So let's start with the positive first -- a new narrative is something I didn't seriously expect so I'm glad the game is continuing to provide a 'story' for the player to follow along with, as the campaign didn't quite feel like it had a conclusion. This makes for a solid enough continuation, given much of the real intrigue surrounded Wu. Makes me wonder if future expansions may follow Claire and Owen... or a new film character
A new area on an existing island... I'll see how it looks but I think that's a good compromise for continuing campaign mode without moving beyond the Five Deaths too drastically, and it makes sense with Wu's secrecy.
Though I wasn't expecting them to a focus/theme update, the addition of new hybrids was something I was expecting and yes, a bit hopeful for - the Indosaurs were a little too simple to stay by themselves. Spinoraptor looks gorgeous and I'm glad to see Stegoceratops; many fans see it as cringey but it also feels more logical an inclusion by Frontier than many other hypothetical hybrids. The Ankylodocus, I'm reserving judgement, but it feels like a delay to seeing a genuine titanosaur species, so feeling a little mixed there. I'm unsure hybrids were the best choice for today, and I certainly hope future updates focus less on them, but I will say that I am glad we're diversifying the category a bit.
I'll have to meet Olorotitan, we'll see how it comes out, but I'm intrigued as its not a species I've heard as much about before.
Let's skip around a bit -- I'm happy to hear about Comfort Genes; it's a very subtle change to the game but it excites me to imagine generating specimens with less concern for population or species density. I look forward to seeing extra specimens of my favorite carnivores living together, bigger mixed herds, and less complaining about a lack of forest. This is a creative way to let players take control of their park management in a new way.
It's been suggested elsewhere there will be more new species, yes? Cool.
Now, let's moved on to the mixed blessings...
The Indominus rex camouflage gene is something I was just thinking the other day would have been a good feature for the game that wasn't already there, so a tip of the hat to see it finally coming, because it's going to be a fun feature and I'm excited for it! I certainly hope Frontier will consider making it available for the Indoraptor (which would likely keep the gene, I think) and the Carnotaurus, in homage to the novels. It's a shame it's not a base feature, but making it part of Wu's campaign, it does fit the theme.
The new building upgrades are welcome additions, although why they are being included in a paid package I haven't any clue. The speed increases should definitely be available to all players for free, as they are for buildings already available. The storm system I'm a little less worried about, as I assume it'll be a new building, which is fine for a paid feature.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard we would finally be receiving Troodon, but I'm a little disappointed. I think the texture Frontier has designed has some character in its own right, but I was hoping for a texture closer to that used in the Telltale game. I didn't expect nor want the Troodon to retain the cartoonish proportions of Telltale's version of the dinosaur, but I really wish the black/green/red color scheme had carried over. It's a cool, memorable look and part of what made the species stand out, and I really question how many people might have requested the species without such prior infamy. In addition, the bright coloration played well into it being venomous, ala poison dart frogs.
I will be completely satisfied if the green/black/red look is an additional cosmetic skin, but the ingame skin system seemsto lack the complexity to offer it, for the same reason we haven't seen the film Raptor or Rex variations.
In conclusion, I have a lot of cautious excitement for the downloadable content, and I'll download it as soon as I can budget it, but there's definitely some wrinkles here.