Ranger1

Indeed! Many of the "facts" we accept today will be thrown away in favor of new theories tomorrow... just as the "facts" of yesterday have been replaced many times by the new theories of today. The only exceptions would be creatures frozen, as you mentioned, and those species that have gone extinct during our brief period of recorded history such as the Dodo or the Great Auk.

Scorpio, not to put too fine a point on it, but none of the creatures you mentioned are modern. All are purely fictional, and loosely based on a combination of (usually) fossil evidence and/or combined traits. All of the creatures differ significantly from any modern creature, even the lowly Coelacanths (in ARK they provide flesh fit to eat). They were all given unique scientific names to make this clear, and silly game mechanics each creature possesses aside, tend to differ from "modern" creatures significantly in other ways as well... most often by a dramatic difference in size. Using your rather liberal (and inaccurate) definition of a "modern animal" you could also say that a Sarco is just a large modern croc, a Kairuku is just a oversized modern penguin, and a Dire Wolf is just a modern wolf blown up to pony size... none of which is correct. Now if they put, say, a horse in game... gave it a silly ability (which is a given)... and labeled it Equus Ferus Caballus... then you would be correct. However if they put in a Eohippus, or a Tarpan, those are not modern creatures (they are all extinct, some fairly recently). Not that it matters really, ARK is not a game about prehistoric creatures. it is a game filled with either extinct creatures (usually fantasy variations that are only loosely based on actual extinct creatures), or purely fantasy creatures. So the only guideline that matters is that (aside from humans) if you find it in ARK, you won't find it still alive today.

Congratulations people! And yes, ARK is the best looking survival game out this year.

It's a play on words Chris, I'll give you a hint. What's the last thing you eat when having dinner?

Well, silly, everyone knows you're supposed to save the desert for last...

Nuke, I don't think there is really an issue as nobody is making any money from them. There is also some leeway in copyright law for using something in a very subjective or unique manner for illustrative purposes... but that can get very complicated. In this case, I don't think Capcom would really care enough to go to the trouble of making an issue out of it.

Congratulations to Monkeypuzzle, Nicksen, Valoule, and nakedzombo for their winning entries. All were unique and extremely well done, each in their own way. And that's really what it's all about isn't it? As ARKS environment is so open ended it allows people to express themselves in completely different (and often hilarious) ways. I imagine it can be pretty challenging to subjectively compare a giant carnivorous plant build (which had to be difficult) with a Redwood sky bridge/fortification, or a construction that impresses because of it's size and complexity compared to one designed to blend into it's environment. Each having it's own individual focus, each appealing to a completely different aesthetic. Personally I'm not much of a builder, which I freely admit. Once I put together the area that I actually need for my equipment my brain usually moves on to other matters, so my builds tend to be very small (yet hopefully contain a hint of cool factor). But I do produce a fair amount of videos, and one factor remains the same between building and movie making. Quite often the videos that I put the most work into, and that please me the most on a personal level, end up having the least positive response from those who view it. Likewise some of the most popular videos on my channel are the ones I consider to be real stinkers. It's all subjective, and it's often difficult to predict what others will find most appealing. What actually works best on all levels is not to even worry about that, instead focus on making what you feel you're good at. If you're enjoying what you are creating, and feel good about it, it comes across to others through your creations. Winning a prize is just icing on the cake. What's really valuable is learning lessons from how people react to what you do, as criticism or even indifference is often the most helpful in pointing out where something could have been done even better... and ultimately your creations end up being even more satisfying on a personal level because of it.

LOL, no playstyle has been removed... it's been expanded. You can still do whatever, but now you'll also have to deal with the repercussions. Should spice things up a bit, eh?

Congratulations Nakedzombo and TRanger!

Congratulations to all the winners!!! Great entries this time around.

I just got done watching the Q&A. Thanks Cedric and Damien, I like the format. I have to admit, I perked up at the mention that some work may be done on meadows, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if a lot of the wooded/jungle area's got thinned out a bit as well. It's those dang smaller palms that cause the most grief as far as dino pathfinding.

I'm going to miss ARKArt, and thanks to everyone that has contributed! I do have to admit I'm excited by the inclusion of an official ARKVideo contest, and very grateful that the decision was made to make this a new category for competition. This community has an incredible amount of talent in everything from art to modding... from design and building to poetry... it's amazing really, and now that videos are an official thing in the Community Crunch I can't wait to see what people will do next. It will undoubtedly be a very stiff competition, as some of you guys are already doing work of a quality I haven't seen in association with any other game. You can rest assured I'll have a dog or two in that race... but win, lose, or draw, it's going to be a whole lot of fun!

This is, unfortunately, exactly correct. I know most people don't have minds that work this way, but there are those that would have their friends create as many dummy forum accounts as possible to rig the vote otherwise... spamming posts to qualify as they go. It would be great if such restrictions weren't necessary, but they are, and you can't run a competition of any sort without taking precautions like that. Please understand that the above is not an accusation towards anyone in the competition. I have a feeling that most instances of post spamming were done by individual people simply trying to qualify so they could take part, but the only way to stop it from happening on a large scale as a vote manipulation technique would be to stop it on the small scale as well.

Congratulations to all of the contest winners! Each and every one appears to be well deserved. Condolences to those that did not place. I know it can be difficult to accept, especially when cash prizes are involved. Please keep in mind that the community appreciates all of your efforts, and everything you have accomplished... and that the development team does as well. I have little doubt that the selection process was challenging, especially with the parameters of the contest being so broad as to make comparisons between the entries difficult. While no one can blame you for being somewhat discouraged if you did not place, take some time and remember why you started modding to begin with... most likely to be creative and to have fun. As long as you are enriching the community, and enjoying yourself while doing it, you will always have our support and our gratitude.

Paterson, the QA process for any piece of software is long, involved, and most intensive right before release. QA has likely been happening for quite some time, looking for problems and getting them corrected long before the public was even aware the Center map was going to be a thing... but of course it will also be one of the final things done before something like this goes live. And if something is found to be off, even slightly, it needs to be resolved before release. So no, the QA process didn't "only just happen today"... it only seems that way.

That's what they would like you to believe, however I am in the process of chronicling the truth... the untold story of the struggle to save the Hidden Lake area! Trust the Chronicles... believe the Chronicles...

I almost forgot, the SteamPunk mod looks excellent.. and as always Paradise did great work covering it in his video!

Now I'm in a quandary as to whether to stick with The Island long enough to see all of the new biome changes, or to start a new season on the Center map. This is what I like to call a GOOD problem. As always, many thanks for your work on the game and for your work here with the community.

Smugglers Pass shall become my line of defense against the coming of Winter...

The snow expansion should be interesting, it certainly is expansive. I do have to admit, I too was hoping a section of the map (preferably on a coastline) could be turned into a desert biome. Deserts next to ocean is visually interesting to me, I suppose part of me likes the contrast. Still, looking very good and I am extremely interested to see what is in store for procedurally generated ARK.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Jat and the rest of the Wildcard Studio team for including my work. You fine folks putting the Community Crunch together means a lot to the community.

I have a silly question, so please forgive my ignorance. If we have something to share that we would like to submit for possible inclusion in a Community Crunch issue, what would be the best way to get in touch with you about it? Or is it usually a case of Jat combing the site for the most interesting new material?

ARK has always been about extinct creatures, not strictly prehistoric animals. At least until the boss level where they go far beyond that. Our little (or rather huge) extinct leech falls into that category quite nicely.

Here's hoping BattlEye will prove to be effective!

Well that was unexpected! Thanks for featuring my Penguin Rescue video, it's much appreciated. While I'm sure it's time consuming to put together, this section is an excellent way to engage with the community... and we are appreciative of your hard work.