tech in ARK

[SolarFlare1234]

i ignored this game for a long time because of reviews, but i checked the steam page and wondered how tools and building materials progress in the game. faster to go here than listen to the noise that we call youtuber commentary for most of these game types, any pointers?

[necaradan666]

Punch tree, pick up stone, grab shrubs. stone age tier

Use stone tools to mine metal, build forge, build smithy. metal tier

Use lots of metal to build fabricator, build guns. modern weapon tier

Use guns to kill bosses, get Tek. sci-fi tier

Inbetween each tier is as much gameplay as you want, also lots of dinosaurs and resource grinding. If you know the game well enough you can probably do it in a couple days or weeks, or you can take months to do everything

[SolarFlare1234]

Originally posted by necaradan666:

Punch tree, pick up stone, grab shrubs. stone age tier

Use stone tools to mine metal, build forge, build smithy. metal tier

Use lots of metal to build fabricator, build guns. modern weapon tier

Use guns to kill bosses, get Tek. sci-fi tier

Inbetween each tier is as much gameplay as you want, also lots of dinosaurs and resource grinding. If you know the game well enough you can probably do it in a couple days or weeks, or you can take months to do everything

does metal encompass the entire tech from ~1000 BC to the Cold War, or is it a generic medieval metal tools which tech up to machineguns and sniper's rifles?

[Fanne]

Any more themes ? Just type in the search
https://ark.gamepedia.com/Weapons

[Migromul]

You start with nothing. first shelters are thatch. Then you advance to wood and stone. When you have enough metal, you'll build metal tools (axe and pick) There are some melee-weapons, but I wouldn't rely on them. The melee animations in this game are awful. And: you don't stand a chance against most enemies in melee.

You will get electricy, eventually. This requires fuel, which you produce out of oil and hide. Nearly every workstation has an upgrade. Some of those have advanced functions. You'll need the smitty until you at least defeat one boss. (I didn't reach that point, yet, because I play local single-player.) The upgrade (fabricator) only produce advanced workstations and things. You can't produce smithy-things in the fabricator.

You can have mobile bases (mounted on large dinosaurs). But you have so limited space there, that it's nearly impossible to place the advanced production-stations there (only the fabricator does make any sence.)

Without defeating a boss, the most advanced buildings are metal. But this is a waste of recources if you play pve imho, because only 3-5 creatures are able to damage metal. (It might have some sence on the scorched earth map, when you tame a golem (stone-elemental), however. This is one of the creatures, which can damage stone...)
If you play PVP, however, metal is almost a must-have. Because, there are weapons, which CAN damage stone, and players WILL use them. (I hate PVP in such games...)

The most advanced tier is "tek". You need to defeat a boss even to use tek-tools. If you don't know the "engram" (i. e. the blueprint) you can't use tek.

But it's a VERY long way until then...

The game has nothing to do with Earth-history. (And doesn't play on earth... yet)

[Boomer Voncannon]

Originally posted by SolarFlare1234:

Originally posted by necaradan666:

Punch tree, pick up stone, grab shrubs. stone age tier

Use stone tools to mine metal, build forge, build smithy. metal tier

Use lots of metal to build fabricator, build guns. modern weapon tier

Use guns to kill bosses, get Tek. sci-fi tier

Inbetween each tier is as much gameplay as you want, also lots of dinosaurs and resource grinding. If you know the game well enough you can probably do it in a couple days or weeks, or you can take months to do everything

does metal encompass the entire tech from ~1000 BC to the Cold War, or is it a generic medieval metal tools which tech up to machineguns and sniper's rifles?

Metal takes you pretty much from simple metal tools like pick and hatchet all the way up through more complex machines like a fabricator where you craft polymer and electronics. The crafting in ark is neither very complex nor sophisticated. As previously stated you start from nothing and work you way up to alien level technology, but it's all extremely simplified for gameplay purposes.

[necaradan666]

Originally posted by SolarFlare1234:

does metal encompass the entire tech from ~1000 BC to the Cold War, or is it a generic medieval metal tools which tech up to machineguns and sniper's rifles?

Pretty much, though the different tiers aren't really representative of technological ages or anything more just the type of gear you can make. Once you have a fabricator you can build more modern stuff like the assault rifle, as well as electronics, fridges, air con, auto turrets, and also things like scuba gear. But you never really leave the metal tier, metal armour will probably be your mainstay because more advanced armour is more costly in exotic resources to maintain and replace, the metal pike or sword will be always be your melee weapon until you're so far into the game you can afford to waste endgame resources on powering a Tek sword. The crossbow will always have a use for grapples and underwater even if you're rocking an assault rifle or pump action shotgun and the longneck rifle will always be useful for knocking out dinos.

[SolarFlare1234]

i shouldn't be surprised, but the game is what it is, and it's not gonna change for me. i prefer slower and more indepth progression, IE weapons and armour progress to medieval getting sharper and stronger, then we progress from the Arquebus to Rifled muskets making armour obsolete, going from lever action rifles, revolvers that both first use cartridges, to machineguns and semi automatic rifles of World War 2, and you move up to assault rifles and ballistic armour along the cold war tech, stuff like that.