Spring 2024 DLC Speculation

Ok SCRATH EVERYONE have come with! I've got literally the best pack idea that compliment the Arid Animal Pack perfectly! Take a gander! 😂

Desert Animal Pack:
1. Steenbok (Headliner)
2. Red-Fronted Gazelle
3. Speke's Gazelle
4. Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
5. Soemmerring's Gazelle
6. Gerenuk
7. Auodad
8. Saharan Sand Viper (E)
Considering how I'm probably the only person here who actually likes the dama gazelle, I would buy this in an instant :D
 
Ok SCRATH EVERYONE have come with! I've got literally the best pack idea that compliment the Arid Animal Pack perfectly! Take a gander! 😂

Desert Animal Pack:
1. Steenbok (Headliner)
2. Red-Fronted Gazelle
3. Speke's Gazelle
4. Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
5. Soemmerring's Gazelle
6. Gerenuk
7. Auodad
8. Saharan Sand Viper (E)
Very nice! I like ungulates a lot too! :D
 
Ok SCRATH EVERYONE have come with! I've got literally the best pack idea that compliment the Arid Animal Pack perfectly! Take a gander! 😂

Desert Animal Pack:
1. Steenbok (Headliner)
2. Red-Fronted Gazelle
3. Speke's Gazelle
4. Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
5. Soemmerring's Gazelle
6. Gerenuk
7. Auodad
8. Saharan Sand Viper (E)
I see what you did there 😅
It's actually good but perhaps replace the viper with a desert chameleon or an Egyptian Cobra 😅😅
 
Ok SCRATH EVERYONE have come with! I've got literally the best pack idea that compliment the Arid Animal Pack perfectly! Take a gander! 😂

Desert Animal Pack:
1. Steenbok (Headliner)
2. Red-Fronted Gazelle
3. Speke's Gazelle
4. Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
5. Soemmerring's Gazelle
6. Gerenuk
7. Auodad
8. Saharan Sand Viper (E)
I'd buy it 😂
 
Okay so what if they actually did delay till the next anniversary or even till next year to give you a load of animals in a single expansion. Think of it like the Ultimate Animal Collection from Frontier's Zoo Tycoon. It should be enough time to give you 20 animals (12 Habitat, 8 Exhibit species).
Based on the DLCs released over the past 4 years, I'd say they create roster with at least 50% of them using reused animations and rigs. With that in mind I'd go with the following roster:
(Reusable species will be marked R)

Spectacled Bear [R]
Gerenuk [R - but only the skeleton, still need new animations]
Grevy's Zebra [R]
Hamadryas Baboon [R]
Markhor [R - still need a new model]
American Flamingo [R]
Geoffroy's Spider Monkey
Great Pelican
South American Coati [R - but only the skeleton, still need new animations]
Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo
Secretary Bird
Blackbuck [R]
King Cobra (Ex)
Panther Chameleon (Ex)
Frilled Lizard (Ex)
Galah (WTE)
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (WTE)
Blue and Gold Macaw (WTE)
Scarlet Macaw (WTE)
Hyacinth Macaw (WTE)

Edit: To be honest it still cuts away a lot of other favourites of mine so I'll just put a few of many other honorary mentions below lol:

Gaur [R]
Fishing Cat [R]
South American Fur Seal [R]
Muskox [R]
Hoffman's Two toed Sloth [R] (WTE)
Red-rumped Agouti
Masai Giraffe [R]
Sumatran Tiger [R]
Lion-tailed Macaque [R]
Red-shanked Douc
Shoebill [R - still needs new animation]
Reticulated Python [R] (Ex)
Helmeted Guineafowl [R]
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Short-beaked Echidna
Raccoon Dog
Japanese Serow
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
 
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I fully understand why they're including the Wetlands pack. It's aged incredibly well and offers up a variety of species from across the globe. The capybara, platypus, and ASC otter are all still well-loved. The spectacled caiman is better than the prior caiman. And the two oddball ungulates are probably two of the more well-received. Nobody really asked for them but the community seems to have embraced them. Plus: The enrichment items!

Thinking on it, though, inclusion of the SEA pack is a bit puzzling compared to, say, the North America or Grasslands packs.

I do wonder if part of the pick for these deluxe packs is based on what the next DLC will bring to the table. Presuming it's getting released for console at the same time... Wonder if there might be some strategy there (e.g., avoiding packs with animals too similar to those in packs they're making immediately available for console).
 
How would people feel if our last 7 habitat animals were simply the top 7 left on the meta-wishlist?

Those being:
1. Secretary Bird
2. South American Coati
3. Walrus
4. Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo
5. Black Howler Monkey
6. Musk Ox
7. Hamadryas Baboon
It would be hard to get mad at a roster like this. They'd really be giving the people what they want - which is hard to argue with. And it offers variety in terms of animal types, sizes, biomes, and regions.

For me, personally, the picks would be a mixed bag. I would be beyond ecstatic about the tree kangaroo and coati and pretty stoked on both the secretary bird and the howler monkey. I'd prefer the Matschie's to the Goodfellow's tree kangaroo, but beggars can't be choosers and I'm sure a delightful mod will be made for the other sub-species we don't get. The baboon would be fine and useful... But the musk ox and walrus would feel like straight-up deadweight for me.

But even with those two it's hard to get mad at the picks when they're all so highly requested. A pack like this would be a hit.
 
How would people feel if our last 7 habitat animals were simply the top 7 left on the meta-wishlist?

Those being:
1. Secretary Bird
2. South American Coati
3. Walrus
4. Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo
5. Black Howler Monkey
6. Musk Ox
7. Hamadryas Baboon
Alright but would be sad that latinamerica got neglected. Plus out of those i personally don't care at all about the walrus and the tree kangaroo, and don't care much about the baboon either. So i rather get more birds or more SA animals
 
How would people feel if our last 7 habitat animals were simply the top 7 left on the meta-wishlist?

Those being:
1. Secretary Bird
2. South American Coati
3. Walrus
4. Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo
5. Black Howler Monkey
6. Musk Ox
7. Hamadryas Baboon
I mean it is very much literally what people voted on. I wouldn’t be too stoked, I wouldn’t be upset either. I’ve never really been inline with the meta wishlist so it is what it is.

Objectively that is what people want the most, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the final outcome.
 
and don't care much about the baboon either.
w=480
 
so I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the final outcome.
I would be, seeing how these 7 are very demanding in the work they would need to be brought to the game. I would expect max 4 from the list.
How would people feel if our last 7 habitat animals were simply the top 7 left on the meta-wishlist?

Those being:
1. Secretary Bird
2. South American Coati
3. Walrus
4. Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo
5. Black Howler Monkey
6. Musk Ox
7. Hamadryas Baboon
I would appreciate all of them except Walrus (useless) and Musk Ox (again, why even is this in the top 10? 😭). Everything else especially the Baboon, Secretary and Tree Roo I would definitely love and would carry the pack for me. Howler and coati are good, not extreme wants but still ones I want.

Also a small part of me kinda wants the next pack to be Latin America themed cause I’m going to South America in March, so I wonder if we’ll get any species that I’ll see irl.
 
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How would people feel if our last 7 habitat animals were simply the top 7 left on the meta-wishlist?

Those being:
1. Secretary Bird
2. South American Coati
3. Walrus
4. Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo
5. Black Howler Monkey
6. Musk Ox
7. Hamadryas Baboon
If it happened this way it would be very difficult to be unhappy with the choices. I would prefer more than 2 more Latin American animals but they’d be giving us exactly what we as the community in general have been asking for- besides flying birds and marine animals of course.

It’s also a really decent global representation. Add in the King or Indian Cobra and you have Asia too.

Want for more for 4? Spectacled Bear or Ocelot for Latin America, Markhor for Asia, Eurasian Otter for Europe and Asia, or some mix of those four, and an exhibit Chameleon
 
Habitat animals I think are needed to finish the game, roughly in the order of importance:
  • Primates:
    • New World Primates:
      • Tamarins are highly popular, conservation icons, well-known, and common in zoos around the world.
      • Howler monkeys are popular and iconic. Preferably we would get this one and the spider monkey.
      • Spider monkeys are also highly popular and iconic, but they might be more difficult to implement. Geoffroy's spider monkeys have color variation and are endangered. SA and CA monkeys are very important for representing that realm.
      • Squirrel monkeys, sakis, or perhaps even a tufted capuchin would be nice as well.
    • Old World Primates:
      • Arid Baboon: Aside from a slight resemblance to the mandrill, an arid monkey would bring something new to the game. It's also a popular ABC animal.
      • Indian monkey: A grey langur and/or a lion tailed macaque is essential. The region is known for monkeys and currently has none.
      • Smaller African monkeys: Colobus is the most popular. At least one guenon and the barbary macaque would be great, too.
      • Other: Geladas, sifakas, and golden-snub nosed monkeys are pretty popular and important, too.
  • Birds:
    • Mandarin duck: Any duck would be great, but this flashy one would be popular with a wider audience. People seem to like them in zoos. Maybe a mallard, too? Black swans, a goose, and more ducks would be welcome eventually, but getting the first duck takes precedence for me. Modders can probably handle the rest.
    • South American Birds: A pink/red bird, such as the roseate spoonbill is essential for tropical sections. A rhea is also needed for Argentina rep.
    • African Birds: The secretary bird (or Grey Crowned Crane if too hard to make) is the most popular. Guineafowl, ground hornbills, shoebills, and a stork would be great, too.
    • Pelican: The great white is the most popular. The brown would also be good, especially if NA isn't getting a different bird.
    • Pheasants: Asia had a bunch of cool ones that would be awesome. Turkeys are a good option for a NA bird, especially if we get domestics.
    • A rockhopper penguin would be great to pair with king penguins.
  • Carnivorans:
    • South American Coati: Extremely popular and gives SA a non-primate arboreal critter
    • Finish the Bears: Spectacled and American Black Bear are both iconic and important for their regions.
    • Small Cats: Ocelot, Pallas's Cat, and Serval. The ocelot is especially popular and important for an underrepresented continenet (even if the serval is my favorite)
    • Other: Walrus may be essenital for ABC-factor and popularity. Honey badgers and sea otters are decently popular and cool if there is extra space. Another dog should probably be added at some point, but none are individually essential as the other highlighted items.
  • Ungulates:
    • Deer: Muntjac or another small deer is essential for the unique rig/behaviors. There are some other species from Asia, NA, and SA that would be nice but aren't as needed.
    • Antelope: Blackbuck and/or perhaps nilgai is essential for India. There are some other somewhat liked picks from Africa, but mainly the blackbuck is needed.
    • Caprids: Markhor and musk ox are extremely popular and pratically essential. An arid goat would be pretty good, too. I'm definitlely leaning towards the bighorn sheep for SW desert rep and due to the already huge roster of African ungulates.
  • Reptiles: (None are as essential, but these are strong, often-mentioned frontrunners)
    • African Croc: The Nile crocodile is a popular choice.
    • Australian Monitor: The perentie and lace monitor are brought up most often. Getting one would be great.
    • Spurred Tortoise: I and a few others keep forgetting we don't have it already.
  • Other Mammals:
    • Marsupials/Monotremes: Tree kangaroos are in very high demand, as are echidnas. Both seem to be refrenced in the soundtrack. A few other marupials (bilby, rock wallaby, possum) would be nice, too, but they aren't near the top 2.
    • Rodents: The Patagonian mara is needed for Argentina. Cloud rats and new world porcupines are fun options as well.
    • Other: A tamandua would be awesome, and the modders would like a rabbit.
I rambled a bit because I don't like to leave things out, but the bolded stuff is the most important. I'd be happy for the game to keep going, but that's everything I think is needed when I try to be objective. Obviously I can't really be, but this my attempt. If we got everything bolded (and perhaps my serval), I would probably still have opinions and wishes, but I would be ok with a regionally balanced roster there on out without caring too much, especially if it has a good amount of monkeys and birds.
For reptiles, we currently don't have any Asian and Ocenian Turtle/Tortoise, also no large water Turtles as habitat species, I think they are prior to Spurred Tortoise since we already have Aldabara Tortoise as African Tortoise
For other Mammals, Tamandua can use the model of Pangolin, and we currently don't have any Rabbit/Hares, it is interesting to have an Arctic Hare or Mountain Hare since they change colors through seasons.
Also other animals like Chinese Giant Salamander (probably the first habitat amphibian) and Coconut Crab (probably the first habitat invertebrate) are not essential but could be interesting to have in the game.
 
I do wonder if part of the pick for these deluxe packs is based on what the next DLC will bring to the table. Presuming it's getting released for console at the same time... Wonder if there might be some strategy there (e.g., avoiding packs with animals too similar to those in packs they're making immediately available for console).
If they do go for the simultaneous release strategy, it kind of needs the release of some DLC from the "Season pass". "We don't have anything that you've paid extra for yet, but we do have something else for you to buy!" strikes me as an unpopular move with something called a Season Pass.

There'd be more competitor DLCs in this situation (based on the website pics, maybe Europe & North America first, but that could easily just be random), so we might not have a complete picture just yet.

It's probably a bit too much to expect really, so I think it's more likely for new DLC to be pushed back on console to some degree (anywhere from the following "Season Pass" update, to 2025)
 
Alright but would be sad that latinamerica got neglected. Plus out of those i personally don't care at all about the walrus and the tree kangaroo, and don't care much about the baboon either. So i rather get more birds or more SA animals
It is sad that the continent with the greatest biodiversity got neglected in the game, I guess the reasons might include:
1. The Frontier prefers big animals especially hoofed animals, but the hoofed animals of SA are not that diverse and there are no native bovids (Frontier is bovid-lover)
2. The SA fauna is well known for a variety of monkeys, but the Frontier doesn't like monkeys (we only have 4 true monkeys in the game currently).
3. The SA has the greatest diversity of birds all over the world, but the Frontier also doesn't want to make that many birds, even without flying animation, we can still have Rhea, Roseate Spoonbill, Ibis, Screamer, Curassow, Seriema, Trumpeter Bird, Jabiru, but the Frontier doesn't offer any SA bird yet.

If Glyptodon, Ground Sloth, Toxodon and American Proboscidea survive today, the SA fauna definitively won't be neglected.
 
I've come up with a brilliant, flawless pack idea.

Jumpy Boys pack, AKA Animators Nightmare pack #1
  • Blue-winged Grasshopper / Wellington Tree-Weta [Exhibit]
  • Coquerel's / Verreax's Sifaka
  • Goodfellow's / Matschie's Tree-Kangaroo
  • Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby
  • Patagonian Mara
  • South African Springhare
  • Arctic / Mountain Hare
  • Common Tapeti / Eastern Cottontail (present in both Americas)
leaping-lemurs
 
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