I love sand cat. It’s so cuteAverage dlc pack releasebirds, mac and lame animal choice comments everywhere. But at the same time we have people solely buying the pack because of the sand cat which frontier did very well choosing that.
Planet Zoo: Arid Animal Pack Releasing 20 June 🐪
- Thread starter Lydiah Moon
- Start date
OK, well I spent most of the afternoon at work with a grin on my face thanks to this Arid Animal Pack.
African Crested Porcupine - Finally they are here. The quilled phenomenon that I was worried would be impossible because of those very quills, and the babies are going to be adorable. 10/10
Sand Cat - Any new cat is going to to grab and own attention, add in the fact they so tiny and cute and will steal your heart, I cannot wait to see them in animation if these don't bring a smile on your face there is something wrong with you. Add in the kittens, this is a much feared carnivore....
they are going to be so tiny. I'm am going to struggle trading them out or releasing to wild because I will want to keep them. Frontier if you are reading this, you will need to double the storage capacity. 11/10
Dromedary - One of the most recognisable animals in the world, anyone over 5 should know what this is. I assume this is the 'cover star' of the pack even though for me preference wise it's in the bottom half of the pile. Its domesticated, I guess this is the one with a habitat's guests could enter and be spat on. Silly me to think this cover star could be the annivarsary free gift. 6/10
Horned Snake - its a new snake - cool. Its a new exhibit animal - eh. To be fair I wasn't expecting a new walkthrough animal because the next walkthrough animal will be a bird and don't know when that could be if ever so was expecting a terranium, and if you wanted an African themed reptile house you now have more variety... i have no more straws 3/10
Black Rhinceros - I'm getting spoiled. Size shouldn't matter, but when they are built like tanks it's hard not to pay attention, and rhino's are a favourite of mine, and when Attenborough befriended one years ago... i will always have a soft spot for them. Loving this 8/10
Dama Gazelle - honestly had to google to remind me what this was. But that is part of the appeal. I see that it's critically endangered (so was surprised and angry to see that many photos were trophy photos from some texan poaching club). A conservation story needing to be told, but still unknown so mid score 6/10
Addax - the conservation status alone makes it a worth inclusion in the game. But with the rest of the packs lineup...like the gazelle it gets lost in the herd. 6/10
Somali Wild Ass - This animal takes the pack up to the next level. I was hoping for a donkey species for a long long time and was a glaring omission. Super happy 10/10
Would I swap any out for another..... maybe the secretary bird for the gazelle or addax. But then I think it has more chances to appear in another pack than either those two. But in the end more than half of the habitat roster are critically endangered and for a franchise player they are valuable and add variety to the game so that is a plus.
African Crested Porcupine - Finally they are here. The quilled phenomenon that I was worried would be impossible because of those very quills, and the babies are going to be adorable. 10/10
Sand Cat - Any new cat is going to to grab and own attention, add in the fact they so tiny and cute and will steal your heart, I cannot wait to see them in animation if these don't bring a smile on your face there is something wrong with you. Add in the kittens, this is a much feared carnivore....
they are going to be so tiny. I'm am going to struggle trading them out or releasing to wild because I will want to keep them. Frontier if you are reading this, you will need to double the storage capacity. 11/10Dromedary - One of the most recognisable animals in the world, anyone over 5 should know what this is. I assume this is the 'cover star' of the pack even though for me preference wise it's in the bottom half of the pile. Its domesticated, I guess this is the one with a habitat's guests could enter and be spat on. Silly me to think this cover star could be the annivarsary free gift. 6/10
Horned Snake - its a new snake - cool. Its a new exhibit animal - eh. To be fair I wasn't expecting a new walkthrough animal because the next walkthrough animal will be a bird and don't know when that could be if ever so was expecting a terranium, and if you wanted an African themed reptile house you now have more variety... i have no more straws 3/10
Black Rhinceros - I'm getting spoiled. Size shouldn't matter, but when they are built like tanks it's hard not to pay attention, and rhino's are a favourite of mine, and when Attenborough befriended one years ago... i will always have a soft spot for them. Loving this 8/10
Dama Gazelle - honestly had to google to remind me what this was. But that is part of the appeal. I see that it's critically endangered (so was surprised and angry to see that many photos were trophy photos from some texan poaching club). A conservation story needing to be told, but still unknown so mid score 6/10
Addax - the conservation status alone makes it a worth inclusion in the game. But with the rest of the packs lineup...like the gazelle it gets lost in the herd. 6/10
Somali Wild Ass - This animal takes the pack up to the next level. I was hoping for a donkey species for a long long time and was a glaring omission. Super happy 10/10
Would I swap any out for another..... maybe the secretary bird for the gazelle or addax. But then I think it has more chances to appear in another pack than either those two. But in the end more than half of the habitat roster are critically endangered and for a franchise player they are valuable and add variety to the game so that is a plus.
I mean you are the opinion that Frontier failed. I am another opinion. But I think the problem some people have with your posts is that you seem to write it in a general way (as If all people are very upset with the pack). I honestly think sometimes putting expressions like "in my opinion" or "personally" into your sentences would make your posts less harsh. Just a tip because I always try to do so
.Hoping for Future Packs is a valid thing. Frontier delivers us 7 Habitat animals which is not that much. Not everything can make everyone happy in a pack. And saving animals for further Packs also is okay as all packs need some "stronger" animals (and we have a really strong one within this Pack with the Porcupine in my opinion) even If they would also have fit into this Pack.
But at the end of the day there will be always critics. Frontier seems to do nothing right. The tropical pack delivered 4 out of the 5 delivered animals which have been the most requested animals (at least within our Forum community) and even that seemed to make (some) people very unhappy.
And nobody forces somebody to buy a pack. If people are constantly unhappy with the decisions of Frontier (it is meant in general not especially to you) with the packs than just do not buy it. It is just a game and I am personally happy with every animal we get delivered. Frontier improved so much from the start and we still get big game improving updates (I have the feeling that brachiation and WTE from last year are rarely appreciated here).
I am sure there are reasons for Frontier to bring us less birds and primates. Be it for a sequel (or what I would Wish something Like PZ 2.0 with the actual game but improved Base Game animals with a big and more expensive update) which I could Imagine for birds or because of technical issues which I could Imagine for monkeys (because the climbing mechanics still are not the best).
Edit: Hope you are not mad with me. Most of the stuff I posted is a general observation from me here and not meant for specific Forum Users.
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I really thought we were on the same page, at least in majority, when it was agreed upon that Near East and North Africa were severily lacking in species.
I mean before this pack noticeably so even behind South America and Australia. We had Oryx and Fennec and that's it.
So doesn't it make sense for that region to be heavily focused on when the right biome gets tackled?
Sure there was space for maybe one or two animals off. Rhino doesn't live in ME-NA and Dama gazelle is somewhat unknown. But instead of those we could get max two animals from other continents.
Are two animals really that much of a deal, to make or break the pack?
Yeah maybe they didn't have to be Ungulates, people are mentioning Baboons and Tortoises, but then again we're talking about two animals. Doesn't that make a majority of pack good?
There are some holes in our roster, and it's perfectly reasonable for themes to be created to plug those holes rather than let them be defined by them. One of those holes was North Africa.
In similar manner some later Arboreal, Treetop pack will have to heavily focus in South and Central America, a potential Island pack would have to in majority cover Oceania.
I mean before this pack noticeably so even behind South America and Australia. We had Oryx and Fennec and that's it.
So doesn't it make sense for that region to be heavily focused on when the right biome gets tackled?
Sure there was space for maybe one or two animals off. Rhino doesn't live in ME-NA and Dama gazelle is somewhat unknown. But instead of those we could get max two animals from other continents.
Are two animals really that much of a deal, to make or break the pack?
Yeah maybe they didn't have to be Ungulates, people are mentioning Baboons and Tortoises, but then again we're talking about two animals. Doesn't that make a majority of pack good?
There are some holes in our roster, and it's perfectly reasonable for themes to be created to plug those holes rather than let them be defined by them. One of those holes was North Africa.
In similar manner some later Arboreal, Treetop pack will have to heavily focus in South and Central America, a potential Island pack would have to in majority cover Oceania.
It more have a taste of SEA pack to me.
6 ungulates/carnivores, + one animal of an underrepresented category. And an exhibit animal that is just kind of there.
I assume the overall animal quality is better this time though.
What the SEA pack did better was having a less open theme. Felt less disappointing when announced, although it didn't age well.
I think the issue lies in this: Flaws vs Preference
You are stating your preference as obvious flaws. Everyone should express their preferences to the developers so they can provide the content you want to buy. Saying they are obvious flaws and arguing that your preferences are vastly superior to others preferences is the crux of the criticism being directed towards you in this regard.
Twighlight pack, although being one of the weaker packs, was better -
first, we got scenery, which is useful even if you don’t love the species choices.
Second, building for the animals in that pack is varied - even with only 4 vs. 7 species…large ungulates certainly have their place but building for them isn’t very varied - especially for arid species, where most habitats won’t be much more than big, open expanses.
Third , the animals in that pack added niches that weren’t yet in the game - for this pack, there’s almost nothing that adds something we don’t already have.
I for one don’t really care about the baboon or tortoise. I would have loved the secretary bird, but there are hundreds of other animals I would have loved in a DLC. We can always only get a small selection of them and people just like different animals for different reasons. And there have been a fair number of posts by people that are really happy with the line-up. I am excited about the new animals and the animals we’ve seen so far look amazing. IMO they all are really good additions, and I love creating desert habitats. I can’t wait for the 20th! I can understand that some people would have loved to see some other animals, but this has been true with every single DLC so far and is pretty much inevitable.
I'm going to throw some fuel on the fire and say that we can keep all the ungulates. The animal I want scrapped in favour of a baboon is the sand cat.
"But it's cute!" I don't care.
"But it's common zoos!" not in any zoos I go to.
I love antelope. Give me more antelope, Frontier, if you want. Just please give me my stupid baboon somewhere along the way, and not the gelada which isn't even a baboon.
"But it's cute!" I don't care.
"But it's common zoos!" not in any zoos I go to.
I love antelope. Give me more antelope, Frontier, if you want. Just please give me my stupid baboon somewhere along the way, and not the gelada which isn't even a baboon.
@Lydiah Moon Question that idk if anyone’s asked yet (so if it’s been asked, I apologize). When you say that the Dama Gazelle will be part of the pack, do you mean the Dama as in N. dama dama, or do you mean one of the other two Dama subspecies (N. dama mhorr [the Mhorr Gazelle] or N. dama ruficollis [the Addra Gazelle])? Only asking because the Dama Gazelle currently is in captivity in only one facility in the world, whereas the Mhorr and Addra Gazelles are much more common in breeding programs across Europe and North America. Also because none of the three of them look the same; the Mhorr in particular is distinctly different in appearance from the Dama and the Addra.
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I think I agree that calling this an arid animal pack is really weird instead of North Africa or Sahara or something. The name does imply the animals are going to be from a variety of continents, not just Africa, based on past biome-centric packs. Unless they're saving the animals that really should've been in this pack for later, I do agree the criticism is completely valid.
The problem is Frontier choosing to be completely enigmatic about how long the game is going to last and how many more DLC we can expect. The total radio silence for months on end is actually irritating and does nothing but make people think the game is over after every new DLC announcement and then we infight over opinions and the forum atmosphere sucks for a little while. But I digress.
I personally love the pack's roster, although I do acknowledge and agree some of the animals should have been put somewhere else. Dama gazelle are beautiful and great for critically endangered representation, it's an ungulate with a body shape we don't have yet, and from an area that is sorely lacking in the game, but it and the addax are similar in coloration and I honestly think it (and the rhino) should have been saved for an endangered species pack or something. A baboon and literally any bird at all would have been much better choices and made more sense. Also, the snake. I love that we got a new one, but I am genuinely so disenchanted by the gigantic exhibit boxes and beige colored snakes. For what this pack is supposed to be--an arid animal pack--the line up just isn't great.
Not to mention the update, which I will not be using at all except for the flexicolor uniforms. My computer would probably explode if I tried to use a camera function with keyframes in a videogame as chunky as Planet Zoo. I can't even use transport rides as is.
Complaining aside, assuming we will see more DLC in 2024, I'm going to jump on the "they're saving animals for later" bandwagon for my own sake, but I'm also gonna enjoy what we've been given, because I do genuinely like every animal that's coming. I just think they're in the completely wrong DLC. They really gotta do something cool in the fall though. Seriously.
The problem is Frontier choosing to be completely enigmatic about how long the game is going to last and how many more DLC we can expect. The total radio silence for months on end is actually irritating and does nothing but make people think the game is over after every new DLC announcement and then we infight over opinions and the forum atmosphere sucks for a little while. But I digress.
I personally love the pack's roster, although I do acknowledge and agree some of the animals should have been put somewhere else. Dama gazelle are beautiful and great for critically endangered representation, it's an ungulate with a body shape we don't have yet, and from an area that is sorely lacking in the game, but it and the addax are similar in coloration and I honestly think it (and the rhino) should have been saved for an endangered species pack or something. A baboon and literally any bird at all would have been much better choices and made more sense. Also, the snake. I love that we got a new one, but I am genuinely so disenchanted by the gigantic exhibit boxes and beige colored snakes. For what this pack is supposed to be--an arid animal pack--the line up just isn't great.
Not to mention the update, which I will not be using at all except for the flexicolor uniforms. My computer would probably explode if I tried to use a camera function with keyframes in a videogame as chunky as Planet Zoo. I can't even use transport rides as is.
Complaining aside, assuming we will see more DLC in 2024, I'm going to jump on the "they're saving animals for later" bandwagon for my own sake, but I'm also gonna enjoy what we've been given, because I do genuinely like every animal that's coming. I just think they're in the completely wrong DLC. They really gotta do something cool in the fall though. Seriously.
I just don't see where else the Hamadryas baboon can fit. The only way is if they revisit regions (Middle East) or do a full monkey/primate dedicated pack. If they go with highlands and decide to include a monkey, it's virtually a guarantee that we'll see the gelada, as the gelada lives in high mountain meadows like many other classic alpine species. The gelada is just fine, but it's not a baboon, and it's not a good substitute.
A baboon or a bird instead of a antelope is much better for the game
To be fair, none of us saw the conservation or twilight pack coming, so there's no telling what titles they'll use for packs. I'm just trying to stay realistically optimistic tbh.
Safari pack, old world pack, primates pack and anything random like an exploration pack.
Rhinos, camels, donkeys , and antelope are nothing alike. If they added a dolphin (ungulate btw) y’all would not hate like this
I have mostly been positive in my comments on DLC announcements in the past, however I'm afraid I have to join those who criticise this pack. Although I think all individual animals revealed so far look stunning, I do have some issues with this pack in general.
Firstly, I think the name is poorly chosen. 'Arid' is an adjective, whereas the previously chosen biomes were nouns. This means that the title basically says that the animals are arid, rather than from an arid region. I know it's nitpicking, but it bothers me lol. My other problem with the name is that the theme is not represented by the species in the pack.
As many have stated, all species are from Northern Africa (or Eastern Africa in the case of the wild ass). I always preferred region-based over biome-based packs (because they actually allow you to use one pack for a dedicated section of your zoo), so the choice of species from one region is a positive in itself, but with the name of the DLC being Arid I share the disappointment of not having a peccary, bighorn sheep, rhea or mara.
Then, I agree that the choice of species isn't very strong and this is partly due to the inclusion of so many ungulates. While I think getting new ungulates in general is great and necessary for a zoo game, there are some issues with the selection here.
Firstly, I think the name is poorly chosen. 'Arid' is an adjective, whereas the previously chosen biomes were nouns. This means that the title basically says that the animals are arid, rather than from an arid region. I know it's nitpicking, but it bothers me lol. My other problem with the name is that the theme is not represented by the species in the pack.
As many have stated, all species are from Northern Africa (or Eastern Africa in the case of the wild ass). I always preferred region-based over biome-based packs (because they actually allow you to use one pack for a dedicated section of your zoo), so the choice of species from one region is a positive in itself, but with the name of the DLC being Arid I share the disappointment of not having a peccary, bighorn sheep, rhea or mara.
Then, I agree that the choice of species isn't very strong and this is partly due to the inclusion of so many ungulates. While I think getting new ungulates in general is great and necessary for a zoo game, there are some issues with the selection here.
- First of all, getting five ungulates in one pack seems much, especially when there were some very highly requested and more unique species that are now left out. Most notably this is the Hamadryas baboon, while the sulcata tortoise or secretary bird would've also been good additions.
- The selected species (except the Somali wild ass) do not add that much in my opinion. We already had an African rhino and I've never seen zoos that have two of them. For the dromedary camel, I'd also say it adds little that wasn't covered by the Bactrian camel (even though its range is very different). It's always good to have more antelopes though, and both species would've made good fillers in a pack that had something more ground-breaking to offer. In earlier packs, the Nile lechwe and blue wildebeest were both not the most exciting species of the pack, but at least they added ungulate representation to a pack that needed it and that already had many suitable headliners (capybara, ASCO and crane for Wetlands/armadillo, maned wolf and emu for Grasslands). Yet, this pack is already high on ungulates so the addition of two antelopes is just too much.
- African Crested Porcupine: 10/10 a highly needed species, the first old world rodent in the game and one that looks visually distinct from anything we have in the game so far. Also a very common zoo species so definitely a much needed addition.
- Somali Wild Ass: 9/10 our first donkey, representing an underrepresented region and a critically endangered species.
- Sand Cat: 6/10 I'm not too fond on getting more felines, but this one is adorable. Definitely a unique addition as it's so distinct from any other felines in the game.
- Dromedary Camel: 6/10 I know this was a popular species and a necessary inclusion in any desert-related pack, but it has little additional value to me. I was perfectly fine with just the Bactrian camel.
- Addax: 5/10 It's good to have more antelopes, but they never make me particularly excited. I like that we're getting more critically endangered species, but having two antelopes in one pack is overkill.
- Dama Gazelle: 5/10 same as the addax.
- Black Rhinoceros: 2/10 I know it was requested by many, but I don't see the additional value of it. We already had the white rhino and while it doesn't look identical I don't think there's many zoos that have both, nor do they require very different habitats.
I guess Florida is just an outlier. I’m so used to zoos having both black and white because of Disneys animal kingdom and Busch gardens
Ok, so I've been waiting a while for write what I think about this dlc before this day over ( 
Mexico)
Since the morning I've read all this thread AND another threads about the dlc, yeah, Is not the Best claimed dlc But PERSONALLY i really like it and I've been watching the teaser over an over an over, I don't know but i find It atractive
The desert Is my favorite biomes of the real life and In Planet zoo, so this dlcs makes happy, buttttt, yesteday when i see a lot of African animals In the stream was a NO for me, and i did not want More African species, my favorite desert Is the NA desert because I used to live near, and muy second favorite desert was the North African desert, soooo, when i see this pack was literally an NAfrican Pack I just fall in love, yes, Is not diversive but i love all the animals
Dromedary: My 2nd most wanted animal since the beggin and It just Amazing and so realistic
Somali Wild Ass: Oh mann!!! I just cant with the ammount of happy with they
Dama Gazelle: just a few weeks ago I was thinking about their inclussion in the game so this as well makes me happy
The other animals i really love them as well but this first 3 was a personally must have so, yeahh!!
IMO Is not the pack I was looking for at the begin but i can not change the past so the only thing i can do It Is enjoy It in my biggest zoo that I have in the desert!!!
Mexico) Since the morning I've read all this thread AND another threads about the dlc, yeah, Is not the Best claimed dlc But PERSONALLY i really like it and I've been watching the teaser over an over an over, I don't know but i find It atractive
The desert Is my favorite biomes of the real life and In Planet zoo, so this dlcs makes happy, buttttt, yesteday when i see a lot of African animals In the stream was a NO for me, and i did not want More African species, my favorite desert Is the NA desert because I used to live near, and muy second favorite desert was the North African desert, soooo, when i see this pack was literally an NAfrican Pack I just fall in love, yes, Is not diversive but i love all the animals
Dromedary: My 2nd most wanted animal since the beggin and It just Amazing and so realistic
Somali Wild Ass: Oh mann!!! I just cant with the ammount of happy with they
Dama Gazelle: just a few weeks ago I was thinking about their inclussion in the game so this as well makes me happy
The other animals i really love them as well but this first 3 was a personally must have so, yeahh!!
IMO Is not the pack I was looking for at the begin but i can not change the past so the only thing i can do It Is enjoy It in my biggest zoo that I have in the desert!!!
Hey, the Spanish translator did something right for once and has translated the name of the pack as "animal pack from arid climate". However, he/she didn't bother to translate addax...