I really want to like this game.

[L7vanmatre]

But it's just...

There are so many GOOD concepts that just... fall flat. I'll be ignoring the optimization issues, and progress-hindering bugs as well as general AI issues, terrible input lag on lower FPS, etc.

Taming for starters... I like the idea of knocking them out and such to tame, but the taming process is just monotonous, boring, and feels really unnecessary.

The hand animations are... meh, but acceptable. Same as the dino animations (mostly the ones involving the riding).

When I first played this with my brother on his Xbox One, the game felt... Out of place, not good for a controller. But now that I played it on PC, it still feels the same, but to a much less degree, but is still there. At least now I can just click from icon to icon.

Riding dinos and such feels so very stiff and robotic. It's just not fun. I've even ridden a dragon but it's just not fun at all. I feel like I am just moving units ahead instead of just... FLYING. At least some same-speed sidestepping/sideflying wouldn't make it feel so limited.

Hunger and thirst makes the game feel more limited than anything. Which can be good, but it just feels like it has barely missed the mark here. But that one could just need a tweak in the settings, so that case could be user error.

I feel like there's so much polish that could've been there in this game, but it just didn't get polish at all.

But I just really want to like it as much as so many other people do.

Now, to pair that with the things I earlier said I would ignore, it's just a chore to play. The game doesn't really look that good visually IMO, which could've been one feature I could've held on to try to enjoy.

I really want to like this game, so if anyone here can propose a solution to me that'll help some of my issues with the game, I'll highly appreciate it.

[Yellow]

Unofficial moderated server with higher taming rates.

[Spartan47]

As far as the physics and animations go, not much you can do. But there are many people that feel the same about many other problems you described. Those people have created servers that eliminate those issues. They tweaked it to a more enjoyable design. Now the task at hand is to find the right server for you. Happy hunting :)

[Vesuvius]

cant force you like the taste of a delicacy can we?

[Yellow]

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

cant force you like the taste of a delicacy can we?

Only its not a delicacy.

[Boomer Voncannon]

Originally posted by Esela:

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

cant force you like the taste of a delicacy can we?

Only its not a delicacy to me.

Fixed.

[Vesuvius]

Originally posted by Esela:

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

cant force you like the taste of a delicacy can we?

Only its not a delicacy.

your mincing words..... you're asking pple to convince you to like the taste of Ark when you've clearly made up your mind that it leaves a bad taste..... if you dont like it ... you dont like it.

[Boomer Voncannon]

Op I read your post carefully, and here is the impression I gather: it feels like you are playing Ark not because you like it, but because you feel some sort of peer pressure to like it. Maybe it isn’t peer pressure but rather that you find Ark’s underlying concept appealing but in practice executed in ways that you find unsatisfying. I could attempt to debate the merits of Ark’s mechanics with you, but that would be wholly missing the point as you aren’t asserting they are objectively bad, just that they don’t subjectively do it for you, which is always completely valid.

Here is what I can offer you: you mention mot liking taming mechanics. I would suggest you try the immersive taming mod or even the core mod zoology, as these things alter significantly the taming part of the game to give it more depth, variety and realism. As for hunger and thirst, these are core mechanics of the survival genre, but they can be tweaked in settings. The rest however are things unlikely to change much in a game a year out from official release. I wish you luck, but as much as I love Ark, the best advice I can offer you is to remember that the point is to have fun. If you aren’t having fun playing Ark, don’t feel guilty about shelving it.

[Bullwinkle]

There is or was a mod that transformed taming. Instead of KO, you build up trust. Maybe that would be more to your style.

[Boomer Voncannon]

That mod would be the zoology mod which I already mentioned.

[L7vanmatre]

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

cant force you like the taste of a delicacy can we?

I was mostly hoping for solutions to my issues with the game. I don't know how moddable the game is, so I had to ask if there were solutions.

Originally posted by Vesuvius:

Originally posted by Esela:

Only its not a delicacy.

your mincing words..... you're asking pple to convince you to like the taste of Ark when you've clearly made up your mind that it leaves a bad taste..... if you dont like it ... you dont like it.

That isn't me. I'm willing to change my mind and I do keep looking for qualities of the game, and I went here for any possible ways to alter the game in any shape or form to try to make it more towards my liking. Or even just suggesting a different perspective (not asking for people to defend Wildcard and such, just say "instead of looking at the mechanic like this, try looking at it like this").

Originally posted by Boomer Voncannon:

Op I read your post carefully, and here is the impression I gather: it feels like you are playing Ark not because you like it, but because you feel some sort of peer pressure to like it. Maybe it isn’t peer pressure but rather that you find Ark’s underlying concept appealing but in practice executed in ways that you find unsatisfying. I could attempt to debate the merits of Ark’s mechanics with you, but that would be wholly missing the point as you aren’t asserting they are objectively bad, just that they don’t subjectively do it for you, which is always completely valid.

Here is what I can offer you: you mention mot liking taming mechanics. I would suggest you try the immersive taming mod or even the core mod zoology, as these things alter significantly the taming part of the game to give it more depth, variety and realism. As for hunger and thirst, these are core mechanics of the survival genre, but they can be tweaked in settings. The rest however are things unlikely to change much in a game a year out from official release. I wish you luck, but as much as I love Ark, the best advice I can offer you is to remember that the point is to have fun. If you aren’t having fun playing Ark, don’t feel guilty about shelving it.

That... Is pretty accurate to my impression, thank you for being understanding! But yeah I'd love the game a bunch if only the execution played out well for me. Though it's not really peer pressure, I just love the people in my life who play it and wish I could just enjoy the game with them so we could have fun together with me playing with them. They don't ask me to play it since they know I don't like the game, but seeing them play or talk about it makes me wish I enjoyed it.

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I'll look into that and see if those changes make the game more enjoyable for me.