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  • Community Crunch 356: ARK Roadmap Update, Rhyniognatha Concept, and More!

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    We appreciate your patience as we digested the feedback and consulted with our partners to revise our upcoming plans. As always, we’re very grateful to have such a passionate player base, and we hear and understand your concerns. We've decided to make some changes and provide additional information as to why we’re taking this approach, so please bear with us as we address some points. 

     

    Price Point and Bundle
     

    First things first, we are scrapping the ARK Respawned Bundle. Our intention behind this was to provide a package where you essentially got two products for the price of one. In hindsight, not the best move. Our bad; we recognize how combining ARK Survival Ascended with ARK 2 and requiring further DLC upgrades wasn’t optimal, especially since you wouldn’t be able to judge ARK 2 as no gameplay or content would be available yet.

    Here are our new plans:

    ARK: Survival Ascended will now be a standalone package released on every platform (PC Windows/Steam, Xbox Series S/X, and PlayStation 5) at $59.99. The package will include the following pieces of content built-in (not sold separately), with each remastered and altered for the next-generation:
     

    • The Island (Released at Launch)
    • Survival of the Fittest: The Island & Scorched Earth map variants (Released at Launch)
    • Scorched Earth (Released at Launch)
    • Aberration (Released by Q4 2023)
    • Extinction (Released by Q1 2024)
    • Genesis Part 1 (Released by Q1 2024)
    • Genesis Part 2 (Released by Q2 2024)
    • All the community-created maps are also to be released over time in 2024 (Fjordur, Ragnarok, The Center, Lost Island, Valguero, Crystal Isles)

     

    No longer a backward-compatible free update?
     

    Initially, when we had first considered doing an Unreal 5 upgrade, we planned just to port the Switch version of the game and undo the ‘graphical’ limitations required for that hardware. We weren’t going to maximize the potential of the new technology, we weren’t going to introduce new gameplay changes, and we weren’t going to make critical design changes that would have had an impact on existing save data. 
     

    After carefully considering what would be the best outcome for those who enjoy ARK: Survival Evolved and would want to continue to enjoy it in the years to come, we decided that our initial plan would not be sufficient. We want to provide you with an evergreen classic ARK experience, one that can continue to grow over time on a cleaned-up code base, making use of the new technological advancements not only in the industry but also in what we are working on with ARK 2.
     

    We weren’t trying to mislead you with earlier comments; our plans and overall intentions changed. So you're probably asking, why don’t we make these upgrades to the original ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE)? Frankly, it would not be viable. Many of the changes we’re making in ARK: Survival Ascended will touch a lot of aspects of the game; it’ll invalidate save data, some mods may not be functional, some things may not play the same way as they did before, and we didn’t want to change that experience for those who prefer it or are unable to upgrade.
     

    This also impacted our decision to sunset the ASE Official Network offline on August 31st, shortly before the ASA launch. Despite ASE Officials representing the minority of players on ARK, it’s an invested and passionate group with attachments to their bases, tames, and characters, and seeing that go away can’t be easy. While we know it’s not the same, we hope making the saves available for unofficial use helps diminish the loss. Our reasoning behind the decision is that those servers are essentially based on old technology and require significant development resources and time for our teams to operate & maintain. In some cases, the issues aren’t as easily solvable without an overall upgrade. Additionally, we know that those resources could be better utilized on fundamentally new technology to further enhance the overall game experience for all players.
     

    ASE will still be available to play for those who choose to; that includes multiplayer through unofficial/player-hosted sessions, the endless amount of mods on the Steam workshop, and all the game content as you currently know it. All of that is going to remain, but after 8 years of development, we have to make the difficult decision of sunsetting ASE and the Official Network in order to provide that truly long-term and evergreen version of the game through ARK: Survival Ascended.

    We’ll be sending off ASE with one final content update for our 8th anniversary this June, releasing the fan-elected creature: Rhyniognatha! (Keep an eye out next week for its Dossier)

     

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    We plan to support ARK: Survival Ascended with new features (including at launch), content drops, creatures, items, structures, and DLC. Our roadmap covered some of those planned changes, and we said there would be more, and here’s another preview:
     

    • Dynamic navigation mesh and creature pathfinding overhaul (AI pathfinding)
    • Photo Mode
    • Nvidia DLSS
    • Dino/Baby Management QOL
    • Wild Babies
    • Snap point improvements (new snaps, logic improvements)
    • Character creation & customization improvements
    • Cross-platform Multiplayer & Full Blueprint Modding (I know we mentioned this before, but we’re serious, it’s happening on PC and Consoles at launch, and we’ve got it working internally with Overwolf technology – this dramatically changes the nature of the console experience).

     

    And this list is not exhaustive. We’re hoping to get even more done, and the only reason we aren’t covering all of those details right now is that we’re still working on them. It’s taking a significant amount of resources and time at the studio, and we don’t want to commit to other particular features unless we’re sure we can get them in for launch. And yeah, we may miss our deadline on certain aspects, but they’ll come in over time as we continue to support this next generation of ARK.
     

    At the end of the day, these are just words and, frankly, may not mean so much. That’s okay; we understand what will really convince you is seeing screenshots and a gameplay trailer, and you will in time. We know there are going to be more questions, and we’ll be sharing more details over time. We’re not quite ready to pull back the curtains just yet, so we hope you’ll hang in there with us, Survivors. It’ll be worth the wait!
     

    Studio Wildcard
     


     

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    Let’s kick off the first piece of major new content for ARK: Survival Ascended - a fan-voted real-world creature that will launch on Day 1
     

    Please note that this creature will be released for Scorched Earth, so make sure your real-world submissions are in theme with that map! We’ll also be adding an additional real-world creature for each subsequent canonical expansion pack map release on ARK: Survival Ascended.
     

    Check out the Creature Submission Guidelines for more information on the submission process and hop over to the Creature Submission Forum to see the current entries. The entry period will end at 1PM Pacific on April 21st, so don't wait - get your ideas in.  We are looking forward to seeing your ideas come to life!

     


     

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    Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Easter EVO Event! During this event, 25% of wild creature spawns will be replaced with the colors from the event list.  It will be active until Monday, the 24th of April.  All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
     

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    • 4/07 - 4/24

     

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    *Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.

    • Official Servers: 3x XP, Harvesting, Taming, and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
    • Small Tribe Servers: 4.5x XP, 4.5x Harvesting, 4.5x Taming, and 4x Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
    • ARKPocalypse: 5x XP, 5x Harvesting, 5x Taming, and 5x Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
    • Classic: 6x XP, 6x Harvesting, 6x Taming, and 5x Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval
       

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    25% of creatures will currently get the pax colorset below:

    • Red
    • Blue
    • Green
    • Yellow
    • Cyan
    • Magenta
    • Light Green
    • Light Orange
    • Light Yellow
    • Light Red
    • Black
    • Dark Red
    • Dino Light Red
    • Dino Dark Red
    • Dino Light Blue
    • Dino Dark Blue
    • Dino Light Purple
    • Dino Dark Purple
    • DragonGreen3
    • WyvernPurple0
    • WyvernPurple1
    • WyvernBlue0
    • WyvernBlue1
    • Dino Medium Blue
    • Dino Deep Blue
    • NearWhite
    • DarkTurquoise
    • MediumTurquoise
    • Turquoise
    • LightCement
    • LightPink
    • DeepPink
    • DarkViolet
    • DarkMagenta
    • MediumAutumn
    • Vermillion
    • Coral
    • Orange
    • Peach
    • ActualBlack
    • MidnightBlue
    • LemonLime
    • Mint
    • DarkLavender
    • MediumLavender
    • Lavender
    • DarkTeal
    • MediumTeal
    • Teal
    • PowderBlue
    • Glacial
    • Custard
    • Cream

     


     

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    Conquest servers are being re-introduced for a new season by Snail Games.  To kick things off, our current Classic PvP season will end, and servers will be wiped shortly before the new Conquest begins on April 25th.  Classic PvP servers will wipe on April 25th, 5pm Pacific Time.

    Check out our prior Community Crunch for the full details!

     


     

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    Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form

     

     

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    Creator: NaturalCauzes

    Primal Fear is an Ark mod filled with terrifying creatures, majestic unicorns, and exploding dodos. NaturalCauzes has 100 days to beat Pikkons Revenge!
     

     

    Creator: pterafier

    Pterafier shows you the different ways to tame the creatures you see around you. In this helpful and captivating guide, he will help you to understand advanced crafting using mortar and pestle, tranq arrows, narcotics, saddles, passive taming, and more.
     

     

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    The concept of a fiery place by @VELUKO1
     

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    Untitled by @MayaPatch89
     

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    Megalo in the night by Sai
     

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    Space Mosas by N4STYR4BBiT
     

    large.ARK_CommunityCrunch_N4STYR4BBiT_19


    Pteranodon handmade art doll by sayvaris
     

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    Reaper Riders by Azany
     

    large.ARK_CommunityCrunch_azany_1920x108


    New tricks by terrortantrum
     

    large.ARK_CommunityCrunch_terrortantrum_

     

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    The Island cave exploration by @maMe_buDo
     

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    "You won't take this new world, but I will grant you rest, Edmund" by @BlockBeam101
     

    large.ARK_CommunityCrunch_BlockBeam101_1


    Me and Cubed Ice flying over Valguero by u/MelonLord97
     

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    Inspired by Hogwarts by @ARKitects_Ark
     

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    Have an Eggcellent Easter!

    Studio Wildcard


    Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
    Discord: discord.com/invite/playark
    Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
    Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark
    Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark
    Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110
    Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark
    Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
    Official Wiki: ark.wiki.gg


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    $60 for The Island and Scorched Earth with face lifts?

    Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

    Gimme some of what ur smoking WC!

    Try, Fjordur and Ragnarok at launch and just maybe...

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    I wonder when Wildcard will realize it maaaay be a good idea to slap warnings ARK:SE will not have official multiplayer support on every store page they sell the game. At this moment they are deliberately mislead future customers who do not read the games' journals they're getting a full product.

    Edited by Lewiatan
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    Thankyou so much for choosing to sunset the ASE codebase.  It was full of bugs and long overdue and I was not going to continue to support that ($) going into ARK 2.  This is great news to me and I will be returning!

     

    Jas

    • Haha 1

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    57 minutes ago, Jasiku said:

    Thankyou so much for choosing to sunset the ASE codebase.  It was full of bugs and long overdue and I was not going to continue to support that ($) going into ARK 2.  This is great news to me and I will be returning!

     

    Jas

    you don't get it: the same codebase will the codebase of ASA, just with different backend engine and a bit more stuff (mostly mods)

    Edited by darkradeon
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    Wildcard please! (HI again, by the way.)

    This is my Wishlist for Ark 2/SurvivalAscended:

    1. Will you increase the map size by atleast 4x? If you could  combine several maps (The Island, Scorched Earth, etc.) that would be fine to start with that, please.

    2. It would be awesome if all large creatures get a grab move like Megalosarus, and large creatures wrestle eachother and get wrestling stats? T. Rex would dominate if you did this.

    Wrestling would make the creatures vulnerable to being attacked by other creatures. 

    Group grab attacks could be devastating, too.

    I believe you're already working on something similar to this. Thanks.

    3. I'd  love if you add Simbakubwa, powerful Phytosaurs, Cave Lions, Utahrapters, Thylacines, Tarbosauruses and more sea turtles. All in a future DLC, please.

    That's my wishlist for now, and if I don't get any of them I'm still happy. This is one of the best videogames ever. Thanks.

    Edit: I misspelled "Thylacines" before.

    Edited by DreadMaverick
    • Facepalm 2

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    Wow, they did not just remove Ark 2 from the bundle, but increased the price too.

    Just wondering: what will happen to ASA official servers when Ark 2 comes out? shutting down as well ig.

    This is a huge kick in the butt, especially for those who have purchased the game and dlcs on more than 1 platform.

     

     

    Edited by DonTorta

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    52 minutes ago, darkradeon said:

      

    you don't get it: the same codebase will the codebase of ASA, just with different backend engine and a bit more stuff (mostly mods)

    .

    Edited by Jasiku
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    I just don't know how they keep dropping the ball like this. I'm they did much better on the communications on this one but that's only because of how bad the last one was.  Gamers aren't dumb.  This is the exact same deal just repackaged and recommunicated so it can be better received.  If you do the math it all breaks down the same,  same content only with Ark 2 and it's "potential" cost removed.  They will of course be back to sell Ark 2 and it will most likely be higher than $30 which will cost gamers more in the end. 

    And as I've been saying since the original post; how does Wildcard or Snailgames get away with still selling Ark and it's DLC in stores with no mention that the official servers will be shutting down??   There is a reason WC is having to give away free copies to try and fight the negative reviews and press they are getting.  

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    I have one question.  When can I buy it?

    I've been a gamer since Zork came out.  Ark is the game I've played the most.  People can go at me however they want, but I think a restart will be good and I'd love to see the changes you've made.  So I'm in.

    Anyone who wants to gripe at me go ahead.  It's my money, I'll spend it how I want to.

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    We have been playing with my son for 5 years and also with friends. Now, when the son learned that all animals will die in time, he was upset to tears. Since he raised these animals and looked after them. It was HIS achievement and his pride. You think that you are hurting everyone. Leave a couple of servers and notify us to leave the animals.

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    8 minutes ago, Nevis said:

    We have been playing with my son for 5 years and also with friends. Now, when the son learned that all animals will die in time, he was upset to tears. Since he raised these animals and looked after them. It was HIS achievement and his pride. You think that you are hurting everyone. Leave a couple of servers and notify us to leave the animals.

    Sorry , but you have to teach your Son the different between Video Games and Reality 

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    16 hours ago, CaveNoob said:

    Try, Fjordur and Ragnarok at launch and just maybe...

    These 2 maps at launch would make a massive difference. Rag is still my favourite map, imagine being stuck on the island (with brief trips to scorched for wyvern eggs) after years of being able to access Rag, doesn't bear thinking about really.

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    3 hours ago, Nevis said:

    We have been playing with my son for 5 years and also with friends. Now, when the son learned that all animals will die in time, he was upset to tears. Since he raised these animals and looked after them. It was HIS achievement and his pride. You think that you are hurting everyone. Leave a couple of servers and notify us to leave the animals.

    tell your son that on PC he should be able to get a server backup at the end of the shutdown (needs to continue to play to preserve base and creatures), not sure if this will ever happen on consoles (console system limitations)

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    On 4/8/2023 at 2:59 AM, darkradeon said:

    Lmao, you don't get it: price is the last and minor issue. Getting paid for work is legit thing (if price is legit too!). The main issues are others.

     

    Official shutdown

    Total official shutdown is like forcing users to buy the game, despite ASE still selling good and getting new players activation daily.
     

    FIX: Keep Official alive until it is played. Do a server review, do it seriously, say what server have to close for being un-played, allowing people to move giving a decent amount of time. Do this review every 6-9-12 months until really those servers are all unpopulated and you decide to shutdown ASE. And please note that a lot of official players quitted now for your previous disastrous community crunch.

     

     

     

    Completely agree! I am one of the new players and you can imagine how it was for me when I bought all the add-ons (at the end of March) and found out that the servers were closing ... And I note that I did not buy one, because I play with friends, they too bought all the add-ons and here is such gratitude for the purchase ... I built so much, spent so much REAL time, many maps have not yet been studied, and here - "we are closing our servers, and you buy a new game" ... Yes, I just recently I bought this one, I haven’t had time to play it normally with my friends yet, why do I need another new one??! The offer with servers is simple and ingenious - indeed, in this way it will be possible to avoid negativity among those who play this version of the game and at the same time free up servers for the new version. A very simple solution, but apparently money and the desire to sell a copy of the game (there will be little new there) is more important than the community of players who make the company's income.

     

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    STRIKING: in the XBox Store

    This week ARK:SE in DISCOUNTED OFFER !!!!!

     

    ARK: ULTIMATE SURVIVOR EDITION

    (includes: ARK1+SeasonPass+GenesisPass = Full Game) ---> 25€ [instead of 50€ = 50% discount]

     

    Or purchased separately:

     

    ARK:SE (base game only) ---> 5€ <--- !!!!!! :@ !!!!!!  [75% discount]

    SEASON PASS (DLC: SE+ABB+EXT) ---> 10€ [60% discount]

    GENESIS PASS (Gen1+Gen2) ---> 12€ [60% discount]

     

    NB: no type of warning on closing the Servers.

    Our reviews on the Store page are the only way to warn new interested in purchasing, mine received 6 thanks for being useful but is confined to the Store in my country.

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    Made an account just to post a few thoughts.

     

    Nobody asked for a UE5 upgrade to ASE. That was a nice bonus when it was announced in Jan as a free upgrade. Now hearing that we have to pay for it, along with the official server network wipe is a bitter pill to swallow. What we absolutely don't want is a rushed, poorly implemented and unoptimized game, especially if we have to pay to continue playing on official servers and even more so if years of breeding have to be restarted from scratch. You talk about creating a game which can be played for years to come. Who is going to play it? You've stated that it's not backwards compatible, which means no assets can be ported from ASE to ASA, leaving what? The boosted and fibrecraft pvp servers which wipe regularly. Everyone else will continue playing on ASE or quit.

    My advice:

    Ditch ASA.

    End development of ASA, it was a nice bonus when it was free. It's a drain on resources and likely to be a financial loss. Redeploy the ASA team to Ark 2 so that you have a chance of releasing it vaguely close the latest delayed release "date" but more importantly ALPHA TEST, DEBUG AND OPTIMIZE IT BEFORE BETA TESTING.

    Monetization is clearly an issue, so introduce microtransactions? Custom skins etc? Snail/Wildcard have failed to adapt to changing financial models in the gaming industry. You are providing a games-as-service model but your financial model remains paid-DLC. Obviously this creates huge problems with cash-flow, especially when the development of the next title is delayed. You cannot solve this by trying to squeeze money out of the community by re-selling them products that they have already bought, it will not work. Look at the backlash that's been generated, look at the effect on Snail games' share price. 

    Continue down this road and it will be the financial ruin of Wildcard.

    Edited by CrazyCello
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    8 minutes ago, CrazyCello said:

    Nobody asked for a UE5 upgrade to ASE.

    Actually a lot of people asked for ASE to be upgraded to UE5, people have asked for that ever since UE5 released.

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    On 4/13/2023 at 8:38 PM, Jasiku said:

    Thankyou so much for choosing to sunset the ASE codebase.  It was full of bugs and long overdue and I was not going to continue to support that ($) going into ARK 2.  This is great news to me and I will be returning!

     

    Jas

    sunsetting ase 'codebase' ? hahahahaha so pray tell me Mr Jas what code do you think is asa going to be using for u to continue to play? and in less than 5 months get all them bugs removed, add all the features they have advertised AND release it ON TIME? 

     

    or just another bot?

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    11 hours ago, Luizza said:

    These 2 maps at launch would make a massive difference. Rag is still my favourite map, imagine being stuck on the island (with brief trips to scorched for wyvern eggs) after years of being able to access Rag, doesn't bear thinking about really.

    no maewings /  cryofridges etc etc without SOME of the free DLC  which they are not releasing for a while due to wanting to sell and needing to upgrade the maps first ....

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    5 minutes ago, Duffmek said:

    no maewings /  cryofridges etc etc without SOME of the free DLC  which they are not releasing for a while due to wanting to sell and needing to upgrade the maps first ....

    I think they want to recreate the early days of releasing things often to create hype - problem is there's far less hype if uv already played the map before. I'm starting to think more and more I just can't be bothered to go through it all again. I would with all new maps perhaps...but the same again, bit tedious. The magic is lost.

    Also starting to feel more solidarity with my old official friends tbh and may just boycott for the horrible way they have been treated. Not feeling very benevolent towards WC these days unfortunately.

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    Imagine if they release a UE5 map 10x the size of "The Island". I'd love that as DLC.

    Edited by DreadMaverick

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    On 4/13/2023 at 12:48 PM, GP said:

    How wrong can you be. I'd hardly say everybody would be happy with pay-2-win mechanics.

    Not everybudy, its true. But many people yes, and everybody accept this better,  becouze if you can buy "Instant tame potion" i just said anyithing, not meaning, to i cant tame a dino, without that potion. I played many pay to win game, and i solve everything for free, what other people with payed. Just slower.

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    sigh just waiting on a NEW CC .. so thought I would drop this gem in here just to remind ALL of you how BAD this package is and to point out some stuff that people just blatantly ignore.

     

     

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