ARK: Survival ASCENDED PVE Servers
UE5 Remaster of Ark Survival Evolved. Coming AUG. 2023
ARK: Survival Ascended is a next-generation remaster of our beloved ARK: Survival Evolved, harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5. It will be released on Xbox Series S/X, PC (Windows/Steam), and PlayStation 5 by the end of August 2023. The base game will include The Island, Scorched Earth, & SoTF. Other Canon, and DLCs will be available over the next two years.
ARK: Survival Ascended will be a standalone package released on every platform (PC Windows/Steam, Xbox Series S/X, and PlayStation 5) at $59.99. The package will include the following pieces of content built-in (not sold separately), with each remastered and altered for the next-generation:
The Island (Released at Launch)
Survival of the Fittest: The Island & Scorched Earth map variants (Released at Launch)
Scorched Earth (Released at Launch)
Aberration (Released by Q4 2023)
Extinction (Released by Q1 2024)
Genesis Part 1 (Released by Q1 2024)
Genesis Part 2 (Released by Q2 2024)
All the community-created maps are also to be released over time in 2024. (Fjordur, Ragnarok, The Center, Lost Island, Valguero, Crystal Isles)
In addition to many other new features, ARK: Survival Ascended will feature the following improvements and enhancements:
Unreal Engine 5 Overhaul with Nanite, Lumen and RTXDI
Dynamic Water
Interactive Foliage
Unreal Engine 5 performance gains: instanced-rendering (large-bases etc.), threaded server networking, and native physics engine
Cross-platform Multiplayer
This includes cross-platform accounts and cross-progression, cross-voice chat & friends, etc. No matter what platform you start playing on, you can access your account, character, dinos, and items on a different platform for the ultimate cross-platform experience.
Cross-platform Modding
Wild Card recognizes the power of giving players the tools and capability to define their survival experience, so they want to take cross-platform one step further by working with Overwolf to introduce an industry-first cross-platform modding experience where mods created on PC are delivered directly to end-users’ consoles from a custom modding backend.
The modding capability will include FULL blueprinting support ;), stacked mods, and maps. Everything that is currently possible on the Steam version of ARK: Survival Evolved and more will be possible on the new system and be available for end-users to play on consoles in all modes.
Premium Mods: Reviewed by Overwolf and Wildcard for quality control and value, Mod authors will optionally be able to specify price points for their Mods (with 50% of the price point going to the Mod author). This is necessary to pay for the custom infrastructure required for Overwolf to support, administrate, and deliver Mods to the console.
Wild Card plans on streamlining the process of upgrading legacy ARK: Survival Evolved mods to the next-generation platform. They plan to reach out to current/former sponsored modders in preparation for the launch of ASA with the tools they need to get their mods ready before the launch.
Cross-platform Anti-Cheat
Survival of the Fittest (SOTF)
SOTF will be integrated into the main product as a new fully-supported game mode. It will have a dedicated team that will continue to work on more gameplay changes, mechanical improvements, quality of life, maps, and balance adjustments. The initial mode will be revamped with an exclusive ARK: Survival Ascended update, including:
Upgraded to Unreal Engine 5 with complete cross-platform and cross-modding support (the SOTF UE5 source content will be released for modders to utilize as they wish within ASA)
Scorched Earth SOTF Map
Matchmaking queue
Character and Creature customization with cosmetics
Local Lobby where you can group up with your friends, configure the look of your survivor and dinos, and queue up for lobbies together
Lots of bug-fixes and balance and functionality improvements
Art Assets are being upgraded throughout the entire game
Newly-designed holiday events take advantage of the next-gen pipeline, released as mods, so they’re always available to play!
New content, QOL improvements, balance, and gameplay changes, including but not limited to:
Updated mini-map (pan, zoom, pings, etc – similar to the SOTF mini-map)
New structures (display cases, smaller TEK Teleporters) & building QOL improvements (snap fixes, increased foundation support, foundation height adjustments, and more)
Queueing System
New third-person camera (with the option to opt out)
Directional Sprinting and Walking
Ping system
Gamepad cursor
Chibi Slot and Skins Tab
Balance passes (e.g. Cave Entrances, MEKs, Aberration Creatures, more breedable creatures, etc)
…and more! (seriously, a lot more, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it’ll get super long if we list everything, and there’s more we’ll decide to do between now and launch too)
Wild Card understands there will be questions regarding LiveOps for the product, so they have provided some key review areas now.
ARK: Survival Ascended will have its own fully supported Official Network for all platforms.
Cross-platform: It’s important to note that ARK: Survival Evolved (ARK:SE) and ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) will coexist but will not support cross-play between the two games. ASA will have undergone profound functional changes which prevent it from being compatible with the previous game.
Holiday Events: Wild Card plans to develop and release ASA-exclusive holiday content that takes advantage of the next-gen pipeline released in mods, so they’re always available to play!
ARK: Survival Ascended Updates: The remaster will have regular updates to resolve bugs, introduce new content, balance changes, and quality-of-life improvements for years to come.
The PACK Gaming Plans for ASA
As soon as there is an ASA Island Dedicated Server branch available on the Steam Depot Site, we will spin up a server for it.
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