Southeast Asia DLC incoming?

There are so many different directions this game could go right at this point, and all of them would be fine by me. Late last year when most of us were given a small peek at Frontier's working files, along with the aquatic animals there was a single Sun Bear. Maybe it was part of a new kind of dlc, something completely unrelated to any particular geographic location, maybe it was just meant to point in the wrong direction, maybe it was something Frontier was not too invested on and they ended up changing course, and maybe it was just exactly as many of us thought.

Why Asia? The continent was the only one represented in the base game by two themes, East Asia and India. No other continent had so many construction resources allocated to it. The India theme along was a masterpiece and easily one of the most well put together artistic collection in the whole game. East Asia was highly versatile, anything Japan or China related, was virtually possible to create, absolutely nothing left to the imagination. Sure, the animal lineup was not the strongest, but what besides Africa was? What could possibly bring the Frontier crew back to this continent? Before I attempt to answer this question, let us first discussed where else they could have gone.

Something new: The Zoo pack

Many have for quite some time asked Frontier to divert from the geographical approach of continents and regions. This sounds good but how do you apply it successfully as a dlc? Some recommended carnivore packs, primate packs, I remember a particular player that wanted only wolves, in short every single player seemed to have a different idea of what should come next. The problem with this, is that the ones who wanted bears never accounted for the ones who wanted none of them. Those clamoring for primates never stopped and though about the ones who wanted more big cats, and the list goes on. As this was not messy enough, there is the issue of how do you really built scenery around packs like this? How do you create a theme? Long gone are the days of zoos building entire areas dedicated to bears, wolves or any other related group of animals to be exhibited as a collection display. Planet Zoo is not only a modern zoo game, but is also a game that thinks highly of itself, and its conservation message, so it would almost always align itself with progressive thinking zoos.

However there was an idea circulating the forum for quite some time, by one of the veteran members of just a zoo pack, that did not focused on any particular geographical location, but instead centered around zoos, and picked the most essential animals and scenery that players had been requesting for quite some time. This idea while promising, I believe was not necessarily well timed. It is unlikely that Frontier would increase their dlc animal count significantly, and four random animals would just not go a long way for such a pack. Image getting a Meerkat, White Rhino, Cougar and Iberian Lynx, all highly requested animals, all popular with the player base, so what is the problem? The Meerkat and White Rhino would negate the possibility of Frontier releasing an African dlc in the future, as both animals are the leading candidates for this pack. The early release of a Cougar would just cannibalized a North American roster if there is ever to be one, and seriously damage its animal selection appeal. In the case of Europe, and its loyal and vocal player base clamoring an entire dlc modeled after their beloved continent, it would be an even bigger catastrophe, as the Iberian Lynx is sure to be its flagship species. In hindsight, the zoo pack was a fantastic idea, but one that should be implemented towards the last days of this game.

The big elephant not in the room: Birds

One of the most puzzling gaps in this game is the lack of representation by the Avian Kingdom. The world of birds is surely represented in most zoos, and in a great percentage of them, birds make up the majority of their residents. In Planet Zoo however, that is not the case. Other than the background audio, birds are almost non existent in the game. So what happen, did Frontier forget to add our colorful and lively friends to the game? Was someone allergic to birds within the team? Did they simply not care enough, or think that no one would miss them in the game? I think not, my believe is that, it is quite the opposite. If frontier wanted to add birds to the game in a very simplistic way, they would have done so a year ago when the base game was released. Coincidently, the ability to create enclosed mesh exhibits is also missing from the game. Most zoos have these type of exhibits, in fact, they are usually associated with zoos, and a large part of their identity, as not only birds live there.

To summarize, I believe that a bird dlc, is definitely coming to Planet Zoo, and when it does, for way too many more reasons that I want to mention in this thread, it would be a first of its kind. This would be a full fledge expansion as no one here has ever seen, the only issue is that it will not be this upcoming dlc, I truly believe we will have to continue waiting for this. So that takes the most visibly missing component right out of the equation, as December 2021, would be a more appropriate time for such a release.

It's getting hot in here: Africa

When the base game was released, many were surprised about the disproportionate favoring towards African animal species in the game, some were completely against ever revisiting the continent that started it all. However, if those players were to familiarize themselves with the world of zoos, and everything in it, they would quickly find out, that most mega fauna is found right within the African continent. It is not Planet Olympics, it is Planet Zoo, so every country and continent does not deserve the same level of consideration or representation. The game devs have to concentrate on bringing the game on par with what you would find in zoos, since it is a zoo game after all.

Africa certainly needs to be revisited, not only when it comes to some of its iconic animals currently MIA from the game, but its breathtaking foliage and scenery props as well. However I will take a wild guess here, looking at the current animal roster and what is currently HIGHLY missed, aided by the fact, that the base game's African theme was heavily influence by the cultures of Southern and Central Africa, my guess is that when Africa does come it will come heavily influenced by North Africa.

A Northern African DLC would be highly appropriate for the summer, it makes all the sense in the world, and it aligns with Frontiers love relationship with seasons and climate. I would bet the neighbors house that the next DLC after this one will be Africa, and that will take place in the summer.

A brave new world: North America

There are more zoos in the U.S than any other country in the world. The North American Zoo industry spends more on new zoo exhibit construction than any other continent in our planet. This of course is mostly duo to the United States of America being a road trip paradise for zoo lovers, even though Canada and Mexico have some great zoos as well. What many might not know, or remember is that most of those zoo exhibits are in relation to far and distant places, and not so often does the U.S focuses on its own wildlife residents as the center of attraction. There are however a number of exceptions to this, and in recent years many exhibits representing the homeland have been conceived. However the theme usually centers around temperate natural surroundings, with a few deviations towards the Everglades National Park and the North American Southwest. What does this mean? It means a North American dlc, might not end up being the most exiting pack in Frontiers resume, when it comes to scenery. It might not even end up as a pack to begin with, since there was a new world theme included in the base game, that focused on modern architecture.

You know where North America might show up, remember that zoo pack idea? This would be the ideal pack if there ever was one to divert from all the themes, and just give the players a much anticipated zoo related scenery pack. The aquatic dlc was a great start and they should definitely focus on developing that concept further. In any case, North America will definitely make its way, but when and in what form, that is the question. A possibility could be the fall, if 2021 brings four dlcs.



The great forgotten: Europe

Ever since the game was released, the very vocal European player base of this forum has been clamoring from a little taste of home. Where is home exactly? Well modern zoos originated in Europe, one could still find the first public zoos in the history of the world there. Europe is a beacon when it comes to historical zoological architecture. If you think nostalgia, aging beauty, prestige and a very long history, then you have arrived in Europe. The question is, what does Frontier do with Europe when it comes to a dlc? There is a beautifully designed and fairly extensive classical theme already in the game, there was also an Arctic dlc that unleashed a Northern European Viking theme a month after the official launch, still scratching my head about that one, since it really had very little relation to zoos. Europe is not only old bricks and wood, but also modern and slick, but we have most of the tools already in the game to create that style, so where does Frontier go?

The animal roster is also a challenge here, because unlike North America, once you count the Iberian Lynx and a few other out of the equation, the continent does not necessarily scream zoo at you. Is it possibly to find four highly popular animals for a dlc? Absolutely. Are most of those species a priority besides the Lynx when it comes to conservation, zoo appeal and overall presence? Probably not.

While I would absolutely love a European dlc that focuses on historical architecture, it might not happen, Frontier might go in a completely different route and surprise us all. Europe as North America will definitely join this game, but how they join is the question. Of one thing I'm certain, it is not joining in March or April.

The people's champ: Aquariums

Every time I read something Aquarium related in this forum, I think about those underdogs, that were never seen coming, but who took their spot by shining at the right moment and becoming the favorites amongst the crowd. I do not think that Aquariums were ever in Frontier's original plans for this game, but I do not think that the idea was completely excluded. One thing is for certain, Frontier even if it takes them a while and stay mute through out the course, does listen to players, and in the case of Aquariums, one day, this might end up being a thing, and it ever arrives, know, that you brought it there, it was the players.

However for many obvious and not so obvious reasons, I will not spend significant time here. Aquariums are not it.

What else?

There are many ways to answer this, as the Planet Zoo community is not short on ideas. However, nothing really stands out as taking precedence over everything else already mentioned in this thread, except one.


DLCintro1.jpg


Southeast Asia DLC

Out of all the geographic regions in the world that are of consequence in the zoo world, aside from a dedicated Madagascar dlc and possibly one that concentrates in Central America, South East Asia is the last giant standing left untouched.

While the base game brought us India, China and Japan as Asia's Planet Zoo architectural representatives, Southeast Asia is the premiere geographic region for zoos to immerse visitors in the world of Asia. From iconic temple ruins and majestic aerial roots to a world a beautiful color and exiting new animals to match. Southeast Asia is hard to deny.

Most of Southeast Asia's large bodied animals are now threatened with extinction. There is no other geographical region in the world, with the exception of Madagascar that has lost so much in such a short period of time. All of the undisturbed tropical monsoon forests of Southeast Asia are now gone. Man's incredibly destructive power has ravished the breathtaking flora and fauna of this once Garden of Eden.

However, Man's ability to love and heal can also save Southeast Asia's wildlife and ecosystems from certain doom. The final hour is already here, and we are on a collision course between the hope of survival and the real possibility of extinction for many of this planet's most unique and beautiful animal species.

Zoos have long played a role in creating public awareness of how late is really the hour, and how precious is the little time we have left. I believe Planet Zoo will do their part in creating awareness for this precious piece of earth by releasing a dlc that does it justice.

Southeast Asia hits all the checkmarks, as not only key missing species could find their way into the game, but the last missing game mechanic aside from flying and borrowing, brachiation.
A free update could be announced very soon, and the introduction of billboards is the equivalent of the animal talks in December, meaning an even bigger game changer could be soon announced, what could that be? Aside from flying, brachiation is the next best thing Frontier can conjure. An update to the very limited Orangutans from the base game as well as the introduction of Gibbons via a dlc.

What could this DLC include?

Gibbons (this will be the stars of the show, if brachiation is handled properly, this will be quite a sight. There is nothing in the game currently that equates to Gibbons swinging from branch to branch or hanging from a rope as they make their way into an old temple ruin)

Leopards/Clouded Leopards (either direction Frontier chooses here, will surely be a win with the players. Leopards and Clouded Leopards are very different animals than Jaguars and Snow Leopards, and I'm not talking about appearance only. The leopards of Southeast Asia are expert climbers, and I believe that we will see this reflected in the game, alongside brachiation expect a revamp or slight improvement of the current climbing mechanics in the game to accommodate Leopards. The Leopards of Southeast Asia also have a tendency to be melanistic, so this will be another highlight in Frontier's visually striking animal collection. If they decide to go with Clouded Leopards instead, then the climbing animations will need to be even sharper. There is nothing in this game currently that behaves as the secretive Clouded Leopard)

Binturong (We could have gone with Babirusas, Malayan Tapirs, small primates and an infinite number of other animals, however since the game does lack small distinctive mammals, and the Binturong being the most distinctive of all of those found in Southeast Asia as well as a staple of Zoos, it is safe to assume that this will be the dark horse of the dlc, besides they are also agile climbers)

Sun Bear (No surprise here, we have known about this animal for quite sometime. Before you go and say, not another another bear, know that the sun bear is unlike any other bear currently in the game. Do yourself a big favor and do a little research on this animal. It is a tropical bear, physically distinctive from anything else in the PZ roster. It animations however, in line with the climbing update should be a real treat, as the Sun bear will spend considerable time up in branches and platforms.

Exhibit Animal: Expect a Python species, possibly reticulated. There are currently no Pythons in the game, and this could open the possibility for a new size exhibit, something a little bigger and longer than what we currently have in game. I think the devs have seen that the community is not a fan of the one size fits all concept. A python would be the perfect opportunity to test it, and it is an easy adaptation for them)


Foliage

Southeast Asia has a highlight reel of stunning flora, from towering trees, to striking flowering plants and everything in between. During the SA dlc, Frontier introduced a selection of strangler fig roots through a free update, however this selection felt incomplete as the king of all stranglers the Banyan and its aerial roots were not present. While there are currently ways to create aerial roots in game using either a high piece count of the aforementioned pieces or logs, neither is practical or aesthetically pleasing. I fully expect frontier to bring the tropical forest to a full circle with the introduction of aerial roots, and if we are lucky, maybe even the iconic Banyans. (Disclaimer, some have speculated that Banyans would be a hard limit for Frontier's devs, due to the level of detail required)

Aside from this expect a solid roster of foliage additions, possibly new species of orchids and palm trees.

Construction pieces


The collection of scenery props here could end up being one of the best ones in the game yet. Southeast Asia has some of the most strikingly beautiful architecture reproduced in zoos. From colorful pagodas and temples, to old ruins that blend with nature invoking a commanding presence. The sky is really the limit here for Frontier, and any combination of Southeast Asian assets will be a welcomed addition to the game.
 
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Now that a lot of things seem to be falling into place (SE Asia and no mention of brachiation) I just hope they don’t put in gibbons without swinging. That would be worse than leaving them out imo.
 
Now that a lot of things seem to be falling into place (SE Asia and no mention of brachiation) I just hope they don’t put in gibbons without swinging. That would be worse than leaving them out imo.

They might still include the brachiation via enrichment items with fixed animations. Not perfect, but a nice compromise. Of course, its also possible we will not get gibbons at all.
 
They might still include the brachiation via enrichment items with fixed animations. Not perfect, but a nice compromise. Of course, its also possible we will not get gibbons at all.

Quite possible but every other DLC has had a big ticket animal to drive sales. I’m struggling to think of another one from that region.

Also I think your compromise is outstanding.
 
Quite possible but every other DLC has had a big ticket animal to drive sales. I’m struggling to think of another one from that region.
Clouded leopard perhaps. People go nuts for cats it seems.

I could hardly imagine an SA dlc without a capybara, but here we are. Anything might happen I guess. Of course, I too think gibbons would be the most iconic and would be a shame to not include them.
 
Now that a lot of things seem to be falling into place (SE Asia and no mention of brachiation) I just hope they don’t put in gibbons without swinging. That would be worse than leaving them out imo.

Curious about this, did I miss something somewhere? How is the SE Asian dlc confirmed? What I got from the update reveal had a little different take to it. All of the pictures have been showcasing an Eastern Asia game vibe with pieces/foliage/animals we already have in game, meaning it would make absolutely no sense for it to be general Asian DLC as we already have all the major players and main scenery/architectural components from Asia in general.

As appealing as a Southeast Asia dlc is, without brachiation and as a consequence of this gibbons, it drastically losses appeal. Brachiation was the biggest animal behavior/mechanic update aside from flying that can be added to the game.

There is the possibility as Foxydee suggested that it is included in the game via enrichment items/looping animations. Even though I suggested this in the past as a compromise, it would be disappointing as it would just reveal that they were unable to work out how to add it to the game as a behavior. The biggest takeaway here is the implications this would have for other behaviors, mainly flying, as it would be the first time that Frontier would admit failure/inability/unwillingness via a dlc.

Something else was also included or I should I say excluded from the update reveal, it was the first time Frontier did not include any scenery/foliage in an update, so that definitely raises some questions as to why this decision on what is supposed to be the game's biggest year yet. I can only think of one thing, a much more time and resources consuming dlc, at of course a higher cost. This would not only be totally acceptable for me, but it would finally open the possibility for bigger dlc's going forward, depending on how the community reacts.

If mainly get the "So what I'm supposed to pay now 5 more euros for two extra animals and a bunch of plants that should have been free" then it might not translate too well going forward. Lots to think about, but definitely several possibilities as to how this goes down.
 
Curious about this, did I miss something somewhere? How is the SE Asian dlc confirmed?
Not sure myself... I'd assume the Sun Bear leak mostly, although previous DLC packs suggest that means Asia in general or maybe a Rainforest pack... not SE Asia specifically...
 
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I'm not sure if these are all Southeast Asia, but I think an Asian theme is likely now after the pictures. Originally I was hoping for Asia for a time off, but now it appears to be high potential to be next. My initial list for the pack was:

Gibbon (of some species)
Asian Small Clawed Otter
Clouded Leopard
Sun Bear (I like them, but wouldn't have included them if not for the leak)
Indian Cobra (I know it's India instead of directly Southeast so I don't know how likely)

Gibbon seems unlikely if we don't have the new animations involved. I doubt a second otter would come so soon after one in the last pack. Obvious choice would be an Amur Leopard, but that would give us two cats in the pack. I don't know if they'd do that. It could be the clouded leopard is not included, but I'd say good chance we're getting one of the two.

I'm not sure on the other, maybe the Babirusa? It's more Indonesian, but still with an general geographic of Southeast Asia. I'm just at a loss and here I am cutting out 2 or 3 of the animals I was hoping for in the pack. With the only one remaining in being the one that's leaked.

This could either be an incredible pack or an incredibly "meh" pack.
 
Curious about this, did I miss something somewhere? How is the SE Asian dlc confirmed? What I got from the update reveal had a little different take to it. All of the pictures have been showcasing an Eastern Asia game vibe with pieces/foliage/animals we already have in game, meaning it would make absolutely no sense for it to be general Asian DLC as we already have all the major players and main scenery/architectural components from Asia in general.

As appealing as a Southeast Asia dlc is, without brachiation and as a consequence of this gibbons, it drastically losses appeal. Brachiation was the biggest animal behavior/mechanic update aside from flying that can be added to the game.

There is the possibility as Foxydee suggested that it is included in the game via enrichment items/looping animations. Even though I suggested this in the past as a compromise, it would be disappointing as it would just reveal that they were unable to work out how to add it to the game as a behavior. The biggest takeaway here is the implications this would have for other behaviors, mainly flying, as it would be the first time that Frontier would admit failure/inability/unwillingness via a dlc.

Something else was also included or I should I say excluded from the update reveal, it was the first time Frontier did not include any scenery/foliage in an update, so that definitely raises some questions as to why this decision on what is supposed to be the game's biggest year yet. I can only think of one thing, a much more time and resources consuming dlc, at of course a higher cost. This would not only be totally acceptable for me, but it would finally open the possibility for bigger dlc's going forward, depending on how the community reacts.

If mainly get the "So what I'm supposed to pay now 5 more euros for two extra animals and a bunch of plants that should have been free" then it might not translate too well going forward. Lots to think about, but definitely several possibilities as to how this goes down.

It ain't confirmed but there's plenty of zoo animals left there to satisfy one DLC and even left some out.

Even I would rather have greater Asia pack, but SE Asia makes a lot of sense.

Even without Gibbons and Siamangs present there's strong pack to be had.

Just some of the options to pick four out of:
-Sun Bear
-Binturong
-Clouded Leopard
-Malayan Tapir
-Proboscis Monkey ( or any other tailed monkey species )
-Babirusa
-Fishing Cat
-Asian Small Clawed Otter
 
It ain't confirmed but there's plenty of zoo animals left there to satisfy one DLC and even left some out.

Even I would rather have greater Asia pack, but SE Asia makes a lot of sense.

Even without Gibbons and Siamangs present there's strong pack to be had.

Just some of the options to pick four out of:
-Sun Bear
-Binturong
-Clouded Leopard
-Malayan Tapir
-Proboscis Monkey ( or any other tailed monkey species )
-Babirusa
-Fishing Cat
-Asian Small Clawed Otter
These are such awesome choices...if this dlc is 4 animals and a box again I'm not buying it lol
 
Curious about this, did I miss something somewhere? How is the SE Asian dlc confirmed? What I got from the update reveal had a little different take to it. All of the pictures have been showcasing an Eastern Asia game vibe with pieces/foliage/animals we already have in game, meaning it would make absolutely no sense for it to be general Asian DLC as we already have all the major players and main scenery/architectural components from Asia in general.

You’re right, just a strong suspicion. We strongly suspect the sun bear will be there, there has been a heavy East Asian theming to all the pictures, and they also featured the orangutan— the most iconic SE Asian animal. Taken together, it seems pretty likely.
 
It ain't confirmed but there's plenty of zoo animals left there to satisfy one DLC and even left some out.

Even I would rather have greater Asia pack, but SE Asia makes a lot of sense.

Even without Gibbons and Siamangs present there's strong pack to be had.

Just some of the options to pick four out of:
-Sun Bear
-Binturong
-Clouded Leopard
-Malayan Tapir
-Proboscis Monkey ( or any other tailed monkey species )
-Babirusa
-Fishing Cat
-Asian Small Clawed Otter
South East Asia without gibbons and brachiation is a terribly missed opportunity, and frontier will definitely disappoint many. However from a logical perspective, it absolutely still makes sense to go forward with it for all the reasons I mention at the beginning of this thread. It does not mean however that the lack of brachiation would still be a bad call, and more importantly, since I can imagine them leaving it out on purpose, a bad sign of things to come. I can wrap my head around it, it just does not add up. However it is likely as FoxyDee commented that the animations might still come via enrichment items, the problem with that is that it would have made sense to update the Orangutan already in the game as well, and that would have been mentioned in the free update announcement. Frontier is usually secretive all the way up to an announcement, but other then that, once an update or dlc is announced, there is total transparency. So many things do not make sense here.


The most iconic species of greater Asia when it comes to zoos, and keeping in perspective that Frontier has limited slots for animals are already in game. Every single architectural style for theming representation in East Asia is already in game or easily created with the pieces available. Also if we are referring about East Asia as it relates to zoo, then China and Japan are your biggest players, even though very few zoos built exhibits around Japanese wildlife and ecosystems, but many zoos do have traditional Japanese gardens, in any case they are both already in the game alongside a small selection of foliage from the region. East Asia would be my least favorite dlc at this point, as it has very little to contribute, It would be the first major disappointment in a dlc for me since this game was released, and I thought I could never feel that about any dlc.
 
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Technically, brachiation is harder to implement than flying. I think the solution above of brachiation limited to certain enhancement items is a genius solution.
 
It ain't confirmed but there's plenty of zoo animals left there to satisfy one DLC and even left some out.

Even I would rather have greater Asia pack, but SE Asia makes a lot of sense.

Even without Gibbons and Siamangs present there's strong pack to be had.

Just some of the options to pick four out of:
-Sun Bear
-Binturong
-Clouded Leopard
-Malayan Tapir
-Proboscis Monkey ( or any other tailed monkey species )
-Babirusa
-Fishing Cat
-Asian Small Clawed Otter
I'd absolutely love to get the Small clawed otter. More than any other animal potentially from Asia at this point. But I just don't see it happening since the last pack had an otter.
 
I think the reason for the Asian theming in the update pics is either to mislead us because they know a lot of people are expecting something Asian, or simply because someone at the company had a nice thing going on in that zoo and they needed something to show.
The pictures with the past update announcements doesn't always hint at the DLC coming with it, so I see no reason to expect it this time.
 
I think the reason for the Asian theming in the update pics is either to mislead us because they know a lot of people are expecting something Asian, or simply because someone at the company had a nice thing going on in that zoo and they needed something to show.
The pictures with the past update announcements doesn't always hint at the DLC coming with it, so I see no reason to expect it this time.

Before Australia, there were pictures with distinctively Australian plants, before Aquatic they gave the game away with deep diving. So they have given hints for the last two. Possibly this one is different but no reason to assume.
 
I'd absolutely love to get the Small clawed otter. More than any other animal potentially from Asia at this point. But I just don't see it happening since the last pack had an otter.

That was one animal I was so hoping for in the aquatic dlc, I think it was one of my biggest disappointments at the time. However Small Clawed Otters would be about the easiest animals to create as mods, and they would lose almost no quality whatsoever, the Giant Otter pubs would endure some minor alterations and they would be ready to go. Not saying I would not want them, but if it is four animals only, it would almost be a waste to slide them in there at this point.
 
I think the reason for the Asian theming in the update pics is either to mislead us because they know a lot of people are expecting something Asian, or simply because someone at the company had a nice thing going on in that zoo and they needed something to show.
The pictures with the past update announcements doesn't always hint at the DLC coming with it, so I see no reason to expect it this time.

The pictures mean absolutely nothing unless we can spot specific foliage from a particular region or even architectural concepts, that is where all the spoilers have come from before. All the pictures that have been posted so far are basically mute points to me, because what is shown is a East Asia concept already available in game, so nothing new there.

I think I already went in great detail as to my reasoning behind a South East Asian dlc being the logical choice, but to summarize on those points, the sun bear everyone knows about and the one most important to me, South East Asia being the greatest conservation and focus of zoological organizations outside of anything else available in the game and Madagascar, and I do not think we are getting Madagascar.
 
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