Replacing Aquatic Pack Animals

[Xenopenguin4]

A lot of people were vocal about the animal choices for the aquatic pack, and many were talking about different animals being included. So I'm asking if you had to replace any of the animals in the aquatic pack with a similar one, which ones would it be?

For me, I would probably switch out the caiman for alligator, but I really like all the animals we got.

What are your prefrences?

 

[Cool Cats and Kittens]

The caiman is the only one I wouldn't change:

Grey seal -> Californian Sea Lion (because sea lions are so vocal and the sound is the best executed part of this game)

King pinguin - > African or humbold pinguin because they can realistically be kept outside all year in the biomes where I build my zoos (unlike the king pinguin; I know about the coolers, but it's about the principle)

Giant otter -> any other otter, as long as it has a cute face. Giant otters a fascinating animals, but they creep me out

Despite my remarks, I still think that the DLC has a solid animal set. I just prefer different animals.

 

[jcp011c]

Grey Seal to Sea Lion
Giant Otter to North American River Otter or Asian Small Clawed Otter. Honestly, while i"m glad we have an otter for sure, it's literally the last otter species I would have gone with. They're creepy to me as well.

 

[paul78]

Honestly none. Underwater mechanics was a bit of a mystery a couple months ago so these animals were always in question to begin with. I’ll admit I favor the North American River Otter but I’ll take what I can get with the aquatic pack. The alligator still mind boggles me. It’s very obvious this animal was never on the table for this pack. You can guarantee you’ll see it in a North American pack or other I assure you. I actually really enjoy the inclusion of the caiman although I’m yet to use it atm.

 

[Xenopenguin4]

Honestly none. Underwater mechanics was a bit of a mystery a couple months ago so these animals were always in question to begin with. I’ll admit I favor the North American River Otter but I’ll take what I can get with the aquatic pack. The alligator still mind boggles me. It’s very obvious this animal was never on the table for this pack. You can guarantee you’ll see it in a North American pack or other I assure you.

Yeah, honestly the alligator was the only animal I could think of to replace the caiman. I would love to see a North American Pack with the following:
Moose
Wolverine
California Sea Lion
American Alligator

 

[Aramar]

I wouldn't change any because I wanted the 4 we got and a few others. So if they had put the others, I would then miss the ones we got.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Grey seal with harbor seals
Giant otter with asian small clawed otter
King Penguin with Humboldt Penguin

All because to my experience more common in zoos and also suitable for low budget zoos. But in all honesty, in my opinion all these animals should have been INCLUDED IN ADDITION to the ones we got in this pack. I don't understand why Frontier did a lot of similar species for the base game and reusing rigs (including gorilla for orang utan despite different movements in real life) but are missing such easy chances for the Aquatic pack.

I can understand if they save the sea lion for another pack, as it's highly requested and every pack needs some kind of lead animals. If we won't get them ever, Frontier clearly didn't do their homework.

 

[jcp011c]

Grey seal with harbor seals
Giant otter with asian small clawed otter
King Penguin with Humboldt Penguin

All because to my experience more common in zoos and also suitable for low budget zoos. But in all honesty, in my opinion all these animals should have been INCLUDED IN ADDITION to the ones we got in this pack. I don't understand why Frontier did a lot of similar species for the base game and reusing rigs (including gorilla for orang utan despite different movements in real life) but are missing such easy chances for the Aquatic pack.

I can understand if they save the sea lion for another pack, as it's highly requested and every pack needs some kind of lead animals. If we won't get them ever, Frontier clearly didn't do their homework.

For sure, I'd assume three of the four animals required brand new animal rigs, I can't imagine they'd want to make a brand new rig only and use it only once unless it's a very iconic or highly requested animal. I know there would be some modifications to make new species of penguins, otters and seals/sea lions, but it would at least use the rig as the base. A once and done use doesn't generally make sense. Hopefully we see additional species worked in biome or location packs, or revisiting the theme for a whole DLC again.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Hopefully we see additional species worked in biome or location packs, or revisiting the theme for a whole DLC again.

In most lists, it's basically the same. Another seal, another penguin species. Californa sea lion and Walrus.
The more I've seen those lists, the less exciting I get for another pack like this. (in overall revisiting DLC themes is something I don't like, there are other possibilities that would appeal to more people)

Preferred the Alligator instead of the Caiman but like Paul78 mentioned - it's a good candidate for NA pack. And the Caiman is not a bad pick in general.

The other species were a great pick. Wouldn't change anything for those.

 

[jcp011c]

In most lists, it's basically the same. Another seal, another penguin species. Californa sea lion and Walrus.
The more I've seen those lists, the less exciting I get for another pack like this. (in overall revisiting DLC themes is something I don't like, there are other possibilities that would appeal to more people)

Preferred the Alligator instead of the Caiman but like Paul78 mentioned - it's a good candidate for NA pack. And the Caiman is not a bad pick in general.

The other species were a great pick. Wouldn't change anything for those.

I can understand that. Maybe the Asian Small Clawed Otter in an Asia pack, Sea Lion in NA pack, Cape Penguin in an Asia pack. Or something like that. I know that takes away more slots from those packs, which I assume would still just be 4 Habitat animals, but who knows, maybe at some point we'll get more animals, or more packs than we're hoping (either getting them faster, or longer support).

 

[PeppyPepp]

None, I'm very happy with the animals we have.

 

[LN]

None, I'm very happy with the animals we have.

I echo this.

 

[Villa11]

While I like the animals we got in the pack, I don't understand why they made a rig to only use in one animal. A second otter, second penguin and even the alligator in addition to the ones they included would have been amazing. I don't see the problem in offering reskins of animals that were made for the same DLC pack, but I do feel differently when is takes up a slot in a separate DLC, especially if they keep the 4+1 model.
Sea lions and walrus would need a different rig than the seal, as these animals move very differently from one another, so I won't mind these is different packs.

 

[FoxyDee]

The only thing I miss is the sea lion. Pretty different from grey seal in both appearence and the way it moves on ground, so hopefully we will get it.

(And smaller penguin species would be nice too, although I am very happy with king penguin).

 

[Roxxsmom]

I don't want to see the current aquatic pack animals replaced. I love the gray seals, and I think the otters are cute (though CA sea otters and sea lions would be awesome additions to a future expansion).

Someone mentioned puffins up thread, but those could fly away in the current exhibit system. I'd definitely like to see an expansion or two dedicated to smaller, flying birds that includes the possibility of building aviaries. I suppose they could easily create smaller "exhibit" type bird displays, with cages instead of glass cubes. In addition, what would be really cool would be walk-through aviary habitats (enclosed by a sort of mesh or glass, depending on clime, so the birds can fly around but not leave), which are always popular at real-life zoos. You can already create something like this with peacocks or flamingos by putting a walk-through enclosure inside a glass dome (though the latter always stress big time if people are nearby), but it would be cool to see smaller bird species like parrots, toucans, cocks of the rock, hornbills, raptors and so on. I suppose a three-dimensional flying aviary would be a need to create some kind of three dimensional glass or "null" barrier to do this, however.

 

[NZFanatic]

King pinguin - > African or humbold pinguin because they can realistically be kept outside all year in the biomes where I build my zoos (unlike the king pinguin; I know about the coolers, but it's about the principle)

That's not entirely accurate. Edinburgh Zoo is famous for their king penguin habitat, which is outdoor and open-air all year round. Of course Edinburgh doesn't get especially warm or humid (well...it does these days, thanks to climate change).

Edit: Though I see you mention "all biomes", which is fair.

--

As to the thread, the otter is really the only one I'm all-in for changing. No need to rehash the same reasons as everyone else, but I'd obviously pick the Asian small-clawed otter instead. I think one good reason that isn't often mentioned is the fact that the game seriously lacks small animals for small habitats (which is one reason why I like the caiman).

Of course I'd prefer a sea lion to the grey seal (it blows my mind that they thought a seal was a bigger priority than a sea lion in an aquatic-themed pack), but the otter is the only choice that actually frustrates me.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Honestly, the otter is extremly frustrating indeed. I really really hope the Devs do resd this thread and similar threads and realize what a high request another otter species is. I totally agree that the small size is also a big argument for tze smaller asian small clawed otters.

 

[Cool Cats and Kittens]

That's not entirely accurate. Edinburgh Zoo is famous for their king penguin habitat, which is outdoor and open-air all year round. Of course Edinburgh doesn't get especially warm or humid (well...it does these days, thanks to climate change).

Edinburgh is an exception for a temperate outdoor penguin habitat. It's also notably colder than most other major temperate cities,

Here in Germany, all King penguins are kept in indoor habitats. I don't know any continental temperate zoo that keeps its penguins outside (corrections are welcome!). But some zoos like the Swiss ones let their king penguins out for a walk when the temperature is bellow a low threshold.

Zoos in Germany like Cologne, Duisburg or Stuttgart started building indoor enclosures for king penguins back in the 1960s, when animal welfare was not as much as a concern than it is today. It was more about keeping animals alive and not about keeping them comfortable.

I would expect that some zoos would keep such a charismatic animal outside, if keeping it outside was possible. Building a huge freezer is a much bigger and more costly commitment to this species. Other species from colder climates like the polar bear are kept outside in German zoos. But king penguins are only kept inside, and not only for ethical reasons.

I don't claim to be some kind of penguins expert, so I can't really tell why king pinguins don't seem to survive in outdoor habitats in Germany (expect a simple "its to warm"). But diving into the history of king penguin husbandry in Germany (as much as this is possible with the internet and some books) led me to the verdict that only indoor enclosures were successfully. So I build my franchise zoo with an outdoor king penguin enclosure in the Baltics, which have a similar temperature than Edinburgh. Better save than sorry

 

[biggest_dreamer]

I'll echo all of those saying harbor seal, African or Humboldt penguin, and Asian small-clawed otter. I also would've gladly taken the North American river otter in that lost slot.

The caiman was actually something I'd been specifically wanting, even though I didn't think it stood much of a chance. If I were to have come up with an Aquatic Pack from scratch, I definitely would've included a sea lion or beaver here, but now that we've actually got it I couldn't imagine wanting to trade it out.

 

[ElectricMonk]

Whilst I would probably have selected different species if the choice were mine, I'm VERY happy with the choices made - Like others, I'd like to see the small-clawed otter, a sea lion and another (smaller) species of penguin eventually but I think they did a great job with the pack... It'd be nice to see a platypus one day too, but either as an exhibit animal (looped animations), or with a much shallower requirement for diving.