Spring 2024 DLC Speculation

[AndyZoos]

Ideally if we just have one pack left, make it half global, half Latin America pack. Two exhibit animals and around 10-12 habitat animals total. Of the global side of that, 3-4 birds, then the Baboon and Muskox. Tree Kangaroo misses out at the expense of the work on the birds and a couple of the Latin American species.

With that, we get the Howler Monkey, coati, Secretary Bird, Muskox and Baboon of the higher requested animals, only missing out ob the Tree Kangaroo and Walrus.

I would much rather have two packs left, but this is how I’d do it with just one pack.

TBH, I don't see them going with the musk ox over the tree kangaroo. The demand for that is low in comparison, and TBH, I feel like the hair of the musk ox would be pretty complex in terms of modeling, texture, and animate in contrast to anything you'd need for the tree kangaroo (assuming they use the quokka or wallaby as a starting point). I'm just thinking of all the individual musk ox hairs, the way they move, etc. Now, if we were talking the baboon or something like the spectacled bear instead? Yeah, that would make sense.

It just feels like the narrative people are running with is that the tree 'roo would be "too hard" when it's really a pretty straight-forward species in a lot of ways given everything they already have in-game.

Clearly, I'm a little biased (LOL), but I'm just not convinced it's as hard as people think it would be.

I feel like 20 would be the max at most, maybe 21 for over 200 animal bragging rights. Most likely it will be 8 with scenery. If we are lucky (man I hope so) we can get over 8 animals.

The dlc is so far out, but I got to say I’m cautious about it. On one hand Planet Zoo has solidified itself as an amazing game, on the other there is still a lot of animals to be desired.

Personally if I could be selfish I would want it to be the habitat bird dlc I always hoped for, but I know a lot of people would hate that for the final dlc. My second desire would be for a Latin America pack, but I know a lot of people still want animals from all over.

I think a worldwide pack is likely, but that just makes me wonder how many animals we get. I think if we get over 8 animals let’s do the worldwide pack, if we only get 8 plus scenery I would rather focus on Latin America instead of dividing the dlc.

I keep thinking about the possibility of them hitting the "200" species mark and while that would be great from a marketing perspective... At this point, I don't know that they really need it. The optimist in me really wants to assume they'll push for that but I'm doubtful.

I think it's safe to say we'll be getting "20 or fewer" species in the last pack. But 20 feels almost way too high. I would bank on 10-12 habitat species and a max of 3 exhibit species. Depending on what exhibit species they pick, they could game the numbers a bit with sub-species that are more less just texture/color variants (e.g., macaws, hummingbirds).

 

[Captain Callum]

I feel like the hair of the musk ox would be pretty complex in terms of modeling, texture, and animate

But then frontier has the experience of complex fur modelling with the sloth bear, just grab the bison, change it up and add that fluffy hair.

 

[jcp011c]

But then frontier has the experience of complex fur modelling with the sloth bear, just grab the bison, change it up and add that fluffy hair.

This, this is why I keep choosing the Muskox over the Tree Kangaroo. TK is super popular but would be competing with the Coati for time/effort resources. And given there's a good chance there will be at least some effort towards including Latin American species, I think the Coati is a lot more likely of the two.

The Baboon gets a free pass since it's likely going to at least partially come from the Mandrill rig. Walrus could be from a seal rig, but I just feel like it's the odd species out for those popularly requested animals. I don't know why, just a feeling. Secretary Bird is a bird and would require a lot of work. Howler Monkey is likely since again, Latin America skew especially needing a primate.

Kind of like how I feel:
Howler Monkey: 90% chance - unless it's replaced by another primate
Coati - 80% chance - would be 90% if it wasn't going to be so complex.
Baboon - 60% chance - near the half and half mark, but it would have a rig ready for it.
Muskox 60% chance - would have a rig for it.
Secretary Bird 50% chance - truly, I'd love to give it more. But there it is.
Tree Kangaroo - 40% chance - competing with Coati for work effort.
Walrus - 33% chance - again, not sure why I put it so low, it's actually the most recognizable of all of these, but gut instinct is telling me we won't get it.

Edit to add as an afterthought: what if this was the habitat roster for a "Fans Favorite Finale" pack? 2 Latin American animals, 2 African Animals, 2 North American animals and 1 Oceania animal, with the King Cobra as the Exhibit animal representing Asia.

 

[AndyZoos]

But then frontier has the experience of complex fur modelling with the sloth bear, just grab the bison, change it up and add that fluffy hair.

The same argument could apply for the tree kangaroo/quokka, though. Just tweak the model, plop some climbing animations on it (e.g., koala, lemur) and tweak as needed, etc. Same argument from different angles. I guess my point with the musk ox is just how much more challenging doing all of those individual hairs would be. From what I understand about the processes that would be far more complicated than creating climbing animations.

For the most part I think the "effort" requirements for a lot of animals are completely irrelevant because of the effort that goes into each animal. There's obvious exceptions, like yeah the baboon or ocelot would be easier to do than, say, the walrus or tree kangaroo or grey-crowned crane. But mostly it's just a matter of "where" the time is spent.

Now, where things get interesting is in the trade-off discussion between similar animals...

This, this is why I keep choosing the Muskox over the Tree Kangaroo. TK is super popular but would be competing with the Coati for time/effort resources. And given there's a good chance there will be at least some effort towards including Latin American species, I think the Coati is a lot more likely of the two.

The Baboon gets a free pass since it's likely going to at least partially come from the Mandrill rig. Walrus could be from a seal rig, but I just feel like it's the odd species out for those popularly requested animals. I don't know why, just a feeling. Secretary Bird is a bird and would require a lot of work. Howler Monkey is likely since again, Latin America skew especially needing a primate.

Kind of like how I feel:
Howler Monkey: 90% chance - unless it's replaced by another primate
Coati - 80% chance - would be 90% if it wasn't going to be so complex.
Baboon - 60% chance - near the half and half mark, but it would have a rig ready for it.
Muskox 60% chance - would have a rig for it.
Secretary Bird 50% chance - truly, I'd love to give it more. But there it is.
Tree Kangaroo - 40% chance - competing with Coati for work effort.
Walrus - 33% chance - again, not sure why I put it so low, it's actually the most recognizable of all of these, but gut instinct is telling me we won't get it.

Edit to add as an afterthought: what if this was the habitat roster for a "Fans Favorite Finale" pack? 2 Latin American animals, 2 African Animals, 2 North American animals and 1 Oceania animal, with the King Cobra as the Exhibit animal representing Asia.

I definitely agree that the coati has a higher likelihood than the tree kangaroo. But I'm not sure why people presume we wouldn't get both (potentially) for an end-of-game pack? They both climb but... By that logic, we wouldn't get two primates. Or two birds. Or two ungulates. Or whatever. And I think the chance of two birds or two primates in this pack is pretty likely (and would, honestly, require about the same level of work).

Pretty much all of the animals being discussed are super likely, though! It just depends on the format and size of the pack as to who makes it in. If there's a "global" theme, I think the tree 'roo has a super strong shot as the last bit of oceania rep.

My current thought is that we'll be getting a "fan favorites" pack but with a less obvious name (e.g., evolution or adaptations would be good themes; or just a "around the world" pack). A "global" theme would be good for scenery as it would let them do whatever they want. I had similar ideas for roster breakdowns as you but I generally assume we'll have 10-12 animals with 3-4 of those being from Latin America. So they still have the skew to get the key species in but can still rep other regions.

 

[Veah]

Now that everybody is talking like crazy (once again) about a Latin American pack, I must ask... Am I the only one who finds problematic the naming of a Latin American DLC? I mean, Latin America is a 100% cultural concept, the part of America where latin languages are spoken, so it has nothing to do with nature. And every DLC until now has been named based on physical geography or biomes.
I fully understand that we lack animals from that region, but almost all the species that are usually mentioned are from South America, with no relevant suggested species from Central American or the Caribbean. The thing is that we already had a South American Pack, so I don't think either that South American Animal Pack is an option. I struggle finding alternative naming...
Maybe a pack about both Americas? "New World pack" has been mentioned a couple fo times. It could be mostly about South America but include a couple of wanted species from North America, like the sea otter and the American black bear. But then a couple of South American species should drop to make room...

 

[Captain Callum]

Now that everybody is talking like crazy (once again) about a Latin American pack, I must ask... Am I the only one who finds problematic the naming of a Latin American DLC? I mean, Latin America is a 100% cultural concept, the part of America where latin languages are spoken, so it has nothing to do with nature. And every DLC until now has been named based on physical geography or biomes.
I fully understand that we lack animals from that region, but almost all the species that are usually mentioned are from South America, with no relevant suggested species from Central American or the Caribbean. The thing is that we already had a South American Pack, so I don't think either that South American Animal Pack is an option. I struggle finding alternative naming...
Maybe a pack about both Americas? "New World pack" has been mentioned a couple fo times. It could be mostly about South America but include a couple of wanted species from North America, like the sea otter and the American black bear. But then a couple of South American species should drop to make room...

Given how wide the eurasia pack covered, from India to western europe, an Americas or a similar pack that covers both Americas is very much possible even if many of us think north america doesn't need more animals. It continues the around the world theme we have seen since Oceania and has the potential to cover highly requested animals all the way from Patagonia to the northern Tundra.

 

[RightWhale]

Now that everybody is talking like crazy (once again) about a Latin American pack, I must ask... Am I the only one who finds problematic the naming of a Latin American DLC? I mean, Latin America is a 100% cultural concept, the part of America where latin languages are spoken, so it has nothing to do with nature. And every DLC until now has been named based on physical geography or biomes.
I fully understand that we lack animals from that region, but almost all the species that are usually mentioned are from South America, with no relevant suggested species from Central American or the Caribbean. The thing is that we already had a South American Pack, so I don't think either that South American Animal Pack is an option. I struggle finding alternative naming...
Maybe a pack about both Americas? "New World pack" has been mentioned a couple fo times. It could be mostly about South America but include a couple of wanted species from North America, like the sea otter and the American black bear. But then a couple of South American species should drop to make room...

Americas and new world would probably be the name for it, which I’m down for. I agree “Latin America” isn’t a geographic term, so I don’t think they would use that phrase either.

Given how wide the eurasia pack covered, from India to western europe, an Americas or a similar pack that covers both Americas is very much possible even if many of us think north america doesn't need more animals. It continues the around the world theme we have seen since Oceania and has the potential to cover highly requested animals all the way from Patagonia to the northern Tundra.

I honestly think an Americas pack would only need this to represent North America:

1. Walrus and Musk Ox, but like many animals native to the arctic they are just as much European as they are American. Also they are high on the meta wishlist.
2. Maybe American Black Bear, I know it isn’t popular among European players but it is the last “essential” temperate mammal. Granted if it doesn’t come I wouldn’t care too much, mods could work fine for me. Still, being from temperate North America I have seen it more than bison.
3. Birds: Ducks, turkey, burrowing owl, roadrunner, maybe a crane. Honestly I want these over even an American Black Bear. In my opinion I think they are the most needed for diversity for the continent. Personally if I were to pick I would probably do the mallard/ wood duck, wild Turkey, and whooping crane. All are easy “clones”.

So maybe a bare minimum of 5 or so animals for North America, with the rest being from Central and South America. Even of these 5 animals two could be just as much considered European representation.

Personally one of my dream zoos was to make a zoo with my local wildlife. At the moment I have the following:

1. Moose
2. Beaver
3. Red fox
4. Skunk
5. Raccoon
6. Bullfrog
7. Diamond back terrapin
8. Also around 3 of the butterflies I believe are also native to where I live

If I could get a duck and turkey in the next dlc I would be ecstatic. I’m not gonna make the zoo until I get at least one bird native to North America, and hopefully native to where I live. I would rather not use mods, but if support ends and I don’t get any birds I’ll settle for some of the amazing mods. I understand not many people want more North American animals, but it is also one of the largest player bases for Planet Zoo.

 

[RightWhale]

Didn’t mean to post that twice, still I don’t include the mute swan as while I can technically see it it is an invasive species brought over.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Americas and new world would probably be the name for it, which I’m down for. I agree “Latin America” isn’t a geographic term, so I don’t think they would use that phrase either.

I honestly think an Americas pack would only need this to represent North America:

1. Walrus and Musk Ox, but like many animals native to the arctic they are just as much European as they are American. Also they are high on the meta wishlist.
2. Maybe American Black Bear, I know it isn’t popular among European players but it is the last “essential” temperate mammal. Granted if it doesn’t come I wouldn’t care too much, mods could work fine for me. Still, being from temperate North America I have seen it more than bison.
3. Birds: Ducks, turkey, burrowing owl, roadrunner, maybe a crane. Honestly I want these over even an American Black Bear. In my opinion I think they are the most needed for diversity for the continent. Personally if I were to pick I would probably do the mallard/ wood duck, wild Turkey, and whooping crane. All are easy “clones”.

So maybe a bare minimum of 5 or so animals for North America, with the rest being from Central and South America. Even of these 5 animals two could be just as much considered European representation.

Personally one of my dream zoos was to make a zoo with my local wildlife. At the moment I have the following:

1. Moose
2. Beaver
3. Red fox
4. Skunk
5. Raccoon
6. Bullfrog
7. Diamond back terrapin
8. Also around 3 of the butterflies I believe are also native to where I live

If I could get a duck and turkey in the next dlc I would be ecstatic. I’m not gonna make the zoo until I get at least one bird native to North America, and hopefully native to where I live. I would rather not use mods, but if support ends and I don’t get any birds I’ll settle for some of the amazing mods. I understand not many people want more North American animals, but it is also one of the largest player bases for Planet Zoo.

3 slots for north america is a tough bargain though.
Limiting south america to 7 animals is allready tough enough, but just 4-5?

Imo there should be just one just northamerican animal in an americas pack, being the musk ox.
The musk ox got the great advantage of being an ungulate and could take one of the "cloney" spots.
Every other animal should be centerd in central america atleast, for example the roseate spoonbill, mexican spider monkey, oscillated turkey, american flamingo or brown pelican, with the remaining slots going to south america.

Something like:

• Patagonian Mara
• Rhea
• Musk Ox
• Geoffreys Spider Monkey
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Muskovy Duck
• South American Coati
• Exhibit

Would give a nice variety of 3 SA, 1 NA and 3 both, but then it also feels weird to have just the musk ox in that pack.
Personally, id prefer just a central america pack, featuring geoffreys spider monkey, roseate spoonbill, cottontop tamarin, rhinoceros iguana, muscovy duck, ocelot and idk the whitetailed deer as filler.
But in the end its just a matter of preferance, either way NA really got its portion served with 3 packs focused on it and i dont need what amounts to the majority of an scenery pack to be dedicated to north america again, especally if its the last or second to last pack.

 

[TheYeti]

Now that everybody is talking like crazy (once again) about a Latin American pack, I must ask... Am I the only one who finds problematic the naming of a Latin American DLC? I mean, Latin America is a 100% cultural concept, the part of America where latin languages are spoken, so it has nothing to do with nature. And every DLC until now has been named based on physical geography or biomes.
I fully understand that we lack animals from that region, but almost all the species that are usually mentioned are from South America, with no relevant suggested species from Central American or the Caribbean. The thing is that we already had a South American Pack, so I don't think either that South American Animal Pack is an option. I struggle finding alternative naming...
Maybe a pack about both Americas? "New World pack" has been mentioned a couple fo times. It could be mostly about South America but include a couple of wanted species from North America, like the sea otter and the American black bear. But then a couple of South American species should drop to make room...

I can see the argument against Latin America, but there are quite some geographical ranges (mostly of tropical animals) that range South America and Central America, but not the US/Canada. I think the concept also has become synonymous with the Americas minus US/Canada, rather than just the parts that speak Spanish, Portuguese or French.

In many ways, I think it'd be more meaningful as Europe, which is really just a peninsula of Eurasia with most species' distribution extending well beyond the Ural. For North America, the argument could be made that many geographical ranges extend beyond the continent to cover either Eurasia (moose, arctic fox), or go deep into South America (cougar). Even for Southeast Asia, some species are common in East and South Asia too (dhole, clouded leopard, arguably the binturong and sun bear), so I'd disagree that the previous ranges were really based on geographic features rather than cultural imaginations.

 

[SivatheriumGuy]

Neotropical Animal Pack is the best name for a possible SA Animal Pack and I will die on this hill

 

[Captain Callum]

Neotropical Animal Pack is the best name for a possible SA Animal Pack and I will die on this hill

Getting a casual player to google what neotropical means is a pretty bad marketing strategy.

 

[TheDuckKnight]

Now that everybody is talking like crazy (once again) about a Latin American pack, I must ask... Am I the only one who finds problematic the naming of a Latin American DLC?

I think this is a fair point of discussion, and one with a bit more weight than the usual ones about animal roster favorites or gameplay.
As someone who works at a zoo, I know there have been a lot of efforts lately to decolonize and decentralize the Western influence in the world of conservation and zoology.
This includes the phrase "New World" and "Old World", so I think an "Americas" pack would be the best title, including wildlife from both North and South America.
It could function as a nice companion piece to Eurasia, while keeping the majority from South and Central America.

I don't really speculating personally because I'm almost always wrong lol, but something I'm really adamant about is if there is indeed to be scenery in any future potential American-themed DLC, Frontier should really seek out and hire indigenous artists and designers - like they did with the Australian pack.
I absolutely loved Oceania for the animals, driftwood pieces, lava rocks and plants. But as nice as they were, the other scenery felt less like an authentic tribute to Oceanian culture and communities, and more like the tiki bar aisle at a Walmart.

 

[SivatheriumGuy]

Getting a casual player to google what neotropical means is a pretty bad marketing strategy.

Fair, very fair.
But it's a very good name, I don't make the rules of marketing.

 

[RightWhale]

3 slots for north america is a tough bargain though.
Limiting south america to 7 animals is allready tough enough, but just 4-5?

Imo there should be just one just northamerican animal in an americas pack, being the musk ox.
The musk ox got the great advantage of being an ungulate and could take one of the "cloney" spots.
Every other animal should be centerd in central america atleast, for example the roseate spoonbill, mexican spider monkey, oscillated turkey, american flamingo or brown pelican, with the remaining slots going to south america.

Something like:

• Patagonian Mara
• Rhea
• Musk Ox
• Geoffreys Spider Monkey
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Muskovy Duck
• South American Coati
• Exhibit

Would give a nice variety of 3 SA, 1 NA and 3 both, but then it also feels weird to have just the musk ox in that pack.
Personally, id prefer just a central america pack, featuring geoffreys spider monkey, roseate spoonbill, cottontop tamarin, rhinoceros iguana, muscovy duck, ocelot and idk the whitetailed deer as filler.
But in the end its just a matter of preferance, either way NA really got its portion served with 3 packs focused on it and i dont need what amounts to the majority of an scenery pack to be dedicated to north america again, especally if its the last or second to last pack.

Yeah that’s why if we had to get North American animals I would rather it be just birds. I really don’t care for another mammal, not that I would complain either. A number of birds could even work as due to their long ranges. The burrowing owl, roseate spoonbill, and brown Pelican go into South America. The wild turkey extends into Mexico, and like the llama it can also work as a petting zoo/ farm area animal as much as it’s relevant to an area. The only bird I want without any Central or South American presence is the wood/ mallard/ ruddy duck.

I agree I would rather get more tropical Central/ South American animals than North American animals. If I had a choice due to slots:

1. Wild Turkey, “boring” animal but culturally significant. Can work as a farm animal like the llama.
2. Duck, I would still go with any of the species mentioned above.

Those would be the only two only purely North American I want above all else. Every other bird I would want to also cover the other Americas, so the three I mentioned above, or purely South American animals.

But if I had to 100% choose North America or South America I would pick the later due to representation. I can survive with mods, I would just really, really, really, like a native bird for me.

 

[RightWhale]

I will say I’m under the assumption Frontier will make the choice of making the final pack more animal heavy, but yeah if this Americas pack only has 8 animals then I would probably want little to no NA representation. If it has 12 then yeah give me 2-3. The only ones who know will be Frontier.

Which is assuming they will do an Americas pack, when they are just as likely to do a worldwide pack. This feels like such a long wait. I just hope they go with the extra animals instead, it’s what everyone is hoping for (it seems).

 

[SuzieSky]

An Optimist's New World Finale (20 habitat, 3 exhibit):

• Pick Two: Howler, Spider, or Squirrel Monkey: SA needs monkeys badly. Howler and spider are most popular, but squirrel might take a slot because it's easy.
• South American Coati: extremely popular small mammal
• Greater Rhea and Patagonian Mara: Icons for Argentina, which is currently a bit barren
• Roseate Spoonbill or Scarlet Ibis or American Flamingo: pink tropical bird
• Spectacled Bear: most popular Bear
• Ocelot: most popular small cat
• Tamandua or Brazilian Porcpupine or Bush Dog: SA needs an oddball
• Black Bear: last big icon for NA
• Wapiti or Bighorn Sheep: Former also adds big deer for East Asia. Bighorn would be better for deserts
• Sea Otter, Sea Turtle, Manatee, Walrus: Add some aquatic ABCs
• Mallard Duck: very widespread duck. Maybe could add Muscovy duck instead?
• Brown Pelican: bird with interspecies enrichment with both pinnipeds
• Tree Kangaroo: Very popular critter mentioned in the soundtrack
• Echidna: Decently popular critter mentioned in the soundtrack
• Australian Monitor: Australia needs one
• Tamarins in WE

 

[Losing My Lunch]

Around the World Mega Animal Pack

•Habitat
-Pacific Walrus
-Blackbuck
-Secretary Bird
-American Black Bear
-Ocelot
-Black Howler Monkey
-Golden Lion Tamarin
-Markhor
-South American Coati
-Abyssian Ground Hornbill (oddball pick)
-Great White Pelican
-California Brown Pelican
-Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo
-Nile Crocodile
-Gelada
-Gerenuk (oddball pick)

•Exhibit
-Stick Insect
-King Cobra
-Veiled Chameleon

•Walkthrough Exhibit
-Macaws (4 varieties)
-Parakeets (5 varieties)
-Hummingbirds (2 variants)

22 species total. Technically more if you consider each macaw, parakeet and hummingbird a species like the butterflies. This fills in a lot of wants and desires while still obtaining oddball Frontier picks which you know will happen. I could be tempted to add 3 more for 25 animals but I don’t know.

Of course this is a lot of wishful thinking and probably wont happen, but this is what I would put out as a “final” pack if I was Frontier.

 

[NachoB]

I swear if next pack is scenery and the themed is Américas in general with just four habitat animals and one or two are from NA (which i don't really think needs a lot more) i will loose it.

If the pack is something like New World or Américas then it should be at the very least and animal pack and even then with just a couple of NA animals and if they extends into Central and SA even better: ocelot, burrowing owl, pelicans, roseate spoonbill, etc. I can get behind the musk ox and sea otter though. Even the walrus.

An ideal roster in that scenario would be something like Eurasia that covers from Patagonia to the arctic but please without the oddballs and no more penguins / flamingos

 

[SuzieSky]

I swear if next pack is scenery and the themed is Américas in general with just four habitat animals and one or two are from NA (which i don't really think needs a lot more) i will loose it.

If the pack is something like New World or Américas then it should be at the very least and animal pack and even then with just a couple of NA animals and if they extends into Central and SA even better: ocelot, burrowing owl, pelicans, roseate spoonbill, etc. I can get behind the musk ox and sea otter though. Even the walrus.

An ideal roster in that scenario would be something like Eurasia that covers from Patagonia to the arctic but please without the oddballs and no more penguins / flamingos

When I was voicing support for the Americas theme earlier, I was talking about the specific case where the next pack is a larger finale. Even then, I mostly just want the bear.