Hello Survivors!

Anniversary Week!

And boy, has it already been one we won’t forget :P! There’s been a lot of exciting additions in the recent patch, some which have been worked on for a while and you guys have been waiting for - and some others which required some extra work. We hope you’ll be able to enjoy the content and mechanics that were released :). We'll keep on iterating based upon your feedback and what we see in game. There has been some pretty solid ideas and in future passes hopefully we'll be able to expand the system some further and possibly incorporate some of those ideas. I know it sometimes may seem like you don't think we read the feedback, but we definitely do and hope that you continue to provide it so we're able to make changes. Let’s work together to make ARK a great game!

There was a lot released in the patch, so if you haven’t had a chance to take a look at our detailed notes here:

Some of the new additions that you should try out and that we’re really looking to hear your feedback on would be:

The Dragon Arena

Interactive Baby Taming

No Offline Raiding!

We’ve even set up some Official Servers running this setting! Just search for Offline on your PC Session List.

And let us know what you think :)!

Survivors League

The ARK: Survival of the Fittest May Survivor League Championship matches will take place from 11 am EST to 2 pm EST on Saturday, June 4, with a bounty of more than $65,000 in prizes to that day’s winners!

The championship games will be shoutcasted by streaming personality BikeMan. These matches will be invite-only -- based on the top-ranked players for May 2016. Check https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/survivor-league/ to see who will be participating!

We invite all ARK fans, and the newly curious, to come watch the epic battles at that time on our Twitch channel: www.twitch.tv/survivetheark!

For those that may not yet be familiar with ARK: Survival of the Fittest (http://steamcommunity.com/app/407530), it is a free multiplayer online survival arena (M.O.S.A.) game that pits combatants against one another in battle arena-style competitions within a closed battlefield, where a continually shrinking “ring of death” will push survivors into an epic final showdown with only one “Tribe” making it out alive. The survivors must not only compete against other survivors, but against the harsh environment, unpredictable 'Evolution Events', and ARK's many dangerous creatures as well.

To those competing: may fortune smile upon you, brave Survivors! And we hope the rest of you guys tune in and support the contestants as the duke it out to become the fittest survivor!

ARK Digest Q&A

Here is our question and answer session with Lead Designer, Lead Programmer, Co-Creative Director of ARK: Survival Evolved, and Co-Founder of Studio Wildcard: Jeremy "Drake" Stieglitz!

Quote Survivor, Dinofusion asks, “Will you be planning to bring a underwater boss that you had to fight with a scuba suit and megladons and sea creatures?”

In a manner of speaking!

Quote Survivor, FantasticGuy1 asks, “Can we expect to see (or should I say "hear") more ambience in the game for better immersion? Crickets, waves and seagulls by the coast, etc.”

Yes, the ambient sounds are going to get a serious pass by our great new audio designer, Stephen Baker.

Quote Survivor, BigDally asks, “Can we please have the option of enabling "difficulty 5" on the island map? Currently "The Center" is capable of level 150 dinos, so it would be cool to be able to have these higher level dinos on "The Island" as well.”

Yeah I’ll go ahead and unclamp the map difficulty setting coming up.

Quote Survivor, WesenZoo asks, “Will the full version of the game have disc versions or will it all be digital still?”

There will be physical disc versions of the game available sometime after it launches digitally, on all platforms.

Quote Survivor, J asks, “Since alpha mosasaurs' have been introduced will we be seeing an alpha megalodon?”

Yep.

Quote Survivor, Kotawolf asks, “Any word on Roof gates? These were mentioned months ago.”

We’ll go ahead and finally get them in July

Quote Survivor, Victor00 asks, “When will we see improved controller support on PC? Currently its ok but it's not that great.”

I plan to merge up the Xbox’s nice controller support in the next couple months.

Quote Survivor, MidnightLady asks, “Whats the plan for Water dino upload capability?”

It’ll be a structure you make with the Tek Tier specifically.

Quote Survivor, Mystalias asks, “Can private servers get an ini setting to increase/decrease how fast cooking/smelting structures output finished products?”

Yeah I’ll go ahead expose a Crafting Speed Multiplier to servers, as we did in SotF .

Quote Survivor, Im7oxic asks, “Can we please get sever setting on Xbox to allow never force dismount flying. Basically allowing safe flights around and in caves.”

Yes the new game/server options will be added to the Xbox version soon.

Quote Survivor, Sicco0803 asks, “Can we get a dino life span, so dino can die because of their age? Also this should/must be a server option to activate or deactivate and set the length and/or how fast it get aged.”

That’s an amusing idea as a server option, though It might be best left to a mod or TC however, where it would not be particularly difficult to do.

Quote Survivor, Rofelo asks, “With the introduction of the RPG elements as far as damage indicators, will there be RPG elements built into the gear such as "increase to ranged damage”?”

It’s been tempting whether or not to introduce such “buffs” from gear. I have generally tried to stay away from that since it’s very abstract, but maybe is worth exploring. Will further consider it.

Quote Survivor, Starranger asks, “will we be able to build on the upcoming redwood trees? i would love to make an awesome tree house in the redwoods!”

Yep, one of the big points about the redwoods are to build Ewok-style treehouses on them using a new “attached platform” building system

Quote Survivor, Drake69 asks, “Is it posibble to change the building indicator system. Sometimes its really to bright on the terrain to see even where you place your structures. Results in many resources being a waste. Maybe an idea to have like a brightness function or other color for placing structures.”

Yeah I’ll make some options to affect this.

Quote Survivor, Shocksamurai asks, “since we have a scuba suit for oceans, fur suit for the north and ghillie suit for the swamp could we have a squirrel suit for gliding through the sky?”

There will be some player-based limited-flight capabilities coming up.

Quote Survivor, Kimsie asks, “Any chance you might include a server option to disable the markers for the biome changes? I assume they are to stay until the next patch and if possible it'd be great not having them for another 3 weeks”

Will make it a client option next week.

Quote Survivor, K1nzCraft asks, “Is there a chance we can have a config setting to change what level you have to be to access supply drops/loot crates? Like changing white drops form level 3 to level 10, red drops from level 60 to 120.”

Yeah, will add that.

Quote Survivor, Stage53 asks, “I know it was said you could do this but could plant x get a "wild creatures only" feature?”

Yeah I’ll add wild creatures only, carnivores only, herbivores only, and some other targeting options for Turrets soon.

Quote Survivor, JacyKoi asks, “Will we ever be able to toggle resource collecting? I'd like to use my bear and other herbies for battle sometimes but if you're in someplace like the forest, 1-3 clicks and you're burdened with berries or wood. Could there be a way to turn gathering on and off on your dinos?”

Sounds like a good idea, I’ll make it happen.

Quote Survivor, GamerPerfection asks, “Can we get the font on ARK SE, i.e. death notifications, resources gathered, etc reduced in size so that it is like the font on SOTF please?”

I’ll add a slider to adjust their size!

Quote Survivor, theweegee115 asks, “Have you guys thought about adding health bars for the bosses it would nice to see how effective our dinos and weapons as well as our strategy for taking down these titans are.”

I’ll definitely go ahead and do it for Bosses, as those are timed battles it’s very important to know how effective you are. For regular Dinos, I think there are mods which add that, right?

Quote Survivor, Mixit asks, “Just a thought. Since wild dinos drop unfertilised eggs, could they possibly rarely drop fertilised eggs that the player can pickup, take home and imprint on when it hatches.”

I’ve been thinking about that. It’s not a technical challenge, but it might be very unbalancing. Will continue debating it.

Fan Feature!

How an RP Player deals with Swamp Fever! [by Tombness]

Quote “Greetings friend! A new fever is spreading across the island, but don't worry. If the fever haven't made you gone mad yet, well... Then you can follow our easy step by step instructions and soon be a healthy normal person again! The health station is parked outside of the South Sea Cartel's Port. DO NOT ENTER THE PORT IF SICK!”

Step 1

Quote “Enter the waiting room by using the unlocked red door!“

Quote “Sometimes the fever might make you confused. Remember, red door! Not this door.”

Step 2

Quote “Look at some soothing art in the waiting room. Maybe think about your life, relax and wait for further instructions.”

Step 3

Quote “You will be instructed to enter the sterilization room. Take a shower, wash your hands and stay calm.“

Step 4

Quote “You will be instructed to enter a new waiting room after you are done with the sterilization process. Wait for our personnel to deliver the antidote. You will get a passcode when it is clear for you to enter.”

Step 5

Quote “After a "short" wait our happy personnel will deliver the antidote and you may enter.”

Step 6

Quote “Happy to see you are feeling better now! That will be 100 ingots, thank you very much. (Price may vary depending on demand, urgency ect.)”

Original:

Awesome way to see it being handled, really glad RP players are able to incorporate the new mechanics into their gameplay - it’s very exciting to read and watch :). Thanks guys!

Wait a second… by Grande

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=685797605

ARK Survival Evolved Artwork by Twillrex

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=529786731

German Shepherd by Tally!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=679867484

Direwolf+ (Sabertooth-wolf mix) by Susu!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=696629433

Night of the DodoRex by Mullins the Great!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695059307

Fly Dodo by xt1158784991!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=691003937

I think I'm going to need a bigger slingshot… by danleveille!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695514632

XBOX One ARK Let's Play! Episode 48! JEN THE PARAUSAR + Painting Dinos by Tequilayed!

[ SOTF ] Ark compilation - Top Kills MAY by Thebenbig!

DODO TOSSING | ARK Survival Evolved by GamerPerfection!

Fanmade Dossier: Tanystropheus by k1nz_craft

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=694500374

Fanmade Dossier: The Skree by Sir Novaraptor!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=692352717

Fanmade Dossier: Mothrark by Neon!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695402994

Fanmade Dossier: Megaraptor by Shadlos!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=694625196

Fanmade Dossier: Saurophaganax by Neon!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=692813035

Fanmade Dossier: Tetherium by Scarecrow!

Source: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695402384

Community Contests!

ARKitect!

This is an award given to Survivors to celebrate the amazing structures you build. These bases are judged based upon a number of different factors such as their creativity, uniqueness, how fun of a base it is, the difficulty of building it, the functionality it provides and much more!

The ARKitect for Community Crunch 50 is…

It’s a tie!

Congratulations to eco and Valoule for these awesome builds!

Full Album:

and it appears to be making use of their own mod! ecoTrees: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=670764308

Valoule’s Happy Anniversary Cake!

Full Album:

And we’d also like to give a special shout-out to the following survivors for their awesome builds!

Skittle’s Floating Castle! [..haha, this shouldn’t be possible anymore, but a fun idea nonetheless!]

Full album:

Tech2Logix’s Primitive Castle!

Full album:

ARKVideo!

This new Contest will be open for all types of video be they funny, epic, scenic, stories, whatever inspires you. Just a general reminder that they should remain safe for work, think of the children!

The first ever ARKVideo winner is..

SWChris for Gallimimus Race Track, Racing w/ Friends!

Awesome idea and it looks like you guys had a ton of fun :). Thanks for sharing!

And we’d also like to give a special mention to...

nakedzombo for...

Beavers, Uncuffed & Unleashed - Ark: Survival Evolved Cinematic Experience!

Hilariously put together and fantastic watch for those of you who haven’t seen it! Must watch and hope we’ll get to see more of the Beavers

Thank you for all the entries this week guys! Congratulations to all our winners and if you’d like to take a look at what all the survivors submitted, you can do so here:

Workshop Spotlight!

Quote Hey Survivors! Hope you are getting ready for a pretty big Primitive+ update! As we draw nearer to the official Primitive+ update, be prepared for some massive changes and balancing. A lot of the content that’s already in the mod will be polished to give it more of a final look. Expect art and textures to change as we move closer to a final release. Recently, I’ve remodeled a few of the existing assets in the game (tanning rack, preserving campfire, baking table). I will also be looking to make sure the textures blend well with the regular assets in the game.

Quote I’ve also been looking at adding more functionality as we’ve seen in the various traps that were added. An example being carts and wagons. Fingers crossed - you will be seeing these implemented very soon! I’ve also had a lot of requests for tents that you can deploy and walk into for temporary storage. With everyone’s best interest in mind, I’ve added yurts! Yurts are portable, round tent covered with skins or felt and used as a dwelling by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. These should become very useful for people on the go and just need a temporary place to lay their head with relatively low investment of resources.

Quote There are also going to be smaller additions that leverage the comprehensive resources in Primitive+. There will be lots of recipes to cook, bake, and share with your friends. I’ll also be adding recipe notes that can be found for some of the more comprehensive recipes and meals you can make. Part of what makes Primitive+ immersive, is the way that the resources are utilized in a good portion of all the assets in the mod. For example, beeswax allows you to make the longbow and used for binding things together but it’s also used for something relatively basic: candles.

Quote Keep in mind if you are playing on the “official” Primitive+ servers, that they are still test servers. They are subject to frequent changes and more volatility than the existing official servers. Bear with me as we move towards the official release where they will become much more stable. Until then, I’ll be looking to add much more content before we reach a point where it’s just about polish and balancing. No worries, there will still be updates after the official launch but they will be much more regimented and less sporadic. Until then, happy hunting! Ced

That’s it for this week’s post guys! As always if you’ve got anything to share please get in touch and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @survivetheark - Facebook at www.facebook.com/survivetheark and Reddit at www.reddit.com/r/playark

All the best,

Wildcard Jat and the ARK: Survival Evolved Team!