Spring 2024 DLC Speculation

[RightWhale]

Im sorry i really shot over the line. After thinking about it more i think i can understand and also dont feel as bitter about the whole situation, even if it leaves a bad taste in my mouth

Honestly you and I both. I just hope they give me a year or two to play with Planet Zoo 1 while development is finished. While I don’t want to start over with a smaller roster, as long as the new animal inclusions of an aviary or aquarium are great I might not mind.

What I would love is better optimization, all the pieces and NPCs on the screen kill my computer. Also I’m gonna agree with what Iben said, Frontier has been secretive. In my opinion way too secretive, it would have done me so much better if they were more open with what they can’t and can do. I know other developers get flak for when they admit things won’t go right, but Frontier didn’t promise us aviaries. It isn’t like Blizzard promising story mode and then walking back on it (plus charging extra for what they did add) it would just be Frontier admitting what they can and can’t do. It would have saved me a lot of grief if I wasn’t waiting and planning and speculating about flying birds for years. Which might explain some of my bitterness about Planet Zoo and on this forum.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

I'm with you all on the secretive part. The bad communication is hurting them in the end. Personally I think the gift shop thing was also a Desaster...
The communication needs improvement. Absolutely.

 

[Captain Callum]

The gift shop disaster is why I'm wary about any sizeable updates featuring the likes of free flying and aquatics. The actual modular shop is still extremely bugged and that's just a simple shop not a huge overhaul to mechanics.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

I mean, with flying birds we could say we are at fault, because we just assumed they would come with "no signs".
But honestly, adding egg props and doing the walkthrough exhibits with flying bats but then never add the logical flying birds was so tone deaf it came close to trolling
They should have openly tone down the communities excitement both times.

 

[RightWhale]

I mean, with flying birds we could say we are at fault, because we just assumed they would come with "no signs".
But honestly, adding egg props and doing the walkthrough exhibits with flying bats but then never add the logical flying birds was so tone deaf it came close to trolling
They should have openly tone down the communities excitement both times.

To this day, TO THIS DAY. I have no idea what the hold up is regarding birds in the WTE. This is where I wish Frontier would say something. It seemed so obvious, then they decide not to do it. Is it because people complained about the looped animations, how it isn’t modular, or how big it is? Or can they literally not do it? We will never know

AND IT IS DRIVING ME INSANE

 

[Captain Callum]

Is it because people complained about the looped animations, how it isn’t modular, or how big it is?

Perhaps, I definitely wasn't part of those rants, absolutely not me

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Perhaps, I definitely wasn't part of those rants, absolutely not me

View attachment 381682

So YOU are the only and soild reason we are not getting flying birds. Now we're talking!

Honestly, I think not getting free flying is for the better, at least in this game. Always had that opinion. As with a walkable exhibits. I don't know... I love my bats and flying foxes but it's as hard to build for this gigantic boxes as it is for the normal exhibits. That's one of those things PZ2 could just do better.

 

[CharlieXGaming]

TBH pack featuring 8 animals and scenery for 14.99$ is most possible option.

But what would that scenery be though? If we get a world fair pack then there’s no scenery set that can cover that. Unless it’s Americas with a LA scenery set but that wouldn’t be ideal cause we miss out on the rest of the continents.

I still think a pack with just 12-15 animals is on the table. As long as the additional 4-7 animals don’t need new rigs which most don’t anyway I think it’s still possible. I don’t even care if they cut the update and focus entirely on animals for this final pack. At this point we need more animals than update features, seeing how recent update features aren’t really adding anything ground breaking.

 

[Marvinb]

But what would that scenery be though? If we get a world fair pack then there’s no scenery set that can cover that. Unless it’s Americas with a LA scenery set but that wouldn’t be ideal cause we miss out on the rest of the continents.

I still think a pack with just 12-15 animals is on the table. As long as the additional 4-7 animals don’t need new rigs which most don’t anyway I think it’s still possible. I don’t even care if they cut the update and focus entirely on animals for this final pack. At this point we need more animals than update features, seeing how recent update features aren’t really adding anything ground breaking.

I hope the call it the "Zoo classics pack" or something like that and include some generic usefull pieces

 

[jcp011c]

I mean, with flying birds we could say we are at fault, because we just assumed they would come with "no signs".
But honestly, adding egg props and doing the walkthrough exhibits with flying bats but then never add the logical flying birds was so tone deaf it came close to trolling
They should have openly tone down the communities excitement both times.

Yeah to me that’s really the teams main misstep. Knowing how incredibly popular the idea was, being upfront about them not coming may have lost them some future sales but it would have also toned down expectations. Expectations we put on ourselves but really, after getting a bat, i would imagine most people thought it was logical we’d get flying (looped animation, WTE ) birds soon. Maybe that was the plan and it fell through at some point. We’ll never know.

Understanding they could not address every single animal that way, if we were going to get anima ABC or not, but this was a point for a vast group of animals in general, and ones that make up a significant part of many zoos

 

[VHAGAR]

Have you ever imagined this package of flying birds?

 

[The Carcharodontogenius]

Have you ever imagined this package of flying birds?


View attachment 381686View attachment 381687View attachment 381688View attachment 381689View attachment 381690View attachment 381691View attachment 381692View attachment 381693View attachment 381694

Yes. But I imagine it with approximately 25 birds.

 

[Narwhaler]

I mean, with flying birds we could say we are at fault, because we just assumed they would come with "no signs".
But honestly, adding egg props and doing the walkthrough exhibits with flying bats but then never add the logical flying birds was so tone deaf it came close to trolling
They should have openly tone down the communities excitement both times.

Getting bats definitely was a sign birds would be coming, don't gaslight yourself into believing there were "no signs".

Also it's completely valid to be angry at the thought of a sequel after spending a large sum of money to get the content in the game, specially for the younger and poorer audiences who have difficulty affording them. However, I am fairly certain that this hypothetical sequel will not come until 2025 or 2026 so I feel it is a pretty fair time window to enjoy the current paid content.

Last thing, a 8 animals + scenery pack as last pack would suck so badly. You call that an expansion? An expansion would be at least 15 animals or something. You cannot round up the roster with just 8 animals.

 

[Tinou97]

Last thing, a 8 animals + scenery pack as last pack would suck so badly. You call that an expansion? An expansion would be at least 15 animals or something. You cannot round up the roster with just 8 animals.

Totally agree. I will be really really mad if the final DLC has less than 15 species and doesn't contain at least one species for each continent. When I try to do the list of last essential species I have difficulties to stay under 15 even when I put aside ground birds and exhibit species

 

[RightWhale]

Getting bats definitely was a sign birds would be coming, don't gaslight yourself into believing there were "no signs".

Also it's completely valid to be angry at the thought of a sequel after spending a large sum of money to get the content in the game, specially for the younger and poorer audiences who have difficulty affording them. However, I am fairly certain that this hypothetical sequel will not come until 2025 or 2026 so I feel it is a pretty fair time window to enjoy the current paid content.

Last thing, a 8 animals + scenery pack as last pack would suck so badly. You call that an expansion? An expansion would be at least 15 animals or something. You cannot round up the roster with just 8 animals.

I understand that there are builders and they make up at least half of this community. But considering how everyone is scrambling for the last set of animals to come in game I hope Frontier saw the writing on the wall. I think any of the following could happen:

1. Final dlc is only 8 animals and scenery, worst case scenario in my opinion. Unless it’s something insane like we finally get flying birds.
2. We get 12 animals, like the arid pack
3. We get 16 animals, double the amount of a normal roster
4. We get maybe 20 animals, a good number are clones but that’s alright. Don’t know why the number 20 is sticking out for me considering I have no basis for it.

 

[Captain Callum]

You call that an expansion? An expansion would be at least 15 animals or something.

Looks at jurassic world with its 'expansions'

 

[Narwhaler]

I think double the amount of an animal pack is pretty fair? 8 + 8 = 16 (14 habitat + 2 exhibit)

Specially considering how lame the roster in the packs of this year have been, maybe they were saving the big efforts for the last pack? (wishful thinking hahoo)

 

[Veah]

The least I ask for a modern zoo simulation game is to allow me to simulate the average zoo that most people visit. I have never been in a real zoo (rescue centers and alike aside) that didn't have some kind of at least one of those three:

1. A petting zoo or farm animals area, whatever you call it, enclosures with domestic breeds or wild species used to human contact, where guests can interact with some of them.
2. Decent amount of bird species, either in big walk-through aviaries or in smaller cages (like PZ exhibits), as long as they allow them to fly.
3. Fish and other fully aquatic animals, most of the times in specific aquarium buildings or sometimes in smaller sections, either in big tanks or in smaller aquaria (like PZ exhibits) but sometimes in open air (from a dolphinarium to a koi fish pond).

I really can't think of any zoo without any of those three areas. Most zoos I've been have two, and the biggest and most famous zoos have all three aspects well covered.
Therefore no, I can't be comfortable with the idea of Planet Zoo ending its new content releases without giving us the ability to build at least one of the three areas I've just described. And none of the options seem far-fetched:

1. Farm animals would be pretty easy as they are mostly ungulates which is Frontier's favourite animal category. We also have the educators show where they throw food to the habitat, so it doesn't look difficult for the engine some mechanism for guest feeding over a fence or petting animals inside a walk-through enclosure.
2. Flying birds have been teased multiple times as we have discussed, so I won't elaborate too much on this.
3. Finally, maybe a tank full of fish seems the less likely option, but we already have a fully aquatic animal inside an aquarium: the axolotl, which doesn't work any different than any small fish or sea invertebrate would. And this is the area both Zoo Tycoons went for with their Marine Mania expansions, so there it is the famed precedent.

All things considered, if Frontier wants to surpass previous zoo sim games, they should prove they can cover two of these points, and at the very least one of them if they want to pass the test and be trusted for a PZ sequel.

 

[RightWhale]

I think double the amount of an animal pack is pretty fair? 8 + 8 = 16 (14 habitat + 2 exhibit)

Specially considering how lame the roster in the packs of this year have been, maybe they were saving the big efforts for the last pack? (wishful thinking hahoo)

That’s what I was thinking too, 16 animals (not including doubling up of exhibit animals (very wishful thinking)) to fill out the rest of the roster as much as we can. Some birds, some monkeys, maybe a domestic. I’ll be happy

 

[CharlieXGaming]

maybe they were saving the big efforts for the last pack? (wishful thinking hahoo)

Definitely would explain why we didn’t have the baboon in arid. Honestly the big part holding this final pack roster together would be monkeys, because even though we can tell frontier is getting more comfortable with birds, we still haven’t seen them add more primates than usual, specifically monkeys. Imo we need a new world monkey and a baboon in the finale pack.