ꜱᴘᴀʀᴋ Posted June 1, 2020 Posted June 1, 2020 GAME INFORMATION Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, Microsoft Windows, Linux Developers: Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, Virtual Basement LLC Publishers: Studio Wildcard Release Date: 27 Aug, 2017 Price: $15.99 USD GENERAL Ark: Survival Evolved (stylized as ΛRK) is an action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard, in collaboration with Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, and Virtual Basement. In the game, players must survive being stranded on an island filled with roaming dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players. The game is played from either a third-person or first-person perspective and its open world is navigated on foot or by riding a prehistoric animal. Players can use firearms and improvised weapons to defend against hostile humans and creatures, with the ability to build bases as defense on the ground and on some creatures. The game has both single-player and multiplayer options. Multiplayer allows the option to form tribes of members in a server. The max number of tribe mates varies from each server. In this mode all tamed dinosaurs and building structures are usually shared between the members. There is a PvE mode where players cannot fight each other. DEVELOPMENT Preliminary work on Ark: Survival Evolved began in October 2014. Studio Wildcard, the Seattle-based team behind the game, co-opted Egypt-based developer Instinct Games to facilitate development. When researching for information about the game's prehistoric species, the development team read "general audience books" and online articles, and sought assistance from friends who studied in the fields in biological sciences. When creating the species and world, the team took creative license for gameplay purposes, although there is an in-game reason that the species have diverged from their historical counterparts. Many of the development team members were inspired by dinosaur films such as Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time. The team added features to the game that would appeal to all players, as opposed to specifically players of the survival genre, such as the ability to simply explore the island and compete against large bosses, as a reward for uncovering secrets of the island. They also added an end-game for players to strive towards, as they felt that most survival games lack a final goal. They wanted to "provide a depth and scope that allows for the world to not just be a means to an end but also a place to explore", said creative director Jesse Rapczak. The game, powered by Unreal Engine 4, contains "tens of thousands" of artificial intelligence entities, according to Rapczak. It also features support for virtual reality (VR) gameplay; Rapczak, who has almost three years of experience with head-mounted displays, described the game as being designed with VR in mind from the beginning. The game was initially released through Steam Early Access for Microsoft Windows on June 2, 2015, shortly before the theatrical release of Jurassic World later that month. Rapczak said that the game's release was scheduled to take advantage of the "dino fever" that was present with the film's imminent release. The game subsequently received an Early Access release for Linux and OS X on July 1, 2015, and through the Xbox Game Preview Program for Xbox One on December 16, 2015; a PlayStation 4 version was released on December 6, 2016. The final game launched in August 2017; it was originally intended for release in June 2016, but was delayed in April. The game launched with support for Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, and the Xbox One version was released via the ID@Xbox program. Android and iOS versions were released on June 14, 2018, and a Nintendo Switch version was released on November 30, 2018. The game left early access on August 29, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The standard version was released alongside an "Explorer's Edition", which included a season pass with three expansions, and the "Collector's Edition", which included a season pass as well, a necklace, a map, a notebook, a development team poster, a wooden chest packaging, and the game's official soundtrack. GAMEPLAY Ark: Survival Evolved is an action-adventure survival game set in an open world environment with a dynamic day-night cycle and played either from a third-person or first-person perspective. To survive, players must establish a base, with a fire and weapons; additional activities, such as taming and feeding dinosaurs, require more resources.[4] The game's world, known as the "Ark", is approximately 48 km2 (19 sq mi) in size: there is approximately 36 km2 (14 sq mi) of land with 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi) of ocean. There are currently 176 creatures that po[CENSORED]te the world of Ark. In the early versions of the game, nearly all creatures were real dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, however, as the storyline progressed, mythical creatures such as the wyvern, manticore, and phoenix were added. As expansions were released, completely original creatures, such as the Karkinos and the Velonasaur also made their way into the game as well as original robotic creatures such as the Enforcer and Scout. One of the primary game mechanics of the game is taming creatures. The majority of creatures can be tamed by the player, though some, such as Meganeura or Titanomyrma, cannot. The taming method varies creature by creature. Most creatures are "violent" tames, meaning the players must knock the creature out using tranquillizing projectiles like tranq dart or by using blunt weapons, such as a club. Oftentimes players will need to keep the dinosaur sedated for the duration of the tame. Some dinosaurs take longer than others to tame, therefore require more narcotics. Players are able to use narcoberries, or craft narcotics from narcoberries and spoiled meat. Once knocked out, the player must feed the creature their preferred food, such as berries for herbivores or raw meat for carnivores. Different foods help tame animals at varying speeds. Most creatures tame most effectively — and quickest — with a food called Kibble, which is an item crafted using eggs from another creature. Some creatures can also be tamed passively, by approaching them and carefully giving them food. Once a creature is tamed, it will follow the commands of the player who tamed them. As well, most creatures can be ridden, and therefore allow the player to utilize the creature's abilities, such as flight or fast underwater movement. When riding atop certain creatures, players may still be able to use weapons. They can also be used to carry items, and players can issue offensive and defensive commands to them; for example, a pack of Utahraptors can be assigned to defend the base, or a group of Triceratops can be ordered to attack an enemy's base. Some of the larger creatures, such as a Brontosaurus or Mosasaurus, can have a building platform placed on their back, giving players a mobile, though small, base. The game also features various other animals, such as the dodo, saber-toothed tiger, woolly mammoth, Meganeura, Titanomyrma, and Doedicurus. Every creature in the game has living ecosystems and predator hierarchies. Players must keep track of various meters, such as health, stamina, oxygen, hunger, thirst, and "weight", or how much they can carry. Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate if they have consumed the necessary food, or if they craft items that regenerate the health meter at a faster pace. Otherwise, a player's health meter will gradually regenerate slowly over time. Players can gain experience through harvesting materials, crafting, killing, or discovering explorer notes. Once the player has obtained enough experience, they will gain a level point, which can be spent improving one of the player's stats, which include max health, max stamina, max oxygen, max food meter, max water meter, max carry weight, melee damage, movement speed, and crafting speed. As of January 2020, the maximum player level is 105, plus an additional 30 levels to be gained by defeating end-game bosses. Tamed creatures can also gain experience and level points, which can be spent on similar stats. Creatures spawn into the game at levels ranging from 1 to 150, and, when tamed, can gain up to 75 more levels by gaining experience. There are also dinosaurs which can be tamed at a higher level, the tek dinosaurs. These spawn at a maximum level of 180. There are specific varieties of creatures, for instance, the Rock Drake, or the Wyvern variants, which are able to spawn up to level 190, but they are untameable in the wild, and instead must be hatched from their respective egg. Players can build structures throughout the world. To build a base, players must acquire structure components—such as floors, doors and windows built with the resources littered throughout the world—which are earned as they progress and gain levels, then collect the necessary materials to make them. These components can then be crafted and placed in the world. Players can create any structure, as long as they have the logistics and resources; the structural integrity of the building is compromised when the pillars and foundations are destroyed. Structures can be built from various tiers of materials, with better tiers providing more protection, but costing more resources to create. Players start out by creating thatch structures, then moving on to wood, stone, metal, and finally tek, a futuristic and late-game material. There are also glass structures that can be used to gain a greenhouse effect on plants grown inside. Adobe structures block heat from outside for an ideal temperature in the building. Players can also craft items in the game, such as weapons, by collecting the resources and technology required for crafting. In addition, players can craft and attach accessories to their weapons, such as a scope or flashlight for a pistol or machine gun. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ( MINIMUM ) OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit versions) Processor: Intel Core i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 or better Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or better DirectX: Version 10 Storage: 60 GB available space OFFICIAL YT TRAILER
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