I like the alpaca but I feel it was unnecessary and the pony would have been better.
also if we get any more camelids I will scream.
Hot takes for planet zoo
- Thread starter Mr-Hyrax 2
- Start date
also if we get any more camelids I will scream.
I agree with all of these, especially the Skunk, even though I haven't even used it yetConservation - Siamang > Lar Gibbon - while I would have missed the colors had the lar never came in Twilight, the calls of the siamang are FAR too iconic to include if a gibbon were to be added
Twilight - Skunk > Tasmanian Devil - I remember there was a micro-outcry by some about this, but it never bothered me. At the point, the devil was inevitable and I appreciate Twilight's Woodland Critter/Forest Friends vibes
Oceania - Quokka > Tree Kangaroo - Make no mistake, tree kangaroo remains very high on my wishlist, but I think there's a place at the table for the quokka. Plus it was one of my grandmother's favorites
Barnyard - Donkey > Horse/Pony - I love donkeys! Much more than horses, it's such an unpopular opinion, sometimes I feel, I feel...
I'm all alone
There's no here beside me
My problems have all gone
There's no one to deride me
BUT YA GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS!!!!
.
My positive takes on controversial picks:
- Arctic:
- I like the Arctic wolf better than the Arctic fox
- South America:
- While I would have picked a different monkey (see my profile picture), capuchins were anexcellent choice, possibly better than the howler. The tufted capuchin might've fit the theme better, but I wish we had gotten both.
- A domestic SA camelid is more important for my recreations than the capybara, as much as I like them more. The llama got too much hate.
- Australia:
- Cassowaries are cooler than emus.
- While there are still a few marsupials and a monotreme I'd prefer, the dingo was a good pick.
- Aquatic:
- The dwarf caiman was a great choice; it just needs a smaller habitat.
- North America:
- The prairie dog was one of the best choices in the pack.
- Twilight:
- I also preferred the skunk to the Tasmanian devil.
- Arid:
- 'Conservation projects for arid African ungulates' is a zoo niche I've encountered often. I'm glad we have options for that now, and conservation education about rare animals and ongoing conservation work is important. While I can see why the pack didn't appeal to many people and could have had a few more interesting animals, the Arid pack is one of my personal favorites.
- I also really like the sand cat.
- Eurasia:
- The swan was one of the best options for a habitat bird they could've added. They're famous, beautiful, have star power, and work as an ambient animal for gardens. Ducks are perhaps more important, but swans were a much better starting point to hopefully build to ducks later
- I thought mute swans, wisents, and Hermann tortoises were super underrated before the pack launched, and I still kind of think EBB's and Barbary macaques are underrated. While I don't think Europe should get more stuff immediately, there are definitely good options for a sequel or hopefully continued support.
- Barnyard:
- I like donkeys better than horses, too. I've seen many more of them in petting zoos.
- I'm actually fine with all of the ungulates. Wild ducks and turkeys would probably be more useful.
- Zookeepers:
- I was very psyched about the tortoise. It looks awesome, and we haven't had a new one since the base game.
The llama was a great pick and super iconic of SA and I don’t think a wild SA Camelid would’ve done the trickWeekly Hot Take
What controversial animal addition did you feel was better than what everybody else wanted, for example alot people wanted the markhor more than the takin, but I love the takin ten times more than the markhor.
All the Arid pack ungulates were necessary and iconic over any other pick that could have been chosen at the time. They got way too much hate
The lechwe and Water Buffalo were great picks in wetlands over other waterfowl at he time especially since they represent an underrepresented side of ungulates
Siamang was definitely the better pick for our first gibbon due to the calls
3 toed sloth is more iconic with the normies and would’ve kinda felt missing if it was just the two toed in the game.
Quokka was a great pick that I’m happy had its time to shine over the tree kangaroo, even though I want them badly I feel like they still fit in other pack niches.
The sloth bear made me immensely happy to see over another bear at the time because I genuinely felt like out of the three bears left at the time they were the least likely
I agree about the caracal over the serval and cassowary over the emu at the time.
Dingo was a great pick especially for the Australia packs more “icons of the outback” vibe
Loved seeing the dhole picked over another SEA carnivore at the time because I never thought they’d get in
The Dall Sheep is one of the best surprises The game has ever had and I wouldn’t trade them for any other animal.
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Agree about all except:
- Arid pack: things like dama gazelle, somali wild ass and sand cat were deffinetly NOT more iconic than the hamadryas baboon which was one of the main animals wanted at the time and it was the perfect pack for it.
- Wetlands: getting TWO ungulates over a TRUE waterfowl in a WETLANDS pack was not a good choice.
My hot take about wetlands though is that the red crowned crane should've been a waterfowl or a wading bird that has a stronger association with Wetlands. Sure they gather and breed in wetlands but i think ducks, geese, herons and spoonbills over the red crowned crane when i think of water birds. I still would not get rid of it, is one of my favorite birds in the game and one of the few animals that got me actually excited and surprised me when it was revealed. But i would 100% trade the lechwe for any other waterfowl or wading bird.
The debate about Hamadryas being a desert animal at the time swayed me to say that but fair enough
To me the crane was enough for the time they were one of my most requested birds. But until we get more waterfowl I definitely understand your point and it looks bad if we never get any
Love to see so much Llama love.
As a big zoo nerd I do personally disagree about that Sloth, but I just wish I could get both
I love siamangs irl. Although i think for PZ the lar is far and away the better one, not only because it functions and moves alot better (why they didnt replace the chimp run on the siamang with the lar gibbon animation is kinda beyond me) but also because i think the siamang in game looks a little cursed and alot more swole than hairy, especially the arms.
So for me atleast the lar gibbon was much more of an replacement for the siamangs than an alternative, which is kind of a shame as i think that both species do have a place in PZ
Oh yea don’t get me wrong theyre implemented sub par to the gibbon, but their inclusion before the gibbon made sense from icon status alone
Within Grasslands Pack, Striped Hyena > Maned Wolf. Although I wanted them both, I wanted Striped Hyena more!
What controversial animal addition did you feel was better than what everybody else wanted, for example alot people wanted the markhor more than the takin, but I love the takin ten times more than the markhor.
Quokka and Flying Fox > The rest of Oceania Pack
I was glad when we got the Sloth Bear! Even though everyone wanted Spectacled...
Yeah my hot take about the bears is that sloth bear > spec bear.
Definitely agree, but please try to avoid mentioning two animals from the same pack, thanks.
My Hot Take: I think many people take this game too seriously.
Example 1: We shouldn't have Saiga because they aren't any in captivity.
Counterargument: An imaginary scenario where the zoo I built is a breeding center for the endangered Saiga located in a country they are native too and that I release the babies into the wild. Imaginary scenario 2= I rescued an injured/ill saiga in a country it's native to and am holding at my rehabilitation facility.
Example 2: They should never add marine mammals like dolphins or orcas because it's too unethical to keep them.
Counterargument: My zoo is one of those Marine Mammal Rehab places that rehabs dolphins, smaller whale species, seals, sea turtles, etc. and then released them back into the wild and maybe some have to stay at my facility for life because they have a disability/injury that makes them non-releasable.
It would be totally fine to add marine mammals, and I don't think it would be controversial as long as they don't add shows/tricks for them and make them perform as part of the game.
Example 3: We shouldn't have common/least concern/ urban/ "pest" animals like raccoons, skunks, etc.
Counterargument: My zoo is a rehab of Native Wildlife animals and also has non-releasable ambassador animals. Many zoos include common native urban species as part of their Children's Zoo area besides just a petting zoo.
Example 4: We shouldn't have extinct species.
Counterargument: An imaginary scenario where it's way in the future and we've perfected cloning so much that there are several species back in existence now like the thylacine and wooly mammoth for example.
But even without the counterarguments, has Frontier ever actual made a statement anywhere that this game is meant to be realistic or focused on conservation?
I mean 2 of their other building games are a Theme Park Builder and a Dinosaur Park Builder, so I don't think their main focus for their Zoo Builder game is to be realistic/accurate/ focus on conservation. If we had Marine Mania and Extinct Animals for Zoo Tycoon 2, why wouldn't similar packs be something Frontier could potentially do for Planet Zoo? They would definitely have to focus on Modern Extinct Animals or only Prehistoric Mammals to avoid competing with their own Jurassic Park games if they made an Extinct Animals pack though. Heck, the game Wildlife Park 2 even had a Fantasy Expansion pack with Dragons and Unicorns. Although there's a lot of real animals I'd want first, I wouldn't even be opposed if the game wanted to put in fantasy or cryptid creatures because it's just a game and no one is forced to use any animal they include in the game.
Example 1: We shouldn't have Saiga because they aren't any in captivity.
Counterargument: An imaginary scenario where the zoo I built is a breeding center for the endangered Saiga located in a country they are native too and that I release the babies into the wild. Imaginary scenario 2= I rescued an injured/ill saiga in a country it's native to and am holding at my rehabilitation facility.
Example 2: They should never add marine mammals like dolphins or orcas because it's too unethical to keep them.
Counterargument: My zoo is one of those Marine Mammal Rehab places that rehabs dolphins, smaller whale species, seals, sea turtles, etc. and then released them back into the wild and maybe some have to stay at my facility for life because they have a disability/injury that makes them non-releasable.
It would be totally fine to add marine mammals, and I don't think it would be controversial as long as they don't add shows/tricks for them and make them perform as part of the game.
Example 3: We shouldn't have common/least concern/ urban/ "pest" animals like raccoons, skunks, etc.
Counterargument: My zoo is a rehab of Native Wildlife animals and also has non-releasable ambassador animals. Many zoos include common native urban species as part of their Children's Zoo area besides just a petting zoo.
Example 4: We shouldn't have extinct species.
Counterargument: An imaginary scenario where it's way in the future and we've perfected cloning so much that there are several species back in existence now like the thylacine and wooly mammoth for example.
But even without the counterarguments, has Frontier ever actual made a statement anywhere that this game is meant to be realistic or focused on conservation?
I mean 2 of their other building games are a Theme Park Builder and a Dinosaur Park Builder, so I don't think their main focus for their Zoo Builder game is to be realistic/accurate/ focus on conservation. If we had Marine Mania and Extinct Animals for Zoo Tycoon 2, why wouldn't similar packs be something Frontier could potentially do for Planet Zoo? They would definitely have to focus on Modern Extinct Animals or only Prehistoric Mammals to avoid competing with their own Jurassic Park games if they made an Extinct Animals pack though. Heck, the game Wildlife Park 2 even had a Fantasy Expansion pack with Dragons and Unicorns. Although there's a lot of real animals I'd want first, I wouldn't even be opposed if the game wanted to put in fantasy or cryptid creatures because it's just a game and no one is forced to use any animal they include in the game.
While I really don't want extinct animals, mainly because they have little use in my zoos, but I agree with everything else, I still feel the Muntjac is much more interesting then the saiga but as much as I hate itI understand not minding it in game. I feel that dolphins and such should be added, but doing so will get everybody down frontiers throat and make people not by the pack or even game, but I do not think this should be the case. Lastly I feel the Urban animals are great and more should be added.
But overall all I agree with you.
Honestly I would love it if the next DLC focused on mix habitat animals. Obviously I am not only talking about birds. Usually in DLCs we get a number of headliner species, but I really think we could use a DLC which just offers to expand habitats and add some more diversity to our builds.
Bears and cats are, if anything, overrepresented!
- Sloth Bear
- Asiatic Black Bear
- Eurasian Brown Bear
- American Black Bear
- Polar Bear
- Panda
Infact
Urban Animal Pack
(By the way this is just a exception, only make pack concepts is it proves a point/hot take or it's for a weekly challenge)
Social? ANIMAL PACK
- GRETAER RHEA
- PATAGONIAN MARA
- BLACK HOWLER MONKEY
- SQUIRREL MONKEY
- SOUTHAMERICAN COATI
- SCARLET IBIS
- WHITE FACE WHISTLING DUCK
Is it a south american animal pack in disguise and an excuse to include three birds? Yes.