Replace the Coyote, Bighorn Sheep and Ocelot with the Coati, Black Howler Monkey and Kinkajou and it would have been an instant buy from me
I've sat on this for the day, and I'm still not happy, but I can at least acknowledge that my unhappiness is purely because of the coyote. Everything else I'm fine with. I do think the flamingo should have been a contender for a free update, but that's clearly a pipe dream at this point. It just blows me away that we got the peccary for free (and the red deer, mind you) but we're paying for a new flamingo. How does that make sense? That said, there's clearly no pattern in what can/can't be a free anniversary gift.
I'm excited for the white-faced saki. I've said this before - it's not the monkey I wanted, nor the one we needed, but it is a monkey and that counts for something. The rhea is good-looking, too, and I can see myself putting together a habitat that includes it (rhea + capybara + giant anteater?) even if I'm not actually excited by it. And the ocelot I'll probably find a place for, too - though like others I'm eagerly anticipating the serval arriving should support continue. It's the single cat I desperately need - closely followed by the Eurasian wildcat.
I don't have much to say about the bighorn. Like the Dall, it will remain unused, I suspect (I actually really like the Dall sheep but since we got the ibex and markhor and takin I just don't have much of a place for it anymore). And just like the ocelot, there's an African variation I want much more - the Barbary sheep. So here's hoping.
The bush dog is good. I'm glad the Amazon River is a bit more fleshed out now. Between these guys, the giant otter, the capybara, and the caimans, this will be a fun concept to build for (with the monkeys, and the Baird's tapir as a stand-in for its Brazilian cousin).
The coyote can eat rocks, though. I honestly would have even preferred the guanaco.
I'm excited for the white-faced saki. I've said this before - it's not the monkey I wanted, nor the one we needed, but it is a monkey and that counts for something. The rhea is good-looking, too, and I can see myself putting together a habitat that includes it (rhea + capybara + giant anteater?) even if I'm not actually excited by it. And the ocelot I'll probably find a place for, too - though like others I'm eagerly anticipating the serval arriving should support continue. It's the single cat I desperately need - closely followed by the Eurasian wildcat.
I don't have much to say about the bighorn. Like the Dall, it will remain unused, I suspect (I actually really like the Dall sheep but since we got the ibex and markhor and takin I just don't have much of a place for it anymore). And just like the ocelot, there's an African variation I want much more - the Barbary sheep. So here's hoping.
The bush dog is good. I'm glad the Amazon River is a bit more fleshed out now. Between these guys, the giant otter, the capybara, and the caimans, this will be a fun concept to build for (with the monkeys, and the Baird's tapir as a stand-in for its Brazilian cousin).
The coyote can eat rocks, though. I honestly would have even preferred the guanaco.
No animals in packs that were announced before release date had and could be replaced. I doubt telling them to replace animals in packs could happen.