Asa sponsored mods?

[Rashawn]

I know that one of the features for Asa will be mods on consoles (finally Yay!!!). But, will there be a lul in content as it initially comes out? More specifically will currently sponsored mods from ASE already be available on ASA launch?

Edited October 18, 2023 by Rashawn

[Stewbawl]

if i remember correctly, WC stated in a crunch that they were already working with some mod creators so that some mods would be available asap.  i think they even gave a short list of mods that were already approved.

in another forum topic (i think it was on steam) i saw a discussion where a mod creator stated that porting your mod over to work on UE5 was very simple and that the only thing preventing most mods from being brought over would be if the mod creator was no longer active.  

i see a potential upside that with sponsored mods there will be more time investment from mod creators to keep mods updated and bug free so as to not risk losing their official status.

i see a potential downside in that i believe that they are opening up the ability for mod creators to charge a fee for access to their mods.  i'm all for some mods, and some of them i feel are worth compensating the mod creator.  however the server i play on now has 37 mods running (many of them very small).  i could see it effecting the willingness for some people to play on modded servers as it would effect their wallet.

[MMaas]

53 minutes ago, Stewbawl said:

in another forum topic (i think it was on steam) i saw a discussion where a mod creator stated that porting your mod over to work on UE5 was very simple and that the only thing preventing most mods from being brought over would be if the mod creator was no longer active. 

I recal a content creator making a video that explained it was NOT easy to port mods due to all the customised code of ARK and it was impossible if a mod was no longer actyive unless he waived his rights.
For some reason I tend to see this as more realistic for the more complicated mods.

[wildbill]

I don't have any first hand knowledge on this, but have heard that it all depends on what type of mod it is as to how easy to port. Also depends on how thorough a port. Do they update for the new features of UE5, or just do the minimum to get it ported over to ASA.

One mod author that has quite a few creatures in the mod says it will be way too much work to port and doesn't plan to. Heard of one map (oddly, maps seem to be one of the easiest things to port) that might be available right away. I expect one of my favorite mods, Structures Plus will be hard to port because some of the items in it like walls and doors have changed in size (and how they look of course). Hopefully it will get ported to ASA soon. This one and a few others might just make me wait to play ASA until they are available.

Mods in ARK have a long history of being free, with some taking donations. Hopefully ASA can accommodate that model, as I doubt most unofficial servers are going to want to include mods that deviate from that.

[akosmc5]

S+ mod maker is already working with the devs making ARK's building system better.

They promoted Ark Additions in a Crunch so I guess it is a sponsored mod.

[Herbapou]

Just to be sure, Official servers dont allow mods right?

[Dreadcthulhu]

Unless they dramatically changed how mods work in Ark, official servers will not have mods.  

[CervantesMor]

15 hours ago, Herbapou said:

Just to be sure, Official servers dont allow mods right?

 

14 hours ago, Dreadcthulhu said:

Unless they dramatically changed how mods work in Ark, official servers will not have mods.  

My thoughts on this: the Official Servers need to maintain Vanilla settings so it is presumable that they will not give access to Mods that can modify their parameters (types of structures-resources-animals-weapons-etc., special objects or stack modifications, etc.) to prevent a possible imbalance between the players (and also PayToWin) and perhaps also to force the rental on Nitrado a little to those who want to use certain Mods.

 

However, I do not exclude some possibilities of feasible Mods (perhaps paid for guarantee some extra earnings):

- Skin Mods would have no impact in terms of imbalance and would certainly be the simplest and most basic idea to earn some additional money, at the same time it would add a touch of extra customization that many appreciate (without the imposition of compulsory purchase because they are not necessary for "functioning").

- Mod Mapp... within certain parameters of DinoSpawn and available resources (I would say like the original maps officially already operational, considering the gradual release over time of the various maps in ASA), I would venture that it could be a possible option [almost DLC..]

 

I also have a few other guesses but they would require some additions that would include extra work at WC so I won't even mention them.

It wouldn't be bad if WC included an "automatic/interactive marker of resources" after having discovered them in the mini-map, or of Animals on which you wanted to mark the position (it is already possible to manually insert the "markers" even if they are not interactive), this could also be integrated with Mod without creating any advantage for one player over another.