DLC18 discussion and predictions

[Milurian]

Normally they try to plan around the Unlocks though(I say normally when there was only one) so wouldn’t it make sense for a September release? Like early September that is?

I can see mid to late august, but only if
1. They announce the dlc early in the July unlocked, which isn’t horribly likely.
2. They announce the dlc in the August unlocked, and then immediately release it. Which is much more likely. That could still put us close to September though.

im pretty sure option 2 was what they did with barnyard so is the most likely though I can easily see announcing it in this months unlocked for a release early to mid august

Not gonna lie i still fail to the advantages of real zoo inspired/sponsored packs

It would literally just be a pr stunt for both frontier and the zoo it offers no real advantage or unique content people are just obsessed with the idea because that was planet coasters final pack

I mean, what did you guys expect from barnyard? The two most common animals in farms are ungulates and birds and that's precisely what the pack is.
For sure, the breeds could be different and the alpaca could be something else, but aside from that, it's a very good pack. better than the entire 2023.

I will forever be mad at the goat for being the wrong breed other than that I think instead of another donkey subspecies we should of gotten a duck/rabbit for variety. I think barnyard is the one and only pack theme that gets a pass for being ungulate heavy because in general most domesticated animals are ungulates and especially those associated with farms and petting zoos which really only has ducks, chickens rabbits and maybe dogs as reasonable alternatives.

I get the Arid pack wasn't great, but to say it was worse than a pack filled with animals you are most likely to see on your dinner plate is... silly at best.

Arid was objectively worse than barnyard for the simple reason that prior to barnyard it was impossible to build a realistic petting zoo unlocking an entire subset of zoos is an objectively better outcome than adding variety to african hoofstock. The animal choice could of been better with a duck or rabbit but the theme itself added alot of potential to the game.
How good barnyard is really depends on what you want out of the game but it definitely isnt the worst pack and is functionally better then arid.

 

[PlanetSoyJak]

Imo, 3 packs, 20 content updates , 20 dlcs, end same with console in spring, latin america, savannah/highlands/mountains, and finally keepers collection

 

[CharlieXGaming]

I don't really understand the whole number of DLCs thing. JWE2 had 11 packs in total, but thats not a good number to end on so support for the game is still going, right? No probably not. So why should it be different for us?

 

[NachoB]

I don't really understand the whole number of DLCs thing. JWE2 had 11 packs in total, but thats not a good number to end on so support for the game is still going, right? No probably not. So why should it be different for us?

True, it could end at any number of DLCs but we shouldn't keep comparing JWE2 to PZ since the reason they end support is because of new movie being announced for next year so new game based on the newest stuff from that franchise must be ready to release around that time because money. PZ is not subjected to those conditions since it doesn't depend on another external franchise.

 

[AndyZoos]

I don't really understand the whole number of DLCs thing. JWE2 had 11 packs in total, but thats not a good number to end on so support for the game is still going, right? No probably not. So why should it be different for us?

I don't get it either. I think it's just people liking nice, round numbers. But that's not how companies operate. I'm sure Frontier had an initial goal for number of DLCs they wanted to produce and sell and... I bet they hit that number about two years ago. Haha. If this game were a Kickstarter it's been well into the "stretch goals" for 1.5 years or so now, TBH.

At this point, I'm sure Frontier only cares about getting the game a strong enough roster of animals, building/scenery pieces, and adding features that will allow the game to push units long after support has formally ended. I do wonder if there might be a goal at this point to be able to say the game has "200+" animal species across all DLC (e.g., for a "Complete Edition" or whatever) but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the number of packs.

With the right roster they could hit that 200+ mark with a single DLC assuming the trend of a "send-off" pack being bigger than usual holds true.

 

[CharlieXGaming]

but we shouldn't keep comparing JWE2 to PZ since the reason they end support is because of new movie being announced for next year so new game based on the newest stuff from that franchise must be ready to release around that time because money. PZ is not subjected to those conditions since it doesn't depend on another external franchise.

Yeah I get that part about the movie I'm just saying we shouldn't be relying on the number of DLCs when in reality it really doesn't matter.

Also side note, Planet Coaster also had 11 DLCs, so same case.

 

[Thylaco]

So I’m wondering if frontier is reverting to the 2020 dlc plan of 3 dlcs spread out by 4 months. They missed June to continue operating on the 4 per year plan. I forget if Australia was announced in July or august but I would really like an announcement now.

Australia was announced the week before, on the 20th of August. The free update plants were teased earlier, but I don't think they really do that anymore.

If they've got fewer people to work with, 3 DLCs per year potentially makes sense, it is the only reason they've used August so far (2020 PZ due to Covid, 2023 JWE2 due to a free JP30 update).

 

[PlanetSoyJak]

I don't get it either. I think it's just people liking nice, round numbers. But that's not how companies operate. I'm sure Frontier had an initial goal for number of DLCs they wanted to produce and sell and... I bet they hit that number about two years ago. Haha. If this game were a Kickstarter it's been well into the "stretch goals" for 1.5 years or so now, TBH.

At this point, I'm sure Frontier only cares about getting the game a strong enough roster of animals, building/scenery pieces, and adding features that will allow the game to push units long after support has formally ended. I do wonder if there might be a goal at this point to be able to say the game has "200+" animal species across all DLC (e.g., for a "Complete Edition" or whatever) but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the number of packs.

With the right roster they could hit that 200+ mark with a single DLC assuming the trend of a "send-off" pack being bigger than usual holds true.

I speculate that maybe the next pack is the final with 13 animals being an animal and scenery pack combined with animals around the world for a total of 200 animals

 

[ElectricMonk]

I get the Arid pack wasn't great, but to say it was worse than a pack filled with animals you are most likely to see on your dinner plate is... silly at best.

I wasn’t a fan of either pack but, IMO, Arid was (much) worse…. At least Barnyard added new ways of building (and some useful scenery) - I can totally see how some people would love it (just not my thing). In contrast, Arid added virtually nothing to the game and even lacked diversity within its own line-up, in terms of taxonomic diversity, behavioural diversity and geographic diversity. Arid could also have been a much better pack than it was, which adds to my disappointment at what we actually got.

 

[Milurian]

I don't get it either. I think it's just people liking nice, round numbers. But that's not how companies operate. I'm sure Frontier had an initial goal for number of DLCs they wanted to produce and sell and... I bet they hit that number about two years ago. Haha. If this game were a Kickstarter it's been well into the "stretch goals" for 1.5 years or so now, TBH.

At this point, I'm sure Frontier only cares about getting the game a strong enough roster of animals, building/scenery pieces, and adding features that will allow the game to push units long after support has formally ended. I do wonder if there might be a goal at this point to be able to say the game has "200+" animal species across all DLC (e.g., for a "Complete Edition" or whatever) but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the number of packs.

With the right roster they could hit that 200+ mark with a single DLC assuming the trend of a "send-off" pack being bigger than usual holds true.

I fully agree frontier doesnt care about the number of updates or dlc the animal count however has alot of marketing significance being able to say your game has 200+ unique animals would be great for marketing as well as making it the biggest roster of any major zoo game and potentially any zoo game. I will say that frontier has cared about previous anniversaries and 5 years of active development is quite a feat so expecting some sort of celebration is not unreasonable but thinking that they care enough about the update number or pack number to make more packs is unfounded adding 6 extra clones to an animal pack though is not unheard of or difficult if they really wanted to push the 201 roster.

The shift around 2 years ago was definitely noticeable and I agree it was likely because they did not expect planet zoo to do as well and sustain as well as it did so they continued to make packs without a clear end goal. I believe they will continue to do this till either the packs are financially unviable or the development gets in the way of other projects either by taking up developers or by taking up too much of the marketing and consumers space.

 

[Milurian]

Yeah I get that part about the movie I'm just saying we shouldn't be relying on the number of DLCs when in reality it really doesn't matter.

Also side note, Planet Coaster also had 11 DLCs, so same case.

interesting that they had the same amount which again is another reason to not use planet coaster or JWE as a comparison to planet zoo which has been on a different trajectory to them for multiple years now. The 11th dlc was twilight so we are well past that being an ending point so even if they cared about numbers we are past their previous goals so we have no idea what number they may pick.

 

[Matyej167]

I don't really understand the whole number of DLCs thing. JWE2 had 11 packs in total, but thats not a good number to end on so support for the game is still going, right? No probably not. So why should it be different for us?

This caused by the Jurassic World Evolution 4 movie is coming soon. The Jurassic World Evolution 2 was created under the influence of Jurassic World: World Dominion movie.

The Planet Zoo maybe will continue a few DLCs (I hope it). We know about the future Jurassic World Evolution 3 game, but about Planet Zoo 2 nothing.

 

[Tinou97]

I don't really understand the whole number of DLCs thing. JWE2 had 11 packs in total, but thats not a good number to end on so support for the game is still going, right? No probably not. So why should it be different for us?

Because 20 is a pretty number and we love pretty things. And because it would be so cool to to have the so wanted Latin America, Mountain, and Around the World packs. Anyway, I'm so desperate to use the mods asap that I'm totally fine with the game ending soon.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I really wished Frontier figured out the Barnyard style (7 animals + half the usual scenery) sooner - Arctic, Africa, Europe, and Tropical (keep the sloth, and make it 6 habitat animals) all would have benefitted from that layout.

Hell no, who are you to take most of some of the best scenery themes away from us?
Arctic i can accept if we keep the wood.

Yeah animals are cool and all but people allways disrespect the scenery like that when in reality thats where the actual gameplay is at

 

[Milurian]

Hell no, who are you to take most of some of the best scenery themes away from us?
Arctic i can accept if we keep the wood.

Yeah animals are cool and all but people allways disrespect the scenery like that when in reality thats where the actual gameplay is at

ill stand by the fact that if we never got more scenery planet zoo would never have been as popular as it is scenery is what adds the most to the game its what changes how we build the most and shapes the look of every zoo.
I unironically love the arctic wood other than that the scenery was a flop and could of done better as an animal pack with scenery or just an animal pack.

 

[Milurian]

Because 20 is a pretty number and we love pretty things. And because it would be so cool to to have the so wanted Latin America, Mountain, and Around the World packs. Anyway, I'm so desperate to use the mods asap that I'm totally fine with the game ending soon.

I have never understood the argument of waiting for the game to stop updating to play with mods.
New species mods are pretty stable and most good quality mods are updated not even days after a pack is released and you often dont even have to update there have only been a handful of updates that have totally broken mods. In the close to 2 years of using mods I have had to update once for broken mods thats it. We also get update what 4 times a year at most that is hardly a problem even if the mods broke every single time.

I just hate that it has become widespread that the game must end before anyone can use a new species mod long term. modding shouldnt be a solution to a lack of support it should compliment it especially since their are at least 2 types of users who will never have access to mods console players and those who use game streaming services.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Looking back the only scenery theme id actually axe would be the south american scenery pack.
Yeah the bamboo PIECES are pretty good but that totals to like 10 pieces when only counting flexicolor. The bamboo wall set is incredibly ugly, the temple pieces are fine but only rarely seen nowadays and the themed stuff is also way to specific and something no one would miss.
Getting the "modern" watercolor paintings signs, bamboo and a few plants while adding even just a flamingo, capuchin clone and rhea that pack would genuinly be vastly improved.
Id legitimatly would mourn the loss of the red eyed tree frog more then that of the scenery

 

[Captain Callum]

I have never understood the argument of waiting for the game to stop updating to play with mods.
New species mods are pretty stable and most good quality mods are updated not even days after a pack is released and you often dont even have to update there have only been a handful of updates that have totally broken mods. In the close to 2 years of using mods I have had to update once for broken mods thats it. We also get update what 4 times a year at most that is hardly a problem even if the mods broke every single time.

I just hate that it has become widespread that the game must end before anyone can use a new species mod long term. modding shouldnt be a solution to a lack of support it should compliment it especially since their are at least 2 types of users who will never have access to mods console players and those who use game streaming services.

Ever since like 1.12 mods have been pretty safe to use, if there is a mod that crashes it is because the mod itself is broken and needs an update by the author. The african spurred tortoise was an example of this and eventually it was updated and safe to use. It's why I do advise everyone (who asks) to open a new sandbox zoo, add a new animal you have never used and run the game for say 5 - 15 minutes to see if everything is fine. I actually do the same with frontier's own big updates with these new features, since like oceania the big updates are really buggy and lead to crashing for a lot of people. The last thing I want is to add some new offical feature to my main zoo files and then it breaks.

People who have access to mods and actually are preventing themselves from entering the modded world are really just harming themselves, who knows when support actually ends. We could have one dlc left, we could have 5 more years of dlc left lol. Mods are being made with heavy high attention to detail by the best modders where some birds, cats, and ungulates rival offical dlc in detail which greatly helps the representation hole that will never be filled with offical dlc.

 

[NachoB]

Ever since like 1.12 mods have been pretty safe to use, if there is a mod that crashes it is because the mod itself is broken and needs an update by the author. The african spurred tortoise was an example of this and eventually it was updated and safe to use. It's why I do advise everyone (who asks) to open a new sandbox zoo, add a new animal you have never used and run the game for say 5 - 15 minutes to see if everything is fine. I actually do the same with frontier's own big updates with these new features, since like oceania the big updates are really buggy and lead to crashing for a lot of people. The last thing I want is to add some new offical feature to my main zoo files and then it breaks.

People who have access to mods and actually are preventing themselves from entering the modded world are really just harming themselves, who knows when support actually ends. We could have one dlc left, we could have 5 more years of dlc left lol. Mods are being made with heavy high attention to detail by the best modders where some birds, cats, and ungulates rival offical dlc in detail which greatly helps the representation hole that will never be filled with offical dlc.

Yeah, there are pretty great mods out there and some are popular and important species. And let's say we have at best 13 more animals left to reach 200+, a lot of wanted animals won't make it in so the mods will be the way to even get them. Not to mentions the pretty much essential remasters of base game animals (and some DLC animals). I can't really play with Frontier's base game cats and hyena at this point tbh unless i have the remasters installed.

 

[TheDuckKnight]

Hell no, who are you to take most of some of the best scenery themes away from us?
Arctic i can accept if we keep the wood.

Yeah animals are cool and all but people allways disrespect the scenery like that when in reality thats where the actual gameplay is at

It's cartoon zoo game, you best relax before you go about disrespecting me, my friend.