Spring 2024 DLC Speculation
- Thread starter The Carcharodontogenius
- Start date
So Frontier’s thought process with almost half of last year’s roster seemed to pretty much be:
Seems like we hit meme o'clock, the steamdb update can't be too far off then.
My thoughts exactly lol
Yeah. Like was there really a need for the saiga and dama gazelle? They are nice and all but really no one was asking for them (or at least not in place of far better options). Those two could've been something else entirely like replace saiga for Palla's cat or heck even for the blackbuck or markhor if they wanted an ungulate clone, and gazelle for baboon or tortoise.
Boar, peccary, RRH, takin, wild ass, dromedary camel we're all asked for so we can't really complain. Wisent was wanted for Europeans players mostly and i guess just like the black rhino are iconic enough to grant their inclusión in the general Game roster in one pack or another. Addax holds conservation value, ZT 2 nostalgia factor and was at least mentioned more frequently than the gazelle.
But saiga and dama gazelle i really don't get.
Well saiga was decently high on the wishlist. Cant remember exactly but somewhere between 15-25 i think
As someone who was more indifferent to the saiga (I think Frontier was way too ungulate happy in general in 2023, but I certainly didn't mind it as much as say, the revolving door roster of Arid - mostly because African hoofstock were already wildly over-represented in game), just why was there so much controversy around its inclusion?
It was in the Top 20 on the Wishlist, checked off the incomplete slot of Asian antelope, has a conservation story, and is highly iconic and charismatic. I understand there isn't a big population in real world zoos, and some folks took issue with that, but I did not see the same frustration towards say, the platypus or proboscis monkey.
It was in the Top 20 on the Wishlist, checked off the incomplete slot of Asian antelope, has a conservation story, and is highly iconic and charismatic. I understand there isn't a big population in real world zoos, and some folks took issue with that, but I did not see the same frustration towards say, the platypus or proboscis monkey.
I don't think the saiga was that bad, and I kind of like its funny nose. It was just a milder Dama Gazelle situation. The Eurasia Pack also already had too many ungulates, which seems even worse with all of the doom-talk, so some peaople pick on this one because it's uncommon in captivity. The saiga isn't a horrible, wildly-unexpected choice among ungulates, but monkeys and other birds exist. Also, at a regional level, the south Asian grasslands are pretty lacking, and many people are hoping for a blackbuck at some point.
-The general opinion on, and the want for, ungulates really took a beating after arid.
-Tying in with the former, there were 4 other ungulates in the pack in additon to the saiga
-There was still decent demand for a asian antelope, although the talked about ones were blackbuck and nilgai, both of which would have also fit the pack
-I remember the discussion about rare/absent in captivity was at an all time high before eurasia
So multiple factors coming together here, not any single reason alone.
Personally i dont mind it in a vacuum, but the reasons i list do hurt it quite a bit
Most opposition to the saiga was definitely the whole presence in captivity and realism arguments. As one of the more iconic central eurasian animals, a eurasia pack without saiga would just be weird.
Main reason I don't like the saiga is that it isn't kept in captivity. I am a realistic zoo builder mainly so if it isn't kept in EAZA I won't use it. I don't like the proboscis monkey either. Platypus I am ok with because there isn't anything else like it but the other two had way better alternatives IMO.
Now that some time passed, I think Eurasia was the definition, of what the kids call "mid".
The swan was a godsend, and I won't lie the reason I bought the pack.
The sloth bear, wolverine, and tortoise were all worthwhile additions.
As I mentioned, I could take or leave the saiga, I have a better understanding why it was so polarizing now.
Where the pack loses me is unfortunately the takin, because I much, much would have preferred the markhor - tbh they're currently the only ungulate I still consider essential, and I'm really afraid the takin stole their spot.
And the wild boar and wisent were kinda nightmare choices for me. We JUST got the peccary. I'll admit this is probably American bias, but I just don't see the necessity of the wisent when we already have the bison. But I know some European players might have a choice words for me, considering it's a staple over there, from what I understand.
Why I don't dislike the pack as much Arid is because, in fairness, it's still a pretty good representation of Eurasia. Like excluding the markhor who else was missing?
Maybe another bird? Like my beloved ducks like the Mandarin, but TWO waterfowl in one pack seems too good to be true.
I think people associate the Great White Pelican more with Africa than Europe.
There's very little reptiles in Eurasia to begin with.
Mammal wise? idk... Maybe a rabbit? Like do we really need a FIFTH European deer (ALL the deer in game are found in Europe)? I'm not sure, is there anyone you all thought was a glaring omission for a proper Eurasia pack?
Arid, on the other hand, deprived us...you know...ANY NON-AFRICAN ANIMALS!!!!
The swan was a godsend, and I won't lie the reason I bought the pack.
The sloth bear, wolverine, and tortoise were all worthwhile additions.
As I mentioned, I could take or leave the saiga, I have a better understanding why it was so polarizing now.
Where the pack loses me is unfortunately the takin, because I much, much would have preferred the markhor - tbh they're currently the only ungulate I still consider essential, and I'm really afraid the takin stole their spot.
And the wild boar and wisent were kinda nightmare choices for me. We JUST got the peccary. I'll admit this is probably American bias, but I just don't see the necessity of the wisent when we already have the bison. But I know some European players might have a choice words for me, considering it's a staple over there, from what I understand.
Why I don't dislike the pack as much Arid is because, in fairness, it's still a pretty good representation of Eurasia. Like excluding the markhor who else was missing?
Maybe another bird? Like my beloved ducks like the Mandarin, but TWO waterfowl in one pack seems too good to be true.
I think people associate the Great White Pelican more with Africa than Europe.
There's very little reptiles in Eurasia to begin with.
Mammal wise? idk... Maybe a rabbit? Like do we really need a FIFTH European deer (ALL the deer in game are found in Europe)? I'm not sure, is there anyone you all thought was a glaring omission for a proper Eurasia pack?
Arid, on the other hand, deprived us...you know...ANY NON-AFRICAN ANIMALS!!!!
While I get that ungulates were heavy in 2023, I can understand where frontier comes from, because a lot of the antelopes, pigs, rhinos, etc we got last year all used similar textures to eachother. It’s easy to make a Saiga with the textures we already have from the Dama gazelle or wild ass. Other animals are harder to clone because of the textures, for example the baboon even though it could probably use the Mandrill rig it still needs a lot of texture work with the fluff, and things like the Secretary have feathers which even though we do have the textures, still would probably need more work to transfer than a simple light fur on a gazelle to Saiga.
I don’t have the biggest problem with all the ungulates we got, at the end of the day they are probably the easiest for frontier to make and there are a fair bit of them at the top of the meta wishlist at their time (takin, Saiga, red River hog, wild boar, even Markhor is up there and it didn’t get picked) we can’t get upset that frontier chooses the easiest type of animals to make when most of them are requested ones (aside from some interesting exceptions).
The only ungulate of the year that truly didn’t feel like it belonged (to me) was the Gazelle, I think it’s an interesting animal, but there were probably alternatives that even though they may not have been requested, they still would’ve added diversity to the roster. For example, they already have the tortoise textures for the shell and everything, just use that to make a spurred tortoise. Or if they had to make another ungulate, choose the Arabian Oryx to make off of the gemsbok.
I don’t have the biggest problem with all the ungulates we got, at the end of the day they are probably the easiest for frontier to make and there are a fair bit of them at the top of the meta wishlist at their time (takin, Saiga, red River hog, wild boar, even Markhor is up there and it didn’t get picked) we can’t get upset that frontier chooses the easiest type of animals to make when most of them are requested ones (aside from some interesting exceptions).
The only ungulate of the year that truly didn’t feel like it belonged (to me) was the Gazelle, I think it’s an interesting animal, but there were probably alternatives that even though they may not have been requested, they still would’ve added diversity to the roster. For example, they already have the tortoise textures for the shell and everything, just use that to make a spurred tortoise. Or if they had to make another ungulate, choose the Arabian Oryx to make off of the gemsbok.
Not a big problem imo
Personally im very happy they chose the takin over the markhor. The markhor is a pretty standard goat all thing considered whereas the takin is pretty unique.
Definetly some american bias
, i dont see any value in the ABB at all, but among americans its like a godsent. All matter of perspectiveAs for glaring omission imo its any of the missing indian animals that where actually needed (imo). They opend the pack up to warm climates, but instead of adding something that india lacks like antelopes or monkeys the chose the bear.
Also something for east asia is definetly missing so something like the mandarin (unlikely since swan), golden pheasant or yellow throated marten would be nice. The last one being one of the most criminally underated animals here imo
Yea, Eurasian was the pack of the year for me. The Wisent and the wild boar were both essential for me, and now Europe finally feels complete ungulate wise. And if course we got a waterfowl on top! As for the other animals, I love the wolverine and the takin and yea I'm happy with the sloth bear too honestly, fluffy fella and India still feels a bit underwhelming. The saiga is the only one I actively dislike, if it was the blackbuck this pack would have been a dream for me. Also our first exhibit tortoise is very nice too.