I know this may seem a bit too small in scope to actually merit its own DLC, but I for one like to have my zoo's to be balanced between exhibits both large and small. To this end, I would suggest the eventual inclusion of building types similar to Zoo Tycoon 1's "Animal Houses" - which included an Insect House, a Primate House, a Reptile House, and an Aviary. It being DLC is simply because obviously we're a bit too far along in the development process (although I really really like what I see so far).
Obviously the Aviary concept is being included on a much grander scale than a simple animal house, but consider the many many species of prehistoric reptile, amphibian, early mammal, fish, and insect that would absolutely not be suited for inclusion in a traditional capacity or in the new aviaries/aquariums. Back when we were only talking vanilla JW:E1 I would have suggested compys be included this way - as one exhibit of many in an enclosed building no larger than a restaurant where a looped animation of them inside the facility played to represent them. (as for what the looped animations would be, consider a giant dragonfly flying around in a circle or a giant centipede striking the glass, we're talking old school stuff).
The principle idea here is to have content between exhibits, as a space filler, without making it feel like a strip mall. So you put an insect house between your T-Rexes and Triceratops exhibit viewing platforms, and inside could be a modular setup where you can place three different exhibits (if you look at the whole building, think of it taking up four squares in total; with one square being the enterance and the other three being modular slots that are blank exhibits when empty and play looped animations when filled). Inside these slots could be ancient insects such as Meganeuropsis, Arthropleura, and perhaps marine invertebrates as as well such as Opabinia, Anomalocaris, and trilobites. The key factor here is modularity, so any small prehistoric animal could be included.
While we could divide these animal houses into categories, I feel it's best to leave it purely free form. You can make whatever insect house or reptile house you want; or mix and match. I think the only cutoff should be the K-T Boundary, although perhaps a few examples like the "Terror Bird" Titanis could be included. But again, none of the would be running around and in need of being animated or cared for. The whole idea is "how can we put in a small exhibit between larger 'real' exhibits; and how can we do it with minimal work for the developers". Looped animations, with modular slots. Maybe there could be an emphasis on modability here and fan creators could be encouraged to put whatever they feel is missing into a modular slot.
This could also be a way to add more variety to the paleontologist digs, where you sometimes get dinosaur DNA but could also get a new modular slot exhibit as well.
In addition, we could have petting zoos this way. Only replace "three modular slots with looped animations" with "one larger modular slot, with one looped animation". So you have small triceratops running around with kids playing as one modular option, and another you have baby sauropods running around. I know there's a big "no kids" rule since "no kids can be eaten by dinosaurs", but just have the looped animations end when an escaped dinosaur is nearby. One minute it is active, the next it is empty. Simple simple.
Obviously the Aviary concept is being included on a much grander scale than a simple animal house, but consider the many many species of prehistoric reptile, amphibian, early mammal, fish, and insect that would absolutely not be suited for inclusion in a traditional capacity or in the new aviaries/aquariums. Back when we were only talking vanilla JW:E1 I would have suggested compys be included this way - as one exhibit of many in an enclosed building no larger than a restaurant where a looped animation of them inside the facility played to represent them. (as for what the looped animations would be, consider a giant dragonfly flying around in a circle or a giant centipede striking the glass, we're talking old school stuff).
The principle idea here is to have content between exhibits, as a space filler, without making it feel like a strip mall. So you put an insect house between your T-Rexes and Triceratops exhibit viewing platforms, and inside could be a modular setup where you can place three different exhibits (if you look at the whole building, think of it taking up four squares in total; with one square being the enterance and the other three being modular slots that are blank exhibits when empty and play looped animations when filled). Inside these slots could be ancient insects such as Meganeuropsis, Arthropleura, and perhaps marine invertebrates as as well such as Opabinia, Anomalocaris, and trilobites. The key factor here is modularity, so any small prehistoric animal could be included.
While we could divide these animal houses into categories, I feel it's best to leave it purely free form. You can make whatever insect house or reptile house you want; or mix and match. I think the only cutoff should be the K-T Boundary, although perhaps a few examples like the "Terror Bird" Titanis could be included. But again, none of the would be running around and in need of being animated or cared for. The whole idea is "how can we put in a small exhibit between larger 'real' exhibits; and how can we do it with minimal work for the developers". Looped animations, with modular slots. Maybe there could be an emphasis on modability here and fan creators could be encouraged to put whatever they feel is missing into a modular slot.
This could also be a way to add more variety to the paleontologist digs, where you sometimes get dinosaur DNA but could also get a new modular slot exhibit as well.
In addition, we could have petting zoos this way. Only replace "three modular slots with looped animations" with "one larger modular slot, with one looped animation". So you have small triceratops running around with kids playing as one modular option, and another you have baby sauropods running around. I know there's a big "no kids" rule since "no kids can be eaten by dinosaurs", but just have the looped animations end when an escaped dinosaur is nearby. One minute it is active, the next it is empty. Simple simple.