With another year of amazing new additions almost over, I am wondering what are your predictions for the next year? I don't mean only with regards to new animals and DLCs, but also to what other features may be added. What direction do you expect the game to go into?
For me it feels like 2022 came with a change of approach:
For me it feels like 2022 came with a change of approach:
- DLCs no longer focussed on regions, but other themes. Animal packs seem to be about biomes now while mixed DLCs can be about anything.
- DLCs seem to no longer focus on the most popular animals in logical categories, but mainly at introducing new features (branchiation, walkthrough exhibits, etc.). This means we get less coherent themes, but more surprise additions.
- DLCs seem to do well even when the most desired animals are already in the game. The Twilight pack had the least diverse roster (and for many the least exciting too), but was still well-received. This means that in the future we may also get DLCs without clear 'headliners' but that do introduce refreshing features.
- Exhibits have gotten more attention in the second half of the year with the introduction of WE, which are much more versatile than our traditional exhibits.
- New guest features have been introduced in pretty much every free update with guided tours, exhibit demonstrations, butterfly interactions and roaming educators.
- Following the expanded guest-animal interactions, I think we may see options for guests to feed certain animals.
- Now that we got WE, I would expect more options for traditional exhibits too. At least make them boxless, perhaps introduce smaller sizes or new non-square shapes.
- We may get more WE species. With bats and butterflies out, climbing nocturnal animals and birds feel like logical steps. Ocean tunnels seem far away but may even be a possibility too.
- With Wetlands and Grasslands now out of the way, I expect the next animal DLCs to focus on rainforests, mountains or perhaps islands.
- With mixed DLCs becoming more feature-oriented, I think there's a chance we will get a Reptile House or Petting Zoo DLC.
- A reptile house DLC could be a good way to introduce new exhibit features and add some of the remaining gaps with exhibit species. Since we got five butterflies at once, they may be able to add multiple exhibit species in one DLC, especially if the habitat species don't require much new behaviour. It may also come with more modern non-themed scenery such as tile walls.
- A petting zoo DLC could be a good way to introduce new guest-animal interactions such as animal feeding. It may also come with interesting farm-based scenery and new guest facilities in the free update (playgrounds??).
- Also here islands is a good option if they want to introduce more Polynesian/Caribbean/Maori/Indonesian themed items (which I'm certainly not against). Nocturnal seems less likely now that we have Twilight, but it's certainly still an option and could even come with the new exhibit features. Coastal may be a final theme which could introduce some interesting species as well as good themed items.
- I'm not expecting a DLC for flying birds or fully aquatic species anymore, but I definitely see a chance that some species of either group may be implemented somehow, similar to how we got the siamang as our first and so far only branchiating species.
