I had been wanting to get this game since it was first announced, and when it was released I talked a little bit on the main forum for the game on this site about how some animals are left out of the base game that we expected to be in and how it was a marketing method, and I still understand that. But after seeing with the new South America pack that the model for dlc is officially going to just be 4 animals, I won't be getting it anytime soon unless it changes its model drastically. With the new South America DLC online soon, I can't help but feel frustrated about the game. I understand why they put so much focus into the building materials and theming, but this is a zoo game, first and foremost. The majority of us, myself included, want packs with more than a handful of animals. I understand why they may have done this in the Arctic DLC (not enough time to make new models or behaviors, lack of biodiversity etc), but it is honestly shameful the amount of animals that have been left out in a dlc meant to represent the whole of South America (capybara, caiman, rhea, maned wolf, andean bears, coati, peccaries, giant otters, spider monkeys etc). And the worst part about it is that the majority of animals in dlc should've/could've been in the base game. Make the base game include animals that you'd expect to see in zoos around the world/ are common or popular in captivity, and leave rarer, lesser-known species in continent or animal packs. At least then you'll get all the essentials that everyone expects and can add species that the animal/zoo people want. Or include the more endangered/ less seen in captivity subspecies in place of the more popular ones to keep the conservation message the game's aiming for while still including the essentials. I don't know, I just feel frustrated with the games set up, and I don't even own it. There's so much to this game, and yet when it comes to the very essentials of a good zoo game I.E. animals, Planet Zoo just disappoints me. Does anyone else have a similar feeling?
You make a good point in that at least 90% of people who play this game are primarily interested in zoo animals and therefore would prefer the game put these at the forefront. When I used to play Zoo Tycoon 2, I didn’t give a stuff about scenery or beautifying my zoo. I’d put in the minimum amount to prevent the red messages from guests (crying because they couldn’t find a water fountain/ATM/donation box etc.) so I could get on with curating animals. With this in mind, I’d be willing to bet the average player would be happier with 15 (or even 12) new South American animals on their own; rather than a handful of animals, packaged in with a load of other crap. Or alternatively, dedicate 2020 as South American year and package out five South American animals (again, on their own) every three months in March, June, September, December etc. I’m a huge fan of zoo architecture and some people on here have built some amazing stuff, so it’s good they had these features available; but nobody wants more flowerbeds, statues etc. when it comes at the expense of animal content. Also, on the subject of what frustrates us most about PZ, it’s the pedantic obsession animals have with what foliage they will or won’t accept and there’s no way to figure it out without trial and error guesswork. I’ve seen real life lions take shade, or even climb trees in zoos that are not from their biome (or even continent) without complaint; why can’t PZ animals be this open minded?
Caveat, I don't have the game because I don't have a PC that will support it, but I have been following the game fairly closely. An increasing complaint about Planet Zoo across all social media is the proportions of scenery/objects versus animals, most people are disappointed with low animal counts in the new DLC packs. Many ubiquitous zoo animals are still missing from the game, with no signs of appearance yet. Both Zoo Tycoons were near 100 species if you had the official extension packs, and the fan-made downloadable content was enormous. Planet Zoo has only 80. If you have the deluxe version and both dlc packs. Eleven of the 80 species are tiny arthropods that can only be placed in terrariums. So essentially 69 species. Even so we still have several other small reptiles and amphibians, so we got about 60 large exhibit animals. This is further reduced by the fact we have two tiger subspecies counted as different species, two subspecies of brown bear, and both Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises, which are essentially identical. Several animal choices are equally disappointing. Two tiger subspecies counted as two species is reasonable. Nobody asked for two subspecies of brown bear in the base pack. Why on earth did we get Formosan black bear instead of Sloth Bear, Sun Bear, or Spectacled Bear? Both giant tortoises in the base pack? They look pretty much the same, just why? Polar bear wasn't even in the base pack. We have multiple spiders, two scorpions, two beetles, a giant cockroach, a centipede, and a snail. But we have no kangaroos (or any marsupial. Koala, Tasmanian devil, wombat??), no seals or sea lions, no penguins, neither African rhino, no gibbons... Our only deer is Reindeer, handed to us in a dlc. Capybara anyone? We finally get a game where we can build enclosed tropical domes and aviaries in the base pack, and we get not a single flying bird. In fact, we're only handed Greater Flamingo, Ostrich, and peafowl. Seriously disappointing. This is very similar to the original Zoo Tycoon, where animals had very strong likes and dislikes about plants, and even rocks and shelters. Wrong terrain is enough to make them pretty angry. To this day there are a few animals I have yet to ever successfully make happy in the original ZT. Mixed species was darn near impossible, due to different requirements. Very few mixes were close enough to strike the fine line to keep both reasonably happy. ZT2 fixed this problem, and while terrain was fairly important, you could put any tree in there and the animals didn't care. Animals used any rock, and even scenery caused no issue. This is probably why ZT2 quickly became so much more popular, and why so much dlc content became available. The animals were accepting of variation, just like so many of the real-life versions are. For PZ animals to be picky about foliage is a distinct step backwards.
The base game has a fairly sizeable animal roster, the DLC packs have been a disappointment but the game is amazing. I only have the base game and very much doubt I will get the DLC anytime soon. It truely is an amazing game, don't worry about the DLC as there is enough in the base game to keep you entertained for hours. I doubt I have even kept half the species in the game yet. Still not even got into keeping apes species yet.
My biggest issue with the game and why I haven't played much since it came out is the fact that there hasn't been a substantial gameplay or mechanics upgrade with any of the DLCs or free updates. Amphibious animals don't dive, no flying birds, lack of smaller habitat animals such as meerkats, prairie dogs, and other small mammals. These things would require different mechanics in the game such as diving, flying and burrowing. There's no indication that any of these are going to be added in the future. In order for me to really get into the game there has to be something different added and the two DLCs added so far do nothing in that regard. All the animals are reskins or generally the same sort of animals as before. I like to build realistically and I can't build a realistic zoo in my opinion without birds, small mammals, pinnipeds, etc. Even ZT2 which was released over 15 years ago had some of these mechanics. I was hoping Planet Zoo would add these mechanics but as of right now, it feels like a HD ZT2 and not a new game. If they add these animals or mechanics in future updates/DLC, then I might spend my money on it and previous DLCs and get back into the game. Until then, I've lost most of my personal interest in the game.
I'm very disappointed with the lack of birds in Planet Zoo. It seems like birds are getting the short end of the stick compared to the mammals and reptiles, with only three being in the main game (those being Common Ostrich, Greater Flamingo, and Indian Peafowl) and one in the Australia DLC (Southern Cassowary). You would figure that with more than 90 total animals, (including DLCS) there would be more than four birds. I hope in the future they will add more birds into the main game (like parrots, eagles, emus, penguins, cranes, and waterfowl) and maybe even a few expansion packs which could give birds the ability to fly freely, and you would have to clip their wings or build an aviary.
The lack of birds is one of the biggest reasons I've gone back to my modded ZT2. Along with pinnipeds, otters, and fish.
Hopefully, PZ makes an ocean pack that has cetaceans, marine mammals, fish, etc. Just like Marine Mania from ZT2!
That would be really nice, though given the current 4-5 animals a pack it would take forever to get the basics. Marine animals are highly wanted in game though so we'll see. Birds plus marine animals might coax me back haha.
I hope they'll just sell it as a completely new game that you can use with or without the other game (But not as expensive as Planet Zoo, maybe 40$-35$) or do a massive free update, because just selling you 5 total aquatic animals and a tank animal with other few hundreds of scenery pieces would make the fanbase reeeeally mad.
