Rocky Mountain Animal Pack

JDgaming209 · Apr 22, 2022

Hey everyone. Something I've noticed is that, even after getting a North American animal pack, the game is still missing some of the unique animals in North America, especially the animals that inhabit the various mountainous regions of the continent. Since we already have the North American animal pack, I think a great way to do this would be to focus a new animal pack on a specific geographic region, and the Rockies are one of the most diverse regions of North America, so a Rocky Mountains Animal Pack is a great fit in my opinion. Here are the animals they could do for this pack (all images were taken from these animals' Wikipedia pages, and belong to their respective owners):

Bighorn Sheep

Rocky Mountain Goat

American Black Bear

Rocky Mountain Elk

Mule Deer

Greater Sage-Grouse

Bobcat

Western Toad (Exhibit Animal)

I chose each of these species because they've all pretty widespread in the Rocky Mountains, and most are quite emblematic of the region. Now, this might not be the most conservation-focused pack, but it would definitely give us a lot more North American representation in the game, which is a good thing in my opinion. In addition, this pack would include two new caprids, two new deer species, and a new avian species. These are all animal types that have very limited representation in the game currently, and some more variety in that aspect would be great. But I'm interested to see what other people think of this DLC idea, since it's definitely a bit unconventional.

In addition, I'd like to see some more plants and trees from this region represented in the game as well. We have a few in the game already, but not very many. I think adding some more would help to expand the game's plant and tree selection, especially the selection of plants with autumn foliage. Some plants and trees from this region with nice autumn foliage include Mountain Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum), Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia), and Western Larch (Larix occidentalis). Flowers from this region that would make for good additions to the game include Heartleaf Arnica (Arnica cordifolia), Dwarf Lupine (Lupinus pusillus), and Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium). Other bushes from this region include Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) and Mountain Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Conifer trees from this region that would make good additions include the Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii), Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) and Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis). I think that all of these plants would help to expand Planet Zoo's plant selection in one way or another, and they'd all go along well with most of the animals in this pack.

coatifan · Apr 22, 2022

This is pretty cool. My only issue is that I’d rather not have two deers/two goat-like species in one pack.

JDgaming209 · Apr 22, 2022

coatifan said:
This is pretty cool. My only issue is that I’d rather not have two deers/two goat-like species in one pack.

That's fair! The reason why I went with two deer species and two goat-like species is because we really don't have much representation for those animal families in the game. I feel like including two of each in one pack would help to quickly get us some more variety and representation when it comes to those types of animals. However, I can understand why that might be a turn-off for some people.

If having two deer species in one pack is an issue, then the Elk could be added in a separate taiga or forest-themed DLC pack. A smaller mammal could be included in the Rocky Mountain Animal Pack instead, which could make this pack a bit more diverse when it comes to animal types. There's plenty of smaller mammals that could be included in this pack, such as the Yellow-Bellied Marmot or the Wolverine (I've included pictures of both down below).

Personally, I feel like the Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat are different enough from one another that it shouldn't be a big deal to include both in the same pack. Sure, they're both high-altitude animals, but they look pretty different from one another appearance-wise.

premierfong · Apr 23, 2022

JDgaming209 said:
Hey everyone. Something I've noticed is that, even after getting a North American animal pack, the game is still missing some of the unique animals in North America, especially the animals that inhabit the various mountainous regions of the continent. Since we already have the North American animal pack, I think a great way to do this would be to focus a new animal pack on a specific geographic region, and the Rockies are one of the most diverse regions of North America, so a Rocky Mountains Animal Pack is a great fit in my opinion. Here are the animals they could do for this pack (all images were taken from these animals' Wikipedia pages, and belong to their respective owners):

Bighorn Sheep
View attachment 303461
Rocky Mountain Goat
View attachment 303460
American Black Bear
View attachment 303463
Rocky Mountain Elk
View attachment 303462
Mule Deer
View attachment 303464
Greater Sage-Grouse
View attachment 303465
Bobcat
View attachment 303466
Western Toad (Exhibit Animal)
View attachment 303467
I chose each of these species because they've all pretty widespread in the Rocky Mountains, and most are quite emblematic of the region. Now, this might not be the most conservation-focused pack, but it would definitely give us a lot more North American representation in the game, which is a good thing in my opinion. In addition, this pack would include two new caprids, two new deer species, and a new avian species. These are all animal types that have very limited representation in the game currently, and some more variety in that aspect would be great. But I'm interested to see what other people think of this DLC idea, since it's definitely a bit unconventional.

In addition, I'd like to see some more plants and trees from this region represented in the game as well. We have a few in the game already, but not very many. I think adding some more would help to expand the game's plant and tree selection, especially the selection of plants with autumn foliage. Some plants and trees from this region with nice autumn foliage include Mountain Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum), Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia), and Western Larch (Larix occidentalis). Flowers from this region that would make for good additions to the game include Heartleaf Arnica (Arnica cordifolia), Dwarf Lupine (Lupinus pusillus), and Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium). Other bushes from this region include Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) and Mountain Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Conifer trees from this region that would make good additions include the Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii), Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) and Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis). I think that all of these plants would help to expand Planet Zoo's plant selection in one way or another, and they'd all go along well with most of the animals in this pack.

Couldn't agree more.

JDgaming209 · May 7, 2022

Here's a few more trees and plants that could be added to the game alongside this pack:

Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
Yellow Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus)
Idaho Fescue Grass (Festuca idahoensis)
Pinegrass (Calamagrostis rubescens)

I'd also like to see some new variations of trees we already have in the game that are from the Rocky Mountain region. For example, a summertime seasonal variation of the Quaking Aspen (whose autumn foliage is the only version represented in the game currently) along with new stump/sapling varieties of various trees from the base game, like the Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, and Quaking Aspen. Just having some more variations of existing tree species would help to add to the existing selection of plant life in the game.

jcp011c · May 8, 2022

I'd definitely throw out the mountain goat (it looks almost identical to the female Dall Sheep) and put in the Wolverine. the NA Animal pack caught a lot of really necessary NA animals, but this would still be a pack I'd welcome.

premierfong · May 8, 2022

jcp011c said:
I'd definitely throw out the mountain goat (it looks almost identical to the female Dall Sheep) and put in the Wolverine. the NA Animal pack caught a lot of really necessary NA animals, but this would still be a pack I'd welcome.

I think you meant by the big horn sheep look identical to Dall Sheep.

jcp011c · May 8, 2022

premierfong said:
I think you meant by the big horn sheep look identical to Dall Sheep.

I does at that, but I meant what I said. Take a look at they female Dall sheep, it looks almost like a mountain goat.

JDgaming209 · May 9, 2022

jcp011c said:
I does at that, but I meant what I said. Take a look at they female Dall sheep, it looks almost like a mountain goat.

Sure, I can see the resemblance between the female Dall Sheep and the Mountain Goat at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they're really not the same. Really the biggest similarities are that they're both ungulates with a whitish-cream color and they both have relatively short backward-curving horns, and that's about where the similarities end. The Mountain Goat is stockier, has darker, thinner horns that are straighter, longer ears, a more square-shaped head, a noticeable beard under the chin, and it's also a bit fluffier, with a more rugged overall build. Not to mention that the Mountain Goat is the only living species in its genus, so its resemblance to the female Dall Sheep is a coincidence at the most.

If anything, the Bighorn Sheep has much more in common with the Dall Sheep than the Mountain Goat does, with the coloration being the main outlying factor there. This is a game with two different types of tigers that look very similar. With the Wetland Animal Pack they included the Wild Water Buffalo which looks and behaves quite similarly to the African Buffalo that is included in the base game. Therefore, I don't really see how the Mountain Goat's resemblance to the female Dall Sheep should be a big deal. It's just a similarity to one gender of another species, which in my opinion doesn't make a huge difference since we already have so many animals in the game that look alike.

That being said, I wouldn't be against replacing one of the ungulates in this pack with another predator like the Wolverine. I just feel like a pack based around the mountains needs to have some proper high-elevation mountain climbers like the Mountain Goat and Bighorn Sheep, animals that are specialized for very rugged terrain. Otherwise I just don't think it would feel complete, because when I think of mountain-dwelling animals those are the kinds of animals that come to mind first. Maybe that's why Frontier hasn't done a pack that is primarily based around high-elevation animals, because so many of them are caprines that look similar to one another.