Nocturnal Animal Pack DLC/Update 1.11 Speculation

[Bearcat9948]

I was one of the people who originally suggest the nocturnal pack coming either in the fall or winter as one of the two dlc left this year, and while I do think it's entirely possible, I also want to throw out that they could do something like a Drylands Animal pack as a counterbalance to the Wetland Animals pack from the spring. That pack was conceived to add a bunch of highly requested animals (platypus, capybara, crane (it's a new type of bird)). Same with the Conservation pack, that added 3 highly requested animals united by a common theme.

A Drylands pack gives a ton of leeway as to what could be added. It could include all types of deserts (arid, xeric, alpine), scrublands/Mediterranean climate, dry tropical forests, savannahs etc. There's a significant amount of animals that are highly requested that fall under that wide of a scope, including Tasmanian devils, wombats, maned wolves, crested porcupines, emus, secretary birds, fossa, coatimundi, certain species of howler monkeys apply, Hamadryas baboons, caracals and so forth.

 

[Doran]

I think no matter definitions or any map (also what iucn says) tasmanian devil just dont live in drylands.
Also with dry tropical forests included in such concept there are apparently around 170 primates to chose from.

 

[Bearcat9948]

I think no matter definitions or any map (also what iucn says) tasmanian devil just dont live in drylands.
Also with dry tropical forests included in such concept there are apparently around 170 primates to chose from.

Edit: I misread what you said.

They do live in dry tropical forests. In Australia, where they are being reintroduced, this was a biome they dominated before becoming locally extinct. But now they're back. and breeding. It's just a small population right now but 20 years from now there will be a significant population.

 

[Antimony96]

Considering both the meta-wishlist and what I think is realizable in PZ:

1. Tasmanian devil
2. Red river hog
3. Common raccoon
4. Fossa
5. Ocelot
6. African crested porcupine
7. North Island brown kiwi
8. Tokay gecko (exhibit)

 

[MetalMaster1990]

My quote in a previous thread.

There's actually a theory on Reddit that talks about this and honestly a Nocturnal Animal pack sounds like the most solid at this point. PZ YouTubers are starting to agree that a Nocturnal Animal pack seems to be the most sensical. Headline animal would be the Tasmanian Devil(#1 animal on the Wishlist), Another animal would be the African Crested Porcupine(1. #3 on the wishlist, 2. There was something datamined in I think Update 1.8/Europe Pack that pertains to a Porcupine, and 3. There was an interview on a UK game website with someone on the PZ staff around the Conservation pack release and they're talking about wanting a Porcupine added to PZ eventually) 3rd animal could be a Sloth, Exhibit animal could be like the Eyelash Viper or Tokay Gecko or something(we've only had one reptile as the exhibit DLC and I want more!), the 4th animal will most likely be a cat(see options below) and the other animals in the pack could be any of the Following. Fossa, Caracal, Asiatic Lion, Wombat, Maned Wolf, Racoon, Kiwi, Bandicoot, Honey Badger, Coyote, Quoll, Striped Hyena, Ocelot, Red River Hog, Slow Loris, Kinkajou, an Armadillo, a fox, a Jackal, Bobcat or Sandcat.

 

[TheYeti]

I just had the thought that another reason why a Nocturnal pack may make sense is that they can focus on climbing behaviours for two packs in a row.

I think this would especially make sense given that we got 4 updates in a row expanding on underground behaviour: we saw the introduction of digging in the Africa DLC, after which North America gave us two more digging animals, including the arctic fox with its unique jumping behaviour. Following that, the European DLC introduced burrowing behaviour and Wetlands gave us smaller burrows and the platypus which uses them.

The Conservation DLC introduced branchiation items to be used only by the siamang, which is striking as most new behaviours are introduced for at least one more species. I think there is a good chance they will build further on arboreal behaviour and make some more animals that climb trees, but with more unique animations. Nocturnal animals like sloths, tarsiers, lorises, kinkajus and New World porcupines would be great options to expand on climbing.

 

[Dylan Smith]

I’d really love some fruit bats.

They need a flying animation though don’t they.

 

[jcp011c]

I'd be up for a Nocturnal Pack, with varying degrees of happiness depending on the roster.

Tasmanian Devil seems like it would be a sure bet for this type of pack.
Kiwi seems like it should be another likely inclusion, but not absolute
Porcupines are mostly nocturnal, so that could be another likely inclusion.
Raccoons would be another great suggestion (as would opossums even though they're not quite as popularly requested)

People have mentioned Maned Wolfs, Red River Hogs and Wombats. These are all popular animals but including all three seems like too much to expect along with the TD and Porcupine. That's heavily leaning on the meta-list. Which isn't a bad thing from our point of view, just knocks out more animals for the future.

Wombats are Nocturnal and Crespular. Decent chance and I'd love it as it's the only animal left that's an absolute must have for me.
Maned Wolf are Crespular/Twilight - not so much Nocturnal apparent. Might can stretch it due to its popularity.
Red River Hogs can be nocturnal or crespular, but are most active during the day. Of the three this seems the least likely to be included.

Still - Tasmanian Devil, Kiwi, Porcupine, Raccoon, Opossum, Wombat, Maned Wolf and a habitat animal. This would be a nice pack lineup, but it lacks one thing - a larger animal. I don't mean more popular, but large. All packs have had at least one larger animal, though the Ibex and Grey Seal were probably on the smaller side of that.

 

[Aramar]

I'd be up for a Nocturnal Pack, with varying degrees of happiness depending on the roster.

Tasmanian Devil seems like it would be a sure bet for this type of pack.
Kiwi seems like it should be another likely inclusion, but not absolute
Porcupines are mostly nocturnal, so that could be another likely inclusion.
Raccoons would be another great suggestion (as would opossums even though they're not quite as popularly requested)

People have mentioned Maned Wolfs, Red River Hogs and Wombats. These are all popular animals but including all three seems like too much to expect along with the TD and Porcupine. That's heavily leaning on the meta-list. Which isn't a bad thing from our point of view, just knocks out more animals for the future.

Wombats are Nocturnal and Crespular. Decent chance and I'd love it as it's the only animal left that's an absolute must have for me.
Maned Wolf are Crespular/Twilight - not so much Nocturnal apparent. Might can stretch it due to its popularity.
Red River Hogs can be nocturnal or crespular, but are most active during the day. Of the three this seems the least likely to be included.

Still - Tasmanian Devil, Kiwi, Porcupine, Raccoon, Opossum, Wombat, Maned Wolf and a habitat animal. This would be a nice pack lineup, but it lacks one thing - a larger animal. I don't mean more popular, but large. All packs have had at least one larger animal, though the Ibex and Grey Seal were probably on the smaller side of that.

Could the wild boar be big enough? I think they are also nocturnal animals.

 

[jcp011c]

Could the wild boar be big enough? I think they are also nocturnal animals.

That's definitely a possibility. Reading that the male boar gets to ~220 lbs and female ~180 lbs, so while that's smaller than the male ibex, it's larger than the female ibex. It could probably work. Red Kangaroos get around 200 lbs as well - forgot about them but they're the "biggest " animal in the Australia pack.

Polar Bear/Llama/Gray Seal/Malayan Tapir/White Southern Rhino/Moose/Wild Water Buffalo/Prezwalski's Horse are the largest animals in their respective packs, I believe, and they're all going to be "bigger" than the wild boar would be.

 

[jcp011c]

oh! Sorry for the double post but something came to mind. Someone mentioned bats on here, and while they'd be perfect for a nocturnal pack, they'd need to have flying mechanics.

What if....if they did give us a bat and introduce flying mechanics to the base game that way. And then, that could potentially/probably lead into a full on avian DLC for December. Just thinking aloud here.

 

[Przemo]

oh! Sorry for the double post but something came to mind. Someone mentioned bats on here, and while they'd be perfect for a nocturnal pack, they'd need to have flying mechanics.

What if....if they did give us a bat and introduce flying mechanics to the base game that way. And then, that could potentially/probably lead into a full on avian DLC for December. Just thinking aloud here.

In my opinion, as if they were to give flying animals, they can even have only an animation system

 

[Bearcat9948]

Could the wild boar be big enough? I think they are also nocturnal animals.

Not if it's a Nocturnal House pack. If it's just a Nocturnal Animals pack that opens it up a lot more.

 

[Moonfox]

I have absolutely no idea what to expect, the last few packs have been out of absolutely nowhere and were wonderfully surprising. One of my favourite things about Planet Zoo packs is that the animal choices are a mix of iconic must-haves and some lesser known but amazing species that are a great left-field addition!

For me, no nocturnal pack would ever work without including a species of flying fox, and an owl (I'd be fine with flying animals acting as a looped animation, like in JWE). I really feel that those are the two most iconic nocturnal animal choices we could have, and would need.

It could happen, but a nocturnal pack does seem super unlikely to me just because most of the species would be small, as the larger animals are already in game. The choices I keep seeing for nocturnal packs would fit a broad "unusual animal" pack, or something like that.

 

[Orque41]

1) Tasmanian Devil
2) Crested Porcupine
3) Tiger quoll
4) Fossa
5) South African springhare
6) Sand Cat
7) Aye Aye

 

[ralphthestick]

Any nocturnal pack without an aye aye is a nay nay from me (though all is forgiven if they turn up in Islands instead).

 

[Angeł]

Not if it's a Nocturnal House pack. If it's just a Nocturnal Animals pack that opens it up a lot more.

I have a feeling a nocturnal pack would not be limited to strictly nocturnal house species. I have a few reasons for this:

1. Not all players are builders. There are many players who build zoos with only open air habitats because that is the extent of their building skill/want. To introduce nocturnal species that can only be kept in nocturnal houses would knock out a large portion of the game’s player base who simply would not be interested in building large complex buildings to house their animals.

2. We simply don’t have those mechanics. To introduce strictly nocturnal house species, we would have to introduce a mechanic to allow buildings to be completely ‘blackout’. This seems like it would be very hard to do, especially when most players who build these houses just switch to ‘night time’ anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE to see this mechanic introduced, but it seems unlikely.

3. A nocturnal house pack would limit the options for animal inclusion. There are plenty of nocturnal animals that can be houses outdoors, and seen during the day that would be the absolute front-runners for a pack like this (and would quite likely sell the pack to a majority of players). I think that there are definitely some nocturnal house animals that should be included (Aye Aye, North Island Brown Kiwi) but on the whole, there are many more animals that would fit into a ‘Nocturnal’ theme that can be showcased in a variety of habitat formats!

 

[SalamAnders]

Remember how a big group of people felt sure about a tropical or South American animal pack before the Wetlands got announced? And then doing the Livestream before the announcement had happened, they strongly hinted at the capybara and something spectacled. Both fitting the suspected themes, so people felt even more sure about one of those themes. And then.... the wetlands happened.

Before the Conservation Pack, there was a lot of talk about something Asian. Then they teased with leopard spots and.... it was not an Asian-themed pack.

There is probably a good chance that no matter the theme of the pack, at least one of the species in it will be nocturnal.
I am going to call that they will tease with one or two nocturnal species doing the Livestream and then reveal a day or two after that the theme is in fact... something completely different.

 

[NachoB]

Before the Conservation Pack, there was a lot of talk about something Asian. Then they teased with leopard spots and.... it was not an Asian-themed pack.

Well it kind of is since 3 out of 5 animals are from Asia in that pack lol

Jokes aside, i agree. There is no way to guess what the next pack is going to be about. I really like the idea of either forests or nocturnal animals, but as long as i get some of my wishlist animals (or just some animals that i like) i'll be ok with it.

 

[Swiftie_Midnights_]

I definitely think the next dlc will include the Tasmanian devil because the way it looks now frontier is trying to pull down the most wanted animals impressively so it was the capybara the leopard and now I think it's the turn of the Tasmanian devil I would be so happy to see it in the game but the next dlc can also pull dowm the maned wolf or also the African crested porcupine

I think either the next dlc will be rainforest/tropical animal pack or nocturnal animal pack because both can include the tasmanian devil even though there are other options like for example oceania or islands dlc but i think frontier will make a dlc that fits the vibe of the fall and also of Halloween and in addition to that I'm pretty sure that Brachiation will enter another animal in the update like the orangutan or the chimp and then it will be a hint that probably one of the animals in the dlc will have the metal climbing frames which is suitable for the sloth

What's more, we still don't know what it will be, if it's a rainforest or a nocturnal dlc, and I also think that in the stream before the dlc there may be hints of the Tasmanian devil and maybe also the wombat because then it could be like oceania or the outback pack, I think the nocturnal animal pack will probably be the best dlc we've received so far If it includes animals like the Tasmanian devil, crested porcupine, wombat, sloth and many more amazing possibilities so can't wait to see what frontier hold for us in the future or a least in the 2 last dlcs. And also if, for example, Frontier wants to include animals like owls and bats, I think maybe there will be an aviary pack before that, because then if there is the flying mechanic, everyone after that will know that the next dlc will probably be an aviary pack, so if Frontier plans to include such animals like that, I think it will be the last dlc for at least a year This one and then in the fall there will be an aviary, but I have no idea