[2019] ARK Modding Contest Winners & New Sponsored Mods!

Hello Survivors!

We are happy to announce the conclusion of the Sept-Oct 2018 ARK Modding Contest. More than 60 mod projects were entered for this contest and the community has certainly come a long way since the last one. Mod authors were tasked with putting forth their best creations for a chance at the grand prize. The community also voted on their favorite mods to go alongside evaluations by Wildcard Staff. It was a pleasure to explore everyone's creations, and if you missed it you can find a collection of all the spotlights that Zen Rowe did for the contest over on our Twitch channel.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the Sept-Oct 2018 ARK Modding Contest!

1st Place - $15,000 Valguero

Our grand prize winner is Valguero, made by Nekatus and Buttman, which had a strong showing in both the technical evaluation and the popular vote. This is a beautiful map with a significant degree of polish and the sound effects are on point for immersion, it also features some unique landscape formations that we haven't really seen used in ARK maps before.

2nd Place - $8,000 Automated ARK

Automated ARK, by Blitzfire911, takes 2nd place. If you have never tried this mod it can take you by surprise, Zen got caught up setting up a manufacturing depot for so long that he forgot what game he was playing for a bit. It's also quite balanced, it doesn't necessarily make things easier as you still have to procure your own resources. It doesn't create items out of thin air, but with some careful planning you can set up whole factories to manufacture your war equipment for you from the resources you bring home.

3rd Place - $4,000 GunSmoke

GunSmoke County, courtesy of CaseFase5, is an interesting creation. Not only is it a map but also a small series of mods that support it. From gallows to pianolas, if you like RP and old wild west movies then this is one you may want to check out. If you aren't into RP this map is still a quite realistic landscape of a temperate desert that was fun to explore. Gunsmoke gets to make a solid claim for 3rd place.

4th Place - $1,000 Primal Fear

Pikkon38 has created a quite massive overhaul mod over the last couple of years. Primal Fear secures 4th place with a pretty impressive showing. It completely changes the balance and progression of the game. Primal Fear was also the winner of the popular vote by a significant margin, a lot of players have come to love this mod.

New Sponsored Mods!

As a result of our new application process for the Sponsored Mod Program, we have chosen two projects to add to our roster starting today!

Malfunktion is a creation by Exilog, our first returnee to the program. This map is based on The Island and he is crafting a story for the map based off of the core story of ARK. The landscape of this map, while interesting to see the original island impacted by the passage of time and atmospheric problems, is not the focus of the mod. This is an ARK that is suffering from severe malfunctions, its power being drained by technology. From a sudden loss of gravity and oxygen shortages to having to find shelter in protective domes dotting the map, this was an interesting experience that provided some pretty intense surprises.

ARK Additions is brought to us by Garuga123. This is one of the few examples of new unique creatures being made by the community, with custom models, materials, animations, and quirks. These are polished creatures that take a long time to craft and perfect. What this mod lacks in terms of quantity is more than made up for in quality, and we are happy to support the continued development of these additional creatures.

We loved seeing the development of skills that the modding community has managed to achieve! As always if you’ve got anything to share you can find us at:
Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark
Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark
Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110
Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

All the best,
Studio Wildcard

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Hello Survivors!

We are happy to announce the conclusion of the Sept-Oct 2018 ARK Modding Contest. More than 60 mod projects were entered for this contest and the community has certainly come a long way since the last one. Mod authors were tasked with putting forth their best creations for a chance at the grand prize. The community also voted on their favorite mods to go alongside evaluations by Wildcard Staff. It was a pleasure to explore everyone's creations, and if you missed it you can find a collection of all the spotlights that Zen Rowe did for the contest over on our Twitch channel.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the Sept-Oct 2018 ARK Modding Contest!

1st Place - $15,000 Valguero

Our grand prize winner is Valguero, made by Nekatus and Buttman, which had a strong showing in both the technical evaluation and the popular vote. This is a beautiful map with a significant degree of polish and the sound effects are on point for immersion, it also features some unique landscape formations that we haven't really seen used in ARK maps before.

2nd Place - $8,000 Automated ARK

Automated ARK, by Blitzfire911, takes 2nd place. If you have never tried this mod it can take you by surprise, Zen got caught up setting up a manufacturing depot for so long that he forgot what game he was playing for a bit. It's also quite balanced, it doesn't necessarily make things easier as you still have to procure your own resources. It doesn't create items out of thin air, but with some careful planning you can set up whole factories to manufacture your war equipment for you from the resources you bring home.

3rd Place - $4,000 GunSmoke

GunSmoke County, courtesy of CaseFase5, is an interesting creation. Not only is it a map but also a small series of mods that support it. From gallows to pianolas, if you like RP and old wild west movies then this is one you may want to check out. If you aren't into RP this map is still a quite realistic landscape of a temperate desert that was fun to explore. Gunsmoke gets to make a solid claim for 3rd place.

4th Place - $1,000 Primal Fear

Pikkon38 has created a quite massive overhaul mod over the last couple of years. Primal Fear secures 4th place with a pretty impressive showing. It completely changes the balance and progression of the game. Primal Fear was also the winner of the popular vote by a significant margin, a lot of players have come to love this mod.

New Sponsored Mods!

As a result of our new application process for the Sponsored Mod Program, we have chosen two projects to add to our roster starting today!

Malfunktion is a creation by Exilog, our first returnee to the program. This map is based on The Island and he is crafting a story for the map based off of the core story of ARK. The landscape of this map, while interesting to see the original island impacted by the passage of time and atmospheric problems, is not the focus of the mod. This is an ARK that is suffering from severe malfunctions, its power being drained by technology. From a sudden loss of gravity and oxygen shortages to having to find shelter in protective domes dotting the map, this was an interesting experience that provided some pretty intense surprises.

ARK Additions is brought to us by Garuga123. This is one of the few examples of new unique creatures being made by the community, with custom models, materials, animations, and quirks. These are polished creatures that take a long time to craft and perfect. What this mod lacks in terms of quantity is more than made up for in quality, and we are happy to support the continued development of these additional creatures.

We loved seeing the development of skills that the modding community has managed to achieve! As always if you’ve got anything to share you can find us at:
Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark
Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark
Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110
Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

All the best,
Studio Wildcard