As a die-hard fan of everything covered in ice, snow or fur, I decided to craft a couple of scenery packs which themes connect to winter, cold and/or north. Mostly inspired by many Highlands, Tundra, Woodlands...and such pack ideas flying around recently. This is far from any prediction of course, a man can dream.
Anyway here's Wonderwall:
I want to start of with the stalest of topics these days: Highlands/Mountain/Alpine pack, to get it out of the way.
In my mind, every rendition of this pack has 1. Markhor as the flagship animal. It just has too many things going for it. Ancient look draws attention. Its national animal in couple of countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan I think, correct me if I'm wrong). It's also present in both Zoo Tycoon games. And I'm not one to complain, Markhor leads the herd.
Second pick is not that popular in discussion. It's not-not popular, but people have other preferences. So let me sell you 2. Alpine Marmot. First it has that cuteness and meme factor going. It's way bigger than Prairie Dog, far from reskin. It would be first European rodent and in general pretty unique piece of European fauna. Would go well with Alpine Ibex which is right now "without a friend" as themes go.
Third pick was easy. 3. Gelada. Very unique in it's open mountain habitat (there are other mountain monkeys, but those live in forests) and very unique diet for an animal that looks like Baboon. Their diet also opens up nice cohabitation potential (that true Babons don't have) with other African animals. On zoo in Italy keeps them in this big Safari enclosure.
For the final habitat pick I went for community's darling 4. Sichuan Takin. I believe this animal could be sold well for general public, especially because it's not that well known. It adds to the mystical look this animal carries. I also wanted second animal from Asia because of the scenery I picked. Pallas Cat could be safer choice but again, this is no prediction.
Exhibit picks for mountains aren't too exciting, but 5. Pancake Tortoise would nevertheless be a cool pick. For one it would be our first exhibit tortoise for what it's worth. And it looks goofy.
Alternatively Olm could take the spot.
Himalayan and/or Tibetan theme for scenery is easily the most logical thing to go for here so I'm sticking with it.
Alright, moving on. This pack has very unlikely theme, but still it ties bunch of cool picks together. Pacific pack. And by Pacific I mean North Pacific.
I want to start of with 1. Sea Otter. Here we can circle back to that Cute/Meme factor. Just type Sea Otter in YT. It's also very different from the otters we already have be it in looks, behavior ot habitat. Similarly to Markhor it's also present in both Zoo Tycoon games.
Speaking of animals that are in both ZT games, next on the list is 2. Pacific Walrus. I'm not too hot on the idea, but I can certainly see the appeal and is present outside of aquariums. If it was me it would be Steller Sea Lion, but honestly Walrus is much more iconic in looks and fits the theme with the name.
To diversify roster a bit, I decided for a bird as a third choice - 3. Canadian Goose. We're long overdue for a waterfowl, and for all that matters goose doesn't need to fly in game. It's very widespread even out of Canada or American continent and fits many themes. Good for that filler, free roaming spot.
Last spot can be anything, I wanted something easy. I don’t necessarily know why, but 4. American Black Bear even tho it's present everywhere, always carried that Pacific North west feel to me. I guess maybe becasue I'm not American. But whenever I hear Black Bear, I imagine it in those foggy, coastal evergreen Oregon/Vancouver like forests. But this spot can go to Raccoon Dog or Serow and packs gets intercontinental.
I've learned about two very cool animals while looking up what could go to exhibit box. My first pick is 5. Coastal Giant Salamander, because it looks so pretty. Second choice would be Rubber Boa, which is crazy, I had no idea there were Boas in US Northwest and Canada. Alternatively Japanese Salamander.
For the scenery theme we can have decorations, signs, art and statues in styles of american tribes native to the region.
For the next pack we're crossing the Beringian Strait. Taiga pack came up couple of times in our discussions, but mostly covering the in-game biome. Taiga is the word of East-Asian roots for the vast forests of Siberia and that's what would be the focus of this pack.
First off - the man, the myth, the legend, the 1. Wolverine. What's there to be said that I haven't mentioned thousands of times here. Even for mustelids it's unique. It runs, it swims, it climbs. Relentless and ferocious. Remnant of the Ice Age. It covers land from Finland to Canada.
Also it was in ZT2
I want to go for a bird again, 2. Capercaillie or a Wood Grouse would be a magnificent addition. It's prestigious hunting trophy in boreal forests of Eurasia. It's also in thay category of it flies, but it doesn’t need to. Bolster for Europe that's not a clone or copy of an animal we already have. Could work very well of off Peacock animations, especially for tail feathers.
3. Siberian Musk Deer encapsulates the otherworldliness of Siberia that always (at least to me) seems so alien and foreign. It would also bolster selections of deers endemic to Asia which has been asked for here.
Two mustelids in a pack could be a bit much, but I think 4. Sable is different enough from Wolverine and any other mustelid we have in game that it can pass. It would also be a first Merten (If I remember correctly Wolverine is a Weasel?). On top of everything traditionally and culturally Sable is very imprtant to people in far east and historically in Europe.
For exhibit there's a fun choice: 5. Siberian Flying Squirrel. Now I don't know how well would occasional gliding animation look on a loop and on such tiny animal. But if they could execute it properly they could put it on a cover.
Scenery could be wooden Slavic set. Both the pieces for byzantine-inspired domes and colorful countryside villas and hamlets. On top of that maybe something of Mongolian and/or Turkic heritage.
So now Europe, Asia and North America are pretty well covered. Africa got two species which isn't small amount for such hot continent. That's why I wanted to do sneaky cold South America pack next. The Ice Age pack is not what it sounds like.
To explain it better we start off with 1. Spectacled Bear the last remaining Short-Faced Bear. Ice Age pack would have descendants of Pleistocene megafauna, and South America might just be the the place for it. I don't think I need to explain why Spectacled Bear would be such a good choice for the game.
Now with the very next pick I break the pack pattern, because 2. Musk Ox is not found in South America, but it does fit the theme very well. Almost a Pleistocene staple. Gained a lot of popularity here lately and also carries a lot of ZT2 nostalgia.
Back to the SA, the 3. Guanaco of all camelids, carries that prehistoric look the most in my opinion. Lile the illustrations of all those proto-camels came to life. It would go a long way to cover both Andes and Patagonia while being very easy to make.
The 4. Big Hairy Armadillo is personal pick of mine, to "fix" the inclusion of Nine Banded Armadillo. Every zoo that had armadillos, that I visited, had the former. It also lives in different climate, the cold deserts of Patagonia and is not unheard of on higher elevations. Not to mention it looks pretty distinct from Nine Banded. As for the Ice Age theme it would be a stand-in for Glyptodons.
Another fix, another stand-in, descendants of Ground Sloths and the one that breaks the "rule of cold" is the 5. Linneaus's Two Toed Sloth for the Walk-through exhibit.
For scenery pack I was thinking something along the lines of cave painting artwork and signage, plus a bunch of skeletons and fossils.
Every pack I thought of along the way had some reeally good picks that just ended up being cut out of the final roster, so I ended up with the handful of cool picks without theme. So award for the worst theme name goes to:
Holiday Retreat pack. For when you're on holiday, and you retreat to your cabin and there's like Wild Boars and stuff...idk
I picked 1. Wild Turkey for another easy, ground bird, with striking and familiar appearance. Unlike some other picks in this pack it has real ties to a Holiday, at least American holiday - Thanksgiving. It would go nice with our existing American roster and would bring some color to the "brownness".
Going back to Europe, 2. Mountain Hare still holds onto some semblance to Holyday, like white hare=Easter bunny? That aside - first rabbit/hare and complements other northern fauna.
Next to picks have very little to do with former two, they're animals left out, here to bring North America and Europe to completion. Those would be 3. North American Porcupine and 4. Wild Boar. For the exhibit I was thinking 5. Common Adder.
As for the scenery, the log cabins for weekends, the stuff to enrich and create better National Parks or NP sections, like lookout towers and whatnot...
And that would be it for the winter packs.
Anyway here's Wonderwall:
I want to start of with the stalest of topics these days: Highlands/Mountain/Alpine pack, to get it out of the way.
In my mind, every rendition of this pack has 1. Markhor as the flagship animal. It just has too many things going for it. Ancient look draws attention. Its national animal in couple of countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan I think, correct me if I'm wrong). It's also present in both Zoo Tycoon games. And I'm not one to complain, Markhor leads the herd.
Second pick is not that popular in discussion. It's not-not popular, but people have other preferences. So let me sell you 2. Alpine Marmot. First it has that cuteness and meme factor going. It's way bigger than Prairie Dog, far from reskin. It would be first European rodent and in general pretty unique piece of European fauna. Would go well with Alpine Ibex which is right now "without a friend" as themes go.
Third pick was easy. 3. Gelada. Very unique in it's open mountain habitat (there are other mountain monkeys, but those live in forests) and very unique diet for an animal that looks like Baboon. Their diet also opens up nice cohabitation potential (that true Babons don't have) with other African animals. On zoo in Italy keeps them in this big Safari enclosure.
For the final habitat pick I went for community's darling 4. Sichuan Takin. I believe this animal could be sold well for general public, especially because it's not that well known. It adds to the mystical look this animal carries. I also wanted second animal from Asia because of the scenery I picked. Pallas Cat could be safer choice but again, this is no prediction.
Exhibit picks for mountains aren't too exciting, but 5. Pancake Tortoise would nevertheless be a cool pick. For one it would be our first exhibit tortoise for what it's worth. And it looks goofy.
Alternatively Olm could take the spot.
Himalayan and/or Tibetan theme for scenery is easily the most logical thing to go for here so I'm sticking with it.
Alright, moving on. This pack has very unlikely theme, but still it ties bunch of cool picks together. Pacific pack. And by Pacific I mean North Pacific.
I want to start of with 1. Sea Otter. Here we can circle back to that Cute/Meme factor. Just type Sea Otter in YT. It's also very different from the otters we already have be it in looks, behavior ot habitat. Similarly to Markhor it's also present in both Zoo Tycoon games.
Speaking of animals that are in both ZT games, next on the list is 2. Pacific Walrus. I'm not too hot on the idea, but I can certainly see the appeal and is present outside of aquariums. If it was me it would be Steller Sea Lion, but honestly Walrus is much more iconic in looks and fits the theme with the name.
To diversify roster a bit, I decided for a bird as a third choice - 3. Canadian Goose. We're long overdue for a waterfowl, and for all that matters goose doesn't need to fly in game. It's very widespread even out of Canada or American continent and fits many themes. Good for that filler, free roaming spot.
Last spot can be anything, I wanted something easy. I don’t necessarily know why, but 4. American Black Bear even tho it's present everywhere, always carried that Pacific North west feel to me. I guess maybe becasue I'm not American. But whenever I hear Black Bear, I imagine it in those foggy, coastal evergreen Oregon/Vancouver like forests. But this spot can go to Raccoon Dog or Serow and packs gets intercontinental.
I've learned about two very cool animals while looking up what could go to exhibit box. My first pick is 5. Coastal Giant Salamander, because it looks so pretty. Second choice would be Rubber Boa, which is crazy, I had no idea there were Boas in US Northwest and Canada. Alternatively Japanese Salamander.
For the scenery theme we can have decorations, signs, art and statues in styles of american tribes native to the region.
For the next pack we're crossing the Beringian Strait. Taiga pack came up couple of times in our discussions, but mostly covering the in-game biome. Taiga is the word of East-Asian roots for the vast forests of Siberia and that's what would be the focus of this pack.
First off - the man, the myth, the legend, the 1. Wolverine. What's there to be said that I haven't mentioned thousands of times here. Even for mustelids it's unique. It runs, it swims, it climbs. Relentless and ferocious. Remnant of the Ice Age. It covers land from Finland to Canada.
Also it was in ZT2
I want to go for a bird again, 2. Capercaillie or a Wood Grouse would be a magnificent addition. It's prestigious hunting trophy in boreal forests of Eurasia. It's also in thay category of it flies, but it doesn’t need to. Bolster for Europe that's not a clone or copy of an animal we already have. Could work very well of off Peacock animations, especially for tail feathers.
3. Siberian Musk Deer encapsulates the otherworldliness of Siberia that always (at least to me) seems so alien and foreign. It would also bolster selections of deers endemic to Asia which has been asked for here.
Two mustelids in a pack could be a bit much, but I think 4. Sable is different enough from Wolverine and any other mustelid we have in game that it can pass. It would also be a first Merten (If I remember correctly Wolverine is a Weasel?). On top of everything traditionally and culturally Sable is very imprtant to people in far east and historically in Europe.
For exhibit there's a fun choice: 5. Siberian Flying Squirrel. Now I don't know how well would occasional gliding animation look on a loop and on such tiny animal. But if they could execute it properly they could put it on a cover.
Scenery could be wooden Slavic set. Both the pieces for byzantine-inspired domes and colorful countryside villas and hamlets. On top of that maybe something of Mongolian and/or Turkic heritage.
So now Europe, Asia and North America are pretty well covered. Africa got two species which isn't small amount for such hot continent. That's why I wanted to do sneaky cold South America pack next. The Ice Age pack is not what it sounds like.
To explain it better we start off with 1. Spectacled Bear the last remaining Short-Faced Bear. Ice Age pack would have descendants of Pleistocene megafauna, and South America might just be the the place for it. I don't think I need to explain why Spectacled Bear would be such a good choice for the game.
Now with the very next pick I break the pack pattern, because 2. Musk Ox is not found in South America, but it does fit the theme very well. Almost a Pleistocene staple. Gained a lot of popularity here lately and also carries a lot of ZT2 nostalgia.
Back to the SA, the 3. Guanaco of all camelids, carries that prehistoric look the most in my opinion. Lile the illustrations of all those proto-camels came to life. It would go a long way to cover both Andes and Patagonia while being very easy to make.
The 4. Big Hairy Armadillo is personal pick of mine, to "fix" the inclusion of Nine Banded Armadillo. Every zoo that had armadillos, that I visited, had the former. It also lives in different climate, the cold deserts of Patagonia and is not unheard of on higher elevations. Not to mention it looks pretty distinct from Nine Banded. As for the Ice Age theme it would be a stand-in for Glyptodons.
Another fix, another stand-in, descendants of Ground Sloths and the one that breaks the "rule of cold" is the 5. Linneaus's Two Toed Sloth for the Walk-through exhibit.
For scenery pack I was thinking something along the lines of cave painting artwork and signage, plus a bunch of skeletons and fossils.
Every pack I thought of along the way had some reeally good picks that just ended up being cut out of the final roster, so I ended up with the handful of cool picks without theme. So award for the worst theme name goes to:
Holiday Retreat pack. For when you're on holiday, and you retreat to your cabin and there's like Wild Boars and stuff...idk
I picked 1. Wild Turkey for another easy, ground bird, with striking and familiar appearance. Unlike some other picks in this pack it has real ties to a Holiday, at least American holiday - Thanksgiving. It would go nice with our existing American roster and would bring some color to the "brownness".
Going back to Europe, 2. Mountain Hare still holds onto some semblance to Holyday, like white hare=Easter bunny? That aside - first rabbit/hare and complements other northern fauna.
Next to picks have very little to do with former two, they're animals left out, here to bring North America and Europe to completion. Those would be 3. North American Porcupine and 4. Wild Boar. For the exhibit I was thinking 5. Common Adder.
As for the scenery, the log cabins for weekends, the stuff to enrich and create better National Parks or NP sections, like lookout towers and whatnot...
And that would be it for the winter packs.
