Ark Survival Evolved - PC, Xbox One, PS4.

Well I've been banging on about this game for ages now and now that it has FINALLY hit PS4 I thought I'd make a thread about it. One of the best Survival/MMO games around. Pity we all can't play on same servers.

What Is Ark Survival Evolved?

As a man or woman stranded, naked, freezing, and starving on the unforgiving shores of a mysterious island called "ARK", use your skill and cunning to kill or tame and ride the plethora of leviathan dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the land. Hunt, harvest resources, craft items, grow crops, research technologies, and build shelters to withstand the elements and store valuables, all while teaming up with (or preying upon) hundreds of other players to survive, dominate... and escape!

Game Persistance

In ARK Survival Evolved on the 75+ player servers, your character, everything you built, and your Pets, stay in-game even when you leave. You can even physically travel your character and items between the network of ARK's by accessing the Obelisks and uploading (or downloading) your data from the Steam Economy! A galaxy of ARKs, each slightly different than the previous, to leave your mark on and conquer, one at a time -- special official ARKs will be unveiled on the World Map for limited times in singular themed events with corresponding limited-run Items!

Temperature

In ARK Survival Evolved you must Eat Food and Drink to survive, with different kinds of plants & meat having different nutritional properties, including human meat. Ensuring a supply of fresh water to your home and Inventory is a pressing concern. All physical actions come at a cost of food and water, long-distance travel is fraught with subsistence peril! Inventory weight makes you move slower, and the day/night cycle along with randomized weather patterns add another layer of challenge by altering the temperature of the environment, causing you to hunger or thirst more quickly. Build a fire or shelter, and craft a large variety of customizable clothing & Armors, to help protect yourself against locational damage & extreme Temperature using the dynamic indoor/outdoor insulation Weather calculation system!

Weather Patterns

Currently, extreme temperatures/weather affects the players' water meter. As of the time of writing, there are seven easily recognizable weather events:

Heat events, which drastically increase the temperature of the whole island by between 16-28 °C / 30-50 °F, and as a result cause faster dehydration and health damage at or above roughly 50 °C.

Cold events, which are the exact opposite of heat events, drastically decrease the temperature, again by 16-28 °C / 30-50 °F causing higher food consumption and at sub freezing temperatures health damage (careful in those mountains).

Snow, dropping the temperature even further in the snow mountain and surrounding areas. Note you cannot avoid snow by flying above the clouds.

Rain, which irrigates crops, refills water consumption, and allows the player to fill water containers like waterskins from anywhere outside. Rain also slightly decreases the temperature of the island, by only 3-5 °C / 5-10 °F. Note you cannot avoid rain by flying above the clouds.

Fog, which seems to do nothing aside from reducing player vision immensely, which is plenty dangerous as is. Fog also makes clouds lower and thicker, so flying at high altitude is extra difficult due to obstructed vision.

Electrical storms, which deactivate electronics and prevent some advanced weapons from firing.

And finally, sandstorms, which severely limit visibility, while also draining stamina and adding sand to the player's inventory.

PS4 Trailer:


Some Antics I got up to:

Is this the game which is still unfinished but has a fully complete, paid for expansion?

edit: It is.

I got this last time you posted about it. Not played yet.

Should be on for a few hours tonight so I'll give this a go if you are on it.

Is this free-to-play?

Ste wrote:I got this last time you posted about it. Not played yet.

Should be on for a few hours tonight so I'll give this a go if you are on it.

Erm yeah ill be on tonight if you fancy a quick tutorial

It's not free to play but has been on sale a lot (on X1 anyway). It has a paid for expansion but honestly there is no need as it also has a non paid for expansion, you currently have The Island which is the base game and The Center which is non paid expansion and Scorched Earth which is a paid expansion. You then have a choice of a few game types that are server side.:

Survival - PVP/PVE Mode, Survive the elements, hunt and gather, level up, when you die you lose everything you are holding but retain level. All structures you make are server side, if a douche wrecks your gaf, nout you can do.
Harcore - PVP/PVE mode and when char dies, you can't respawn and lose all progress
Extinction - PVP/PVE Mode the same as normal Ark but experience and taming animals time is vastly increased but once a month the server is reset with a meteor hitting.
Primitive - PVP/PVE Mode, higher tier gear and structures are disabled (no guns, for example)

You can also play local split screen online from your X1/PS4 and if you want play offline completely but this will be on your own or on local split screen.

Interestingly, you can use a 'spare' X1 as a server to use online, strange option but a good one.

Photek wrote:You can also play local splits screen online from you X1/PS4 and if you want play offline completely but this will be on your own or on local split screen.

Interest rising

Invited Ste by the was playing on own I think. Not too as tho as I'm in the Center and its ran by a few douches, need a care package drop to warp off the server and find a primitive one.

Thanks for the invite, I managed to figure out how to get going in the end.

The first time I spawned I didn't even manage to stand up before a T-Rex killed me.

Second time I managed to run a few metres but then while trying to invert my Y-axis got killed again.

Eventually managed to survive long enough to run around for a bit. Killed a dodo but didn't know what to do with it. Ended up dying of starvation / cold.

Then figured out you can pick things up from the floor and harvest the trees and rocks.

Made it my goal to get a fire going. Eventually got one sorted so went off to try and find dinner. Came across some sheep type thing. Despite whacking it several times couldn't kill it. It then ran off. I couldn't find my fire then anyway.

Decided I would find a little safe place somewhere before I finished. Found a little corner somewhere and managed to get a fire going. Was planning on just surviving on some berries but then all of a sudden some raptor type dinosaur turned up. Don't know whether the fire contributed but I managed to kill it so had myself a BBQ!

Also managed to make myself a shirt, hat, gloves and boots but forgot pants for some reason!

With plenty of meat on me decided to head north/up stream. Made myself a sleeping bag so have saved with me in that in a little nook just off stream.

Didn't come across any other active people. There was some mutant human asleep on the beach that I murdered!

I found it all strangely compelling.

That all sounded like my stag weekend.

lol quite the game you had. I highly doubt it was a Raptor that you killed probably one of those spitting dino's that were in Jurrasic Park, A Raptor would rip your face off. Really good stuff getting a sleeping bag. What server are you on? I hope you remember cos you need to know which one it is to get back into your game. Was it online? or part of the preview or what? If you play Preview you're on your own.

Basically though, the best thing would be to join one I'm on, or if you're on an island online I'll join you because I can give you weapons and stuff that you cant craft yet PLUS making a house is FAR easier with 2 people doing the leg work, I can also teach you about taming dino's etc...

Yes, think it was that type of dino. It sort of got stuck in the corner with the fire on it so I just whacked it from behind until it died.

I think I'm on the same one as you. I searched for the one you're on and joined that. There were structures around me that people had built and there was a conversation going on I just didn't come across anyone. Stayed in my own little area.

To join you I need to find you on the island?

Ste wrote:It sort of got stuck in the corner with the fire on it so I just whacked it from behind until it died.

Yep definitely sounds like my stag weekend.


This game looks awesome. Not getting any new games now until the New Year but definitely going to keep my eye on it.

Ste wrote:Yes, think it was that type of dino. It sort of got stuck in the corner with the fire on it so I just whacked it from behind until it died.

I think I'm on the same one as you. I searched for the one you're on and joined that. There were structures around me that people had built and there was a conversation going on I just didn't come across anyone. Stayed in my own little area.

To join you I need to find you on the island?

Well yeah, we have to meet up to join the same Tribe. The problem with the server we are on then is that its run by 2-3 tribes, all of them in ridiculous mountain top bases. You can switch servers and bring your char with, there's a way to bring stuff but I can't get it to work, anyway, under each of the massive floating pillar things you can upload your char and then pick a server to re-download it, however, with the island we are on being full of super powerful bastards they've stuck turrets around these points so you can't get near.

Plus we'd literally be bringing a bow and Arrow to a Rocket Launcher fight. Now, you may hove noticed large shards of light randomly about, these are loot drops, I'm not sure you can open any until level 10, but once you can, we can use these things to upload characters also.

The end game being to join a primitive server, so even super powerful tribes don't have guns or turrets or SWAT Gear (i gooseberry fool you not). Do you happen to remember where you spawned? Cos I've no problem dying and spawning in your area and looking for you, in my pants no less. At least then we can set up a base, get a fire going, make some clothes and more importantly craft a bed, which acts as a respawn point when you join again/Die.

Yes, I noticed the light things.

I initially was spawning near the top of the map, it seemed quite rocky?, but was dying quite quickly. I then spawned at the very bottom, central part. That was were I started to make some progress. I left while I was starting to move up north following a stream.

If one of us dies it makes sense to spawn as close as possible but I quite like the idea if trying to survive and cross the map to try and meet up. I imagine it being like Fellowship of the Ring!

Ste wrote:Yes, I noticed the light things.

I initially was spawning near the top of the map, it seemed quite rocky?, but was dying quite quickly. I then spawned at the very bottom, central part. That was were I started to make some progress. I left while I was starting to move up north following a stream.

If one of us dies it makes sense to spawn as close as possible but I quite like the idea if trying to survive and cross the map to try and meet up. I imagine it being like Fellowship of the Ring!

The VERY bottom? what were the Trees like? was it a redwood forest? cos if it was I've no idea how you've survived!

I'm at the red circle right now in map below, holed up in a small cave which I've blocked off with a wooden wall. Hope our bodies aren't killed while we are off. A dino might eat you btw, if you're on the ground.

I think so yes. Water was to the south, with a beach bit that lead into the forest. Can't remember what the trees were like exactly. If I remember rightly I intentionally picked one of the jungle/forest points as the area I was spawning in initially was quite rocky / bare.

I'm the Bear Grylls of the Ark!

I still think we should meet up though sooner rather than later. We don't have to be hanging out and stuff but being in a tribe is great cos You can go on when I'm not and do some work, and vice versa. There are no markers or anything and it has proximity chat inbuilt If you really are in the redwood forest area ill attempt to make it down to you on foot but I'll probably be eaten by piranha's or a shark. Also reminds me - pro tip don't go swimming if your stamina (lightning bolt) is low cos you'll simply drown.

I'm in red circle incase you missed my post edit above.

Hard to tell from the map because I've not been to many places so mine is mostly blank.

I think I started on the black island near the top and then moved to 4th from left on the bottom and have now travelled to around the 3rd from left, 2nd up where the water is heading up.

A piranha was something else that killed me!

When you load it up it shows entire map (if you've been killed), if you're still alive it'll boot straight into your character waking up.

You're on your way to the red forest, its right at the end of that river you are at. Redwood is great for wood/thatch and stone/flint but has these mad 2 legged bird things that are barely ok alone but seem to always hunt in packs. Try to stay clear of the beach by redwood forest, though you will have to dash out for water.

While I played last night one of the Major tribe guys landed (they where flying a giant bird), I immediately hid and he got himself killed when hunting, I ran out to his dead body but some mad zebra thing was spitting at me (they keep adding new animals and dino's), anyway I left his body and by chance he returned to get his stuff, (you get 15mins or so to get loot back when die) and I hid again. Would have been amazing if I took all his stuff cos he'd have basically been hunting me.

According the the XB1 store page for this, I have 35,948 days remaining on my free trial. I'm not sure 98 years is enough, so I'm going to buy the full game.