DLC18 discussion and predictions

Hinvolur

H
I was playing with making fantasy animal packs for (my favourite) real zoos the other day:

London
  1. Black-and-white colobus
  2. Natal red duiker
  3. Victoria crowned pigeon
  4. Southern tamandua
  5. Great argus
  6. Woolly necked stork
  7. Narrow striped mongoose
  8. Chinese giant salamander
Whipsnade
  1. Blackbuck
  2. Francois langur
  3. Lowland anoa
  4. Nilgai
  5. Axis deer
  6. Pere David's deer
  7. Great white pelican
  8. Chinese crocodile lizard
Prague
  1. Brown hyena
  2. White-nosed coati
  3. Ratel
  4. Himalayan tahr
  5. Shoebill
  6. Blesbok
  7. Secretary bird
  8. Oustalet's chameleon
Plzen
  1. White-bearded civet
  2. Lion-tailed macaque
  3. Angolan colobus
  4. Chinese goral
  5. Marsh mongoose
  6. Southern tree-hyrax
  7. Marail guan
  8. Spider-tailed viper
Berlin Tierpark
  1. Gerenuk
  2. Northern ground-hornbill
  3. Gaur
  4. Visayan warty pig
  5. Visayan spotted deer
  6. Defassa waterbuck
  7. Hanuman langur
  8. Tuatara
Berlin Zoo
  1. Golden cat
  2. Coquerel's sifaka
  3. Yellow-footed rock wallaby
  4. Goodfellow's tree kangaroo
  5. Red-and-white flying squirrel
  6. Yellow-throated marten
  7. Cabot's tragopan
  8. Bavay's giant gecko
 

SpookDoc

SpookDoc
CharlieXGaming said:
Planet Coaster 2 just got confirmed
View attachment 394999
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Glad to see the 2024 CMS game is now known (even if it was a leak) and Frontier isn’t trying to “step out on a limb” with it. They can’t afford to have another financial flop (and PC2 is a safe and hopefully useful move). Just hope there’s more quality of life changes to it than just “PC but with PZ visuals”

MarikMoon said:
I made a projection of animals distribution if the next update is about Latin American animals. This map was made by @yoav_r
It's notable how South America despite its enormous biodiversity is still poor in Planet Zoo and has a lot of gaps. Let's resolve it Frontier!

View attachment 395043

LATAM Animal roster:
  1. Coati
  2. Black Howler
  3. Tamandua
  4. Ocelot
  5. Spectacled Bear
  6. Greater Rhea
  7. Patagonian Mara
  8. Plumed Basilisk (Exhibit animals aren't included is that map, but its distribution is in central america)
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And I know the conversation around PZ’s final DLC has been beaten to death at this point, but I still think a more overarching theme like The Americas or Zookeeper Collection Animal Pack is what we’ll end up getting. Regardless of which, I’m hoping there will be at least a couple species in it that bring something new to habitat builds. I’ve accepted at this point majority of all DLCs are gonna have their share of ungulates/carnivorans but man is it old/tired to me now. Most of the terrestrial ungulates/carnivorans left for the Americas (and honestly globally) are pretty copy-paste.

My fantasy lineup, with the limitation of no new mechanics, for an Americas Animal Pack would be:
  1. Golden Lion Tamarin
  2. Coati
  3. Alligator Snapping Turtle (or Arrau Turtle)
  4. Wild Turkey (or Brown Pelican)
  5. Burrowing Owl (or Seriema)
  6. Spider Monkey
  7. Mara (or Chinchilla)
  • Swap exhibit species for a horizontal log or clapboard building set
IMG_6463.jpeg
 
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Birb（｡･ө･｡）

Birb（｡･ө･｡）
I don’t want the ocelot (or any new cat tbh. I like them but I’m already pretty satisfied with their roster.) or another camelid but the ocelot is definitely not less of a “clone” (even if that’s admittedly a definition the community can’t seem to agree upon) than the vicuña/guanaco are lol. Its size, niche, and habitat design are all very much distinct to an arguable degree even if it is visually similar from far away. I’m going to have a much easier time pretending a llama is a vicuña in my South American mixed exhibit with my non-existent mara and rhea than I am sticking a full-grown jag into a small mammal house as an ocelot lol.

I know I’ve been beating a dead horse by constantly shouting “more birds and monkeys pls”, but if we get some “easy clones” like that, gimme multiple waterfowl or small monkeys in the same pack lol, groups that actually need more diversity. Hell, I’d much prefer even a Chilean flamingo over another damn camelid. Not to mention the “ostrich clone” rhea that is far more essential than any ungulate or carnivoran (aside from maybe the coati) that SA has to offer.
 

CharlieXGaming

CharlieXGaming
I feel like people just put the ocelot in their wishlists because they think frontier has to add it, not because they themselves actually want it, because there are so many other south american animals that are more visually unique than a mini jaguar.

Only 2 cats I would actually be excited for are the Serval and the Pallas Cat. Pallas Cat sadly probably won't happen but it is probably the most unique looking; and the serval I think because of its popularity as a zoo animal in general I think has a decent chance at making a collection type pack - even with it being a caracal clone.
 

Birb（｡･ө･｡）

Birb（｡･ө･｡）
Honestly the only ungulate pick for a SA pack that I wouldn’t be disappointed in would be the pudu. An XS species is one of the very few ungulate niches that hasn’t already been covered (although other options could include a dik-dik, a muntjac species, or a mouse deer.) It’s also one of the few ungulates from SA that isn’t another camelid, tapir, or medium-largeish deer.

Despite that though there’s still like a billion more worthwhile animals from this region than another ungulate (not to mention that it’s not even my first choice for this XS niche over the more common muntjac, which also has a lot of neat mixed potential). Aside from the brocket deer (and maybe the marsh deer to a lesser extent) which seems to have quite a few holdings within its native range, looking at Zootierliste, ungulates aren’t commonly used to represent the region aside from tapirs or camelids anyways, two niches that are already filled. TBH I’d prefer a Latin American pack to have no ungulate at all, but knowing Frontier we’ll probably get one, and the pudu is the one that stings the least lol.
 
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Milurian

Milurian
Birb（｡･ө･｡） said:
Honestly the only ungulate pick for a SA pack that I wouldn’t be disappointed in would be the pudu. An XS species is one of the very few ungulate niches that hasn’t already been covered (although other options could include a dik-dik, a muntjac species, or a mouse deer.) It’s also one of the few ungulates from SA that isn’t another camelid, tapir, or medium-largeish deer.

Despite that though there’s still like a billion more worthwhile animals from this region than another ungulate (not to mention that it’s not even my first choice for this XS niche over the more common muntjac, which also has a lot of neat mixed potential). Aside from the brocket deer (and maybe the marsh deer to a lesser extent) which seems to have quite a few holdings within its native range, looking at Zootierliste, ungulates aren’t commonly used to represent the region aside from tapirs or camelids anyways, two niches that are already filled. TBH I’d prefer a Latin American pack to have no ungulate at all, but knowing Frontier we’ll probably get one, and the pudu is the one that stings the least lol.
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basically unless its a tapir or camelid any south american ungulate would add something completely new to the game even then the mountian tapir is adorable and I would be happy with that. Also it boggles my mind people saying the ocelot is a jaguar clone like yes they have a similar body plan both being cats but they are wildly different in size if you put both next to each other and zoomed out you can definitely tell who is who
 

AndyZoos

A
We did it! We went full-circle again to South American wishlists and into clone debates. But we skipped a step... Memes and doomspeak. All hail the continued possibility of a larger-than-usual Zookeeper Collection! Anyway...

CharlieXGaming said:
I feel like people just put the ocelot in their wishlists because they think frontier has to add it, not because they themselves actually want it, because there are so many other south american animals that are more visually unique than a mini jaguar.

Only 2 cats I would actually be excited for are the Serval and the Pallas Cat. Pallas Cat sadly probably won't happen but it is probably the most unique looking; and the serval I think because of its popularity as a zoo animal in general I think has a decent chance at making a collection type pack - even with it being a caracal clone.
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Honestly, I think there's a lot of truth to that first statement even though I'm the exception to that rule. Haha. I want the ocelot because I love 'em. And personally, I don't think they're very clone-like due to their size and the fact that, quite frankly, there's no other small cats for South America yet. And I'm biased toward smaller, non-primate climbers at the end of the day.

But weirdly, I can also see how somebody might feel that way? I dunno. I fully get why people wouldn't want them too.

As for the other cats, I do love servals too. I'm less interested in them in contrast to the ocelot simply because they fill a similar in-game niche as the caracal. They look different but build- and theming-wise? Pretty similar. And I'm fully neutral on the Pallas Cat at this point. It looks cool but that's about the only function it would serve IMHO. (But like the ocelot in reverse I get why people might want them!)
 

SuzieSky

SuzieSky
I personally love cats; they are fun to build for, common in zoos, and typically appeal to a casual audience. The smaller ones especially could use a bit more variety. However, I understand that some other players may be a bit burnt out with them. While the popular 3 seem like really strong picks to me, I mostly want ~2 per year assuming normal pack structures.

We haven't gotten a cat in a year. If we just got 1-2 more years of support, I would hope to see these three:
  • Serval: They are one of the most common cats in zoos worldwide and more recognizable than people give them credit for. They'd be a good pick for education about wild hybrids and the exotic pet trade. People might be familiar with them from social media accounts where people keep them as pets or from the Savannah cat hybrids. I love their big ears, spots, and long legs. It would be cool to see them jump around enrichment objects, and they are my personal favorite. While they share a niche with the caracal, it is a nice alternate pick.
  • Ocelot: This is the community's favorite option for a cat and is still somewhat highly ranked on the Meta-wishlist. It would add a small and spotted jungle cat to the roster as well as a small-sized one for South America. As others have pointed out, ocelots, too, are more recognizable than some here would suggest. They have a pretty strong zoo presence, too.
  • Pallas's Cat: This one doesn't have quite as strong of a zoo presence as the other two, but it's also a meme animal. Having a grumpier, fluffier, and cold mountain-dwelling kitty would add something unique and would be a great re-use of the adorable sand cat rig and accompanying animation set.
If we got another 2-3 years of support I'd also want to see these guys:
  • Fishing Cat: This one has unique behaviors and is probably one of if not the best option remaining for Southeast Asia should we ever revisit that region. The zoos I've attended have a disproportionate number of them, and they're cool. I'd be nearly as happy to see them as the first three.
  • Bobcat or Canadian Lynx: They're pretty simple clone picks, and maybe a mod would suffice. However, they are so common in zoos near me that I'd kind of like to have one in the game. The Canadian lynx looks a bit cooler, but I'm leaning toward the bobcat for its greater biome diversity and size difference from the Eurasian Lynx.
Other cat options:
  • Wildcard Picks/Mod Fodder: Asian Golden Cat (cool color morphs), European Wildcat (not a bad critter for Europe), South American Oddballs (Jaguarundi, Andean Cat, Pampas Cat, etc.), and others.
  • Big Cat Subspecies: While I don't view these as high-priority at all and would much rather get some more interesting and unique animals, I think some of these would do well with the casual audience. An African leopard has been somewhat requested for a while, would complete Africa's big 5, and add the big carnivore for tropical Africa. If the Sumatran Tiger was a large improvement over the current tigers (which aren't horrible) people might be somewhat on board for it. Most would probably be happier with model updates for the current big cats and new species for the DLC.
 
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