Spring 2024 DLC Speculation
- Thread starter The Carcharodontogenius
- Start date
And Oceania
I still forget about the oceania pack half of the time, it's one of those packs for me that exists but I never touch it.
Honestly as long as we get a SA primate or the tree kangaroo, Frontier could release any pack and I'd be happy.
Is anyone also finding it a bit strange that for PZ they've starting posting in the community tab on YT. I mean, I like it and its probably just a marketing this, but the game seems pretty late in development to start now. A little part of me has a bit for hope for support this year because of it
Is anyone also finding it a bit strange that for PZ they've starting posting in the community tab on YT. I mean, I like it and its probably just a marketing this, but the game seems pretty late in development to start now. A little part of me has a bit for hope for support this year because of it
I mean they started a TikTok at the release of the Oceania pack, wonder what platform they’ll move to next time lolIs anyone also finding it a bit strange that for PZ they've starting posting in the community tab on YT. I mean, I like it and its probably just a marketing this, but the game seems pretty late in development to start now. A little part of me has a bit for hope for support this year because of it
I would be really happy with an arboreal or endangared pack for Easter, it could have woodlands theme with tree houses, log buildings and eco friendly power sources with:
Tree kangaroo - most wanted animal if we count both species votes
Howler - SA monkey
NA porcupine - first arboreal rodent
Coati - unique SA carnivore
WTE: Red and white Giant flying squirell - arboreal giant rodent from China
or
Tree kangaroo - Oceania rep; new rig
Goeffroy’s Spider monkey - NA rep; new rig
Père David’s deer - Asia rep; clone
Secretary bird of Gray crowned crane - Africa rep; both species would work great with crane being less demanding to create; clone if crane
WTE: Golden lion tamarin - SA rep
Tree kangaroo - most wanted animal if we count both species votes
Howler - SA monkey
NA porcupine - first arboreal rodent
Coati - unique SA carnivore
WTE: Red and white Giant flying squirell - arboreal giant rodent from China
or
Tree kangaroo - Oceania rep; new rig
Goeffroy’s Spider monkey - NA rep; new rig
Père David’s deer - Asia rep; clone
Secretary bird of Gray crowned crane - Africa rep; both species would work great with crane being less demanding to create; clone if crane
WTE: Golden lion tamarin - SA rep
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Hold On It Could Be An Arboreal Pack.
- Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo
- South American Coati
- Jaguarundi
- Perentie
- Linnaeus Two-toed Sloth (WTE)
- Treehouse/ Chainlink Scenery
Forgive me Latin America Animal pack wanters, but I think the next pack is Latin America themed, a Latin American Scenery Pack.
Lets just analyize the meta wishlist for a moment (I've compared the overall meta to the 2023 one, both are basically the same, so I used the overall one.)
Going with frontiers recent strategy of choosing 2 species from the top 10 of the wishlist, there are only a few combos that would both make sense for a pack theme (in other words the pack theme hasn't been repeated already or is a theme that wouldn't get attention) and that would work with frontiers workload we can infer based on past packs.
This is how I would analyze it:
Secretary Bird can fit with a Safari pack with the Baboon and Shoebill, but that seems more like an animal pack theme, and we're expecting a scenery pack unless they switch it up which I doubt. Workload for these 3 would be good, baboon and secretary would be the most work, shoebill is a clone mostly.
Coati, Tamarin (WTE) and Howler Monkey seems like the best mix here for a Latin America Pack, 2 from the top 5, another from the top 10. Workload might be a bit too much but the pack theme itself seems probable. Of course the manatee can fit here too but I don't really agree with its ability to be on this list in the first place so I'm gonna leave it at that.
Walrus and Musk Ox only fit together in a tundra pack but seeing how we are going into spring I really doubt this one, but we got islands in fall so who knows...
And finally Arboreal Pack with coati and tree roo, it fits the top 10 requirement, but a pack full of climbing animals feels like a pack with a lot of bugs, especially with something as unique as the tree roo. Workload would be decent, tree roo might need a bit more attention than usual, but they could just make the other 2 animals clones.
Out of all these I see the LA pack the most likely. Themes like Coastal or Boreal I didn't include because they don't have enough animals in the top 10, as the walrus is the only one for coastal assuming they go with a regional take and the manatee seems very unlikely, and Boreal has basically none assuming they go with a NA region theme, except the Musk Ox.
I know Latin America has basically already been done by SA but it still works like how they did Australia and Oceania or Eurasia and Europe.
Lets just analyize the meta wishlist for a moment (I've compared the overall meta to the 2023 one, both are basically the same, so I used the overall one.)
This is how I would analyze it:
Secretary Bird can fit with a Safari pack with the Baboon and Shoebill, but that seems more like an animal pack theme, and we're expecting a scenery pack unless they switch it up which I doubt. Workload for these 3 would be good, baboon and secretary would be the most work, shoebill is a clone mostly.
Coati, Tamarin (WTE) and Howler Monkey seems like the best mix here for a Latin America Pack, 2 from the top 5, another from the top 10. Workload might be a bit too much but the pack theme itself seems probable. Of course the manatee can fit here too but I don't really agree with its ability to be on this list in the first place so I'm gonna leave it at that.
Walrus and Musk Ox only fit together in a tundra pack but seeing how we are going into spring I really doubt this one, but we got islands in fall so who knows...
And finally Arboreal Pack with coati and tree roo, it fits the top 10 requirement, but a pack full of climbing animals feels like a pack with a lot of bugs, especially with something as unique as the tree roo. Workload would be decent, tree roo might need a bit more attention than usual, but they could just make the other 2 animals clones.
Out of all these I see the LA pack the most likely. Themes like Coastal or Boreal I didn't include because they don't have enough animals in the top 10, as the walrus is the only one for coastal assuming they go with a regional take and the manatee seems very unlikely, and Boreal has basically none assuming they go with a NA region theme, except the Musk Ox.
I know Latin America has basically already been done by SA but it still works like how they did Australia and Oceania or Eurasia and Europe.
That would sell worse than the Eurasia pack
One of the things that makes it so hard to predict what we will get is that we really don't know how many packs we are still gonna get. We will still get at least 2 packs, but it could also be 3 or 4 depending on a lot of factors. Which also means it becomes more difficult to say "this animal will have it's chance in another pack", because there might not be another pack.
I was talking to my GF about the Eurasia pack, and all around the packs from the past year or so. I also watched a YouTubers video on the slow and steady decline of community involvement. As much as I have enjoyed every animal that has been added into game, and I think every animal even “clones” deserve to be in here, I do think as time moved on each DLC has added less gameplay into the game. That doesn’t mean the DLCs haven’t done other things, like providing cool scenery or fleshing out regions with needed animals. If anything I have found the free DLCs have done more, but even then what might be exciting for all of us on the forum just may not be all that interesting to a majority of the players.
As to the Gameplay thing, if we look at what each DLC added this past year their hasn’t been much “new” animals to build with. The tropical pack added the Gibbon which has brachiation, one of only three animals in game to have it. It also added a monitor that deep dives, so if you don’t want a crocodile you have that. It also added a new flavor of WTE. The arid pack gave us the porcupine, it also gave us our first small cat in the sand cat. (I am not starting the arid pack argument, I have come around on it a lot. But while it did a great job adding some needed animals and fleshing out the Middle East, once you build an exhibit for one African ungulate you have built one for them all (obviously there are exceptions but then it is getting into it too much)) The Oceania pack gave us another flavor of WTE, and building for the kiwi is different as it is a burrowing bird. Likewise the little blue penguin can also use a burrow, but otherwise how different will its habitat be from the African Penguin? Finally the Eurasia pack added the Wolverine, which can climb and use the burrows! It also added the swan, the first waterfowl in game. Still, how different is building for the flamingos from the swan? Or crane? I know I am being overly pedantic, and people could probably point out a million small ways that building for x animal is different than Y animal. “Well the region, climate, and scenery are different. It’s also not the same species!” That is all true, and why I think every animal deserves to be in game. You may build the same habitat for a greater flamingo as you would an American, but that doesn’t mean the American flamingo doesn’t deserve to be in game. Though that is what I am trying to talk about, in terms of gameplay how different is a zebra, from a wild horse, to a Somali ass?
I often forget that us on the official forum probably makes up some of the most dedicated players to the game, so it can be easy to fall into a bias. I get Planet Zoo is a niche game, but we make up a niche of a niche if that makes any sense. So while I 100% agree the Wolverine, wild boar, takin, and wisent are needed and some awesome animals, it makes me wonder what the rest of the player base thinks? While we are certainly a dedicated bunch, we probably don’t even make up half of Frontiers sales. So it just makes me wonder, what do the rest of the player base want? When I talk to most people, they don’t even know what a takin or wisent even is. I know I am from North America so there is massive bias there, but I still wonder just how much do people care? Most people are pretty shocked that a zoo game doesn’t have parrots, and at this point in Planet Zoos run we have covered most of the Universal ABC zoo animals. So it still makes me wonder what is in store of the future.
I think what Planet Zoo could really use is something along the lines of a bird/ aviary dlc or an aquatic dlc. The thing is I don’t think it will happen though. Frontier has found a formula that works, and like I have mentioned in the past there has been financial issues and lay offs. That isn’t to say I don’t think planet zoo doesn’t need a South American dlc, or more monkeys. It’s just in terms of gameplay I think it could use those packs, especially to revitalize interest in the game. Especially it’s the new social media accounts. Still I expect the next dlc to be along the normal Frontier formula. And I am hoping it’s a Latin America/ South America. Still I have been thinking about Planet Zoos future a lot lately, what do you guys think?
As to the Gameplay thing, if we look at what each DLC added this past year their hasn’t been much “new” animals to build with. The tropical pack added the Gibbon which has brachiation, one of only three animals in game to have it. It also added a monitor that deep dives, so if you don’t want a crocodile you have that. It also added a new flavor of WTE. The arid pack gave us the porcupine, it also gave us our first small cat in the sand cat. (I am not starting the arid pack argument, I have come around on it a lot. But while it did a great job adding some needed animals and fleshing out the Middle East, once you build an exhibit for one African ungulate you have built one for them all (obviously there are exceptions but then it is getting into it too much)) The Oceania pack gave us another flavor of WTE, and building for the kiwi is different as it is a burrowing bird. Likewise the little blue penguin can also use a burrow, but otherwise how different will its habitat be from the African Penguin? Finally the Eurasia pack added the Wolverine, which can climb and use the burrows! It also added the swan, the first waterfowl in game. Still, how different is building for the flamingos from the swan? Or crane? I know I am being overly pedantic, and people could probably point out a million small ways that building for x animal is different than Y animal. “Well the region, climate, and scenery are different. It’s also not the same species!” That is all true, and why I think every animal deserves to be in game. You may build the same habitat for a greater flamingo as you would an American, but that doesn’t mean the American flamingo doesn’t deserve to be in game. Though that is what I am trying to talk about, in terms of gameplay how different is a zebra, from a wild horse, to a Somali ass?
I often forget that us on the official forum probably makes up some of the most dedicated players to the game, so it can be easy to fall into a bias. I get Planet Zoo is a niche game, but we make up a niche of a niche if that makes any sense. So while I 100% agree the Wolverine, wild boar, takin, and wisent are needed and some awesome animals, it makes me wonder what the rest of the player base thinks? While we are certainly a dedicated bunch, we probably don’t even make up half of Frontiers sales. So it just makes me wonder, what do the rest of the player base want? When I talk to most people, they don’t even know what a takin or wisent even is. I know I am from North America so there is massive bias there, but I still wonder just how much do people care? Most people are pretty shocked that a zoo game doesn’t have parrots, and at this point in Planet Zoos run we have covered most of the Universal ABC zoo animals. So it still makes me wonder what is in store of the future.
I think what Planet Zoo could really use is something along the lines of a bird/ aviary dlc or an aquatic dlc. The thing is I don’t think it will happen though. Frontier has found a formula that works, and like I have mentioned in the past there has been financial issues and lay offs. That isn’t to say I don’t think planet zoo doesn’t need a South American dlc, or more monkeys. It’s just in terms of gameplay I think it could use those packs, especially to revitalize interest in the game. Especially it’s the new social media accounts. Still I expect the next dlc to be along the normal Frontier formula. And I am hoping it’s a Latin America/ South America. Still I have been thinking about Planet Zoos future a lot lately, what do you guys think?
Frontier need a massive revenue boost. Even by releasing JWE2 and PZ dlcs last year like clockwork they made a 26 million operating loss. The loss was obviously due to the bad decisions and poor performance of games like warhammer and formula 1.
The revenue boost can either be something huge like a aviary/aquatic pack but i doubt it. They are working on 3 games for the next 3 years and the PZ team is probably quite small. As they release games and develop them over time, they can always release the next Planet game early maybe late summer and continue developing it.
But basically just releasing these 'safe' dlcs isn't going to cut it until the end of the year.
What would I personally do? I'd release the console version + release the next Planet game slightly earlier. The revenue from a console version can maybe even be used to develop more dlcs for PZ or for PZ2.
I know many people are against a console version or PZ2 but think of it this way. If Frontier continue as they are their company won't survive. Then we won't get anything. If by releasing a console version and make a bigger and better PZ2 they get back on track, in the long term i think its worth it.
Big meh, its not the worst but i dont need a second black bear right after the last.
Its fine, but it also doesnt excite me as while i like all 4 non bear animals in the pack it would feel like even more rich gets richer for temperate NA.
I think id prefer a mix of european wild cat, Na porcupine, golden pheasant and southern pudu much more, to spread it a bit thinner across the board but also catch europe and south america. It still might not be the most interesting pack, but it would be more well rounded and and more directly usefull for more people while not decreasing in the value of the animals as both small deer and both the third NA bear and second europe cat feel pretty equal.
American Black Bear could work as an anniversary animal.
If you split hairs like that, the only truly new thing this year was......nothing.
Every animal technically can be put in the habitat of another, the gibbon is another gibbon, monitor is a croc light, sandcat is a feline fenec fox, porcupine is a spiky aardvark, quokka is props the most unique as a weird kangaroo bunny rat, witht he ladder two being things we just do not have and the mute swan is another flavor of flamingo.
If you wanna do it like that, the only truly "new" animals would be flying birds and aquatics, with an argument for petting zoo animals, most importantly guinea pigs and rabbits as they arnt ungulates.
If we want to see it cynically, everything is the same, the red kangaroo uses ungulate paddocks, every climbing animal is the same and the only thing that differentiates animals are deep diving, climbing, group size and overall size.
But thats not very helpfull is it?
If you want "new gameplay" in a sandbox game that just gives us new goodies as dlc, then you have to hope for the free updates to actually make this game worth as a management game, cause thats where the gameplay lies if your unsatisfied with just building habitat nr 50+.
If building bores anyone, then new animals wont fix that, management updates will.
And for the building crowd, last year was amazing in an understated way of giving us more choices and variety.
I bring up this exampel for the 4. time or something, but before the arid pack, north africa was technically fine, but you had just so little variety in animals that your areas wernt defined by what you put in them as much as they were by how much you left out of the 4 animals we had. Now post arid, building a new north african area actually brings that choice, that breathing room for creativity of actually being able to pick and choose what goes there.
Are 5 ungulates in one pack excessive? Absolutly, but now we got a choice of 5 desert ungulates instead of just returning to the scimitar horned oryx all the time.
We have two small predators, 2 mid size predators, a domestic, an equiid and even some more base game animals that qualify if you want like the ostrich and cheetah to actually have a choice to build expansive and different north african areas instead of just another subsaharan africa savannah slog with maybe a desert subarea and even if you wanna build that, that desert subarea is now much more unique cause you got much more choice.
So while it wasnt exciting, the polish this year brought was wonderfull and easily overlooked and the only reason people are salty about it is SAs sorry state and the fact that the ungulate quota really was very high this year, both more then valid.
And anybody not hooked like this will not come back for birds and fish, or atleast not for more then one pack, valueable sales sure but even if we are the niche diehard fans of a niche game, any "casual" still playing the game and buying dlc is not so different to us here. If they are sitll playing and buying, its because the game how it is is fun to them and they like adding new flavors, even if they arnt mindblowing.