‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Xbox One Receiving Mods, ‘The Center’ Map And Primitive+ First Up

Amidst the uproar over ARK: Survival of the Fittest going to the PlayStation 4 first, Studio Wildcard promised Xbox One owners of ARK: Survival Evolved would get a special announcement Friday. The developer delivered by revealing support for official mods to the dinosaur survival game. The first two are a gorgeous map and a total conversion that adds even more depth to the game’s crafting.

Studio Wildcard announced mod support for ARK: Survival Evolved on the Xbox One during a Twitch livestream from their PAX East booth. The first two official mods include the stunning “The Center” map created by professional designer Ben Burkart (aka evilmrfrank) and the Primitive+ total conversion mod from modder ComplexMinded, whose work led to him joining Studio Wildcard. The developer stated it will be “working hard to introduce more of your favourite mods” in future updates to the game.

“The Center” map will arrive as an official mod for the Xbox One and PC in May. It is signified by the giant floating island in the middle of the map surrounded by waterfalls. The map was designed by hand and features some extreme and visually impressive features with an extensive amount of cool places for players to build bases.

One section of the custom ARK map features twin active volcano with lava flowing while another stars a snowy mountain. There is, of course, a number of forests, swamps, rocky formations, and more for players to explore. The map also features an extensive cave system meant to create a Journey to the Center of the Earth feel.

“The Center” map is currently leading the votes in the map category for the ARK: Survival Evolved worldwide mod contest. It currently has a slight 27 vote lead over the enormous “Valhalla” custom map with a winner planned to be announced on May 15.

Primitive+ is already featured as an official mod for the PC with a handful of official servers featuring it. The mod is listed as “coming soon” for the Xbox One with no definitive release date.

As previously covered, the total conversion stops the progress of the technology progression in the game at the Stone tier. However, it also expands the number of resources, crafting options, and more to dozens of new options. The number of unlocks available is robust enough to force players to specialize in certain areas and unable to lock the majority of the engrams available in the current game.

“How would diplomacy and the economy work when you mix these various specialized backgrounds?” the mod maker asks. “What happens when the person you are about to shoot with a musket is the farmer that happens to have a tea and coffee monopoly on the island? What happens when you actually need your neighbor…..?”

Those who try out the Primitive+ mod will notice some changes immediately. For example, Dodos now drop Chicken Meat which, when cooked, lasts much longer than standard Cooked Meat. Additionally, foraging the bushes in Ark also presents the opportunity to harvest various types of bees that can be used to help establish a beehive.

The dozens of changes and addition to vanilla ARK: Survival Evolved only grows from there. New resources are available to harvest or craft including Clay, Brick, Salt, Sugar, Flour, Glass, Steel, Obsidian and more. New crops are available to grow such as Rice, Lettuce, Wheat, Coffee, Tea, Tobacco, and others. Players can build Baking Stations to help bake food or Lumber Stations to make Wooden Plans and various other materials.

New weapons are introduced as well. There’s a Hunting Knife, Machete, Metal Hammer, Obsidian Spear, Obsidian Arrow, and even a Flaming Arrow. Arrows aren’t the only projectiles available, however. Flintlock Pistols and Muskets are available, but that is the extent of the firearms available for ARK Survivors playing the Primitive+ mod.

ARK: Survival Evolved is currently available in Steam Early Access for the PC and the Game Preview Program for the Xbox One. It is currently targeting a summer release date for both platforms plus the PlayStation 4.

[Image via Studio Wildcard]