‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Adds Primitive+ Next Month, Mod To Play As Animals Coming Later This Year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv23Mqknw0Y

Studio Wildcard shared a little of what it has coming to ARK: Survival Evolved on the PC and Xbox One this year. The indie developer made an appearance at the E3 PC Gaming Show, where it revealed a dinosaur large enough to build a base on, the Redwood biome, the release window for Primitive+, and an all-new official mod that lets you play as the creatures in the open-world dinosaur survival game.

The Titanosaur and the Redwood biome are currently targeting a June 22 release with the deployment of the ARK: Survival Evolved 243.0 patch to the PC. The Xbox One should receive the update within a week or two later.

The new Redwood biome will be located in the Grand Peak area of the Island map. This is the large inland island just to the south of the volcano. As previously covered, the actual geography of the central island is not changing much, but the addition of the Redwood trees might destroy bases. Holographic-style walls have been added around the island to warn players that anything built within the walls will likely be destroyed in the coming update.

The Redwood trees themselves cannot be harvested, but players can build treehouse-style bases in them complete with retractable rope ladders. It provides an element of verticality to the Island and a relatively safe place to build a base.

The Center map will add a Redwood biome at a later date.

The enormous Titanosaur is also coming in the ARK: Survival Evolved 243.0 patch. Studio Wildcard says this dinosaur will be extremely rare to find, but it will provide a mobile walking base. It can also easily smash bases, as seen in the trailer.

The Titanosaur will be a difficult tame as it cannot be knocked out with Tranq Arrows or Darts. Players will instead have to down it by hitting it in the head with something large, likely a catapult turret.

Meanwhile, Primitive+ is launching July 28 for both the PC and Xbox One. This official mod so impressed Studio Wildcard they hired the man who created it – Ced, aka ComplexMinded. The mod changes the ARK: Survival Evolved experience by completely removing the existing metal tier in the game and greatly expanding the number of items that can be harvested and crafted, such as Adobe-style buildings, floating bridges, honey from bees, fishing traps, and more.

Primitive+ also intentionally fosters a cooperative element between tribes by adding more than 40 different resources plus another 10 crops. This is too much for any one tribe to accomplish on their own so players can also build market stalls for trading, meals, and more.

Finally, the total conversion mod ARK: Primal Survival will come to ARK: Survival Evolved on the PC and Xbox One later in 2016. This mod started out as an April Fool’s joke from Studio Wildcard, where players could take on the role of a Raptor. Now players will be able to jump into the body of most, if not all, of the creatures that inhabit the game world.

“Live life as a Raptor, communicate and coordinate tactical attacks on other species. Spend your nights creepily crawling around the caves as the Araneo, catching your victims with your web-spinning ability and spraying them paralyzing venom while laying eggs to expand your brood! Work together as one to execute strategic attacks alongside your pack to chase and takedown prey! Train and protect your young through the harsh winters so that they are ready to join the hunt by the time they are full grown adults. Cuddle up with your cubs and forget about your worries and your strife whilst you spend the day fishing, wandering and roaming the land with your sleuth! Experience the ARK through the eyes of a Titanomyrma, building a thriving colony centered around ‘ant hills’, and survive against the elements and the dangers that the island brings!”

“Furthermore, the new functionality associated with this Primal Survival mode will also enable mod creators to build much more intricate mods involving playing as these various creatures and detailing their lifecycles & survival mechanics, with new capabilities for creating asymmetric gameplay modes.”

What do you think of the coming updates to ARK: Survival Evolved? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Studio Wildcard]