Spring dlc Speculation 2023

[Colehunter35]

Himalayan Monal or Mountain Goat

No no no
Dont even put the or mountain goat. WE NEED A MONALLLLL

 

[jcp011c]

If we're continuing the "lands" theme, I could see us getting a Highlands Pack. Here's the animals that might be included:

• Wolverine
• Spectacled Bear
• Gelada
• Himalayan Monal or Mountain Goat
• Chinese Giant Salamander

I'm not sure what the building theme would be if it's a scenery pack though. Any suggestions?

A good list for sure. I'd probably switch out the Monal/Mountain Goat spot for a Markhor, but that's just personal preference. Though it would be another zoo tycoon 2 animal we get to the PZ roster.

 

[Nausicaaa 22]

Happy 2023 guys! I hope you have a prosperous year full of happiness for you and your families

 

[YesIndeed]

Because half the community is comprised of builders and they need content.

That's why I said they can still add some free building pieces in free updates. Each update we've only been getting more and more stuff so I personally think this idea could work since there's not very much more update content for them add so they could instead spend that time on new scenery.

This would be assuming that their not investing their time free flight birds or a complete exhibit revamp in which case I'd rather have those updates.

 

[DarthQuell]

That's why I said they can still add some free building pieces in free updates. Each update we've only been getting more and more stuff so I personally think this idea could work since there's not very much more update content for them add so they could instead spend that time on new scenery

As much as I'd like this, it wouldn't go too well with the builders. Everytime we had an animal pack with only scenery, like statues and signs, the builders were very disappointed.
And that's a big problem to overcome, which is why getting alternate packs is the best way to go, in my opinion. As was stated before, animal nerds aren't gonna lose anything, really, if we get standard packs only, but builders will lose a lot of we get animal packs only.

I mean, foliage and signs/statues are nice for those who prefer animals, but for architects, they need new stuff to feel motivated, you know?

There are a few themes, sort of, that I can think of:

We can make a Spanish/Mexican theme in the game already, but to really make it better, we need Saltillo tile pieces and talavera tile pieces and talavera pottery. I'd also add papel picado, which are those little colorful papers that are hung in restaurants and streets.

For deserts, I'd add some "western" things, like lassos, spurs, wooden wagon wheels and cattle skulls, to represent a ranch, you know? Rustic wooden pieces...

Maybe bolas? Those ropes with heavy balls on the end used to entangle the feet of cattle. South American ranchers, aka gauchos, use them.

Those are some ideas

 

[YesIndeed]

As much as I'd like this, it wouldn't go too well with the builders. Everytime we had an animal pack with only scenery, like statues and signs, the builders were very disappointed.
And that's a big problem to overcome, which is why getting alternate packs is the best way to go, in my opinion. As was stated before, animal nerds aren't gonna lose anything, really, if we get standard packs only, but builders will lose a lot of we get animal packs only.

I mean, foliage and signs/statues are nice for those who prefer animals, but for architects, they need new stuff to feel motivated, you know?

There are a few themes, sort of, that I can think of:

We can make a Spanish/Mexican theme in the game already, but to really make it better, we need Saltillo tile pieces and talavera tile pieces and talavera pottery. I'd also add papel picado, which are those little colorful papers that are hung in restaurants and streets.

For deserts, I'd add some "western" things, like lassos, spurs, wooden wagon wheels and cattle skulls, to represent a ranch, you know? Rustic wooden pieces...

Maybe bolas? Those ropes with heavy balls on the end used to entangle the feet of cattle. South American ranchers, aka gauchos, use them.

Those are some ideas

I just think it's more fair having an even amount of each pack. If you wanna make builders and more animal oriented players more happy it would makes sense to have an even 8 animal and scenery packs by the end If this year.

If we follow the normal alternating packs then there'll be 10 scenery and 6 animal packs which dosent feel fair to me. I might just post my own thread on this to get other people's ideas.

 

[jcp011c]

As much as I'd like this, it wouldn't go too well with the builders. Everytime we had an animal pack with only scenery, like statues and signs, the builders were very disappointed.
And that's a big problem to overcome, which is why getting alternate packs is the best way to go, in my opinion. As was stated before, animal nerds aren't gonna lose anything, really, if we get standard packs only, but builders will lose a lot of we get animal packs only.

I mean, foliage and signs/statues are nice for those who prefer animals, but for architects, they need new stuff to feel motivated, you know?

There are a few themes, sort of, that I can think of:

We can make a Spanish/Mexican theme in the game already, but to really make it better, we need Saltillo tile pieces and talavera tile pieces and talavera pottery. I'd also add papel picado, which are those little colorful papers that are hung in restaurants and streets.

For deserts, I'd add some "western" things, like lassos, spurs, wooden wagon wheels and cattle skulls, to represent a ranch, you know? Rustic wooden pieces...

Maybe bolas? Those ropes with heavy balls on the end used to entangle the feet of cattle. South American ranchers, aka gauchos, use them.

Those are some ideas

These are great ideas. I'd honestly love to see another type of pack, more than 4+1(or whatever the WE number of offerings will be), and less building pieces as a trade off. Even just an extra animal would help. That could potentially give us 5 habitat animals, 5 WE exhibit animals if the butterfly offerings were a pattern of 5, and maybe two thirds of half the number of building pieces?

 

[yoav_r]

I just think it's more fair having an even amount of each pack. If you wanna make builders and more animal oriented players more happy it would makes sense to have an even 8 animal and scenery packs by the end If this year.

If we follow the normal alternating packs then there'll be 10 scenery and 6 animal packs which dosent feel fair to me. I might just post my own thread on this to get other people's ideas.

We don't need some cosmic balance between the types of packs. Animal packs were introduced later, so there's fewer of them. That's no reason to abandon the builders for a year.

 

[YesIndeed]

We don't need some cosmic balance between the types of packs. Animal packs were introduced later, so there's fewer of them. That's no reason to abandon the builders for a year.

If the first year of support was all animals packs and they introduced build packs later would you want them to make up for that and give us a full year of build stuff. Your reasoning of they were introduced first just makes my claim more valid.

 

[Iben]

That's why I said they can still add some free building pieces in free updates.

Yes, but then your builders have no incentive to buy any of the packs

Like, I feel like it's really not rocket science, there's a reason why they didn't stop making scenery packs when they introduced animal packs. It doesn't really matter if you feel that's fair or not, the audience simply consists of builders and non builders and Frontier will target both in their paid content to maximize their profit. Which is an entirely fair thing to do, they got people to pay as well.

And again, to reiterate, scenery packs come with 5 animals instead of 8. This would have been a totally different discussion if they were scenery-only packs, but it's not like there's nothing for people who don't care about building in scenery packs, you just get 5 instead of 8.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

That's why I said they can still add some free building pieces in free updates. Each update we've only been getting more and more stuff so I personally think this idea could work since there's not very much more update content for them add so they could instead spend that time on new scenery.

This would be assuming that their not investing their time free flight birds or a complete exhibit revamp in which case I'd rather have those updates.

Sure lets put 50% of the paid dlc content into the free update while also making 3 more animals for the dlc, not monetising the builders for just 3 more animals.
You see why thats a bad deal?

 

[YesIndeed]

Sure lets put 50% of the paid dlc content into the free update while also making 3 more animals for the dlc, not monetising the builders for just 3 more animals.
You see why thats a bad deal?

Saying that is also that animal packs are bad overall cause they don't monetise builders. But if you believe that I won't stop your opinion.

I'm just trying to voice my opinion on the idea. If there are less new animals there are less things to build for. I care more for the nimals in the zoo game. The only content that was added in build packs that I really require is the items from the aquatic pack tbh. The rest is just yeah that's kinda nice but there's so much to work with in the game already.

 

[Iben]

Saying that is also that animal packs are bad overall cause they don't monetise builders. But if you believe that I won't stop your opinion.

Yeah no, you're twisting the point here. What me, @KönigDerKaffeebohnen and others are trying to say is that if you only do animal packs for a full year, you don't capitalize on the part of the community that likes to build. Because if you do that, and only add scenery in the free update, people who don't really care about more animals will not be inclined to buy a pack during an entire year, so you end up risking people skipping 3 to 4 packs instead of people skipping out on 1 to 2 packs in the current setup.

The current setup is a nice balance between the two. People who like building pieces more than the animals get 2 packs a year that have the things they want, people who prefer animals over building pieces get 2 packs that are completely oriented towards them (and still get animals in the other packs as well). People who like both, are happy too.

For the record, I totally understand not wanting more building pieces, there's nothing wrong with that. My point is only that the current setup works well, and probably isn't going to change, because of the two options presented it's the most risk free from a commercial perspective .

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

After a bit of thought over the actual possibility that this would be the last year of dlc (not like doomer talk and more like, wouldnt it be fun to think about what 23 animals id like to see if it is) i gatherd a list of both metalist animals and animals that imo should be in the game (for example there is no pelican in either top 23, but id argue that its not just very iconic and unique looking, but also has a zoo presence that solidifys it as a staple).
For the general trends, tropical animals outcompete all other biomes easily, with 12 of 23 animals in both wishlists being found in tropical rainforests, so imo it only makes sense to start with that:

Tropical Rainforest Animal Pack :

• Short Beaked Echidna: Might be an unexpected choice, but this very adaptabile animal would be a great boon to oceania, as it occurs in all of Australia and Tasmania, as well as New guinea. It would be a very flexible animal that could be slotted in anywhere into any theme of an oceania based section, be it tasmania, new guinea, the outback or literally any other spot, while also being fairly high on both wishlists (21 new, 30 old)
• A Tree Kangaroo: The second most important addition of this pack as this is by far the most unique animal rigging and animation wise. Tree Kangaroos have a very unique way of climbing where they kind of hop up the tree that modders just could not replicate, so if we want this animal in all its glory, it must be frontier made. Together with the cassowary and echidna we would also be able to build actual dedicated new guinea mini sections, as 1 animal is a habitat, 2 can be seen as a subarea and with 3 you got an element of choice, being the bare minimum. Very popular in both wishlists (10 new, 11 old)
• Rainbow Lorikeet (WE): Pls do not crucify me, but wikipedia says that they live in tropical rainforest. Regardless, they would be a joy to have as one of our proaply few bird options for the WE as a very common walkthrough aviary animal thats also iconic to australia. Their rainbow colors also let them stand out quite a bit and will for sure make them a fan favorite
• Mantled Guereza: The most popular african monkey (22 new, 32 old) would fill one of africas last truly missing niches, that being a small monkey. While from a color point of view another black and white monkey isnt as appealing as the more colorful de brazas monkey or mangabeys, the general lack of monkeys makes the fact that its by far the most common coloration for monkeys less ovious and especally next to the very colorfull mandrill quite neat.
• Fossa: The last truly missing carnivora besides a marten, these animals are a must for fleshing out madagascar. While we allready got 3 animals from there, its only lemures so something that requires a different habitat is very welcome. We also dont have the niche of arboreal tropical predator coverd by anything smaller then the clouded leopard, making the fossa quite unique in that regard. (13 new, 9 old)
• South American Coati: Among the most common zoo animals from south america, the coati is not only popular (5 new, 8 old), but would also introduce not only our first smaller carnivore to south america, but also our second arboreal animals, as sad as that is. Their range is far and wide and their mix between being arboreal but also very terrestial would not only fit perfectly for the climbing in the game but also give us a great general filler option for south american sections and really zoos of any kind.
• Golden Lion Tamarin: While not my personally prefered choice, they are by far the most wanted tamarin on the meta wishlist (23 new, 17 old) and also the south american monkey there that contrasts the most visually to the mantled guereza (sry black howler monkey). We really need more monkeys, especally for south america so 2 very different monkeys in a pack are both needed and reasonable.
• Linnaeus Two Toed Sloth: No getting around it the sloth as the most wanted tropical animal of the original meta wishlist (7 new, 3 old) should really be in this pack. I thought about it being a habitat or exhibit animal and really, i dont see the Sloth in the WE as one of the few animals that would work much better in a normal exhibit comparativly, as we would have no control over enritchment spawns in the new system and there for no control over the sloth climbing, which sucks but the old exhibits suck even more so having them as normal habitat animals, while less reliable on the actually climbing part would be the only way to get them with proper creative freedom.

Honorable mentions:

• Red River Hog: Yes i excluded the animal on the number 3 and 4 on the lists for this pack but with one simple reason: They are of these 8 animals by far the most moddable and the one animal that would add the least new to the game. It also had hard competition of South America claiming the leftover habitat animal slot by nessecity. The best way to incorporate it would have been the sloth as the exhibit instead of the lorikeets, but really if we only would have 4 shots at getting birds, id want ideally all 4 of them to be birds.
• Victorian Crowned Pidgeon: As you can see all 7 habitat animals have been from the top 23 lists and the victoria crowned pidgeon sadly isnt even close, being 118 place in the new and 146 Place in the old. And while another bird would be delightfull, the echidna adds more general flexibility to the game while also being very unique by itself. Luckily if support does continue it would luckily be easily one of the top choices for an eventual islands pack to represent the world 2. largest island.

Random Thoughts:

• The pack is extremly arboreal heavy with only 1 out of 7 habitat animal not being a climber, but imo this is quite the nessecity. Planet Zoo severly lacks arboreal and climbing animals with currently only the Jaguar, Clouded Leopard, Binturong, Proboscis Monkey, Siamang, White Faced Capuchin and the 4 great Apes as arboreal tropical animals, which simply isnt enough especally when there are only 2 small climbing animals when they normally are a zoo staple.
• With a 3/3/2 Split, this pack is quite focused for a biome pack, but asia simply does not have any new popular tropical animals to be added. If we also add that by excluding Asia both SA and Oceania can get 3 reps each, this is a sacrifice in diversity more then worth making.

While the first pack went all in on the metawishlist, the second does the opposite while tapping into propaply the most lucrative unadressed market for especally less nerdy people then the forums, a petting zoo pack.
Like it or hate it, allmost every zoo has one, the african dwarf goat as a breed is the by far most commonly kept zoo animal on the planet and really, why should we not feature this on our digital zoo planet?

Petting Zoo Pack:

• A Scenery Pack that enhances on the conservation pack with more tools, vegetables and Useful plants, while also giving us a barnyard oriented building set with lots of hay and wood, withered wood for example could be quite usefull.
• African Dwarf Goat: The most essential petting zoo animal, these guys are found everywhere in lots of color variation. They would give us a great backbone for any kind of petting zoo or children zoo area, while also fitting into themed africa sections quite well.
• Guinea Pig: Super common in zoos due being popular but very cheap, these guys are the 4. most common zoo animal in the EAZA with 800 holdings. Theyd also would double as a semi south american rep that would go well in thematic sections with the lama, making it more versatile. It also could come in dozens of different colorvariations and add something very different in both size, habitat and taxa to an otherwise potentially very ungulate focused pack.
• Mallard Duck: Atleast one bird was needed in this pack and while the chicken is a great choice aswell and would be a great headliner, our first ever waterfowl does beat it by a small margain. It would be the most versatile animal by far, as they could be easily used as wild stand ins to populate every body of water wed like to and would propaply be one of the few animals actually usefull for city builders, which would be quite cool aswell. Imagine a duck pond in sallands adventure zoo as the first animals ever since release.
• Domestic Donkey: Being iconic to many different cultures, the domestic donkey could easily be in many different kinds of displays, from petting zoos to green pastures, over mexican or mediteranian themed areas to even being conected with the christmas myth. These animals are adaptable and would be a great representative of the last missing equid taxa.
• Budgies (WE): Budgies would work great as another pet that could easily and regulary does stand in for its wild version in zoos. Many colorvariations and possible mixing with rainbow lorikeets ensures more possiblitys and another australian rep

Honorable Mentions:

• Shetland Pony: Besides being in my personal opinion outclassed by the domestic donkey in versatility and the fact that its a new taxa, it also has the better chance to make it in through extended support in an island pack
• Any Cattle: While Cattle is cool, we allready kind of have the water buffallo, so id prefered other choices especally as both the domestic yak and scottish highland cattle would have realistic choices for a mountain/highlands pack
• Pigs: 3 Ungulates would have been quite alot for 4 habitat animals and even though they are classics, diversity was preferable especally as literally all honorable mentions are classics
• Sheep: Got outclassed by goat, to much missing to be up for consideration to have both goat and sheep
• Bunnys and other rodents: While great choices, the guinea pig outclasses them in my opinion due to the paring with the lama and the thematic possebilitys of a little south american domestics area

Random Thoughts:
This pack was really hard, as literally any combination of the mentioned animals would work, with even more possible variation in breeds or even more exotic domestics. In the end i choose what i believe to be a quite varried mix of flexible animals that all can do both the petting zoo and atleast one other role quite well with stand in inclusions for south america and australia to sneak in some more representation.
2/4 WEs being australian birds might seem much, but both species are quite distinct from each other and the could profit from being able to be hold together as another variety. + Australia in international collections often is most heavily featured in aviarys and vivariums, so giving it 2 different super common bird reps felt right, especally over something both less exciting and less of a clear fit for the WE like a pidgeon.


Anniversary Animal:
In my humble opinion, the white faced saki would be possibliy the best option for a free anniversary animal.
It would be exciting and useful as another south american primate while also not actually being that popular even though a very common zoo animal. It feels very similar to the red deer in that way, as it would be a new taxon for an underrepresented basegame (and current) continent that adds a common zoo animal that everybody can agree on is neat, but for most people not a favorite and/or overshadowed by other options like a spider monkey, howler or tamarin.
The white faced saki would offer the best of both worlds of another monkey and praise for frontier, while also being an unrealistic option for future dlc regarding popular similar choices that it would have to compete with.

While not as strong of a trend as tropical, mountains have a clean 4 animal record in the top 23 list with a few more rather obvious options aswell. While not the most popular animals by any means, right now mountains are arguably the least represented biome in the game currently and could use some love.

Mountains/Highlands Animal Pack:

• a Takin: The most requested mountain animal from both lists is an unspecified takin (12 new, 16 old). Realistic options would either be the brown and black mishimi takin or the golden takin, both equally good but the golden would be more visually unique in color. They would fill multiple important roles, mostly as asian ungulates and first non predator or red panda inhabitant of the himalaya.
• Hamadryas Baboon: Being listed as number 14 in both lists , these guys are just as popular as the takin. Filling the gap of a missing baboon species and coming from the ME, these very common zoo animals got quite the big niche still left for them in the game. They would also add an animal from a warmer climate.
• Markhor: The third top 23 candidate is the markhor (17 new, 22 old) which would cover the only passingly represented mountains of southwestern asia. Looking very unique with their long fur, beards and curled horns theve shown themself to be the favorite among the goat looking mountain goats and with caprids being the most sawed after group of animals in the old wishlist its allmost a nessecity for another wild goat to make it to the game.
• Spectacle Bear: Last of the 4 top 23 metawishlist animals (15 new, 25 old) the spectacle bear would add the first and only large carnivore of the year. Adding a presence from south america they would be a great second large center piece animal next to the jaguar and be quite unique as a tropical animal both in the pack and among the other bears.
• Pallas Cat: The next popular none gelada mountain dweller is quite a bit (47 New, 39 old), but the pallas cat would still add alot to the game, namly another animal type for the now decently varried Himalaya and an even smaller cat. It would also be our first mountain dwelling small carnivore in the game.
• Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby: An even bigger jump down and we find our australia rep (80 New, 82 old). A 4. macropod would help make australian "filler" habitats more varied, with the colorful rock wallaby also offering quite unique own possibilitys as they prefer rocky cliffsides to green pastures. The goat to the red neckeds sheep.
• Alpine Marmot: While not very popular on the wishlist itself, most mountainous animals arnt besides the few top spots (117 New, 127 old). Still the alpine marmot regulary comes up in pack idears and with good reason, as its an european rodent that would work well together with the ibex. It would make alpine areas a small possibility thats larger then 1 habitat and throw europe a scrap, with one european animal per year being quite fair.
• Andean Condor (WE?): Im honest, kind of bending the rules a little, but eventhough we dont know how, if or when we would see larger flying animals like raptors in the game, a mountain pack would be a great spear head to add some diversity as the andean condor, golden eagle and bearded vulture are 3 amazing flying bird choices, while for smaller ones not so much. If you want to go full on realistic, imagine this to be the common european viper instead.

Honorable Mentions:

• Domestic Yak: 1. Wild Yak would be just as stupid as the wild water buffallo, HBB or formosan black bear regarding badly choosen subspecies of an animal. 2. While yaks are nr 65 in the new list, 3 himalayan ungulates and possibly also the pallas cat would have been a bit much. I personally love the yak, but i try to be as unbiased as possible about these packs, so it sadly doesnt make the cut.
• Wolverine: They arnt really mountain dwellers. Yes Wolverines live in Mountainous areas, most notably in parts of the rocky mountains but in most of their range they do the opposite, prefering flat terain and only living in higher altitude in more southern areas. You could defenetly do a little stretch to make it work, afterall i arguably did the same for the echidna, but at the same time it doesnt have the same open niche of being an all terrain everywhere animal in a place with only little representation. Northern Northamerica and eurasia arguably is among the best represented areas in the game right now and i would rather get representation at places that need them more, which is subjective but the one very subjective take i allow myself for these packs

Random Thoughts:
Surprisingly inspite of this pack idear being quite popular in discussions, the indiviual animals that are high in the meta wishlist are quite sparse.
In hindsight after scrolling quite far on the meta lists, restructuring the tropical rainforest pack and making this an islands pack might have been a better choice, but on the other hand having one warm climate and one cold climate oriented animal pack would be quite nice + its a bunch of work so it stays, but i would love to hear if you guys would prefer an islands or a mountains pack and why.

For the possibly last scenery pack there are many good options, be it a dryland pack, an aviary pack pushed before the mountain pack for fixes and the condor (My set up would be 2 different aras, snowy owl, bald eagle, great hornbill and bali mynah (WE)), but i chose to do the frontier way of something weird and unexpected, so let me introduce you to:

Zoo Classics Pack:

• The scenery would build on the classic set, giving us both pieces that enhance the classic set and more modern pieces for a 50/50 split between "classic" pieces for both old and modern zoos with what could be literally random foliage, filling in blind spots in the foliage roster (i dont know much about that, but i heard especally temperate australias foliage selections is kind of stringy bark )
• Crested Porcupine: While i do not care which one, i do care to get one. Crested Porcupines are arguably among the last abc animals missing from the game and they would do great as a classic zoo animal thats also super popular (2 new, 2 old)
• Great White Pelican: The foreshadowing from the start comes to a conclusion as one of the other last abc animals missing joins the pack. I choose the great white as its the most common in zoos with the farthest range, but aslong as we get one of these weirdo waterfowl im sure modders can give us the rest without much of a problem.

Talking of modders, this is also among the animals that we really need frontier to make to get a great version of, making at imo a higher priority then most other animals. (25 new, 28 old)

• Cotton Topped Tamarin: When talking about zoo staples, we really need another monkey and while not the most popular, eventhough id mostly say thats cause people want the lion tamarin more, (74 new, 111 old) its the second most common monkey in the EAZA after the Commom Marmoset with quite the big gab afterwards, dropping from its 277 Holdings to just 181 of the tufted capuchin. Arguably this could also have been either a squirrel or spider monkey (no howler as they really arnt a zoo classic, they are decently common but not more then that) but id personally would choose the cottontop to have another very small monkey, usefull for smaller filler habitats, something you could use alot of in tighter spaces like tropical houses, making multiple tamarins quite ideal.
• Patagonian Mara: Often found as more of a filler animal, be it a smaller habitat mate or even free roaming in some case, maras are among the most common south american animals and a backbone for many south american section. They also have gotten quite the glow up on the meta wishlists, rising a lot since the old one ( 19 new, 37 old) and while not an abc like the other animals here, they are so common in zoos that they really deserve this spot.
• A Parrot (WE): What bird is more iconic to zoos then parrots? If we go with a larger species, one or many aras would be nice with something like the blue and yellow, scarled, great green and red and green macaw being amazing, but also something like grey parrots or rose ringed parakeets would be a great option.

Honorable Mentions:
- Literally any animal that cracks the 200 holdings has a right to be here and i just picked those closest to the top of the meta wishlist

And thats it, but what do you guys think? Would you be happy with this as a final year of planet zoo? What would you have done differently?
Also for some closing out statistics, we got:

• 13/23 Top 23 animals from the new meta wishlist
• 9/23 Top 23 animals from the old meta wishlist
• 6 New Asian Animals, 45-> 51
• 6 New African Animals, 42->48
• 2 New North American Animals, 25->27
• 8 New South American Animals, 14->22
• 3 New European Animals, 13->16
• 3 New Oceanian Animals + 2 WE Animals, 10->13
• 6 New Birds, 8->14
• 5 New Primates, 12->17
  - 5 New Domestics, 2(3)->7(8)
• 4 New Ungulates, 34->38
• 4 New Carnivorans, 38->42
• 3 New Rodents, 3->6
• 3 New Marsupials and Monotremes, 5->8
• 0 new reptiles, amphibians or invertebrates

 

[Hugo98]

After a bit of thought over the actual possibility that this would be the last year of dlc (not like doomer talk and more like, wouldnt it be fun to think about what 23 animals id like to see if it is) i gatherd a list of both metalist animals and animals that imo should be in the game (for example there is no pelican in either top 23, but id argue that its not just very iconic and unique looking, but also has a zoo presence that solidifys it as a staple).
For the general trends, tropical animals outcompete all other biomes easily, with 12 of 23 animals in both wishlists being found in tropical rainforests, so imo it only makes sense to start with that:

Tropical Rainforest Animal Pack :

• Short Beaked Echidna: Might be an unexpected choice, but this very adaptabile animal would be a great boon to oceania, as it occurs in all of Australia and Tasmania, as well as New guinea. It would be a very flexible animal that could be slotted in anywhere into any theme of an oceania based section, be it tasmania, new guinea, the outback or literally any other spot, while also being fairly high on both wishlists (21 new, 30 old)
• A Tree Kangaroo: The second most important addition of this pack as this is by far the most unique animal rigging and animation wise. Tree Kangaroos have a very unique way of climbing where they kind of hop up the tree that modders just could not replicate, so if we want this animal in all its glory, it must be frontier made. Together with the cassowary and echidna we would also be able to build actual dedicated new guinea mini sections, as 1 animal is a habitat, 2 can be seen as a subarea and with 3 you got an element of choice, being the bare minimum. Very popular in both wishlists (10 new, 11 old)
• Rainbow Lorikeet (WE): Pls do not crucify me, but wikipedia says that they live in tropical rainforest. Regardless, they would be a joy to have as one of our proaply few bird options for the WE as a very common walkthrough aviary animal thats also iconic to australia. Their rainbow colors also let them stand out quite a bit and will for sure make them a fan favorite
• Mantled Guereza: The most popular african monkey (22 new, 32 old) would fill one of africas last truly missing niches, that being a small monkey. While from a color point of view another black and white monkey isnt as appealing as the more colorful de brazas monkey or mangabeys, the general lack of monkeys makes the fact that its by far the most common coloration for monkeys less ovious and especally next to the very colorfull mandrill quite neat.
• Fossa: The last truly missing carnivora besides a marten, these animals are a must for fleshing out madagascar. While we allready got 3 animals from there, its only lemures so something that requires a different habitat is very welcome. We also dont have the niche of arboreal tropical predator coverd by anything smaller then the clouded leopard, making the fossa quite unique in that regard. (13 new, 9 old)
• South American Coati: Among the most common zoo animals from south america, the coati is not only popular (5 new, 8 old), but would also introduce not only our first smaller carnivore to south america, but also our second arboreal animals, as sad as that is. Their range is far and wide and their mix between being arboreal but also very terrestial would not only fit perfectly for the climbing in the game but also give us a great general filler option for south american sections and really zoos of any kind.
• Golden Lion Tamarin: While not my personally prefered choice, they are by far the most wanted tamarin on the meta wishlist (23 new, 17 old) and also the south american monkey there that contrasts the most visually to the mantled guereza (sry black howler monkey). We really need more monkeys, especally for south america so 2 very different monkeys in a pack are both needed and reasonable.
• Linnaeus Two Toed Sloth: No getting around it the sloth as the most wanted tropical animal of the original meta wishlist (7 new, 3 old) should really be in this pack. I thought about it being a habitat or exhibit animal and really, i dont see the Sloth in the WE as one of the few animals that would work much better in a normal exhibit comparativly, as we would have no control over enritchment spawns in the new system and there for no control over the sloth climbing, which sucks but the old exhibits suck even more so having them as normal habitat animals, while less reliable on the actually climbing part would be the only way to get them with proper creative freedom.

Honorable mentions:

• Red River Hog: Yes i excluded the animal on the number 3 and 4 on the lists for this pack but with one simple reason: They are of these 8 animals by far the most moddable and the one animal that would add the least new to the game. It also had hard competition of South America claiming the leftover habitat animal slot by nessecity. The best way to incorporate it would have been the sloth as the exhibit instead of the lorikeets, but really if we only would have 4 shots at getting birds, id want ideally all 4 of them to be birds.
• Victorian Crowned Pidgeon: As you can see all 7 habitat animals have been from the top 23 lists and the victoria crowned pidgeon sadly isnt even close, being 118 place in the new and 146 Place in the old. And while another bird would be delightfull, the echidna adds more general flexibility to the game while also being very unique by itself. Luckily if support does continue it would luckily be easily one of the top choices for an eventual islands pack to represent the world 2. largest island.

Random Thoughts:

• The pack is extremly arboreal heavy with only 1 out of 7 habitat animal not being a climber, but imo this is quite the nessecity. Planet Zoo severly lacks arboreal and climbing animals with currently only the Jaguar, Clouded Leopard, Binturong, Proboscis Monkey, Siamang, White Faced Capuchin and the 4 great Apes as arboreal tropical animals, which simply isnt enough especally when there are only 2 small climbing animals when they normally are a zoo staple.
• With a 3/3/2 Split, this pack is quite focused for a biome pack, but asia simply does not have any new popular tropical animals to be added. If we also add that by excluding Asia both SA and Oceania can get 3 reps each, this is a sacrifice in diversity more then worth making.

While the first pack went all in on the metawishlist, the second does the opposite while tapping into propaply the most lucrative unadressed market for especally less nerdy people then the forums, a petting zoo pack.
Like it or hate it, allmost every zoo has one, the african dwarf goat as a breed is the by far most commonly kept zoo animal on the planet and really, why should we not feature this on our digital zoo planet?

Petting Zoo Pack:

• A Scenery Pack that enhances on the conservation pack with more tools, vegetables and Useful plants, while also giving us a barnyard oriented building set with lots of hay and wood, withered wood for example could be quite usefull.
• African Dwarf Goat: The most essential petting zoo animal, these guys are found everywhere in lots of color variation. They would give us a great backbone for any kind of petting zoo or children zoo area, while also fitting into themed africa sections quite well.
• Guinea Pig: Super common in zoos due being popular but very cheap, these guys are the 4. most common zoo animal in the EAZA with 800 holdings. Theyd also would double as a semi south american rep that would go well in thematic sections with the lama, making it more versatile. It also could come in dozens of different colorvariations and add something very different in both size, habitat and taxa to an otherwise potentially very ungulate focused pack.
• Mallard Duck: Atleast one bird was needed in this pack and while the chicken is a great choice aswell and would be a great headliner, our first ever waterfowl does beat it by a small margain. It would be the most versatile animal by far, as they could be easily used as wild stand ins to populate every body of water wed like to and would propaply be one of the few animals actually usefull for city builders, which would be quite cool aswell. Imagine a duck pond in sallands adventure zoo as the first animals ever since release.
• Domestic Donkey: Being iconic to many different cultures, the domestic donkey could easily be in many different kinds of displays, from petting zoos to green pastures, over mexican or mediteranian themed areas to even being conected with the christmas myth. These animals are adaptable and would be a great representative of the last missing equid taxa.
• Budgies (WE): Budgies would work great as another pet that could easily and regulary does stand in for its wild version in zoos. Many colorvariations and possible mixing with rainbow lorikeets ensures more possiblitys and another australian rep

Honorable Mentions:

• Shetland Pony: Besides being in my personal opinion outclassed by the domestic donkey in versatility and the fact that its a new taxa, it also has the better chance to make it in through extended support in an island pack
• Any Cattle: While Cattle is cool, we allready kind of have the water buffallo, so id prefered other choices especally as both the domestic yak and scottish highland cattle would have realistic choices for a mountain/highlands pack
• Pigs: 3 Ungulates would have been quite alot for 4 habitat animals and even though they are classics, diversity was preferable especally as literally all honorable mentions are classics
• Sheep: Got outclassed by goat, to much missing to be up for consideration to have both goat and sheep
• Bunnys and other rodents: While great choices, the guinea pig outclasses them in my opinion due to the paring with the lama and the thematic possebilitys of a little south american domestics area

Random Thoughts:
This pack was really hard, as literally any combination of the mentioned animals would work, with even more possible variation in breeds or even more exotic domestics. In the end i choose what i believe to be a quite varried mix of flexible animals that all can do both the petting zoo and atleast one other role quite well with stand in inclusions for south america and australia to sneak in some more representation.
2/4 WEs being australian birds might seem much, but both species are quite distinct from each other and the could profit from being able to be hold together as another variety. + Australia in international collections often is most heavily featured in aviarys and vivariums, so giving it 2 different super common bird reps felt right, especally over something both less exciting and less of a clear fit for the WE like a pidgeon.


Anniversary Animal:
In my humble opinion, the white faced saki would be possibliy the best option for a free anniversary animal.
It would be exciting and useful as another south american primate while also not actually being that popular even though a very common zoo animal. It feels very similar to the red deer in that way, as it would be a new taxon for an underrepresented basegame (and current) continent that adds a common zoo animal that everybody can agree on is neat, but for most people not a favorite and/or overshadowed by other options like a spider monkey, howler or tamarin.
The white faced saki would offer the best of both worlds of another monkey and praise for frontier, while also being an unrealistic option for future dlc regarding popular similar choices that it would have to compete with.

While not as strong of a trend as tropical, mountains have a clean 4 animal record in the top 23 list with a few more rather obvious options aswell. While not the most popular animals by any means, right now mountains are arguably the least represented biome in the game currently and could use some love.

Mountains/Highlands Animal Pack:

• a Takin: The most requested mountain animal from both lists is an unspecified takin (12 new, 16 old). Realistic options would either be the brown and black mishimi takin or the golden takin, both equally good but the golden would be more visually unique in color. They would fill multiple important roles, mostly as asian ungulates and first non predator or red panda inhabitant of the himalaya.
• Hamadryas Baboon: Being listed as number 14 in both lists , these guys are just as popular as the takin. Filling the gap of a missing baboon species and coming from the ME, these very common zoo animals got quite the big niche still left for them in the game. They would also add an animal from a warmer climate.
• Markhor: The third top 23 candidate is the markhor (17 new, 22 old) which would cover the only passingly represented mountains of southwestern asia. Looking very unique with their long fur, beards and curled horns theve shown themself to be the favorite among the goat looking mountain goats and with caprids being the most sawed after group of animals in the old wishlist its allmost a nessecity for another wild goat to make it to the game.
• Spectacle Bear: Last of the 4 top 23 metawishlist animals (15 new, 25 old) the spectacle bear would add the first and only large carnivore of the year. Adding a presence from south america they would be a great second large center piece animal next to the jaguar and be quite unique as a tropical animal both in the pack and among the other bears.
• Pallas Cat: The next popular none gelada mountain dweller is quite a bit (47 New, 39 old), but the pallas cat would still add alot to the game, namly another animal type for the now decently varried Himalaya and an even smaller cat. It would also be our first mountain dwelling small carnivore in the game.
• Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby: An even bigger jump down and we find our australia rep (80 New, 82 old). A 4. macropod would help make australian "filler" habitats more varied, with the colorful rock wallaby also offering quite unique own possibilitys as they prefer rocky cliffsides to green pastures. The goat to the red neckeds sheep.
• Alpine Marmot: While not very popular on the wishlist itself, most mountainous animals arnt besides the few top spots (117 New, 127 old). Still the alpine marmot regulary comes up in pack idears and with good reason, as its an european rodent that would work well together with the ibex. It would make alpine areas a small possibility thats larger then 1 habitat and throw europe a scrap, with one european animal per year being quite fair.
• Andean Condor (WE?): Im honest, kind of bending the rules a little, but eventhough we dont know how, if or when we would see larger flying animals like raptors in the game, a mountain pack would be a great spear head to add some diversity as the andean condor, golden eagle and bearded vulture are 3 amazing flying bird choices, while for smaller ones not so much. If you want to go full on realistic, imagine this to be the common european viper instead.

Honorable Mentions:

• Domestic Yak: 1. Wild Yak would be just as stupid as the wild water buffallo, HBB or formosan black bear regarding badly choosen subspecies of an animal. 2. While yaks are nr 65 in the new list, 3 himalayan ungulates and possibly also the pallas cat would have been a bit much. I personally love the yak, but i try to be as unbiased as possible about these packs, so it sadly doesnt make the cut.
• Wolverine: They arnt really mountain dwellers. Yes Wolverines live in Mountainous areas, most notably in parts of the rocky mountains but in most of their range they do the opposite, prefering flat terain and only living in higher altitude in more southern areas. You could defenetly do a little stretch to make it work, afterall i arguably did the same for the echidna, but at the same time it doesnt have the same open niche of being an all terrain everywhere animal in a place with only little representation. Northern Northamerica and eurasia arguably is among the best represented areas in the game right now and i would rather get representation at places that need them more, which is subjective but the one very subjective take i allow myself for these packs

Random Thoughts:
Surprisingly inspite of this pack idear being quite popular in discussions, the indiviual animals that are high in the meta wishlist are quite sparse.
In hindsight after scrolling quite far on the meta lists, restructuring the tropical rainforest pack and making this an islands pack might have been a better choice, but on the other hand having one warm climate and one cold climate oriented animal pack would be quite nice + its a bunch of work so it stays, but i would love to hear if you guys would prefer an islands or a mountains pack and why.

For the possibly last scenery pack there are many good options, be it a dryland pack, an aviary pack pushed before the mountain pack for fixes and the condor (My set up would be 2 different aras, snowy owl, bald eagle, great hornbill and bali mynah (WE)), but i chose to do the frontier way of something weird and unexpected, so let me introduce you to:

Zoo Classics Pack:

• The scenery would build on the classic set, giving us both pieces that enhance the classic set and more modern pieces for a 50/50 split between "classic" pieces for both old and modern zoos with what could be literally random foliage, filling in blind spots in the foliage roster (i dont know much about that, but i heard especally temperate australias foliage selections is kind of stringy bark )
• Crested Porcupine: While i do not care which one, i do care to get one. Crested Porcupines are arguably among the last abc animals missing from the game and they would do great as a classic zoo animal thats also super popular (2 new, 2 old)
• Great White Pelican: The foreshadowing from the start comes to a conclusion as one of the other last abc animals missing joins the pack. I choose the great white as its the most common in zoos with the farthest range, but aslong as we get one of these weirdo waterfowl im sure modders can give us the rest without much of a problem.

Talking of modders, this is also among the animals that we really need frontier to make to get a great version of, making at imo a higher priority then most other animals. (25 new, 28 old)

• Cotton Topped Tamarin: When talking about zoo staples, we really need another monkey and while not the most popular, eventhough id mostly say thats cause people want the lion tamarin more, (74 new, 111 old) its the second most common monkey in the EAZA after the Commom Marmoset with quite the big gab afterwards, dropping from its 277 Holdings to just 181 of the tufted capuchin. Arguably this could also have been either a squirrel or spider monkey (no howler as they really arnt a zoo classic, they are decently common but not more then that) but id personally would choose the cottontop to have another very small monkey, usefull for smaller filler habitats, something you could use alot of in tighter spaces like tropical houses, making multiple tamarins quite ideal.
• Patagonian Mara: Often found as more of a filler animal, be it a smaller habitat mate or even free roaming in some case, maras are among the most common south american animals and a backbone for many south american section. They also have gotten quite the glow up on the meta wishlists, rising a lot since the old one ( 19 new, 37 old) and while not an abc like the other animals here, they are so common in zoos that they really deserve this spot.
• A Parrot (WE): What bird is more iconic to zoos then parrots? If we go with a larger species, one or many aras would be nice with something like the blue and yellow, scarled, great green and red and green macaw being amazing, but also something like grey parrots or rose ringed parakeets would be a great option.

Honorable Mentions:
- Literally any animal that cracks the 200 holdings has a right to be here and i just picked those closest to the top of the meta wishlist

And thats it, but what do you guys think? Would you be happy with this as a final year of planet zoo? What would you have done differently?
Also for some closing out statistics, we got:

• 13/23 Top 23 animals from the new meta wishlist
• 9/23 Top 23 animals from the old meta wishlist
• 6 New Asian Animals, 45-> 51
• 6 New African Animals, 42->48
• 2 New North American Animals, 25->27
• 8 New South American Animals, 14->22
• 3 New European Animals, 13->16
• 3 New Oceanian Animals + 2 WE Animals, 10->13
• 6 New Birds, 8->14
• 5 New Primates, 12->17
  - 5 New Domestics, 2(3)->7(8)
• 4 New Ungulates, 34->38
• 4 New Carnivorans, 38->42
• 3 New Rodents, 3->6
• 3 New Marsupials and Monotremes, 5->8
• 0 new reptiles, amphibians or invertebrates

Actually quite a perfect lineup (although I'd still like to see more exhibit reptiles). I'd love to see a petting zoo pack, it might not be a favourite for everyone but honestly is very necessary for a realistic zoo.

 

[DarthQuell]

Konig, let's stretch it out a bit and give 2 of those packs the butterfly treatment, if you don't mind:

Tropical Rainforest Animal Pack

1. Short beaked echidna
2. Tree kangaroo
3. Mantled guereza
4. Fossa
5. South American coati
6. Golden lion tamarin
7. Linnaeus two-toed sloth
8. Rainbow lorikeet (WE)
9. Sun conure (WE)
10. Monk parakeet (WE)
11. Crimson rosella (WE)
12. Budgerigar (WE) - I know, technically not a tropical bird, but they can be found, invasive, in tropical areas

Petting Zoo Pack

• Petting zoo theme, featuring hay bales, mire tool pieces (pitchforks?), tractors, horse stable doors, wooden wagon wheels, etc.

1. African dwarf goat
2. Guinea pig
3. Mallard duck
4. Domestic donkey
5. Reticulated python (E) - surprised? Maybe it seems like an oddball, but pythons are big pets, and also there are snake shows where people bring them to be pet, so it fits. Also, I needed to replace the budgies

Anniversary

• White-faced saki

Mountains/Highlands Animal Pack

1. Takin
2. Hamadryas Baboon
3. Markhor
4. Spectacled Bear
5. Pallas Cat
6. Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby
7. Alpine Marmot
8. Andean condor (WE)

Zoo Classics Pack

• Zoo Theme - ?

1. Crested Porcupine
2. Great white pelican
3. Cotton topped tamarin
4. Patagonian mara
5. African gray parrot (WE)
6. Scarlet macaw (WE)
7. Sulfur-crested cockatoo (WE)
8. Blue-and-yellow macaw (WE)
9. Eclectus parrot (WE)

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Konig, let's stretch it out a bit and give 2 of those packs the butterfly treatment, if you don't mind:

Tropical Rainforest Animal Pack

1. Short beaked echidna
2. Tree kangaroo
3. Mantled guereza
4. Fossa
5. South American coati
6. Golden lion tamarin
7. Linnaeus two-toed sloth
8. Rainbow lorikeet (WE)
9. Sun conure (WE)
10. Monk parakeet (WE)
11. Crimson rosella (WE)
12. Budgerigar (WE) - I know, technically not a tropical bird, but they can be found, invasive, in tropical areas

Petting Zoo Pack

• Petting zoo theme, featuring hay bales, mire tool pieces (pitchforks?), tractors, horse stable doors, wooden wagon wheels, etc.

1. African dwarf goat
2. Guinea pig
3. Mallard duck
4. Domestic donkey
5. Reticulated python (E) - surprised? Maybe it seems like an oddball, but pythons are big pets, and also there are snake shows where people bring them to be pet, so it fits. Also, I needed to replace the budgies

Anniversary

• White-faced saki

Mountains/Highlands Animal Pack

1. Takin
2. Hamadryas Baboon
3. Markhor
4. Spectacled Bear
5. Pallas Cat
6. Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby
7. Alpine Marmot
8. Andean condor (WE)

Zoo Classics Pack

• Zoo Theme - ?

1. Crested Porcupine
2. Great white pelican
3. Cotton topped tamarin
4. Patagonian mara
5. African gray parrot (WE)
6. Scarlet macaw (WE)
7. Sulfur-crested cockatoo (WE)
8. Blue-and-yellow macaw (WE)
9. Eclectus parrot (WE)

Im obviously not against more animals, but im honest i doubt that we can expect the butterfly treatment for anything more then straightup color swaps. The only animal i actually can see it are the macaws, cause for example the scarlet and red and green macaw literally differ in one color.
I put money on the fact that we see the african gray, 2 macaws, a cockatoo and another unique looking parrot as "butterflies" and with good reason. Its straight up 4 very different animals and a recolor and while i wouldnt mind paying a bit more to get more id feel wrong to get them all as a bonus and realistically wont happen. Scarlet and blue and yellow i can see happening, maybe more macaw recolors but not animals that actually need different colors and sound design, cause i bet the fact that the butterflies dont really have a modell and no sounds is the main reason why we got so many

 

[DarthQuell]

Im obviously not against more animals, but im honest i doubt that we can expect the butterfly treatment for anything more then straightup color swaps. The only animal i actually can see it are the macaws, cause for example the scarlet and red and green macaw literally differ in one color.
I put money on the fact that we see the african gray, 2 macaws, a cockatoo and another unique looking parrot as "butterflies" and with good reason. Its straight up 4 very different animals and a recolor and while i wouldnt mind paying a bit more to get more id feel wrong to get them all as a bonus and realistically wont happen. Scarlet and blue and yellow i can see happening, maybe more macaw recolors but not animals that actually need different colors and sound design, cause i bet the fact that the butterflies dont really have a modell and no sounds is the main reason why we got so many

Understandable. I agree about the point of the macaws, but I was just shooting out ideas. I'm hoping that it comes out this way, and if not, then that's ok

 

[Nausicaaa 22]

I have a very curious idea to the implementation of birds, hear me out:
We have mammals and flying insects, I think it is the turn of the birds. I know that not many want a pack of only birds, but what if they are in a more diverse pack? I explain. In the grasslands pack we have had 12 animals, that is, 5 WE species from the same family, butterflies. What if they do the same but with the birds? For example, in a rainforest or jungle pack, they can put animals like red river hogs or spider monkeys, but I think the best chance of having flying birds is in these types of packs. If the Grasslands animal has 12 animals, why not do the same in one of the rainforests but with birds/parrots? 2 macaws, 5 tropical birds, or I don't know, but it would be incredible. Obviously for the WE.

I think it is a great opportunity to introduce flying birds and that everyone likes it

 

[jcp011c]

I have a very curious idea to the implementation of birds, hear me out:
We have mammals and flying insects, I think it is the turn of the birds. I know that not many want a pack of only birds, but what if they are in a more diverse pack? I explain. In the grasslands pack we have had 12 animals, that is, 5 WE species from the same family, butterflies. What if they do the same but with the birds? For example, in a rainforest or jungle pack, they can put animals like red river hogs or spider monkeys, but I think the best chance of having flying birds is in these types of packs. If the Grasslands animal has 12 animals, why not do the same in one of the rainforests but with birds/parrots? 2 macaws, 5 tropical birds, or I don't know, but it would be incredible. Obviously for the WE.

I think it is a great opportunity to introduce flying birds and that everyone likes it

That's exactly what I'm thinking of too. one "type" of bird, with several different species.

Mammal wise, I'm going into the year with 6 really strong wants. Hopefully we get at least 5 of them, especially if this does end up being the last year of support. I know we've been speculating that since 2021, and it hasn't happened yet, but at some point it will. 4+ years of content is pretty good for a game that's not a Paradox or Electronic Arts game.