ARK Survival Evolved

[chrisb 196]

Steam Early Access

I have been looking at this game. It goes early access June 2nd. It looks really nice graphically, hoping the content matches that.

What do players think ?

:)

[major_barnes1987 33]

I'd prefer a real survival game like dayZ with dinosaurs or something close to it,but..... can't complain.Anyway it's just me or the game is using CryEngine?

[nodunit 397]

Looks like one of the few survival games that actually gives a damn about itself...maybe. It certainly looks nice but due to the way this whole early access thing as been handled both by valve and pricks looking to make easy bucks, I'd hold off on it until someone reviews it saying if the developers actually try or if its a game that looks good but plays awfully.

[NeMeSiS 11]

I'd prefer a real survival game like dayZ with dinosaurs or something close to it,but..... can't complain.Anyway it's just me or the game is using CryEngine?

You can give The Hunter: Primal a try.

I don't know what to think of this game though.

[major_barnes1987 33]

You can give The Hunter: Primal a try.

I don't know what to think of this game though.

Thanks mate i'll give it a look first. ;)

[chrisb 196]

@majorBarnes:

I'm not sure if it is CryEngine, I will have to look.

@nodunit:

Yeah, I'll probably let it get a few reviews before bothering. But it does look good and the devs are saying the right things. There again, what else would they say. ;)

[x3kj 1247]

yeah dinosaurs, sticks, rocks... and suddenly AK... wtf? It would be actually more interesting if it wouldnt have fire arms that magically appear (in parts) everywhere for no reason.

[chrisb 196]

yeah dinosaurs, sticks, rocks... and suddenly AK... wtf? It would be actually more interesting if it wouldnt have fire arms that magically appear (in parts) everywhere for no reason.

Its not set in prehistoric times, so weapons could be anything. Sort of sci-fi setting, usual type of thing, something happened to the world and now we have the dino's back. Just replacing the zombies, I suppose, only I quite like dino's..;)

Not into zombies at all.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Awesome. Hands down. While i do wish for some kind of survival game that is modern, and incorporates great survival aspects, a good map, and good performance, this game hits some of the sweet spots.

Starting out - Not too bad. First few levels are basic, getting to know controls, leveling up by crafting, learning what you can craft, and places to go/not to go. Great experience once you've familiarized yourself with certain aspects.

Crafting - Plenty of possibilities and options. Levels provide more possibilities and more valuable yet more expensive options. Thatch, Wood, Metal. Survival is key when it comes to crafting. If you don't craft, you won't survive, simple, but feels good.

Enemies - For a long time, i wanted a survival game. I hate sci-fi, and and like to keep things modern as possible. But this i like it. DayZ, you biggest threat are other players. So in a sense, its survival... No, It's Deathmatch with food and water, and other mechanics now. ARK on the other hand... Yeah, once you see a T-Rex eating another predator, it's time to turn around. There are many threats to you in this environment, and other players are the LEAST of your worries. I love that feeling.

Performance - I have a low end PC, and this game is ok... I guess on performance. For others, i can't say, they have better PC's. When it comes to Arma i run almost everything on High, certain things on Ultra. (Lighting, Clouds, Shadows) On ARK, EVERYTHING, and i mean Everything, is on low. ARK is GPU intensive where as Arma 3 is CPU intensive. Arma i can easily achieve 50-60 FPS, on ARK i get 25 average maybe, sometimes less, but yet it's still enjoyable. Guess i should look into upgrading my PC soon.

Overall - Amazing. Still love it, despite few lacks of my PC, everything else plays nicely. The gameplay doesn't repeat itself, it's unique. You can interact with wildlife, and use it to your advantage. Just tonight i finished fencing off my land for a Velociraptor we tamed. Very good stuff, the Bow and Arrow is my all time favorite weapon now, and the crafting is on point. Everything in the game feels, and looks nice. Players communicate, and most are kind to you. People do not run up and try to instantly kill you, despite what you have. Even though i don't usually like the dino setting, i find myself loving this game.

Rate 10/10, in Beta. Hope it improves and gets optimizations too.

[Tonci87 163]

[chrisb 196]

Awesome. Hands down. While i do wish for some kind of survival game that is modern, and incorporates great survival aspects, a good map, and good performance, this game hits some of the sweet spots.

Starting out - Not too bad. First few levels are basic, getting to know controls, leveling up by crafting, learning what you can craft, and places to go/not to go. Great experience once you've familiarized yourself with certain aspects.

Crafting - Plenty of possibilities and options. Levels provide more possibilities and more valuable yet more expensive options. Thatch, Wood, Metal. Survival is key when it comes to crafting. If you don't craft, you won't survive, simple, but feels good.

Enemies - For a long time, i wanted a survival game. I hate sci-fi, and and like to keep things modern as possible. But this i like it. DayZ, you biggest threat are other players. So in a sense, its survival... No, It's Deathmatch with food and water, and other mechanics now. ARK on the other hand... Yeah, once you see a T-Rex eating another predator, it's time to turn around. There are many threats to you in this environment, and other players are the LEAST of your worries. I love that feeling.

Performance - I have a low end PC, and this game is ok... I guess on performance. For others, i can't say, they have better PC's. When it comes to Arma i run almost everything on High, certain things on Ultra. (Lighting, Clouds, Shadows) On ARK, EVERYTHING, and i mean Everything, is on low. ARK is GPU intensive where as Arma 3 is CPU intensive. Arma i can easily achieve 50-60 FPS, on ARK i get 25 average maybe, sometimes less, but yet it's still enjoyable. Guess i should look into upgrading my PC soon.

Overall - Amazing. Still love it, despite few lacks of my PC, everything else plays nicely. The gameplay doesn't repeat itself, it's unique. You can interact with wildlife, and use it to your advantage. Just tonight i finished fencing off my land for a Velociraptor we tamed. Very good stuff, the Bow and Arrow is my all time favorite weapon now, and the crafting is on point. Everything in the game feels, and looks nice. Players communicate, and most are kind to you. People do not run up and try to instantly kill you, despite what you have. Even though i don't usually like the dino setting, i find myself loving this game.

Rate 10/10, in Beta. Hope it improves and gets optimizations too.

Yeah, I do admit it looks pretty good. I may give it a go in single player mode for a while, see how I like it. :)

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Lol, pretty much. Horrifically optimized, but amazing. Though, i don't mind the whole "all the tribe is able to access tribe gains" thing, that's a fantastic feature, that ensure's that everyone has to be involved, or pick up the slack at one point or another, also brings challenge to the game play if you play with randoms that is, never know what will happen.

---------- Post added at 15:33 ---------- Previous post was at 15:32 ----------

Yeah, I do admit it looks pretty good. I may give it a go in single player mode for a while, see how I like it. :)

I'd say go for it dude, it's awesome. I absolutely love the Raptors.

[bauer24x 10]

This game is freaking great. Fun to build and tame dinos and kill stuff. And the dev's are patching it daily and its really promising. Optimization is kinda poor right now though.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Still having so much fun with this game. Up til 2 AM last night, got me 2 Raptors and a Scorpion that doesn't mess around. I also love the customization in clothing. If you make dye, you can color different sections of cloths, weapons and buildings. It's awesome in that respect, on top of already epic building and crafting mechanics.

I run on low graphics currently until they optimize it, none the less, super fun still.

The King will Rise

[x3kj 1247]

wow that looks atrocious on low settings... like pre 2000 atrocious

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

wow that looks atrocious on low settings... like pre 2000 atrocious

LOL, i agree. The Engine looks AMAZING on high detail... On low settings, as my squad mate puts it... Worse than Minecraft. In fact, give me a minute, when it turns day, ill crank my settings max for a moment, take a screen, and then put it back before my PC explodes. XD

EDIT: Got carried away, and it become almost night fall. LMAO. Tamed me another Scorpion.

The Royal Guards

Edited June 19, 2015 by DarkSideSixOfficial

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Well, as it turns out, we got raided during the night, lost everything. Today, we re-gained everything and more, including allies from 3 different tribes.

Surviving the night with Shinobi, my new cat.

The Preparation for war begins, as a Tribe consisting of mainly French speaking players Dominate the entire Eastern part of the map, and another enemy clan is believed to have claimed the entire South and West side's of the map. Our forces hold the North side of the map, and plan on capturing the East first, ridding the server of the French, and then fighting the others, known as the "Dark Warrior's". War, is on the Horizon.

[chrisb 196]

So this game has sold a million copies apparently, over a few weeks. They are just introducing modding now, so that will up the sales more, if they haven't already got it in the game by now. Seems its very popular.

[x3kj 1247]

Seems its very popular.

survival flavor of the month... like others have already noted, this changes very rapidly. Not long ago it was reign of kings, before that another, etc, etc and DayZ at the beginning of the list. Once those early access survivals come out of early access, nobody will care anymore about them, because they already left for some other new shiny thing.

[chrisb 196]

survival flavor of the month... like others have already noted, this changes very rapidly. Not long ago it was reign of kings, before that another, etc, etc and DayZ at the beginning of the list. Once those early access survivals come out of early access, nobody will care anymore about them, because they already left for some other new shiny thing.

Yes, but as the developers would argue, after 1 million sales your not really that bothered if people move on or not..;)

[x3kj 1247]

that depends on if they only care about the cash or about the game they create...

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

New ARK Trailer, and it looks... AMAZING! New snow Biome!!!