Lesson learned: don't pay for DLC if an .ini copy/paste will do.

[Liralen]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/346110/discussions/0/1639789306540164986/

We decided to not to it the easy way, as described above, since 3 out 4 of our family members already owned Extinction, but when it was released, none of us was interested in the Snow Owls, since we already had more flying critters than we wanted, including wyverns of all types and griffons.

We stopped playing for several months, but came back to play the Valguero map as newbs, and so we didn't cluster it with our the previous maps.

And find that neither griffons nor snow owls exist there.

Of course, even easier than the *.ini paste described in the link above, was to link Valguero to our old servers.

Instead, we thought it would be more fun to create a brand new Extinction server to tame snow owls, and bought the Season 1 pass for the last family member who did not have it. We hadn't before because he was a child whose attention span was exhausted by the base game plus free DLC, but who now reveres Horizon Zero Dawn, and so I thought he would like Extinction.

And because I'm a huge advocate for paying for games that please me. In the hopes that they'll make more games that please me.

So we fire up a new Extinction server, and immediately find that we can't upload tames from city terminals that we downloaded from Valguero.

So I google it, and find it's a long standing issue, although I had never encountered it before. I'm not sure if it's because I had Tek Transmitters or because we had a plethora of dinos stationed adjacent to to an obelisk, and so had no need to upload dinos that were recently downloaded.

Whatever.

Lesson learned as described in the subject line.

Lesson for the devs: don't make it harder when we pay you for DLC than an *.ini change could fix.

[Vesuvius]

Adding dino's via the .ini has been a thing since the beggining, not sure why you treat it as though its a new thing unknown the the rest of Ark?

buying the DLC's is for the map ... not its contents.... and experiencing the new content as intended by game Lore... not via mod made maps wich gives you that content - out of context.

Bottom line is... if you want to experience new content IN context intended by WC... then buy the DLC's... if you dont care... then dont... pretty simple.

[Gran]

did you try CrossARKAllowForeignDinoDownloads=True in the Valgueros GameUserSettings.ini ?

[RobbEJay]

The DLC was never for the creatures though, just the maps, which makes them all easily accessible. The only reason you would 'need' it is if you play in official servers, meaning you can't use mods or .ini tweaks I begin with.

That being said, have you tried using an obalisk or player made transmitter? The preexisting city ones don't work, but they may not have been intended to do anything besides make element and tek creatures, so there was nothing to 'fix' to begin with.

[Liralen]

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

Adding dino's via the .ini has been a thing since the beggining, not sure why you treat it as though its a new thing unknown the the rest of Ark?

buying the DLC's is for the map ... not its contents.... and experiencing the new content as intended by game Lore... not via mod made maps wich gives you that content - out of context.

Bottom line is... if you want to experience new content IN context intended by WC... then buy the DLC's... if you dont care... then dont... pretty simple.

I actually do care if people buy the DLCs as I have.

I'm just pointing out the reasons why people don't, and what should be fixed so that more people do buy them.

[Liralen]

Originally posted by RobbEJay:

The DLC was never for the creatures though, just the maps, which makes them all easily accessible. The only reason you would 'need' it is if you play in official servers, meaning you can't use mods or .ini tweaks I begin with.

That being said, have you tried using an obalisk or player made transmitter? The preexisting city ones don't work, but they may not have been intended to do anything besides make element and tek creatures, so there was nothing to 'fix' to begin with.

Yes, Tek Transmitter's work fine, as I said in my post.

I do appreciate the fact that the devs made the city terminals broken on purpose for RP reasons. I'm just pointing out that WildCard's decisions with respect to requiring that Snow Owls be removed from Valguero because they want people to buy Extinction actually penalizes people who try to play it their way, by buying Extinction (which we all have bought) instead of making *ini modifications, which I can do, but I try to limit modifications as much as possible.

That is, Wildcard needs to now fix the city terminals, if they want people to buy Extinction instead of modifying the *.ini's for Valguero, which I've resisted doing in favor of buying Extinction, but have been punished for doing so.

If their official market is more important than the unofficial market trying to make only minimal modifications to make the game playable, so be it. I'll vote for that with my feet.

[Vesuvius]

Originally posted by Liralen:

Originally posted by RobbEJay:

The DLC was never for the creatures though, just the maps, which makes them all easily accessible. The only reason you would 'need' it is if you play in official servers, meaning you can't use mods or .ini tweaks I begin with.

That being said, have you tried using an obalisk or player made transmitter? The preexisting city ones don't work, but they may not have been intended to do anything besides make element and tek creatures, so there was nothing to 'fix' to begin with.

Yes, Tek Transmitter's work fine, as I said in my post.

I do appreciate the fact that the devs made the city terminals broken on purpose for RP reasons. I'm just pointing out that WildCard's decisions with respect to requiring that Snow Owls be removed from Valguero because they want people to buy Extinction actually penalizes people who try to play it their way, by buying Extinction (which we all have bought) instead of making *ini modifications, which I can do, but I try to limit modifications as much as possible.

That is, Wildcard needs to now fix the city terminals, if they want people to buy Extinction instead of modifying the *.ini's, which I've resisted doing in favor of buying Extinction, but have been punished for doing so.

if their official market is more important than unofficial, so be it. I'll vote for that with my feet.

people got a free DLC map .. and a condition of that is that certain WildCard made DLC things were removed.

The Makers of Valguero made a Valguero extention mod to add back in Everything that was removed from the mod map....

win win...

i mean think about it.... WC didnt have to buy Valguero at all and it could have sat in the workshop for unofficial/SP PC players ONLY.... at least this way ... ALL Ark players get it.

[Liralen]

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

Originally posted by Liralen:

Yes, Tek Transmitter's work fine, as I said in my post.

I do appreciate the fact that the devs made the city terminals broken on purpose for RP reasons. I'm just pointing out that WildCard's decisions with respect to requiring that Snow Owls be removed from Valguero because they want people to buy Extinction actually penalizes people who try to play it their way, by buying Extinction (which we all have bought) instead of making *ini modifications, which I can do, but I try to limit modifications as much as possible.

That is, Wildcard needs to now fix the city terminals, if they want people to buy Extinction instead of modifying the *.ini's, which I've resisted doing in favor of buying Extinction, but have been punished for doing so.

if their official market is more important than unofficial, so be it. I'll vote for that with my feet.

people got a free DLC map .. and a condition of that is that certain WildCard made DLC things were removed.

The Makers of Valguero made a Valguero extention mod to add back in Everything that was removed from the mod map....

win win...

i mean think about it.... WC didnt have to buy Valguero at all and it could have sat in the workshop for unofficial/SP PC players ONLY.... at least this way ... ALL Ark players get it.

OK, I'm trying to think about it. But it hurts my brain, having avoided official from the beginning, since it's so horribly broken (I read Lord of the Flies when in elementary school, and my experience in online gaming has only reinforced its truth).

You might be right about that.

But from my perspective, as an unofficial player and server cluster operator, I'd be better off if Valguero was a mod, instead it was changed to suit WC monetary demands, i.e.. force official players to buy Extinction, which all people playing on our servers have paid for :/

I think that's something should be considered too.

Time will tell which market, official or unofficial is most important to them. If they decided official, I'm cool with that.

We all play Minecraft too.

[Vesuvius]

Originally posted by Liralen:

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

people got a free DLC map .. and a condition of that is that certain WildCard made DLC things were removed.

The Makers of Valguero made a Valguero extention mod to add back in Everything that was removed from the mod map....

win win...

i mean think about it.... WC didnt have to buy Valguero at all and it could have sat in the workshop for unofficial/SP PC players ONLY.... at least this way ... ALL Ark players get it.

OK, I'm trying to think about it. But it hurts my brain, having avoided official from the beginning, since it's so horribly broken (I read Lord of the Flies when in elementary school, and my experience in online gaming has only reinforced its truth).

You might be right about that.

But from my perspective, as an unofficial player and server cluster operator, I'd be better off if Valguero was a mod, instead it was changed to suit WC monetary demands, i.e.. force official players to buy Extinction, which all people playing on our servers have paid for :/

I think that's something should be considered too.

Time will which market, official or unofficial is most important to them. If they decided official, I'm cool with that.

We all play Minecraft too.

A: Valguero was made official DLC Seven Months After Extinction came out...... Hardly call that "forcing" people to buy Extinction.

B: even offical players are not Forced to buy Extinction to obtain Extinction dinos... its called trade.... and it actualy happens... to the point where pple have been selling dino eggs on eBay (risking a global ban if they get caught)

C: As a Server Cluster operator you are better off with Valguero being a DLC since you dont have to worry about workshop updates OR taking up server RAM as a mod...AND, as already stated.... you can still use a mod made BY the Valguero creators to turn Valguero Back into what it was... and That mod is smaller then the original Valguero mod map.... saving You load time.... it even adds extra caves.... so from that perspective - it makes zero difference to you if it were a mod map or DLC.

D: WildCard could of course not support modders in any way shape or form.... yet they are paying modders that make it onto the Supported mod list up to $4000us/mnth to keep their mods up to date.... i imagine the Valguero creators were paid hansomly for their mod - wich they are alllowed to keep making mods for... again ... win/win.

As an admin on a 7 map cluster (all official DLC)... we are glad things were removed from Valguero... or we would not be able to have it in our cluster.... Because with all the content added it makes the origin maps (Extinction and Aberration) pointless in the cluster.

[Liralen]

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

Originally posted by Liralen:

OK, I'm trying to think about it. But it hurts my brain, having avoided official from the beginning, since it's so horribly broken (I read Lord of the Flies when in elementary school, and my experience in online gaming has only reinforced its truth).

You might be right about that.

But from my perspective, as an unofficial player and server cluster operator, I'd be better off if Valguero was a mod, instead it was changed to suit WC monetary demands, i.e.. force official players to buy Extinction, which all people playing on our servers have paid for :/

I think that's something should be considered too.

Time will which market, official or unofficial is most important to them. If they decided official, I'm cool with that.

We all play Minecraft too.

A: Valguero was made official DLC Seven Months After Extinction came out...... Hardly call that "forcing" people to buy Extinction.

B: even offical players are not Forced to buy Extinction to obtain Extinction dinos... its called trade.... and it actualy happens... to the point where pple have been selling dino eggs on eBay (risking a global ban if they get caught)

C: As a Server Cluster operator you are better off with Valguero being a DLC since you dont have to worry about workshop updates OR taking up server RAM as a mod...AND, as already stated.... you can still use a mod made BY the Valguero creators to turn Valguero Back into what it was... and That mod is smaller then the original Valguero mod map.... saving You load time.... it even adds extra caves.... so from that perspective - it makes zero difference to you if it were a mod map or DLC.

D: WildCard could of course not support modders in any way shape or form.... yet they are paying modders that make it onto the Supported mod list up to $4000us/mnth to keep their mods up to date.... i imagine the Valguero creators were paid hansomly for their mod - wich they are alllowed to keep making mods for... again ... win/win.

As an admin on a 7 map cluster (all official DLC)... we are glad things were removed from Valguero... or we would not be able to have it in our cluster.... Because with all the content added it makes the origin maps (Extinction and Aberration) pointless in the cluster.

A & B. I never said I was forced to buy Extinction. I bought it long before Valguero was released. That fact only allows me to give rationale reasons to compare Extinction with a Tek Transmitter and without, which we elected to do, by creating a new cluster with new toons.

C. Dunno about server RAM. Each map in the cluster sets aside RAM, but I have not compared it mod RAM (only running two -Structures Plus, to fix the issues with building on official, and Castles, Keeps, and Forts, for the textures - yes, I'm a builder, and no, despite the fact the modder who made Structures Plus is now an employee of WC has not inspired me to switch to official- not until they fix the WYSIWYG problem, i.e. What You See Is NOT What You Get).

D. Absolutely agree that's a brilliant strategy, I'm just pointing out that if you're running unofficial servers, we have options that are counter-intuitive to their profit margins. Even if you have the best will in the world to give developers money for good content, which I have.

[HawthornThistleberry]

You could have done it both more easily and more thoroughly this way (more thoroughly in that it adds more things, like charge nodes and more caves):
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1786522940

[Vesuvius]

Originally posted by Liralen:

A & B. I never said I was forced to buy Extinction. I bought it long before Valguero was released.

C. Dunno about server RAM. Each map in the cluster sets aside RAM, but I have not compared it mod RAM.

D. Absolutely agree that's a brilliant strategy, I'm just pointing out that if you're running unofficial servers, we have options that are counter-intuitive to their profit margins.

i wasnt saying you were forced to buy Extinction...
....you said "i.e.. force official players to buy Extinction" wich is not true

... official players can tribe with others or trade with others, that have Extinction or Aberration and obtain map specific dino's from them ... the only thing they cant do is get say, inprinted Reapers (if they have no Aberration).... ergo - no-one is forced to by any DLC at all... but ... people like the new shiny things.

Every DLC that comes out... as long as content from it is added to the DevKit... will appear eventualy in a mod - either as dino mods or map mods. WC knows that... wich is why content is withheld from the DevKit for some time after DLC release....

they also must know that they get their biggest return for the DLC's leading up to (via season pass) and when they are first released.... not half a year later when the next WildCard DLC is only 6mnths away... although pple are still buying them that are new to Ark and are Playing the Lore maps in order.

as for C: With Valguero being part of the steamCMD instead of a stand alone mod... it uses less RAM but more importantly to your players... reduces load time.

At the end of the day.. if players on official dont like that stuff was removed from a map that unbalances official clusters *with that content IN*.... then tough luck for playing on official... they dont lose anything by having Val do they?

[Liralen]

Originally posted by HawthornThistleberry:

You could have done it both more easily and more thoroughly this way (more thoroughly in that it adds more things, like charge nodes and more caves):
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1786522940

No, it introduces more problems, like the wyvern wiping, and otherwise overwrites what mobs should spawn in Valguero.

Which is exactly why I elected to add an Extinction server clustered with Valguero instead. But am disappointed that doing things as much as "official and paid" has less than optimal results compared to what I could have done.

[Vesuvius]

Originally posted by Liralen:

Originally posted by HawthornThistleberry:

You could have done it both more easily and more thoroughly this way (more thoroughly in that it adds more things, like charge nodes and more caves):
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1786522940

No, it introduces more problems, like the wyvern wiping, and otherwise overwrites what mobs should spawn in Valguero.

you do understand that this mod is made by the makers of Valguero... and reverts it back to what they had always intended to add?

The wyvern wiping is occuring on Official/unmodded servers as well .. so i cant see how its strictly mod related

[Liralen]

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

Originally posted by Liralen:

No, it introduces more problems, like the wyvern wiping, and otherwise overwrites what mobs should spawn in Valguero.

you do understand that this mod is made by the makers of Valguero... and reverts it back to what they had always intended to add?

The wyvern wiping is occuring on Official/unmodded servers as well .. so i cant see how its strictly mod related

Yes, I do.

Appeal to authority is logical fallacy, ya know.

If I bowed down to authority, I'd never have started this thread.

However, wyvern wiping occurring on official servers is news to me, and so thanks for that. I'll check it out.

[Vesuvius]

Originally posted by Liralen:

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

you do understand that this mod is made by the makers of Valguero... and reverts it back to what they had always intended to add?

The wyvern wiping is occuring on Official/unmodded servers as well .. so i cant see how its strictly mod related

Yes, I do.

Appeal to authority is logical fallacy, ya know.

If I bowed down to authority, I'd never have started this thread.

However, wyvern wiping occurring on official servers is news to me, and so thanks for that. I'll check it out.

i have to admit... arguing that Val was better as a mod... but then refusing to use a mod by the same modders because it has a bug.... i dont see how that would be any different to the map having stayed a mod.. having the same bug from adding the new updates that are in the extention mod.... making me scratch my head and raise eyebrow lol