Winter DLC Speculation

I know it feels like me begging for more Oceanian rep is almost all I do on this forum
Hey that’s my job!

I know one pack isn’t going to solve the region’s underrepresentation, but I’m hoping for a nice little boost similarly to what Twilight gave to NA.
I actually think that, unlike South America, Oceania could be brought to “well represented” status through a single pack, especially now that spaces have been opened up thanks to the wombat and platypus already being added. An Oceania Animal Pack with a roster like devil, kiwi, tree kangaroo, wallaby, emu, little penguin and echidna (and hopefully tuatara for exhibit) would both double the region’s habitat roster and address most of the major wants from the area. It’d be comparable to how well North America was filled out by the NA pack. There’d still be a lot more from Oceania that could be added down the line of course (quoll, bilby, many more macropods, takahe, black swan, kagu, nene, crowned pigeon, a monitor lizard etc) but that’d at least solve the region’s glaring lack of representation.

I don’t consider an Oceania pack at all likely anymore, but an Island Pack/Animal Pack would have great potential in being a little sneaky Oceania booster pack in the same way Twilight was for NA. Given Oceania is not only poorly represented but literally defined by being a group of islands in a particular corner of the world (not a real continent at all) I don’t see why species from the region shouldn’t have priority in the roster of such a pack.
 
I think Australia is decently well presented, though I agree there are still some flagship animals that could get added given time.
-Emu(Desert/Grassland pack)(Highly requested and really missing in the roster, would have a habitat bonus with the Red kangaroo. Not only a flagship animal for Australia, but also for birds, as we lack a lot of birds.)
-Wallaby(Desert/Grassland) (Yellow-footed rock/bennet/Swamp(walkthrough)(1 more of the Kangaroo family would make it complete, maybe 2? but I'm not gonna put my hopes too high up.)
-Echidna(Grassland/forest) (thought I personally think it's quite unlikely we ever get one, but who knows. It would be a welcome small addition to the roster.)
-Tree kangaroo(Rainforest/Arboreal?)(Goodfellow/Matschie's) (Would make for a welcome addition to any zoos.)
-Tasmanian devil(Forest/Island)(Not really an amazing fan of the Tas, but would still be a lovely addition.)
-Kiwi(Forest/Island) (Lack of birds and the kiwi would make for an amazing addition to the roster and a welcome representation of New Zealand.)

As for other animals like a swan, penguin, pelican, perentie. All would be welcome, but I don't think as highly requested as the animals above. There are more pelican species, more penguin species and such, but we can't have everything sadly :)
 
I think Australia is decently well presented, though I agree there are still some flagship animals that could get added given time.
-Emu(Desert/Grassland pack)(Highly requested and really missing in the roster, would have a habitat bonus with the Red kangaroo. Not only a flagship animal for Australia, but also for birds, as we lack a lot of birds.)
-Wallaby(Desert/Grassland) (Yellow-footed rock/bennet/Swamp(walkthrough)(1 more of the Kangaroo family would make it complete, maybe 2? but I'm not gonna put my hopes too high up.)
-Echidna(Grassland/forest) (thought I personally think it's quite unlikely we ever get one, but who knows. It would be a welcome small addition to the roster.)
-Tree kangaroo(Rainforest/Arboreal?)(Goodfellow/Matschie's) (Would make for a welcome addition to any zoos.)
-Tasmanian devil(Forest/Island)(Not really an amazing fan of the Tas, but would still be a lovely addition.)
-Kiwi(Forest/Island) (Lack of birds and the kiwi would make for an amazing addition to the roster and a welcome representation of New Zealand.)

As for other animals like a swan, penguin, pelican, perentie. All would be welcome, but I don't think as highly requested as the animals above. There are more pelican species, more penguin species and such, but we can't have everything sadly :)
That roster would bring me so much joy 🤩
Especially Echidna - just love those guys and they are not so rare in European zoos as I though before.
1667661579796.jpeg


I think any species of Rockhopper penguin would nicely complement this Oceania pack.
Yes 3 birds, all flightless all amazing and unique 🙂
 
That roster would bring me so much joy 🤩
Especially Echidna - just love those guys and they are not so rare in European zoos as I though before.
View attachment 330897

I think any species of Rockhopper penguin would nicely complement this Oceania pack.
Yes 3 birds, all flightless all amazing and unique 🙂
I really want a rockhopper penguin! To me the game won’t be complete without a crested penguin
 
Hey that’s my job!


I actually think that, unlike South America, Oceania could be brought to “well represented” status through a single pack, especially now that spaces have been opened up thanks to the wombat and platypus already being added. An Oceania Animal Pack with a roster like devil, kiwi, tree kangaroo, wallaby, emu, little penguin and echidna (and hopefully tuatara for exhibit) would both double the region’s habitat roster and address most of the major wants from the area. It’d be comparable to how well North America was filled out by the NA pack. There’d still be a lot more from Oceania that could be added down the line of course (quoll, bilby, many more macropods, takahe, black swan, kagu, nene, crowned pigeon, a monitor lizard etc) but that’d at least solve the region’s glaring lack of representation.

I don’t consider an Oceania pack at all likely anymore, but an Island Pack/Animal Pack would have great potential in being a little sneaky Oceania booster pack in the same way Twilight was for NA. Given Oceania is not only poorly represented but literally defined by being a group of islands in a particular corner of the world (not a real continent at all) I don’t see why species from the region shouldn’t have priority in the roster of such a pack.
With the wombat added that is my critical addition i had to have for Oceania, but the region still needs representation badly- emu, Tasmanian devil and a tree kangaroo are still ib my top 10, a wallaby is common in many zoos, and New Zealand still needs representation with a kiwi at very least. That’s 5 animals right there, so it would be very easy to get an animal pack out if it.

Honestly if they were to go back to regional packs, I’d take Oceanian, African and South American animal packs and European, North American and Asian scenery packs. We have a lot of African animals but there’s still so many notable ones missing. To me, NA and Asia are very well represented now.
 
I dunno, I really wamt the black swan. It's very common in zoos, if underrated.
It is (together with the Emu) the only Australian species I see regularly at the Brazilian zoos. So it's even higher on my wishlist than a wallaby.

Besides that, I really think that a highlands pack would be the most fitting option for the next DLC. It offers a great possibility to include a lot of fan favorites, for very different taxa and would boost a biome which really needs more representation (well, I really hope Frontier decides to make it as diverse as we are wanting). For my taste, the best DLC option for this moment.
 
Last edited:
They just got one in Copenhagen, and I was lucky enough to see it last week.
Duisburg and Frankfurt also have some👍
For everyone in the UK who is interested, they are also kept in Paignton. Refering to the Short beaked Echidna and Oh my God is the New Guinea Subspecies kept often.
Long beaked Echidnas also look cool. But those don't seem to be kept outside of Australia

it's even higher on my wishlist than another wallaby.
The famous Giant Red Wallaby 🙃🦘
 
Well at this point is better represented than South America
I don’t even know that I can agree with this. South America certainly needs a higher overall species count at the end of the day to align with how I’d expect to see the two regions represented in a typical American zoo, but you can at least make a basic South American area. Jaguar, anteater, capybara, capuchin, maybe an otter or caiman or tapir. The realistic bare minimums are covered, as much as we desperately need so much more. With Oceania, you can’t even do that. No emu and wallaby mean not even a base level realistic Australian area. Koalas, wombats, and platypus are exceptionally rare in international zoos. So ultimately the options to make a “realistic” international Australian section are practically nonexistent, to say nothing about Oceania as a whole or how a native section would look within the region. I think it needs far fewer species to reach a satisfying level, but it needs those species way more than South America does.
 
😲 There are Echidnas in european Zoos? Didn't expect that at all
New Guinea short-beaked echidna is actually the most common one. It is extant in 12 zoos around Europe. It’s actually more than all species of wombat summed up together which is just 9.
 
New Guinea short-beaked echidna is actually the most common one. It is extant in 12 zoos around Europe. It’s actually more than all species of wombat summed up together which is just 9.
🤔 Probably not the same Animal Exportation Law as in Australia
 
I think Australia is decently well presented, though I agree there are still some flagship animals that could get added given time.
-Emu(Desert/Grassland pack)(Highly requested and really missing in the roster, would have a habitat bonus with the Red kangaroo. Not only a flagship animal for Australia, but also for birds, as we lack a lot of birds.)
-Wallaby(Desert/Grassland) (Yellow-footed rock/bennet/Swamp(walkthrough)(1 more of the Kangaroo family would make it complete, maybe 2? but I'm not gonna put my hopes too high up.)
-Echidna(Grassland/forest) (thought I personally think it's quite unlikely we ever get one, but who knows. It would be a welcome small addition to the roster.)
-Tree kangaroo(Rainforest/Arboreal?)(Goodfellow/Matschie's) (Would make for a welcome addition to any zoos.)
-Tasmanian devil(Forest/Island)(Not really an amazing fan of the Tas, but would still be a lovely addition.)
-Kiwi(Forest/Island) (Lack of birds and the kiwi would make for an amazing addition to the roster and a welcome representation of New Zealand.)

As for other animals like a swan, penguin, pelican, perentie. All would be welcome, but I don't think as highly requested as the animals above. There are more pelican species, more penguin species and such, but we can't have everything sadly :)
These animals would be great to complete oceania rooster
 
I dunno, I really want the black swan. It's very common in zoos, if underrated.
Agree with this. It isn’t a lock in my Oceania Animal Pack (which I no longer consider a realistic possibility fwiw), but it definitely fights it out for the 7th spot. Bennett’s wallaby, emu, Tasmanian devil, North Island brown kiwi, Matschie’s tree kangaroo, and short-beaked echidna absolutely take the first six slots. The last one fluctuates between the black swan, rockhopper penguin, and the numbat as a 100% bias pick.
 
Oceania is a very beautiful place to think about, and more now with the recently added common wombat. So, if Oceania gets more representations, this animals can be wonderful or even must choices:

-Tasmanian Devil. I don´t need to give explications of why this incredible animal should came to the game.
-Emu. Another bird representation and a must in almost every zoo.
-Goodfellow´s Tree Kangaroo. There are other species of tree kangaroos, but this one is my favourite. Very unique addition to tropical zones.
-North Island Brown Kiwi. The cutest terrestrial bird and a must have for New Zeland sections.
-Bennet/Yellow-Footed Rock Wallabies. I can´t have a choice between this 2. They are so representative for Oceania.
-Echidna. I don´t care for the species, with an echidna i can be happy. Such a unique species and the last monotreme for the game collection.
-Little Blue Penguin. Penguins are so cool, and have this species can be so cool.
-Tuataras. A very unique and prehistoric reptile. Very nice if they come to the game.

Oceania is behind South America my favorite region, and we need more representations of such a place
 
I don’t even know that I can agree with this. South America certainly needs a higher overall species count at the end of the day to align with how I’d expect to see the two regions represented in a typical American zoo, but you can at least make a basic South American area. Jaguar, anteater, capybara, capuchin, maybe an otter or caiman or tapir. The realistic bare minimums are covered, as much as we desperately need so much more. With Oceania, you can’t even do that. No emu and wallaby mean not even a base level realistic Australian area. Koalas, wombats, and platypus are exceptionally rare in international zoos. So ultimately the options to make a “realistic” international Australian section are practically nonexistent, to say nothing about Oceania as a whole or how a native section would look within the region. I think it needs far fewer species to reach a satisfying level, but it needs those species way more than South America does.
But once we do get an emu and a wallaby, australia jumps to "good representation" category, as it will have 10 habitat species at the least. It's a really weird case.
 
That roster would bring me so much joy 🤩
Especially Echidna - just love those guys and they are not so rare in European zoos as I though before.
1667661579796.jpeg
I think short-beaked echidnas are really underrated as a potential addition to PZ - they deserve to be a lot higher than 40th on the metawishlist IMO. They just have so much going for them:
  • Completes the monotremes
  • Occurs in an extraordinary variety of habitats (rainforests, deserts, grasslands, forests, alpine regions etc)
  • Simultaneously provide representation for Tasmania, mainland Australia and New Guinea
  • Perfect for outdoor, indoor and nocturnal habitats
  • Aren't that uncommon in international zoos by Oceanian animal standards
  • Are an extremely common animal in Australian zoos
  • Are a great species in mixed species enclosures (the vast majority of echidnas I've seen in zoos have been kept alongside a variety of other species).

I think any species of Rockhopper penguin would nicely complement this Oceania pack.
Yes 3 birds, all flightless all amazing and unique 🙂
While I love rockhoppers, they're about as Oceanian as the king penguin is. I would be very disappointed if they were added in an Oceania pack over the little penguin, which is both much more representative of the region and the only penguin for building realistic zoos in Australia and New Zealand.

Long beaked Echidnas also look cool. But those don't seem to be kept outside of Australia
Here they are also vanishingly rare - there's a single individual left at Taronga, named J.R., and he's over 50 years old now. The only other zoo I know of that keeps them is Port Moresby Nature Park, which is Papua New Guinea's only welfare-accredited zoo. Given how threatened they are, especially the western longbeak (and Sir David's of course but we don't even know if they're still around), the lack of a captive insurance population is quite tragic.
 
Back
Top Bottom