What’s Next For Planet Zoo
- Thread starter Aidan635
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But PZ has out preformed PC and I think JWE in sales, so that wouldn't really make sense
As a project manager you allocate resources, but there's a forecast/estimated/target revenue. If revenue is not met, then you reduce your resources to continue developing the game - and those resources are placed on other projects.
The fact that sales were better than PlanCo is not necessarily relevant. PlanCo was launched 4 years ago, competing face to face with Roller Coaster Tycoon and they had other revenue targets. Their clients base was much smaller compared to the PZ market.
JWE had way bigger sales in the same timeframe (at least x2 IIRC).
The sentence used in Frontier annual report regarding PZ sales is very,... let's say, interesting - which to me looks like they are bellow estimations/targets.
All the delays in DLCs, slow bug fixing (there are very minor bug which should be fixed in a couple of days), nothing for the anniversary,... just suggest a lack of available resources.
It doesn't make sense, but I totally get where Tobs is coming from. Maybe we have not enough insight, that can very well be the case. But at the end of the day, not every business decision is a good one and no company is immune to messing up. EA took the revenue from one of their two most successful franchise and invested in other games instead, cutting corners with their main games. It didn't make sense too and it lead to a franchise being a marketing joke.
There is a chance for Frontier to show people like Tobs are wrong after the anniversary and in the coming year. Lets hope they read the room. After yesterday it can only go uphill in my book. Worse would only be them stopping producing content for PZ next year.
Kinda true when looking at the steamdb's history. However, I don't see Frontier missing the holiday season with this game, the only current content besides Planco console ed. following in a fe day's time.
I think just saying something like...
"Hey PlanZoo fam. Due to complications bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we're a bit slow in terms of making new content and updates. However, we will keep in touch with you all. Thank you for your continued support during these trying times."
would help a lot. We're understanding people, just give us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
"Hey PlanZoo fam. Due to complications bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we're a bit slow in terms of making new content and updates. However, we will keep in touch with you all. Thank you for your continued support during these trying times."
would help a lot. We're understanding people, just give us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
I'll definitely circle around and comment that while it's great we got an update, there's still not a lot of communication about what's coming. Also did something happen yesterday relating to potential anniversary content? I know the thread is closed now but was something confirmed to be or not to be coming? Sorry, if that's against the rules to ask because the threads closed, not trying to stir up any trouble, just didn't want to miss something. Thanks!
Don't worry, you are not breaking any rules. Chanté told us that we won't get an anniversary update. There will be social media activities on that day, but no content.
Ah, thank you. That's disappointing, but it is what it is. Definitely no outrage or anything here. I was suspecting but not expecting.
Well, is there any indication that they are slow because maybe even the current DLC time-line was planned before this all happened?
I'm not saying it couldn't
but this is an assumption by some members of this forum.
Frontier announced it for Elite Dangerous when content was delayed. As long as that doesn't happen, they are on schedule? (seems like a fair assumption)
Also a fair point. But they also missed the summer break when they released Australia DLC after this.
Just fooling around
. Basically you can create an argument for every situation.I sort of get the feeling something big is coming, potentially something we don't expect. I think a lot of people, including myself, have been operating under the assumption we're gonna get either a North America or Europe dlc with 4 animals, 1 exhibit and a ton of scenery, but I'm now wondering if this will be the case. Perhaps bigger things are in store for us, who knows?
I'm in the group thinking either NA, Europe or possibly an African supportive pack, but I'll be honest if they went ahead and gave us coastal and quasi-marine but not fully marine animals like penguins, seals, otters I would be THRILLED.
I would so as well, however, I don't think we will get them this year. Decembre would be an odd choice for coastal animals, but maybe I'm just too much caught in me associating ocean with summer. It would not pay up for the anniversary, but it would definately make me very very excited and happy.
However, I basically wrote this year off in terms of improvment of anything Planet Zoo related, may it be DLCs , communication, PR, anything. If they proof me wrong, good.I'll be the first to praise them again.
I certainly don't think it's fair to write the game off because of a lack of an anniversary update, but like Swjos I don't think we should expect too much out of this year.
Personally I still firmly believe that the Covid interruption defenestrated a lot of their plans. The impact the pandemic has had on continuity amd forward progress cannot be understated. This hasn't really been the year to hope for or expect big things, IMO.
I'm not
. Last DLC was only 2 months ago. Going with the assumption of a december update. 4 months could be similar to Australia DLC content.The 3 updates + 3 DLC did give us an impression what to expect.
I really hope you're right. And after 1 year, it is fair to think game-changing mechanics could be introduced. Some users will always find a reason to justify Frontier actions. That's totally fair and understandable. But truth is, if a major update + DLC are coming in December, that doesn't mean they've put the same amount of time on it as in the other updates/DLCs. Take diving mechanics for instance. They could have been working on that even during the full game developmnet. Underwater viewing barriers, enrichment items flotability and so on suggest something was at least tested on that regard more than 1 year ago.
That being said, chances that we'll get another continent-DLC by the end of the year are pretty high though.
oh I don't think we will for the next DLC either. I do think they'll likely come along at some point hopefully next year, but with the additional rig designs and unique animations I think it'll take at least that long. I'd say most likely are the other three I mentioned. I mainly want Africa to get Meerkats, but other than that I'd want Europe or NA more. And of course, it could be something completely unique.
Who knows for sure since they refuse to communicate anything regarding future plans, covid delays or the such. It is only members in these forums making excuses for them. They haven't even said Covid has slowed them down. They haven't really said anything, that is the problem.
Plenty of other major companies are doing just fine with releases and dlcs, and if Covid caused a delay they say so along with providing a roadmap of some sort (real shocker here, I know).
"But Frontier does not do roadmaps!"
(No, this is no argument in my book, but it is always stated as one).Personally, I'm okay with buying the covid argument for slower dlc progression (I still think the australia pack was delayed, but without clear communication we can only guess), but not for the anniversary or the way it is planned.
According to Chanté we'll at least hear something "soon", and I am brave enough to assume that "soon" is this year.
It sure was / is a hard year for all of us, including everyone who works at Frontier. But it's not only the pandemics fault that it was not an amazing year for Planet Zoo.
Was she not referring to 1.3.4? That's what I assumed.
As for the rest, "Frontier doesn't do roadmaps" is absolutely an argument. It's a characteristic of their operation. As I've said before, expecting them to do so now is assuming that PZ players are somehow more special or in higher regard than players of PC, JWE, or Elite. We aren't, in the slightest. Why would they suddenly make an exception now? Because we want them to? That's just kind of silly.