https://i.redd.it/9up5lj7jtpf21.png
Ark was getting content updates every week... ATLAS will get it's first content update 2 months after launch and it is mainly cosmetics -_- Also the PvP in ATLAS is fun only when doing ship vs ship (but sadly that's a really small part of the game)
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https://i.redd.it/9up5lj7jtpf21.png
Ark was getting content updates every week... ATLAS will get it's first content update 2 months after launch and it is mainly cosmetics -_- Also the PvP in ATLAS is fun only when doing ship vs ship (but sadly that's a really small part of the game)
I still believe the game has a lot of potential but we've got a lot of work to do. Would you rather work on a product you didn't believe in and not put in the effort to make it successful? :P Seems like the majority of the internet believed in it too, a lot of folks were excited about the launch, even with the delays; we got a hell of a lot of attention and people wanting to play Day 1. However it's clear that the game has problems that we need to resolve, and I'm not speaking just from a technical/bug fixing point of view, but also a design point of view.
We are taking a different approach with ATLAS, it does not need additional content at this time (at least, not in the grand sense). ARK was very content orientated and getting in more things for people to do. ATLAS doesn't have that problem. There's already a lot to do, but there are concerns with how accessible that is for the majority of the players, the systems lack polish, in some cases they're buggy beyond playable, and some are just not fun.
The team recognize that and are going to be making changes over the coming months ahead to try and hit that potential. We are going to be redesigning core systems to make the content that's in there already more accessible, fix bugs and exploits on a weekly (if not more frequent) basis, further optimise the client and improve server performance. We have other things we need to focus on. It would be foolish for us to focus solely on content, when a large majority of players have expressed that they're unable to even experience what's already in the game. Adding more to it doesn't help deal with that. As for the future, ATLAS does have a lot we'd like to do from a content-addition perspective, but it's all being put on the sidelines now so we can focus on the game that's currently out there. Now that doesn't mean we're not going to add anything new whatsoever; there are still going to be level changes, items/structures added in when needed, creatures, etc. It's just not our primary attention.
Also, if you don't think we're updating or working on the game at the same pace as ARK Early Access (if not more.. because the team is much larger, the systems are more complex, and the game is more indepth), then you're sorely mistaken. Quick glance at the Patch Notes will show that: https://www.playatlas.com/index.php?/forums/topic/2628-pc-patch-notes-client-v186-server-v1865/
Edit: Appreciate all the response folks, will be sure to read through it all and share w/ the team.
Reading this! I know you get it Jat. What do we need to as the players to help? Some of us love the game and want also want it to be the goat. We want to work with the creators, not against. Some of the improvements have been fantastic while others with the best intentions have had a more negative impact, but regardless. Any change of the meta is going to upset some and help others. All I want personally is a better bug reporting tool, with proper Engine dumps to send. I know you and the team are extremely busy but would honestly wish to have you or some from the team view a raid, even from admin fly and see how the meta currently is. Idk if you do this already but to me, the tools are already built into the engine to learn and witness where the shortfalls are in PvP. More than happy to have you witness one of ours, even if its us being raided ha.. Still, I havent had this much fun in a game for a long time, the fact its such an early access game gives me more hope than anything else, there is so much room to grow and build this game into of thee top mmo's.
Continuing to give us feedback and let us know about your experiences, what you think needs to be changed, etc. As everyone is already doing. The onus is on us to make changes and go from there. We're open to making some pretty big changes, more open than I've ever known us to be in my tenture at the studio, which is damn fantastic. I will say though, this is a process. It's not something that can be done overnight so whilst it's rocky now, that won't be the case forever.
Does this mean that even if the player base keeps dropping, to the point where it is less than 1000 concurrent players on average, you will not give up and keep updating the game often?
Uh, not going to lie, this is a pretty strange question to ask. Probably even weirder that I am responding to it too. Who knows what'll happen if we get to that point. Maybe I'd be out of a job? Haha. I'm pretty confident that won't ever happen, and with the changes we plan to make to the game and the improvements that come in, we'll see the numbers climb again. Yes it's sucky we're losing players on a daily basis, but it's indicative that there's a problem, one we are aware of and we are going to fix.
I don't even know any more. I had so much hope in this game even after all my friends quit. I just don't see the other side of this where it's all sunny and happy times. You don't understand the feeling of a massive disconnect between what players are experiencing and what it feels like you guys are listening to or seeing.
Balance is all over the place. Things were implemented with what seemed like no play testing or foresight of the consequences.
Cheating was/is rampant and from the public perception there was a clear lack of urgency or care to address the problem. Like seriously, the uproar was so apparent and it feels like you don't give a shit.
Too many bugs to the point of it being unacceptable.
Too many systems not working or missing. The game that was sold to us is not even close to being in sight.
A large chunk of the core game play loop is so mundane and uninteresting. I don't know why you think there is a lot to do in this game because there really isn't that much to do of value or fun. A good percentage of my company's time is spent gathering, and it's not due to a lack of wanting to do something else.
The game has one arm cut off - you guys are trying to stop the bleeding, but at the end of the day it'll still be missing an arm. I know you're saying what you're saying, but what choice did you guys give us but to feel this way. It's like you guys didn't get a shit when you were booming but now the bells are starting to toll and it's a different story.
I think we've made it pretty clear that we understand players are frustrated and that we need to make serious changes, it's been stated multiple times. It also needs to be understood that a lot goes into making these games, and making design changes. It's not something that can be done overnight.
Gonna have to disagree with you on some points. Particularly "ARK was very content orientated and getting in more things for people to do. ATLAS doesn't have that problem. There's already a lot to do" Like what? We can make a character, build one of three structures and one of four ships. Land is nearly impossible to get out of a lawless zone or big group so have fun with that, taming is a thing but only like 3 tames are decent and those were just rips from Ark. The only "new" content thats been added are things that were supposed to be in the launch (Check the trailer, everything "new" was in it including some of the February update.) Pretty much every end game encounter is just shoot it with balista then pray the lag lets you turn it in. The Kraken is neat but again, just a rip from ark reskinned. Hell even the islands are just copy pasted most of the time (you can find the exact same island in like 30 grids) the only real "Things to do" is build and shoot things and that can only grab people for so long. Ark worked because we got a new toy to play with daymn near every week, and it was fantastic! It kept the game fun even with the bullshit bugs. But here we just have the same shit we've had since day one, except you nerfed most of the good things to the floor and created more bugs than have been fixed. If nothing changes, this game WILL die, its up to you whether to listen to that or ignore it.
You've identified some of the problems we have with the game and things we need to improve, so people can play it and experience it.
Land is nearly impossible to get out of a lawless zone or big group so have fun with that
A part of the game is the base building aspect, and it ties into a lot of gameplay loop, but a lot of players can't experience it because they can't even get land in the first place.
taming is a thing but only like 3 tames are decent and those were just rips from Ark.
So we've got a lot more creatures than 3, and have planned for many more beyond that too, but you're implying only 3 are worthwhile, so maybe we need to see why the others aren't so much and then there's another bit of the game players are able to enjoy.
A lot of players are suggesting that PvP isn't very enjoyable at the moment because it's imbalanced, bear cart NPC wars, offline raiding, guns are meh for a variety of reasons (and so on so forth..)
So that's something else for players to do, but they've highlighted why they don't want to do it, why it's broken, and why we need to make changes. Resolving the issues with PvP will create more things for people to enjoy.
Naval Combat
People have expressed that they enjoy the naval combat, but they just cannot experience it due to bugs/laggy servers (which we're constantly working on), or they can't even get a boat due to no land, or it just gets sunk when they're offline due to how base raiding works. Another thing for us to tackle!
There's honestly a lot of different things we can talk about improving, this post could go on for hours :P. I'm not saying we won't add any more content whatsoever. We still have a bunch of people dedicated to making new content, but they're also be going to helping polish the game and improve what's already out there. Once we're happier with our current implemented systems, we'll be pivoting to have more focus on content, but until then we have bigger fish we need to fry (another thing.. cooking!).
That is exactly what i wanted to read, even though i am already craving for the giant crab i definitely prefer it if you guys keep polishing the game. I have never experienced such an insanely addicting but buggy mess of a game, i can only imagine how fantastic it could be when polished. The potential is given.
The crab is still coming in February.
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