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New content vs quality of life


Dago8b4u

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1 hour ago, Glydyr said:

New maps, creatures and stuff make them money, bug fixing doesnt make them money or very little. 
 

i just wish gamers would be up for paying for a dlc that only fixed stuff, then these companies could put the effort into it.

How about gamers paying for a game that is actually polished when they say it is? At the moment it feels like early access all over again.

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4 hours ago, Glydyr said:

The only way to really polish a game is to completely stop changing it and stop adding stuff at all, does anyone want that? 

That is not true. A lot of other titles manage to introduce polished DLCs and new content. How? By thoroughly testing everything BEFORE actually releasing stuff. That's why there is always a Q&A. Arks Q&A team is either too small, too busy, too inefficient or not actually there. With most of the recent big patches there was something so gamebraking that they had to either reverse the patch or quickly release 2-3 patches to fix the first one. Before Ark I have never ever experienced such bad testing before releasing new content. And I played my fare share of games. And I have yet to encounter a game where these problems also apply.

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I think, as it has been previously stated, that it really depends on how you play the game. 

Now I know that losing something to kiting, meshing, bad coding, or some other unfair or game breaking update is a major frustration to many. So I can understand how to some, the wish for a pause in new items, maps, creatures, and gameplay would take priority, if it meant those items would be fixed faster. 

However, not all of those issues affect everyone the same way. PvP vs PvE have different experiences and so do the Official players vs Unofficial players. 

Personally, because of the way that I and my friends play we prefer the route that continues to supply new content. I play unofficially. I simply don't have time for official. And because I also run the cluster I play on, whenever possible I use the codes I can to find a work around or a fix for something that has broken, I do what I can to make a change. 

  • An example using the bee's: Can't get honey from hives or catch new bee's? Then we add a chance for honey in drops, to a creatures inventory so it can be hunted and claimed, or offer to code in some bee's (if we can) for an in game price/currency. 

So those issues while major to some, do not tend to affect us as often. And as we are a medium sized  group who often play together, even though we are either solo's or different tribes, the kiting, meshing, game lag, and such are not an issue for us. 

So for us, to simply turn off the work on new content in order to fix every issue in game is simply not something any of us would wish for. We like the new content and are always waiting to see what else we may be able to play with. 

That said, I prefer they keep it the way they are. New content with a mix of fixes. I would like them to test it more before releasing it to minimize future issues, but even if they do not go that route, I would rather they keep it the way they have it. Essentially giving a bit to both parties (those that prefer new content and those that want straight fixes) by way of the separate teams working on the different projects.

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Sry to hear OP, I was thinking of taming a few more bees as backups but glad I read this post first. I've been playing ARK since early access, and have quit and come back multiple times due to having been fed up with just how broken the game really is. It's not the broken game that gets ya though, its when the game kills your tames or destroys hundreds of hours of work due to a bug that everyone knows about. ARK never really left early access, and is still an early beta experience.  If only Wildcard would acknowledge this obvious truth it would make the blunders much easier to forgive.

The biggest problem I see is that ARK has no long-term business model, i.e. you get what you pay for. The old business model of "buy once, play forever" worked well back when game engines were simpler and physics didn't require teraflops of calculations. But even back in the 1990's and early 2000's, MMO companies were smart enough to realize that they needed to have a constant revenue stream to keep their games in working order. Wildcard thinks they can buck that trend, but look where it's gotten them.  

So in my mind I see ARK as an egregiously underfunded venture, and if this game is ever to receive the quality attention it actually deserves then Wildcard needs to reconsider their business model. You could try and argue that ARK is not underfunded, but then you'd have to argue that the game developers are all incompetent bumbling idiots, and I don't think that's a fair assessment. Even the most competent employee is going to screw up constantly if they don't have the time or resources to accomplish a task. Even worse, if the development team at Wildcard are underfunded and/or understaffed, then any mistakes that are made sets them back that much further as it takes even more time to fix said mistakes. it's a one-two punch. Players get hosed, devs look like idiots, and wildcard's reputation remains at zero.

Wildcard need to hire a consultant that is well-versed in the mmo industry, restructure their entire development process, charge a monthly subsription and introduce two-tier server system so that free players can continue to experience horrible lag if they choose while subscribers can get good server performance, add an item shop with pet dinos and clothes and other crap, and bring ARK out of the beta experience that it is forever stuck in by building a revenue stream to hire more developers to fix the mountain of bugs that plague this game. 

I mean, i will still keep playing ARK for a long time, and I'm sure a lot of players don't want to see wildcard update their business model, but some of us would be willing to pay a subscription if it meant more stable servers and a more robust development team at wildcard.

Then again, maybe they're all just incompetent and I'm kidding myself.

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I can agree, but veteran ppl need new content to stick with Ark. 

I was lucky with the bugs, I didn't experience much from them. BUT building and foundations are still sux, I hate it ?

I just hope they can find balance between patching and content making.

Edit: One more thing. I understand WC need profit and its coming mostly from newly released expansions. I would be happy with a light subscription model if they can polish more on the older content with it.

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So you can’t play on rag anymore. Can’t refresh. So by the time they get around to fixing it, tames and bases will be wiped. Shocker. Velos r broke. Watch having them in turret mode. We’ve had 4 die in past 2 days with food in inventory. I’m assuming, since they use stam now, their food also drops, so they keep shooting spikes til they die. Awesome. I’ll pod them with the manas that they ruined. They supposedly fixed bee hives where u can get ur bee back. But now they arnt producing honey anymore. New update. Can’t log into any server now. Go wc. The important question is when is the map after genesis coming out? Cause we r running low on broken stuff in the game. A new map is exactly what this game needs hahaha. 

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I think maybe the main thing is they lack the staff and budget to address all the problems appropriately. Personally, I would like to see them come out with maybe some more cosmetic items or something for micro transactions to help them boost their funding so they could hire more people to solve the problems they seem to have so much trouble with. 

But on the issue overall, I prefer a game that runs and runs smoothly, rather than one that constantly has new shiny things for me to look at. 

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I do understand the point on funding. I play eso as well, and pay $15 a month for the plus. But that game is solid. I don’t think this game would change at all even with a monthly subscription and I certainly wouldn’t pay for it until I know that they fixed the game. I just wish they’d release an ark 2. Cause this game is beyond fixing imo. What I don’t understand is how gta keeps a solid game going for so long then without monthly fees etc. they’re still updating with new content, and the game is solid as a rock. Guess they’re just good at their jobs

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  • Volunteer Moderator
7 minutes ago, Dago8b4u said:
i saw this on Twitter. Had to repost here. Up to 50% that just want the game fixed. Only 8 hours left to vote

No disrespect towards the person that created the poll, but "fix the game first" is stupid to have on a poll. It is too generic, too wide.

For example, the game for me works fine, it doesn't need fixing. Yes there are bugs and stuff that would be nice to have fixed, but it's playable, so that doesn't really fit in that option.

The PS4 bluescreen issues are being resolved on 25th when Genesis release. This fix can't come sooner, it can only come on that date.

So you got to ask yourself, does the results of the poll provide anything useful in terms of what people want? No it doesn't, like many polls generally.

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57 minutes ago, GP said:

No disrespect towards the person that created the poll, but "fix the game first" is stupid to have on a poll. It is too generic, too wide.

For example, the game for me works fine, it doesn't need fixing. Yes there are bugs and stuff that would be nice to have fixed, but it's playable, so that doesn't really fit in that option.

The PS4 bluescreen issues are being resolved on 25th when Genesis release. This fix can't come sooner, it can only come on that date.

So you got to ask yourself, does the results of the poll provide anything useful in terms of what people want? No it doesn't, like many polls generally.

I beg to differ.  I'd like to be able to teleport to other maps.   Have the DLC skins I paid for work .   Asking that things work is not stupid.

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19 minutes ago, KrackenOne said:

I beg to differ.  I'd like to be able to teleport to other maps.   Have the DLC skins I paid for work .   Asking that things work is not stupid.

The point is "fix the game first" doesn't help anything.

This game will never be 100% bug free.

Also it's not necessarily the game that is not working properly it can sometimes be the servers. For example, you say you'd like to teleport to other maps.... well everyone that plays unofficial servers don't have problems transferring between maps. Is that a game issue or a server issue?

As I said "fix the game first" doesn't help anything as it's too generic.

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21 minutes ago, GP said:

The point is "fix the game first" doesn't help anything.

This game will never be 100% bug free.

Also it's not necessarily the game that is not working properly it can sometimes be the servers. For example, you say you'd like to teleport to other maps.... well everyone that plays unofficial servers don't have problems transferring between maps. Is that a game issue or a server issue?

As I said "fix the game first" doesn't help anything as it's too generic.

We'll have to disagree.  I see your point though.  I have started multiple tickets the answers I get are basically sorry that sucks, we cannot help.  Marking these as solved.  Servers are part of the tech stack that enables the game so to me they are part of the product.   I'm not asking for bugs, like clipping when you load in, ungodly random maturation timers I expect these they do not render the product useless.

Bottom line there are long term existing "bugs",  server instabilities and paid for content (DLC skins season pass) that are already not being delivered.  That should be "fixed" before introducing more in my opinion.

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27 minutes ago, GP said:

The point is "fix the game first" doesn't help anything.

This game will never be 100% bug free.

Also it's not necessarily the game that is not working properly it can sometimes be the servers. For example, you say you'd like to teleport to other maps.... well everyone that plays unofficial servers don't have problems transferring between maps. Is that a game issue or a server issue?

As I said "fix the game first" doesn't help anything as it's too generic.

One more thing.  My wife saw your forum avatar, she said they allow NSFW images by moderators?!?!?!

 

?

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Honestly, game support is one major thing that keeps me from looking forward to or trying any other games from Wildcard.  Way back in the day, SOE released the new expansion Shadows of Luclin and anyone running either an AMD cpu or gpu (one or the other, I forget which) found themselves with an unplayable game.  SOE had the game patched within 24 hours.  And it was the same with Blizzard and WoW (I haven't played in years, so I can't say how they are now).  Any major glitch that affected gameplay was usually hot patched within 24-48 hours or the update was rolled back until the issue was resolved.  Wildcard on the other hand seems to be content making players wait two weeks or more to fix game breaking glitches. 

And in all fairness and honesty, this isn't just a Wildcard thing.  Game developers in general just don't seem keen on actually fixing their games.  It is easier on them to just add a "Mods" feature so players can create/install their own fixes.  So long as gamers keep buying games and shrugging off 'minor bugs' as just the nature of the business, game developers just aren't going to be overly concerned with the quality of their products.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know it’s been a couple weeks since the last post but I have to side with making the game stable with even a 90% efficiency in regards to performance, minor bugs and just overall solid stability.  New content is great but it doesn’t help when it’s stacked on top of a game that in a lot of aspects is broken at it’s core.  I also have played this game since early access and have experienced many “DILO” moments in playing this game.  I too will give Wildcard credit, they have come a loooonnngggg way since I first picked up the controller and spawned on the beach for the first time, BUT there was also a tipping point where the game was actually quite stable after the center came out .  The change must have happened when I too took a break from the game for about 3 months and logged back in started playing and noticed all the things that were just messed up.   Now in regards to the comment that correlates to purchasing the dev kit if we could do a better job, there has been people who have and typical WC, they screw it up!  The center was a perfect example of what 1 guy could do and it made the development team at WC look like clowns.  Probably one of the reasons the center is my favorite map because the guy that designed that handed them a perfectly stable FINISHED product, all they had to do was insert the map into the game.
 

 I don’t know what the magic bullet is for WC to fix the game.  Yes I said fix the game, and yes it is a broad and vague statement because there are sooo many things broken in the game from little annoyances to the big game breakers.  It’s a broad range of problems with the game as a whole that build up and build on the frustration of the player base.  And yes it mainly revolves around officials because we are pretty much stuck with what we’re given.  What we’re given sometimes feels like ordering king crab legs and getting grocery store imitation crab meat, but paying for the king crab.   Ow I haven’t figured it up to get an accurate figure. But if someone where to buy the base game AND the genesis season pass AND all the other paid maps, if I’m not mistaken, will set ya back about $150-$200 bucks.  That’s fairly steep for a game that does still run like it’s early access still.

All games have problems and there is no magical bullet to fix ALL the bugs in a game, especially nowadays where video games are so much more intricate and complex than what they were even just 10 years ago. COD had issues, but 98% of them weren’t game breaking.  GTA also has issues, but 98% are not game breaking.  Now guided Activision and rockstar are much bigger conglomerates than Wildcard so the capital is more available to ensure stable polished content updates, but I’m a firm believer that Wildcard is more than capable of delivering a polished product to us the consumers.  I’m no programmer or developer and to be honest I couldn’t tell you the first step in coding or development of a game such as this, but I do know when something isn’t right.  
 

This has gone on forever but my honest opinion is that either the developers are just money hungry people who put out shotty work and have the attitude of “well we got your money so nah nah nah nah”, or they really are so deep over their heads in things to be fixed that they just are doing the bare minimum to get them through.  New content isn’t the answer either, and testing COMPLETELY and BEFORE launch time and letting the community test WC’s screw-ups would definitely be in order.  I’m gonna finish with this analogy......You don’t put ported &polished dart 202 heads on top of a 350 v8 that took every bearing in the motor block get torn out and expect it to run a 10s 1/4 mile!

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