ashgcy Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 (edited) Welcome back ocean explorers! Ignore the other way cooler news with ASA releasing, it's time for TSW's next scoop! This edition features confirmation of us coming to ASA, alongside a guided tour through some of the new biomes coming to the map! From the surface regions to the undersea trenches deep below, we're showing off a selection of our biome concept art. For those of you already on our discord, you've definitely seen some of these places before, but we're also going behind the scenes with some of our environmental model references for these new underwater ecosystems! If this is your first time diving into the deep end, we are a dedicated team of individuals who are looking to spruce up the ocean biome in the same way that Scorched Earth offered a unique, biome specific challenge to survival. New creatures, resources, structures, items and more, all set on a huge custom map, we're looking to give ARK's oceans the TLC they deserve! The main goal is to bridge that huge gap between early and late game ocean exploration, and make it much more viable and more fun to live a life beneath the waves! This is unofficial content and is only related to our mod. It is in no way related with the official game and its content releases. Let's dive into the scoop! WHAT'S THE SCOOP WITH ASA? We're officially coming to ASA! The team is currently hard at work making sure TSW Additions is ported over properly, with all its creatures and features. To avoid the dreaded ARK release date syndrome, we won't be giving a public release date, but you'll see us in the mod browser very soon! As you may have noticed, a lot of mods have tried to separate their large mods into smaller ones, but we'll be sticking to the same format as in ASE. Easier for us and easier for people who use the map if everything only requires two mods! But what about The Sunken World itself? As we've said before, MercerLord plans to completely recreate the map from scratch using the WorldCreator software to really bring the map to the next level. Unfortunately this means that the map will take quite some time to be ready for release, especially as we want to make sure we have the same progress done as the ASE branch. However, as said a few scoops ago, we'll be making our creatures available on The Island so you can still frolic with your favourite TSW tames. We'll also be adjusting resource requirements so you'll be able to craft most of everything outside the map (also the resource converter will still exist!) With all the new water related features in ASA, the wait should be well worth it when we're able to release the map! In terms of the ASE branch, we still plan to do one final update for TSW Additions before switching over all production to ASA. You'll see that soon! OH THE BIOMES YOU'LL GO Unlike the "one biome fits all" of the vanilla ocean (though ASA's seas definitely look a lot prettier!), there's a multitude of new underwater biomes to explore on The Sunken World! Our biome concept artist RexMyPet has been working long and hard to create some visually distinct and downright beautiful works of art to represent these new habitats. A few pieces of artwork from this giant section have already been added to the roster channels on the discord, but we felt that they really should get a proper reveal like they deserved! Also, unless otherwise stated, assume Rex is behind the masterpieces you see in this section! From biome to biome, near and far, you'll find beauty in the sea wherever you are! So join us on a journey, from Seagrass Isle to Molten Trench, it's time to explore and drop the suspense! (look if I make a reference to Doctor Seuss you best believe I'm rhyming) We'll start in the sunlight region and slowly travel down until we reach the bottom of the map! So let's start at... Seagrass Island To the northeast of the map you'll find a living island so strong it dragged an obelisk down from the sky! Welcome to Seagrass Island, a Life of Pi inspired landmass that serves as our Herbivore Island, artwork courtesy of Nitrin the Dead! An idyllic retreat, the giant isle is dotted with huge pools, giving access to the gloomy jungle of kelp below. However, the sea is not as kind as the living forest above, as Kelpies lurk in the shadows beneath, waiting in ambush to drag survivors to their untimely demise! Stay on your toes if you want to go for a swim! The Seagrass Island is dotted with a myriad of exotic flora both above and below the waves! Such a unique biome deserves a host of alien plants to really make it pop! Mangrove Forest In real life, mangroves are highly beneficial ecosystems that help prevent coastal erosion and are home to a huge variety of species! In the context of ARK however... anything with "swamp" in the name is a no go for most players! We hope your previous biases with The Island don't stop you from checking out this beautiful biome! The dappled light drifting between giant mangrove trees reveals a forest where lilypads grow so big you can build on top of them! While we're an ocean TLC first and foremost, we certainly want to make the swamps at least somewhat more appealing to live in! You can build your own Ewok village on the trunks of the tallest mangroves and achieve your inner frog's aspirations while hopping from lilypad to lilypad! And don't forget to make friends with a Liaoningosaurus, the cute little ankylosaurs that call this place home! Just keep an eye out for Orthacanthus, these sharks can chase you down even on land due to their slimy skin! As you can see by Lowkey's art, these guys really are the cutest armoured creatures around! Shroom Glades In the waters surrounding the Mangrove Swamp, strange mushrooms grow beneath the waves! The Shroom Glades border the shallows around the mangrove, and they're filled with some downright bizzare fungi. This biome will be a great source of Fungal Wood and Rare Mushrooms, and the huge mats of algae conceal lots of little air pocket caves... perfect for a starter base under the sea! Also yes, there's definitely some major inspiration from the Mushroom Forests of Subnautica. There's a reason we joke that we're ARK: Subnautica Evolved (though I guess it's Subnautica Ascended now?) Here's a selection of fungi of all shapes and sizes! Plus some algae arches to boot! Glow Reef If you travel to the Twilight Region, you'll find a place that has as much life in it as it does bioluminescence! The Glow Reef is a biome many of you will be familiar with, as it currently exists in ASE. However we're due to give it a visual TLC in ASA with a new caste of unique plant life! While there's little need to fear the darkness of the deep sea in this biome, the predators are another story! An area this rich in life is the perfect hunting ground for an apex predator like the Tidal Wyrm! But once you've conquered the dangerous side of this biome, you'll be free to enjoy the natural lightshow! From sprawling corals to otherworldly structures, what would the Glow Reef be if everything didn't glow? Thermal Reef If you see billowing black smoke and tall russet spires dotting the seafloor, you've made it to the Thermal Reef! If you can withstand the heat, it's a great place to live, as there's plenty of geothermal energy to harness! Just pop a Geothermal Plant onto a thermal vent and you've got free, all natural power for your underwater base! You'll probably want to be well armed if you want to live here, however. An Edestus could slice you to shreds, and if you're not careful a Thermite Wyrm will turn you into survivor flambé! Rex did a truly incredible job designing this awe-inspiring, undersea biome... but does anyone else get hungry for sushi looking at that middle plant? Brine Pools In the darkness of the Midnight Region, you'll find toxic falls and ethereal plants patrolled by skeletal serpents! Watch your back, danger lurks around every corner in the Brine Pools. The Brine Wyrm calls this hostile place home, and will make a meal out of any survivor that crosses its path! But the dangerous expanse holds a valuable treasure... the plants that grow here naturally produce Organic Polymer! The Brine Pools are home to a veritable garden of ghastly trees and ethereal structures! If only the beauty could take away from the danger... The Sunken City At the edge of an unfathomably deep abyss lies the Sunken City! All that remains of an "unsinkable" nation now lies at one of the deepest depths of this ARK. While one side of the city remains bright, futuristic power sources illuminating the ghost town, the buildings on the other side of the hellish rift have fallen into disrepair. Amongst the scrap metal, you'll find various useful resources like Electronics and Element Dust! Automated machines march perpetually onwards, completing tasks for a people who have been lost to time. Be careful in your pillaging, as a patrolling Vindicator will be quick to punish your desctruction of property! The abandoned buildings of the Sunken City will provide explorers respite from the pressure of the deep sea! Air pockets inside make for the perfect place to rest, or build a base if you dare brave the deep! And perhaps exploring these bygone structures could uncover some of the secrets of the Sunken World... Not much can grow so deep underwater, but various forms of life cling to the wreckage of a long-forgotten world The Molten Underground Beware delving too deep in your greed to explore... You never know what you might awake in the darkness... The Molten Underground lies within the chasm in the Sunken City and is the deepest point of the map. The most hostile biome on the ARK is home to slumbering giants... Magma Turtles! The dangers of the underworld hide a multitude of precious minerals, but be mindful which formations you choose to mine for ore, as an angry Magmarochelon and its shoal of Tyrant Shrimp is not something you want to trifle with! And you'll definitely want to keep an escape route in mind, as the undersea volcanoes that dot this hellscape could erupt at any moment! COMMUNITY CORNER Unfortunately we haven't received any submissions for this Sunken Scoop. However, you should feel free to submit something yourself! Anything from screenshots, artwork, videos and the so on, and we can featured your work in the next scoop! And so those in the back can hear it, there's a submissions channel in our discord, or you can tag us @ARKSunken with #sunkenscoop on Twitter! That's all for this issue of the Sunken Scoop, thanks for tuning in! We're very excited to see what we can deliver to you all in ASA! Hope you enjoyed your tour through the upcoming biomes, and if you did, feel free to come to our discord to tell us your favourite one... or just to hang out! Have a wonderful timezone! If this is your first time seeing TSW, check out the links below to find out more! Please note that if you want to play our mod, you need both the map and creature mod active.Discord: https://discord.gg/BAkvgc7Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArkSunkenMap Mod: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2182740759 Creature Mod:https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2182770728 Edited November 9, 2023 by ashgcy 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZCI5250 Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 hell yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryaquaza1 Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Looks amazing but I was just going to ask, since this is coming to ASA, will it also be ported to console as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashgcy Posted November 8, 2023 Author Share Posted November 8, 2023 1 minute ago, Ryaquaza1 said: Looks amazing but I was just going to ask, since this is coming to ASA, will it also be ported to console as well? Indeed it will be! From what I understand, all mods in ASA will automatically be available on consoles as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freyn Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 These all look beautiful! Varied and vibrant!! ASA's oceans are a big step up from ASE in terms of terrain, but there's still no real variation around the map, so this is great to sea! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwagSupervisor Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Why does that headline remind me of a certain Minecraft Biome Mod name? Ash, care to explain yourself? /s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashgcy Posted November 8, 2023 Author Share Posted November 8, 2023 39 minutes ago, SwagSupervisor said: Why does that headline remind me of a certain Minecraft Biome Mod name? Ash, care to explain yourself? /s Any similarities with a Minecraft mod of the same name are purely coincidental, and stem from the fact I wanted to make a Doctor Seuss reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroodonYT Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 The Sunken W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlillis Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Im gonna be looking forward to this beautiful map comeing to Asa in the near future that and ill have another adventure to share with friends and fam thanks to the awesome sunken world team some of these concepts i've already seen but the rest that i haven't are rlly beyond beautiful ❤️ along with the flora that is to come. xD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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