DLC 19 Speculation

SpookDoc

SpookDoc
Late to the PZ2 discussion, but I think it's worth hopping in on...
random goat said:
This is the key here.
Just to clarify, I did not express what I would like but what I think will reasonably happen, specially given their financial situation. We all want as many animals as possible.

You can compare with JWE2, fair enough, but don't omit the, in my opinion, more reasonable comparison: PC2. JWE is different in so many aspects, and needless to say the DLC potential is not only dependent on Universal say on the matter but also is just simply much more limited compared to PZ.

PC2 brought water rides, pools etc. but did not bring all of PC1 material in terms of themes and rides, not even close.

With PZ(2) it's been proven that they can sell as far as 20 DLCs, if not more, so it is more than reasonable that they will follow a similar strategy. Doing otherwise would be shooting themselves on their feet. I don't think PZ2 would be more successful if it brings 200 animals from the get go instead of 140. PZ2 will be successful if they implement significant improvements to the gameplay, graphics and engine (in that order), including flying, fully aquatics, customisable exhibits, PC2 improvements, etc. even if that implies having 125 animals at the start. I would not expect PZ2 to be a more extended animal collection, it will be, eventually, after all DLCs, but is never going to be their main selling point. If our happiness with the game will be based on having a more "complete" animal collection, we will always, and I mean always, need mods.
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Iben said:
I agree with what you said about variety, but I firmly disagree with the latter part. I'm willing to literally put my hand in the fire over the fact that people who complain today about "another ungulate" will just as easily start complaining about "another shark" or "another vulture". The idea that they'll never run out of material doesn't seem realistic to me at all, they most certainly will.

JWE has the major benefit of dealing with extinct animals, were a hardly known and obscure animal can be made cool and attractive because of the speculative nature of paleo reconstructions. Even the more lesser known animals can become crowd favorites as long as their designs are really cool and unique. Planet Zoo doesn't have that, lesser known and less popular animals are simply less popular and no matter what they try they won't be able to change that.

Wanting every animal from the original in the base game of PZ2, and fish and birds and having a long DLC lifetime is wanting your cake and eat it too.



Frankly, I do think that a potential PZ2 isn't going to come with all the animals from PZ from the get-go; and I don't think that it's the doom scenario people make it out to be. I think the major deciding factor is going to be if the base-game roster is better than the original one.

Because yes, I do think that PZ2's base game roster is going to have to be better than what PZ's was and that means that some of the animals that came in DLCs will have to be part of the new game's roster. Especially if PZ2 gets released shortly after PZ's end, then Frontier is going to have to convince the average PZ player to come back and then they have to do so by improving and the base game roster will be part of that.

Do they have to include every animal from the original game to do that? Heck no. As much as I love the Nile Lechwe, the sequel isn't going to be ruined if it doesn't have it. The sequel is going to be bad if it once again underdevelops certain areas of the world. From the start, the game should have a reasonable amount of African, Asian, North-American, South-American, Oceanic (@NZFanatic is this the right word? I feel like it isn't?), European and Polar animals so that you can build for each part of the world without being stuck to only one or two animals like what was the case with the base game.

So yes, I'd say that animals like a kangaroo, koala, jaguar, polar bear, penguin, etc. should be in the base game of the sequel. You should be able to make decent common zoo sections throughout your zoo and you shouldn't again have to wait for a few years to finally get to a point where you can do that. It's a sequel, it should be an improvement. But all of the animals from the DLCs? No, I think it's fine to wait a bit until you get them all again.
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l think both Iben and RandomGoat summed it up really well. There's little to no chance that a PZ2 will launch with all the themes, animals, and plants that are in PZ1. And that isn't a bad thing, especially if you hope for PZ2 to receive support that lasts long-term like what we got with PZ1. Additionally, as someone who has favorite animals in the PZ1 base-game, I'm actually hoping that those species might get saved to "headline" future PZ2 DLCs instead of being base-game again. For example, I love Okapis, Snow Leopards, and Orangutans irl, but just compare them to only the other base-game animals (not even including the jump in detail that occurs in later DLC) and it's clear that these species were treated more like filler for the base roster than key features like they would have if released in DLC. And even some animals that were of decent quality for the time at PZ's release could really use revamps. Things like the American Bison (especially when compared to the Wisent), Galapagos Tortoise, Red Panda, Common Warthog, Cheetah, and Indian Gharial are prime contenders for a refresh yet still aren't what I would call "essential" for a beginning-level zoo game roster. All of these would make amazing contenders as headliners for a DLC theme and allow for the "revisiting" of previously covered regions in PZ1's DLCs.

The gap that could be felt by these species initially missing also wouldn't be nearly as large when you consider most of the more recent DLC inclusions as givens in a PZ2 base-game roster. All the species I mentioned above have close relatives that have been released with newer PZ1 DLC, all at a higher quality too. I'm not saying that most of the newer species inclusions are a given for a PZ2 base-game, but if I was Frontier that's certainly what I'd do.

And think about how cool some of these revisited themes could be with some of PZ1's base-game animals as features? A Galapagos Pack featuring some birds, aquatics, additional reptiles, and the Galapagos Tortoise? That'd be a really interesting theme that likely wouldn't be as easily sold without the inclusion of the Galapagos Tortoise. And it's a win-win for Frontier and us. We get a revamped Tortoise, additional species from the Galapagos that likely would've never been included in PZ otherwise, and Frontier gets to make good money (and fund future DLC/Updates) because the pack was well received.

RightWhale said:
I will say, there would be a funny irony if somehow the situation reverses for PZ2 where we have plenty of birds. Or at the least arguably a bit too much of specific bird groups.

😡 “Ok, we haven’t got a new member of Carnivora in over a year, did we seriously need our fourth ibis species? We already have the African Sacred Ibis did we need the Madagascar Ibis???”

😃 “Uh yeah, we needed the Madagascan Ibis. It has an important conservation story and we really needed this species of Ibis for the island of Madagascar”

😡 “But we got three ibis species this year alone! Did we seriously need this one that bad? It’s been ages since we got (insert mammal here)”

😃 “The Madagascar ibis has been one of the top bird species in the Aviary Meta Wishlist! It makes sense Frontier would pick it!”

😡 “Yeah but they also picked the other ibises over it! Even if it was near the top that’s only because it had other top birds picked up, and it rose the ranks! Besides, Frontier needs to listen to the current wishes of the community! People have been asking for the ring-tailed mongoose for awhile! Frontier seriously choose another ibis over it!”

This argument would continue for another 4 pages, and unbeknownst to both users would continue again after Frontier releases its 4th stork species in only two years. Inciting another argument for another 10 pages after the Key Deer was not chosen for the Southern Tip of Florida and Florida Keys pack.
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I know this is just a joke, but I'd unironically really enjoy a proper Everglades or Madagascar Pack in PZ2. Include a revamped Cougar, Alligator Snapping Turtle, West Indian Manatee, Roseate Spoonbill, a fish species, and some Bayou-themed pieces & plants and I'd enjoy it more than pretty much any DLC we've received with PZ1. Honestly I'm really hoping that DLC for a potential PZ2 will be a lot more regionally-specific, for the most part, than what we've seen with PZ1's DLCs. I'm not saying country-specific (I don't think that'd go over well always) but more-so regionally specific places that are known for their unique ecosystems and biodiversity. The Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes, Great Plains, Pacific Islands, Congo, Serengeti, Sahara, Amazon, Andes, Pampas, Central America, Outback, Great Barrier Reef, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Alps, and Himalayas all come to mind.

It'd allow you to really get into theming (with likely some useful architectural and environmental pieces & plants), create more realistic ecosystems, and Frontier could sneak in some surprise/lesser-known species too. Plus the DLC cycle could go on "forever". And once Frontier is running thin on well known regions? Hop back to biomes like they did with some of PZ1's DLC (another win-win for Frontier and the player)
 
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