Truthfully not sure what to say about this new DLC. On the one hand, it’s clear that there is still a group of dedicated developers for this game that care about the new content’s quality (all the screenshots of the new species models look amazing). But on the other hand, just because all these new species have pretty models, it doesn’t mean that they will offer much of anything new in PZ’s actual gameplay. Besides the porcupine (which hands-down looks phenomenal by the way), everything in this DLC already has an in-game counterpart that’s of comparable size and will likely behave/interact exactly the same.
Additionally, the theme for this pack is disappointing/discouraging for multiple reasons. Firstly, it likely means we will never get a dedicated Desert-based pack that contains species from across the globe. Why not just call this pack something more location-specific, since everything in it is from Africa? Calling this the Arid Pack all but confirms we will never get a Desert Pack, because these are basically the same themes. Sure, it’s possible that Frontier could pull together an American Southwest/Wild West Pack or something, but what’s to be done about South America and Australia? We aren’t going to get an Outback Pack, Shrublands Pack, etc. at this point. Also, Animal Packs offer the chance to pull together a larger variety of animals, as they are not “tied down” by any true physical, building theme. So why is everything in this pack either a large ungulate or carnivoran primarily from North Africa, except for the porcupine?
I totally understand why Northern Africa needed some more representation, but doing it this way, with this exact lineup, feels kinda “meh” to me. As others have mentioned, the Middle East/North Africa has more to offer than just large hoofstock and carnivorans. Something like the Sulcata Tortoise or a Crowned Crane would have been such an easy “clone” for something like this, yet would have added much needed diversity to Orders that have so little in PZ right now.
If Frontier truly is “saving” most of the major requested species still on the Meta-List, and more generally, species easily recognized by the general zoo-goer for “potential” DLCs that could happen over a year from now, then I fear it might end up biting them in the ass (never thought I’d be able to use that word on the forums).
I say this because, as
@Doran mentioned, PZ seems to be on a gradual downslide for engagement and profits. And this sort of thing is typical of what happens when a game has been around for multiple years. Yes, PZ is still one of Frontier’s best performing games. But that can always change if player engagement goes sour.
Trust me, I’d love to see PZ’s official support drag out as long as possible, but if Frontier starts to “drip feed” people popular, requested, or unique species to the point where each new DLC only has one or two “attention grabbers”, likely that’s going to really hurt the profitability of new DLC.
And then what becomes the point of saving all these more-requested species, when the potential, future DLC they may come in doesn’t end up happening because sales of current DLC have dropped to the point where it isn’t profitable for Frontier anymore?
All in all, I’m probably gonna wait to catch this one on discount. Want to support this game, but there’s not much in this or the accompanying update that honestly interests me. Hopefully the fall will bring something more engaging for me (though I’ve been saying this for a while now after recent DLC reveals).
