With ASA the UE5 upgrade coming out, I wanted to voice some concerns I had for missed opportunities for it and some of its DLCs releases from the ASE versions.
First, is anything to make the world feel more alive would be an amazing start. These are all ideas to cherry pick from but all together would make an amazing experience exploring the map.
Herding. Things we think of as Herding Species moving together in unison. Unless panicked for example.
Seeking water with drinking animations when thirsty (even though creatures don’t have thirst meters a pseudo one just for effect could add a lot of realism when wandering around the map)
Adding resting animations would do a lot also but would probably be difficult to add for each creature.
Having preferred Prey, and/or Prey Sizes, that predators choose to hunt. Also if it can be done without making things to complicated, making smaller creatures of different species react and flee from something large, like a Rex, coming in and attacking something. Instead of everything of a different species just wandering around the attack obliviously and just waiting to be the next victim.
Breath spout animations for marine mammals and reptiles, a tail slap on the water for whales diving would be an amazing touch. Things like ichthyosaurs and megalodon being able to breach the water surface like the manta ray. Adding splash effects when things interact with the water would really add a lot also.
These are first because they are very surface level and not as important, but would add a lot to the over all visual experience of playing ARK. They are probably less likely to get added but would be a major benefit to the game as a whole.
The next thing I would also like to suggest is focusing on Extinction in particular, and giving it another layer of gameplay rather than just "Get Mek Beat Titans". Also I would double check if Orbital Drop and Element Vein waves could use some rebalancing between solo players and tribes respectively.
And a BIG one. I highly suggest exploring your options with the buildings in Sanctuary City:
They could be PVP levels with just empty halls and rooms you can’t build in (but can build in on PVE/Single Player),
they could hold mysteries and answers for the over all world story, or links to the animated series,
they could have unique machines to use, or resources to gather,
they could be a unique ecosystem for a new strange creature added to Extinction, (Huge Ugly Roaches/Bugs maybe)
they could even lead to a new underground ecosystem that connects to the underground forest.
Or a little bit of each.
I just feel all those, or at least a few of those buildings not being explorable was a missed opportunity for that particular map. They could really add another dimension, and another unique reason to enjoy and replay Extinction. I always thought that you should have to accomplish something like flipping a switch in each bio-dome or something to unlock the first building in the city that you could go in. Then in the first building you could find a switch to unlock the next somehow, and so on and so forth to open all of them by clearing the building before it and stumbling across "the switch" to open the next. Making the map bigger as you explore them and find new things to help your journey. That would of been epic. More of a linear progression aspect than most maps have in ARK but I think with the right mysteries sprinkled throughout the journey, with 1 or 2 neat creatures only found inside, and maybe a mini-boss or two, could really breath a new life into Extinction and really set it apart.
I just wanted to mention that if possible, please give the community maps that never got one, like The Center Map & Ragnarok, etc. the new official mod-map treatment of at least one-to-three unique creatures and a unique boss. An aquatic boss has been begged for and would fit a water-themed Center Map extremely well. A Kraken on Ragnarok does make sense though also. I just feel when you started doing that to the community maps it was a great idea that kind of spoiled us and now the other older community maps just feel lacking comparatively.
Next, I would really like you guys to thoroughly test and rebalance a lot of the major events, like boss battles for each map, caves, etc. to be challenging but actually passable without having to cheat for the average player. Unless on hardest difficulty, but even hardest difficulty should still be passable by survivors without having to cheat in anyway. Grinding to get the gear and creatures you need is fine but at least double check all difficulties are passable for a solo player and still challenging for a tribe. That goes double for the missions of Genesis Expansions...
This is the main reason I made this forum post: Genesis Missions
Genesis Missions had some good concepts but some of them were insanely difficult, and others just repetitive...
I would rebalance them and try to find ways to make them more of an enjoyable experience. I don’t know what is actually possible with that honestly… but I just feel with you rebuilding them it is a good opportunity to make them as fun as I think you intended originally for them to be, but maybe didn’t have the time to implement, or now with hindsight you might of thought you could of improved on.
Maybe even a community submission of Fun Genesis Mission Ideas with community votes on them beforehand.
I think Genesis had a lot more going on than it got credit for initially because some of it just didn’t mesh together as well as other parts of ARK. I just feel it’s a good chance to give it a little higher standing with survivors. New kinds of missions:
like tranq taming a specific creature that rewards more hexagons the higher the level it tames out at.
Mini-boss battles in specific locations that feel unique, like a specific fun defeat-mechanic for instance. (Zelda)
Stealing eggs and getting away somehow without hurting the parents when they chase you.
A for the most part, straight-away-Air-Race from one end of the Eden Ring, through space in the middle, and then continuing to the other end of the Rockwell Ring.
All kinds of fun mini games could be added to replace the repetitive missions. I just think that all of them should feel more like a fun game rather than a difficult task even if it is presented as one.
Last is making some of the insanely difficult tames and challenges a little easier that don’t really need to be so dang hard lol. Challenging is good but making us pull our hair out is not lol. Just making sure when you guys test play beforehand that you tame everything a few times in a row to really think how players will feel attempting to themselves. And run all the missions, caves and bosses a few times for the same reason also.
Changing chain bola to the net gun for Tropeognathus for instance, making Amarga not so insanely difficult to tame along with others in its tier of just insane difficulty. Anything that you can not tame 2-3 of them in a row, without it being an all day event or a miserable experience, needs to be tweaked at least a little bit. They don’t need to be easy, just not irritatingly difficult.
Just remember to make sure every major aspect of the game that you want all the players to routinely go through to clear a map/level are fun over just hard to beat. Everything should get you excited to attempt it, never discouraged or irritated. If you can accomplish that while adding new fun content to keep it fresh, and give every bit of the game from start to finish as much love and attention as it deserves, I think you will be alright with the ASA release at least.
Really hope you consider these ideas and implement as many as makes sense, and is possible. I guarantee they will go over well. Especially for the price point argument.
Suggestion
GhostCreep
With ASA the UE5 upgrade coming out, I wanted to voice some concerns I had for missed opportunities for it and some of its DLCs releases from the ASE versions.
First, is anything to make the world feel more alive would be an amazing start. These are all ideas to cherry pick from but all together would make an amazing experience exploring the map.
Herding. Things we think of as Herding Species moving together in unison. Unless panicked for example.
Seeking water with drinking animations when thirsty (even though creatures don’t have thirst meters a pseudo one just for effect could add a lot of realism when wandering around the map)
Adding resting animations would do a lot also but would probably be difficult to add for each creature.
Having preferred Prey, and/or Prey Sizes, that predators choose to hunt. Also if it can be done without making things to complicated, making smaller creatures of different species react and flee from something large, like a Rex, coming in and attacking something. Instead of everything of a different species just wandering around the attack obliviously and just waiting to be the next victim.
Breath spout animations for marine mammals and reptiles, a tail slap on the water for whales diving would be an amazing touch. Things like ichthyosaurs and megalodon being able to breach the water surface like the manta ray. Adding splash effects when things interact with the water would really add a lot also.
These are first because they are very surface level and not as important, but would add a lot to the over all visual experience of playing ARK. They are probably less likely to get added but would be a major benefit to the game as a whole.
The next thing I would also like to suggest is focusing on Extinction in particular, and giving it another layer of gameplay rather than just "Get Mek Beat Titans". Also I would double check if Orbital Drop and Element Vein waves could use some rebalancing between solo players and tribes respectively.
And a BIG one. I highly suggest exploring your options with the buildings in Sanctuary City:
They could be PVP levels with just empty halls and rooms you can’t build in (but can build in on PVE/Single Player),
they could hold mysteries and answers for the over all world story, or links to the animated series,
they could have unique machines to use, or resources to gather,
they could be a unique ecosystem for a new strange creature added to Extinction, (Huge Ugly Roaches/Bugs maybe)
they could even lead to a new underground ecosystem that connects to the underground forest.
Or a little bit of each.
I just feel all those, or at least a few of those buildings not being explorable was a missed opportunity for that particular map. They could really add another dimension, and another unique reason to enjoy and replay Extinction. I always thought that you should have to accomplish something like flipping a switch in each bio-dome or something to unlock the first building in the city that you could go in. Then in the first building you could find a switch to unlock the next somehow, and so on and so forth to open all of them by clearing the building before it and stumbling across "the switch" to open the next. Making the map bigger as you explore them and find new things to help your journey. That would of been epic. More of a linear progression aspect than most maps have in ARK but I think with the right mysteries sprinkled throughout the journey, with 1 or 2 neat creatures only found inside, and maybe a mini-boss or two, could really breath a new life into Extinction and really set it apart.
I just wanted to mention that if possible, please give the community maps that never got one, like The Center Map & Ragnarok, etc. the new official mod-map treatment of at least one-to-three unique creatures and a unique boss. An aquatic boss has been begged for and would fit a water-themed Center Map extremely well. A Kraken on Ragnarok does make sense though also. I just feel when you started doing that to the community maps it was a great idea that kind of spoiled us and now the other older community maps just feel lacking comparatively.
Next, I would really like you guys to thoroughly test and rebalance a lot of the major events, like boss battles for each map, caves, etc. to be challenging but actually passable without having to cheat for the average player. Unless on hardest difficulty, but even hardest difficulty should still be passable by survivors without having to cheat in anyway. Grinding to get the gear and creatures you need is fine but at least double check all difficulties are passable for a solo player and still challenging for a tribe. That goes double for the missions of Genesis Expansions...
This is the main reason I made this forum post: Genesis Missions
Genesis Missions had some good concepts but some of them were insanely difficult, and others just repetitive...
I would rebalance them and try to find ways to make them more of an enjoyable experience. I don’t know what is actually possible with that honestly… but I just feel with you rebuilding them it is a good opportunity to make them as fun as I think you intended originally for them to be, but maybe didn’t have the time to implement, or now with hindsight you might of thought you could of improved on.
Maybe even a community submission of Fun Genesis Mission Ideas with community votes on them beforehand.
I think Genesis had a lot more going on than it got credit for initially because some of it just didn’t mesh together as well as other parts of ARK. I just feel it’s a good chance to give it a little higher standing with survivors. New kinds of missions:
like tranq taming a specific creature that rewards more hexagons the higher the level it tames out at.
Mini-boss battles in specific locations that feel unique, like a specific fun defeat-mechanic for instance. (Zelda)
Stealing eggs and getting away somehow without hurting the parents when they chase you.
A for the most part, straight-away-Air-Race from one end of the Eden Ring, through space in the middle, and then continuing to the other end of the Rockwell Ring.
All kinds of fun mini games could be added to replace the repetitive missions. I just think that all of them should feel more like a fun game rather than a difficult task even if it is presented as one.
Last is making some of the insanely difficult tames and challenges a little easier that don’t really need to be so dang hard lol. Challenging is good but making us pull our hair out is not lol. Just making sure when you guys test play beforehand that you tame everything a few times in a row to really think how players will feel attempting to themselves. And run all the missions, caves and bosses a few times for the same reason also.
Changing chain bola to the net gun for Tropeognathus for instance, making Amarga not so insanely difficult to tame along with others in its tier of just insane difficulty. Anything that you can not tame 2-3 of them in a row, without it being an all day event or a miserable experience, needs to be tweaked at least a little bit. They don’t need to be easy, just not irritatingly difficult.
Just remember to make sure every major aspect of the game that you want all the players to routinely go through to clear a map/level are fun over just hard to beat. Everything should get you excited to attempt it, never discouraged or irritated. If you can accomplish that while adding new fun content to keep it fresh, and give every bit of the game from start to finish as much love and attention as it deserves, I think you will be alright with the ASA release at least.
Really hope you consider these ideas and implement as many as makes sense, and is possible. I guarantee they will go over well. Especially for the price point argument.
Thank you for your time.
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