Community Created Content: Butchering a Vision

[Rio4201]

Community Created Content: Butchering a Vision

So, here we are with scattered information about the latest map 'Crystal Isles' slated to be released on a delay until June 11th 2020.  However, news is already making it's way across the community about the re-works that Wildcard have made to the map and it once again looks like it's going to be a disappointment. Much like Valguero, which in it's glory days before being touched by the Wildcard team, offered a large range of dinos including many aberration specific creatures. However, the stance the studio continues to take regarding map design and the content allowed on it continues to be one of ignorance and neglect.  The official stance is to insist that each map be unique to one another with what dinos and resources are available thus creating a dependency on transferring to other maps to get any variety of exclusive items or resources.  The fact is, this is a ridiculously outdated and inept stance at this point.  With the verified and heavily reported issues with transferring and having characters systematically lost in the system it's high time maps that allow for the full range of resources and creatures be included in official and community releases.  

Personally, I find it irritating to have to update more than one or two bases on separate maps, its time consuming, aggravating and with the decay timers steadily ticking down it's just plain ridiculous.  Something clearly needs to change here, whether it be by adding synchronization to the login process that systematically updates decay timers on all maps, or by eliminating the need to hold multiple bases by removing the restrictive measures taken to each new map.  While it is speculation, everything seems to be pointing at a final destination on Earth in the lore, a large map or several large maps covering a vast world in which the survivors of the Arks must traverse, reclaim and rebuild. 

What the community really needs are maps that offer everything the other maps do, a place where they can establish a home base and keep it without having to constantly move between maps at great risk to the player to tame things that could otherwise be included. 

With this newest map, the rumor mill with some facts clearly verified by those who sat in on the ISO Dev discord meeting, indicates that Crystal Isles is another victimized map by Wildcard that has been stripped of the unique things that players who loved the map prior to it becoming official will undoubtedly miss and probably find aggravating. Rock Drakes, Griffins, Ice Wyverns, and many others have been torn from the map according to several sources, and the liquefied dinos are no more.  I think I can speak for a good portion of the community when I ask, "Why would I bother trying the map out if you are going to take the best parts of it out?"  Another thought I've been having is, "It would be nice if they'd at the very least upload the map when finished, prior to launching it to all the servers so that those of us who may want to look first before making a mistake in transferring over, get that chance in singleplayer or through the Ark Editor.  

 

Ultimately, the people responsible for providing the vision for the map that was accepted by WC get to watch their vision and hard work get dissected and turned into something that doesn't by any means reflect the original vision and that in itself has to be heart wrenching for those who spent all that time and effort on the design and implementation.    Don't get me wrong, I understand that certain dinos shouldn't be allowed when it comes to the PVP aspect to keep that gameplay balanced, but as a PVE player I like to take my collection with me when I move to a new map and I still enjoy using that said collection when possible even if just for showing off.  

 

In any case, those were my thoughts on this whole thing, I can only speak for myself when I say that if that was my map design and if any of what's been published is true, I'd be completely irate at this point, it's simply butchery of a wonderful map with an extremely creative and well thought out purpose. It's shameful. 

[Aylana314159]

WC could require purchase of the paid DLC to get access to the free DLC. After all that where the new creatures and items come from. Or stop turning mods into official content.

[Rio4201]

4 minutes ago, Aylana314159 said:

WC could require purchase of the paid DLC to get access to the free DLC. After all that where the new creatures and items come from. Or stop turning mods into official content.

That's true, but then again, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot by doing either one of those.   This however isn't about what they could do or could not do, it's what they "should" do. I firmly believe they should respect the creators vision, and if they won't, they shouldn't be using it. But that's just me.

[Aylana314159]

Just now, Rio4201 said:

That's true, but then again, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot by doing either one of those.   This however isn't about what they could do or could not do, it's what they "should" do. I firmly believe they should respect the creators vision, and if they won't, they shouldn't be using it. But that's just me.

It dosen't work that way. Once mods become official content, they are under official development.

[Rio4201]

1 minute ago, Aylana314159 said:

It dosen't work that way. Once mods become official content, they are under official development.

Unfortunately you are right, it's just a shame to see a map that actually gained its popularity with the unique aspects of the map design get gutted like a fish.

[Cowgirl]

They could do it to where there are the edited versions they want to put on official clusters but then the original where it is not a cluster, but a stand alone, still on official but not clustered.