My one disappointment is there isn't anything fully North America in it...the Everglades kind of seem like something that should have something...
Planet Zoo: Wetlands Animal Pack arriving 12 April
- Thread starter Eltanin Casciani
- Start date
I'm actually a bit surprised by this. I'm with you regarding the Caiman. Given the type of pack, I think a Nile Croc or Chinese Alligator would have been a better choice...or if they were married to the Caiman idea, the Black Caiman, as a full-size crocodilian, would have been better.
However, I'm pretty much loving all the other 6 habitat animals.
Sure there are still some underrepresented regions still out there. However, this pack did address some of those. Capybara(only by far the most requested animal) for SA, a wading bird, platypus for Oceania, a second, smaller otter(another huge request by the community), etc.
They can't fix everything at once. I imagine by the end of the year they should have addressed most of these other areas...I'm still expecting packs focusing on Asia, Oceania and SA in the future. If not, feel free to save this and remind me. I will eat my words here.
I know this is crazy, but not everyone has the same opinions as you. Just because someone likes a pack doesn’t mean they like everything frontier puts out— just that they like the pack. I like this honestly more than either the European or Southeast Asian packs, and I think the otter, platypus, and capybaras are absolute must haves. This doesn’t mean you’re wrong for disliking the pack or that I blindly buy everything a company tells me to, just that I think this pack is worth it and you don’t.
Oh boy, this DLC feels like X-mas for me!
I really love the mist effects in the trailer as well! Can't wait to test that setting in-game! Would be amazing for themed areas or for wonderful cinematics/screenshots!
Thank you Frontier/Planet Zoo Dev's!
- The Capybara was a given, but for me as well an animal I would really love in the game. Can't wait to add it to my Pantanal/Pampas habitats with the tapir, anteater and maybe even the capuchin monkey.
- The Red Crowned Crane is a gift from heaven for me: it's a bird, it's a whooping dancing featherboi that I adore in zoo's. These birds showed off their mating dance in front of my eyes on the day that my fiancee proposed to me. I really hope their animation is somewhat a dance.
- The Platypus is also one of my favorites animals and I didn't expect this animal to make an appearance in this game at all! And it can use the small burrow as well, which is amazing. I am curious if it will have a special monotreme birth thing, like the marsupials got with their joeys.
- The Asian Small Clawed Otter is a zoo must have of course, but I didn't really mind the Giant Otter. I'm glad for others who really needed this guy. Can't wait to see these playful furrybois.
- The Water Buffalo and the Nile Lechwe are amazing! I do love ungulates as well in zoo's and they are a kind of underrepresented. I actually am happy we didn't get a feline or canine this time, but two ungulates!
Can't wait to see the Lechwe in game! - The Spectacled Caiman is for me the least exciting animal, but I don't feel like it's a downer. Reptiles are one of the strongest point of the Planet Zoo Devs and I'm sure it will look amazing!
- The Danube Crested Newt sounds like a fun Exhibit animal. Lovely to see a water salamander following the Fire Salamander. Can't wait to check out how small it is and how it will work with the new flexicolour water for exhibits. Now we will have three paludarium animals!
I really love the mist effects in the trailer as well! Can't wait to test that setting in-game! Would be amazing for themed areas or for wonderful cinematics/screenshots!
Thank you Frontier/Planet Zoo Dev's!
As someone who’s generally very eager to get more North American representation, I can’t say I’m terribly bothered here. We already have the beaver and alligator, two of the biggest and best fitting candidates. I think the Japanese crane is a better call than any of the North American ones would’ve been. And even if I would’ve slightly preferred the North American river otter over the ASCO, there’s no denying which one has broader worldwide appeal. So with all that in mind, what else could they have done to fit the theme and still be halfway appealing? I used to be all in on the alligator snapping turtle as a habitat species but I’ve sort of soured on that idea over time. That’s the only other real contender I can think of, though, unless you wanted to opt for a less popular pelican species.
Raccoon probably.
I don’t really think of the raccoon as being a wetland species (they’re a back yard species, and I don’t live anywhere near the wetlands) but yeah, that makes sense.
Alright, opinion time!
I obviously didn't see this one coming, but that doesn't change the fact that I really like the animals in this pack!
Capybara felt like an obvious choice, and I'm glad to see it included. Red crowned crane is a marvelous addition, finally adding another bird to the mix. Also great to see the Asian Small Clawed otter, another famously requested animal for the game. The lechwe, water buffalo and the newt are all fine animals to be added. Now we come to the two animals of which I already expected would be controversial when I saw the announcement, the platypus and the caiman.
A good zoo game in my eyes offers a majority of relatively to very common zoo animals. The basis has to be there to make it work, and all in all I feel that Planet Zoo has (with some exceptions like birds and monkeys) a broad basis in that regard. Perfect? No, but I don't expect a game to ever be perfect. On the other hand, a good zoo game should also include a small variety of animals that are not common in captivity, allowing us to create both the more common types of zoos and outliers. In that regard, I firmly believe that animals like a platypus and the proboscis monkey have their place within the game, and that's why I think it deserves the spot in the DLC.
Now, most controversially, I disagree that the caiman is "unnecessary". Yes, we already have a caiman and when you look at the game on a short term basis your initial reaction might very well be "but we already have one?". However, long term speaking as someone who played ZT2 for 17 years, variation like this is a life-saver. I don't want to add the broad snoated caiman in every single zoo that I make, and being able to diversify is a major plus in my eyes.
Overall, this pack adds a lot of animals I like. Is it the birds pack that I wanted? No. But I feel like it's unfair to judge a pack based on what it could be, because in our minds, any pack could have been anything. So I always judge the pack on what is there and what it is, not what it could have been.
The minor criticisms I have are that I'm slightly disappointed to see that bathing is only added to the macaque and the capybara. I'm afraid it's going to be a bit limited to just sitting in water, whilst I was really looking forward to it being a more in depth (pardon the pun) behavior system that could be applied to animals like elephants. Now it feels ( and again, pardon the pun) a bit shallow.I sincerely hope that more animals get it in the future and that it is more than just sitting in the water.
One other criticism I have is that I'm quite disappointed to see that the pantanal scenario map has the standard rainforest backdrop again. This was an excellent chance to give us a non-mountain backdrop and I feel like it's a missed opportunity.
Overall, I think the update and the DLC are nice additions, although I do still feel that both are a bit light on content compared to the updates in the past year. I was kinda hoping that the DLC would spice up the update a bit, but alas, it's not the case. However, keeping in line with judging a pack for what it is and not for what it could have been, this feels like an all round good addition to the game.
I obviously didn't see this one coming, but that doesn't change the fact that I really like the animals in this pack!
Capybara felt like an obvious choice, and I'm glad to see it included. Red crowned crane is a marvelous addition, finally adding another bird to the mix. Also great to see the Asian Small Clawed otter, another famously requested animal for the game. The lechwe, water buffalo and the newt are all fine animals to be added. Now we come to the two animals of which I already expected would be controversial when I saw the announcement, the platypus and the caiman.
A good zoo game in my eyes offers a majority of relatively to very common zoo animals. The basis has to be there to make it work, and all in all I feel that Planet Zoo has (with some exceptions like birds and monkeys) a broad basis in that regard. Perfect? No, but I don't expect a game to ever be perfect. On the other hand, a good zoo game should also include a small variety of animals that are not common in captivity, allowing us to create both the more common types of zoos and outliers. In that regard, I firmly believe that animals like a platypus and the proboscis monkey have their place within the game, and that's why I think it deserves the spot in the DLC.
Now, most controversially, I disagree that the caiman is "unnecessary". Yes, we already have a caiman and when you look at the game on a short term basis your initial reaction might very well be "but we already have one?". However, long term speaking as someone who played ZT2 for 17 years, variation like this is a life-saver. I don't want to add the broad snoated caiman in every single zoo that I make, and being able to diversify is a major plus in my eyes.
Overall, this pack adds a lot of animals I like. Is it the birds pack that I wanted? No. But I feel like it's unfair to judge a pack based on what it could be, because in our minds, any pack could have been anything. So I always judge the pack on what is there and what it is, not what it could have been.
The minor criticisms I have are that I'm slightly disappointed to see that bathing is only added to the macaque and the capybara. I'm afraid it's going to be a bit limited to just sitting in water, whilst I was really looking forward to it being a more in depth (pardon the pun) behavior system that could be applied to animals like elephants. Now it feels ( and again, pardon the pun) a bit shallow.I sincerely hope that more animals get it in the future and that it is more than just sitting in the water.
One other criticism I have is that I'm quite disappointed to see that the pantanal scenario map has the standard rainforest backdrop again. This was an excellent chance to give us a non-mountain backdrop and I feel like it's a missed opportunity.
Overall, I think the update and the DLC are nice additions, although I do still feel that both are a bit light on content compared to the updates in the past year. I was kinda hoping that the DLC would spice up the update a bit, but alas, it's not the case. However, keeping in line with judging a pack for what it is and not for what it could have been, this feels like an all round good addition to the game.
Gotta admit that it’s surprising no NA, swamp species made an appearance in a pack focusing solely on wetlands. The Everglades is one of the most well-known wetland environments in the world, alongside the Nile and the Amazon. So many great options from the Everglades too: West Indian Manatee, Common Raccoon, Roseate Spoonbill, Alligator Snapping Turtle, not to mention any of the hundreds of other waterfowl species or freshwater fish…
More water themes and enrichment items coming our way I see I really like this pack! Especially happy with the platypus and the crane! <3
And it eems frontier is testing out the waters so to speak lol, maybe aquariums is actually something we might get in the future Especially with the recolourable exhibit water coming too!
I really like this pack! Especially happy with the platypus and the crane! <3And it eems frontier is testing out the waters so to speak lol, maybe aquariums is actually something we might get in the future
Especially with the recolourable exhibit water coming too!
So the pack was a bit of a curveball, but I think its a good addition. I am looking forward to adding all the animals to my zoos. I find that I will be learning about some animals I have never heard of, and anticipating adding animals that are at my local zoo as well.
Nile Lechwe - I will admit never herd of this animal before so cannot wait to get educated on this animal. If each new DLC was just the top 8 requested each time it would get boring and predicable, so I am glad PZ add the underdogs.
Wild Water (Asian) Buffalo - Really excited for this animal. It's been a while since there has been another Indian based species in the game. The rice field comment makes sense. First bovine since the main game.
Platypus - I was thinking before that the only thing missing from this wetland pack was a waterfowl of some kind. But then I remembered that the platypus has that covered. I cannot wait to add them. I can see myself building a habitat 6 times bigger than it needs and only two adults are required.
ASL Otter - I can spend hours watching them play in their home at the local zoo. They are so adorable I cannot wait to add to my zoo, and the only thing cuter than the otter are baby otters.
Capybara - I'm a little indifferent with this one. But I think its because it's inclusion had already been spoiled, so it's not as new.
Red Crowned Crane - At first I thought these were variant cousins of the Grey-crowned crane, but no these are the other crane at my local zoo, but under a different name. In fact they are one of the animals that have always been there in my lifetime.
Crested Newt - Yay another European animal, always a plus.
Spectacled Caiman - I like the crocs in the game so its a nice inclusion. I can see others wanted something else. But maybe they will appear in later themed packs. It should be twice the size of the dwarf caiman, so it's slightly different. Personally I would have preferred a big snake like the Green Anaconda or Burmese Python.
Nile Lechwe - I will admit never herd of this animal before so cannot wait to get educated on this animal. If each new DLC was just the top 8 requested each time it would get boring and predicable, so I am glad PZ add the underdogs.
Wild Water (Asian) Buffalo - Really excited for this animal. It's been a while since there has been another Indian based species in the game. The rice field comment makes sense. First bovine since the main game.
Platypus - I was thinking before that the only thing missing from this wetland pack was a waterfowl of some kind. But then I remembered that the platypus has that covered. I cannot wait to add them. I can see myself building a habitat 6 times bigger than it needs and only two adults are required.
ASL Otter - I can spend hours watching them play in their home at the local zoo. They are so adorable I cannot wait to add to my zoo, and the only thing cuter than the otter are baby otters.
Capybara - I'm a little indifferent with this one. But I think its because it's inclusion had already been spoiled, so it's not as new.
Red Crowned Crane - At first I thought these were variant cousins of the Grey-crowned crane, but no these are the other crane at my local zoo, but under a different name. In fact they are one of the animals that have always been there in my lifetime.
Crested Newt - Yay another European animal, always a plus.
Spectacled Caiman - I like the crocs in the game so its a nice inclusion. I can see others wanted something else. But maybe they will appear in later themed packs. It should be twice the size of the dwarf caiman, so it's slightly different. Personally I would have preferred a big snake like the Green Anaconda or Burmese Python.
The whole "please give us new maps and map backgrounds based on other real world places" like this example, or better maps for temperate North America or a better Mediterranean maps have been on the meta-suggestions list for a little while now. Hopefully we can get that as a major update at some point, along with a selection menu that allows us to choose the map type, the map background, the sky type and the color pallet for the terrain paints. That would be huge as far as customization and longevity are considered, especially with the terrain variation mechanics.
To be honest, I'd rather have had this caiman in the aquatic pack, and something like a Cuban croc in this one (those are landgoing, social weirdos and quite different in size from Salties).
A black caiman would be very samey with the gator, ngl. Even if due to convergence (in fact, I have the same issue with the Nile croc, which is an animal I love yet would feel samey... anniversary freebie would be appropiate tho).
The Kobus species... I didn't know about it, and I find it to be a great choice. And I'm thinking of mixing otters; we got the largest and smallest species now, so it may be interesting!
A black caiman would be very samey with the gator, ngl. Even if due to convergence (in fact, I have the same issue with the Nile croc, which is an animal I love yet would feel samey... anniversary freebie would be appropiate tho).
The Kobus species... I didn't know about it, and I find it to be a great choice. And I'm thinking of mixing otters; we got the largest and smallest species now, so it may be interesting!
maybe swamp species will get a different pack?
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Thank you.
I think I will do something along the lines of the central enclosure at Healesville without underwater viewing or the (former?) outdoor enclosure at Taronga based on a stream. A realistic indoor tank which is more typical could be quite challenging.