Dec 23, 2016

Patch 253: Cnidaria, Pegomastax, Therizinosaurus, Troodon, Tusoteuthis, Underwater Caves, & Winter Wonderland 2!

ARK: Survival Evolved - Jat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgMKeuPtieg

Season's Greeting Survivors!

It's that most wonderful time of year again, a time of celebration, joy, and sharing. And we have a lot to share with you in this update!

Join Raptor Claus as he darts across the night sky in his sleigh, air-dropping presents filled with high-end Loot Blueprints, Mistletoe, or Coal for naughty Survivors. Survivors can trade in Santa's gifts for Reindeer Costumes, Candy Cane Club Weapons, Santa Hats, and if they collect enough Coal, they might even be able to summon the elusive holiday-themed DodoRex to do their bidding for a limited time!

Along with this holiday-themed update, we are also excited to unveil content Patch 253! Which includes two new full-scale underwater caves and setting free five new creatures: Cnidaria, Troodon, Tusoteuthis, Pegomastax, and the Therizinosaurus. Not to mention an extra special surprise, allowing survivors to truly enjoy every passing moment, and make them even more beautiful and memorable than ever before: a camera item used to take in-game photographs, which can then be applied to the in-game Painting Canvas! Tek Tier Phase 1 will now make its debut in January's ARK v254, which will be previewed in-depth with additional items at the start of the new year, more details can be found here!

Dossier

Cnidaria Omnimorph, a combination of everything good and bad about various species of Jellyfish, the Cnidaria is too simple to tame or train, but tribes keep schools of them around for their bioluminescence and their ability to sting. Containing them in pools around a camp is a great way to make a barrier of swimming, stinging security that also illuminates the night. They also drop a special biotoxin which can be used to create shockingly powerful torpor darts.

Dossier

Pegomastax Fructarator, a relatively harmless herbivore who prefers to live alone and gorges on just about any plants it can find. Far from the definition of "pretty", Pegomastax features a nasty looking beak (with tusks for extra effect!) and feathers, making him a unique sight on the island. Some tribes keep a few Pegomastax around, as they are excellent scavengers, and are notoriously known for their thieving ability.

Dossier

Therizinosaurus Multiensis, is one of the strangest dinosaurs on the islands. Built like a T-Rex, this herbivore possesses great harvesting abilities. Its claws allow it to perform both brute-force or delicate actions; from taking down enemies (though it would prefer to just leave them alone) to plucking leaves from a particularly tasty bush. Because of this ability, Therizinosaurus are always handy to have around for harvesting specific resources, or, when needed, decimating enemies in combat.

Dossier

Troodon Magnanimus, outside of human beings, the Troodon might just be the cleverest creature on the island. You don't "tame" a Troodon, you earn its loyalty through its social nature and love of the hunt. Their ability to scout is second to none, and often you will see tribes adventuring out with Troodon, as they are often considered a smaller relative of the island's Raptors, but arguably no less dangerous, especially because of their love of the hunt.

Dossier

Tusoteuthis Vampyrus, a monstrous relative of the vampire squid, Tusoteuthis bears a closer resemblance to giant squids. It may be slow, but the aquatic Tusoteuthis is a horrific threat to anyone who dares get too close, using its tentacles to first grab, then crush...and then syphon the blood out of, its hapless victims. Tribes will sometimes tame this nightmare of the deep in order to extract its unique ink, which contains oils that can be processed into fuels.

Patch 253 also introduces two brand new underwater progression-oriented caves to TheIsland, with new artifacts and challenges!

Intrepid survivors will want to suit up and explore these new depths to uncover high-end loot, fight the terrifying creatures, discover two brand new artifacts, as well as uncover the mysteries of the ARK.

And for those of you who want to relive the experience, but not take the plunge themselves - you can! With a brand new camera! Survivors can snap pictures of their adventures, and instantly paint them on a canvas, reliving the memory whenever they so choose!

Patch 253 also includes; additional network performance gains, various new ARK DevKit features and hooks, and BattlEye has been enabled by default for Dedicated Servers (use -NoBattlEye to run without!)

ARK Winter Steam Sale!

The Steam's Winter sale is now live which means ARK: Survival Evolved can be tamed on PC/Mac/Linux for a 60% discount and the Scorched Earth Expansion Pack is also available at 33% off! Or introduce someone new to the game, this holiday season by gifting them the Survivor's Pack Bundle!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/346110

http://store.steampowered.com/app/512540/

We hope you enjoy this latest update, and from everyone at the Wildcard Team, we wish you Happy Holidays, and keep on Surviving!

Dec 23, 2016

Patch 253: Cnidaria, Pegomastax, Therizinosaurus, Troodon, Tusoteuthis, Underwater Caves, & Winter Wonderland 2!

ARK: Survival Evolved - Jat

Patch 253 also introduces two brand new underwater progression-oriented caves to TheIsland, with new artifacts and challenges!

ARK Winter Steam Sale!

Nov 23, 2016

Patch 252: Achatina, Megalosaurus, Moschops, Pachyrhinosaurus, New Caves and more!

ARK: Survival Evolved - Jat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ1rWekHO6E

Thanksgiving is upon us and today, Patch 252 brings a feast of new content to ARK: Survival Evolved! New friends will be making an appearance as four new creatures will become available to discover and tame, including the slimy Achatina, nocturnal hunter Megalosaurus, harvesting-specialist Moschops and the pheromone-spewing Pachyrhinosaurus!

Dossier

Achatina Limusegnis, slow and steady, that's the best way to describe the Achatina. A land mollusk standing about 2-3 ft tall, prized by local tribes, the Achatina is often captured and tamed for its glue-like secretions, which can be used as an adhesive when building various structures. It is also reverence for its uncanny ability to create an organic, incredibly strong, lightweight plates that can be shaped and then heat treated into casings for anything.

Dossier

Megalosaurus Noctedominus, the scary nighttime predator Megalosaurus is a beast that causes both survivors and other land creatures to fear the dark. Megalosaurus is a voracious carnivore and is often trained for use in night-time raids against other survivor camps. Due to its ferocious strength exhibited during the night, it sometimes finds itself recovering or sleeping during the day. However be warned, as it is a light sleeper and will wake with tremendous anger is disturbed during rest.

Dossier

Moschops Cibumutante, defines fear, as in fear-ful, since the slightest provocation sends it running. This dino's "special ability" is that it can eat just about anything and do just fine. This makes it particularly useful when domesticated and trained to eat specific materials - for example, teach it to focus on chewing a specific material, and that resource will become easier to harvest. Just remember that everything scares this breed of dino and it will flee without hesitation, so be cautious when taming it!

Dossier

Pachyrhinosaurus Mitisaura, an easy-to-train mount for new riders, its ability to produce a calming "scent" when in danger, helps keep survivors safe. The Pachyrhinosaurus can also reverse the effect of its scent cloud, making nearby creatures incredibly aggressive, which is sometimes useful in attacking other camps.

..but that's not all!

Patch 252 also introduces a vast redesign of the original caves on The Island!

Bringing them up to par visually

As well as introducing more gameplay elements to acquiring those artifacts!

Seasoned explorers will want to give these a whirl as it is an entirely new experience with much to be unravelled!

Along with the launch of Patch 252 comes even more content goodness:

ARK: Turkey Trial 2! New challenge and cosmetics! Earnable Emote! (this system also enables Mods to add more Emotes to the game!)
New Mechanic: Breeding Phase 3 with Random Mutations and Family Trees.
VFX Indicators for Whistle Commands: Move To, Attack, and Group-Selected Units.
Explorer Notes: Two new mythos Explorer Notes for each character
A huge increase in server performance
Whistle Ordering Groups! Create groups by class, or specific-dino!
New Whistle Type: "Move To", Attack, and Group-Selected Units.
Extra Option to "stream" in "Far" map sublevels, for large memory and performance gains (but reduced visual quality & draw distance).

Turkey Trial 2

ARK's biomes are now host to savage, blood-thirsty mutant Super Turkeys. Players can hunt these brutal birds of prey, harvesting their wishbones and using them to craft an event-exclusive ornamental "Chieftain Headdress", or use their poultry-powered gains to summon the mighty DodoRex to do their bidding. This year's Turkey Trial will feature something all new - an event-specific "emote" for players to unlock, and will take place on all official ARK maps including Scorched Earth, The Center, and The Island!

Evolution Event Weekend!

To celebrate this festive period, and with the weekend coming early - as does the Evolution Event!

From Thursday the 24th of November at 12PM ET until Monday the 28th of November at 12PM ET the Official ARK Network will be affected by an Evolution Event! Survivors playing this weekend will get to experience the following bonuses:

2x Harvesting Rate
2x Taming Rate
2x EXP Rate

So be sure to log in and enjoy the increased rates whilst you can!

Steam Autumn Sale

From November 23rd to the 29th, you can purchase ARK: Survival Evolved at 50% off and Scorched Earth at 25% off! Get it whilst it's hot ;)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/346110

http://store.steampowered.com/app/512540/

CrossARK Trading, Breeding and Strategizing forums!

With our recent announcement regarding CrossARK Transfers;

http://steamcommunity.com/games/346110/announcements/detail/603875242708384509

We've now opened up some new forums for players to be able to trade items, offer services such as painting, breeding and strategize with one another! Take a gander as there may be something that'll pique your interest ;)

CrossARK Item Trading and Dino Breeding Forum

CrossARK Strategizing Forum

Enjoy the patch everyone, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and an adventurous exploration!

Nov 23, 2016

Patch 252: Achatina, Megalosaurus, Moschops, Pachyrhinosaurus, New Caves and more!

ARK: Survival Evolved - Jat

..but that's not all!

Patch 252 also introduces a vast redesign of the original caves on The Island!

Bringing them up to par visually

As well as introducing more gameplay elements to acquiring those artifacts!

Seasoned explorers will want to give these a whirl as it is an entirely new experience with much to be unravelled!

Along with the launch of Patch 252 comes even more content goodness:

ARK: Turkey Trial 2! New challenge and cosmetics! Earnable Emote! (this system also enables Mods to add more Emotes to the game!)
New Mechanic: Breeding Phase 3 with Random Mutations and Family Trees.
VFX Indicators for Whistle Commands: Move To, Attack, and Group-Selected Units.
Explorer Notes: Two new mythos Explorer Notes for each character
A huge increase in server performance
Whistle Ordering Groups! Create groups by class, or specific-dino!
New Whistle Type: "Move To", Attack, and Group-Selected Units.
Extra Option to "stream" in "Far" map sublevels, for large memory and performance gains (but reduced visual quality & draw distance).

Turkey Trial 2

Evolution Event Weekend!

2x Harvesting Rate
2x Taming Rate
2x EXP Rate

So be sure to log in and enjoy the increased rates whilst you can!

Steam Autumn Sale

CrossARK Trading, Breeding and Strategizing forums!

Nov 18, 2016

Evolution Event: Cross ARK Transfers & More!

ARK: Survival Evolved - Jat

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=768725889

Saddle up Survivors, as we’ve got a couple of important updates we’d like to inform you all of.

First of all, before we get into the nitty gritty of all the details of the upcoming changes, allow us to say this. Over the past few days, there have been a lot of hot-topics of discussion around the community. Some of these topics have not had an immediate response from the development team, this is not because we are choosing to ignore, but because we want to have time to deliberate and consider our options before responding, or taking action. We try to read all the feedback you provide, whether it’s positive, negative, or indifferent and take action where we deem it viable. ARK was launched into Early Access with the idea of creating a game together, and we are still sticking to that plan, every single day. Sometimes decisions are needed to be made that require a bit of thinking time, but we’ll make those choices. Other times, we’re going to do things you don’t quite agree with, or you’re going to suggest things that we don’t quite see as a viable option for the game - but we will take into consideration what you’re saying, and make compromises or reevaluate our plans where necessary. Today’s announcement will help shed some light on our thoughts, as well as the route we plan to take going forward.

Evolution Event: Cross ARK Transfers!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=780403428

As of Friday the 18th of November at 12PM ET we are going to be activating the following evolution event:

2x Harvesting Rates
2x Taming Rates
2x EXP Rates

This will run until Monday the 21st of November 12PM ET.

We’ll also be introducing a new permanent change will be coming to your CrossARK Clusters:
Complete transfer of Items, Tames and Survivors through all MAPS on the Official ARK Network (separated by game mode).

Please note that this will not affect Player Dedicated Servers. This is just an Official Server change.

Previously, you were only able to transfer Survivors TO Scorched Earth servers, and everything FROM a Scorched Earth server. Now, you’ll be able to have absolute rights when transferring and can go from Island to Island, Center to Center, Scorched Earth to Scorched Earth, Island to Scorched Earth, Center to Scorched Earth, and Island to Center without any limitations, and the reverse of course. Please remember that these transfers are still based on the cluster (mode) you play on; PvE can only go to PvE, Hardcore can only go to Hardcore, Primitive can only go to Primitive etc.

When we first announced the ARK Transfer system with the Launch of Scorched Earth, we stated that it was something critical we wanted to experiment with in Early Access and to see how the game would progress once we introduced that new gameplay mechanic. Following what we’ve seen, and based on the feedback we have received, we would rather allow more freedom, where acceptable of course, than impose further limits.

Alongside this change, we are now going to introduce a new mechanic:

Once a Tame has been uploaded and downloaded onto an ARK, it will suffer a 12-hour cooldown until it can be transferred again. Transferred tames will also display on the HUD from which server they were last uploaded from (if you’re on a different Tribe, you will only see this indicator when the Tame is dead).

We want to provide the opportunity for tribes to scout each other across the ARK, as well as limit, -- to an extent -- tribes from storming in and then storming out immediately with their tames. By enabling the complete CrossARK transfers, it should also provide the chance for existing players to scope out new servers of the same type, meet up with friends, and find new opportunities or adventure, with no PvP server being unassailable or off-limits.

With all big changes, we understand that this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I’m sure I’ve said that before, though keep in mind these changes may not be final. We want to see how things play out, whether this was the right move, how we can further improve the system. Something we’re considering down the line is introducing more limitations on what can be transferred, such as only Baby Tames or Eggs can be transferred, perhaps we limit Scorched Earth transfers to Scorched Earth base/raw materials only. Your feedback following today’s change will be critical as it enables us to continually develop and expand the game, as well as provide the opportunity to explore further options.

Update number two..

Stance on Exploiting

Let’s be clear about this, no one likes cheaters. We don’t like cheaters, you don’t like cheaters, your friends don’t like cheaters, cheaters don’t even like each other. We want to do everything we can to ensure that the ARK is a fair place for everyone to play with one another. It is why we worked to get a strong BattlEye system for ARK which is constantly receiving updates and will continue to do so because we want to stomp out cheats.

However, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to say that we have been lenient when taking action against people who are exploiting game bugs. Previously, we have felt that the bugs are on us and we have to do our best to resolve them and fix them, so we try not to punish survivors in this instance and make changes that will benefit the community as a whole, in the long-term, even if in the moment it seems a bit unfair. We’re going to change that up a little bit. Going forward, we will be taking a stricter approach when it comes to exploiting game bugs. If there is malicious intent, we will take action, be it destroying your tribe, structures, tames, and where necessary straight up removing you from the ARK and adding you to the global ban list and requesting a VAC ban. Consider this your warning to those of who you would rather exploit than report. Cases such as duping, or building under the map for instance, will result in such actions. Of course, it’ll be case by case, accidents happen, sometimes you’re curious - but it is pretty clear when there is indeed malicious intent and that’s where we’ll be taking action.

..but wait, there’s more!

Primitive Servers

Primitive Servers were something we introduced fairly on to the game at the request of the community, they hadn’t really been part of our game plan but it was clear that a lot of you wanted to experience this. Every now and then we introduce updates to the game which impact Primitive in a not so great way, primarily because that particular game mode isn’t quite set up to deal with the vast changes of the ARK. We’re going to make some adjustments to alleviate some of the current problems that exist and we’ll try and pay better attention going forward. Similarly to all changes, nothing is ever final and a lot of it is experimenting. A big concern that has been brought up is the power of some particular Scorched Earth dinos. Going way back when we introduced the Giga to the game, we made some changes to weaken it’s damage specifically on Primitive servers. We found that worked pretty well, so we’ll be taking a similar approach now.

Tamed Wyverns will deal 70% less damage and take 70% more damage.
Tamed Rock Golems will deal 70% less damage and take 20x more damage.
Alpha Wyverns will deal 67% less damage and take 67% more damage.

These changes are only going to be made effective on Primitive servers, and again we’ll be seeing how things go. For now, the other dinos (other than the Giga, Ptero and Argent) remain unaffected. For a complete and more filling Primitive experience, we really recommend you guys try out Primitive+ - which has some pretty cool updates on the way, stay tuned for tomorrow’s Crunch. ;)

So there’s quite a lot to take in, and you may not completely agree with all our changes, be it Primitive, Cross ARK transfers, or even a heavy-handed approach to exploiters, but we’ll see how things go and will make more adjustments if necessary!

Now for some great news. Very excited to share this! Lately, the team has been working pretty hard on tracking down this darn Dino Spawning in Bases issue that has been plaguing us for such a long time. and we think we’ve cracked it! Here’s a heat map of Dino Spawns that have taken place on an Official Server, indicating new wild spawn distance from bases & tames:

Blue = Dino Spawns
Red = Buildings
Green = Tames

Pretty nice eh? ;)
(The Areas where it still appears to overlap are underground Cave spawns!)

So as always folks, thank you again for your commitment and passion that you show towards the ARK. We really value each of you and are grateful to have such an active community. Your feedback has proven to be an absolute game changer, ARK itself has evolved so much from where it originally was, a lot of plans have changed and the scope of the game has gotten a lot bigger than what we first intended it would be thanks to being able to work with you. Hopefully, this is another step forward towards making the ARK as great as we know it can be!

All the best,

Wildcard Jat and the ARK: Survival Evolved Team

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=786124149

Nov 18, 2016

Evolution Event: Cross ARK Transfers & More!

ARK: Survival Evolved - Jat

Evolution Event: Cross ARK Transfers!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=780403428

As of Friday the 18th of November at 12PM ET we are going to be activating the following evolution event:

2x Harvesting Rates
2x Taming Rates
2x EXP Rates

Stance on Exploiting

Primitive Servers

Tamed Wyverns will deal 70% less damage and take 70% more damage.
Tamed Rock Golems will deal 70% less damage and take 20x more damage.
Alpha Wyverns will deal 67% less damage and take 67% more damage.

Blue = Dino Spawns
Red = Buildings
Green = Tames