What would you like to see with “Expansion Packs”?

Recently I have been thinking about how much I would like to see more game changing features and more animals in my packs. I believe a lot of the mixed feelings toward the tropical pack may be due to this. Either it’s adding animals that won’t change the game much, or the animals it added would be better in a larger animal pack. So I think it would be cool if we got something more like an Expansion Pack from ZT2. I imagine expansion packs could work by adding double or triple the amount of animals a normal pack would add, it would provide game changing features, and it would add a large amount of props. If a regular pack is $9.99 the Expansion Packs would probably cost $19.99 or $29.99. I’ll give some examples of Expansion Packs I would like to see!

* I won’t do an example on an aviary pack or aquatic pack, or this would be way too long, feel free to give me your own!*

Museum and Research Expansion Pack
1. Cost $19.99

2. Animals: all the animals in this pack would live in vivariums (the exhibits)
  • King Cobra
  • Gaboon Viper
  • Corn Snake
  • Green Anaconda

  • Alligator Snapping Turtle
  • Mata Mata turtle
  • Radiated Tortoise
  • Indian Soft Shell turtle

  • Panther Chameleon
  • Giant Day Gecko
  • Basilisk Lizard
  • Cayman Iguana

  • Japanese Giant Salamander
  • Cane Toads
  • Kihansi Spray Toad
  • Australian Green Tree Frog

  • Leaf Cutter Ant
  • Orchid Mantis
  • European Stag Beetle
  • European Honey Bee

  • Naked Mole Rat
  • Elephant Shrew
  • European Hedgehog
  • Prevost’s Squirrel

3. Props: most of the props are focused on what you would see in a natural history museum. So a lot of skulls and skeletons, horns and antlers, wings and tails, eggs and nests. Expect to see more animal statues, especially scaled up giant bugs! A lot of the props would provide an education bonus and allow you to fill out certain areas of your zoo. Got a lion exhibit? Place some wildebeest skeletons near it. Have a grizzly bear exhibit? Show off its skull and impressively large claws. Maybe you may even see a couple fossils for you to go through. Not to mention some statues of animals recently lost to human activity. Tasmanian tiger, passenger pigeon, dodo, and great auk just to name a few.

4. Gameplay changes: one of the changes would be to the size of exhibits, with 4 different sizes available to you. The smallest would be for the arthropods and invertebrates, the largest would be for the iguanas, mammals, green anaconda, giant salamander, alligator snapping turtle, and Japanese Giant salamander. The mammals would probably have very short animations, personally I would rather have them in the game than not.

Finally for the “research” part of the pack. While the veterinary research building allows you to research diseases and how to breed animals better, this expansion would add a new research building. The conservation research center will allow you to do a couple things in game:
  • Hire new staff: researcher and field worker
  • Using the research conservation center you can research the diseases, genetics, and physiology of your zoo animals to better help their Wild counterparts.
  • The field worker can be sent to Wild locations to research wildlife in their natural habitat, and to help protect said habitat.
  • You can choose to donate set amounts of money to certain research projects, example: protecting habitats for Bonobos. The building will generate fame and conservation bonuses, and if you are doing enough conservation work you can apply for grants and get donations!
  • You do not need to pay grants and donations back, and the money will instantly transfer into your research projects. Research projects will be a continuous drain on your finances so be aware how much you are spending!
  • Animals released into national parks (the “wild”) can be tracked in this building!
  • You can establish a population of animals in your zoo that is destined to return to the wild.


One more idea:
Education and Community Expansion Pack
1. Cost $29.99

2. Animals
  • Miniature Donkey
  • Zebu cattle
  • Guinea Hog
  • Dwarf goats
  • Domestic rabbits
  • Chickens (various color morphs)
  • Mallard Duck
  • Wood Duck
  • White Faced Whistling Duck
  • Mandarin Duck
  • Black Swan
  • Mute Swan
  • Cape Porcupine
  • Squirrel Monkey
  • Patagonian Mara
  • African Spurred Tortoise

3. Props: most of the props will be interactive for the guest, especially for the children npcs. See if you can jump as far as a kangaroo! How long are your arms compared to some bird species? Interactive food webs and ecosystem posters will also be available. This expansion pack will also add a lot of farming props and pieces to the game.

4. In terms of new gameplay this pack will add a couple:
  • Feeding stations will allow guests to buy some food for your animals, this includes a lot of the animals in this pack.
  • By making your domestic animals in a walk through exhibit, and attaching some hand washing stations to it, you can make the area a petting zoo! The hand washing stations, and staff that will stand by just in case, are what will allow children who visit your zoo to pet some of the friendlier animals.
  • Be able to build carousels in a couple of different styles (classic, wooden, or modern).
  • Be able to make small playgrounds in three different styles (plastic, metal, wood).
  • Be able to set up special promotions! These can be set in your zoo menu and will automatically occur when scheduled. An example would be a mothers or Father’s Day discount, which would automatically reduce cost for some guests. Another example would create your own “Boo at the Zoo” which will add special Halloween themed gifts and activities to your zoo. Be able to create adult only events, like a “Brew at the Zoo”. Warning though, on nights with alcoholit helps to have good security!
  • This pack will also add the “school”, which during the summer will allow kids to have a special summer camp at your zoo! You will need to place an educator in the school building, who will take the children on tours of the zoo and teach them all about animals and conservation.
  • Be able to place advertisements for local businesses around your zoo, which will give you some needed cash.
  • Set up membership/ special year long passes, which will allow some guests to show up as much as they want and get discounts all over the zoo.
  • Be able to receive snapshots from your local newspaper, which will cover your zoo’s activities! As you get more popular the newspapers will support you, but be warned. If you take poor care of your animals or fire a lot of locals the newspapers won’t be so kind.


Sorry this post was absurdly long! I was just forming these ideas over a couple days. Tell me what you guys think or what expansion packs you would like to see!
 
Last edited:
Not sure I would basically pay the full price of the game again for a glorified domestic pack despite wanting domestics. Arguably to charge more than 3x the cost of the average dlc you are gonna need some absolutely game changing mechanics or lots of requested animals

Ideas that I would believe would warrant a $30 price tag:
  • Aviary pack with 20+ birds
  • Aquarium pack with 20+ fish
  • 'community expansion' with 15-30 of the most desirable wishlist animals not yet included in one mega bundle. These could include Tasmanian devil, wolverine, kiwi, porcupine, pelicans, monkeys etc
 
Not sure I would basically pay the full price of the game again for a glorified domestic pack despite wanting domestics. Arguably to charge more than 3x the cost of the average dlc you are gonna need some absolutely game changing mechanics or lots of requested animals

Ideas that I would believe would warrant a $30 price tag:
  • Aviary pack with 20+ birds
  • Aquarium pack with 20+ fish
  • 'community expansion' with 15-30 of the most desirable wishlist animals not yet included in one mega bundle. These could include Tasmanian devil, wolverine, kiwi, porcupine, pelicans, monkeys etc
Yeah I was thinking something similar, but I was hoping the amount of gameplay changes might counteract that. In the rules I set for myself I have another 8 slots open, but I wasn’t sure what else to add to Education and Community pack. Maybe another 8 child friendly animals of some sort, like more animals I would find in a children’s zoo. But an aviary pack of 20+ birds would be amazing. I had an idea for an aviary pack and made a list of birds. I just didn’t post it because I thought the list would be too long.
 
Thank you!
Love the ideas, love the animal rosters.

Also an Aviary expansión would be nice. Birds.
I actually got fond of the Research and Museum pack as I made it, it would greatly diversify the small animals roster. An aviary pack would be my dream. Despite how much I talk about the lack of birds in this game whales are my favorite animals. It’s just I can’t make a realistic zoo with only 8 birds to choose from.
 
I'd love to see an expansion pack and I"ll play along with the thread. Though I think the odds are slim.

I would definitely want an Aviary pack. I'm going to do two different models, one at $19.99 and one at $29.99. I'm not going to list all of the birds, just the general model I'd like to see.
and some example birds.

For $19.99 - starting off with 8 habitat birds. Examples like a Swan, Shoebill, Secretary Bird etc. and 12 Exhibit birds, mostly NONwalkthrough Exhibits. This could include things like Eagles, Macaws, Toucans and so forth. I figure with 20 animals at twice the cost of a pack like we've been getting, and that exhibit animals would probably take a lot less work overall, that would be like getting 4 habitat birds and 6 exhibit birds in a regular DLC.

For $29.99 you'd have 12 habitat birds and 18 exhibit birds. Same idea, just increasing the number of offerings.Basically $1USD per birds, but with the majority being less time intensive exhibit birds.

I know that this wouldn't cover all the wants, or even all the majorly wanted birds, but I do feel like we could get an acceptable level of bird representation, especially with the higher priced pack.

I'm less attached to the idea of a Marine Expansion pack. Don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely buy it. But I am in the "hoping for Planet Aquarium" group of people. I feel like even more than with birds, there is much that would be needed to touch on. We'd be starting from zero animals basically.

There's also issues with controversial subjects like cetaceans and sharks. Those are the more recognizable names, but should they be included? Taking Humpbacks and Whale Sharks out of the equation, even the Orcas and Dolphins, Narwhals and Beluga Whales, Hammerheads and Great Whites that fall into that are very common among marine themed games or packs. If you don't include them, what are the main selling animals? I mean for me, I'd buy a pack of 20 rays because they're my favorite animals in the ocean. But what overall would be the big attractions?

To add to that, you're talking about 20 to 30 animals since I'm sticking with the $1 per animal model. Yes fish are different and a visual buffet of shapes and sizes, but their shapes and sizes are a lot more alike than with mammals. Less rig work, basically. Also some of the smaller fish might just need to be exhibit type fish. Things than can still justify $1 per animal. But to the point I've completely strayed from, even taking out those big names, is 20-30 marine species really going to be enough to represent what's over 2/3rds of the world? Less than $20 is inconsiderable to me.

So you're trying to pull in enough popular animals, that will represent the diversity of sea life, while at the same time taking some of the more popular/well known marine animals.

Personally I take the stance of a separate Planet Aquarium because the base game would likely be like Planet Zoo's base game - 50-70 animals overall with some exhibits being likely. To me, that sounds a lot better than 20-30 animals. And keep in mind, for Planet Aquarium, that's just the start. you could end up with 150 or more species during the games run. Versus, likely just 20-30 representatives to be in Planet Zoo. I know which I'd rather have, personally. But some might just not want to have so much depth to the species, no pun intended.

So for me, Aviaries, yes at either price. Marine animals, I'd rather a separate game, but of course would buy an EP if it came out.

The only other thing I can think of is...if we only had 3 more regular content packs this year..that if Frontier would release a 5 year Anniversary Finale type of pack at the end of 2024, with 15 or so "most wanted" animals for $20 or 20-25 animals for $30 animals, that would be something I'd buy. But I don't think they'll do that, and I don't really see the point when they could just release standard content throughout 2024. Really the big marketing thing here would be the 5 year anniversary gimmick.
 
I'd love to see an expansion pack and I"ll play along with the thread. Though I think the odds are slim.

I would definitely want an Aviary pack. I'm going to do two different models, one at $19.99 and one at $29.99. I'm not going to list all of the birds, just the general model I'd like to see.
and some example birds.

For $19.99 - starting off with 8 habitat birds. Examples like a Swan, Shoebill, Secretary Bird etc. and 12 Exhibit birds, mostly NONwalkthrough Exhibits. This could include things like Eagles, Macaws, Toucans and so forth. I figure with 20 animals at twice the cost of a pack like we've been getting, and that exhibit animals would probably take a lot less work overall, that would be like getting 4 habitat birds and 6 exhibit birds in a regular DLC.

For $29.99 you'd have 12 habitat birds and 18 exhibit birds. Same idea, just increasing the number of offerings.Basically $1USD per birds, but with the majority being less time intensive exhibit birds.

I know that this wouldn't cover all the wants, or even all the majorly wanted birds, but I do feel like we could get an acceptable level of bird representation, especially with the higher priced pack.

I'm less attached to the idea of a Marine Expansion pack. Don't get me wrong, I'd absolutely buy it. But I am in the "hoping for Planet Aquarium" group of people. I feel like even more than with birds, there is much that would be needed to touch on. We'd be starting from zero animals basically.

There's also issues with controversial subjects like cetaceans and sharks. Those are the more recognizable names, but should they be included? Taking Humpbacks and Whale Sharks out of the equation, even the Orcas and Dolphins, Narwhals and Beluga Whales, Hammerheads and Great Whites that fall into that are very common among marine themed games or packs. If you don't include them, what are the main selling animals? I mean for me, I'd buy a pack of 20 rays because they're my favorite animals in the ocean. But what overall would be the big attractions?

To add to that, you're talking about 20 to 30 animals since I'm sticking with the $1 per animal model. Yes fish are different and a visual buffet of shapes and sizes, but their shapes and sizes are a lot more alike than with mammals. Less rig work, basically. Also some of the smaller fish might just need to be exhibit type fish. Things than can still justify $1 per animal. But to the point I've completely strayed from, even taking out those big names, is 20-30 marine species really going to be enough to represent what's over 2/3rds of the world? Less than $20 is inconsiderable to me.

So you're trying to pull in enough popular animals, that will represent the diversity of sea life, while at the same time taking some of the more popular/well known marine animals.

Personally I take the stance of a separate Planet Aquarium because the base game would likely be like Planet Zoo's base game - 50-70 animals overall with some exhibits being likely. To me, that sounds a lot better than 20-30 animals. And keep in mind, for Planet Aquarium, that's just the start. you could end up with 150 or more species during the games run. Versus, likely just 20-30 representatives to be in Planet Zoo. I know which I'd rather have, personally. But some might just not want to have so much depth to the species, no pun intended.

So for me, Aviaries, yes at either price. Marine animals, I'd rather a separate game, but of course would buy an EP if it came out.

The only other thing I can think of is...if we only had 3 more regular content packs this year..that if Frontier would release a 5 year Anniversary Finale type of pack at the end of 2024, with 15 or so "most wanted" animals for $20 or 20-25 animals for $30 animals, that would be something I'd buy. But I don't think they'll do that, and I don't really see the point when they could just release standard content throughout 2024. Really the big marketing thing here would be the 5 year anniversary gimmick.
I would buy a $30 bird pack tbh. Give me my 30 birds!
 
Well, I've been here from the start and have about 1500hrs in this game. I hope they come up with something special because it's getting 'old hat'.
 
I have been pushing for true expansions since forever.
Many people have said they would rather stick with the current dlc pattern even if it takes forever to get all the animals we want.
An expansion with a 16+ animals, props, scenery pieces, shops etc that correspond would be super nice.
I think the best way to get all the birds we want, a bird expansion would do the trick if it’s ground birds or aviary or a mix of both. Walk through song bird/small bird exhibits. Humming bird feeding spots. Duck/goose ponds. Educators can have birds on their arms.
A good way to get fish: an expansion. Can include freshwater exhibits, koi/carp ponds.
 
I have been pushing for true expansions since forever.
Many people have said they would rather stick with the current dlc pattern even if it takes forever to get all the animals we want.
An expansion with a 16+ animals, props, scenery pieces, shops etc that correspond would be super nice.
I think the best way to get all the birds we want, a bird expansion would do the trick if it’s ground birds or aviary or a mix of both. Walk through song bird/small bird exhibits. Humming bird feeding spots. Duck/goose ponds. Educators can have birds on their arms.
A good way to get fish: an expansion. Can include freshwater exhibits, koi/carp ponds.
Yeah, for me I would like more DLCs like expansions as opposed to the current method. I just think that the current dlcs are stale, yeah I love the new animals and building materials, but it just keeps feeling like more of the same.
 
I like this idea. The CA Academy of sciences in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is a fun place to go (recommend it to anyone who visits there), and it mixes live animals (also an aquarium) exhibits, a few small habitats, and a walk through rainforest area with a Natural History type museum.

I suppose true aquarium type exhibits focused on fish and aquatic invertebrates and so on would be beyond the scope of this game.
 
Aviaries definitely deserve a dedicated expansion. I would gladly pay more if we got 20 free flying habitat birds in a single pack.
 
Back
Top Bottom