Xenosmilus – Devourer of TEK Xeno „Strange“ Smilus „Smile“
"You really don't want that cat up your Tek pants and Tek housing when it's hangry."
Edit: Please read the description and don't judge creatures by design and fancy art/weapons or massive size alone.
The developers take both things into consideration and I would very much appreciate your time as well. 💙
If the dangerloaf gets into the top 10 until the 7th of September I'll try to gather some time to draw an additional artwork for it that shows the design better until the voting ends so we can unfold its full potential! ^^
Initially, I brewed the design together for the sake of living out ideas/desires I collected throughout my whole 1000+ hour experience in ARK and to add features to the game that I think would be quite essential and fun as a mechanic without copy-pasting too many creature features that already exist in the game, or go "too abstract" on the concept. I was really short on time when creating and posting this thanks to multiple stressful life events - but I really appreciate those who like the idea regardless.
Give the kitty a chance. I know you want a kitty. I know you want a really fierce kitty. And I know you want to pet it. >:)
Foreword There’s always been this one unique creature I was missing in the game that isn’t extremely slow but super useful, massive in size, too powerful (be it small or large), or too basic which is capable of farming element/Tek-related resources very efficiently and being an overall fun-to-have tame and battlemount. On top of that, the wasteland of Extinction (and potentially deserts of other maps) generally feel pretty devoid of true -generally unnoticable- dangers, as well as dangers for Tek structures and armor. Today I am happily presenting you my idea – the Xenosmilus. This creature will not be re-submitted to other map votes as its abilities and appearance only fit on Extinction.
Species info Xenosmilus hodsonae is a saber-toothed feline from the Lower Pleistocene of North America. Fossils of this genus, which reached about the size of a modern-day lion, are more than one million years old. So far only two partial skeletons have been found in Florida. For ARK the size has been scaled-up by a minimum.
Species: Xenosmilus Time:Calabrian of the Pleistocene Groups:Felidae Diet:Carnivore Temperament:Territorial, reactive Body build: Agile, semi-tank
About (Wild) This creature roams in small groups (1 male and 3-4 females) and occasionally hunts small to mid-sized creatures for a quick snack. Groups of these large cats can be found resting on the ground when there is no imminent danger, but be careful – they can sense anything nearby and are usually quick to attack. The Xenosmilus is highly territorial and will definitely not shun away from attacking anything equal in size on sight, even as lone wanderers, taking the danger of Extinction‘s wasteland to a whole new level. Corrupted creatures do not attack this animal, as it doesn’t emit natural heat signatures and smells due to elemental corruption covering a large portion of its body, and it is said that it is able to „hide“ its rider atop of its own back by emitting elemental smoke from strange openings on the sides of its neck which allows humans to roam among most creatures unnoticed so long as the smoke cloud persists and the cat is ridden. It is important to note that this creature developed a liking for element/element dust much like some others did. It is said that the Xenosmilus enjoys the taste of element a lot, able to swallow/store element dust in its glowing throat sack and making this resource an important asset for its capabilities. Some say that this cat uses Element to reinforce and repair its own skeletal structures when it has been hurt.
Appearance This creature is 60% organic and 40% corrupted, including a corruption replaced digestive tract, reinforced fangs and long, prehensile feelers behind its ears. Different to the mindless corrupted creatures roaming the wasteland, the Xenosmilus is fully self-aware of its actions unless enraged (more to that under „Abilities“). These cats generally appear in light colors matching the darker regions of their body, reflecting the extremely hot sunrays from its back in even the hottest regions – and a belly that is engulfed in corrupted tendrils preventing its skin and paws from burning on the hot sandy ground. The fangs are the most recognizable feature. Males have longer fangs than females and a noticeable mane covering their necks. When enraged, their eyes, fangs as well as throats and fur-spots glow blue.
Abilities/Utilities
The perfect wasteland/desert runner (utility) The Xenosmilus’ strong legs and great maneuverability make it to (possibly) one of the best options in crossing long distances such as deserts, wastelands, grasslands and even mountains. On Extinction it is primarily found in wastelands, some of them however have been found roaming in the sunken forest. Its smaller size also allows you to traverse certain caves on top of its fuzzy back, but not all.
Element smoke (utility) Glands on each side of its neck can emit a strange smoke that is expelled when element dust is consumed from the creature’s inventory. It makes the rider practically invisible, but some creatures with sensitive noses or heat-signature reading abilities might be able to smell humans regardless of the smoke.
Consuming element dust (from inventory - utility) When it consumes element dust (aka. element dust present in its inventory), its exposed throat sack starts glowing blue. The throat sack stores element dust (in theory) and the feline will heal faster.
A useful grinder and element eater (utility/ability) With its massive, almost saw-blade-like fangs, the Xenosmilus is able to grind down element and element shards into element dust (much like the Parasaur is able to turn berries into seeds on click) it makes a crunch-crunch sound when you initiate the crunch. (approx. 1 Element per sec.)
The grinding can be stopped by simply removing Element from its inventory or riding it.
On top of that, its fangs allow this cat to collect element dust very efficiently from lamp posts, tek corpses, and element nodes.
Tek-creature/mecha detection (ability) The large antennae extending from its ear regions provide this creature with a beneficial tek-creature and mechanical creature detection ability, capable of sensing electromagnetic interferences mechas emit in the air. This however has to be initiated with a button, and a „feeler twiddling“ animation will play before signs of nearby Tek creatures appear. (If there are no Tek creatures in range, no signs will show up.) With the sensory extensions all over its body, the cat can easily make out any approaching prey and predator by feeling vibration in the air and in the ground. Only loud and vibration-rich noise may shun the creature away, such as the scream of a Yuty, as this overloads its own senses.
Controlled speed boost (ability buff) When element dust is consumed over time, the creature becomes exponentially faster but more difficult to maneuver as the turning radius increases. This boost is indicated with a bar at the bottom of the screen and lasts as long as element dust is in its inventory, and will stop after a 10 second timer once it is no longer exposed to this resource. This also means that killing a Tek creature will give it the option of a speed boost over time. I would think the element dust is consumed rather rapidly when holding down „shift“, depending on how much it moves around and how often the player decides to initiate the boost with „shift“. It gains the same speed boost around element nodes on Extinction without the need of element dust consumption, making it a fun ride for the defense missions in particular. When stopping to run but the boost still persists, the creature will re-gain its initial speed almost immediately as long as the speed boost bar is charged. Element dust consumption will decrease as soon as the bar is fully charged and the creature enters the enraged stadium.
Weight reduction (utility)
Element, element dust, element shards and element ore are greatly weight reduced when in the cat‘s inventory.
Courage (buff)
As a pack of three to four in the wild or tamed, the Xenosmilus male gains a pack leader buff (swirly flames around its back), and the pack (wild) begins to dare attacking larger creatures than their own as each of them gain more resistance against bite-attacks (wild and tamed). The group leader can give the pack a buff called „courage“, but this buff only lasts as long as the other pack members remain close by, and as long as the cat is not enraged. The same applies to tamed ones. Your tamed group of any size only needs one leader so the others gain the courage buff. If there are more males in your tamed group, the male with the highest level will become the pack’s alpha.
Bleed(inflicted debuff)
The fangs are a dangerous weapon and can cause a strong bleeding debuff upon impact when right clicking, slowing down survivors and small to mid-sized creatures. (Even when mounted.) This does not reduce health faster; it merely exists to immobilize others.
Element rage (reactive ability)
Element rage is initiated when the creature has been exposed to element dust for some time (when the boost bar reached its maximum). You can see the enraged mood the more body regions start glowing or as a warning symbol on your screen when riding it in addition to the bar. The rage removes the courage buff as the creature no longer cares about who is friend or fiend (except for its owner and tribe tames), making it attack everything within its own sight (basically set to „aggressive“ without the ability to remove said behavior), so make sure not to leave element dust in its inventory for too long when standing around bases or in the wild. To avoid random attacks, remove the element dust from the inventory and transfer it to your own or another tame. The resistance against bite attacks when no longer buffed vanishes, however – health regenerates even faster than normal when enraged, making killing a Xenosmilus to a difficult task if you don’t have a good tame or weapon with you.
When exposed to nearby element nodes or having eaten a tek corpse, it has been observed that wild Xenos become extremely aggressive and territorial as element gives this feline a rush. This can become extremely dangerous and tedious if you run into a pack, so either pay attention to what you‘re walking into or try to disperse your tames and yourself farther away from the element node so the feline loses its rage buff, or wait out their rage from farther away.
The speed and rage timer immediately runs out when the cat is no longer exposed to element dust in its inventory/near nodes. For balancing reasons, it might be better to not give this creature an additional damage buff when enraged, or exchange the damage buff with the fast regeneration one. (Open to suggestions.)
On other maps that do not have element nodes, the Xenosmilus will only gain its rage buff when killing Tek creatures/collecting a bunch of element dust. This can be viewed as an unfortunate feature or as balancing since other (more „natural“) maps such as the Island, Ragnarock and partially Fjordur contain more down-to-earth creatures.
Structure/armor damage When enraged, the Xenosmilus is capable of damaging Tek and Metal structures. Make sure to secure your housing properly. Metal and Tek armor also take at least 5x damage than normal when the cat is angry.
Taming The Xenosmilus is a knock-out tame and must be fed pure element. The higher the level, the more element it consumes, making it to a mid to late game tame, especially because of its ravenous nature. However - taming one can be very rewarding, and the tame-game doesn’t simply stop there. Taming such a cat does not only consist of shooting it down, a wild Xeno must be lured to you (better yet into a cage/trap) before you can finally tame it. It can be lured in by crafting a specific bait consisting of mutton, crops, sap (…) and one Element. Without bait, you will not be able to tranquilize it. Once the cat consumed said bait, it will go into a mindless rage and will start attacking everything around it, even structures, so building a trap out of wood isn’t the best idea necessarily. Before the rage timer has run out, the cat must be fully tranquilized, so make sure to equip the best and fastest weapon you own. Once down, the kitty can be tamed.
(Alternative taming method if the first one is too basic) Instead of taming an adult one, a wild cub has to be lured to you with element bait, then can be raised by you/a nanny dino. This is only possible if you remain undetected by their pack. Killing its parents will scare the baby off and it remains untamable. Other packs may adopt the cub and you can re-try your luck if it hasn’t been killed by wild creatures.
Saddling The Xenosmilus will most likely not have a saddle due to the faster health regen when exposed to element/dust and even faster regeneration when enraged.
Breeding/Raising Works like every other mammalian creature, but the feline should not be enraged, otherwise it will not do anything.
Drops Hide, raw meat, (maybe a small amount of element dust)
Other ideas I had but didn’t add: - The Xenosmilus has natural armor „thick skinned“, reason why it isn’t tamable until exposed to the bait ‚drug‘ which makes the cat vulnerable to torpor.
- Cold/warm insulation when riding it due to its fur and cold skin
- Courage roar, right claw smack
- Instead of a bar that shows up, the Xeno has an additional „rage“ bar implemented into its system, like a second torpor bar.
- Able to harvest black pearls
~Fin~
Since this is an early concept, I am more than open to suggestions regarding this creature. If something doesn’t float your boat, let me know and I will try to reply and add/change aspects of my writings. And of course, feel free to add your own ideas and pictures! Thank you kindly for checking out my post, and don’t feel afraid to vote if you would like to see this cat on Extinction in the upcoming ASA release (once the map is released). Have a good day!
Do not alter the artwork or distribute it monetarily, it falls under the law of fair use.
I created these artworks solely for this contest and for WildCard’s own interpretation of the art/creature shown in this post, and everyone’s visual enjoyment.
Edited by 8illIon Added a reminder, edited the art format
.thumb.png.994240da777a7fb0de1be462f5c31c4e.png)
Suggestion
8illIon
Xenosmilus – Devourer of TEK
Xeno „Strange“ Smilus „Smile“
"You really don't want that cat up your Tek pants and Tek housing when it's hangry."
Edit: Please read the description and don't judge creatures by design and fancy art/weapons or massive size alone.
The developers take both things into consideration and I would very much appreciate your time as well. 💙
If the dangerloaf gets into the top 10 until the 7th of September I'll try to gather some time to draw an additional artwork for it that shows the design better until the voting ends so we can unfold its full potential! ^^
Initially, I brewed the design together for the sake of living out ideas/desires I collected throughout my whole 1000+ hour experience in ARK and to add features to the game that I think would be quite essential and fun as a mechanic without copy-pasting too many creature features that already exist in the game, or go "too abstract" on the concept. I was really short on time when creating and posting this thanks to multiple stressful life events - but I really appreciate those who like the idea regardless.
Give the kitty a chance. I know you want a kitty. I know you want a really fierce kitty. And I know you want to pet it. >:)
Foreword
There’s always been this one unique creature I was missing in the game that isn’t extremely slow but super useful, massive in size, too powerful (be it small or large), or too basic which is capable of farming element/Tek-related resources very efficiently and being an overall fun-to-have tame and battlemount. On top of that, the wasteland of Extinction (and potentially deserts of other maps) generally feel pretty devoid of true -generally unnoticable- dangers, as well as dangers for Tek structures and armor. Today I am happily presenting you my idea – the Xenosmilus. This creature will not be re-submitted to other map votes as its abilities and appearance only fit on Extinction.
Species info
Xenosmilus hodsonae is a saber-toothed feline from the Lower Pleistocene of North America. Fossils of this genus, which reached about the size of a modern-day lion, are more than one million years old. So far only two partial skeletons have been found in Florida. For ARK the size has been scaled-up by a minimum.
Species: Xenosmilus
Time: Calabrian of the Pleistocene
Groups: Felidae
Diet: Carnivore
Temperament: Territorial, reactive
Body build: Agile, semi-tank
About (Wild)
This creature roams in small groups (1 male and 3-4 females) and occasionally hunts small to mid-sized creatures for a quick snack. Groups of these large cats can be found resting on the ground when there is no imminent danger, but be careful – they can sense anything nearby and are usually quick to attack.
The Xenosmilus is highly territorial and will definitely not shun away from attacking anything equal in size on sight, even as lone wanderers, taking the danger of Extinction‘s wasteland to a whole new level.
Corrupted creatures do not attack this animal, as it doesn’t emit natural heat signatures and smells due to elemental corruption covering a large portion of its body, and it is said that it is able to „hide“ its rider atop of its own back by emitting elemental smoke from strange openings on the sides of its neck which allows humans to roam among most creatures unnoticed so long as the smoke cloud persists and the cat is ridden.
It is important to note that this creature developed a liking for element/element dust much like some others did. It is said that the Xenosmilus enjoys the taste of element a lot, able to swallow/store element dust in its glowing throat sack and making this resource an important asset for its capabilities. Some say that this cat uses Element to reinforce and repair its own skeletal structures when it has been hurt.
Appearance
This creature is 60% organic and 40% corrupted, including a corruption replaced digestive tract, reinforced fangs and long, prehensile feelers behind its ears. Different to the mindless corrupted creatures roaming the wasteland, the Xenosmilus is fully self-aware of its actions unless enraged (more to that under „Abilities“). These cats generally appear in light colors matching the darker regions of their body, reflecting the extremely hot sunrays from its back in even the hottest regions – and a belly that is engulfed in corrupted tendrils preventing its skin and paws from burning on the hot sandy ground.
The fangs are the most recognizable feature. Males have longer fangs than females and a noticeable mane covering their necks. When enraged, their eyes, fangs as well as throats and fur-spots glow blue.
Abilities/Utilities
The perfect wasteland/desert runner (utility)
The Xenosmilus’ strong legs and great maneuverability make it to (possibly) one of the best options in crossing long distances such as deserts, wastelands, grasslands and even mountains. On Extinction it is primarily found in wastelands, some of them however have been found roaming in the sunken forest. Its smaller size also allows you to traverse certain caves on top of its fuzzy back, but not all.
Element smoke (utility)
Glands on each side of its neck can emit a strange smoke that is expelled when element dust is consumed from the creature’s inventory. It makes the rider practically invisible, but some creatures with sensitive noses or heat-signature reading abilities might be able to smell humans regardless of the smoke.
Consuming element dust (from inventory - utility)
When it consumes element dust (aka. element dust present in its inventory), its exposed throat sack starts glowing blue. The throat sack stores element dust (in theory) and the feline will heal faster.
A useful grinder and element eater (utility/ability)
With its massive, almost saw-blade-like fangs, the Xenosmilus is able to grind down element and element shards into element dust (much like the Parasaur is able to turn berries into seeds on click) it makes a crunch-crunch sound when you initiate the crunch. (approx. 1 Element per sec.)
The grinding can be stopped by simply removing Element from its inventory or riding it.
On top of that, its fangs allow this cat to collect element dust very efficiently from lamp posts, tek corpses, and element nodes.
Tek-creature/mecha detection (ability)
The large antennae extending from its ear regions provide this creature with a beneficial tek-creature and mechanical creature detection ability, capable of sensing electromagnetic interferences mechas emit in the air. This however has to be initiated with a button, and a „feeler twiddling“ animation will play before signs of nearby Tek creatures appear. (If there are no Tek creatures in range, no signs will show up.) With the sensory extensions all over its body, the cat can easily make out any approaching prey and predator by feeling vibration in the air and in the ground. Only loud and vibration-rich noise may shun the creature away, such as the scream of a Yuty, as this overloads its own senses.
Controlled speed boost (ability buff)
When element dust is consumed over time, the creature becomes exponentially faster but more difficult to maneuver as the turning radius increases. This boost is indicated with a bar at the bottom of the screen and lasts as long as element dust is in its inventory, and will stop after a 10 second timer once it is no longer exposed to this resource. This also means that killing a Tek creature will give it the option of a speed boost over time. I would think the element dust is consumed rather rapidly when holding down „shift“, depending on how much it moves around and how often the player decides to initiate the boost with „shift“. It gains the same speed boost around element nodes on Extinction without the need of element dust consumption, making it a fun ride for the defense missions in particular. When stopping to run but the boost still persists, the creature will re-gain its initial speed almost immediately as long as the speed boost bar is charged. Element dust consumption will decrease as soon as the bar is fully charged and the creature enters the enraged stadium.
Weight reduction (utility)
Element, element dust, element shards and element ore are greatly weight reduced when in the cat‘s inventory.
Courage (buff)
As a pack of three to four in the wild or tamed, the Xenosmilus male gains a pack leader buff (swirly flames around its back), and the pack (wild) begins to dare attacking larger creatures than their own as each of them gain more resistance against bite-attacks (wild and tamed). The group leader can give the pack a buff called „courage“, but this buff only lasts as long as the other pack members remain close by, and as long as the cat is not enraged. The same applies to tamed ones. Your tamed group of any size only needs one leader so the others gain the courage buff. If there are more males in your tamed group, the male with the highest level will become the pack’s alpha.
Bleed (inflicted debuff)
The fangs are a dangerous weapon and can cause a strong bleeding debuff upon impact when right clicking, slowing down survivors and small to mid-sized creatures. (Even when mounted.) This does not reduce health faster; it merely exists to immobilize others.
Element rage (reactive ability)
Element rage is initiated when the creature has been exposed to element dust for some time (when the boost bar reached its maximum). You can see the enraged mood the more body regions start glowing or as a warning symbol on your screen when riding it in addition to the bar. The rage removes the courage buff as the creature no longer cares about who is friend or fiend (except for its owner and tribe tames), making it attack everything within its own sight (basically set to „aggressive“ without the ability to remove said behavior), so make sure not to leave element dust in its inventory for too long when standing around bases or in the wild. To avoid random attacks, remove the element dust from the inventory and transfer it to your own or another tame. The resistance against bite attacks when no longer buffed vanishes, however – health regenerates even faster than normal when enraged, making killing a Xenosmilus to a difficult task if you don’t have a good tame or weapon with you.
When exposed to nearby element nodes or having eaten a tek corpse, it has been observed that wild Xenos become extremely aggressive and territorial as element gives this feline a rush. This can become extremely dangerous and tedious if you run into a pack, so either pay attention to what you‘re walking into or try to disperse your tames and yourself farther away from the element node so the feline loses its rage buff, or wait out their rage from farther away.
The speed and rage timer immediately runs out when the cat is no longer exposed to element dust in its inventory/near nodes. For balancing reasons, it might be better to not give this creature an additional damage buff when enraged, or exchange the damage buff with the fast regeneration one. (Open to suggestions.)
On other maps that do not have element nodes, the Xenosmilus will only gain its rage buff when killing Tek creatures/collecting a bunch of element dust. This can be viewed as an unfortunate feature or as balancing since other (more „natural“) maps such as the Island, Ragnarock and partially Fjordur contain more down-to-earth creatures.
Structure/armor damage
When enraged, the Xenosmilus is capable of damaging Tek and Metal structures. Make sure to secure your housing properly. Metal and Tek armor also take at least 5x damage than normal when the cat is angry.
Taming
The Xenosmilus is a knock-out tame and must be fed pure element. The higher the level, the more element it consumes, making it to a mid to late game tame, especially because of its ravenous nature. However - taming one can be very rewarding, and the tame-game doesn’t simply stop there. Taming such a cat does not only consist of shooting it down, a wild Xeno must be lured to you (better yet into a cage/trap) before you can finally tame it. It can be lured in by crafting a specific bait consisting of mutton, crops, sap (…) and one Element. Without bait, you will not be able to tranquilize it. Once the cat consumed said bait, it will go into a mindless rage and will start attacking everything around it, even structures, so building a trap out of wood isn’t the best idea necessarily. Before the rage timer has run out, the cat must be fully tranquilized, so make sure to equip the best and fastest weapon you own. Once down, the kitty can be tamed.
(Alternative taming method if the first one is too basic) Instead of taming an adult one, a wild cub has to be lured to you with element bait, then can be raised by you/a nanny dino. This is only possible if you remain undetected by their pack. Killing its parents will scare the baby off and it remains untamable. Other packs may adopt the cub and you can re-try your luck if it hasn’t been killed by wild creatures.
Saddling
The Xenosmilus will most likely not have a saddle due to the faster health regen when exposed to element/dust and even faster regeneration when enraged.
Breeding/Raising
Works like every other mammalian creature, but the feline should not be enraged, otherwise it will not do anything.
Drops
Hide, raw meat, (maybe a small amount of element dust)
Other ideas I had but didn’t add:
- The Xenosmilus has natural armor „thick skinned“, reason why it isn’t tamable until exposed to the bait ‚drug‘ which makes the cat vulnerable to torpor.
- Cold/warm insulation when riding it due to its fur and cold skin
- Courage roar, right claw smack
- Instead of a bar that shows up, the Xeno has an additional „rage“ bar implemented into its system, like a second torpor bar.
- Able to harvest black pearls
~Fin~
Since this is an early concept, I am more than open to suggestions regarding this creature. If something doesn’t float your boat, let me know and I will try to reply and add/change aspects of my writings. And of course, feel free to add your own ideas and pictures! Thank you kindly for checking out my post, and don’t feel afraid to vote if you would like to see this cat on Extinction in the upcoming ASA release (once the map is released). Have a good day!
Credits/Art & Writing © 8i-ll-Ion
Do not alter the artwork or distribute it monetarily, it falls under the law of fair use.
Edited by 8illIonI created these artworks solely for this contest and for WildCard’s own interpretation of the art/creature shown in this post, and everyone’s visual enjoyment.
Added a reminder, edited the art format
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