Community Crunch 355: ARK Roadmap, EVO Event, and More!

Huh... and I though screwing up the ATLAS release was the worst to come... WC allways is able to top poop up xD...

... so with ATLAS and nearly every WC release in mind I was expecting a delayed ARK II ... fine (nevertheless 2 years was also beyond my expectations)

... the trailer for ARK II also fed my fear that ARK II would not be a "real" ARK experience for me anymore - an experience no other game could provide me with - a mixture between survival, non-grid-locked base building, shooter like combat with support of a variety of tames, each with dedicated pupose ... fine ... I don't have to play it if it's not "my" ARK experience.

BUT NOW THEY FORCE ME TO BUY THEIR poopY VISION OF "CONAN ELDEN EXILES RING SOULS" TO BE ABLE TO PLAY MY ARK EXPERIENCE AND THEY DARE TO MAKE ME PAY FOR SOME FUNNY WATER REFLEXIONS, LIGHT RAYS AND (HOPEFULLY A TON OF) FIXES THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE YEARS AGO - NON-CONNECTING SHOTS, GRAPPLE GLITCHES, RELOAD BUGS, A MESH LIKE SWISS CHEESE AND MANY I FORGOT IN RAGE MODE...

YOU    HAVE    BALLS    GUYS AND GALS... Holy GSS

Just now, Khalesh said:

Huh... and I though screwing up the ATLAS release was the worst to come... WC allways is able to top poop up xD...

... so with ATLAS and nearly every WC release in mind I was expecting a delayed ARK II ... fine (nevertheless 2 years was also beyond my expectations)

... the trailer for ARK II also fed my fear that ARK II would not be a "real" ARK experience for me anymore - an experience no other game could provide me with - a mixture between survival, non-grid-locked base building, shooter like combat with support of a variety of tames, each with dedicated pupose ... fine ... I don't have to play it if it's not "my" ARK experience.

BUT NOW THEY FORCE ME TO BUY THEIR poopY VISION OF "CONAN ELDEN EXILES RING SOULS" TO BE ABLE TO PLAY MY ARK EXPERIENCE AND THEY DARE TO MAKE ME PAY FOR SOME FUNNY WATER REFLEXIONS, LIGHT RAYS AND (HOPEFULLY A TON OF) FIXES THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE YEARS AGO - NON-CONNECTING SHOTS, GRAPPLE GLITCHES, RELOAD BUGS, A MESH LIKE SWISS CHEESE AND MANY I FORGOT IN RAGE MODE...

YOU    HAVE    BALLS    GUYS AND GALS... Holy GSS

AND WHY SHOULD I WRITE POOP?

well now even back at 1x..

It's annoying the ARK II's delay, but nothing too serious. I mean, it's not as anyone here had bought the game...

 

It's REALLY annoying - and disrespectful! - to make who already have ARK SE to pay for the ARK ASA.

And, to top it all, shutting down the servers - while STILL selling the game! Not, this should be criminal - literally.

 

They could end ARK SE, give ASA for free for who already have the game and upgrade all servers to ASA. Sure, it would inconvenience some people - but at least would be logical and provide a way to keep gaming.

 

I don't mind that whoever buys ASA gets ARK2 - as long as it only affects who doesn't already have the game. It would be like a "2 for the price of one".

 

We, that already have ARK SE, would pay (if wanted) to buy ARK 2. I would be fine with this.

 

Hopping that this was all a bad april fool joke.

I dont know about everyone else but i am extremely exited for ASA because the possibilities are almost endless. If they do the new story dlc right it could be amazing, i know they said the new dlc would only have 4 new creatures but i hope its a bit more than that. I also think that an idea that i think neddythenoodle said was that the dlc should be is one that bridges Extinction and Gen 1.

18 minutes ago, loudplatipus said:

I dont know about everyone else but i am extremely exited for ASA because the possibilities are almost endless. If they do the new story dlc right it could be amazing, i know they said the new dlc would only have 4 new creatures but i hope its a bit more than that. I also think that an idea that i think neddythenoodle said was that the dlc should be is one that bridges Extinction and Gen 1.

I think the first thing I'd do is hit up Gen2 and do all the missions before the servers turn to poop.

Is your issue cost of all the empty and low pop servers? Or at least part of the issue. Why not just consolidate and maybe users may lose bases but can transfer tames and so forth while keeping character progress. Or give them something for loss of base. I know consolidating servers bases can’t due to conflicting base locations but everything from character, tames, items is workable. Then maybe a query that depending on how large a base its users get those items or something along those lines of a loot bag while migrating users into new servers after consolidation. Anyway, for me loss of base is least issue. For me it’s more the grind to tame, get boss fights to unlock tek etc. not to mention time to level. I can rebuild a base easily, but the tames, especially mutation chains, grind and all that is the biggest issue on just wiping. If issue is like I mentioned before I say work a server consolidation plan. 

Shoot, I work in IT with background in Sys/Network and currently work as a database, application, and automation specialist. Hire me and I can get it done 😉. I’m currently doing the opposite for work and splitting DBs.

Also, if issue is cost vs revenue maybe making a store for skins, accessories and customizations that are not "pay to win". Much how some games have a premium store for skins and such that offer no in game benefit but may mitigate some of the costs running servers which consolidating should already help. Also maybe cleaning databases of old accounts. Maybe set to stale characters over X time to wipe and run that query on a schedule. Also maybe set limits of how many characters players can have though that could affect some players that may have over any limit set but it's a thought. There are many ideas I can think of to mitigate DB/storage size.

Also, maybe if there is a consolidation where all bases are wiped though characters, dino etc. are set into a download folder where users can upload as if when transferring maps then restructure base building to limit spam and base sizes. This could help DB, storage and even performance on previous gen consoles as well.

If this is not an option, please let us know on what you mean that the "saved data" will be uploaded for use? Does this mean everything down to the databases even on console where someone like me can essentially launch official servers as they were upon shutdown? I know at the moment running a server on console is limited to ini files and a few options via portals but no modding or DB access. I may be interested in making this a project to put up a consolidated version of the official servers if possible depending on how we/I can work it. There would be some logistics to take care of. I just do not want my self as well as everyone that has put so much time and effort to lose all they have built and worked on. Feel free to contact me. My email is in my account in which you can contact me.

For community, would this be something that works for you either via ARK servers and consolidate with some ideas presented or if not the second option of say someone like me reviving the servers after shutdown in a consolidated form? I am not guaranteeing I would take this on as there would be a lot of logistics to look into but it seems like a next best option if Ark official servers are out of the question. But there is a few months to look into, plan and talk to key stakeholders to make it possible.

Edited April 3 by Lurker300

I'd like some clarification, so do owners of OG ark get the upgraded version for free and the bundle only being for those who don't own the game yet? whats the deal?

8 minutes ago, Lurker300 said:

Is your issue cost of all the empty and low pop servers? Or at least part of the issue. Why not just consolidate and maybe users may lose bases but can transfer tames and so forth while keeping character progress. Or give them something for loss of base. I know consolidating servers bases can’t due to conflicting base locations but everything from character, tames, items is workable. Then maybe a query that depending on how large a base its users get those items or something along those lines of a loot bag while migrating users into new servers after consolidation. Anyway, for me loss of base is least issue. For me it’s more the grind to tame, get boss fights to unlock tek etc. not to mention time to level. I can rebuild a base easily, but the tames, especially mutation chains, grind and all that is the biggest issue on just wiping. If issue is like I mentioned before I say work a server consolidation plan. 

Shoot, I work in IT with background in Sys/Network and currently work as a database, application, and automation specialist. Hire me and I can get it done 😉. I’m currently doing the opposite for work and splitting DBs.

Also, if issue is cost vs revenue maybe making a store for skins, accessories and customizations that are not "pay to win". Much how some games have a premium store for skins and such that offer no in game benefit but may mitigate some of the costs running servers which consolidating should already help. Also maybe cleaning databases of old accounts. Maybe set to stale characters over X time to wipe and run that query on a schedule. Also maybe set limits of how many characters players can have though that could affect some players that may have over any limit set but it's a thought. There are many ideas I can think of to mitigate DB/storage size.

Also, maybe if there is a consolidation where all bases are wiped though characters, dino etc. are set into a download folder where users can upload as if when transferring maps then restructure base building to limit spam and base sizes. This could help DB, storage and even performance on previous gen consoles as well.

If this is not an option, please let us know on what you mean that the "saved data" will be uploaded for use? Does this mean everything down to the databases even on console where someone like me can essentially launch official servers as they were upon shutdown? I know at the moment running a server on console is limited to ini files and a few options via portals but no modding or DB access. I may be interested in making this a project to put up a consolidated version of the official servers if possible depending on how we/I can work it. There would be some logistics to take care of. I just do not want my self as well as everyone that has put so much time and effort to lose all they have built and worked on. Feel free to contact me. My email is in my account in which you can contact me.

For community, would this be something that works for you either via ARK servers and consolidate with some ideas presented or if not the second option of say someone like me reviving the servers after shutdown in a consolidated form?

Totally agree but server review&consolidation was never been a problem since they never did it in the last 3 years and a half, (on Official PVE there are still running some legacy servers!). I never played for real any longer Official PVP but I can see a lot of potential consolidation is also there according to battle-metrics (that we know it doesn't show EPIC accounts and so ranking but we can assume Epic account are spread more or less in the same way, maybe a bit more on The Island and free DLCs maps).

All this looks like more about forcing people buy again the game. Also nobody mentally sane can expect ASA needing the same amount of server resources ARK SE is actually using on Official clusters.

Edited April 3 by darkradeon

5 minutes ago, Scipizoa said:

I'd like some clarification, so do owners of OG ark get the upgraded version for free and the bundle only being for those who don't own the game yet? whats the deal?

Nope. Unless something changes. If you want to play ASA, you pay for it and Ark 2. No matter what.

Then you get to buy the expansion packs for the maps.

Then you get to buy the new paid-for mods.

BTW about multiplatform, beside as I said, they took it away from SOTF after.. 1 month because gampead vs mouse&keyboard isn't fair (and on PVP should not make any big difference too), just remember few issues:

- Each platform has its own deployment rules (Epic/Steam are basically immediate, then there are Sony and MS), which already creates tons of issues when some exploits are discovered working on multiple platform. You literally CANNOT synch multiple platform updates, maybe you can delay easily PC updates but controlling both consoles update is a no go today with Microsoft and Sony deployment and certification methods.

- Platform account authentication may have their own issues. One thing is like if steam is down: nobody on PC cluster (except egs now? but looks like no more EGS in future despite Epic taking less royalties than Valve..) will get raided etc (in official PVP at least) and if the issue is global WC can just halt the servers to halt decay time and dinos starving. Same apply for other platform (MS and Sony). On multiplatform you cannot mitigate this or you are forced to mitigate a platform issue and take down the game for all.

- MS Xbox live chat filtering is so insane and stupid (machine learning usage?) that started to censor even numbers and in-game strings... Damn even PC simple filtering doesn't really work well (again it's broken just from the start, simply it cannot work beside basic straightforward filtering, it's math and language science).

Edited April 3 by darkradeon

14 minutes ago, darkradeon said:

Totally agree but server review&consolidation was never been a problem since they never did it in the last 3 years and a half, (on Official PVE there are still running some legacy servers!). I never played for real any longer Official PVP but I can see a lot of potential consolidation is also there according to battle-metrics (that we know it doesn't show EPIC accounts and so ranking but we can assume Epic account are spread more or less in the same way, maybe a bit more on The Island and free DLCs maps).

All this looks like more about forcing people buy again the game. Also nobody mentally sane can expect ASA needing the same amount of server resources ARK SE is actually using on Official clusters.

What I meant is the issue being they are likely taking a hit on cost for maintaing servers that are empty most of the time. So by never doing it they created a problem. I don't have exact numbers as I am updating ARK right now but if you yake any map accross all patforms you always see 1-2 that are maybe half populated if that and the rest handful to noone on. All those servers can be consolidated. that will free up any storage taken by each instance of the server and consolidate physycal server assets (I say this loosley as I do not know what their setup is nor have I looked if they are hosting on a cloud service which is alsso a cost). Also cleaning DBs from old characters and maybe limiting base sizes and amounts would help storage which also limits costs. My guess is they are paying in someway for limited to unused servers and whatever they can clean from stale characters.

I agree this may be more to get ppl to buy. Maybe they need a large input of money as funding may be getting cut short and from the looks of it even if they did develop Ark2 and decided it was not good and starting fresh or whatever happend they may need the funding for the continued development into 2024.

Hopefully things get worked out. I would hate to have my time wasted like that. But even more for ppl that have spent years.

in mmo game where there are official servers without subscription and other form of revenues except base game and DLC licenses annual or semi-annual server review and consolidation should be important. That's the point: it was never in the last 3 years. And of course consolidation means: you announce what server you close, what you open, giving enough time people to transfer. Nobody would be really mad if they say: hey x,y,z servers will sunset in 3 months because unpopulated, you have 3 months to move and transfer. Of course it should give enough time to affected players and a there should be a way to remember it to new players coming there for any reason... moving a base and tames may take time.. but hell closing all is not a sane solution.

Edited April 3 by darkradeon

So does this mean player dedicated servers will finally be available on PS4 and PS5, and XBOX for Genesis 1 and 2, Fjordur, and Crystal Isles? Player dedicated servers haven't been a thing since those maps were released. 

1 hour ago, GrumpyBear said:

I think the first thing I'd do is hit up Gen2 and do all the missions before the servers turn to poop.

You'll be waiting till a unknown date in 2024 according to the post to hit up a gen2 server before they turn bad & you'll either have to watch them like a hawk or be able to log in quickly, it really depends on how badly this hurts wildcard.

All this and it looks like we wont even get a partial event for Easter.

1 hour ago, JadeHellBlade910 said:

So does this mean player dedicated servers will finally be available on PS4 and PS5, and XBOX for Genesis 1 and 2, Fjordur, and Crystal Isles? Player dedicated servers haven't been a thing since those maps were released. 

Ark 1  or ASA?

Studio wildcard must be on drugs if they think I'm buying a game I already own for some useless update. Thanks but I'm fine playing offline solo if I have to. Only super fanboys will be stupid enough to get conned into paying for this nonsense and I doubt there are many of them so good luck with that.

sounds like a Ponzi, i know it's not because you are getting what you already paid for but... a little sus

A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often promise to invest your money and generate high returns with little or no risk. But in many Ponzi schemes, the fraudsters do not invest the money. Instead, they use it to pay those who invested earlier and may keep some for themselves.

Edited April 4 by kritterpher

It might be because Snail Inc is in trouble:

https://www.aaii.com/investingideas/article/24787-is-snail-inc-snal-stock-a-good-investment

https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/80852/voxpop-games-brings-on-studio-wildcard-founder/

Edited April 4 by Joebl0w13

This is bs. I know a lot of people on the official servers and some of them have been on there for years. Now studio wildcard is shutting all of that down, and making us pay for a new game? That is a slap in the face to all of us loyal fans that have gone through the growing pains of this game through out the years. The people that already own the game should get a free upgrade to the Ark: Survival Ascended Edition along with the dlc's that they already own. Makes me sick. I have spent years playing Ark. I have spent years having memories that cannot be replaced. Now you are screwing over your fans for some extra money? That is the ultimate disrespect to all of us.

Delaying Ark 2 is probably the best move. So is wiping the official servers (the state of the servers is awful). However, I am really hoping that since we are paying for the game and DLC again to experience it in UE5 (all good), please make sure some of the game-breaking issues are addressed. People should not be losing characters or items/dinos in transfers at this point in the game's development. If people lose things, they should be returned by the support team. Nobody should be able to pillar or foundation an entire map to make the game unplayable for other people. I will tell you right now that if I log in for the first time to ASA and there are pillars and foundations covering the whole map, I will be using Steam's 2 hour refund rule for sure. Having better support for players is also a necessity when asking them to pay for a game again, so please address that. Lastly, I (and many others) are hoping the anti-cheat system will catch and stop duping, it lags and crashes servers. These are all positive changes for a lot of players (some will not be pleased), please ensure that we do not regret trusting your judgement on this. 

 

Edited April 4 by QueenAahlyia

I really can't believe that they're not only making us rebuy a game that I've already put over 4000 hours into. then they're going to throw away literally years of official time we have put in to support their game.  I'm sooooo disappointed... come on wildcard REALLY 

Edited April 4 by Bluedragon1

Quindi spiegatemi con la vostra bellissima idea chi gioca come da da ps4 perde i server su cui sta giocando da anni e dove si è fatta un mazzo tanto per creare con la sua tribù una base solida e domare tutti i suoi dinosauri e perde tutto da un giorno all'altro per ASA a cui non può neanche giocare poiché è solo per PS5. Spero che sia solo un brutto pesce d'aprile. Perché se devo spendere centinaia di euro per poter giocare ancora sui server non sarei affatto contenta

Still waiting for the "Aprill fools !!" part ...