Honestly I can probably list about fifty African animals I want in the game beyond the leaked pack but I still think it's a pretty well-rounded pack all things considered. I wouldn't be too perturbed if it was the only expansion to the African roster we received.
Which DLC do you want to see the most?
I hear you, you could argue Africa is the only continent that actually feels well rounded (well once we get the new africa dlc...assuming it's africa)
I would guess that its mainly because africa allready has a bunch of "filler" animals.
By now we have most of the very heavy hitters in the game, the big boys everyone knows about, but not many less exciting animals to supplement them with, besides in africa.
By now this is also mostly fixed for asia, with the southeast asia pack adding primarly smaller animals that are quite nice for inbetween exhibits, but the other regions arnt that lucky.
Even if you only want to build a small section for them in your zoo it sucks pretty much to just have 4 animal to choose from (looking at you australia).
In comparison we have about 30 african species in the game were you can easily choose one or two centerpiece animals and just add some more for flavour.
Even if you limit yourself to only like 8 habitat animals (cough cough southamerica cough cough) there are still alot of combinations and specilisation. As example, you wanna build a rainforest area? Easy, how about the chimpanzee, hippo, bongo and maybe an okapi or nile monitor? Just want a savannah exhibit with some ungulents? Sure, pick some of these 11 diffrent kinds of ungulents.
Im not saying that africa has to much ungulents or something, in contreary, i would love to see a greater kudu in the game, but it just isnt needed because we allready have some great variety and thats how i feel about the african raster in general. There are no additions that are really needed, its super solid as if and if the leaks are true will become even stronger with the 4 new animals that all couver their one niches as zoo staples.
By now we have most of the very heavy hitters in the game, the big boys everyone knows about, but not many less exciting animals to supplement them with, besides in africa.
By now this is also mostly fixed for asia, with the southeast asia pack adding primarly smaller animals that are quite nice for inbetween exhibits, but the other regions arnt that lucky.
Even if you only want to build a small section for them in your zoo it sucks pretty much to just have 4 animal to choose from (looking at you australia).
In comparison we have about 30 african species in the game were you can easily choose one or two centerpiece animals and just add some more for flavour.
Even if you limit yourself to only like 8 habitat animals (cough cough southamerica cough cough) there are still alot of combinations and specilisation. As example, you wanna build a rainforest area? Easy, how about the chimpanzee, hippo, bongo and maybe an okapi or nile monitor? Just want a savannah exhibit with some ungulents? Sure, pick some of these 11 diffrent kinds of ungulents.
Im not saying that africa has to much ungulents or something, in contreary, i would love to see a greater kudu in the game, but it just isnt needed because we allready have some great variety and thats how i feel about the african raster in general. There are no additions that are really needed, its super solid as if and if the leaks are true will become even stronger with the 4 new animals that all couver their one niches as zoo staples.
As others have mentioned, if Frontier wanted they could keep putting out DLCs for PZ for years to come. There’s an abundance of themes and iconic animals that we still don’t have in-game. The issue just comes down to if Frontier feels that the additional time and effort is worth it financially (which I personally feel it is but I’m a little biased as an avid fan of the game).
For future packs, personally I’d like to see some game-changers with new mechanics. So far the only thing we’ve had like this was the Aquatic pack, which I feel has been the best pack we’ve received to date. With this said, my top picks for future packs would be a marine pack and avian pack. We’ve received some great semi-aquatic species, but still lack any true fully aquatic species. Large bodies of water still feel kinda empty without any fish in-game. Same could be said for the treetops and canopies of our zoos, where are all the birds? There’s so many iconic species that could be in these packs; sharks, rays, octopi, sea turtles, manatees, eels, eagles, owls, parrots, hornbills, large bats, the list goes on. Honestly there’s so many iconic species that would fit in these categories there could be multiple packs. For example, a River pack with an arapaima, catfish, alligator snapping turtle, and wading bird would be really unique and better diversify PZ’s animal roster.
In a similar vein, since we more-or-less know what the next pack will be, I’m hoping we may see some new mechanics with it. Three of the four discovered species are known to burrow so I’m hoping we may seem some digging or burrowing mechanics introduced with them.
For future packs, personally I’d like to see some game-changers with new mechanics. So far the only thing we’ve had like this was the Aquatic pack, which I feel has been the best pack we’ve received to date. With this said, my top picks for future packs would be a marine pack and avian pack. We’ve received some great semi-aquatic species, but still lack any true fully aquatic species. Large bodies of water still feel kinda empty without any fish in-game. Same could be said for the treetops and canopies of our zoos, where are all the birds? There’s so many iconic species that could be in these packs; sharks, rays, octopi, sea turtles, manatees, eels, eagles, owls, parrots, hornbills, large bats, the list goes on. Honestly there’s so many iconic species that would fit in these categories there could be multiple packs. For example, a River pack with an arapaima, catfish, alligator snapping turtle, and wading bird would be really unique and better diversify PZ’s animal roster.
In a similar vein, since we more-or-less know what the next pack will be, I’m hoping we may see some new mechanics with it. Three of the four discovered species are known to burrow so I’m hoping we may seem some digging or burrowing mechanics introduced with them.
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I agree that the best packs would include new mechanics eg.
Aviary pack - introducing netted habitats and include iconic animals such as parrots, eagles and vultures.
Arboreal pack - introducing improved climbing mechanics and addition of gibbons as an iconic arboreal species
Marine/aquarium pack - I personally do not want to see cetaceans in game however this could include sea turtles, sharks etc. Also could include aquarium exhibits for small marine animals.
Nocturnal pack - rework of the day/night system and inclusion of free-flight bat houses. Animals could include owls, bats and perhaps the aye-aye.
Butterfly/insect pack - this one could be quite different as would centre around creating a butterfly/insect house for guests to walk through. It would therefore need to include a number of interesting insects. You would of course need to be able to visit the house yourself and the insects should also be housable in exhibits.
Themed packs (without specific mechanics) I would like:
European pack
North American pack
Madagascar pack - chameleons, more lemurs and the fossa
New Zealand pack - flightless birds including the Kiwi, Kakapo and another penguin species
Critically endangered pack
Aviary pack - introducing netted habitats and include iconic animals such as parrots, eagles and vultures.
Arboreal pack - introducing improved climbing mechanics and addition of gibbons as an iconic arboreal species
Marine/aquarium pack - I personally do not want to see cetaceans in game however this could include sea turtles, sharks etc. Also could include aquarium exhibits for small marine animals.
Nocturnal pack - rework of the day/night system and inclusion of free-flight bat houses. Animals could include owls, bats and perhaps the aye-aye.
Butterfly/insect pack - this one could be quite different as would centre around creating a butterfly/insect house for guests to walk through. It would therefore need to include a number of interesting insects. You would of course need to be able to visit the house yourself and the insects should also be housable in exhibits.
Themed packs (without specific mechanics) I would like:
European pack
North American pack
Madagascar pack - chameleons, more lemurs and the fossa
New Zealand pack - flightless birds including the Kiwi, Kakapo and another penguin species
Critically endangered pack
I would love a Madagascar or New Zealand pack too. Maybe they will do an islands pack and include 1 or 2 animals from some popular islands.
Yes could work, islands have some very unique animals so that would be great to include!
Really hard to pick, but I feel like the aviary pack and the North America pack would be up there. Because if the NA pack was an 8-species "Animal Pack," it could include some of the still-missing aquatic species I want most, as well as terrestrial animals. Sea lion, sea otter, elephant seal, walrus, beaver, moose, puma, and fox are good contenders.
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I'm really hoping for a European pack. Or at least some more European animals as part of a mixed pack of some kind.
I would also love to see some expansion on the exhibit system and/or aviaries - birds are a feature in most zoos so it is a shame not to have them.
I would also love to see some expansion on the exhibit system and/or aviaries - birds are a feature in most zoos so it is a shame not to have them.
I understand for me it’s the aves pack. I don’t know why but I can’t get super excited about it. Don’t get me wrong the game absolutely needs this 100% to be a realistic zoo game (as realistic as possible anyway) of course it can’t be as realistic as real life but this will at least cover the animals most see at zoos. Perhaps once the pack is released I’ll be more excited. I got super excited about the deep water swimming and aquatic pack the only downside was 4 animals of course. It must be for me anyway it’s hard to get excited seeing a bird vs a lion or elephant. With the NA pack I hope for the moose the most although not common in zoos. I also like the puma,wolverine,black bear, and mountain goat to name a few. As for a surprise animal I would like to see a Turkey even tho you can see domesticated at any farm the wild ones are even in city premises here in the states.
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I'm more nervous than excited about the prospect of birds, but to tell you the truth, most of the birds I badly want don't need to fly anyway - emu, kiwi, little blue penguin, guinea fowl, pelican, southern ground hornbill, red-crowned crane...
Like you I mostly want flying birds to fill out my zoos and make them more realistic (though, I admit the prospect of including birds of prey in certain sections does thrill me).
The idea of
1) Birds of Prey.
2) Parrots.
And
3) Water Fowl (pelican, swans, duck species)
Are the three 'types' of birds that for me I'm really the most interested to see. But if we get an aviary dlc I think the consensus is it should cover minimum 20 birds. At least 2 or 3 to represent each continent.
1) Birds of Prey.
2) Parrots.
And
3) Water Fowl (pelican, swans, duck species)
Are the three 'types' of birds that for me I'm really the most interested to see. But if we get an aviary dlc I think the consensus is it should cover minimum 20 birds. At least 2 or 3 to represent each continent.
I don't know about a consensus. I think 8 would be enough, but I would expect further bird DLC's to follow to expand the roster.
Not sure if this counts as a bird of prey, but the bird that thrilled me to see the most (in real life) was a condor at the San Diego Zoo. I remember walking around the corner while looking up at the netting and canopy and just seeing a massive wing. And realizing it had to be a condor, just stretching itself while chilling on a perch. You never realize how big they'll feel when you actually see them in person. Adding those in Planet Zoo, and the harpy eagle and bearded vulture, would be something I'd look forward to most; perhaps because they're the birds I'd really love to see up close irl.
Yeah, condors are fantastic. That and the Stellar's sea eagle, which was impressively massive when I saw them in Edinburgh Zoo, and the Eurasian eagle owl as well (huge bird, and it was out in the day-time even if it was just chilling on a log). New Zealand doesn't have a lot of birds of prey. We have wild harrier hawks which are pretty common and a native species of falcon but even in captivity we don't have anything, so it was awesome to see these animals in other parts of the world.
