Best map?

[Scar]

I've played...

Scorched earth - didn't really like the heatwave survival aspect of it, but it's a decent map.
Extinction is meh to me personal.
Abberation is alright.
Genesis 1- Will probably never play because of all the divided zones.
Gen 2 - is a decent map, do like helena shop although dislike having a tek suit.
Lost Island - is a great map.
The Island - pretty good map.

Custom maps which I generally don't do.
Fjordur - Ain't too fond of tbh, started out and instantly cold, plus the map feels meh, not sure why there was a lot of hype for it tbh.

Ragnarok - is decent.
The Center - meh
Valguero - never played (because custom map)
Crystal Isles - "

Would have preferred if dinosaurs wasn't exclusive to specific maps tbh

[🦊 Hermit]

Originally posted by Flamekeeper:

Would have preferred if dinosaurs wasn't exclusive to specific maps tbh

I'd really disagree with this tbh. Lots of mod maps on the Workshop try to add in assets and creatures from all DLCs, and they conflict too much. A standard map doesn't have enough space to flesh all the areas out, so they overlap each other and each location is too small to be interesting and remarkable. Plus because they all have everything, every map ends up feeling super generic and the same as each other, with nothing special or unique to make them stand out.

Imo the official DLCs do it right - they focus on just a few elements (usually new additions, but even old stuff can work) and do that REALLY WELL. So each map becomes unique and stands out for something that none of the others have, which makes each one special in it's own way.

But on the more general topic of maps:

1) Ragnarok - Stunningly beautiful, and with a lot of cool base locations too. And loads of secret areas to discover...I've been playing on the map for years, but I still occasionally find details which I have missed all this time.

2) Aberration - So unique and atmospheric, and the creatures on it are imaginative and different to anything else. Fantastic to explore and discover, and some fun gameplay mechanics in the surface drops.

3) The Center - Not quite as pretty as Rag, but awesome in it's own right, has a much more 'fantasy' feel while not going too far from Ark style and lore. Lots of secrets to find and explore, great map all round.

4) The Island - A good starter map. Not as special as the ones above, but perfect for getting into the game and learning it, with good gameplay opportunities and a decent amount of exploration to be had.

5) Genesis 1 - I actually quite like this map. Yes I agree the segmented biomes are a pain, but those biomes themselves are imaginative and atmospheric, they have a moderate amount of secrets to find, and offer some gameplay styles none of the other maps do.

6) Genesis 2 - I don't play this map much because I'm not a huge fan of it's lore, but the map itself is alright, if a bit boring all being two biomes and with no real caves or secret areas to discover. The space biome is the most interesting part about it, but the rest, once the awe of 'giant world ship' scenery has worn off, is just a little meh. I like secrets to find and scenery to explore, and this is lacking on both of those.

7) Extinction - The city is cool, although we really needed to be able to go inside the buildings and have some neat subway/sewer caves. The biodomes are alright, although rather unimaginative. But the large wasteland in between is just boring at best, annoying at worst. Bad design to make 75% of the map unusable for base building and most gameplay, plus it doesn't look pretty. The map gains some points for additional gameplay from the OSDs/ele veins, but it's deffo not my favourite.

8) Scorched - I really hate this map tbh. The textures are reused too much, and I'm not a fan of desert scenery anyway. The map only has three caves, and no other secrets or hidden gems to discover, and the heat/dehydration gameplay is annoying as anything. A few of the creatures are cool (wyverns NOT included), but have been overshadowed by more recent releases. The one redeeming feature of SE is it's caves - those are very well done and have some fantastic scenery in the murals on their walls and the city remains.

N/A) Lost Island and Valguaro - I have not played these enough to form a full opinion, so I admit I can't comment on them in detail, but from the short time I have spent on them they just feel very generic, with little new or engaging to bring to the table. There isn't much on them that hasn't already been done on other maps, even on the Island map itself, and as I stated above they fall into the trap of trying to make all creatures appear in one place, which adds to their mediocrity imo. They don't have any character to define them as unique and special, and make them stand out.

Have not played other maps like CI and Fjord at all, so can't comment on those.