I think for the most part this is a better representation of whats needed than the standard list
Spring 2024 DLC Speculation
- Thread starter The Carcharodontogenius
- Start date
I want to meet the 11 percent of voters who don't think a new world monkey is essential.
Guilty as charged
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This is a really good summarization, but I think it's worth noting that the Coati and Tree Kangaroo are at a disadvantage compared to their popularity, since there's not a whole lot of species to choose from, it's mainly focused around 2 species per. Maybe there needs to be a "small climbing thing" category
I mean its a similar situation the other way around. Where stuff like NW monkeys arent as high as here because they are split between howlers, spiders, tamarin and like 20 more
I guess that plays into the baboons favor because out of the remaining heavy primate wants like 75% of them are New World Monkeys then you have the baboon in its own category and yet Frontier still won't add them.
That's a good point too. Until this last year, I'd been saying that we want New World Monkeys, but we really hadn't had a good community consensus of what. It seems finally in last year we mostly came to a consensus of the Howler Monkey being the nominate frontrunner for the pick, but you're absolutely right, there's still a lot of scrabbling for what other New World Monkeys we'd like to see.
I guess it's good the Howler has a good backing, otherwise I could see Frontier giving us another capuchian and the idea behind it being that "the community wanted more New World Primates - this IS a New World Primate"
Good grief, we've gonna from "console when" on every post about DLCs, to now "DLC when" on every CONSOLE post!!! Full circle, indeed...
I love how frontier is actively avoiding answering the preorder animal questions on every post.
I still can't believe a lot of them still begging for birds and oceans lol Give it up
You know, the console people have the advantage of knowing what the roster will be for what's released on PC so far, just not when what will come out. So they have to resort to what's not in the game at all yet.
In I way I envy having that knowledge. It's like finding a "brand new-to you" game that's been out for years and have a lot of content, and you've got all this newness (for you) for you to explore. And you don't even have to wait for it. Although in this case, they do have to wait a year for some of it, but that's nothing compared to the 4+ year ride we've been on.
Point is, some people gonna find something to complain about no matter what.
In I way I envy having that knowledge. It's like finding a "brand new-to you" game that's been out for years and have a lot of content, and you've got all this newness (for you) for you to explore. And you don't even have to wait for it. Although in this case, they do have to wait a year for some of it, but that's nothing compared to the 4+ year ride we've been on.
Point is, some people gonna find something to complain about no matter what.
I am not surprised the Snow Leopard is ranked high, based on my experience in real life zoo visit, if Snow Leopards show up in exhibit, there are often many people stay there and watch them. But I am surprised Asiatic Buffalo can make on top 100, since it is completely absent in captivity all over the world, those "realistic gangs" shouldn't like this species though.
Compare this list to the META wishlist, certain species that were least ranked in the META wishlist did make in this top 100, such as BAW Ruffed Lemur, Asiatic Buffalo, Giant Otter and Dwarf Caiman. Also some highly demanded species in this forum are absent in the top 100 at all such as Tasmanian Devil and Takin, I doubt that some people demanded Tasmanian Devil before the release of the Oceania pack, but later lost interest probably b/c Tassie die frequently. Giant Panda voted lower than Przewalski's Horse is also surprising, imaging if a zoo IRL displays Giant Panda, could the visitors watch P-horse more than those who watch Giant Panda? Based on this top 100 list, I doubt that some top-demanded species in the new 2024 META wishlist like Black Howler, might not be popular from the perspective of general players. Animal-nerds: "Black Howlers have significant sexual dimorphism and distinctive howling behaviors, and representative species of Pantanal, Cerrado Savanna and Grand Chaco, so it is one of the must-have species in the game ", general players: "numb and bloated monkey"
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I think this is why a lot of animals I like suffer in popularity. I can say the game needs more birds, but struggle to name species. While a different set of the community has sat down and made an easy to digest list of named species.
A lot of people say they want ducks, don’t specify which species or everyone just picks a different one, ducks fall down the meta wishlist due to that. Same with new world monkeys, lizards, and many of the small animal groups tbh.
But when you condense the list into something like this it all seems more clear. Yeah someone wants a squirrel monkey for their South American habitat, but if they get another new world monkey it’s not that bad. I can say I want waterfowl for my North American zoo, but if I get a mandarin duck it’s not the end of the world.
Really cool way of putting popularity into a different perspective!
The only monkey made in the top 100 is Capuchin, the general players seem like small, slim and active monkeys, so I think they probably prefer Tamarins and Squirrel Monkeys over the Howlers. For the birds, the fact is that 10 of 11 birds in the game appear in the top 100, but only 3 of them are in the top 50 and only 1 in the top 20, I can't analyze what type of bird is most attractive to the general players, Mandarin Duck is quite likely to make in the top 50 b/c semiaquatic species are more popular, Golden Pheasant probably similar as the Peafowl, hard to make in the top 50.
The interesting fact is, the Frontier must be a Bovid-lover since 20 bovid species are offered, but only 4 of these 20 species being on the list, and none of them in the top 50 (the most popular bovid is Bongo which ranked #69), the Frontier: why? why do you guys don't like Bovids?
The Perentie is highly demanded in this forum, but only 1 of the 3 Monitors in the game appears in the top 100, which is the Komodo Dragon, I doubt the Perentie is just like Tasmanian Devil and Takin, favored by our forum but not the general players.
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This is my ideal end-of-game scenario (within the current DLC formats and patterns, at least) for the other year of support that is almost definitely not coming. Haha.
- Spring: American Frontier Scenery Pack
- Habitat: NA black bear, black-footed ferret, burrowing howl, NA porcupine
- Exhibit: Common box turtle
- Scenery Items: Log cabin/"national park" themed building set, Native American artwork and decor, generic woodlands theming
- Summer: Latin America Animal Pack
- Habitat: SA coati, ocelot, golden lion tamarin, spectacled bear, southern tamandua, black howler monkey, patagonian mara
- WTE: Macaws and toucans (mixed species)
- Fall: Domestics Scenery Pack
- Habitat: Nigerian dwarf goat, kunekune pig, alpaca, and derbyshire redcap chicken
- WTE: Budgies
- Scenery Items: Clapboard wall set, barn/harvest scenery items, farm stone wall set/rubble, new fence type, playground pieces
- Enrichment: Salt lick, feeding troughs, hay bales
- Winter: Amazing Adaptations Pack
- Habitat: Goodfellow's tree kangaroo, markhor, scarlet ibis, secretary bird, bat-eared fox, honey badger, puffin
- Exhibit: Jackson's Chameleon or piranhas
- Scenery Items: Generic zoo items
To be fair it's either ignore it, announce it, or say "we do not have any plans for X at this time." Ironically, I think them ignoring it means it'll drop as a stand-alone three animal DLC sometime post-launch (at a premium cost). Gotta get those pre-order numbers up!
I'm more concerned about the people still calling for full-blown 20+ species and multiple new mechanic expansion sets. But I guess there's a lot of overlap between the two crowds now that I think about it...I still can't believe a lot of them still begging for birds and oceans lol Give it up
I do wonder who was surveyed, as that might influence the results. Also, there are a lot of well-known favorites at the top, but people still use filler and interspecies enrichment animals for variety.
Thoughts on the current Meta-wishlist and this list:
- Monkeys:
- Many people find primates creepy, especially chimps and baboons. They are still important species. Baboons are ABC animals and an arid one would have a unique habitat, even if they would be in few peoples' top 20.
- I agree that tamarins probably would have the broadest appeal. They are cute, colorful, can go into smaller habitats, are common in zoos, and they sound ok. Random guests seem to like them.
- I think a general audience would find howler monkeys obnoxious and loud but would like the golden color of the females. Spider monkeys would be seen as creepy. Again, I still think they are essential. (at least one) Squirrel monkeys would probably be more popular because again, they are cute and colorful.
- GSNM are extremely important for China, and Indian players might want a local monkey, too. They make up a huge proportion of the population, but I don't know about their proportion of the playerbase.
- Guenons and colobus monkeys don't seem that far off from capuchins and lemurs. I doubt they'd be the most popular, but I think they would go over ok.
- Birds:
- Given the response to a swan, I think a colorful Mandrin duck would go over best. Random people light up a little when they see them in zoos.
- I also think something flashy from Africa, like the grey crowned crane or secretary bird, would go over well. Both are famous and colorful, like the popular cassowary.
- On that note, one of the pink trio would also go over well. I actually think the American flamingo would be the most popular of the three with a general audience, but it might hurt the popularity of the greater flamingo a little.
- I think the tendency for peafowl to fill up habitats and get sick quickly hinders their popularity. Other colorful Asian fowl would be liked somewhat, but I don't see them being very popular.
- I am not sure the pelican would go over as well as some people think, but it might be useful to a broader audience if it has interspecies enrichment with the more popular pinnipeds.
- I doubt the rhea would be popular on a list like this.
- Small Mammals: I think the coati and tree kangaroo are not widely known, but they are cute like the binturong and would be loved. The echidna would be ok, but I doubt it would turn up in a lot of top 20's. I think the mara would be liked somewhat, but also seen as a tad boring. The sea otter would crush all opposition in this category, given the love of otters, and I think a honey badger would do better than some of these from all of the memes.
- Felids: I noticed that the least popular felid was the caracal, at #56. I think the serval, ocelot, and Pallas's cat would be fine additions to the game.
- Large Carnivores: The spectacled bear and walrus would probably be somewhat popular, but I don't think they would be at the top of a list like this. The ABB would probably be comparable, especially if they add the color morphs. An African leopard would probably be loved by the general audience and hated here.
- Canids: I think a raccoon dog would be the most popular. Those surveyed seemed to like foxes, and this one is a cute fox relative. I don't think the jackal or some other fox species would be hated but they would be near the bottom, if they made the list at all. I very much doubt the bush dog would be on the list.
- Ungulates: The markhor would probably be the most liked, but it would not be at the top of this list. A muntjac might do ok with red panda (#3) interspecies enrichment to boost it. The musk ox and blackbuck would be tolerated, but I doubt any of these would make many top 20's.
- Reptiles: I don't think the general playerbase is missing reptiles. I still think the Nile crocodile and spurred tortoise might do ok on this list, though.