I am in the software industry. I thoroughly test updates and patches before I deploy them. People test my patches after I have tested them just to make sure I didn't miss anything because hey, nobody is perfect. I schedule updates and patches to release to multiple platforms and app stores simultaneously. I'm pretty confident I would be fired if I released a negligent patch that took down our apps or services in any way. Just because Wildcard is a game developer doesn't mean they're doing it right. I give them credit in that this is a very complex game. But people paid money for a game and they have every right to complain when it doesn't work as intended or at all. I can understand in-game bugs and glitches and I'm willing to work around them. I don't even get mad about exploiters because that happens in every game. But these constant updates that bring the game down for at least 2 days every time are frustrating and unsustainable in a game as high-maintenance as Ark. And there is no reason for it if the updates are done right. Windows 10 users had a two-day outage recently because of a patch that only added three Genesis HLNA explorer notes in a patch. Three explorer notes I don't have access to because I currently have no plans to buy Genesis.
I am not defending all comments made at Wildcard as some people take it way too far. But Wildcard needs to answer for the constant down time caused by patches and the SERIOUS lack of communication with it's user base. There is no way I am buying into more DLC or anything else related to Wildcard, including Atlas, when I know this is what to expect. I would love to be pleasantly surprised by Wildcard and not have to miss the first two days of the Christmas event as a result of the patch initiating it this next week. But as you can imagine, like all other Win10 users, my expectations are otherwise...