Africa Pack: NO BUILDING PIECES, ANIMALS ONLY

tigris115

tigris115
So since the African theme already exists, there is no need for an African DLC to have any building pieces, meaning that it can focus on straight-up animals, no questions asked.

For those not familiar with me, I organized suggestions of many people on this PZ forum and one of the 2 big discords (the one that I'm an admin on) into tiers based on how much priority I think they deserve. I'm mostly going to be taking the roster from the original Zoo Tycoon, alongside animals I think are neat
  1. African leopard
  2. Eastern black rhinoceros
  3. Meerkat
  4. Impala
  5. Nile crocodile
  6. Olive baboon
  7. Eastern black-and-white colobus
  8. Blue wildebeest
  9. Black mamba
  10. Gaboon viper
Here's what else I'd add if Frontier could make a 20 pack DLC (as it's only animals, I'd say 30 USD)
  1. Cape eland
  2. Greater kudu
  3. Grévy's zebra
  4. Helmeted guineafowl
  5. Jackson’s chameleon
  6. Red river hog
  7. Scimitar oryx
  8. Serval
  9. Somali wild donkey
  10. Southern white rhinoceros
 
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paul78

paul78
I agree on some I think I’d rather have a white rhino over the Nile crocodile. Throw in a grey crowned crane or secretary bird. And possibly the hamadryas baboon instead of the olive.
 

Moonfox

Moonfox
My missing pieces from Africa:

  • Meerket
  • Black Rhino
  • White Rhino - I prefer them for the social element of their behaviour
  • Shoebill Stork
  • Secretary bird
  • African crane
  • Fennec Fox
  • Bat-eared fox
  • Fossa
  • Serval
  • Eland
  • Kudu (lesser or greater)
  • Black Mamba
  • Chameleon
  • Colobus monkey
  • Gelada

Pretty much just stole everyone else’s suggestions, but added some others. Africa has so many amazing species. I think once other continents are better represented in game, we can add to Africa. I’m very happy with the species we have so far though! Frontier chose some much needed favourites, as well as some less known and equally amazing species.
 

tigris115

tigris115
I took a lot of animals from the original Zoo Tycoon roster. In terms of animals I really want, they're

  1. One of the 2 African rhinos (I'd prefer black but white is cool)
  2. Either the olive or Hamadryas baboon
  3. Either the caracal or serval
  4. A chameleon
  5. The blue wildebeest (too iconic to leave out)
 

paul78

paul78
I’m pretty sure the black rhino,dromedary camel, and American alligator are all dead giveaways much like the jaguar. Based off the current decor.
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
Seriously, ten animals is insanely ambitious and a very, very high demand. As I keep repeating, Frontier does not have a magic button that they push to instantly produce animals. They are not only giving us four at a time because they want to, that is just how many they can produce of high quality in the time it takes to release the DLC. We also don't know when they started working on the DLC - for all we know it may have been in the works since launch, back in November. At the extreme, probably even before that - so in essence it could have easily taken a year to even get four animals made, perhaps a little less (eight months or so). This isn't information any of us are privy to, but it's ridiculous to assume they can do more in that timeframe if they haven't already.

They have specific people working on specific things, like any company does. Some of their team works on animals, some of their team works on building/scenery pieces, some of their team works on updates to the UI and gameplay features. You can't pull people from one team to another because all of them are working on different things that don't relate to each other. I work in warehousing - it would be silly to put me on a sales call to meet demand because I would have no idea where to begin. Same goes with game development - I doubt the guy making building pieces would know where to start with animals.

Could they hire more people to meet fan demand? Perhaps, but then how would we know? We don't know how they budget. They're beholden to their shareholders anyway so maximising profit is the name of the game. What this means for Frontier specifically isn't something any of us can comment on.
 

paul78

paul78
If I chose 10 assuming 4-5 maybe more made it in I’d pick. And this is tough.
1)Black rhino like I said pretty safe assumption.
2)White rhino more social and looks so iconic imo I’d hate to see a zoo game without them.
3) Secretary Bird
4) either Saddle billed stork or grey crowned crane.
5). Hamadryus baboon
6) Meerkat for sure. Definitely need them in game.
7) Caracal I’d choose them over leopard simply because I’d rather have the Amur subspecies.
8) Blue Wildabeest
9) Fennec Fox
10) Greater Kudu
 

Cynogale bennettii II

Cynogale bennettii II
I think Africa still has enormous potential in Planet Zoo. I have chosen five species (four habitat, one exhibit) on the basis of their threat status (at least a couple of threatened species), taxonomy (not filling the pack with lots of similar species), habitat (ensuring a number of environments get represented) and availability (all the chosen species already occur in captivity):

1. Eastern black rhinoceros - Savannah-Desert, Critically Endangered (kept in 22 European zoos)
2. Fennec fox - Desert, Least Concern (kept in 110 European zoos)
3. Grey crowned crane - Aquatic-Savannah-Tropical, Endangered (kept in 163 European zoos)
4. Red-capped mangabey - Tropical, Endangered (kept in 19 European zoos)
Exhibit animal. Pancake tortoise - Savannah-Desert, Critically Endangered (kept in 80 European zoos)
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
Cynogale bennettii said:
I think Africa still has enormous potential in Planet Zoo. I have chosen five species (four habitat, one exhibit) on the basis of their threat status (at least a couple of threatened species), taxonomy (not filling the pack with lots of similar species), habitat (ensuring a number of environments get represented) and availability (all the chosen species already occur in captivity):

1. Eastern black rhinoceros - Savannah-Desert, Critically Endangered (kept in 22 European zoos)
2. Fennec fox - Desert, Least Concern (kept in 110 European zoos)
3. Grey crowned crane - Aquatic-Savannah-Tropical, Endangered (kept in 163 European zoos)
4. Red-capped mangabey - Tropical, Endangered (kept in 19 European zoos)
Exhibit animal. Pancake tortoise - Savannah-Desert, Critically Endangered (kept in 80 European zoos)
Click to expand...

I'd swap the fennec fox for the meerkat, based purely on the fact that the meerkat is kept in the majority of zoos everywhere, is also Least Concern, and can live in desert as well as grassland biomes so it still fulfils that desert need. Otherwise, that's a solid list I'd get behind. If we're excluding building pieces, of course, it might be reasonable to include one or two more exhibit animals.
 

Cynogale bennettii II

Cynogale bennettii II
NZFanatic said:
I'd swap the fennec fox for the meerkat, based purely on the fact that the meerkat is kept in the majority of zoos everywhere, is also Least Concern, and can live in desert as well as grassland biomes so it still fulfils that desert need. Otherwise, that's a solid list I'd get behind. If we're excluding building pieces, of course, it might be reasonable to include one or two more exhibit animals.
Click to expand...

I ended up choosing the fennec partly on account of its size (I'm not sure what/if there are limits on the minimum size of exhibit animals) and partly personal preference - car insurance adverts here in the UK have completely ruined meerkats for me. A third option for a small African desert carnivore could be the black-footed cat, which seems quite widespread in American zoos and is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Or, for a non-carnivore desert species, there is the African spurred tortoise which is one of (possibly the) most commonly-kept zoo tortoise.
 

Witch King of Angmar

W
Interesting thread.

I believe making a 10-animal only DLC is way too much, unless Frontier suddenly decides to shift to an expansion pack system like in the old Zoo Tycoon games. If they stick to the current way, I can see them adding two Africa-based small DLCs in the long term, each one with its own animals, facilities and building sets.

AFRICA PART 1
Animals
- White or Black Rhinoceros.
I can see Black Rhino probably getting added to Planet Zoo in virtue of its critically endangered status. For gameplay purposes, I'd like to see the White as it's a more social species.
- Meerkat
It's one of the most popular animals they left out in the original roster. It's a staple of most zoos and instantly recognizable. It could be the draw for people to get this DLC in first place. It also could come with new enrichment items like a lookout post or underground shelters.
- Secretary Bird
Mainly because of Zoo Tycoon 2 nostalgia, but also because its a ground-dwelling, large and conspicuous bird of prey. In a game where the current mechanics don't allow for small or high-flying birds, the Secretary Bird could be a small treat for bird enthusiasts (the Shoebill could also fill this slot)
- Hamadryas Baboon
I chose this instead of the Olive Baboon for the sake of biome diversity. It could also tie with the Egyptian building set.
- Black Mamba or Ball Python (Exhibit)
There are a lot of well-known snake species in Africa, yet the only one in the original game IIRC is the puff adder. Why not some more variety? The mamba could be an interesting one because of its reputation. The ball python is one of the most common reptiles in captivity and as such it could come in many color variants.
- Ancient Egyptian Building Set
Besides being suitable for desert themed areas, the abundance of animal motifs in Ancient Egyptian lore could be specially great for statues (gods, etc.) and other scenery items.

AFRICA PART 2
This would be a smaller pack centred on animals and building sets additions.
- Serval.
It's one of the most frequently asked small carnivorans for the game, and would help to tackle the lack of small cats in the original roster.
- Fennec Fox
A charismatic small desert canid that is widespread in captivity and so cute the developers wouldn't miss the chance of marketing a DLC with this critter in the spotlight.
- Greater Kudu
Kudus are one of the most iconic antelopes, thanks to the impressive look of the spiral-horned males. The only downside is that it would be too many antelopes of the same genus (after the Bongo and Nyala). To priorize diversity, maybe the Gerenuk or Addax could take its place.
- Guereza
Adding a rainforest-dwelling arboreal monkey for a change of pace from terrestrial ones like Mandrill and (hypotethically) baboons. Besides, colobus monkeys just have a striking appearance.
- Panther Chameleon (Exhibit)
Chameleons are missed in the original roster, so adding the colorful Panther one to boost the lizard diversity and having at least one creature for Madagascar (speaking of which, I seriously considered the Fossa in one of these slots, but I think it could be better served for an Island-themed DLC).
- Expanded African Building Set
They could add new blueprints based on Zulu or Masai villages, or some jungle-based scenery and building items like Great Zimbabwe ruins.
 

Danny_zoo

Danny_zoo
tigris115 said:
So since the African theme already exists, there is no need for an African DLC to have any building pieces, meaning that it can focus on straight-up animals, no questions asked.

For those not familiar with me, I organized suggestions of many people on this PZ forum and one of the 2 big discords (the one that I'm an admin on) into tiers based on how much priority I think they deserve. I'm mostly going to be taking the roster from the original Zoo Tycoon, alongside animals I think are neat
  1. African leopard
  2. Eastern black rhinoceros
  3. Meerkat
  4. Impala
  5. Nile crocodile
  6. Olive baboon
  7. Eastern black-and-white colobus
  8. Blue wildebeest
  9. Black mamba
  10. Gaboon viper
Here's what else I'd add if Frontier could make a 20 pack DLC (as it's only animals, I'd say 30 USD)
  1. Cape eland
  2. Greater kudu
  3. Grévy's zebra
  4. Helmeted guineafowl
  5. Jackson’s chameleon
  6. Red river hog
  7. Scimitar oryx
  8. Serval
  9. Somali wild donkey
  10. Southern white rhinoceros
Click to expand...


The pieces that are provided by frontier in this game are of such importance to its identity, that they come second to almost nothing. However when it comes to this pack, I do agree with you, that more animals at the expense of sacrificing building pieces would be an easy trade off, at least for me. Maybe trow in a few plant species, sorry can't help, we can never have enough of those. But otherwise I'm with you 100%. I do love your choice in species, my only suggestion would be to interchange some of the ones in the bottom pack and moved them up. While the Nile Crocodile and Blue Wildebeest are beautiful additions, given the fact, that it seems each DLC has a very limited roster, and there already very similar species in the game, I would choose the Eland and Kudu. These two magnificent antelopes are like none in the game, they are very unique. Also the Red river hog, Serval and Scimitar Oryx would be very welcomed. I will not comment on the bird as I have a special interest in them being added to the game, and my response would be far to long for this thread. If interested in African bird species that would not require frontier to create new and seemingly difficult flight mechanics. check out this thread. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/birds-and-their-endless-possibilites.539444/
 

Danny_zoo

Danny_zoo
paul78 said:
Also the African leopard isn’t a very popular zoo animal compared to some other subspecies.
Click to expand...

You are quite correct Paul, especially here in the U.S, it is almost impossible to find any African Leopards. Now, since as you have explained to me quite a few times, everything in this game does not necessarily need to abide by real life time frames and limitations, so why not this? I will make my point, let us say Frontier only does one continent pack/DLC, and based on everything we have seen and all of what you have taught me, it is highly likely at this point. Eventually they will hopefully move on to integrating new mechanics and a possible avian and aquatic DLC, and the continents do buy them time, so they will roll them out first. Here is the issue, again based on their timelines and the lower set of expectations that you have advocated for and I have resigned myself to, that would mean, one African and one Asian DLC. If I was a gambling man I would say that when you wrote this you were thinking of an Asian Leopard Sub species, and why wouldn't you, they are in fact the ones that visitors are more likely to find in Zoos, especially in the U.S. In addition, the melanistic leopards commonly found in South East Asian jungles would also come into play and now you have a much more interesting addition. The problem here is that Asia also has the enigmatic and dare i say breathtaking Clouded Leopard. Now Paul, you will agree with me on this, knowing Frontier and especially if they keep bringing out four animal dlc's there is no way that two leopards make it into the roster, so what then? Of course these are all assumptions and suppositions, since Frontier could very well changer their course of action, and start adding more animals or more make several DLC's in relation to a continent. There is also the possibility of a pack that includes only animals, as someone here mentioned that this happened with the coaster game.
 

Danny_zoo

Danny_zoo
FoxyDee said:
What I would like to see from Africa:

Meerkat
Fennec fox
Secretary bird
Honey badger
White rhino
Generuk
Porcupine
Fossa if madagascar could be included
And chameleon for exhibit.
Click to expand...

FoxyDee I suggested to Frontier in one of my many dissertations to them that even though Madagascar is obviously not a continent, in the zoo world it is often treated as such. Since such a large number of the animal and plant species found there, exist no where else in the world. I would love to advocate again for Madagascar to be given special consideration as a DLC. We might be in luck, since not everything that is reasonable or popular in real life zoos makes it into this game, but lemurs happen to be a big hit with one of the community managers and who knows, maybe she joins the cause and makes a case for a DLC. :rolleyes:
 

Danny_zoo

Danny_zoo
NZFanatic said:
Seriously, ten animals is insanely ambitious and a very, very high demand. As I keep repeating, Frontier does not have a magic button that they push to instantly produce animals. They are not only giving us four at a time because they want to, that is just how many they can produce of high quality in the time it takes to release the DLC. We also don't know when they started working on the DLC - for all we know it may have been in the works since launch, back in November. At the extreme, probably even before that - so in essence it could have easily taken a year to even get four animals made, perhaps a little less (eight months or so). This isn't information any of us are privy to, but it's ridiculous to assume they can do more in that timeframe if they haven't already.

They have specific people working on specific things, like any company does. Some of their team works on animals, some of their team works on building/scenery pieces, some of their team works on updates to the UI and gameplay features. You can't pull people from one team to another because all of them are working on different things that don't relate to each other. I work in warehousing - it would be silly to put me on a sales call to meet demand because I would have no idea where to begin. Same goes with game development - I doubt the guy making building pieces would know where to start with animals.

Could they hire more people to meet fan demand? Perhaps, but then how would we know? We don't know how they budget. They're beholden to their shareholders anyway so maximising profit is the name of the game. What this means for Frontier specifically isn't something any of us can comment on.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you and the magic button are right. I once had a customer who wanted a large collection of flamingos for a diorama, I do not recall the exact number, but it was quite a flock. At the time I was also working a full time job with Rainforest, an international zoo immersion design company that had quite a schedule, since we were working on the first ever of its kind animal park in Europe. I remember one day, the client must have lost patience and sent me an email requesting a specific date of completion for the flock, I honestly had none in mind. She asked me what was needed for me to fulfill her demand in her own time frame, I simply replied, someone else to help me, since there are only so many hours in the day. Now this is coming from someone that has been very expressive in this forum about Frontier hiring help, something that I hear they are reluctant to do. But here is the thing, I remember that client offered to pay more, to cover the cost of any additional expenses if the order could be fulfilled, she suggested i went and got the help. But that is easier said than done, since it would have taken me far too long to train someone in the specific methods of my work, it just would have not been the same. Maybe that is why Frontier is not a big fan of bringing in outside talent, maybe they do not want to compromise the quality of their work.
 
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