My #WalkAway Story...

[DemonicRuins]

Oooohhhhhh where to begin.... I started on Ark on PC EA around July of 2015, could have been June now that I think about it. I remember logging in for the first time completely awe struck.  I felt like a kid watching Jurrasic Park when it first came out back in 93 (yes I'm 30 and still gaming).  I couldn't wait to see what this game could become as development continued.  I've been around for Atari, NES, SEGA, Super Nintendo, DreamCast, N64, Playstation, XBox and of course the long life of the reigning supreme PC Master Race.

I remember running into glitches, exploits and etc during the EA and the fanboy inside of me always would say don't worry they'll fix that long before launch. I remember people flaming the game on forums and instantly coming to Arks Defense would shut it down through facts accrued over a long life of gaming.

After getting married and having a family it came time to put the PC down and start picking up consoles again given my wife could join me on epic adventures and fun at the same time (she could never get the hang of PC gaming but could at least participate on consoles and enjoy it) so sacrifices had to be made. For those of you saying "hell giving up your PC, thats grounds for divorce" and I would reply trust me there was always that voice in the back of my head lol.

I began playing on PS4 as my chosen console after hearing nothing but bad things about the XBox from fellow OGs (original gamers lol). I discovered that Ark was also on the PS4! Could it be true I wondered. Could I continue my childhood Nostalgia on the PS4? After a quick search I found the game on the store and insta bought it. This would be the 2nd time I had purchased Ark and for us older gamers that's sort of a big deal to spend money twice on the same product. Shortly after this time Aberration was making its appearance and I quickly bought that as well.  Have to say I loved Abb and it's without a doubt my favorite map.

I have to give credit where credit is due, Ark will inevitably go down in gaming history as a true experience that any gamer should give a shot but now we must come to why many including myself are walking away.

On the PS4 platform the game is literally plagued with DDoS, meshing, stressing and etc. For literally 2 weeks straight now the server I play... played on was under a DDoS and stress. Countless hours of 255 ping, rubber banding and etc. I don't believe I can even count the number of babies, tames and gear that have been lost. Granted I had heard stories of this but like most thought "Yea not gonna happen to me". Ticket after ticket was put in and received nothing more than the unambiguous auto response which did nothing but start stoking the flames of hatred towards WC and Nitrado who actually host the shards.

Hatred is a funny thing. It can literally kill years long love and devotion for a game in seconds and start ramping up ideas of conspiracy and suspicion. I like many others began diving into the Histories of Wild Card and it didn't take long to start finding piles of inconsistencies. Problems like the ones I was reporting and worse spanning years without fix. To add fuel to the fire Wild Card instead of fixing the unbelievable amount of issues chose to continue to develop and release more DLCs and cross over to even more platforms.  All encompassing that very primitive desire of greed. Greed for more money over quality of their game.  If history can tell us anything it's that nothing is too big to fail. I dont know the ages of the developers but in my decades of gaming I have seen many massive games fail due to incompetence and poor decision making. A quick google search can validate these claims.

So last night after going through another server stress I put down my controller and slept on it. Waking fresh this morning I decided to delete Ark off the hard drive and start looking elsewhere to fill the hole that Ark would be creating.  I didn't delete the game out of emotion or misplaced rage hence the sleeping on it. It only became the most logical step. Why continue to support a game where the dev's of that game don't support their patrons. It's like beaten wife syndrome when you think about it.  I truly do hope Wild Card takes notice of the players leaving and the reasons they're leaving and does a 180 on their current path.  I don't expect there are many games like Ark on the market so finding that replacement will take time but I am open to suggestions.

If Wild Card is open to suggestions I have a couple I believe could help. First and foremost start using dedicated servers. Having a great number of shards shared on one server opens you up to a slew of problems when it comes to DDoSing. If one Shard is under a DDoS the others experience the stress as well given they are tied to the same Server Rig. Secondly hire actual GMs to police your game. If some shady stuff goes down on a server GMs should be able to respond within minutes, not weeks. Thirdly your ticket response time is the worst I have ever seen of any game I have ever played in decades. So try and work on that. Fourthly listen to your players. At the end of the day they are the ones that keep your lights on and they are the ones that can turn your lights off. Games rise and fall all the time.

I imagine this post will either be deleted or flamed with fanboys coming to WCs defense and I can respect that. I too did that years ago. I truly hope WC starts taking notice of the mentioned issues and does their due diligence to correct them and bring back players including myself. I mainly mentioned PS4 problems only because I haven't been on PC in over a year and I have no personal experience with XBox to talk about it. My own tribe doesn't know I've quit yet, cant imagine that will go over well.

Take care and good gaming this is my #WalkAway story.

 

P.S. If anyone else has walked away and has games they have gone to that follow along with the genre PM them to me please.

[Aylana314159]

Great post. I really feel for the console players being sold a game that a fraction of the steam version of the game.

 

I would never play on unmoderated official servers. It's me running my own server or other unofficials with transparent admins. Steam version with more settings and of course mods, is just awesome. But admins are needed to deal with bugs, glitches, human nature. It nice be able to discord message and get a quick response, unless they are sleeping.

[DemonicRuins]

1 hour ago, Aylana314159 said:

Great post. I really feel for the console players being sold a game that a fraction of the steam version of the game.

 

I would never play on unmoderated official servers. It's me running my own server or other unofficials with transparent admins. Steam version with more settings and of course mods, is just awesome. But admins are needed to deal with bugs, glitches, human nature. It nice be able to discord message and get a quick response, unless they are sleeping.

I've tried getting into Unofficial but it's always the same... only really populated servers are tragically overly boosted making the game boring really quickly. Then u have the somewhat not so boosted servers that are dead.

[d1nk]

Well at least you had a good non-flamey write up.

How long until you realize there is no game like Ark and reinstall I wonder? Especially for consoles.. Most of your woes with Ark could be fixed by playing on a private server once you get past that official mentality of 'admin abuse' or 'server just shutting down' (I have yet to experience this - almost 2000 hrs on unofficial and the same on Official)

Since you claim to be "old" (Im the same age - unfortunatley we arent considered old yet  ) You can get behind a subscription model, which is what Ark basically becomes when you rent your own server. 

[DemonicRuins]

4 minutes ago, d1nk said:

Well at least you had a good non-flamey write up.

How long until you realize there is no game like Ark and reinstall I wonder? Especially for consoles.. Most of your woes with Ark could be fixed by playing on a private server once you get past that official mentality of 'admin abuse' or 'server just shutting down' (I have yet to experience this - almost 2000 hrs on unofficial and the same on Official)

Since you claim to be "old" (Im the same age - unfortunatley we arent considered old yet  ) You can get behind a subscription model, which is what Ark basically becomes when you rent your own server. 

Are there unofficial servers with a sub model on ps4, not talking micro transactions for advantages

[d1nk]

Just now, DemonicRuins said:

Are there unofficial servers with a sub model on ps4, not talking micro transactions for advantages

Might be - thats not what I was talking about though. I meant more paying for your own server which solves your lagg and most of the glitches and bugs. 

Im sure you could get a few people together and rent a server and get a community going. 

[Demerus]

[BaldBudgie]

You and you're wife are welcome to join mine if you ever come back ?

Its only me and 2 others. We only use it to complete the story and practice raiding on bases I build with another account. For pvp i go on someone else server and wreak havoc. 

[Corrigan]

The Game is just.. a cash cow ? at the moment for WC. This company is NOT capable of dealing with the responsibilities that otherwise define a fortune company. They lucked out with a great game but everything else about them is garbage. It is what it is, but that, at the end of the day, is what most of our ‘walking away’ stories typically lean on- the fact they are incapable of handling the responsibilities that other fortune companies can. They got cash quickly, invested it horribly, and now will rely on a potentially successful sequel to the game for a second cash cow. Some leave because they just get bored, yes I know. 

[Coolio]

3 minutes ago, Corrigan said:

The Game is just.. a cash cow ? at the moment for WC. This company is NOT capable of dealing with the responsibilities that otherwise define a fortune company. They lucked out with a great game but everything else about them is garbage. It is what it is, but that, at the end of the day, is what most of our ‘walking away’ stories typically lean on- the fact they are incapable of handling the responsibilities that other fortune companies can. They got cash quickly, invested it horribly, and now will rely on a potentially successful sequel to the game for a second cash cow. Some leave because they just get bored, yes I know. 

lawl. Agreed.

[DemonicRuins]

3 hours ago, Corrigan said:

The Game is just.. a cash cow ? at the moment for WC. This company is NOT capable of dealing with the responsibilities that otherwise define a fortune company. They lucked out with a great game but everything else about them is garbage. It is what it is, but that, at the end of the day, is what most of our ‘walking away’ stories typically lean on- the fact they are incapable of handling the responsibilities that other fortune companies can. They got cash quickly, invested it horribly, and now will rely on a potentially successful sequel to the game for a second cash cow. Some leave because they just get bored, yes I know. 

Agree and disagree. Agree to them investing money horribly. Disagree to not being capable.  I believe they are more tha  capable of righting the wrongs. Whether by their own hand or hiring more experienced help. I just believe they're ignorant to it.

[LouSpowells]

Yep. Ark is a cash cow. Someone walking away from milk they have soured to is one thing, but expecting the farmer to take the cow out back and shoot it on behalf of their palate is silly. 

[Jacira]

20 minutes ago, LouSpowells said:

Yep. Ark is a cash cow. Someone walking away from milk they have soured to is one thing, but expecting the farmer to take the cow out back and shoot it on behalf of their palate is silly. 

Your analogy is flawed.

How about someone asking the farmer to take the cow out back and review the cow's dietary habits so that the cow's milk tastes better?

[LouSpowells]

Just now, Jacira said:

Your analogy is flawed.

My analogy is exactly as I intended it, you're applying new context.

[Mensana21]

8 hours ago, Aylana314159 said:

Great post. I really feel for the console players being sold a game that a fraction of the steam version of the game.

@Aylana314159 Hello, 
I don't understand what you mean, what exactly is the difference between the Steam version and PS4 version ? 
The thing I note is that the Steam version is more expensive than the one you can buy on PS4 store network (by 20$ if I remember correctly). But beside the price, is there other différences ? 

[Aylana314159]

21 minutes ago, Mensana21 said:

@Aylana314159 Hello, 
I don't understand what you mean, what exactly is the difference between the Steam version and PS4 version ? 
The thing I note is that the Steam version is more expensive than the one you can buy on PS4 store network (by 20$ if I remember correctly). But beside the price, is there other différences ? 

 

The full price is the same other than when sales happen. Steam PC version has access to steam workshop mods, to better server tools, all backup files,  more configuration. Console version don't get all this.

 

Consoles cannot reverse the flyer nerf.

[Jacira]

1 hour ago, LouSpowells said:

My analogy is exactly as I intended it, you're applying new context.

Then your intention is wrong, the OP never asked them to "shoot the cow" because they didn't like it, they're simply trying to offer suggestions as to how the milk can taste better. Secondly, calling ark a cash cow is a far cry from the actual money milking companies in the gaming industry today. Ark has no micro-transactions and they have a zero tolerance policy on anyone trading in real currency (pay-to-win schemes).

The only money they make is off DLC and multiple copies per person sold (which is a testament to the amount of content in this game). Both of these are very common and imo fair too.

I'm far from a fangirl or Wild Card apologist. But at least get your argument correct if you're going to make it at all.

[Mensana21]

Thank you Aylana314159 for for the specifications. 
OP made it clear that he's tired of the bugs in this game, but does the single player mode (campain) crashes/bugs on PS4 too ?

[ChargingParacerParacer]

1 hour ago, Aylana314159 said:

 

The full price is the same other than when sales happen. Steam PC version has access to steam workshop mods, to better server tools, all backup files,  more configuration. Console version don't get all this.

 

Consoles cannot reverse the flyer nerf.

And since WC lies at a fairly consistent basis us consolers probably never will be able to reverse it. They have made vague mentions of putting Ini. settings to fix it throughout the year but I would bet money on it never happening.

[Corrigan]

13 hours ago, DemonicRuins said:

Agree and disagree. Agree to them investing money horribly. Disagree to not being capable.  I believe they are more tha  capable of righting the wrongs. Whether by their own hand or hiring more experienced help. I just believe they're ignorant to it.

Ah, I mean if we think about this logically, I’m assuming that this cash cow of theirs presented a steep learning curve for them with where to invest their money, planning, a better business model, etc.  I do not doubt that with Ark 2 they will be better equipped to deal with issues both beforehand and as they come. So to be fair, Ark2 will REALLY determine whether or not this company really means to be a competitor on the market after the cash cow has died or as someone else mentioned, who’s milk has gone sour. All I was saying was as of this very moment, this company screwed themselves on many levels, potentially unforeseen, in comparison to what they could have been- and I do believe that’s in part because of  where they invested their money. I obviously do NOT want to see them fade away into oblivion like so many other companies as I really did enjoy Ark for the time I played, but the reasons why so many of us quit are due to the lack of support and priority that should have been given. I’m well aware their support team is undeniably overwhelmed and understaffed, but my point is that exactly: why did they not invest more money into staff or fixing issues as a priority? Many have given the excuse that it’s becsuse it’s impractical for them at this point at both a financial and practical level. Ok, that’s fine- so now that they’ve learned from the curve, Ark 2 should be better equipped. So I guess we will see what happens when Ark 2 is released. 

 

*Edit: 

I truly do desire for this company to be successful via their products. My criticism is meant to be genuine in that regard. 

[zeroBurnAcidCool]

22 minutes ago, Corrigan said:

I’m well aware their support team is undeniably overwhelmed and understaffed, but my point is that exactly: why did they not invest more money into staff or fixing issues as a priority? Many have given the excuse that it’s becsuse it’s impractical for them at this point at both a financial and practical level. Ok, that’s fine- so now that they’ve learned from the curve, Ark 2 should be better equipped. So I guess we will see what happens when Ark 2 is released. 

*Edit: 

I truly do desire for this company to be successful via their products. My criticism is meant to be genuine in that regard. 

Probably once they announced a launch "the official launch..." investors said no more spending it is time to give back x amount% before spending more.   Usually a launch of a game eliminates workers and keeps the main staff to maintain things, the system they made didn't account for all the issues that came up, whether this tame cap is real or not, it is presented as a game breaking issue, and the speculation is the devs did it to retain more funds, if that is true really doesn't no matter too much as it looks bad either way.

Though thinking about that a bit further you see that it almost also makes sense, seeing as legacy servers still retain their existence so the fall back for the launch of the dlc is legacy servers.

 

Smh and people still want ark 2 after this mess, well i hope someone gifts me that cause i doubt i'll jump back on this nightmare with my own money.

To op:

Sry to see you go but we all understand.

[DemonicRuins]

Really just to clairfy...  I'm walking away from false hopes... I would be more than happy if WC just came out and said "Yea we've gone too far to really fix the issues that are plaguing the game right now. What we've done is taken note of the wrongs and the rights and have a good idea of where to go with Ark 2. This has been a learning experience, trial by fire and we have learned. We now have the data, capital and knowledge to really make Ark the best it can be."..... just saying that would give peace to soooooo many players. Instead we get the unambiguous answers and saving face answers instead of actual answers. Transparency or the lack there of has destroyed games beyond counting. Just dont want to see this game suffer that fate.

[LouSpowells]

18 hours ago, Jacira said:

Then your intention is wrong, the OP never asked them to "shoot the cow" because they didn't like it, they're simply trying to offer suggestions as to how the milk can taste better. Secondly, calling ark a cash cow is a far cry from the actual money milking companies in the gaming industry today. Ark has no micro-transactions and they have a zero tolerance policy on anyone trading in real currency (pay-to-win schemes).

The only money they make is off DLC and multiple copies per person sold (which is a testament to the amount of content in this game). Both of these are very common and imo fair too.

I'm far from a fangirl or Wild Card apologist. But at least get your argument correct if you're going to make it at all.

My intention is wrong? You're not qualified to make that assertion. If you'd like me to expound, say so...don't fill in the blanks yourself and argue against your own perception.

[Jacira]

2 hours ago, LouSpowells said:

My intention is wrong? You're not qualified to make that assertion. If you'd like me to expound, say so...don't fill in the blanks yourself and argue against your own perception.

Okay then, I apologise if I was making a straw-man argument.

Expound good sir, expound.

[DemonicRuins]

22 hours ago, Jacira said:

The only money they make is off DLC and multiple copies per person sold (which is a testament to the amount of content in this game). Both of these are very common and imo fair too.

Pretty sure they get a cut from any and all private server hosting sites.  Would only make sense since it's their IP.  I however agree with your overall point.