So with only 8 animals this is my best guess to what it will be while keeping it “realistic”. Well, not 100% realistic but as close as to what I think it can be. This isn’t necessarily my preferred outcome either, but I wouldn’t hate it.
Zookeeper Collection
- Hamadryas baboon
- Black howler monkey
- Musk Ox
- Ocelot
- American flamingo
- Mandarin duck
- Grey crowned crane
- Exhibit: I’m just gonna go with the chameleon for now
Here is my reasoning:
- Hamadryas baboon and the black howler are highly requested, while we have never gotten more than one primate in a pack this would be the pack to do it. Also this is where I think a majority of the “effort” will go in. I don’t think much of the pack will need new rigs, but I can see the monkeys being a bit difficult.
- The musk ox is a popular Arctic ungulate found in Europe and North America. Frontier loves ungulates so I think this one might be likely. I imagine the shaggy fur may also make it a “high effort” animal. Which could effect the other animal choices on the final pack due to time crunch.
- I hate to say this, but I think South America is gonna be stiffed again. I imagine as a carnivore/ cat Frontier will do the ocelot to give just a bit more. The ocelot ranks pretty high, and usually Frontier likes to add more to their popular animal groups anyways.
- The birds are the most “unrealistic” in that we have never got more than 1 in an animal pack. With the call for more birds I can see Frontier throwing a bone. My reasoning is that Frontier can also use the “more birds” as a way to add some highly requested filler animals. So that’s why I think the American Flamingo and Grey Crowned Crane can get in. Both have a presence, and both use the same rig so are easy to implement. The mandarin duck reuses the swan rig, and that I imagine is the “high effort” bird. This is me being slightly hopeful that we get more than one, but I won’t be surprised if it is only one.
- Exhibit: it’s an animated statue and people have wanted a chameleon for awhile.
The 3 birds and 2 primates in the same pack aren’t realistic, but I find it more realistic than the final pack being 12 animals. I also think Frontier recognizes people want birds and monkeys. Now that wouldn’t stop the birds from being mostly clones/ filler.
Alright I'll do my take on this with my reasoning.
Planet Zoo: Keeper's Collection Pack
. Black Howler Monkey (Alt. Squirrel Monkey)
. Mallard Duck (Alt. Mandarin Duck)
. Hamadryas Baboon (Alt. B&W Colobus)
. South American Coati (Alt. Ocelot)
. Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo (Alt. Honey Badger)
. Short-beaked Echidna (Alt. Rock Hyrax)
. Secretary Bird (Alt. Gray Crowned Crane)
. King Cobra (E) (Alt. Parsons' Chameleon (E))
Howler: South American monkey. We need one. Like desperately, and Frontier definitely knows that. I think that it would be the least work on their part, as well as it uses the forgotten chorus behavior, so ultimately I think this would be the pick. Squirrel monkey is the Alt because it is also fairly low work and while it definitely wouldn't replace the Howler it would at least help fill thee niche.
Mallard: Duck. It's that simple. Its also the most common one. They have the rig now and can make it fairly easily just by reusing stuff from the swan. It would also open the gate to better duck modding, which would fill out some of the other species once support wraps up. Mandarin is the closest second because it fills the same need as well as it being pretty common in zoos.
Hamadryas Baboon: A Baboon is definitely one of the last iconic zoo animals that we are still lacking in the game. Hamadryas I chose because of popularity and the supposed 'leak' on the Planco dictionary. B&W Colobus is next in line because we still don't have any true African monkeys which are definitely less desirable than the Baboon but it's still a decent pick.
South American Coati: South America is severely lacking in animal diversity in PZ. Coatis are somewhere near the top if not at the top of the wishlist, so that definitely gains it points. The sub is the ocelot which is definitely not an adequate alternative for the coati but it is probably the next best thing for SA diversity.
Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo: This was also leaked on the dictionary and is also one of the most glaring commissions from the Oceania pack. It would probably be the most work out of all the picks but some theorize they did a simpler pack for Barnyard so they could buy extra time for the finale, which I could definitely see as a possibility. The Alternative is the Honey Badger which while it doesn't share the same niche, it is also a fairly highly requested species that would definitely be welcome in the game.
Short-beaked Echidna: This is another one that was a possibility for Australia and Oceania but was left out, probably because of its complex quills. But now that we have the porcupine it could be easier to pull off. The second in line for this spot is the Rock Hyrax which would probably be taken as an at least somewhat reasonable substitute.
Secretary Bird: Also a part of the leaked gang, this has been a popular pick for a while now. It would be a welcome addition to a final pack as it has been on or near the top of the meta wishlist for a while now. It's substitute is another African bird, the Gray Crowned Crane, which would also be a very good addition to the game's roster.
Finally, we have the exhibit species the King Cobra. As some say, it's funny to have a zoo game without the species the platform it runs on is named after. It is also a very unique species that is iconic and semi-popular. The Alternative would be the Parsons' Chameleon because it is also an iconic, semi-popular species to be added.
