Lost All Explorer Notes after Power Crash

[Sticky Amby]

Someone shut off the power and when I logged back in all my explorer notes were gone. Im not sure what to do since I had all the notes from scorched and the island and right now im on abberation. I tried looking for a backup of the file and it since there was not any versions to reset to. Im on a private gportal server. My map also reset. Im super mad about this because this is a lot of time down the drain.

[skyguard]

If you are playing on your own server, you could always install the mod map called TCC Event Map, its a very small map with a big Arena. You can do the bosses for free but the best part is that it has ALL of the Explorer notes (you may have to do ones you only see with HLN-A), All notes are all at the same place, that should help you get them all back.

[The_Kuervito]

If gonna start a dossiers/notes hunt(around 1036),make and keep a backup of saves file
or
Go to singleplayer and tp to all notes you collect before

This come from someone who lost all the notes in the same way 3 times in official servers.

[VulcanTourist]

The Explorer Notes progress does not appear to be saved with a specific game instance. I deleted all game instance data for The Island, and yet when I started a new game and new character that game was still aware of my previous progress and so I frequently rediscovered Note locations I had already found (no new dossier etc.). I don't yet know exactly in the filesystem where it's stored, but it's not with saved games. The progress is permanent across games.

[🦊 Hermit]

Steam\steamapps\common\ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\LocalProfiles\PlayerLocalData.arkprofile

That's the file which stores global explorer note discovery, map exploration, and obelisk uploads (items, creatures and players). That's the file to back up if you want to keep a version of it to restore.

But as stated above, there is a difference between global note unlocks and individual character unlocks. So if you make a second character, they will still be able to unlock the note and get xp boosts from it even if your first character already got that one. I believe unlocks for the individual characters are stored in the character file on the server itself.

[VulcanTourist]

Originally posted by 🦊 Hermit:

But as stated above, there is a difference between global note unlocks and individual character unlocks. So if you make a second character, they will still be able to unlock the note and get xp boosts from it even if your first character already got that one.

This hasn't been happening for me. A new character already has some of the discoveries populated and encounters empty containers where the previous character already discovered them on the same map.

[🦊 Hermit]

Yes they appear as empty, and don't bring up the dossier/note on screen like the first time you find them. However the new character still gets the exp buff for locating them, as if they had found them new. That's what I was meaning when I said they 'unlock' it.

[VulcanTourist]

Originally posted by 🦊 Hermit:

Yes they appear as empty, and don't bring up the dossier/note on screen like the first time you find them. However the new character still gets the exp buff for locating them, as if they had found them new. That's what I was meaning when I said they 'unlock' it.

The game certainly communicates none of that. Is it any wonder that I reached the wrong conclusion when the game is keeping secrets from me? How did you learn what was really happening in spite of it?

[🦊 Hermit]

I made a second character, went to the location of an explorer note, and when mousing over it, instead of saying the usual '???' of an undiscovered note, it said 'Dossier: <Creature Name>' or something like that. And when I walked over the note, it still played the chest or vase opening animation, and while the dossier or note did not pop up, my character still got an xp buff icon in the bottom corner of the screen.

I'm not sure the game is intentionally keeping secrets, I think the devs just enabled it that way so that all characters could be equal. For example, supposing you made a character on one server and got all the notes, then made a second character on another server and were unable to unlock the notes again and couldn't get any more xp buffs from them. It'd put you at a disadvantage to other people on the server who didn't already unlock those notes. Doing it this way just makes sure that everyone has the same chances to level up.

[VulcanTourist]

Originally posted by 🦊 Hermit:

I made a second character, went to the location of an explorer note, and when mousing over it, instead of saying the usual '???' of an undiscovered note, it said 'Dossier: <Creature Name>' or something like that. And when I walked over the note, it still played the chest or vase opening animation, and while the dossier or note did not pop up, my character still got an xp buff icon in the bottom corner of the screen.

I'm not sure the game is intentionally keeping secrets, I think the devs just enabled it that way so that all characters could be equal. For example, supposing you made a character on one server and got all the notes, then made a second character on another server and were unable to unlock the notes again and couldn't get any more xp buffs from them. It'd put you at a disadvantage to other people on the server who didn't already unlock those notes. Doing it this way just makes sure that everyone has the same chances to level up.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3031339869
What are the differences in this screen trying to communicate?

[🦊 Hermit]

I'm afraid I don't fully understand. Are you experiencing different behaviour in your own game?

[VulcanTourist]

Originally posted by 🦊 Hermit:

I'm afraid I don't fully understand. Are you experiencing different behaviour in your own game?

I might or might not be. If I've been awarded experience from re-discovering earlier discoveries, I haven't noticed. I'm also plateau'd at level 105, so I may not be gaining experience at all when I can't gain a new level. That is why I'm trying to understand what's in that screenshot.

[🦊 Hermit]

In that shot you have the purple 'Special Explorer Note Found' buff on your character (the two purple arrows pointing up), so you have found a note pretty recently and have gotten the experience effect from it.

Just to clarify though: When I talk about getting the note again, I am not speaking of getting it twice or more on the same character. I'm talking of making a new character, and getting the note on that one instead. When you first get a note, it shows the zoom-in of it on your screen, and that note goes into your game profile file as unlocked. Also the character you are playing is marked as getting that note too. That same character cannot get the same note again, however if you make a new character on a new server/game, then this new character will be able to pick up the note and get the xp from it. However because you have already unlocked that note in your game profile, the reveal animation will not play as it did the first time, instead the box or vase will just open up, and you will get the xp buff.

Also on the topic of being level capped - that is because you need to achieve something in the game to increase your level limit. The most obvious one is to beat the map bosses and ascend, as each ascension you get on each map will grant you 15 extra levels on your cap. Another alternative is to level up a chibi pet, which will grant you 5 extra levels, or find all explorer notes, which gives another 5. And there are a few other achievements that give you a boost too. Max level you can get after all ascensions and everything else is 205.

[VulcanTourist]

That explanation helps me understand better what the game is doing and how, but the game should be self-documenting that, not relying on you to tell me. After hundreds of hours, there is still so much that I don't understand about this game's behavior, and it's as much the game's shortcoming as it is my failure to observe (I don't). Those "buff" notifications at the lower right are great, but only if you understand their meaning, and you can't find out that meaning by mousing over them! "What. we've. got. here is... a failure to communicate." While perversely reminding me with every structure tile I encounter that I have some kind of agency with it, the game gives me this abbreviated information about other MUCH more crucial things and expects me to somehow intuit what is omitted? Not fair.

[🦊 Hermit]

You can hold H to get an extended HUD with a little more info, and that will give you a short description of most of the status effects. However yes, I would agree that some things in the game aren't really explained all that well, and players may have to resort to the wiki or forums like these for some of the info. One of Ark's many flaws.