scubadivingmaui7

Cool tree. Still not buying ASA for a variety of reasons. And even though most of the naysayers have left this website, you can still see the utter loathing for your recent decisions on steam forums and all over the internet. And I can see you're not interested in changing your tone at all, so I'm probably gonna dip out after this community crunch as well. But I'm not trying to be negative for negativity's sake, I really have enjoyed Ark and I'm trying to give constructive feedback. But ignoring the larger community is not going to work well for you. I unfortunately expect ASA and Ark 2 to backfire unless you change something. There have been plenty of suggestions to save face and earn back the community's trust offered to you, and I think it would only be redundant to repeat them here. Until then, goodbye Ark, goodbye Wildcard, my friends and I will keep playing unofficial or single player, but I don't know anyone at all in person who has actual plans to buy ASA. And those interested in Ark 2 have been turned off as well because of these recent decisions... myself included. You've lost trust in a lot of people, and I think that's the most important thing a company like yours can have. I expected plenty of bugs and delays, but I at least trusted you to try to fix those, come out with a fun product, and try to respect the people who keep you in business. But now, you don't have my trust at all, and I can't trust you enough to ever buy further products from you. Heck look at the steam charts, you've lost 20k players in just a few months. Anyhoo, enjoy your new landcroc, peace out my bros.

Ooh, interesting... that thread's gone now. Time for my tinfoil hat!

Okay, it's gonna be hard for me to believe this isn't a bot.

But I genuinely believe their current decision is going to backfire on them. I'm offering constructive criticism, a way to make money that WON'T tick off a majority of people and that I know myself and many others would buy. Buuuuut looks like they might go the crash and burn route. Oh well. Once ASA inevitably fails and goes on extreme discount, maybe I'll pick it up for $5 a few years from now when all the DLCs are out. If it gets that far, of course, as to which I have my doubts.

If Wildcard needs money, I'm genuinely shocked they're not trying to release new expansions for Ark 1.0. That's how they did it in the past, and the vast majority of people I've talked to are disgusted by ASA and not planning on buying it. At least, not for years, and not until all the DLC is released, there are reviews to see how it runs, and we see how well the overwolf/modding situation is handled. And only then on sale, because why would we rebuy what we've already bought for no reason? I mean, if you don't believe me, check the steam forums - there's a huge thread with 90% of users refusing to buy ASA, and most of my friends who play the game are in the same camp. If wildcard's going to release a new DLC eventually, and I mean this in all seriousness, why not add it to Ark 1? Both ASE and ASA? I really think they're going to make a tiny, tiny percentage of the money they could if they support it on ASA only. I'm perfectly willing to buy new content, I mean I've purchased all the expansions so far, but I have negative interest in repurchasing a shiny version of what I already own (which, let's be honest, will be a disaster at launch, won't contain all current content for well over a year, will be missing all the mods I like, and any new paid mods will most likely be a disaster, as paid mods always are.) I'm just really disappointed right now, man.

I mean the majority of players are still mad at you and not planning to touch Ark Ascended but yeah, ignore the backlash. Insert This Is Fine Dog here.

My friend, someone having an opposing opinion to you doesn't make them 'rude.' I personally find a lot of stuff about ASA kind of concerning and heck, ethically wrong, as far as video games go. You can hate me for having a different opinion than you, but that's okay, I will still like and respect you anyway, because I have ADHD and am incapable of holding a grudge for more than 2 minutes

Look all, it's okay to have different opinions of ASA and all that, but the fighting, immaturity, and disrespect I'm seeing people fling around to each other is really disappointing. Let's all just agree that whether we think Wildcard's decision is good or bad, at the end of the day it's just a video game and it's not that important. This whole thing isn't worth getting angry at other players about.

Dudes, ignoring the backlash is going to have a poor result on your end. You can plug your ears and pretend everything's cool all you want, but a huge amount of players are angry at you, countless people lost any interest in buying ASA or Ark 2, and even several news websites have articles decrying your recent decisions. I'm keeping up to date to see if you change your tone, but unless you do, you're permanently losing me and several other players from ever purchasing from you again... You're showing you can't be trusted. I recommend adding new DLCs and creatures to the OG ark at the same time as ASA (seriously, that's something I WOULD buy, not the same game I've already bought at full price), and/or lowering the price of ASA further for people who already own the DLCs, as is standard for a remaster. As is, you're still in a pretty bad spot, and you're probably going to pay for it.

I don’t think you guys get it. Lowering the price is nice, but I still think you’re going to get hurt by doing this. You’ve ruined the trust of a lot of people and I don’t think ASA is going to be the money maker you wanted. But you need more money. I understand that. People have to pay the bills. Which is why I ask, rather than repackaging Ark and selling it at the price of a full game, why don’t you make more expansions for the ORIGINAL Ark to tide you over until Ark 2’s release? That’s actual new content that I and many others would buy. I’m not going to buy a full-priced graphics upgrade just to get a new DLC though. Why not scrap ASA entirely (or lower the cost, or add new content to OG Ark at the same time as the remaster) and add new expansions to original Ark? I’m not going to buy the remaster for several reasons, including… 1. Even though the price is better (unless you wanted Ark 2) it’s still ridiculous that people who bought alllll your DLCs over the years are being charged full price. Compare this to other updates or remasters that gave pre-existing owners a discount or upgraded them for free. I’m not paying full amount for a game i already own, and I’m frankly pissed you’d suggest that. 2. ‘Weaponizing of FOMO’ I’d be willing to support you if you released more DLCs for OG Ark, or gave a discount for the remaster to pre-existing owners, but the fact that you’re not doing that, while only releasing new stuff to the remaster, makes me feel like you’re trying to pressure people to only buy the remaster. As someone’s who’s supported wildcard over all these years, this really rubs me the wrong way. This isn’t inspiring me to buy more stuff, it’s inspiring me to never touch your products again. I don’t like being pressured, and rather I feel like I’m being punished for purchasing things from you in the past. Since I’ve been burned once, why would that inspire me to purchase things from you in the future? 3. The situation with mods. Frankly I can’t enjoy Ark without mods and for all i know many of my favorites will never make it to the remaster. On top of that, I might have to pay for them now? Wow, what a deal. Not to mention overwolf impacts performance and is shady as all heck. Again, makes me LESS, not more, inspired to buy the remaster. 4. Not sure how well UE5 will run on my computer. I have a pretty good rig and have never had problems, in fact I can usually play Ark on epic settings, however my graphics card is several years old at this point. Frankly I’m not interested in upgrading my computer for a single game - especially not one I’ve already bought at full price. Ironically the reason I bought the computer in the first place was primarily to play Ark, so I’m not thrilled on having to spend more money for the sake of a single game. 5. And finally, I just don’t trust you guys. Ark and Atlas were in horrible states at launch, you’re using scummy FOMO tactics to try to drive sales of ASA, you’re not giving a single damn discount to people who already bought everything and I feel like I shouldn’t have purchased your expansions over the years because now I’m being punished for it, last week’s bundle was a blatant attempt to drive sales of a game we don’t even have FOOTAGE of yet, and you only included the dlc’s in the full package when everyone erupted at you. So no, I’m not going to buy ASA, my interest in Ark 2 has tanked, and so has my trust in you as a company. Lots of people think this way. However, that makes me ask, if you need money, why don’t you continue releasing expansions for OG Ark? That I would buy, and support you because 1. It’s actually new content. I’m not being charged full price for stuff I already own, I don’t feel like I’m being ripped off, and I don’t feel like I’m being punished for purchasing it like I do the old DLCs following the ASA announcement. It’s ACTUAL new content for a game that, at the end of the day, I mostly enjoy. 2. It would actually make me trust you more because you’re not punishing the people who won’t repurchase content they already own, nor does it feel like you’re transparently weaponizing FOMO. 3. I know you can do it. This isn’t a new engine, you’ve made several DLCs on UE4. I won’t have cold feet like I will with Asa or Ark 2. 4. I know my mods will continue to work and I can play the game the way I enjoy. Frankly, I don’t see WHY you wouldn’t release the new maps and creatures to both versions. There’s a whole heap of people who have lost trust in you and won’t buy the remaster. Releasing expansions for OG ark not only helps fund your company, but will get you money from the WHOLE fanbase rather than the smaller percentage who purchase ASA, and it will start to re-inspire trust in you for the countless people you’ve turned away. It’s win-win in all scenarios, frankly I can’t imagine why you WOULDN’T do it.

It's crazy you aren't even addressing the backlash that still exists. You guys are really trying to run yourselves into the ground, aren't you? There are so many different paths you could take regarding ASA to save face and earn back some trust, but I guess you'd rather choose bankruptcy... wonderful.

I don’t think you guys get it. Lowering the price is nice, but I still think you’re going to get hurt by doing this. You’ve ruined the trust of a lot of people and I don’t think ASA is going to be the money maker you wanted. But you need more money. I understand that. People have to pay the bills. Which is why I ask, rather than repackaging Ark and selling it at the price of a full game, why don’t you make more expansions for the ORIGINAL Ark to tide you over until Ark 2’s release? That’s actual new content that I and many others would buy. I’m not going to buy a full-priced graphics upgrade just to get a new DLC though. Why not scrap ASA entirely (or lower the cost, or add new content to OG Ark at the same time as the remaster) and add new expansions to original Ark? I’m not going to buy the remaster for several reasons, including… 1. Even though the price is better (unless you wanted Ark 2) it’s still ridiculous that people who bought alllll your DLCs over the years are being charged full price. Compare this to other updates or remasters that gave pre-existing owners a discount or upgraded them for free. I’m not paying full amount for a game i already own, and I’m frankly pissed you’d suggest that. 2. ‘Weaponizing of FOMO’ I’d be willing to support you if you released more DLCs for OG Ark, or gave a discount for the remaster to pre-existing owners, but the fact that you’re not doing that, while only releasing new stuff to the remaster, makes me feel like you’re trying to pressure people to only buy the remaster. As someone’s who’s supported wildcard over all these years, this really rubs me the wrong way. This isn’t inspiring me to buy more stuff, it’s inspiring me to never touch your products again. I don’t like being pressured, and rather I feel like I’m being punished for purchasing things from you in the past. Since I’ve been burned once, why would that inspire me to purchase things from you in the future? 3. The situation with mods. Frankly I can’t enjoy Ark without mods and for all i know many of my favorites will never make it to the remaster. On top of that, I might have to pay for them now? Wow, what a deal. Not to mention overwolf impacts performance and is shady as all heck. Again, makes me LESS, not more, inspired to buy the remaster. 4. Not sure how well UE5 will run on my computer. I have a pretty good rig and have never had problems, in fact I can usually play Ark on epic settings, however my graphics card is several years old at this point. Frankly I’m not interested in upgrading my computer for a single game - especially not one I’ve already bought at full price. Ironically the reason I bought the computer in the first place was primarily to play Ark, so I’m not thrilled on having to spend more money for the sake of a single game. 5. And finally, I just don’t trust you guys. Ark and Atlas were in horrible states at launch, you’re using scummy FOMO tactics to try to drive sales of ASA, you’re not giving a single damn discount to people who already bought everything and I feel like I shouldn’t have purchased your expansions over the years because now I’m being punished for it, last week’s bundle was a blatant attempt to drive sales of a game we don’t even have FOOTAGE of yet, and you only included the dlc’s in the full package when everyone erupted at you. So no, I’m not going to buy ASA, my interest in Ark 2 has tanked, and so has my trust in you as a company. Lots of people think this way. However, that makes me ask, if you need money, why don’t you continue releasing expansions for OG Ark? That I would buy, and support you because 1. It’s actually new content. I’m not being charged full price for stuff I already own, I don’t feel like I’m being ripped off, and I don’t feel like I’m being punished for purchasing it like I do the old DLCs following the ASA announcement. It’s ACTUAL new content for a game that, at the end of the day, I mostly enjoy. 2. It would actually make me trust you more because you’re not punishing the people who won’t repurchase content they already own, nor does it feel like you’re transparently weaponizing FOMO. 3. I know you can do it. This isn’t a new engine, you’ve made several DLCs on UE4. I won’t have cold feet like I will with Asa or Ark 2. 4. I know my mods will continue to work and I can play the game the way I enjoy. Frankly, I don’t see WHY you wouldn’t release the new maps and creatures to both versions. There’s a whole heap of people who have lost trust in you and won’t buy the remaster. Releasing expansions for OG ark not only helps fund your company, but will get you money from the WHOLE fanbase rather than the smaller percentage who purchase ASA, and it will start to re-inspire trust in you for the countless people you’ve turned away. It’s win-win in all scenarios, frankly I can’t imagine why you WOULDN’T do it.

Adding onto my prior comment, if you really had cold feet about the same content on both versions of the game, you could release new maps and creatures on the Remaster FIRST and wait several months before adding them to OG. Still scummy? Yes, but it's a middle ground.

Yeah, still not interested in buying the new version. IMO Official shutting down isn't the biggest issue, most people don't play Official anyway. What rubs me the wrong way is you're still releasing new creatures and maps to the remaster only. That still feels like you're trying to twist our arm, to FOMO to exploit your players, and mock those of us who supported you by buying all the OG content over the years. It just feels really, really crappy and hurts my trust in you guys as a company. So I won't buy the remaster, and I probably won't buy any more games from you... You've really hurt my trust, and many others as well. But I don't want to just be negative, so I'll tell you how I would support you. Releasing new maps and creatures to the remaster only feels crappy like I said, and I absolutely will not support that. But if you release the new maps and creatures to both OG Ark AND the remaster, I'd still happily buy it. As much as this week has been a fiasco, I've been consistently pleased with the story expansions and felt they were at a generous price point. I'd admittedly buy another DLC in a heartbeat. So why don't you release new maps and new creatures to the OG ark as well? That way you'll have two player bases and make double the $$. In fact, I think you'd make far more than double the $$ than if you only released them on the remaster, because most people I know aren't interested in buying the remaster anyway. And a big part of that is it still feels like you're realllllly trying to force us to buy it in a scummy way - again, by exploiting FOMO and releasing new content to the Ascended version only. Still feels like you're punishing us for buying your game and DLCs over the years, still feels like you're being nauseatingly manipulative in your attempts to market the new one. I still feel wary about buying new games from you as a company and it'll probably take a loooooong time before I reconsider, but like I said, I've enjoyed Ark's expansions and would happily buy more OG-Ark content to support you. But releasing them only on Ark Ascended feels crappy and exploitative to me, and likely many other people. And I can assure you that's a poor business decision that would make you far less money than you could potentially make.

I've already ranted on here a bit, so I'm gonna step off after this, but I think there's one more point I need to make. I was kind of interested in Ark 2 before this. It was hard to make judgments because we have no gameplay footage and basically no idea what it's about, but I was open to buying it when it did finally come out. But after this betrayal of trust, I have absolutely no interest in buying Ark 2. Even if the Ark 1 remaster was at a REASONABLE cost, I wouldn't purchase it because it was bundled with Ark 2. You've destroyed my trust in you as developers, and thus any interest in purchasing further content from you. Congratulations. You're actively turning potential consumers against you. This announcement will have the opposite effect you intended.