Ark really nailed the grandeur and scope necessary to make a good survivalcrafter. So many tools (if you include dino abilities), so many ways to do things. It was on the right path but also let down by its other failings.
Like all the fun combat options being made obsolete by "ride biggest dino, hold chomp, wait" being the most effective solution 98% of the time. Their inability manage their own jank and bugs. And the ever expanding powercreep trashing earlier mechanics and ruining any semblance of overarching balance, seemingly caused by their greed in trying to make the expansions mandatory purchases to remain competitive.
I think the beginning Island map still holds up just fine. The later maps get fantastical and retarded but the original one still keeps the "Oooga booga" caveman feel.
I clocked about 2000 hours in Ark during early access (2015-2018) most of that time in official PVE servers.
I loved what the game could have been, but Studio Wildcard kept tweaking the game to be more of a time sink in order to inflate play hours numbers.
More and more the rewards to your grinding were simply to make further grinding a little easier.
First they released that DLC during early access (a first in history I believe), because they were strapped for cash (due to legal drama). That really pissed me off, but I stuck to it.
And then there was the great flyer nerf of 2017, which did nothing but make the game grindier and less fun. Still, I hanged on.
And then all of a sudden in 2018 they just wrap it with gift paper and say it's done! With all the bugs and exploits still around.
That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for me.
That's why I don't play on any official (or unofficial) servers, I tweak the game to a singleplayer experience. The game is enjoyable when you don't have to grind a week to breed a single Rex.
The 'best' open world survival game in my opinion, and this is going to be controversial.
Ark Survival Evolved.
It's like your run of the mill survival game mixed with eugenics pokemon mixed with an FPS mixed with World of Warcraft raids.
Completely unplayable singleplayer though unless you tweak a crapton of settings, but once you get the settings 'just right' it plays nicely.
Nah, I'm open to that one.
Ark really nailed the grandeur and scope necessary to make a good survivalcrafter. So many tools (if you include dino abilities), so many ways to do things. It was on the right path but also let down by its other failings.
Like all the fun combat options being made obsolete by "ride biggest dino, hold chomp, wait" being the most effective solution 98% of the time. Their inability manage their own jank and bugs. And the ever expanding powercreep trashing earlier mechanics and ruining any semblance of overarching balance, seemingly caused by their greed in trying to make the expansions mandatory purchases to remain competitive.
I think the beginning Island map still holds up just fine. The later maps get fantastical and retarded but the original one still keeps the "Oooga booga" caveman feel.
I clocked about 2000 hours in Ark during early access (2015-2018) most of that time in official PVE servers.
I loved what the game could have been, but Studio Wildcard kept tweaking the game to be more of a time sink in order to inflate play hours numbers.
More and more the rewards to your grinding were simply to make further grinding a little easier.
First they released that DLC during early access (a first in history I believe), because they were strapped for cash (due to legal drama). That really pissed me off, but I stuck to it.
And then there was the great flyer nerf of 2017, which did nothing but make the game grindier and less fun. Still, I hanged on.
And then all of a sudden in 2018 they just wrap it with gift paper and say it's done! With all the bugs and exploits still around.
That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for me.
That's why I don't play on any official (or unofficial) servers, I tweak the game to a singleplayer experience. The game is enjoyable when you don't have to grind a week to breed a single Rex.
ARK is a dumpster fire.
Go play Kenshi for a sandbox survival.
Ark is fine if you want to eugenically breed ultimate dinosaurs.
Kenshi is fun as well but doesn't even have a story or an end (at least Ark does, even if it's bullshit hard to get to it)