Cailean556

Do the railroad blocks/foundations actually prohibit building/resource respawns within an area as large as most other structures - ala pillars and foundations? I don't play multiplayer, and I haven't built a track or anything yet so I'm not sure what to expect from it. Most of the videos seem to have trees, bushes and rocks close to the railroad so it kind of gave me the impression that the 'resource respawn'/'enemy structure' distances were lower than typical.

As many have suggested, when it comes to (especially) official PvE servers, there needs to be certain measures in place to prohibit tribes from building far beyond what could be considered reasonable (though what 'reasonable' is, is subjective) - whether that be a 'land claim' structure or some system that limits how far away from an owned foundation separate structures can be placed - it could even be linked to an ORP-type structure that protects/shields a base in PvE and/or PvP - but only within a limited AoE around the structure - and only one ORP structure able to be placed within a specified (but quite large) area per tribe (so this does not stop second or third bases from being built - but does space them out). That way, while it isn't a "land claim" system per se, it does limit a tribe to building within those limits - the trade off is their structures within that AoE are protected when offline. Those outside of it are, even in PvE, not protected and thus can be removed/destroyed - deterring the worst of the pillar spam.

As a long-time player of ARK, I've poured a significant amount of time into both ASE and, now that it has become more stable on my PC, ASA. While my free-time has not changed in terms of how much I have, what has changed is the quality of the time I choose to spend. For example, ASA would CTD within an hour of me starting to play... That did not help as after an hour I'm normally "getting into the groove". I prefer a "vanilla" experience, as in some cases in ASE mods that I found I liked, or sometimes even relied on, either stopped being actively developed, or the modder would change integral parts of their mod I particularly liked and I'd either have to stop using that mod, or couldn't use the mod for the reasons I started using it. But I would use those mods where I saw a need to improve the use of my time in ARK (less time spent on base healing dinos and raising babies and more time exploring, resource gathering, caving for artifacts and higher-end BPs and fighting bosses for Element - the "fun stuff"). To that end, I've found myself wanting particular things, or wishing they'd add things to ASA that weren't/aren't there in ASE (seeing as we have a DLC pack now, perhaps it could be added to that over the base game - to keep the "core experience" as is if people do not wish to buy the DLC to keep their experience 'pure' - or to incentivise buying the DLC): (These are, for the most part, REQUESTS/SUGGESTIONS aimed at QoL improvement) 1. Out-of-Combat healing - A food item that can be used on any dino (carnivore or herbivore - or an item for each type) that heals it for a % of its health, in a manner that is far less button-holding-intensive that force-feeding a Rex, and less resource intensive than Veggie Cakes, but unable to be used in combat. This alone equates to a large amount of time - healing up dinos after a boss fight. You could argue that this would unbalance PvP, however the approach for that is quite simple: make it less effective in PvP compared to PvE/SP to the point where, while it is still viable, it does not impact the general "balance" of PvP (e.g. If it does 10% healing in PvE/SP, it only does 2% in PvP - numbers are for effect only, but they do seem reasonable). This also does not take away from the importance or significance of the Daeodon, as the Daeodon can still heal in combat. The effectiveness could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line. 1a. Out-of-Combat healing (Endgame) - With endgame/Tek, the food item could be replaced with a Tek device that emits a healing pulse over an AoE, fuelled by Element - with the Element drain-rate being tied directly to the amount of damage it is healing per pulse (in essence, out-of-combat Daeodon healing but a Tek device using Element) so if it's healing only 1000HP of damage, it uses 1 Element per pulse (as an example), however if it's healing 1,000,000 (combined) HP it might use an entire Element stack per pulse. The effectiveness could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line. 2. Breeding manipulation (Endgame "Gene Resequencer") - A Tek device and/or improvement to the Incubator (either the Tek device combines the abilities of an incubator, or is used alongside - but for one egg at a time, as an egg-sample... 😛) that allows the player to select stats and colours (based off parents) of a baby prior to hatching/birth. Obviously selecting stats would unbalance PvP, so the device (in PvP) would not have that function. The device would not be able to improve stats in any way but, at the cost of Element Dust (the dust, as a medium, in finer than Shards and allows the dust to be injected into the embryo), in PvE and SP would enable the player to pick the best stats (with cost increasing per positive stat selected) and colour of the offspring - ensuring the baby you're going to raise is as good as you want it to be, or at the very least the actual colours you wanted. This, from a QoL perspective, saves an inordinate amount of "down time" - you're in game, but you're not really playing... At an added Dust cost, you can introduce colours that are not applied to the parents (say both parents are Black and Grey, you can change the colours to Purple and Green for the offspring but it will cost a sizeable amount more Element Dust). The costs could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line. 3. Tek 'Shield Trap' - The Tek Shield Trap is essentially a Tek Bear-Trap that can hold dinos of any size in place, for twice the time of bear traps - however the trap must be 'loaded' with Element first (an Element stack will hold Giga-sized creatures, with the field being less effective/unable to hold larger creatures with less Element supplied). It projects a 'reverse shield' or 'one way force field' - those inside it cannot get out, but those outside can walk, or fire, through. Single-time use but it can be picked up, if the trap is not sprung. Because it's Tek, it has IFF (i.e. it won't trap a friendly, and will allow them to pass through the shield, even from the inside). The enemy/non-aligned units caught inside the Shield Trap receive a 'Tagged' debuff that enables Tek Tranquiliser turrets to target them (they won't fire on anything that does not have the 'Tagged' debuff). Having it function only when loaded with Element ensures it can't be "cheesed" in PvP - however setting a well-coordinated ambush is still very much on the cards. The effectiveness could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line - filtering out anything above or below a particular drag weight, useful for unofficial servers. 3a. Dedicated Tek-Tranquiliser 'Pacifier' turret - Intended for use alongside the Tek Shield Trap, is the Tek Tranquiliser Turret (potentially called 'Tek Pacifier' turret) and the Tek Tranquiliser Rifle (TTR). The turret, using either Element Shards like the Tek Bow, or using Darts/Shock Darts (less preferrable/effective) can shoot at dinos to knock them unconscious, dealing exactly the right amount of torpor without harming the taming progress/efficiency. The turret is limited to only shooting at targets that are specifically marked by a particular debuff tentatively called 'Tagged', which is where the Shield Trap, or the TTR comes in. These could essentially enable 'Automated Taming Facilities' - an endgame Tek upgrade to the veritable 'Taming Traps' used by literally everyone - drop in your tame, tag it (using a Shield Trap in the facility, or your TTR) and watch as the facility drops your tame for you. The effectiveness could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line. 3b. Tek Tranquiliser Rifle (TTR) - A Tek Railgun-type weapon that uses Element and deals huge amounts of torpor at long range, with the ability to use a scope to zoom in on the target as it's primary mode. It also does minimal physical damage to the target. However, in its secondary mode, it applies the 'Tagged' debuff so any Tek Pacifier turrets in range will target the 'tagged' character until they are unconscious. The TTR is less effective on players (to minimise PvP shenanigans) and is only slightly more effective than traditional tranqs on already-tamed creatures (again aimed at minimising PvP hijinks). The effectiveness could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line. 4. REQUEST/SUGGESTION -Expanding the Game Settings for Single Player/non-dedicated servers within the game. Not everyone is competent, confident, or understands the how/why of editing the ini files. For example there are a number of settings I apply (via ini file) that might seem confusing or even intimidating to others, so having these options available via the in-game settings sliders/checkboxes simply makes sense. Things such as (specific to ASA): -Enabling/Disabling requirement to be in range of Cryofridges to use Cryopods -Increasing/Decreasing the range from Cryofridges that Cryopods can be used -Enabling/Disabling the use of fliers on non-flier maps (Aberration and Genesis Pt 1 - when they are released for ASA, and the Svartalfheim mod - as an example) -Enabling/Disabling the use of Tek abilities - including flying (example, Genesis Pt 1, the 'Tek Cave' - Boss fights)* -Increasing/Decreasing the Imprint Quality per imprint (currently only able to be manipulated via the ini) -Event activation/deactivation (which I believe *was* something at least attempted in ASE?) * Regarding the Tek Cave specifically - AI pathing, while improved, is not at the point where (particularly as a single player/small group) bringing large numbers (more than 2 or 3, plus your own mount, per person) is viable. Dinos still run/fall off the edges, and because you can't cryopod/un-cryopod dinos, you either run with minimal numbers to reduce that stress, but at the cost of facing large numbers of powerful, high-level dinos with less combat power. By allowing an option to use Tek in such areas, and in boss fights, doesn't detract from the core gameplay on official servers at all but can positively, and significantly, impact Singe-Player/non-dedicated/unofficial servers. 5. Firearm effectiveness (in PvE/SP) - Guns are not as effective against dinos, even when some of them 'look like' they should be. It has been like that since ASE. Certain mods got around this issue by adding in different ammo types specifically for use against dinos... For unofficial/PvE/SP or non-dedicated servers, having the ability to specifically enhance the effectiveness of ranged weapons would be "simple" to implement (effectively 0/false by default, but 'gun damage' could be multiplied by a specific amount entered). The effectiveness could be editable via a Slider (SP/non-dedicated) and/or ini line. 6. Tek Suit (Protective Values) - The Tek Suit... It enables the player to do 'superhuman' things, survive in the vacuum of space and everyone feels like Iron Man. Right up until you're in a cave full of noxious gas, or in a radiation zone. When wearing a powered, complete Tek Suit, and a player encounters noxious gas (the Redwood cave on the Island, for example) or radiation (such as the depths of Aberration) the suit *should* draw more power (take more Element) to protect the user from these environmental hazards. This functionality could/should be added into the Tek Suit and configurable either via a checkbox (for SP/non-dedicated) or an ini file (for unofficial servers) - this would have no change on PvE/PvP. 7. Flintlocks/Muskets - Please consider adding (either as part of the base game, or as part of Bob's Tall Tales) a Flintlock (pistol) and a Musket (rifle). Short range, high damage (to players), single-shot, long-reload-time weapons that are made with wood, hide and metal ingots at a Smithy while ammo for them ('Primitive Shot') can be made in your inventory (using gunpowder and metal ore), or faster via a Smithy. As powerful as a shotgun up close, but at a point target, and takes as long, if not longer, to load as the Pump-action Shotgun. Why? Mainly for enhancing roleplaying. Providing a type of firearm that, while powerful, is not going to destabilise any kind of balance nor does it take away the usefulness/effectiveness of other, more advanced weapons in game. Thank you for reading. Let me know your thoughts and I, and others I know, would really like to see things like this added to ASA to improve the way we play and, after slogging it out to endgame, a way to reduce the time spent doing "the mundane, back-at-base" stuff and more time out doing what we're all wanting to do - survive, tame, breed, raise and ascend.

Currently, in ASA, in order to deploy a cryopod you need to be within range of a cryofridge. You can alter the ini in order to remove that restriction however I believe if the 'Single Player Settings' is enabled, then the cryopod deployment restriction should be removed by default. Further, it makes more sense to have these particular ini file commands as checkboxes in the game settings in-game - to assist with setting up Single Player/non-dedicated sessions - instead of having to directly manipulate the ini file.

As long as it's constructively negative, providing actual feedback that is useful to both prospective buyers and Wildcard (if they even bothered to read them), and it's their legitimate feeling on the game - what's the issue with writing a negative review? You can always change it later, if the game improves. Much like I will do eventually, probably. I've bought ASA, I've gone over my 2 hour refund window. To be honest, I'm not happy with the performance. Especially when my PC meets the "RECOMMENDED" specs. To me, if those are the Recommended specs, you're telling anyone buying the game that if you have that hardware then the game will run smoothly with a high level of graphical fidelity, at an industry standard speed (say for arguments sake, in ASA, High settings with 60fps, as that's pretty much the universal minimum expectation these days). At the moment, on Medium settings with my PC that has an RTX 3080, 32GB DDR4 RAM and an SSD (which basically only has ASE and now ASA on it) and an i7-10700F, I'm getting around 40-50fps depending on what I'm doing. I'm averaging about 20-30 or so, on High settings. On Medium settings, I'm not seeing much of a difference in visual clarity, especially on the dinos. The terrain and trees, definitely (over ASE). On High, I'm not seeing much of a difference - especially on the dinos. I can appreciate that ASA is not even 24 hours old, but Wildcard talked up ASA like it was so much more performant than ASE. Currently, on my set up which meets or exceeds the Recommended specs (for both ASE and ASA), I'm not seeing it. That is a negative. Plus there's a bunch of other, minor stuff I'm not liking right now... Performance, right now, is the massive detractor. ASE runs way, way better (consistently exceeding 70fps even in high-traffic areas). Hence a negative review.

There's been a few submissions this time around that have impressed me enough to vote and/or comment. The Chimerarachne (a hypnotising scorpion-spider that hides in the dark), the 'Mutated Horror' Lovecraftian penguin (because it parallels the fall of Rockwell), the Gojirasaurus (if WIldcard went 'full nod to Godzilla', the submission author even adapted a few of the ideas I supplied - but honestly, I feel like ARK is "theropodded" out)... Your "flightless owl" idea is up there. The abilities you suggest for it don't make it "yet another OP tame" but it DOES increase its usefulness exponentially. It also doesn't clash with the Snow Owl's abilities. I also like how its "main ability" - the 'spotlight' - both gives and takes something of benefit. You get: Increased vision and situational awareness, You receive: The inability to hide and you give away your location while using said ability. My only suggestions would be to propose that it is capable of gliding based on its stamina, like a Rock Drake, as opposed to simply a few seconds before being on a cooldown - this would allow its rider to glide around the Fertile and Bioluminescent zones (increasing their mobility and scouting ability), and that it likes to perch on the Redwood trees (like a Thylo - but higher up the trunk so it's much harder to see), so it 'drops down' on prey/survivors. I also like that, in your picture, its eyes glow. It would be awesome/terrifying to look up and see a pair of glowing, soulless eyes looking down on you seconds before the cold embrace of death touches you. While this would increase its mobility to be comparable to a Rock Drake but accesible much earlier, given it's not resistant to radiation, can't cloak and doesn't have a Tek saddle, these changes don't take away from the Rock Drake's 'premier Aberration tame' title and you certainly wouldn't take one into the radiation zone unprepared, and getting in doesn't mean you're going to be able to get out - so 'easy access to Rockdrakes' isn't a thing. This could also be handled in-game by making its saddle a higher level, and/or requiring higher-end resources and the creature itself having a smaller pool of stamina and/or its abilities drain stamina faster. Your idea has great potential.

I think a "breath beam" would be more appropriate than an explosion for a primary capability. I know you listed it as a "potential" ability, but I think it could work better if it was the other way around. Or perhaps, once it has soaked up enough radiation, it needs to either release the radiation (in a breath beam - so it can't do it on command, needs to build uo) or it will, almost literally, go nuclear (like a Giga's rage only an explosive AOE that damages structures and dinos alike). Or perhaps, if it soaks up enough radiation, it actually gets bigger and starts morphing into something akin to the "real" Godzilla (stopping at something akin to the Reaper in size), with abilities that are "definitely not meant to make it ARK's version of Godzilla" - and it stays this way until either the radiation fades (very, very slowly - once its outside the zone) or you feed it the anti-radiation mushrooms, or a Lamprey is attached to it to speed up the process. Potentially, outside of Aberration and the Radiation Zone, it could be fed an entire stack of element to trigger its "Godzilla mode" - or to maintain it. So if you want this Reaper-counter, it's going to cost you being in the radiation zone (or an entire stack of element) to maintain its radioactivity - requiring you balance it using its power (as it uses its store of radiation, it begins to get smaller and weaker) and maintaining it. The only other creature (not including babies) we've had that changes size (albeit over a much shorter period of time) is the Ferox - so something that starts Raptor-sized, and can gradually increase in size (and power) until it's eye-to-eye with a Reaper and can maintain that size a lot longer (or indefinitely) would be truly unique. All that said...I feel like ARK's all "theropodded" out and I'm not really feeling it. Not in its present format.

I probably won't for it, not as my first choice anyway, but I think the Gorgonops should find its way to ARK now. It's been one of those dinos that people keep saying they want, until they're shown something better. Seeing as Wildcard made the Charcaradontosaurus even though it didn't win, perhaps they could do the same for the Gorgonops... I like the way you've presented its abilities and uses in this thread. I hope it fares well. Good luck.

I think ARK has enough theropods now, but I always found it weird that Carnotaurus was a thing but we never had Ceratosaurus show up.

Looks like a Shadow from Babylon 5. Hard to spot (especially if it's dark - this thing will scare the pants off of people if they've built a base near their spawn location, and it's night), able to scale vertical surfaces but not OP. I don't think it being "scaled up" from the real thing is an issue, as it suits ARK's MO - most of the actual dinosaurs are hybrids, or larger/smaller versions of real-life animals, so a scaled-up ambushing spider...sign me the hell up.

I haven't read through all the finalists yet but this one is so far the one concept that has impressed me the most (assuming, of course, Wildcard doesn't ignore the concept provided). I don't think having the Gigantoraptor (what are we going to shorten this to? Giga-raptor? G-Raptor? I admit that, if this makes it in, I will be referring to it as a cassowary also). I wouldn't worry about concerns of the proposed abilities of this overlapping with the Incubator and/or other dinos - plenty of animals in ARK do what structures can do, just less effectively (Equus, Trope, Magmasaur and Dimetrodon for example, Argent shares some abilities with the Beaver now too) so I think the Giga-raptor's abilities would fit right in (and, as you already said, some of those structures and creatures won't be available for a little while anyway).

There's merit in a role-based approach like this. However I don't agree with the whole "in order to tame a Utahraptor, you need to first tame a Microraptor etc". The way I could see there being merit in taming "lesser" dinos within their size/role is you gain a passive buff to taming the "next dino up" - so if you go straight for taming Utahraptor, you have a 0% bonus to taming Small Dinos. However if you've tamed Microraptors, Velociraptors and Deinonychus before attempting a Utahraptor tame, you have a 60% bonus (the number is arbitrary, as an example only) to taming Small Dinos. Your examples are all carnivores though, so how would this approach affect herbivores? And what roles would they serve? The same, or herbivore-unique/specific? This. Once you get a Raptor, Dilos become obsolete. Once you get a Carno, Raptors become obsolete. Once you get Rexes, Carnos are obsolete and the only thing you fear are other Rexes, Gigas and soon Carcharadontosaurus. You end up culling dinos because they serve no purpose anymore. There needs to be a reason to keep your "lesser tames" around. Like "milking" your Dilo for poison which can be made into a powerful tranquiliser/narcotic, as an example. And, so you don't need to have bases full of dinos, whatever their (secondary) use - you don't need *that* many of them for it, or perhaps (like a Gacha in ARK) the more of them in an area, the less effective they are at this (secondary) use.

I dare say they've taken a page out of Conan: Exile's book, and it's a change I'm not happy about really. We don't play ARK for its cinematic combat and combat was never a major issue for players, at least not that I've seen. I think maybe there was something about wanting to switch between right or left-hand dominant AGES ago but overall, ARK's combat was never really an issue among players. It's like the whole team have suffered from 'Survivor Bias' - let's change the parts of the game no one really complained about... I'm extremely hesitant about ARK 2 because of these (minor) changes alone. We need to see gameplay. Now, even if combat is optimised for third-person, I still want the OPTION to use first-person view. Even if as soon as I draw a weapon, it reverts to third-person. First person is better when exploring, it's better when inside your base, it's better when viewing/inspecting your dinos and when taking in an epic view. I should not have to RELY on a modder to add a function the developers can add themselves quite easily. And, because I guarantee you enough people are going to use a First-Person mod if the dev team are too lazy to add it themselves, there will be calls to incorporate any such mod into the base game anyway. So just add the damn First-Person view as an OPTION and everyone's happy. Also, as Mephilis78 says above: If you want to make a "completely different kind of game" (which is fine), don't make it a sequel to an already established game. You make it a standalone title linked to the franchise, like "ARK: Arat Prime" or "ARK: Primal", something like that. Not a direct sequel.

Obviously this is a suggestion and will likely never come to fruition however I'm sick of hearing that. Mostly because of the toxic drivel that is PvP. Far more people play PvE, or Single Player, and yet they're having terms dictated to them by a smaller group, simply because they complain longer and louder than everyone else. PvP shouldn't dictate the flow of abilities and features. And quite frankly, I'm pretty tired of things being changed because the PvP crowd cracks the sads because their beloved "established meta" is challenged. How long until Lost Island's Dinopethicus is changed because PvP has a meltdown? Or Fjordur's Andrewsarchus? Like what they did with Cryopods and Cryo Sickness, if they could tailor it so that in PvP it does less than it does in PvE or Single Player, great. Everyone wins. PvP can quit whinging and adapt. Like the rest of us have to when things change because PvP demands it. Maybe this time PvE/SP gets a win and PvP can adapt to the rest of us.

Yeah, considering the Incubator demonstrates the 'tech' works now we need some kind of handheld device to determine gestating baby stats. That's a great suggestion. I'd also like the see, at the Tek tier, a device that you can use to modify the baby in the egg/in utero and ensure colours and stats you want at the cost of Element Shards/Dust. Like a 'Tek Gene Sequencer'. You're limited to the colours and stats the parents already had, so it wouldn't upset balance - it just cuts down the time it might take to get the baby with the colours and stats you want. Unless you get absolutely lucky on your first breeding.