Summer 2024 DLC Speculation

[CharlieXGaming]

When do you think the next pack is coming?

End of June or early July is the best bet.

Also similar to the Barnyard pack I think the next pack will be at the end of whatever month it is so they can use the stream once again to advertise the animals. Of course they don’t have to do this but it would help - so maybe the pack comes end of June?

 

[RightWhale]

Featuring 7 clones of the Tamworth pig!

7? Those are rookie numbers! We shoot for the stars here!

 

[RightWhale]

When do you think the next pack is coming?

I would say anytime between June - September.

I know it’s cheating to use such a huge span of time. I just think getting anything in the next month or two is too soon. Granted, if the pack is average size I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes out early July. Announced in June in the livestream/ the day before and released sometime around July 5th.

 

[NZFanatic]

I’m actually the opposite about the caiman, I like the first one better than the spectacled - but then again I’ve never touched the Spectalced caiman so what do I know lol.

I've yet to see anyone build for the dwarf caiman in a way that actually looks like a real zoo habitat. Space restrictions on such a small animal make every habitat way too big. Realistically something the size of WTE would be ideal, but I've never bee able to manage it due to the finickiness of water and the hitboxes of the animals. That's why I prefer the spectacled, anyway.

 

[NZFanatic]

When do you think the next pack is coming?

I said on the other page, but I'm feeling July 9th. Possibly later. I think expecting it in June is optimistic (not impossible, just optimistic).

 

[nutrit]

I said on the other page, but I'm feeling July 9th. Possibly later. I think expecting it in June is optimistic (not impossible, just optimistic).

It all depends if it’s gonna be regular animal pack or one slightly bigger and also if it’s going to be the last.
If they plan to end the game with it and it’s going to be bigger I don’t mind waiting longer.

 

[Marvinb]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

For me its defintely the yellow throated marten:

Not only are we missing a more traditional mustelid entirely but this one also has a big, and more importantly very varied range.
They occur throughout throughout SEA, India, China and even up into the amur region, aswell as lots of other countries in that area. That aswell as the fact that they live in all sorts of environments from tropical jungles, temperate forests, the himalayas and taiga forests makes them super versatile.
Honestly this guys ticks more boxes for me than pretty much every other mammal.
Literally its only shortcoming is that its not terribly common, ive seen them a couple times tho and they were always super fun to observe

 

[CharlieXGaming]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

Southern Ground Hornbill

It’s African counterparts like the crowned crane and Secretary are usually peoples first picks but the hornbill can add more than them. It’s completely different than any bird we have in the game and it’s very useful for mixed enclosures. It would be really cool to see some larger ungulates together with these smaller guys for diverse enclosures. Plus they are beautiful

 

[RightWhale]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

Honestly I was trying to think of some cool birds, but I do that a lot (but I’m gonna say one anyways it’s the WHITE FACED WHISTLING DUCK YEAHHHHHHHHH BOIIIIIIIIIII). I’m gonna go with fish in the exhibit box to shake things up a bit.

The exhibit box looks like a big fish tank anyways, might as well role with it. I have been to a lot of zoos that keep some fish, and depending on what part of the zoo you are in they can add a lot! Exhibit boxes are basically treated like statues, so might as well get some pretty ones. Here are a couple I think would be cool:

1. For South America we could get the red belly pirhana
2. To double up on South America we can also get some “Amazonian fish”, think neon tetras, angel fish, and plecos.
3. For Africa we could get something like some African Cichlids.
4. For Australia maybe we could get some fish from the Great Barrier Reef? Like a clownfish, butterfly fish, and maybe some cleaner shrimp?
5. Then maybe to add a predatory tank, we can get some Lionfish considering they are also invasive it can make some cool learning.

That’s not also considering there can be a bunch of other cool options, like other invertebrates and other freshwater/ tropical fish.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

White Stork, defenetly:

We are missing birds everywhere and thats no secret and this guy is not just extremly common in zoos, he also got a large range.
As propaply the posterchild for long distance animal migration and the animal that lead to the discovery of birds abilitys to cross entire continents, they can be found depending on the time of year in europe, south western asia, parts of central asia and north africa or in india, sub saharan africa and even in parts of the middle east, being suitable to many different biomes from temperate grass and woodlands to tropical savannahs and river deltas.
Tell me another animal that could share its habitat with red deer, hippos, zebras, indian rhinos and the somali wild ass while being completly acurate, not to mention all the other animals that live in its gigantic range. They even can be found both rurally and in urban settings, with the return of the storks being a big thing in atleast germany, with many zoos that dont activly keep them having them nest yearly somewhere on the zoo grounds.
And besides all that, this is also an ABC animal. EVERYBODY knows the white stork and its deeply ingrained into many cultures, from the stork that suppousedly brings babys over being one of aesops favorite fable charakters to a common mascot for transport companys, the stork got its fair share of cultural references under its belt.
And they are even a common walkthrough animal unlike every other stork who are only rarely presented like that.
I can literally see no point against them besides people just personally not being interested in them as they are propaply among the strongest sleeper picks left

 

[Captain Callum]

I can literally see no point against them

Stork vs heron rivalry

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

View attachment 393826

Stork vs heron rivalry

Ironically the grey heron would have been my second choice for all the same reasons, but the white stork is just simply more iconic, which makes it more underrated to me

 

[RightWhale]

Ah you know what, screw it. I got some underrated birds for all of y’all, namely it’s some (non-penguin) sea birds! I think this would probably make for my favorite surprise to get in Planet Zoo. While I love the penguins, they don’t 100% fill the same niche/ role for me that these guys might fill. Obviously I’m including animals that I think can work in Planet Zoo, so unfortunately the Inca terns won’t make it in here. While very popular sea birds in zoos, they only work in an open aviary setting which we don’t have in game. Either way here would be my choices:

1. First off we got the puffins, which can include either the Atlantic or tufted. Most zoos/ aquariums I have visited that have housed puffins usually keep them in habitats similar to penguins. They don’t fly much, and actually like to swim along the surface of the water. They dive like penguins too, using their wings. The Atlantic puffin is found in the Atlantic (duh), while the tufted is found in the pacific. I made a post about the earlier, but for Arctic representation I think these guys will be cool. My personal favorites are the Atlantic puffin, not only are they in Europe, but I can even see some in the state of Maine!
   
   
2. The next group is gonna seem obvious, but sea ducks. I’ll give some highlights to the king eider, and the harlequin duck. The males for both have beautiful plumage, and while I would love some temperate freshwater ducks for the mute swan, getting sea ducks would definitely add a cool spin. I also saw some sea ducks when I was back in the states, the common eiders were around Maine during the time. I was so excited to see them!
   
   
3. Here will be a somewhat harder bird species to keep, but I’m gonna go with traditional wader sea birds. I’m trying to keep to two birds per group, so I’ll go with the pied-avocet, and the American oystercatcher. I have a soft spot for sandpipers, but I don’t believe they are as common. I love watching sea birds, around New England I mostly see the smaller species. I think the avocet and oystercatcher can make some unique and pretty birds in game though!
   
   
4. While everyone on here wants a pelican, I’m gonna go with the brown pelican as my unique pick. Native to NA, the Caribbean, and SA this species can seriously make for some good and new representation in game. Not to mention I can see it getting some interspecies bonuses, I think the National Zoo housed them with the sea lions.
   

 

[SalamAnders]

I've yet to see anyone build for the dwarf caiman in a way that actually looks like a real zoo habitat. Space restrictions on such a small animal make every habitat way too big. Realistically something the size of WTE would be ideal, but I've never bee able to manage it due to the finickiness of water and the hitboxes of the animals. That's why I prefer the spectacled, anyway.

Using the fountain pieces containing water is the trick

 

[Marvinb]

Using the fountain pieces containing water is the trick

But then your sacrificing the usability of the habitat.
The games general gearing towards bigger animals, or rather bigger habitats paired with crocs and monitors having easily the worst traversable area in relation to size, makes me really wanna get an option to turn off the hitbox of objects.
Currently you really cant make any realistic habitats for them without them being stuck in place

 

[Birb（｡･ө･｡）]

1. Here will be a somewhat harder bird species to keep, but I’m gonna go with traditional wader sea birds. I’m trying to keep to two birds per group, so I’ll go with the pied-avocet, and the American oystercatcher. I have a soft spot for sandpipers, but I don’t believe they are as common. I love watching sea birds, around New England I mostly see the smaller species. I think the avocet and oystercatcher can make some unique and pretty birds in game though!View attachment 393831View attachment 393833

EPIC SHOREBIRDS MENTIONED

 

[Frogstrich]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

For Me It Has To Be The Lowland Streaked Tenrec.

Look At Him. Fun Fact: The Lowland Streaked Tenrec Is The Only Mammal Known To Use Stridulation For Generating Sound.

 

[AndyZoos]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

I have a few, though these are primarily driven by what they would bring for modding and my personal tastes...

• Literally any hornbill species: These are a relatively recent favorite of mine, but they would make an excellent and interesting addition to African sections while simultaneously serving as a solid way to mod in additional birds. Unpopular take, but I'd prefer them over a secretary bird.
• Black-footed ferret: Iconic? Not really. But it would be nice to get a non-tunnel digging, smaller mammal species. Would also be really great for a predator/prey habitat pairing with prairie dogs! And it would be really helpful for modders wanting to do mustelids (or small rodents) without having them dig tunnels, climb, and/or swim too much...
• Any WTE and/or semi-aquatic bird species: You all know why.
• Tree kangaroos: They are grossly underrated and not discussed enough. This is a hill I will die on. They get dinged a lot for (falsely) being labelled as "too much effort" or whatever at this point despite that being very obviously not the case... So I think people have given up on them as a possibility.
• Burrowing owls: A fairly unique, interesting bird species that would be a challenge to mod effectively (as far as I can tell).
• Any tamarin or marmoset species: Similar to the tree kangaroo, one could argue that they're appropriately rated but... I think the debate over whether they should be habitat or WTE harms them a bit. Let's all just agree that they're cooler and more critical than most other primate species at this point and get on with it.

I do actually believe all of these are "underrated" but there's definitely some hyperbole in my descriptions.

 

[NachoB]

Random question: What is an animal that you think is criminally underrated and would add greatly to the game?

The burrowing owl.

Is an american species with a wide distribution suitable for Grasslands and Deserts. A small mostly ground dwelling bird different from all kinda of birds we have right now. If wanted can be mixed with other species as well. And it Will be the only way to get an owl in game with current mechanics. They run and burrow but also fly SO that makes a challenge for building enclosures for them. And they are fun.

 

[CharlieXGaming]

If we get a burrowing owl all I can think of is the comments complaining why it’s not a flying owl lol